Each day was fundamentally a day of getting ridiculed.
During sorcery tests.
During paired practices.
In all the subjects, Glen continuously lost to the students who were skilled in Hiiragi sorcery.
In the schoolyard.
A practice session involving the whole school was taking place.
"Guah."
Glen was struck with a solid blow and fell.
The one who hit him was a guy by the name of Goshi Norito.
With hair bleached blond, and frivolous drooping eyes.
He was Glen's classmate, of the Goshi House, and no doubt an elite.
Goshi looked hard at Glen and grinned.
"Jeez, with such a weak opponent, this can't even be considered a training."
The students encircling Goshi all laughed together.
"Rather, the hand I used got dirty, which is a pain in the ass."
"Why don't we tell Sensei? We should tell her that everyone's going to have a low morale with such a guy like that in our class."
Goshi nodded and said.
"Yeah, we should do that. In the first place, it's really weird that a weak guy like him got assigned to a class full of elites."
Glen sat up and looked at them. He used his fingers to wipe the corner of his cut lip where he was hit.
Then, a girl standing behind him said to him.
"Hey, don't you feel vexed when they said that about you?"
Turning around, he saw a girl with red hair standing there. It was Jyuujou Mito. For some reason, she was glaring at him with a strangely irritated face,
"In the first place, you weren't seriously fighting right? I kind of felt that you were unmotivated right from the beginning knowing that your opponent is too strong and you can't win."
Glen smiled and said in response.
"But the opponent is the eldest son of the Goshi House you know? There's way someone like me can win......"
But, those words made Mito's eyes turned up suddenly for some reason.
"You don't know anything about the Jyuujou House, but you actually know the second-rated Goshi House, what is the meaning of that!?"
It seemed like he had touched some other raw nerve.
Maybe it was because he had heard that, Goshi said.
"Ah? Who are you calling second-rate?"
"Eh?"
"Screw you Jyuujou, don't get ahead of yourself? This is the only time you Jyuujou House can remain full of yourselves. Once I become the head of Goshi, I'll crush you right away."
On hearing that, Mito smiled mockingly, and took a step forward. She then puffed out her small chest,
"Oh my, did I hit the bull's eye about you being second-rated and made you angry, Goshi-san?"
"Huuh? I'm going to kill you you know? I won't hold back just because you're a girl."
"Then try me. I'll show you the difference in level between the Jyuujou House and the Goshi House."
"I'll kiiiiiiiiiilllll you!"
"Try me!"
And the two of them fought.
Their movements were considerably fast. Their invocation speeds were also pretty fast. The other students who could only call themselves elites in name, were also overwhelmed by their battle.
The teacher did not stop them.
Instead, she told the students to watch how they fight and study them.
And then,
"............"
While looking at them with vacant eyes, Glen stood up. He sighed tiredly.
Upon doing that, from behind him, with his arms folded, his eyes on the fight, Hiiragi Shinya called out to Glen.
"Yaah ~, it has been hard on you to put up an act of getting hit."
Glen looked at Shinya, and after that,
"............"
Without answering anything, he turned his eyes to the fight between Mito and Goshi.
He searched for something useful he could learn from the battle between the two who were at the pinnacles of Hiiragi sorcery.
But Shinya came up beside him and said.
"With your level, you can't learn anything from watching them right?"
"............"
"I've been watching you for the past 10 days, and you seem pretty good at taking hits. In a way that would avoid taking damage, and yet, you would be blown away so flashily......"
But Glen cut him off and said.
"Are you stalking me? Stop looking at me."
"Ah-haha."
Shinya laughed in delight.
"No but, I'd really love to know the real strength of my future comrade in crushing the Hiiragis."
"I'm not your comrade."
"Well well, why don't we spar a bit? It's about time to show me your real strength."
Shinya unfolded his arms. And aimed his fist at Glen.
Instantly, he could tell that the students surrounding them had turned their attention to them. Even Mito and Goshi who had been fighting stopped.
That was how much attention Shinya commanded in this school, and on top of that, his real strength was a head above the crowd.
After all, during the first paired practice in this school, Shinya defeated Goshi with just one hand.
That very Shinya aimed his fist at him and said.
"By the way, I'm going all out. No matter how strong you are, I'd think that it's impossible for you to go easy on me. No matter how skillful you are at taking hits, you'll end up with some broken bones, won't you?"
Glen looked at that fist of Shinya. He then looked up at Shinya's face, grinned, and said.
"Erm, Shinya-sama. I don't think I have enough of ability to be your opponent though......"
"Shut up, and just fight me."
Shinya moved. A spell swirled around his fist. Clearly, it was a means of summoning demon gods to latch on to him. Was that the Vajrayaksa Curse? Or something else altogether?
Anyway, he was serious in hitting him. And furthermore, with the intent to kill.
If Glen did not react, and deal with it appropriately, he might just die.
And then,
"Aah, damn...... it can't be helped."
Glen said to the fist,
"Guah."
A spell swirled around his fist.
He took it right in the chest. The sound of a broken rib was heard. His body went flying in the air. And fell. As it took some time before he reached the ground, he must have been sent flying pretty high in the air.
His consciousness was fuzzy. That was how powerful Shinya's spell-accelerated force was.
"You're kidding me ~. How stubborn can you be? Or, could it be that you're really weak?"
Shinya said as he looked down at him in surprise.
Following that, Mito rushed up to Glen for some reason,
"S-Sensei! Bl-Blood is coming out of Ichinose-kun's mouth!?"
She yelled.
But the teacher did not move. She merely grinned as she looked down at him.
On top of that, he heard voices saying, "as expected, the ability of one from the Hiiragi House is way too different".
Mito's expression then became one of disgust, and she said,
"Hey, what on earth are you guys thinking of......?"
Following that, Goshi, who had hit Glen and smirked at him earlier came up,
"Hey, the way this blood is flowing out, it looks seriously awful doesn't it?"
He said.
But that should not have been the case. Glen had shifted his body at an angle where his vitals should have escaped injury even if a rib broke after getting hit --- but still, his consciousness was fuzzy.
Maybe he messed up a little.
Goshi then said.
"Hey hey hey, someone bring this guy to the infirmary......"
But, at that moment, Glen completely lost consciousness and could no longer hear his voice.
♦
When Glen opened his eyes again, he found himself in a place that looked like a hospital room.
White ceiling.
White walls.
He got up from a bed in that room.
His upper body was naked, wrapped around with several layers of bandages. His chest throbbed in pain. But it was probably not a lethal injury. Then why did he lose consciousness?
"............"
Glen took off the bandages and looked at his wound. The color of his skin on more than half of his chest was blue-black. It seemed like a thick blood vessel beneath it was cut. He lost consciousness because of the lack of blood. There was a sign of an incision on his skin. His blood vessel had probably been tied up.
"...... hm."
Glen nodded to himself as he recognized this.
Then,
"This is not the time to go 'hm'."
A voice sounded outside the infirmary.
A girl's voice.
A girl's voice which he had heard before.
Glen looked in that direction. And there, outside the open door, stood a girl.
Beautiful ashen hair, eyes with black irises.
It was Mahiru.
Hiiragi Mahiru.
She stared at him with a troubled face. With a face that seemed to say she was not sure of what to say at seeing her childhood friend after a long time, she looked intently at him, and said,
"...... you can't just take off the bandages without permission."
Glen pondered about the attitude that he should adopt towards her, and then said,
"Isn't this...... Mahiru-sama...... it's been a while."
And he bowed his head.
On saying that, he could see a small shock reflecting from the depths of her eyes.
And she then said.
"Aah, so this is how it goes."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You aren't talking to me the way you used to."
Glen then answered.
"The situation was different."
"............"
"I'm no longer the ignorant kid I used to......"
But Mahiru cut him off and said.
"Enough of that. Keep quiet."
Glen kept quiet as she ordered. A tinge of anger colored her voice.
Mahiru came into the room.
Glen then said to her.
"Mahiru-sama, your father will be angry if you get close to a person like me."
Mahiru then smiled. Different from the past, it was not just an innocent smile, but a beautiful smile that was tinged with a fleeting sorrow.
"I'm also different from the past. I can make my own decisions. It is the duty of the head house, my duty as a member of the Hiiragis, to worry about the people of the subordinate houses."
She said.
By the way, the Ichinose House had split from the main house and created their own denomination, so strictly speaking, they were not subordinate to the Hiiragi House, but still, Mahiru had probably elected to use those words despite knowing that.
Glen looked up at Mahiru's face. As before, she seemed a little angry.
But he said nothing.
Rather, right now, he did not possess the power that would allow him to say anything to her.
The reason was because nothing had changed since then.
Since the relationship and the circumstances between the Hiiragis and the Ichinoses had not changed.
He then recalled the event that occurred 10 days ago.
He remembered the words of the messenger from the 《Hyakuya Church》.
--- don't you want the power to crush the Hiiragis?
Despite recalling that, Glen said nothing.
Mahiru then said to him.
"...... it has really been a long time, but you won't say anything to me?"
Glen replied.
"There's nothing I have to say."
"............"
Mahiru kept quiet again.
An uncomfortable silence went by in the infirmary, and because of that, they noticed the presence of a clock in the room.
Tock tock tock, unable to bear the strangely loud ticking sounds of the second needle, Mahiru began.
"How's your injury?"
Glen replied.
"No problem."
"I've heard that the appraisal on you...... has been awfully low, but is that for real?"
"If that's what they reported, then it's the truth I suppose."
Mahiru looked hard at Glen.
But he did not know what she wanted to say for now. He did not know what he wanted from her.
No, he did not, but he could not do anything about it.
After these 10 years of separation, regardless of how strong he had grown, the gap between the Hiiragi House and the Ichinose House had not changed. And if that did not change, then the gap between him and her would not change at all.
And she should know that too.
Glen looked up,
"Mahiru-sama, you've become strong, and beautiful over these 10 years, haven't you?"
He said.
On hearing that, Mahiru became surprised for an instant, then smiled happily.
"And a thug like you has learned how to flatter people?"
"It's not flattery......"
"But I'm happy to hear you telling me that I'm beautiful, I guess."
She said.
She pouted her lips in slight embarrassment. Glen looked up at her face but his expression did not change.
"And is there anything you need from me?"
He asked.
On hearing that, her expression turned sad again.
"...... no, I'm just here to ask about your injury."
"Sorry for worrying you. I'm already all right."
"...... is that so?"
"Will there be anything else?"
"............"
Mahiru then shook her head. And as before, she said sorrowfully.
"Nothing."
"I see."
"Yeah. Well then, sorry for disturbing you."
Mahiru looked intently at him, then turned around. Facing her back to him.
And then, Glen said to her back.
"Aah, I forgot. I've heard from Shinya-sama about your engagement. Congratulations."
He could tell from her back that she quivered. Her feet stopped, and then,
"Thank you."
She said without turning around.
And Mahiru left the infirmary.
Glen stared in the direction of the door from where she had disappeared.
He stared straight ahead.
With a dull face, he stared hard at the empty space, at the white wall,
"...... damn. I'm such a jerk."
He said in a groaning tone.
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