The next day, as soon as the morning rolled around, Lucia dragged me to the Academy to catch the first boat.
I did get stabbed, just as the sword foretold, but thankfully, I wasn’t dead.
If I were an ordinary person, I would have kicked the bucket at the moment of the stab, so I suppose I was almost right.
As soon as we arrived at the Academy, Lucia insisted that I needed to be hospitalized and dragged me to the hospital.
I should have settled things with Casey, but for now, I decided to follow Lucia’s lead.
“Um… it’s not really a situation that calls for hospitalization. But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on it for a few days.”
Over the course of the night, my body’s natural healing powers had kicked in, completely healing both my internal and external injuries, so I was in top shape, yet Lucia still trembled anxiously.
I figured if I refused, she might cry, so I reluctantly agreed to stay in the hospital for at least a day.
“Atlas..!! What happened all of a sudden??”
“Did you really get hurt??”
Amy and River were the first to rush in upon hearing the news.
Knowing that I was a Master, the two were ultra-sensitive about my injury.
It was shocking for them to hear someone who usually didn’t get hurt against a Master or a Great Demon suddenly had a hole in their stomach.
“It’s really nothing. Look, I’m fine!”
“It’s nothing? You lost a lot of blood!”
I wanted to downplay it, but Lucia exploded in anger.
In her hands was a golden bear plushie stained with blood.
Now that they knew I had a hole in my stomach, the two began to take things very seriously.
“Atlas got hurt…? You must’ve faced a Master… or did a Great Demon show up??”
“Exactly! You got hurt, so it can’t be nothing! What kind of big incident is happening now??”
“U…uhhh…”
I was too embarrassed to speak.
How could I explain that I was caught off guard and got stabbed by an Expert?
Maybe because I had a record of winning against both Masters and Great Demons without a scratch, Amy seemed to view the situation as extraordinarily serious.
“There’s nothing so extraordinary about facing a Master or a Great Demon… It really wasn’t a big deal…”
“If it wasn’t a big deal, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt!”
“You told us to let you know if anything happened, and now you’re acting all evasive… that’s really disappointing.”
It was too embarrassing to admit I got stabbed because I was careless, but I couldn’t just keep quiet either.
If I didn’t tell them about my injury after asking them to share anything troubling, it would put a crack in our trust.
“… In any case, I have nowhere to run…”
I resolved to swallow my embarrassment and tell the truth.
“I got stabbed by a student for being careless. That’s all there is to it.”
“…A student? What did you do to make them stab you in broad daylight like that?!”
“Uh… I might have disappeared for about three years without contact after saying I’d be right back?”
When I mentioned being out of touch for three years, Amy looked at me incredulously.
“Well, you are at fault there… but that doesn’t mean stabbing is justified.”
“Don’t think too much of it. We used to get along like family, so I’d prefer to resolve it through conversation.”
“…Do families stab each other, though?”
“Isn’t it common? Everyone must’ve had a time when they fought with their family with swords drawn.”
“That’s definitely not common. Atlas… sparring and stabbing are not the same thing. Aren’t we family?”
Everyone stared at me with cold eyes.
“What? Am I the only one who thinks that?”
The night before entering the Knight Order, I had a heated fight with my father, almost to the point of killing each other… though no one actually died.
It seemed like all the members shared a mindset that was as hard-headed as a rock.
The next day, I showed up perfectly healthy to class.
Lucia was worried, but it was more uncomfortable to sit in the hospital when I was already better.
“Wow, it feels like I’ve been giving lectures every day, but this feels like it’s been ages… I guess that means I’ve had a lot going on.”
Andy, who had gotten closer to the classmates, started joking around before the lecture began, causing everyone to laugh.
At that moment, Andy casually turned his gaze toward me.
What’s up with that?
Given Andy’s usual patterns, it meant he likely did something that required sneaky glances at me.
Previously, he had definitely gotten caught by the Commander for mentioning my presence in the Academy.
Now, he was making me uneasy.
“Uh… today we have a transfer student. Since it’s not too late, please help them get settled.”
“Transfer student?”
“There actually is a transfer student coming..?”
“It’s not odd, since the exam is already over, it’s easy with just a recommendation letter.”
It wasn’t strange at all for a transfer student to come, as long as they had a recommendation letter from the Principal.
But it was off-putting that Andy kept glancing at me.
“Alright, come in.”
As Andy said that, he glanced at me again.
Why was he acting like this? But as soon as the ‘transfer student’ with stunning silver hair stepped into the classroom, everything clicked into place.
“!!!”
Upon seeing the transfer student, Lucia sprang to her feet.
She recognized the transfer student immediately.
The finely honed blade-like silver hair, deep ocean-like eyes, and small but bright red lips were unforgettable.
It seemed like she wanted to say something, but struck dumb in disbelief, she simply glared at the transfer student as they entered the classroom in silence.
The transfer student walked right up to Andy and casually addressed the students she would be grouped with.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Casey.”
What is she doing here?