The Female Soldier Has Been Told to Infiltrate the Imperial Magic Academy

Chapter 35: Talent

“… Quit?” Ian asked with a bemused look.

“Yes. Why are you so hung up on swordsmanship?” Razé didn’t know about his past so it made her wondered.

“Why are you sa- ah-choo!” Ian sneezed as his body began to cool down after standing in snow for a while.

Razé muttered, “I told you so,” and put a towel on his head and let him held the umbrella after taking away his sword.

She put on her hood and they started to walk back to the dormitory.

“Hey! What do you mean by those words just now?”

After entering the warm building, Ian kept asking for explanation but Razé ignored him and casted a magic to dry his hair and clothes. Blocked by the wind, Ian closed his mouth.

“Hmm. How about this, Ian-sama. First, go take a bath to warm your body. Your muscles are tense. You should take your time and soak in the bathtub. Relax, massage or stretch your body. I will go and take a bath too. We’ll talk afterwards.”

Without giving him a chance to say a word, she said, “See you one hour later!” and immediately left to the communal bathhouse.

Ian, who was left behind, was dumbfounded. But since he had lost the game, he thought maybe he should listen to her. He went back to his room to fetch his clothes and then went to the bathhouse. There were not many people there because it was a holiday morning.

He could feel his muscles relax as he soaked in the hot water. It made him realized that he had been negligent in taking care of his body lately. He took his time and soaked in the bath until an hour was almost over.

When he left the communal bathhouse, he saw Razé sitting outside waiting for him. She had dried her hair. Instead of braided bang, she had pulled it back and tied her hair in a ponytail. For a brief moment, Ian couldn’t recognize that it was Razé.

“Well, I see that you took my advice. Let’s change to another place.”

Razé took Ian to a roofed dojo[1]. It was almost noon, so most of the students had left for lunch.

She sat on the corner of a step and took out a hot drink that she had bought earlier. Ian felt that her sequence of actions looked very natural. Well, it was not the first time for Razé to be in this kind of situation.

This reminds me of when Second Lieutenant Bahamut was a sergeant.

Bahamut was Razé’s subordinate and his specialty was lightning. He once complained to Razé about being powerless when the opponent used a lightning rod. With Razé’s advice, he had overcome his weakness by using electric shocks to destroy the opponent’s nerve and had become an excellent soldier.

“Okay, let’s talk. You wanted to ask about swordsmanship, right?”

Actually, she wanted to say, “You want to know how to be stronger? Think about it yourself!” But after watching him practicing hard, she decided to give him an advice. Even if she gave him a hint, it would be up to him whether he could make it or not.

Ian, who was sitting next to Razé, peeked into his mug and nodded his head. “… I’ve been told twice that I’m not suitable for swordsmanship.”

“Oh. Who said that to you?”

Her question made Ian felt that she was an outspoken person.

“My grandfather and the president of student council. You’re the third one.”

Razé let out a sigh of admiration. She hadn’t expected that there were others who would point out Ian’s mistake. And considering that even his grandfather had told him about it, that would mean he had been putting effort in swordsmanship for quite some time ago.