Leopold gave notice that he wouldn't stop by the palace or go out; he'd spend the day with his friends and come to the pine forest around evening.
Teron holed up all day in the empty dormitory room, drawing magic circles. He protected an object with protective magic, then immediately slammed it with black magic, over and over.
At first, the object shriveled away without a trace, the protective magic proving utterly useless. After hundreds of attempts, he fed an extremely faint amount of mana laced with black magic into the protective spell. And with that, it gained at least a little defensive strength.
The more the dark energy mixed in, the more it became a dangerous spell that couldn't be used anywhere else, but black magic couldn't blend into ordinary magic in the first place. Even producing a protective spell by adding a minuscule amount of black mana was a very meaningful achievement.
Teron was quite pleased to have spent such a rewarding day. When evening came, he grabbed his dagger and slipped out of the dormitory room.
Passing through a corridor laid with an old-fashioned carpet, he ended up running into a group of students spending their holiday.
Teron averted his eyes out of habit and kept walking. As always, it had no effect.
“What are you doing here?”
A familiar bit of trouble. The name of the one who'd just spoken was Theo.
He was one of the more decent students, one who'd never directly assaulted Teron.
Unfortunately, something must have put him in a bad mood today; his expression was dark and his tone was sharp.
There was one thing the Royal Academy's students all did in common when they were in a foul mood.
Namely, picking a fight with Teron Meyer and spewing abuse at him.
On his holiday, Teron had once again won the lottery for this surprise event.
If they'd hit him or the like, he'd have paid them back, but at this level it was far better to just endure it. Teron tried to walk right past Theo, and past Edmund and Milo behind him, but he was blocked. They crossed their arms over their big frames and leaned against the wall.
Milo, who'd been thoroughly beaten in the pine forest before, comically took half a step back and looked away the moment his eyes met Teron's.
“Where do you think you're going, you filth.”
“Move.”
Teron replied. But would they move? Them?
One fortunate thing was that there was no sign they meant to assault him.
They'd simply been in such a bad mood that they'd blocked his way to dump a little abuse on him. Theo scrunched up his face and spat out venom.
“I asked what you're doing here. This academy was already rotten, and now it's turned into an outright lump of contaminated sludge. All because of you. Because you keep clinging to this place.”
Edmund cut in.
“By giving Leopold your ass?”
“Disgusting scum. Your hideous mug is about to make everything I ate come right back up. When are you going to get lost from the academy, you pest? I'd love to spit on you, but even that draws too much attention now. Lowborn wretch...”
“What exactly did you do for him, anyway? I can't come up with any answer other than the theory that you bent over for him.”
“Then that must be it, I guess.”
Theo smirked and unhooked his cocked stance. And then they let Teron go, just like that. Teron Meyer, without giving it much thought, tried to start walking again.
“Come here.”
If only he hadn't heard that familiar voice.
“Milo, Theo, and... what was it. Right, Edmund.”
Leopold, in a calm tone, called their names one by one. The First Prince, walking up from the opposite corridor, had heard every bit of this.
Teron Meyer went back over the vile things they'd just said and sneered inwardly.
They'd boldly committed lèse-majesté right before his eyes, so their futures wouldn't be particularly bright. Then again, the vile talk had, strictly speaking, been abuse aimed at Teron, so maybe it wasn't such a big deal...
“It seems you can't hear me. I was under the impression there was nothing wrong with your hearing. Is my memory mistaken?”
He spat out words far rougher than usual, unlike himself. He looked quite angry.
Feeling a rush of satisfaction, Teron informed Leopold and walked past him.
“I'll head to the pine forest.”
“...Wait a moment.”
Teron Meyer now realized that he was speaking with Leopold as one human being to another. As hopeless as Teron's personality was, he at least understood what it meant to be in conversation with someone. So he looked at Leopold without a word.
But the First Prince fell silent for a moment, then gave a slight shake of his head. Teron left them without a shred of reluctance.
Settling in near the entrance of the pine forest, Teron confirmed no one was around before drawing his dagger. Soon black magic wrapped around his hand, slowly covering the dagger and swirling over it. Controlling the force, he drove the blade into the ground, and the earthen floor stained pitch-black before caving in deeply. Teron pulled out the embedded blade, then used his foot to level the soil and cover it with fallen leaves.
When you clad a blade in black magic, it boasts tremendous destructive power. So what about white magic? He'd never tried it, so once Leopold taught him a technique for throwing a dagger effectively, he'd have to test it right away.
Having thought that, Teron sat leaning blankly against a tree, then rose sluggishly when he saw Leopold approaching.
“There's a decent spot inside.”
Teron went into the pine forest first. Leopold followed and walked alongside him.
Normally, silence was the default state whenever they were together, though every so often Leopold would bring up something to change the subject.
But until they reached the clearing in the forest, not a single word came from Leopold. Why is he like that? Teron wondered, and when he glanced over, the prince's expression looked gloomy.
Well, of course. He'd heard talk about what Teron was doing for him, and all that... it was enough to wound his fragile heart. On top of that, the person in question was none other than Teron Meyer. More than enough to make him feel disgusted.
But what did Teron care? He asked indifferently.
“Did you actually hand down any punishment?”
“...That business just now?”
“You know, so why ask back?”
“Ha ha, right.”
...What's this?
Teron felt a sudden chill and snapped his head around. The Prince of Deluah was wearing a dutiful smile with unfocused eyes. The mental shock looked considerable.
“If it's shocked you that much, go back. What do you think you're going to do in this state?”
“...What are you talking about, Teron. I'm perfectly fine. Don't tell me you're worried about me?”
“Cut the nonsense and just go back.”
“I don't want to, though.”
Leopold laughed. Then he ordered Teron to try throwing the dagger. To lodge it dead center in a tree far off.
When Teron carried it out, Leopold thought for a moment, then walked slowly over to pull the dagger from the tree. Teron started to use summoning magic, then dropped it.
Coming back, he posed a sudden question.
“Do you hear things like that normally, too?”
“...Are you mocking me?”
Leopold pressed his lips shut, having started to open them. He lowered his gaze. It was a sight Teron had never seen before.
When Teron stared at him quizzically, he quickly composed his expression. Wearing the faint, public-facing smile he always did, he said,
“Get into your stance before you throw.”
Teron immediately gripped the blade tight, pulled one foot slightly back, and started to swing through, then stopped.
Leopold took Teron's hand and twisted it very slightly to the side.
“Your stance is good. But watching just now, the blade bends a little and the destructive force weakens. If you twist your wrist just a bit more here as you throw, it'll drive in harder.”
“Don't touch me, it's disgusting. Words are plenty enough for me to understand.”
“...”
Leopold suddenly stared blankly at Teron. Then he let out a small, incredulous laugh.
“What's so funny now? Knock it off and keep going. You had more to say, didn't you?”
Teron sniped, seeming to have gotten in a bad mood.
No, actually, he wasn't sure. Throughout every moment he spent with Leopold, he sneered and put him to shame. There was nothing particularly special about that sight.
Being with someone as relentlessly insolent as Teron, who never left room to catch a breath, Leopold had been changing to be the same way.
Remarks that could come across as rude, he threw at Teron all the same. In the end, it didn't even amount to a drop in the bucket.
So he didn't hold back the smirk that slipped out.
“It reminded me of what I heard earlier.”
The pitying expression came back.
“You really do have a soft heart.”
“What are you on about, to a kid who cringes even at being touched so I can correct his swordsmanship.”
“It seems every time you breathe, you think of what happened earlier. Was it that horrific?”
“It's not that. Seeing you just now reminded me.”
Perhaps offended, Teron gave no reply. Having won a taut back-and-forth, Leopold felt a rush of satisfaction and gave a pleased order.
“Throw it again.”
The dagger, flying off with his advice fully absorbed, lodged a little closer to the center and a little deeper.
Teron felt that the sensation of the throw was distinctly different. He immediately used summoning magic to call the dagger straight back, then struck a slightly farther tree dead-on.
Leopold spoke again.
“Good, but lean your body a bit more here. Throw it right into the middle of that mark again. I'll handle the summoning magic.”
After several such corrections, by the time one of the forest's trees had been split in two by the dagger's torment, they stopped practicing. The sunset began to spread. Leopold said,
“Now attack. Me.”
Teron carried it out without a word.
