CH 18

Evaluation Meeting

“Leidyrune Centrix, can you hand him over?”

Claushezade’s gaze shifted to Sheila. Something shone in his eyes. She groaned and thought about it in her mind, and then she realized.

The other party was the son of a duke. It would be unacceptable to use such a person. They would definitely be offended by this. Not only Felix but even Claushezade could be admonished.

She turned pale in an instant and stood up straighter from Leidyrune’s chest, which she was leaning against.

“…. Hahaha, I can’t trouble Leidyrune-senpai after all, so I think I’ll go with Claushezade-sensei.”

She signaled that she wanted to go down, but for some reason, Leidyrune wouldn’t let go. The two quietly stared at each other, seemingly unaware of Sheila’s presence. There was a tense air around them.

‘What is this atmosphere? I don’t really understand, but is there some kind of factional conflict among the nobles?’

As she watched with bated breath, Leidyrune quietly opened his mouth.

“… I will perform the healing magic. There is no need for you to trouble yourself with it.”

“Healing magic is my area of expertise. I can heal him faster.”

“….”

When Claushezade immediately replied, Leidyrune backed down, perhaps thinking that further confrontations were meaningless to the teacher.

After the conversation ended, the outfielders breathed a sigh of relief. They were nodding to each other with tired smiles on their faces.

She was slowly handed over from Leidyrune’s arms to Claushezade’s. Sheila thanked him properly.

“Thank you very much, Leidyrune-senpai. I will give you something as thanks next time.”

“Hmm, I don’t remember planning to receive any charity from the common people.”

“Oh, that’s true. I’ll stop then.”

Sheila easily changed her opinion, saying that she wouldn’t be able to thank the other party appropriately for his status.

Leidyrune’s eyebrows twitched, he was about to say something, but Claushezade cut off any further conversation.

“The unfamiliar series of battles will surely make your body feel tired. The other students who are still here should return to their dormitories as soon as possible and take a good rest. ――This concludes today’s competency test!”

Hearing the announcement, the students scattered in droves. Claushezade walked off in a different direction. He must be going to the staff building.

“Don’t drag me into your nonsense. It’s ridiculous to deal with such a child….”

He muttered indignantly as he walked away, but she was too scared to ask him what he was talking about. Instead, she tried to change the subject to a lighter topic.

“Claushezade-sensei, I understood your actions when I thought about it properly. You stopped me because you didn’t want me to get into trouble with the duke’s son again, didn’t you?”

His brow remained furrowed, but he answered.

“That’s one thing, but…. your injury is probably closer to the base of your thigh. If he was to perform a healing operation, he would have to touch the affected area. I couldn’t allow him to treat an area that couldn’t be exposed without removing your underwear.”

“Oh, I see. Underwear is for women, isn’t it?”

That’s right, it was a blind spot. When she clapped her hands, Claushezade looked as if he was eating something bitter.

“Have some modesty, you idiot.”

“I’m sorry. You mean that from now on I should wear men’s underwear as well, just to be on the safe side, right?”

“…. It’s getting very tedious to correct each and every word.”

As they continued their somewhat irreconcilable conversation, before they knew it, they were in the staff building. He climbed the stairs and entered the office reserved for special course teachers.

“The main point is you lack common sense. Do you think I could have predicted that the result would be far beyond my expectations, such as a complete victory in every single one of your competency tests?”

Although he said this, he was very careful and gentle in the way he made Sheila sit in the chair. The chair itself was too hard, though.

As Sheila quickly tried to pull down her underwear, a lap blanket was offered to her. Claushezade silently turned his back to her, probably wanting her to use it to cover herself when she took them off.

She stripped off the cloth that had stopped the bleeding and put her hand on her underwear. They were of the slim type that went along the body, so they inevitably rubbed against the wound. This was going to take some time. To distract herself as much as possible, she questioned Claushezade’s words.

“Huh? I won all the matches just like you told me to, didn’t I? This means I can go to the special course, right?”

Even though she had achieved her goal, she was told that it was unexpected, so Sheila tilted her head. She thought she would be praised.

“I told you to enter the special course no matter what, but I didn’t say that you should win everything. You don’t usually expect to win against Leidyrune Centrix. A good fight would have been enough, but…. you always exceeded my plans.”

“Did I do anything else? ――Oh, by the way, I’m ready. Please take care of me.”

Claushezade, who had been facing the door the whole time, turned around and bent down in front of Sheila. He frowned slightly when he saw that the flesh in the affected area was slightly gouged.

“I can’t imagine that you would be so reckless as to do something like this when it is only a test.”

“I’m sorry, are you not good at the sight of blood?”

“If I’m not good with blood, I wouldn’t want to be a knight, would I?”

“Huh. That’s true too.”

Claushezade gently touched the wound. His hand was very careful, as if he was handling a small newborn baby.

A soft light appeared on his fingertips, and the wound felt warmer. Staring at the white, gentle light, Sheila vaguely understood.

‘He’s worried about me.’

It was very hard to tell, though, because his expressionless face only slightly frowned. He was a strict man, but he wasn’t cruel.

“As for the fact that you have no hesitation in wearing men’s underwear, I honestly feel as if I have encountered an unknown creature. Adding to that, you have encountered the likes of Seiryu Mifune, Regress Olbrandt, and Leidyrune Centrix….”

Claushezade cut off his words halfway through. It was as if he was afraid to say what he was going to say and have it become a reality.

He covered his eyes with one hand and carefully rubbed his temples.

“I hope you don’t give me any more headaches.”

Claushezade spat out, looking annoyed. She wasn’t depressed by the cold words because the touch, the healing light, was so comforting.

When Sheila laughed and said, “I’m sorry,” Claushezade’s eyebrows deepened. But after a certain amount of time together, she could tell that he was embarrassed. Sheila laughed more and more.

But then she remembered that she had one more thing to report, and she quickly stopped laughing.

“Um, sorry. I’m afraid I may have to give you another headache.”

There was no mistaking the sullen look in Claushezade’s eyes. But not saying anything wasn’t an option, so Sheila opened her mouth.

This is just a hunch, but I have a feeling that… Jorn Werner-sensei has found out.”

“Did he know? That you’re a woman?”

Sheila fidgeted and gently averted her gaze.

“….. Actually, he’s known that too, since very early on.”

“What?”

“W-well, he said that he will keep it a secret because it’s so interesting….. But, that’s not it, he was watching the match with Leidyrune-senpai just now.”

He stared at her as if to ask her why she didn’t report it sooner, but Claushezade decided to think about the immediate problem.

“――I was certainly aware of the spectacle. But I don’t think that’s enough to know that you used the spirit arts. The other students and even your opponent, Leidyrune Centrix, didn’t seem to have any doubts about it. I knew about it because I knew of its existence beforehand, but usually, people wouldn’t assume that because it would be impossible for a living human being.”

“That’s right. But somehow I feel like I’ve been exposed…..”

She believed she was able to use it without being detected. She could wrap wind around her body, strengthen her sword, and use other techniques that weren’t obvious to the casual observer. Even if she didn’t have a technique, she could manage it if she endured the situation, so it shouldn’t have been particularly unnatural.

Yet, why couldn’t she get rid of this bad feeling?

Clauschezade didn’t take the situation lightly, either, and he was thinking about it with a difficult look on his face.

“…. Your intuition is not to be underestimated. But to be noticed by Jorn Werner, another troublesome opponent. Didn’t you catch his eye because you were exposed in the first place?”

“That may be true, but there’s no way to prevent someone from judging you as a woman based on the shape of your skull alone.”

It felt unreasonable to be offended about this matter. It wasn’t that Sheila was sloppy, but she had been seen through when they first met.

Claushezade let out an annoyed sigh.

“Skull…. another trouble, that one.”

“Huh? Do you know him?”

It was a strangely friendly way of saying it, so she asked him, but Claushezade said it clearly with a resolute expression.

“No. We are acquaintances, but we’re not friends.”

“…. I see.”

Sheila’s instincts decided she shouldn’t dig too deep.

Claushezade continued on to discuss what to do next.

“If he is really aware of you, he will contact you. If you are approached, contact me immediately. The only other thing you can do is to avoid being alone as much as possible. He will not be able to talk easily in the presence of others. If you don’t want to be used as an experimental animal, be sure to observe these two points.”

“I understand. I’ll call you when I’m approached, and I won’t be alone as much as possible. If it’s just those two, I think I can handle it.”

Despite her confident declaration, she was met with skepticism. She wondered why.

Before she knew it, the treatment was over. The wounded area was now covered with pink skin. It felt a little itchy.

Claushezade’s fingers moved away.

“Healing magic encourages quick regeneration by activating the cells of the body. Hence, it takes a toll on the body. I have to report to Felix-sama tomorrow, so it can’t be helped, but…. at least get some rest over there.”

“I understand. Thank you very much.”

As she thanked him and went to put on her underwear, Claushezade quickly turned his back on her with a look of anger.