The Weakest F-Rank Who Breaks the System

Chapter 50: Are they together?

"Huh?!" Clara couldn’t help but raise her voice and look at Lucius. "How is that even possible? That cursed energy could kill us if we don’t have mana!" she exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, that’s how it is." Lucius nodded, but this time—and for the first time—he frowned. "It’s one of the mysteries of this world."

The seriousness in his tone prevented Clara from speaking again.

She froze and looked back at the magical tool.

The entire process she had seen earlier was still happening there—it wasn’t an illusion. They both fell into complete silence, each of them pondering different things.

Five minutes later, Lucius broke the silence, speaking in a calmer, softer tone.

"However, that’s considered a forbidden tactic. That’s why almost no one brings magical tools to the Kalgarth Plains. Anyway, do you understand what I mean about the blood? It’s useful—really useful."

Clara nodded slowly. "Actually... it’s very useful."

"Well, this is where my lessons for you will begin. If we want to skip a couple of classes on these upcoming exams and a few more on the end-of-year ones, we’ll have to break some of the stereotypes about tool-making a little," Lucius said with a smile.

"I don’t know if those are stereotypes... or if you’re trying to shatter the island’s common sense," Clara joked.

"Haha, common sense is what creates stereotypes, Clara. So we’re just going to change the rules of the game."

And so, an intense weekend full of learning, training, and a few laughs in between began.

Old Garen and Old Kevin learned a lot from what Clara was learning. Especially Garen, who was more of a quick learner in that regard.

This had been the busiest weekend Clara had ever had since she was born.

And yet, she enjoyed it.

At first, she thought things wouldn’t go well. She no longer doubted Lucius, but rather herself. She believed she wasn’t capable of learning so much in such a short time, but Lucius’s explanation was clear and very simple.

She had no trouble understanding. And whenever she struggled with something, Lucius would explain it with a simple, practical example that, after thinking it over for a moment, she would eventually grasp.

Time passed.

Soon it was Monday again.

Lucius and Clara went to the academy together that day.

"Sigh." Clara let out a sigh and sniffed her arms and hair. "Why do you guys like shampoos with such... non-existent scents?" she asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Lucius turned to look at her and laughed. "Well, we don’t worry about that much, you know? We’re not like you ladies, who have a different shampoo for every day."

"Shouldn’t you worry more? This shampoo doesn’t smell like anything!" she exclaimed, complaining.

Lucius wanted to sniff himself to see if it was true, but he’d put on cologne. Naturally, he wouldn’t be able to detect the shampoo’s scent.

Still, he remembered that smell... Wasn’t it pretty strong?

"I think your sense of smell is just off," he replied.

"Huh? My sense of smell is perfectly fine—that’s why I can tell!"

"Well, I can assure you that that shampoo smells quite strong. Maybe not as strong as my cologne, but it does smell good." Lucius shrugged.

"That’s exactly what I mean! To you guys, as long as it’s not perfume, anything that smells even a little bit is already too strong. Tsk, your noses are off, and your choice of shampoos is even worse."

"Sigh. Clara Thorne, can you stop complaining? It’s not like you’re going to use that shampoo all week—you only used it over the weekend when you showered twice, that’s all!" Lucius scolded her, but Clara ignored him.

She’d keep insisting on this. Men needed to use more shampoo.

"And I only showered twice because your house doesn’t have running water. Don’t think I’m dirty!" She pointed at him.

Their exchange—and that... peculiar closeness—caught the attention of others who were also coming in.

The guys’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads, and the women were even more shocked.

"Those two... Are they a couple?"

"Did the beautiful Miss Clara of the Thorne family just say she spent the whole weekend with that scum from the Asturias family? That can’t be!"

"Shut up, you idiot. Who are you calling scum? He’s the Rising Star now!"

"No, how could he have defiled my Goddess...!"

The conversations coming from all around made Lucius and Clara feel embarrassed, and they began to walk faster. Clara, in particular, immediately dragged Lucius into the Tool Creation Department.

And as soon as they set foot inside, they bumped into another group.

Lucius glanced at them and paid them little mind. But he was stopped.

"Oh? It’s you," said Kael Vorren, greeting him as soon as he saw him. His followers thought there was trouble, so they stood in front of Lucius, causing Lucius and Clara to stop in their tracks.

Lucius looked up, ignored the others, and focused on Kael, who was standing next to him. "What do you want? Wasn’t last time enough?" he asked.

His passive-aggressive response surprised Kael, who had only wanted to say hello. However, when he saw that his friends had stepped in front of him, he understood.

"No, no. It’s not that," Kael said quickly, pushing his friends out of the way. "I’m actually just surprised to see you. It’s not usual for Class A and Class F to arrive at the same time. Do you have morning practice today?" he asked.

Lucius frowned at his friendly tone, but nodded.

"We have to train a lot today," Lucius replied.

"I see. I heard your plan is to try to move up a class, but not on your own. Are you going to do it with Miss Thorne?" Kael asked.

Even Clara found that kindness strange.

But Lucius replied, "We’ll do it with the whole class. Not just the two of us."

Kael’s eyes widened.

"Go up with the whole class? Heh heh. Who do you think you are? Not even Lord Kael would have the audacity to say that." One of Kael’s followers sneered.

"Haha, he probably thinks he’s a real prodigy just because he got a little lucky..." the other one continued. His fingers were pointing straight at Lucius’s chest.

’What a horrible way to behave.’ Lucius shook his head and got ready to leave.