Historia thought of me as a good-natured pushover who couldn’t easily abandon even a single straggler.

Lankart believed I was a cold-hearted person who calculated and acted accordingly.

Did they know? What they saw in me was the world they wanted to see. In a way, I was a mirror reflecting their desires.

So, what was I? A pushover? Or a cold-hearted person?

Well, who knew? If I had to say, I thought I was both.

I always had trouble refusing others' requests. The fact that I was a Mind Reader… was probably the biggest reason why.

If it was a desire they were risking their lives for, I found myself wanting to support them in spite of myself.

If it was a child pretending not to know where they hid their candy in their secret stash, I wanted to play along with a smile.

If it was an act of projecting their past selves and placing their hopes on me, I wanted to meet their expectations.

...Even if the other person was an adult, unlike me.

“Historia participated in the log march, you say…”

When Chief Instructor Nicholas, who summoned me, spoke, I answered politely with my arms behind my back.

“Yes. Chief Instructor Nicholas.”

“Well done, Huey.”

Nicholas, the Chief Instructor of Hamelin, nodded with a gentle smile.

“Historia… That child. She is truly a blessed talent. She is the fortune of this Hamelin, and to go beyond the Military State. The talent to learn Qi Arts at that age and create her own martial category is rare even in the Empire.”

His thoughts naturally shifted to Lankart. The smile on his lips grew even wider.

“Lankart. The same goes for him. Though Unique Magic differs from person to person, the scale changes according to the Intent he holds. Lankart’s Unique Magic is in the Strategic-Grade at minimum. Enough to change the course of a battle by himself. If there is just an opportunity for him… becoming a Magus is not that distant of a dream.”

Nicholas only felt joy in his heart, despite having two students who would far surpass him, who was a mere Chief Instructor.

Colonel Nicholas. A soldier who was strict yet kind to his students, loyal to the Military State, and dedicated his body to service. Though not some legendary soldier, he had the qualities of an excellent educator. He was proof that the personnel selection of the Military State was not all that bad.

A soldier who was more devoted to his country than anyone else was delighted at the thought of the Military State's bright future.

“I trust you, Huey. Historia and Lankart. You are the only one who can converse and give orders to them on an equal footing.”

“...I cannot give orders to Historia. I can only ask in the form of a request.”

“What does it matter? As long as they follow your words, whether it’s an order or a request, it’s all the same.”

However, he was a soldier to the core. He wouldn't care about a scratched lottery ticket that had already been deemed useless.

“You can stop being the class president. There’s nothing for you to learn from them anyway.”

“Thank you for your words, but I am now a 3rd-Year. Since I have taken on the role, I will see it through to the end.”

“I heard similar words from you last year and the year before. Not stopping you then is my eternal regret.”

“Haha.”

Nicholas looked at me, who just vaguely laughed it off, with pity.

“In my opinion, you’re taking on too much. Qi Arts, Magic, Ballistics, Tactics, Arcane Dissection, Alchemy, Medicine, Refinement…. You tried everything to find your talent and you have achieved adequate results in different fields. But you haven’t excelled in everything.”

Actually, I didn't achieve results at all. I just read minds to get the gist and roughly followed along. So, it was only natural that I didn't excel.

However, Nicholas, unaware of this, thought I wasted my time and talent.

“You were too talented. I thought you would manage well on your own and stopped focusing on you for a while. That is my regret and remorse. I should have realized you were still young and unaware of your own talent.”

Desperation and regret were palpable.

It was the feeling one might have when, after matching six numbers on a lottery, they realized the last digit was wrong by their own mistake; an emotion that came when ruined and devastated.

To be honest, even though I myself always knew that I could never excel in anything, I couldn't bring myself to smile ironically after reading his earnest emotions.

“That is how it is for everyone. It is not something that happened to me alone. The other children probably feel the same.”

“...Ahhh. That’s right. The other children.”

Nicholas agreed, probably because he was an educator at heart. Had he been any other soldier, he might have scolded me for straying from the point.

No, it would have been worse than that. They would have forcibly separated me from them, even before the end of my 1st-Year.

｢Huey has a personality that devotes a lot of time and attention to others. That’s how he became close to Historia and Lankart, but there were certain side effects. He even paid attention to those who would become mere ordinary soldiers. I let him be, thinking there might be another Historia or Lankart out there, but Huey should not have been placed with them in the first place. If only I separated him from the very start…｣

Nicholas, who treasured even a discarded lottery ticket as a resource of the Military State, was actually the closest thing to an educator. Even so, he couldn't escape the limitations that were the Military State.

Nicholas expressed his somber feelings openly.

“...Still, it’s not over yet. You have Advanced Military Academy ahead of you, after all. You’ll meet instructors there who are far superior to me.”

“I might meet instructors of higher rank than you, Chief Instructor, but finding a better mentor will be difficult.”

“There’s no need for flattery. After all, I have already failed.”

Though he spoke self-deprecatingly, he was slightly pleased by my flattery. I saluted and turned to leave.

As I stepped out, Nicholas, left alone inside, sighed deeply and pulled out a confidential document from his pile of paperwork. After reading the document with a troubled face, he murmured as he closed his eyes tightly.

“...Perhaps my mistake can still be corrected. If his consideration for his classmates is as great as this….”

Nicholas continued to read the confidential document, unaware that I was reading his mind from outside the door.

Hamelin was built on the foundation of an academy from the time of the past kingdom. The materials from that era were still preserved, often visited by Arcane Dissectors and the Military State's research teams.

Among the materials, there was something that should have been discarded. However, Nicholas intervened to prevent its disposal and took possession of it.

-Type 1 Anathema, Gluttony.

Nicholas's eyes sunk low.

***

“Ah, I feel so refreshed!”

“Ughhhhhh….”

Historia stretched her back with a refreshed look, while I, having been beaten up repeatedly, laid on the ground emitting harsh groans. My arms and legs hurt from being hit countless times.

Despite the fact that a friend was groaning in pain, Historia still seemed to be in a good mood.

“It feels so good to move after so long. Don’t you think so, Huey?”

“If you were the one getting beaten up… I bet you wouldn’t feel so good….”

“If you become strong enough to hit me, I’ll let you beat me as much as you want.”

“What a roundabout way of saying you won’t ever let yourself get hit….”

Keugh. With a small groan, I turned my body. Historia wiped off her sweat and laughed joyfully.

It was a spar where Historia was barred from using Qi Arts. Naturally, in this case, my larger physique should put me at an advantage... was a thought that would be better off discarded.

Those who had learned Qi Arts exerted strong power. Initially, the body that was heavily influenced would gradually adapt to that power. Eventually, it became much more robust than an ordinary person's body.

So, at this point, Historia had become so strong that even if I used Qi Arts, I couldn't win against her!

“Why spar with me… There’s Springfield, who’s the second in rank, or the combat instructors….”

“They’re no fun.”

Historia, seemingly still having energy left, stretched her long arms and legs as she responded.

“If I use QI Arts, I win.”

“Wow, I’m so envious. What if you don’t?”

“If I don’t use it, the other side tries to overpower me with strength. They don’t think about reading movements or exploiting weaknesses. It’s not helpful at all.”

“Is this the leisure of the strong… How is this even a complaint… If I had strength like yours, I would have overpowered you immediately.”

“Feel free to, so hurry up and come back when you’ve gathered enough Qi.”

“If it were that simple, I would have done it already.”

While lamenting, I pulled out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket. Clicking the top open revealed a single, roundly rolled mana herb cigarette.

Only one left? Now, even mana herbs are giving me a hard time, huh.

Mana herbs were a Level 3 Luxury Item. It was not something a mere military school student could get. It wasn’t like I was a cadet either. But what did it matter? Mana herbs didn’t discriminate against people or timing. Once I light it and put it in my mouth, the sweet smoke comforted me regardless of the situation or time.

While I was having a clandestine meeting with the smoke inside the paper, Historia approached me.

“Mana herb? You smoke that stuff?”

Before Historia could nag, I grimaced and spoke.

“Ria. What if I had a bit more Qi or Mana? How would my performance be?”

“It couldn’t get more ideal than that.”

As soon as the topic of Qi Arts came up, Historia came closer to speak, going as far as to not pay any attention to the smoke.

“Your mastery over Qi Arts is really natural and efficient. You’re fully utilizing and perfectly digesting all the strength you have, after all. And it shows in your written test scores how well you understand Qi Arts.”

“Well, that’s because my Qi capacity is just a speck. It’s easier to handle a cup than to move a bathtub.”

“Lies. When I couldn’t control my overflowing Qi and ended up breaking swords and spears, you were the one who suggested I try balancing it out with a gun. Yet, are you seriously saying you still lack understanding?”

No, it was Chief Instructor Nicholas who had considered it, but I intercepted the idea through Mind Reading because of his negative perception of guns.

I couldn't tell her the truth, so I just trailed off.

“...And because of that, you always come to me for sparring. It was my greatest mistake.”

“Huhu. And it’s been the greatest fortune for me.”

Only joy radiated from her bright smile. After all, having achieved something and possessing the strength to move forward, she only had to look ahead to a bright future.

All Historia lacked was a friend to walk beside her when she went too far ahead, but now that she had Lankart and me, even that was fulfilled.

All she had left to do was move forward.

Historia was-

“But why are you suddenly acting pathetic? Wait. No, don’t tell me?”

｢Huey was summoned by Nicholas earlier, right? Why? Could it be?｣

Damn, her intuition is sharp. Realizing something, Historia quickly leaned in to scrutinize my face.

“If Nicholas or Military State Command offers to increase your Qi, don’t think twice and just accept it, Huey!”

“How can someone possibly increase Qi? Say something that makes sense.”

“You can take tonics or elixirs or something!”

“That’s easy to say. Where would I even get them? Even if they manage to find something like that, would they really give them to a mere student like me? And even if they did, there’s no guarantee that my Qi would increase.”

“No, I think there’s a possibility! If the Military State has any common sense, they won’t just leave you be!”

It was nonsensical. If the Military State was going to give me special treatment, they wouldn't have named themselves the Military State in the first place.

But the hope shining in Historia's eyes was too bright for me to dash.

Sorry, Historia. What the Military State has prepared for me is not mere tonics or elixirs.

It's something much poorer in taste.

And it wasn’t exactly for just little old me.

“Sigh. Fuuuuu.”

Having nothing more to say, I blew smoke in Historia's face. Choking on the smoke, Historia stumbled back, disgusted by the pungent scent.

“Cough. Isn’t this basically poison? Why would you smoke this kind of thing?”

“Hooo. You don’t understand. At times, living life makes you want to swallow some poison. But still, don’t you ever smoke this.”

“I can’t believe you’re posturing when you’re the same age as me.”

Tsk tsk.Only those who hadn’t experienced it would think this was just posturing. I took the mana herb cigarette out of my mouth and waved it around. As if it was some barrier, Historia continued to dodge by moving her head back and forth.

“Does it look like I’m just posturing? Then you try smoking it.”

“You think I can’t?”

Swish. Historia swiftly snatched the cigarette from my hand. After pondering for a moment while looking at the half-burned cigarette, she alternated her gaze between me and the mana herb before biting down on it boldly. The moment she put the cigarette in her mouth, her face flushed red.

If anyone saw her, they would think she was the one getting smoked. Like salmon. I mumbled in incredulity.

“I can’t believe you actually took it just because I provoked you a bit.”

“Cough. You’re, Cough, the one, Cough, who said, Cough, to, Cough!”

“Hey, it’s gonna get all burnt. If you can’t smoke it, just give it back. I barely managed to get that one after a lot of soliciting, you know?”

“Heup, Cough. I’ll give, Cough!”

Her face was flushed, but Historia kept dodging my hand, staying away from me until the cigarette burned out.

That was my last one, though…