Chapter 559 (1/2)

The first mock battle class had ended.

The tattered students then lined up with dejected looks on their faces. There also seemed to be a hint of regret on their faces.

I wonder how they could still make such faces after being beaten so badly… It seemed they had more guts than I had imagined.

「Good job, today’s mock battle class is over! Make sure to properly take care of your equipment!」

「「「Yes!」」」

「And you, Charon」

「Yes, do you need something from me?」

「Guide Fran-dono to the student changing room」

「Understood」

I’m glad that Charon was in this class. If it were any other student, they would have been scared of her for sure.

But it seemed, even Charon was a little scared of her. After all, she had punched her in the stomach just like the other students and had beaten her up with sword techniques.

However, it was probably because she had had some conversations with her before and knew that she was someone she could talk to if she was not in battle.

「Well then, let me be your guide」

「Nn. Thanks」

Fran then began to walk with Charon as her guide.

But there was no conversation between them, just silence. Well, Fran was just like her usual self, but Charon seemed to be a little nervous.

But, it was Charon who broke the silence between them.

「Umm…」

「Nn? What is it?」

「Well, what did you think about us today?」

What a vague question to ask. Perhaps she had asked that as she couldn’t bear the silence and said that without thinking. Fran looked confused in response to her question.

「What do I think?」

「I know that we are not as good as Fran-sama, but―」

「Hey」

「Y-yes?」

「Doesn’t need the honorific」

「Eh?」

「Just Fran is fine」

Charon looked worried when Fran interrupted her, but she soon felt relieved. But she was a little confused.

「B-but, Fran-sama is―」

「We’re in the same class, so we’re equals. That’s what Weena Rhyn said. Nobles and exiles, strong and weak, it doesn’t matter if they’re in the same class」

That was what Weena Rhyn said to her when she briefly explained the academy to us.

This academy was a very special place. Regardless of their status or honor on the outside, the students were equal under the spirits here. There was no room for nobles to act arrogantly with their power, or for the strong to threaten others with violence.

On the other hand though, the weak wouldn’t be tolerated to slack off because of their positions or weakness, or for commoners to vent their daily frustrations on the nobility.

This also meant that Fran and Charon were now equals regardless of each other’s strength or positions.

For Fran, it was fine for her to call her that while she was being an instructor. But when she was just a student, they were in the same position as students. I guess that was how she saw it.

「O-okay then, Fran?」

「Nn」

「Do you think we’re weak?」

That was quite a difficult question. From Fran’s point of view, they were quite weak. But in the eyes of the world, I’d say that they were reasonably strong. Each of them was as good as an E-ranked adventurer, and they were able to work together as a party quite well.

If their opponent had been an ogre, they would have won without any problem. But their opponent this time was too tough for them.

However, Charon didn’t seem to think so. It was just as if the confidence she had in herself had been shattered into pieces.

「I aspire to become an adventurer, so we applied for the Special Battle class with the goal of making a living by fighting as an adventurer」

「Nn」

「But we were completely outmatched in this mock battle. I didn’t expect us to win, but still, we couldn’t even return a single blow in the end… Can we really become an adventurer like this…?」

It seemed that she was no longer confident with her abilities. When Charon was looking down anxiously, Fran then spoke to her.