On the morning of a certain weekend. I just arrived at the main entrance of the Academy while jogging following my daily routine when I spotted Godorfun there.
"Good morning, Godorfun-sensei. Is something the matter, to actually be here at this time?"
"Nothing. It's just that I’m simply fed up with the neverending meetings all day long. I expected this when I left the frontline and took this post, but boorish things are still boorish. So I thought I’d do basic training with the young ones, you know, for a change of pace. I was just waiting for you while looking at others running around. This old man isn't bothering you, am I?"
"No, of course not. Hmm, so the teachers are not free even outside the Academy's class hours, huh?"
From there, we started our clockwise running around the Academy's premises.
Apparently, Godorfun's work didn't end after the classes ended. He also had stuff to take care of at the knight order and the royal palace so he usually left the Academy after the morning classes. If rumors were to be believed, he often wasn't able to get proper sleep beside his naps on the staff room's custom-made sofa. It was really hard to believe this was the lifestyle of the kingdom's most valuable asset.
"I feel ashamed to push the inconvenience onto you students. You were right in your sermon, I should have shown myself in the club activities earlier... I guess my age got the better of me, huh?
Perhaps, I just gave in to my convenience. I could tell Class A's progress from the morning practical lessons. The report consolidated by the managers filled in the gap that was left. Everyone's improvement was visible to my eyes even without coming here to check things out."
"Please no. You’ve also been teaching the morning class every day considering your hectic schedule, and us just having the chance to talk with you whenever we have a question is already a lifesaver."
We continued with our small talk for the first half of the course, and from the second half, we sped up to chase after the Hill Road Club members.
The time I chased down the club members like a mad dog has been drastically reduced after I cleared Godorfun's assignment. Or so it should’ve been, but this practice still continued due to the masochist club members— though not as intense as before. Their words were 'We can't get any motivation if our honorary supervisor isn't there hooting at us'. What a deplorable bunch, truly.
I’ve also grown enough to cover the entire premises of the Academy in one hour over the last four months. I have yet to see anyone achieving the same thing.
Well, Leo technically could push through if he utilized his absurd mana reserves but that would be detrimental to his mana manipulation skill so he has a self-imposed ban on himself from using it.
"......You also can't run while compressing your mana, Sensei?"
There was nothing to nitpick about one of the best warrior’s mana-handling skills. Godorfun was easily matching his pace with mine with the bare minimum mana consumption. However he was running while using mana-enhanced eyes to look at the mana flow, it was a sign that he was running without compressing mana.
Godorfun, however, didn't answer me but instead threw an unexpected curveball.
"......Do you know about the Original Five?"
The five families of the beginning. This was the collective title of the five noble families in this continent with the longest history. Long before even the Yuglia Kingdom was there to control the land, the five noble families already reigned on this continent.
The noble families that we spoke of could actually be traced back from most of the other noble clans— the closest example would be the Genpei Tokitsu in Japan. The era we were talking about was actually a bygone era long ago and as they said, nothing is eternal in the world. The original five obviously couldn't prevent the flow of time from affecting them. However, while they were just shadows of their former selves, these families still existed in the current era like the Rosemieur family that controlled the northern empire. (T/N - In simpler terms, the MC is referring to the origin of an ethnic/race, from where they originate from. Genpei Tokitsu is the term referring to the four Japanese clans— Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara, and Tachibana. Apparently, the majority of the Japanese’s lineage can be traced back to them, so like their ancestor of sorts.)
The Yuglia Kingdom also had one of these noble families that used to be a part of the original five.
"Yes. I’ve heard about the north's Rosemieur family and the 'Marquis Sunset Family’ in this kingdom."
Godorfun then continued after my affirmation.
"Right. The said 'Marquis Sunset Family' — the Dosperior Family — has currently rolled down from that lofty peak after their family heads for generations refused to enter the Royal Academy, and also by only tying the knot of marriage with adjacent noble families that had their blood, though they are still carrying out the concept of their 'original teachings' without fail.
But even now, this kingdom — as well as the other nations in this continent — hold this deep fear and respect toward these families, each one blessed with the talent of mana operation to enhance body-strengthening magic though they rarely appear in public."
After saying that, Godorfun's face scowled, seemingly remembering something unpleasant.
"The earlier war had cost me the life of one of my dear friends—
<Vardi Von Dosperior>
, the successor of the Dosperior family. Before he died on that battlefield, he had taught me the secret art of the Dosperior family. And it's the same instant mana compression that you've been using."Godorfun then stared at my face.
"......Your mother seemed to have cut off her ties with the family for some reason. I hadn't asked why since it seemed to be a past she didn't want to be dug up, but… Don't you think it might spell trouble teaching that secret to the club members, even if that's not what you meant to do...?"
But how could I have known it was this special of a technique!?
"Fuhahaha. Well, no need to make such a face. I'm the advisor of this club, and Bardi taught me the technique as well. With that said, Bardi himself had said— 'Instantaneous Mana Compression is a secret art and the specialty of the Dosperior Family. Just because you know it doesn't mean you can imitate it'.
And his words were correct. This vessel of mine with no talent failed to pull it off even with several years of training. They might be the cream of the crop this kingdom has to offer but one look and it's clear that they're struggling as well. It's not a futile training but I believe only a few of them would be able to learn it well. Is it alright, though? You taught your mother's family's secret art with no misgivings and so easily."
Can't imitate, huh?... That’s true. The technique — which was to instantaneously compress mana and refill one's mana pool — actually turned out to be more difficult than I had expected.
It has been four months since I passed the details of the 'mana on/off precision', which was a prerequisite to learning the technique, to my Class A classmates. However, a vast majority of them were still struggling with the concept. The only ones who had managed to pull it off, though superficially, were Dan and Stella.
But I couldn't actually envision them pulling it off perfectly.
Leo might be talented and blessed with overflowing mana, but it was this talent that was holding him back as well. It turned out that he was actually much worse than the others when it came to utilizing body-strengthening magic at will due to the precise mana manipulation it needed. Well, his explosive mana capacity was already more than enough to compensate for his lack of precision.
"Secret… Hmm, we actually weren't told anything otherwise so I think it shooooould be fine. I’ve never met any of my mother's direct relatives as well. Cough How about forgetting that such a thing ever happened? My dad is usually a broken recorder when drunk, but mom has that tight guard around as she never talked about her past. I honestly don't feel like anything good will come out of it now."
"Hahaha. So even the rustic brat from the countryside has started to pick up on things as well, huh? Indeed, tall trees are often the ones that get affected by storms first. I believe it's just a matter of time before this spreads but I also suggest to keep the matter confined only to your heart as much as you can. Right, let's just say we never talked about it."
"Well, only a fool wouldn't learn after going through so much bitter experience...... But thank you very much."
Though I felt more pressure due to the embellished rumors about your assignment, old man… I wanted to retort so hard but swallowed the complaint in the end.
◆◆◆
Afterward, Godorfun followed me and performed a similar number of hill dashes as well, and from there, we moved to the dorm. Today was a break so he probably wanted to see what sort of life the members of the Hill Road Club had.
"Hmm, this regime looks easy when seen from afar, but it sure is quite an intense training, huh? I guess I would hardly be your match in just two more years. But time sure flies. This place is just as it used to be in my era, but the gloominess is nowhere to be seen."
""Good morning, Godorfun-sensei!""
A lot of the dorm residents were practicing their weapon swings in front of the dorm when they spotted me and Godorfun and came to greet us. However, it was just a simple greeting after which they returned to their training holding the weapon of their preference.
It was an everyday scene for me, but it seemed to make a difference in Godorfun's eyes.
"I also used to stay in this dormitory. Though rather than the current bustling scene, I prefer the quietness that was there earlier.”
I drew a wooden sword from the weapon rack — it was just recently installed in front of the dorm's entrance — and followed with my usual 30-minute sword-swinging practice. I wonder what’s going on in his mind?
Godorfun, on the other hand, sat nearby cross-legged and quietly watched everyone's practice without making a sound.