Reina, the imperial general, was very strict with Sera.
No, to be honest, it would be difficult to even use the expression “strict.”
From the beginning, she had no intention of passing Sera. Originally, she had no plans to send her to the battlefield.
Because Sera was an ordinary person.
Ariel was born with the power of starlight, and Clana was born with the constitution of a Saint. It was not easy for Sera, born as just a human, to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
It was close to impossible.
As time passed, that gap would only widen.
The Hero had the potential to further awaken the power of starlight, and Clana could purify demons with her divine power alone.
What could Sera do in between?
She was outstanding, but in the end, she was at the level of a student.
Reina thought she was not yet ready to go to the battlefield. Moreover, it was not an ordinary battlefield, but by the Hero’s side.
Not everyone could become like Sertia.
For an ordinary human to join the Hero Party and be active, they had to be someone with at least Sertia’s level of talent.
To test that, Reina blocked Sera’s way. As a trial and wall to hinder her, she checked how much Sera could do.
And,
“……”
Sera proved it.
Despite countless defeats, she did not give up, and the more duels continued, the faster she grew.
The movements she showed at the end were especially impressive, and they surprised Reina.
“Is it a new era?”
So she had to acknowledge it.
That Sera already had the qualifications.
That she had the right to move forward.
Perhaps this was the new era Sertia had spoken of before she died.
How many years ahead had she foreseen before her death?
‘I don’t know.’
Reina, who had finished her last lesson with Sera, quietly stepped aside.
***
After finishing the duel, Sera staggered as if out of strength. Iria caught her as she was about to fall to the floor.
“Ah, thanks. Actually, I’ve been reducing my sleep and dueling day and night for the past few weeks.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m a bit tired, but it’s okay. Despite how I look, I don’t have any external injuries. Even though I dueled so much, not a single small wound appeared. Does that mean the difference in skill is that wide?”
“Hmm.”
Certainly, Reina seemed very proficient in dueling with students. She only showed an appropriate difference in strength and never harmed the student.
It could be said to be the ideal appearance of a professor.
“And this is a secret, but Reina’s main elemental attribute isn’t ice. But even so, her skill is amazing, isn’t it?”
She was one of the strongest Imperial Generals.
Considering that Freya, who was the first, cut off one of Iria’s arms, and Albert, who was the second, inflicted serious injuries on her, Reina would be slightly below that level.
From the beginning, she was not an opponent a student could win against. It was impressive enough that Sera had directly confronted her.
Perhaps she had also overcome a wall like Ariel.
Sera’s talent was enough for even Iria to take notice of. Wouldn’t she be comparable to Sertia later on?
Sera, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, looked quite tired, unlike her usual appearance.
Her mana was exhausted, and her breathing was ragged. It showed how much she had devoted herself to training without regard for her body.
With her mana depleted, Sera’s memories were visible even without using magic.
The emotions she felt and the many complicated thoughts.
“Did she think she was falling behind?”
Ariel was strong, and Clana was an irreplaceable asset.
But Sera thought she had nothing unlike those two, so she drove herself like crazy.
But,
“Does she not know?”
Iria had doubts while looking at Sera.
Did she really think she had nothing? Far from being able to stand beside them, she was the one who would rise the highest among those three.
Because she had the same thing as Sertia.
Sertia had overwhelmed Iria, even if only for a moment. If her condition had been normal, it would have been Iria who died.
If Sera’s future self was like Sertia, who was stronger than Iria, then she was the most terrifying opponent she would face in the future.
I pondered whether to tell Sera that fact, but in the end, I didn’t.
She’ll figure it out one day.
“Do you want to rest?”
“No, I feel a bit refreshed now. Shall we walk for a bit?”
Sera got up from her seat with Iria’s help.
I nodded.
***
There were about three days left before the newly formed Hero Party embarked on its journey for the first time in twenty years.
Now, it was truly just around the corner.
I had finished all her preparations to leave. However, still unsure how to spend the remaining three days, I decided to spend them with the other party members.
Right now, I am walking with Sera. Her red hair fluttered in the gentle mountain breeze.
Sera, taller than me, had a wider stride, so I fell slightly behind.
Iria was looking at Sera’s back as she walked ahead.
“Are you ready to leave? Did you say goodbye to your friends?”
In that situation, Sera turned towards me and asked.
I nodded.
“I did.”
“Did you finish everything before coming? To the point where you have no lingering attachments to this place?”
“……”
Lingering attachments.
I scratched my cheek and looked back at the path I had walked through the Academy.
The floor I had stepped on, and the walls inside the building had collapsed and been repaired.
Professors carrying thick books heading somewhere, students of that age having silly chats with smiling faces.
Various things entered her sight.
“Yes.”
I nodded again.
Somehow, I spent a rather long time in this place called the Academy, but nothing remained for me.
Lingering attachments.
I didn’t know about that. Maybe I had known and forgotten.
All I could do was nod hollowly.
Sera made an expression that seemed to be deep in thought.
“Hmm, I see. You’re really strong, Iria.”
“……?”
“I think I’ll have too many lingering attachments. Of course, it’s good to be with you all. It’s really good… but knowing I have to leave, I don’t think I can erase the feeling of regret.”
Unlike Iria, Sera is human.
A human who feels emotions and lingering attachments.
That’s why it was complicated. Sera was walking down the corridor with a more blank expression than before.
“Unlike you, I haven’t even said goodbye to my friends yet. Because I’ve been holed up in seclusion and only training for a while.”
“Did Sera have friends too?”
“Hey, are you making fun of me?”
That wasn’t really my intention.
Sera looked up at the sky, seeming to be momentarily lost in thought.
“Of course I have friends. I’m a second-year student at the Academy. I’ve known the people in class since then.”
“……”
“I was like that originally, but I’ve been thinking I’ve been too focused on training recently. This space of memories that I may never return to… I might be wasting my days a bit.”
Sera quite liked Academy life.
She thought it was a gift of this age that she would never experience again after graduation.
“Well, it’s not like I’m saying I want to stay here. If I had even the slightest thought of that, I wouldn’t have charged at Professor Reina like that.”
“So what do you want to say?”
“Since being here could be a precious time that will never come again, enjoy it while you’re here. I’m a second-year student, and I’m dying of regret, so I was just curious about what you, a first-year student, were thinking.”
Sera said that while patting my head.
“From now on, the places we must go will be a difficult and cruel path. I wondered if you had made a hasty decision because of your young age. Ahem, in short, it’s a senior’s concern.”
“But you’re only one year older than me.”
“Well… In terms of age, it may seem like that. But there are things you only see when you become someone’s senior.”
Sera, who had been patting Iria’s head for a while, lowered her gaze and met Iria’s eyes.
“Iria, if you have a cute junior later on, you’ll understand how I feel. Yes, definitely.”
“……”
“Don’t you still have places to go? There’s not much time left to stay in the Empire. I hope you spend the remaining time without regrets.”
With those words, Sera turned her back. Saying that she still had a mountain of things to do.
Left alone again, I walked down the Academy corridor, keeping Sera’s words in mind.
Wasting time.
It was something I had never thought about before.
After pondering what to do with the remaining time, I decided to find her other companions this time.