CH 5

“Are you interested in magic?”

“…a little bit.”

It was Michael’s voice that broke the silence. Nathan nodded slowly. To be honest, he was very interested. Since there was no such thing as magic where he lived, he really wanted to see it and try it himself if he could. Hearing Nathan’s words, Pavan made a strange expression.

“Well. But Nathan, you are a student in our Swordsmanship Department.”

“!”

Swordsmanship? Swordsmanshiiip? With this squishy body? Swordsmanship Department with a body that couldn’t even carry a suitcase? Nathan was ridiculous. It was questionable whether this body could hold a single sword properly. If it had been the Magic Department, or the Spirits Department, or Sorcery Department, it wouldn’t have been so absurd. Whether or not he knew Nathan’s face was stained with shock, Pavan continued stroking his chin.

“…no, I think it would be good to change departments right now.”

Nathan agreed with that a hundred times. He also didn’t like to use the original body, but this body was not a body that could hold a sword. It was an unbelievable story to get into the Swordsmanship Department with such a fragile body.

“Well, you can change it right now if you want. In fact, I don’t understand why you insisted on the Swordsmanship Department to become a knight ‘cause you weren’t that good in the first place. You aren’t weren’t able to freely manipulate your magical powers, and your body is weak, so you used to vomit after just a few rounds of the gym. There, you used to fight Hazard for first or second to last place.”

Really, why did he go to the Swordsmanship Department? The more Nathan listened to Pavan, the more he seemed to understand why Pavan did not understand. Because even he could not understand the choice of this owner’s body.

‘And Hazard. The story of Hazard comes through here.’

If he was here, they would meet at least once. It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t curious. The feelings of wanting to meet the protagonist of this story and not wanting to meet him collided. If he met him, he would be convinced that this place was a novel. There was still enough evidence that this place was in a novel, but meeting the protagonist was something else…

“Nathan. Think seriously. Other departments are fine.”

“My opinion is?”

“I thought you would allow it too?”

“Of course, it doesn’t matter if you have a criminal record. But now it’s high school. No matter how much you want on a major, it’s not guaranteed even if you start in high school, right?”

Michael took a sip of tea leisurely.

“Even if others go through the integration process from elementary or middle school, they pick one place and learn the basics. When Nathan was in elementary and middle school, he wanted to major in swordsmanship and took classes accordingly. It is said that no matter which department you go to now, the basics are not enough. Can Nathan get the same class as the other kids in high school and achieve the same results? I am not sure.”

Well, that was it, too. However, even in this state, even in the Swordsmanship Department, it would not be much different. From Nathan’s point of view, this body was not a body capable of doing the work he was trying to do. Could he properly lift a sword with such a weak arm? Pavan clearly said that ‘Nathan’ was a swordsman, but anyone who had ever moved this body even for a moment would know. This body was so weak that he doubted whether it had the basic muscles necessary for life!

Of course, considering Nathan’s current situation, it might have been that he was mentally exhausted and damaged his health. But after hearing Pavan’s words, it didn’t seem like he was in good health either, so would it be alright to continue attending the Swordsmanship Department in this state? Nathan questioned himself and came up with the answer himself. The answer was ‘no’. Predictably, if he continued to attend the Swordsmanship Department like this, he would have been unable to keep up with the class and would have fallen behind. Perhaps the original ‘Nathan’ was in a similar situation. Because fighting for 1st and 2nd place behind the scenes meant that.

Above all, the fact that he had no intention of learning swordsmanship was the biggest reason that made him worry. If so, wouldn’t he rather go somewhere that interested him? At the word ‘magic’, Nathan forgot the situation he was in for a moment and was excited. But didn’t everyone have a desire for magic? Didn’t he ever see a story in a book and imagine it? Hadn’t he ever thought that it would be nice if this could become a reality? First of all, Nathan had had thoughts that were close to illusions quite a few times.

“…I want to change my department.”

So there was no need to think about it for a long time. It seemed like it would have been better. It was better to be in a place he was interested in, even in order to prepare for what would happen in the future.

“Yeah, a different department would be a better fit for you. I don’t feel comfortable sending my disciple to another place, but… from what I can see, you are not compatible with the sword.”

“Student Nathan, are you sure about wanting to come to the Magic Department?”

“Yes, yes. Magic Department.”

“Then you will have a lot to prepare for. First of all, there are still three days left before high school starts, so it must be busy in the meantime.”

“After this, if you have any problems you can come to us adults for help. I’m sorry I’ve been holding you back for so long, you must be tired from coming all the way here, so go ahead and rest.”

“…yes, I will go then.”

Nathan bowed his head awkwardly and headed towards the door. The door opened as silently as when he came in. As Nathan had just stepped out and closed the door, Michael’s voice was heard.

“Oh, Student Nathan.”

“Yes?”

“Come back here after breakfast tomorrow.”

“…yes.”

A voice spit out in a low, weak voice, and Michael might have heard it, but Nathan closed the door and walked off right away. His shoulders drooped as if he could only relax after being alone. It was then that Nathan realized that he was still nervous. As soon as he woke up, his whole body ached. Seeing that his arms were trembling, it looked like he was going to suffer from muscle aches by tomorrow.

“Sigh…”

With a sigh, his breath was exhaled white in the air. Nathan just started walking back the way he had come. Before, there were still some people, but now, there was not a single person on the road. The empty hallway was filthy. The winter wind was cold. No, the winter break was over and the students had arrived, so was it now spring?

“Cold.”

It would have been nice to have gloves in the luggage bag, but Nathan’s hands quickly froze in the cold. The air was still cold, and the sky was a little cloudy. The surroundings were gloomy like the sky on a winter day. It looked like it was going to snow at any time. Nathan glanced at the cloudy sky, hoping it would snow. It was nice to see snow, so he hoped it snowed. He wished it would pile. Then maybe this feeling of sagging would improve a little bit.

Nathan staggered and sat down, leaning against the wall. Then he buried his face in his lap. During this frantic situation, Nathan’s mood also fluctuated up and down like crazy. He was excited for a moment and then fell to the bottom immediately, and he still was. His mood was sinking indefinitely. From now on, what would he be like? Would he live in the future with the identity of a character named Nathan Norbert?

What should he do if he met someone who knew ‘Nathan’? In that regard, changing his department may have been a good thing in many ways. Because fewer people knew him outside of the Swordsmanship Department ‘he’ studied in for several years. Maybe it was better to not be in it at all.

Trudge, trudge…

And Nathan’s house must be ruined…? Was the whole family dead? Baron Norbert had only one child… It was driving him crazy. He didn’t know anything about it, so he would have to look for an article about the case of Baron Norbert. That would make things seem less weird. He could say that because of the incident, his personality went through a change or something, so he changed his mind. And…

Drip.

Nathan thought so blankly, and when the footsteps he had heard before stopped in front of him, he slowly lifted his head. The messy boots were the first thing that caught his eyes. His eyes then climbed up the long legs, tilting his head high, until he could see the owner of the footsteps.

“What are you doing there?”

It was a good thing there was no backlighting. If there were, he wouldn’t have noticed immediately who the boy standing in front of him was. The gold colour, like melted gold, shimmered even in the gloomy weather. His cool eyes were slightly frowning as if puzzled and, blue like the summer sky, were looking straight at Nathan.

At that moment, a huge shock struck his head. Nathan sighed involuntarily. Ah, instinct whispers. This person was Hazard. His name was Hazard Erasmus. He was the protagonist of this novel who I’ve met so quickly. Indeed, the boy in front of him was exactly what Nathan had envisioned while reading <Hazard>. So he had no choice but to recognize him at a glance. He couldn’t have dared to imagine a protagonist other than this figure.