Abandoned by my Childhood Friend, I Became a War Hero

53 – A Little Change

Don’t you resent the evil?

Oznia tried to understand her intentions with this question. However, reading Ion’s always expressionless face was more difficult than any magic.

“I have never thought of that.

So, Oznia answered with only her honest feelings.

I was scared at the time, but… I don’t know anymore.”

“What?”

Oznia looked at Ion with calm eyes. Her voice was calm and soft.

“The fact that he saved me.”

As if Ion had saved him.

As if he also did just that.

Oznia’s expression and tone conveyed only true emotions.

Ion noticed that and fell silent for a while as if he was in trouble.

Oznia could see that the complex and subtle expression on Ion’s profile slowly faded, and in the end, she could see that only a slight embarrassment remained.

As if she had never expected to hear such words.

“… I see.”

In the end, Ion briefly agreed with a calm tone, as she always did.

The day was completely bright outside the window before I knew it. Instead of dragging this story out longer, Ion knew it was time to put Oznia to rest.

“I’ll tell the other instructors, you don’t have to come to class today.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

Ion got up and walked towards the door. And just before leaving the room, she only slightly turned her head to look back at Oznia.

“Get a good rest.”

Then the door was closed.

“… ….”

Oznia felt somewhat familiar from the back of him as he left.

I felt something like an intense sense of déjà vu that was hard to put into words, but the moment passed by.

It was just a visceral feeling that was hard to explain and couldn’t organize in my head.

In the end, Oznia didn’t understand what she was feeling.

I just looked at the place where Ion left for a long time.

***

Monday morning.

As the weekend passed and the week began, the Opal Black class students changed into gym clothes and headed to the forest for the morning curriculum, physical training.

If you ask why she bothered to go to the woods when there is a gymnasium dedicated to the dormitory, Marian really, really wanted to know why.

And it was only then that the Opal Black class students who were walking through the woods could see first-hand the traces of the destruction last night.

“Isn’t it really that even a large monster went on a rampage?”

“Maybe….”

Schurz nodded her head in agreement with Marian’s astonished self-talk, and Titania, an elf who cherished and loved the forest, spoke with a slightly tired expression.

“All the spirits have fled….”

There is some distance between the forest where Ion ran and the dormitory, so even the road they passed through was not completely damaged.

However, in the aftermath of the shock transmitted from afar, the sight of thick tree branches broken mercilessly and leaves scattered everywhere made Marianne feel a little frightened.

Even though it wasn’t the scene of a direct battle, this amount of damage was due to the aftermath.

What the hell happened last night… Each student came up with various imaginations in their heads.

Soon, the Opal Black class students arrived at the back mountain, which is mainly used for physical training.

Instructor Ion was already waiting for them on the back mountain.

“Come here. Let’s start class.”

Marian said with a slightly tired expression about going up and down the hill again and again today.

“Instructor. Is the road messed up?”

“… ….”

As they said, the hiking trail they often use looked like a mess, with thick trees broken from the aftermath of last night, and trees uprooted from flying somewhere.

After a brief silence, Ion spoke calmly in a nonchalant tone.

“You can do obstacle running.”

At that, all the students in Opal Black class were at a loss for words.

***

A week has passed since the beginning of the semester, Instructor Ion’s class has undergone some changes.

He carefully observed his students during his last week, carefully considering their needs and needs.

As a result, instead of simply having all students run the same way, they began offering individually tailored lessons to each student.

However, this change was unfortunately not accepted positively by students.

“Ughguk… !”

Unlike usual, Gwynn didn’t go up and down the mountain. To be precise, climbing once was enough.

She is currently at the top of the mountain behind her, wearing four weights, one for each of her arms and legs, stretching her arms forward and maintaining her sitting posture with her legs. . She was the so-called magician posture.

“Hoo-wook! Whoop!”

Beside her, the batar kept going back and forth for a distance of about 15 meters, repeating rapid acceleration and rapid deceleration. Unlike mountaineering where you can rest after completing 20 reps, there was no limit to the number of times for these two.

The two had to continue training until Ion filled the time limit, and during that time, if his posture was slightly disturbed or his speed slowed down even slightly, Ion’s rebuke immediately fell.

“Don’t move. Hold on, thinking that her body is hardened like a stone. The basics of swordsmanship start from the lower body. Your swordsmanship is more than enough, but never lacking. Didn’t you already want to play after taking two days off?”

“No evil… !!”

“Then hold on. And Vatar, you don’t need to build up any more strength. Too much is as bad as not enough. What you need now is a knack for moving your body. First of all, I will start with training to develop agility.”

“That quickness, heung! If you grow up, heck! Can you destroy the forest like the instructor?!”

“… It depends on how hard you work. And running isn’t just about leg strength. Do you use only your arms when punching? You tend to rely on strength and neglect other things. Stay in good form and focus on running.”

Ion corrected Batar’s posture and looked at her. She was there to check on other students going up and down the mountain.

“Marian!”

“Yes, yes heh… !”

Marian didn’t think Ion’s voice was that loud, but it was strange that Ion’s voice could be heard clearly even from the ridge below.

However, there was no time to admire it. It wasn’t enough that I was out of breath from climbing the mountain right away, so I was on the verge of passing out of breath. Of course, in a really emergency situation, Ion would of course help.

Ion, who had been at the top a while ago, kicked the ground a few times before arriving at Marian’s side. I barely noticed how fast he was moving.

Ion walked with a leisurely pace beside Marianne who was breathing heavily.

“If you walk like that, your knees will give out or your ankles will break before you do your reps. Your posture is important even when you take a step.”

“That, that kind of thing… hahahaha, that’s easy to say… ! hahahaha, I’m dying because I don’t have enough stamina right now… How is it possible to walk with correct posture!?”

“It’s not your strength, it’s your muscles. Seriously, honestly. Lots of problems overall. Do you usually not exercise at all?”

“A noble lady… mandible… Something to exercise… What do you have?”

“Your grandfather must have raised you too much. But not me. If you complete this number, I will tell you about the bare-body exercise.”

This demon… !! Marian struggled to take one step at a time, holding back the desire to shout.

Actually, since she was a noblewoman, she didn’t exercise, but next to her, the elven princess Titania, who was higher than the noblewoman, skillfully climbed the mountain, and even the royal family, Elizabeth, climbed the mountain so calmly.

Moreover, Marian allowed Ion to clear the obstacles herself so she could walk on her gentle ridge, but Titania and Elizabeth were climbing and descending the ridge full of obstacles much faster than Marian from the beginning.

“Marian! Cheer up! There’s a little bit left!”

“Good job, Marian. I’ll go first.”

“Mandible, mandible… Wow!”

I know you shouldn’t think like this, but both of them were very mean.

If you think about it, Titania has elf blood and Elizabeth has dragon blood, but since I am a pure human, wouldn’t it be unreasonable to compare them with me from the beginning?

Marian comforted herself like that.

So she bit her teeth and desperately climbed the mountain one step at a time, but this time, Marianne saw Saladin passing by her side.

“Hey, hey… !”

He was running up and down the mountain, gasping for her breath, unlike the two who had passed Marian before him. Of course, he was still climbing the mountain faster than Marian.

Nevertheless, Marian didn’t look so mean. Even at a glance, it was clear that she was pushing beyond her limits.

And the reason was so obvious.

Right behind him, Schurz was climbing the mountain.

“Marianne, I’ll pass.”

“Please… don’t talk… Just go… !”

Schurz passed Marianne like the others, unintentionally touched her pride again, gave her a brief glance of hers, and continued up her mountain following Saladin.

“Saladin, why don’t you slow down a bit?”

“Ha… Are you tired already? Then you should take a break.”

“What? hahahaha! No way. I was worried because you looked tired.”

“Oh, yes? Then shut your mouth and keep running.”

Marian felt a bit pitiful as she watched the conversation between the two.

‘Anyway, boys….’

From Marianne’s point of view, the two had a rivalry with each other.

And men often become childish when a sense of competition arises.

Saladin provoked Schurz and caused unnecessary conflict, and Schurz was also annoyed by Saladin’s provocation in a difficult situation.

“You seem very tired? I’ll go first.”

“What? Do not be ridiculous. Who… !”

Shurz conserved his stamina and overtook Saladin ahead of the summit, probably on foot, and Saladin was indignant at that and took out his remaining stamina and strengthened his legs.

That was the moment.

Saladin didn’t check the floor properly and tripped over a protruding stone.

“Ah! sh*t… !”

“Saladin!”

Marian was surprised at that appearance, and Schurz, who was walking ahead, looked back and was surprised.

“Ouch… !”

Saladin fell to the floor and grabbed her by the ankles. He seemed to have twisted his ankle in an unsteady fall, his expression contorted with pain.

At that time, someone reached out to Saladin. Thinking that it must be Schurz, Saladin instinctively pushed his hand away.

“I don’t need it- oops!”

However, contrary to Saladin’s expectations, it was Elizabeth who reached out to him.

Elizabeth’s palms were slightly reddish from the rather rough push.

Seeing this, Saladin’s face hardened in an instant, but Elizabeth asked Saladin with a calm face as if nothing had happened.

“Are you okay?”

Saladin, who had a face mixed with embarrassment and fear, bowed his head in humiliation when there was no change in Elisabeth’s reaction, and bit her lips tightly. Then he said, rising from the floor on his own.

“… Are you okay.”

Soon after, Saladin began to struggle alone, limping on one of his legs.

“Saladin, you-“

“All right.”

Shurtz tried to support him, but Saladin flatly refused, perhaps considering it a humiliation.

“Hmm….”

Ion was silently watching the situation.