ALL NOVEL Chapter 13:Break
As we went out of the classroom, I also saw the Swordsman students also coming out of the rooms at the same time as us
And I saw that they were all happily walking out of the rooms, completely different from the wild and angry noises I heard outside in the corridor
But one thing is for sure, they are a loud bunch but that is not a bad thing at all since they do seem incredibly fun to hang out with
Since all the students were heading to the middle of the academy to choose where they were having their lunch so we were headed to the same way
Although, I was listening to the twins talking about different things that happened before I entered the room
I was more focused on looking at the different weapons the Swordsmen have equipped
Woah is that a Zweihänder, it is my first time seeing one up close
Wait did she just say the teacher did not appear for the first ten minutes of the lesson, or to be more accurate no one was able to find the teacher in the classroom until they revealed themselves
Well as much as the teacher revealed in that spectre like form
Even though I was able to see the teacher briefly, I cannot even be sure if that it is similar to their real form, let alone their true gender
But something tells me I would not want to pry too much
So, I decided to just let it go
Then Kaminari said
“The teacher did not even say anything else before shutting off everything and just said to survive
Luckily Inazuma was right next to me so we were able to combine force stayed hidden to plan our assault
Well, we were until an enigma enter the court and thwarted all our plans”
She said as she looked at me
“My bad, but you guys took way too long to do your thing so I just went ahead and took care of the other three student in room”
Kaminari looked at Inazuma and said
“It is because Inazuma is such a worry wart and has to plan for so long that we had waste so much time to go forward with our plan”
Inazuma turned to her and spoke up
“But at least, I do not rush into all things recklessly like you do and like what you did earlier”
Kaminari responded by saying
“But were you not able to adjust and go through with your plan to fight against Tida which we almost won”
Inazuma blushed due to the compliment on her ability to adjust on the fly
“Well, we were not able to go through with the plan if you did not have the ability to keep up against Tida, and it is also the reason why you were a key component of the battle strategy”
Kaminari smiled and raised a fist
Inazuma complied and gave her a fist bump
I smiled as I looked at their sisterhood
Then I sighed as I remembered my cousins
I asked them
“I guess I can see why you two worked together even though it seemed like only one person was allowed to pass the first test
And your specialities really work together well which is further helped by the fact that you guys have good teamwork”
Kaminari pulled in Inazuma and said
“We might be twins but as you said we are vastly different in how we work, and although we did have a hunch only one of us could pass the first test, we still decided to work together to ensure at least one of us would pass”
If I had to guess Inazuma definitely has better control of her Eyes which allows her to keep track of enemies from a further distance and is also the reason, she was able to clearly hit me with her projectile weapons
Combined with her calm and precise strategic planning it allows her to be a perfect commander for the stronger melee fighter Kaminari who is much better at closing the distance and using bladed weapons to engage with the target
But other than that, she is also excellent at using the steps which allows her to disengage from an enemy if her surprise assault did not work out
Although she did not do it during the last few times she engage with me, which is definitely due to her pride causing her to be irrational
Which Inazuma mentioned as her main weakness, and I think this might be exploited by her future matchups
With me being one of them
Another thing is, due to Inazuma being better at ranged combat and weaker at closed ranged melee fights might also become another point to exploit
If they can find her that is
To be fair both of them are very adept at hiding their presence which makes sense for the long time they have trained as Ninjas
But if she is caught unaware then it could serve as a way to break their tandem
And the last thing I recognized was Inazuma was weak, which also ties in with her bad melee ability, although this is slightly offset by the fact she can make some precise cuts even in the dark
But if I ever locked swords with her one on one (which likely won’t happen), it would probably be a better time for me
Then we made it to the middle of the academy which is right in front of the school hall as we wait for the others to arrive
A few minutes passed by as the other student separated into two different ones, with one going up to the area next to the school hall where the school canteen is located
And with the other half going out of the school entrance in order to eat outside
While hearing the two talk about the weapons they wanted to buy, I stood right next to them and chose to interject at random moments in order to give them my thoughts on their choices
After a few seconds, the people we were waiting for finally arrived
And the twins went ahead in order to greet Aika and the rest while I waited for them to arrive here
I saw Schild also coming from that side which made me curious
I think he saw my curious expression so he came to me to strike up a conversation, and so did Nozomu since she also came along with him in order to stand where I was
“Hey Schild, Nozomu”
“Why are you standing here like an edgy kid who thinks the world is against them”
“Pfft, hey”
Ouch
“You did not have to say that Nozomu, but glad to hear you are doing well enough to crack jokes and how was your lesson”
“It was fine, but I heard that we were doing practical tests against the Swordsmen next week so I am excited about that”
“I am looking forward to that as well, though this is my first time hearing about this since I did not go to the lesson
I will have to make sure to appear during that practical lesson”
Schild sulked
“You are getting to fight her during school period already?
That is kind of unfair, I want to participate as well”
Nozomu looked in his direction
“But were you not the one who took the first battle with her, this just makes it even”
“What she is saying is true you know?”
I agree with her since I remembered my last bout with Schild
“Fine, but I have next so don’t leave me out”
Schild said while looking sulky
Man, I am not going to last if they are going to battle me one after the other
I need to remember to tell them to control their pace
“So, what is the plan after lunch for you two?”
After the compulsory Class Course in the morning, the students of the Academy are allowed to choose between three different curriculums for the second half of the day
The three curriculums range from the Class Course they do during the morning, Applied Knowledge which is compulsory on Fridays and Free/Sparring Courses which allow access to the Library and the Main Training Hall to provide students more options to improve themselves
There is a compulsory Applied Knowledge on Fridays to prevent students from being too much of a muscle brain by ignoring the course completely and to show that Knowledge unrelated to combat is also important, albeit it is definitely of lesser importance in the Academy
“I think I am going to just go take up some Applied Knowledge since I want to get some rest after dealing with that Tank Eater from earlier, and my family will probably give me hell if I fail any of the other courses as well”
Yes, we have tests for a half elective subject which is only compulsory on Fridays, but I think it likely scales towards the compulsory lessons, or else the school would have made the whole curriculum compulsory and force the students to log in the same number of hours for the course
“I think I might do the same as Schild, since I tired from the lessons today as well”
Then they both turned to me
“Although...”
“It might change if a certain someone wants to go at it in the training hall later”
They really get on the same page if it is about this huh
“No, I am not going to the training hall, and we will be facing off in the coming days anyway, so just be good kids and wait until then
And I plan to go to the Lancer classroom later, I want to get a taste of all the four courses before setting up my visiting schedule for the month before my mock battle and my first battle in front of the whole Academy”
“Makes sense, I guess I will just stay with Schild in the class room for the Applied Knowledge class”
Schild nodded
“Or....”
The two looked at me as I started my sentence
“You two could just have a duel with each other?”
Why did I not think of this earlier, this perfectly helps me out to make them get off my tail and allows these two battle idiots to solve their urge to fight someone
And looking at their faces, this did not come up for them as well, but hopefully, they will really take this suggestion
“Oh yeah, we should, what do you think Nozomu?”
“If you are up for it then there is no reason for me to refuse”
Yes
“I guess that is all our plans for the day, let's see if the girls over there are done or not”
I looked at my Device and saw that we have been talking for nearly ten minutes, I was ready to get scolded by the girls but to my surprise, they were still talking about something exciting looking from their reactions
As soon as the three of us got closer, they stopped talking and looked at us
“You guys done?
Mizuki asked once we reached them
“I was about to ask the same thing, but yes we are done, sorry for taking so long”
I replied apologetically
“It's fine, we probably spent too much time talking as well so it's not all on you guys”
I was curious what they were talking about but my gut told me not to pry like an idiot
Unlike a certain idiot who just went for it
A certain black-haired idiot
“So, what were you guys talking about and why did you stop?”
The girls took a look at each other and laughed
Mizuki then spoke up and said
“It was girl’s talk and a secret just between us, so we are not telling you, sorry”
Huh?
Nozomu and I looked at each other and back at the girls
While I heard Schild laughing right next to us
“When did you and I change genders Itsuki?
I did not know you were a boy?”
“Same to you brother, did not know you were a dude as well?”
And I heard Schild laughing even louder in the background
“It’s fine Nozomu, we did not want to know anyway, we the boys have our own secrets, right?”
“Yea... Yeahh"
“Pfft, whatever you two say”
Siad Schild as he continued to laugh at our plight
I took a look at Yuuna and saw her give me an apologetic look and mouth sorry
And I tried my best to mouth out it is fine
I think she understood it because she gave me a beautiful smile in response
We did not press the matter and instead started to talk about where should have our lunch before the break ended
Ultimately, we chose to eat in the school canteen located right next to the hall, since we already wasted some time talking and this was the most convenient option for now
As we entered the canteen, it was as packed as I expected since I thought many students would prefer the cheaper and more convenient option instead of going out to search for a lunch option
But luckily as packed as it was, we were able to snag a large table that fits all of us
The seating arrangement was as everyone expected
“The Boys” on one side
While the other girls took up the other side
I was sitting right opposite of Yuuna, which made talking to her quite easy
And for some reason whenever I was trying to talk to her, the other two did not interrupt me and just smiled at me
Everyone was planning on going to the counter to get food and Yuuna was offering to stay back in order to look after the seats
I was planning on staying but I instead thought to get something quickly so that I can help look after the bags as well
I was standing up when Nozomu and Schild put their hands on my shoulder in order to sit me back down
“You should stay behind as well Itsuki”
“I agree with Schild, you should not leave a girl alone in this dangerous environment”
A dangerous environment where?
And I am one too
They did the same smile as earlier and went to the counter
The other girls also told me to stay back and went to the counter as well
So, we just continued to make some small talk after clearing the small period of awkwardness due to the two’s antics
“What are you planning doing after lunch?”
“Oh, I was planning on going to the Monk class after break but I found the teacher of the class is not going to be in during the afternoon period so I might just go check out the school library”
“I was also planning to check out the library after I finish the Lancer lesson in the afternoon since I want to see if I can find a specific grimoire to bolster my combat abilities”
“If you do not mind me knowing which magic, is it, I think I can try to find it for you during my time in the library, so you do not have to waste time trying to find the book”
“It is fine it is not something I am trying to hide anyway, I am trying to find a grimoire that can teach me the basics of manipulation magic, if there are specific versions then I want to see if there are any related to weapons or Armaments”
“Alright I will see what I can do”
“Thanks for the help”
The others came back after we talked a bit more
Then we went to the counter to get our lunch
I found out she liked to eat curry and drink black tea (something I knew already but it seemed she liked to drink both hot and cold black tea)
Once we got back to the table
We did not have much chance to continue our conversations since she started talking with the girls and I started talking with “the boys”
After forty minutes had passed since we started our lunch, the bell rang and signalled the end of the break