Vacation began.
In other words, the time had come right before our eyes to verify the identity of whatever calls itself Poseidon in this country, and to check for signs of civil war.
Frondier received his work schedule for the break through the principal, Carla. The same went for Elodie.
The two checked their overlapping days off and made a plan.
“For two weeks we have to be on duty.”
“I’m on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so we’ll end up alternating.”
Just because break started didn’t mean we could rest right away. Of course, some teachers could, but the two of them were scheduled to work the first two weeks of the break.
Naturally, that was what they wanted as well.
“Vasileo still needs to be put in order. So does Pielot.”
“And the magic lessons aren’t finished yet.”
“Right, and I also need to pack at least one more weapon.”
Two weeks is far too short a time to gain something and grow.
But it’s enough time to service and tune up.
If each of us has been building our skills through training and classes until now, then during these two weeks we’ll optimize that.
“To be honest, now that we have time, I want to head straight to the capital.”
Frondier let out a sigh.
Arald, who was next to him, shook his head.
“You mustn’t get impatient. More certain preparation is what raises our odds.”
“Yeah. If it’s a war that would start just because we’re two weeks late, then we should assume we’re already too late to stop it.”
Riri chimed in.
Selena spoke with lowered eyes.
“Civil war, war, an incursion by gods or demons...... whichever it is, it’s an incident too great to pass quietly. If there are signs, word will surely reach here.”
“You’re all so composed. That’s reassuring.”
Frondier said with a smile.
“......Um.”
And in the meantime,
Vasileo, still not used to the mood, raised his hand.
“You’re all so calm. Even though a war might break out. And gods and demons might show up, no less.”
“It’s all because of this guy.”
Elodie poked Frondier in the back.
“Look at this blithe, peaceful face. Everyone’s being fooled by this face.”
“......I’m not particularly blithe. I’m taking this matter seriously in my own way.”
“Of course you should. Everyone’s putting their trust in you.”
Frondier and Elodie spoke without reserve. Vasileo stared blankly at that.
So what he’d seen in the staff room until now had all been an act. For some reason, it gave him the creeps.
“Of course, part of it is thanks to our leader having that kind of face,”
Riri said with a chuckle.
“But also everyone here has war experience.”
“......I see.”
Vasileo had heard the circumstances from Frondier. It was the condition for becoming Frondier’s disciple.
Of course, there was also that dreadful condition that once he heard, he couldn’t turn back, but because he hadn’t known the situation, Vasileo hadn’t even realized it was a dreadful condition.
“To think Teacher Frondier was chased off another continent and came here— I still can’t believe it.”
At Vasileo’s words, everyone’s expressions turned subtle.
They sometimes forgot, but it was an undeniable reality.
Frondier had been driven out of the Empire. On suspicion of being a demon.
“He became a hero in war and saved the nation, only to be branded a demon by that nation’s people.”
Vasileo spoke with an aggrieved face as if it were his own affair.
Watching him, Frondier opened his mouth.
“The truth is,”
“Yes.”
“I can’t really feel it either.”
“Pardon?”
Frondier gave a small laugh.
“Whether I was driven out, or I ran away; whether I was hated by everyone, or seen off...... I’m not so sure anymore.”
Frondier briefly recalled when he had left that continent.
Of course, the many people and the Zodiac gathered in that plaza had sent him looks of suspicion and resentment.
But not a single person who had formed ties with him had turned their back on him.
So it was with the Emperor and Empress, so it was with his family, so it was with his colleagues and friends at Constel, and so it was with some of the Zodiac who had believed in him.
“I’ll go back someday.”
“......Because you have family and friends there?”
“That too, of course.”
Frondier awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“My mom gave me an order.”
─On the day I return here, all who have slandered me will beg forgiveness,
─and I will bear no wounds whatsoever.
The truth is, Frondier still doesn’t know how.
How could the fact that he isn’t a demon be conveyed to the continent of Falind?
That may end up being harder than dealing with this upcoming war.
“Come to think of it, I’m curious.”
A thought occurred to Frondier and he tilted his head.
“What everyone’s doing around now.”
Frondier had formed so many great connections there. With the Emperor and Empress, a hero of the continent, and someone close to a great archmage in the mix, nothing more needed to be said.
How were they faring now? Since Frondier had put out most of the immediate fires, were they spending peaceful days? Or were there still other threats left that Frondier didn’t know about?
I’m not worried, though.
He had many people he could trust, but among them, there was just one.
Aster was there.
On that alone, Frondier could confidently say there was even less to worry about there than here.
“......Frondier.”
Watching him, Elodie smiled brightly.
“I miss them all.”
“Yeah.”
Frondier nodded in deep agreement.
***
Two weeks remained until departure for the capital of the Palma Empire.
Frondier still had school duties left, but once those were done, he spent most of his time on Magic–Combat Combined.
Because seeing Vasileo had changed his mind.
At first I just needed a space for myself, but unexpectedly student interest seems high.
Combining magic and combat. It’s something everyone shies away from.
Strictly speaking, they think it’s a waste of time.
It’s hard enough to reach a realm even if you dig straight down one path, and yet to try and do both. They’re afraid they won’t master anything properly.
But if the one teaching it is a new teacher who has the attention of all Atlas students and, moreover, offers a sure guarantee of skill, then it’s a different story.
Students don’t hate Magic–Combat Combined. They’re afraid they won’t do it properly.
If you can actually display versatile power in both magic and combat, it’s something many will admire.
In other words, if I build the curriculum properly and it shows results, promising students will come to this class.
The biggest advantage is that it doesn’t discriminate between magicians and warriors.
To think simply, if Frondier were a teacher who only taught magic, he’d have no occasion to meet Ias. If he were a combat-side teacher, he’d have no occasion to meet Vasileo.
From the very first moment he entered this world, Frondier knew, to the point of pain, the need for companions. If they’re talented, he’s overjoyed to have them regardless of field.
But if, by handling only one field, he failed to discover gems in the other, nothing could be more wasteful.
For now, Frondier was doubling in both fields, but if this class functioned properly, that wouldn’t be necessary.
Besides, everyone still thinks of me as a magic teacher. The fact that Ias or Glaukos didn’t come to me directly until this class proves it.
In that sense, Magic–Combat Combined was a class he wanted to do properly, if at all.
Above all, it would directly aid Frondier’s own growth.
“So,”
Frondier sighed in the Magic–Combat Combined classroom.
“I’m still building the curriculum, you guys.”
To the students still gathered there.
“Yes. We’ll wait.”
“Just watching will probably help.”
“I just came.”
Vasileo, Glaukos, and Ias were here again.
To think they’d come out here even during an actual break.
If you’re a teacher, that kind of diligence is touching enough to bring tears to your eyes, but unfortunately, Frondier only felt tired.
Vasileo, that figures.
He’d known Vasileo would come. Vasileo himself had said in advance he’d wait in the Magic–Combat Combined classroom.
But Glaukos and Ias, who had been rather thoroughly scolded, had come back without losing heart.
Glaukos looked around.
“But I don’t see Senior Pielot.”
Then he clenched his fist.
“Heh heh, that means I’m taking one more step forward.”
“Whether Pielot’s here or not, you advance as much as you walk.”
“Well, that’s true, but...... Huh? You’re right?”
At Frondier’s words, Glaukos tilted his head instead.
Frondier sighed.
“Pielot has a separate class.”
“What? That’s cheap! I want separate classes too!”
Glaukos spoke up, but Frondier shook his head.
“Don’t think of it that way. It’s because Pielot isn’t suited to this class yet.”
“Not suited?”
“Right. Of the bunch, his skill is the roughest.”
“Rough......? Senior Pielot?”
Glaukos seemed unconvinced.
He’d lost in a one-on-one spar against Pielot just the other day. The man had tremendous proficiency and experience.
That senior is rough?
“To be honest, I feel like I’m the worst in that regard......”
Glaukos volunteered. That very point had created an opening and made him lose to Pielot.
Frondier said,
“It’s fine. Pielot’s case is the odd one.”
It was still hard to understand, but Glaukos nodded for now. Anyway, what mattered was that he could take Magic–Combat Combined.
“Ias.”
Then Frondier approached Ias.
Vasileo and Glaukos tensed slightly.
On the day Glaukos and ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Ias had been flattened under Frondier’s Heukcheon, Ias had been the last to remain.
So they didn’t know what Frondier and Ias had talked about.
“......Yes.”
Ias looked at Frondier and answered.
“Have you decided?”
Frondier asked.
At those words, Ias lowered his eyes. As if he had no face to show, he answered softly.
“I haven’t yet.”
“......Good.”
But as if that was exactly the answer he wanted, a smile spread over Frondier’s face.
Frondier spoke to them all.
“Since you came anyway, I’ll explain: this class won’t teach you magic or combat skills beyond regular lessons. Learn those elsewhere. This isn’t the place for that.”
At that, Vasileo tilted his head.
“Then what do we learn?”
“This is Magic–Combat Combined. As the name says, we’ll assume situations where combat and magic are mixed. And most real battles are like that. Enemies don’t come packed with only warriors, nor do magicians just stand far back and fling spells. They make the combination that’ll trouble you most. Monsters are worse. Even if their movements aren’t as precise as humans, they’ve got claws and fangs that are more than powerful enough. On top of that, there are swarms of them that use magic too.”
As Frondier said, the stronger monsters grow, the closer they get—if compared to humans—to what you’d call a “magic swordsman.”
They try using anything and everything. Magic and status ailments like flame, electricity, and poison, plus their own menacing spines and claws.
“To face those things, in the end you need to understand their attacks. That’s the purpose of this class.”
“......Wasn’t this class to become magic swordsmen?”
Glaukos asked. He’d come believing that for sure.
Frondier answered.
“I’ll present methods for that too, but you don’t have to. The aim of combining magic and combat is, ultimately, to make you experience and understand both sides. Whether you use both is your choice.”
“You want us to try it first and then decide?”
“You don’t know until you try.”
Glaukos nodded.
He truly hadn’t considered actually using magic himself. He’d thought it meaningless.
But from Frondier’s standpoint, whether magician or warrior, they exist to defeat the enemy in the end.
Frondier had learned from Zodiac Monty.
If you drop your sword, you should at least throw sand.
And if, among the things you can throw, there’s something better than sand, there’s no reason not to have it.
“This class isn’t here to make you become magic swordsmen.”
Frondier said,
“It’s to make you stronger.”
The three pairs of eyes gleamed.
