Leila had returned to the magic department.

'Celes sister?　What's going on?
What, man, it's nothing?

　Celestia has been acting strangely since this morning.
　She is somewhat absent-minded, even though she is usually doing her best to clean the house.

　When Leila calls out to her, she begins to get flustered and for some reason refuses to make eye contact.

''What?　Sis?
"~~~~

　When I turn around and look into her face, she turns bright red and looks away.
　As expected, Celestia thought it was rude, but Celestia shook her head, "No, no, I'm not........

Oh, um....can I ask you one question...?
What?
''Well...Ki, the boy from the martial arts department who was in the duel yesterday...are you acquainted with Leila?''
You mean Ark?
Oh, Mr. Ark?　........You say that, don't you?

　Celestia recites in a whisper, "Ark-san........" while asking back that.

''Yes!　Leila and I are twins!
Huh, twins....no wonder they're so similar....

　Celestia goes further to the core of the matter.

''Can I ask you one more thing?''
Okay!
About four years ago, when the Demon King's army was threatening humanity, had you ever been to this city?
'Yes?　I was with my mom and dad and also Ark!

　Hearing those words, Celestia nodded deeply.

''Well, there's no doubt about it........then, he saved me at that time.......''


　　　◇ ◇ ◇


　When I returned to the martial arts department, I decided to talk to Ranta to find out what happened during this replacement period.

'What, you're back already?'
What does that mean...?

　For some reason, Ranta is disappointed when he finds out I'm back.

'You didn't do anything weird with Leila, did you?'
I'm not!　....just in time.

　Just in time.

I mean, what did Leila's guy do to take a bath and change clothes?
'It!　I've always wondered that, too!　I've been looking for a chance to do this for years!　The next thing I know, you're gone.
....
I'm just kidding!　I'm just kidding!

　Well, we can hide somewhere to change clothes, and the baths are the worst, and we can make do with magic.

Off topic, but have you got anything else up your sleeve besides dueling?
Hmm, I can't think of anything.

　Good.

Oh, she asked me to join some independent study group.
"Independent seminar?　What kind?
Apparently that's the super high level one where all the students in S class are participating. And then some angry third-years came barging in, wondering why freshman E class was being recruited.

　Apparently, that led to that duel.

"An independent seminar....
I don't even know how he responded. Um, what did I say, that girl's senior - I think it was the third year - yes, Miss Merena.
Miss Melena?

　Where have I heard that before........

　Ah, yes.
　She's the one who was in charge of my entrance exam.

"I heard the other participants are against it, but Melena insists on it. Why don't you go see her if you're interested?
Yeah, I'll do that. ...but first I have to help the teacher.






　I had come to the training grounds.
　As punishment for the duel the other day, I was to help the teacher.
　But why the training ground?

Oh, there you are.

　Waiting there was a muscular, ara-four instructor.
　Because of his appearance, he has been nicknamed a gorilla by the students.

　As I recall, he was the head of the freshman year.
　I never took a class, but I knew he existed.

　I don't remember his name.

'Hello, Ark-kun,'
Miss Melena?

　For some reason, it wasn't just the teachers in the classroom, but Melena was there as well.

'She's Melena from the third year S class. I heard she was in charge of you during the entrance exam.
Yes, I do.

　Dr. Gorilla confirmed it and I nodded.

'She's actually suing me. That it's not right for her to enroll you in E class.
'That's right!　Based on the results of Ark-kun's entrance exam, it can't be anything but an S class!
But I'm not a professional. Normally, just getting in is not an option.
"Unemployed" must be some kind of mistake!　I saw it with my own eyes!　He could easily take down a goblin lord........!

It's true that I'm "unemployed"........

Even yesterday, in a duel, I beat an S-class fourth year in a duel........
Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait. I heard about yesterday's duel myself. It sounds far-fetched, but even if it were true, I would not give credit for a private, forbidden duel.
....

　Melena's lips quirked up in frustration.

"That's why I'm going to find out for myself once again.
'Huh?　Aren't you supposed to be helping the teacher...?
That's just a name. Now we will see how good you are. If I agree with you, you can move up to a higher class.

　Good.
　I thought I was going to have to deal with a lot of cumbersome paperwork, but this looks like it'll be easy.

Good luck, Ark-kun!　I'm going to show you what you can do!
Uh-huh.

　With Merena-san cheering me on, I face Gorilla-sensei a few meters away from him.
　Apparently, they're going to assess my strength through a mock battle.

　But how strong is it?
　I'm even a martial arts teacher, and I'm probably strong in my own right...

　But my mom says, "Basically, you should assume that the adults in the world are much weaker than you.

There's no need to go easy on them.

　Well, I'm saying this, and it's okay to put some effort into it, right?