Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Training with Norn

ANOTHER MONTH had passed. It was still cold out, but the snow was starting to melt, and you could actually see patches of ground here and there.

One morning, I got out of bed as silently as possible, trying not to wake Sylphie. She liked to use my arm as a pillow, so it always took some finesse to extract myself. Heading over to a side room, I changed into my training wear, a lined outfit that looked a bit like a sweatsuit. Sylphie had picked it out for me. It was a little light for winter weather, but when you were exercising, that felt just about right.

Once I’d gotten dressed, I picked up a stone sword that I’d left lying in a corner of the room.

It was a thick, crude-looking thing. I’d made it myself with my earth magic. There was no actual edge to the blade, but it was unusually heavy. That made it a good way to practice with the strength of my new, artificial left hand.

I was actually starting to get a little attached to the thing. Maybe I’d give it a name one of these days. Something like “Tuna” or “Swordfish.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything like sashimi since my arrival in this world. Did nobody here eat fish raw, or what?

“…”

Once I was ready, I gently patted my sleeping wife on the head, silently mouthing the words “See you later.”

“Hee hee…”

Her eyes still closed, Sylphie smiled happily and rubbed her head against my hand. I guess she was half-awake. It was pretty adorable, needless to say. 

Glancing down, I noticed that the covers were a little tangled, leaving her underwear-clad bottom exposed. I gave that a gentle patting, too. You’d never think this girl was already a mother. But then again, Elinalise still had a good figure, too. Maybe it was genetic.

After a moment’s hesitation, I pulled the sheets back over Sylphie. 

We’d been getting back to our normal nighttime activities lately, but it felt a little early to be trying too hard for a second child, so I was trying to be a little more restrained. Even if there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen anyway.

As I left the room, Sylphie called out to me sleepily. “Nn… See y’later…”

Be back soon.

Next, I headed to Norn’s room.

These days, she’d been joining me on my morning training. When she was staying at the house, we’d do it in the yard; when she was staying at the dorm, I’d meet her at the courtyard there. Today was one of her days at home.

“You ready, Norn?”

I knocked at the door, then started to open it.

“Gah! Rud—”

“Whoops. Pardon me.”

She was still getting dressed, so I promptly closed it again.

Norn’s body still hadn’t developed much. I liked slim, diminutive girls just fine, of course, but my little sisters just didn’t do anything for me. Sometimes I found that slightly regrettable, but it was for the best. It was nice that I could be affectionate with them without feeling dirty about it.

Still, the thought that Norn would probably get married someday did inspire a vaguely uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe this was what a father felt watching his daughter grow up?

It wasn’t so bad. I’d have to take Paul’s place and berate her first boyfriend for her. I’m not giving Norn to a bum like you! Get lost!

“Honestly. What’s the point of knocking if you don’t wait for me to say something?”

As I was reflecting on all this, Norn emerged from her room in her exercise clothes, carrying a wooden sword in one hand. Her outfit was a plain, functional thing, with long sleeves on the top and bottom. It was the standard exercise gear from the University; I’d bought her a couple pairs from the school store.

Glancing briefly past Norn into her room, I saw Paul’s sword mounted high up on the wall. In my old world, she probably would have set up an altar with a picture of his face, but there weren’t any cameras here. It was possible somebody had created a magical tool capable of capturing an image, but if so, it wasn’t in widespread use. Without photographs, people tended to use mementos to remember those they’d lost.

“Norn, would you mind if I came into your room for a second?”

“Huh? Uh, that’s fine, I guess…”

I stepped inside. The bedroom smelled a bit like its occupant, the way they do first thing in the morning. If I’d dived into her bed and pressed my face against her wrinkled sheets, I could have filled my lungs with the scent of Norn. Not that I was going to.

Standing right in front of Paul’s sword, I put my hands together. “Dad, Norn and I are going to be training again this morning. Keep an eye on us so we don’t get hurt too badly, will you?”

Once I was done with my little prayer, I bowed my head slightly.

How would Paul have responded to this, anyway? Maybe something like “You’ll never improve without a few injuries, y’know.” Or maybe just “You better not let Norn get hurt, dammit.”

Glancing over, I found Norn kneeling next to me with her hands together in the Millis style.

I had a good view of the cute little whorl of hair on top of her head.

“…”

It didn’t matter what Paul would have said, really. He wasn’t here anymore. I had to play his role now. I had a responsibility to take care of Norn to the best of my abilities. She didn’t have anyone else to turn to, after all.

“Okay then. Want to get going?”

“Yes. I’m ready, Rudeus.”

The two of us headed out to begin another session.

The regimen was simple enough: calisthenics, running, and practice swings.

I called this “sword training,” but at the moment, we were really just working on the fundamentals. Over the last few months, I’d been driving Norn hard to build up her basic stamina.

When I say hard, though, I don’t mean I had her doing the same routine as me. That would have been way too much for to handle. I’d started her off at one-fifth of my training regimen. Norn was only eleven years old, and she hadn’t been too physically active prior to this, so there was only so much I could reasonably expect her to endure.

While she did her practice swings in the yard, I finished up my own upper-body exercises.

“Twenty-five…twenty-six…!”

Swinging a sword at nothing in particular is a simple enough exercise, but that’s part of the reason it takes some real willpower to keep going with it. Norn never quit halfway, though.

I was proud of her for that. She was tougher than she looked.

“…Fifty!”

“Okay, that’s good. Nice work.”

“Haa…haa… Thanks, Rudeus!”

“Let’s wash ourselves off and head back, then.”

After training, the two of us headed into the bath together.

Norn had an unfortunate tendency to trip and fall during our running sessions, which sometimes left her with scrapes or bruises on her knees. I made a habit of looking her over and cleaning them up with healing magic afterward. Sort of like kissing it to make it better, except it actually worked. 

Incidentally, Norn strongly objected to letting me see her naked, so she took these baths in her underwear and with a thin shirt on. I guess she was getting to that sensitive age. It was a pity she hadn’t split that sense of modesty with Aisha. Of course, I always wore underwear in, too, to make Norn more comfortable. 

Still…sometimes I wondered how she’d react if I told her that some guys out there got more excited seeing a woman in a wet, semi-transparent shirt. It might be fun to see, but I was keeping the thought to myself. I didn’t want her to banish me from bathing with her entirely.

A big brother’s got to maintain his dignity, too.

As I was reflecting on this, Norn shot me a look and pouted slightly. “It was just running and practice swings again today. When are you going to teach me how to use my sword?”

“I already am.”

“I’m not talking about just swinging it. I mean, you know…the stances, the techniques.”

So far, I’d been instructing Norn on how to run and swing her sword. Running would build her stamina, and practice swings would build her strength. Until she’d worked on both of those for a while, there was really no point in her learning “techniques.” That was how I’d figured it, at least.

“Hmm, let’s see…”

The girl had been at it for months now, though. She’d probably made some progress.

I gave Norn a looking-over. She had the slender body of a growing kid, but compared to when we were just getting started, the muscles in her arms and legs were somewhat more defined. It was hard to say that she was “in shape” at this point, but a little exertion probably wasn’t going to cause her any injuries. Maybe it was about time I got around to teaching her the most basic stances.

“I guess you’re right. We’ll get started for real after school today, okay?”

“R-really? All right!”

Having rinsed off our sweat, the two of us left the bathroom together.

***

That evening, I met Norn at the University of Magic’s third external training field—an exercise ground located near the edge of campus. I’d already changed into my training wear. 

My sister was in her exercise gear as well, and she already had her wooden sword in her hand. Her face was deadly serious.

We didn’t have the area to ourselves. There were a few robed students training nearby, and others who looked to be out for a walk. We’d also attracted a few spectators, who were obviously curious as to why we were wearing our training clothes at this hour.

It didn’t matter if we had a crowd, though.

“Norn, we’re going to start your real training as a swordswoman today.”

“Yes, sir!”

The girl’s face was shining with energy and enthusiasm. It was obvious how eager she was to learn real “techniques.” It had only been a few months since we started, but I guess the repetitive nature of our basic training had been wearing her down a little.

Still, swinging a sword around in battle wasn’t a game. You’ve got to get the fundamentals down first.

“Just so you know, I’m planning to be tough on you.”

“All right,” Norn said, nodding seriously.

“If we keep at it, you might end up getting upset with me. You might even start thinking I hate you. That’s how harsh I’m going to be.”

“All right.”

“To be honest, I don’t want to make you hate me. But a half-hearted instructor gets his students hurt. If I took it easy on you in training, and then you ended up getting killed in your first real fight, I’d never be able to face our dad in heaven.”

Norn had no real talent with the sword. Certainly not compared to Eris at the same age, at least. I wouldn’t say she was any worse than the average eleven-year-old, but “strength” can only be measured in relative terms.

When you’re fighting someone one on one, the stronger combatant wins, and the weaker one dies. Losing isn’t a valid option.

For Norn to become capable of overcoming any actual threats, she’d need to put in a lot of effort. I needed to train her hard. And she needed to learn a few tricks, too.

“At some point, this might start making you miserable. You might get frustrated with your lack of progress. You might see someone with more talent quickly pass you by. There’s going to come a day when you feel like quitting.”

“…”

“I do know how that feels, for the record. And I couldn’t really blame you, or anyone else, for giving up in the face of adversity.”

“…”

Norn scowled a little at that.

Not surprising, really. From her perspective, it probably looked like I was supremely talented at anything I tried. And in this body, I really was very capable at all sorts of things. But even so, I’d lost many battles. More than once, I’d nearly died. In a sense, Paul had died because I wasn’t strong enough.

I wanted more than anything to keep Norn safe from that sort of danger.

“That said, I don’t want you to give up on the sword, no matter what. If you do, I’ll never teach it to you again, and I’ll never let you use Dad’s sword.”

“…”

“As long as you keep at it, though, I won’t give up on you either.”

Kind of a cheesy speech, I know. Was I even showing that kind of determination myself, come to think of it?

Well…I’d given up on getting much better with the sword, but I had kept up with my training every morning. I wanted to believe I wasn’t a total hypocrite.

“Do you understand, Norn?”

“Yes, sir! I understand completely!”

Norn’s response was quick and forceful. She was looking up at me with flushed cheeks and determination in her eyes. I found myself wondering if I’d looked something like this to Paul, back when I was little. 

Maybe Norn would end up following a similar path…leaving me behind and finding some other master to train her. Once I got her up to the Beginner level, I could always send for Ghislaine or something. Assuming I found out where the woman was.

There was also that Sword Sanctum place off to the west. If I offered enough money, maybe I could lure a Sword Saint away to teach her for a while.

“Glad to hear it. We’ll start off with some running, then.”

“Huh?! Aren’t we training with the sword tonight?”

“Yeah, of course. You’re running with your sword in your hands this time. You have to carry it around everywhere on the battlefield, after all.”

“…”

“I’m waiting for a reply!”

“Sir! Yes, sir!”

Today, our regimen would consist of running, a review of the three basic forms, and a brief sparring session. My intention was to give her a very hard time. She needed to understand this could be painful and scary stuff. I don’t think pain’s an essential part of the learning process or anything, but I felt like it was best for her to realize up front how tough this could be.

There was a chance I’d make her cry. There was a chance she’d hate my guts after tonight.

But even so, I needed to turn my heart to stone. Swordplay wasn’t the kind of thing you pursued as a fun hobby. That was a surefire way to end up dead the first time you faced an actual threat.

“All right, Norn! Follow me!”

“Yes, sir!”

Still feeling a bit anxious despite myself, I set off at a run.

***

“Okay! That’s good enough for today!”

“Th-thank you, sir…”

As the setting sun shone down on us, Norn collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

“I want you to practice the three basic forms I taught you today when you have the time! In the morning, at lunchtime, whenever! Even when I’m not around!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

For our first real training session, it had gone decently.

Once our running was over, I’d launched directly into reviewing the basic “forms,” or movements. After that, I’d thrown her right into a sparring match against me, using wooden swords. I’d corrected her stance and foot movements as we went. It probably wasn’t nearly as complex as the kind of training you’d get from a kendo instructor back in Japan, but this world didn’t have many “rules” for its swordsmen to learn. 

Really, when you got down to it, learning how to fight with a sword is mostly about getting in a lot of practice. Paul had started smacking me around fairly early in our sessions, and Ghislaine had spent a great deal of time sparring with Eris, too. I felt like I had the right general idea.

Norn seemed to be very reluctant to actually take a swing at someone with a wooden sword, so I started off by letting her swing at me freely to help her get over that. I didn’t even defend myself, apart from moving my body so that she didn’t hurt me. She grimaced every time she felt her sword strike home, but I tried very hard to keep a calm, composed look on my face. I wanted her to believe that I could take her blows just fine. 

I think it worked. Probably. Since she’d spent the last several months doing lots of practice swings, her strikes had a decent amount of force behind them. I’d probably have some nasty bruises.

After that, we got to the actual sparring. I smacked Norn around with my sword for a while, then called an end to the session. I took it easy on her, of course, but her arms and legs would definitely be turning black and blue before too long. 

In other words, I’d done harm to my sweet little sister. A part of me was already wondering if I’d made the right choice here. Still, Norn kept swinging back at me to the bitter end. She didn’t surrender or complain, much less break down in tears.

As long as she had this level of motivation, basically any kind of training would be productive.

“What do you think, Norn? That hurt, didn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“Was it too much to take? Do you want to quit?”

“No. I want…to train tomorrow, too.”

“All right.”

To be honest, I wasn’t too confident in my own ability as a teacher.

But if magic was comparable to an academic subject, swordsmanship was more like a sport. There wasn’t really one correct answer, and if you wanted to improve, you had to just keep at it.

“Come here, Norn. I’ll heal you up.”

I was intending to sit Norn down on the ground and use my magic to ease her pain. If she had any bruises under her clothes, I’d have to ask Sylphie to do the honors later.

Then again, Norn was going to be coming home to stay with us tonight, so maybe I could do it if we took another bath together.

I approached my sister and took off her jacket to get a better look at her arms. But then, I sensed that we were being watched.

“Hm?”

Turning around, I saw a group of male students staring at us, illuminated by the setting sun.

How long have those guys been there? Hmm…from the start, maybe?

I’d assumed they were just curious onlookers, but if they’d stuck around this long, they probably had a reason for their loitering. Maybe they wanted something from me.

“Norn, get dressed and wait for me, okay? I’ll walk home with you today.”

“Huh? Uh, right. Okay, Rudeus.”

I cast a few quick healing spells on Norn, then bustled her off toward the changing room.

Once she was safely inside, I headed over to the group of boys. As I drew closer, I realized there were more than ten of them. None of them looked like the popular kind of kid. That was good—maybe we could understand each other.

They were staring at me with open hostility in their eyes, though. When I gazed right back at them, a few looked away awkwardly.

At this point, I was a “normie” with two wives and a kid. But that didn’t mean I felt any scorn for these guys. I wasn’t much different from them in my life, after all. Not that that stopped them from feeling intimidated.

“Do you need something, guys?” I asked.

They looked at each other for a moment, then started whispering and pushing each other on the back. Eventually, one member of the group stepped forward. 

The boy looked to be maybe eighteen years old. He was about as tall as me, but looked gangly and out of shape. His cheeks were bony, and his eyes were kind of shifty. The classic “magician” type, I guess. If you put a pair of glasses on his head, he might look a bit like Zanoba. 

Of course, Zanoba was always full of that bizarre confidence of his. This guy looked more like the self-loathing, resentful type.

“Why are you bullying Norn?” he spat out, glaring at me.

“…Hm?”

Bullying?

I could feel my brow furrowing at the sound of that word.

The young mage flinched at my reaction, but continued nonetheless. “Look, I know Norn’s clumsy and messes things up sometimes. Maybe she accidentally ticked you off somehow. But she tries her best at everything she does, okay? Did you really have to take it out on her like that?”

From behind him, the group muttered words of agreement.

“In the first place, Norn’s never even held a sword before. She didn’t even know how to defend herself! I don’t know what she did, but making her fight you was just too harsh.”

The group concurred again, a little more loudly this time.

“Hrm.”

From the sounds of things, they seemed to believe that I’d forced that sword into Norn’s hands, then beat her up for my own enjoyment under the pretense of “training” her. It was basically the opposite of the truth, but you could understand why they’d reached that conclusion. I wasn’t a very skilled instructor, for one thing. 

In any case, I needed to clear up this misunderstanding. “Well, you see—”

“I know you’re the strongest mage in this entire school. But if you’re going to mistreat Norn like that, we’re still going to fight you for her sake.”

The guy was really working up a head of steam now. There was real determination in his voice. But the chorus of approval from his friends was a lot quieter this time.

In fact, I heard someone mutter “I don’t think I agreed to that” from the back.

It’s sad, but guys like us aren’t particularly tough in groups, either.

…Ah, right. Before I explained myself, there was one thing I needed to understand.

“Okay. Can I ask who you people are, exactly?”

“Huh?!”

His voice cracking, the young mage looked back to his friends for guidance. After a moment, he turned to face me again with an awkward look on his face.

“Uh…what do you mean, exactly?”

“I’m asking how you know my little sister. Are you her friends or something?”

“E-er, no, we just…noticed her last year, when she was a freshman… She always, uh, does her best at everything, so…we’re kind of rooting for her, I guess…”

The guy was stammering now, but once he got these words out, his friends started chiming in as well.

“I noticed her on campus about six months ago…”

“I’m in the same year as Norn. We had practical lessons together, and she kept messing up her fire spell over and over, but…”

“I saw her getting all teary-eyed while this instructor scolded her during magic training, and I just…”

They spoke clumsily, and never seemed to actually finish their sentences. But I still got the general idea. These guys had seen Norn in her classes or training sessions. They’d seen her tearing up as she failed repeatedly, but kept struggling nonetheless. And it had warmed their hearts. 

At some point, they’d banded together to try and offer her a little subtle support from the sidelines. In other words…

Norn had a fan club.

Come to think of it, I felt like Sylphie had mentioned something about this to me at some point. It was understandable. Norn was adorable, after all. I could see where they were coming from. As Norn’s brother, I wanted to encourage their efforts.

“I think I understand the situation now. Thanks for looking out for Norn, everyone. I’m Rudeus Greyrat, her big brother.”

When I lowered my head in gratitude, a surprised murmur ran through the little crowd.

These guys were on Norn’s side. Some of them might be capable of taking things too far, but as a group, they seemed to have nothing but good intentions. It was only right for me to treat them with respect.

That said, I did still need to definitively clear up this misunderstanding.

“As for our training session just now… I know it looked like I was treating her harshly. However, learning the sword isn’t a game. It can be a matter of life and death.”

I proceeded to go over the entire situation in detail.

Firstly, I explained that the whole thing was Norn’s idea. Secondly, I told them that it was dangerous to learn swordplay unless you took it very seriously. And finally, I emphasized that Norn needed to work much harder at it than most people would.

The fan club was a little taken aback at first, but after a while, they seemed to understand where I was coming from. Still, I did hear someone mutter “Did you really have to hit her that hard, though?”

It was a fair question. I wasn’t sure that my methods were correct either. All I wanted them to understand was that I wasn’t picking on Norn maliciously.

I continued my explanation at length, trying to convey my motivations. The faces of the fan club members slowly grew more serious as they listened, and by the end they were nodding reluctantly. These guys were still young, but by the standards of this world they were all adults. They were capable of understanding how deadly serious it was to go into actual battle.

“Rudeus? Is something the matter?”

Just as we were reaching an understanding, Norn had returned. She was wearing something like a poncho over her standard school uniform.

“Oh! It’s Norn!”

“Hello, Norn! You look cute today! As always!”

“Nice job out there, Norn!”

The instant my sister arrived, everyone in her fan club got remarkably creepy.

Still, I could understand how they felt. She was adorable in that outfit. So adorable I found myself picturing her carrying around a leaf umbrella.

“Oh, h-hello there, everyone… Th-thank you.”

Norn flinched in surprise at the sudden barrage of encouragement, then bowed her head respectfully. I noticed she wasn’t getting too close to them, though. I guess she was picking up on the weird vibes here, too.

“U-um, Rudeus, I think I forgot something in my room. I’ll go grab it now, so just wait for me at the school gates, okay?”

Just like that, Norn turned and rushed off toward the dorms. Before she got too far, though, she tripped and fell.

“Guh…”

Norn was a little slow getting up. And once she was back on her feet, she looked back at me for just a moment. Her eyes were glistening.

I suppressed a sigh. Maybe you shouldn’t be running right after you exercised, kid…

Once we got back home, I’d have to give her a massage to help control the muscle pain. She’d need a nice long relaxing bath, too.

“Aw, she is so adorable…”

“Don’t run so fast, Norn… You’re wearing a skirt, remember?”

“I thought the school uniform was a stupid idea at first, but I think I understand the appeal now…”

“She’s an awful slow runner, though.”

“Yeah… If a kidnapper tried to snatch her, she might not get away…”

“If Norn went on the slave market, I’d buy her in a minute. Heh heh.”

“Ooh…imagine living with Norn… Hee hee…”

Hmm…yeah, I’d buy Norn too. Then I’d take her back home and make her a nice, big meal. I’d fill her up with good food, and insist she clean her plate… Oh, I can just see her struggling to finish it all off…

Gah. Wait, no!

Norn was my little sister. I wasn’t going to let anyone buy her on the damn slave market. If someone dared to kidnap her, I’d hunt them down and murder them painfully.

Sound good, Dad?! Don’t get mad at me!

“Ahem!”

“Gah!”

I’d cleared my throat loudly, prompting the members of the fan club to snap out of their disturbing fantasies.

“Guys, I need you to not talk about enslaving my little sister, thanks.”

“S-sorry…”

“It’s all right, I know she’s adorable. You can have your little daydreams, at least. As long as you keep a safe distance from her.”

“Oh. Really?”

Everyone seemed to relax a little at that.

“Yeah. But if you lay so much as a finger on her, you’re going to seriously regret it.”

“Eek!”

It never hurt to be clear about these things. I didn’t think anyone here was capable of getting up to real mischief, and groups like this tended to have a moderating effect on their members…but you never know what someone might do on impulse. The last thing I needed was one of them getting overheated and trying to snatch Norn off the street.

“On another note, what rules has your club agreed on so far?”

“Huh? Our club…?”

“Yeah. This is Norn’s fan club, right? What’s your policy on interacting with her?”

It was very important to have a clear set of guidelines. Generally, the fans agreed not to approach their idol directly, but I’d heard of some cases where people allowed themselves to ask for handshakes or autographs. The handshake thing was dicey territory, though. Sometimes guys would put weird stuff on their palms first. Like gum…or sea urchins. I wanted to make sure that sort of thing was officially forbidden.

“Norn’s…what?”

“What’s a fan club?”

“Huh…?”

To my surprise, though, the guys didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about. It was almost like they’d never even heard of these concepts before. How strange.

“Wait a second, guys. Who’s the person in charge of this group?”

“In charge…? Uh, we don’t really have anyone in charge…”

“Seriously? I need you to explain in detail, please.”

Strangely enough, it turned out that this group hadn’t actually been formed by anyone in particular. They’d been drawn together naturally by their shared appreciation for Norn’s cuteness. Many of them didn’t even know each other’s names.

“I see…”

This was a very dangerous situation.

What we had here was an unorganized mob of uncertain size, united only by an interest in my little sister. In mobs, people are capable of doing things they wouldn’t have the guts to try on their own. For example, kidnapping my adorable little sister, and blaming her for being too cute to resist. 

Unacceptable! Outrageous! Scandalous!

“This isn’t good, guys. At this rate, you’re going to turn into a bunch of criminals.”

“Criminals?! No, no, we just—”

“Sorry, but I know I’m right about this,” I said flatly. “One of you is going to cross the line eventually.”

Not surprisingly, this inspired a storm of denials and protests.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“None of us would ever lay a hand on Norn!”

“I mean, we like Norn a lot, but it’s more like she’s our little sister or something…”

Say what, punk? She’s my little sister, and I’m not sharing!

Wait, wait. Let’s try to stay on topic.

“I believe you guys mean well, but I think we need to set some clear rules here.”

When you wanted to keep a group of people from getting out of control, you had to establish some basic regulations. Once the rules were in place, the members of the group would start keeping an eye on each other. Once you give people a set of rules, even rules as meaningless as wearing the same clothes and the same scarf as you wait to see your idol, the general tendency is to follow them.

Rules arise naturally with time. They come into existence when they’re needed, and fade away when they aren’t. This fan club didn’t have much of a history yet. There hadn’t been enough time for its rules to develop organically.

But until they created some, Norn was in danger. I needed to speed up the process artificially. I wasn’t going to wait around for them to hurt her first.

Somebody needed to make some fundamental decisions right now. Fortunately, the issues themselves were relatively simple and clear-cut. They just needed to promise not to scare Norn or put her at risk. The problem was finding someone to actually propose those rules. It would usually be the leader of the group, but these people didn’t have one.

The guy who’d stepped forward to challenge me was probably the most strong-willed. Could I appoint him as the boss, and let him set the rules? 

Definitely not.

The leader had to understand the responsibility they were taking on, and accept it willingly. Randomly dropping power in someone’s lap was never a good idea.

Who understood the gravity of this situation best, then? Who here cared most deeply about Norn’s well-being?

Me. Obviously.

“All right, then.”

Norn was my little sister, too. My own flesh and blood.

In other words…I was the lawgiver here.

***

In the year 425 of the Armored Dragon Era, a certain organization was founded in the Ranoa University of Magic.

Its name: The Norn Greyrat Official Fanclub.

This group, boasting some thirty members in total, would go on to leave an indelible mark on the history of the University.

The name of its first president, however, is lost to history.

 Legends of the University #3: The Boss can summon thirty flunkies with a single word.