The Academy’s Barbarian

Chapter 114: Friendly Mock Battle (10)

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The night after the mock battle ended.

At 10 PM, curfew began in the dormitory.

The wardens patrolled the corridors, checking on the students. Soon, all the lights were turned off, plunging the dormitory into darkness.

Outside, the guards of Arsene continued their routine patrol around the dormitory, oblivious to the giant shadow slipping out of a window.

And no wonder – the shadow belonged to Ulan, the man who drew much attention in today's mock battle and revealed a Master's full might without restraint.

Having perfectly concealed his movements, he cut straight through the forest toward the dorm where Laurea was staying.

A Short While Later

Ulan breached the heavily guarded room in the blink of an eye. He swiftly scaled the outer wall of the dormitory and reached his destination.

She must have considerately left it open for him to enter easily.

So Ulan immediately went inside, and before long, his eyes met Laurea's as she sat askew on the balcony.

"...Ah."

For a moment, her eyes went wide with surprise; but that startled feeling soon disappeared once she realized the visitor's identity was Ulan.

At that moment.

Laurea made a sulky expression.

"What? Why are you so late?"

"I came at night as promised."

"But this is way too late!" she retorted in a sullen tone.

Her drawn-out speech sounded suspicious. And indeed, under the moonlight, Ulan could see a faint flush on Laurea's cheeks.

"Did you drink alcohol?"

"Yeah! I had a little since you weren't here."

"It doesn't seem like just a little..."

"It is a little for me."

On the floor lay five empty bottles, and the one in her hand was almost empty as well. Laurea, constantly hiccupping, grimaced and pointed to the chair opposite her.

"Anyway, sit over there. My neck hurts."

It seemed her neck hurt from looking up for so long.

Ulan silently took a seat, and immediately asked her the reason she had summoned him while looking at Laurea.

"Why did you call me here?"

"Wait, I'll just finish this."

After downing the remaining wine,

she seemed to try sobering up as she lightly slapped her own cheeks with her palms. Then she reverently joined her hands and murmured something while gazing at the starlight.

A Short While Later

Fwaaash!

A brilliant white glow enveloped her; the flush on her cheeks faded somewhat, the hiccups stopped, and her slightly unfocused eyes returned to normal.

"Ah, that's better now."

Laurea made a satisfied expression.

Her actions just now used a sacred prayer to dispel the alcohol's effects with divine power.

It was a sight Ulan had occasionally witnessed in her past life, so he simply looked at her calmly. Laurea also turned her gaze back to him.

And then she revealed the reason she had called for him.

"About what I mentioned earlier."

".........?"

"While you and Ian were fighting, I had a brief conversation with Noah Darshen."

She was referring to the time she used her unique prayer, the 『Bridge of Sacred Light』, to cross over to Arsene's base.

She then recounted to Ulan every single detail of her conversation with Noah at that time, without omitting a single word.

"In short, the most meaningful information we've obtained so far is that Noah Darshan and the Abyss do not seem to be on the same side."

After summarizing the gist of the situation, she highlighted what she considered the most important point from this conversation.

And there was one more thing.

An important speculation had arisen.

"This is just my personal opinion, but I think she's also someone from the future, just like you."

"Do you have a reason for thinking so?"

"Yeah, as I explained earlier, she answered affirmatively when asked if she knew about the future."

It had even been verified as the truth.

In contrast, Ulan's reaction was gloomy.

"But Noah has the power of foresight."

"I've already heard about that, but to be honest, the idea that her foresight alone could predict events in such minute detail just doesn't make sense," Laurea stated firmly.

Especially given the established fact that someone like Ulan definitely exists after coming from the future, this explanation seemed more plausible than attributing it all to foresight.

"So it seems reasonable to assume that, like you having memories of the future, she presented her knowledge in a way that made it seem like foresight." After making that brief speculation, Laurea added an explanation, "Also, the reason Noah might not be in your memories is because you didn't attend Arsene Academy in your past life?"

"Hmm, that's certainly possible...."

It was a plausible speculation.

If she had attended Arsene Academy in her past life, there would have been no chance for her paths to cross with Ulan's at all.

As he silently fell into contemplation over this,

Laurea spoke up again.

"There's also a new question that's arisen."

"What is it?"

"She said her goal is to return to the place where she originally came from, right? Does that mean she wants to go back to the original future?"

If so, what could be the reason?

Ulan's future was a place destroyed by the Abyss, turned into a hell itself.

Laurea looked inquisitive.

To this, Ulan shook his head, as if her speculation was incorrect this time.

"It may have a different meaning."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When the rift to the Abyss opened, the Abyss referred to Noah as an outsider."

"An outsider..."

Laurea's eyes dimmed, as if she had found an important clue.

In the Empire or Holy Kingdom, an "outsider" referred to someone from a region with different culture and customs, or a person of foreign nationality.

Then what exactly did the Abyss mean by calling Noah an outsider from its perspective?

"Could it be for you too, Ulan..."

"It never called me that."

The Abyss never referred to Ulan, who actually came from the future, as an outsider?

Laurea frowned.

What she thought would be easily solved had suddenly become a labyrinth.

"Hmm, I'll need to look into that further."

It was difficult to deduce with just the current information.

Having made that judgment, she leaned back against the backrest. She then circled the conversation back to the original point.

"Still, it's certain she's not our enemy. So I think it would be okay to share your story with her when you get the chance."

Since Noah wasn't on the Abyss' side.

However, Ulan's thoughts differed.

"No, Noah has to go first."

"Huh?"

"Unless she reveals her secrets first, I have no intention of telling her my story."

An unexpectedly stubborn stance.

Laurea asked curiously, "Why is that?"

"She has too many secrets."

"Secrets, you say..."

"Above all, just because she's not an enemy doesn't necessarily make her an ally. So I'll only divulge my secrets once I come to be able to trust her."

A resolute response conveying firm intention.

She nodded her head.

"Well, I do agree on that point. She certainly did seem to be hiding a lot."

And thinking it over, there were still quite a few unresolved questions.

From the point of having two souls coexisting in one body, to being unable to answer what her true nature was, and the strange term "player."

Just as Ulan said, there are still many secrets to uncover. Laurea nodded again, deciding to respect Ulan's intention.

"Alright. Then we'll have to arrange an opportunity later where the three of us can speak openly together."

"That would be good."

Ulan gave a wry smile.

If they could lay all secrets on the table for discussion, then he too could come to trust Noah.

Eventually, once all conversation was concluded,

Laurea reached for the wine bottle again.

"Going to drink more?"

"Mmm. For some reason, ever since the alcohol wore off, I've been hearing the voices of the stars."

Laurea shrugged.

Taking out a fresh bottle, she quickly uncorked it with a pop. After taking a swig straight from the bottle, she glanced back at Ulan.

"By the way..."

"Hmm?"

"Why have you been staring like that this whole time?"

Ever since they finished their business, Ulan had been staring at her without averting his gaze. It was a blatant stare, to say the least. Laurea replied with a sly smile, "Could it be you're...interested in my body?"

"Something like that."

"...Huh? R-Really?"

Laurea was taken aback.

She had only asked in a teasing manner, never expecting him to so readily admit it; flustered by the unanticipated response, she floundered until Ulan slightly amended his answer.

"Well, not exactly your body, but your clothes."

"Oh, my clothes?"

"They're different from what you wore in the past life."

Currently, Laurea wore a black uniform with a silver shawl draped over it. In contrast, she had always donned a pristine ceremonial robe in his previous life. Never once had he seen her in black attire before, so it naturally piqued his curiosity.

"That's why I was curious."

"Ah, is that all? Just over that?"

A rather mundane reason compared to what she had imagined. Laurea let out a deep sigh, as if deflating. She then provided an explanation, "It's nothing major. Wearing black simply signifies being an apprentice in the Holy Kingdom."

As such, apprentice priests, apprentice Paladins, and even apprentice saints primarily wore black attire.

Only after officially having their status recognized could they then earn the privilege of donning pure white ceremonial robes or holy garments.

"I see. I've learned something new."

Knowledge he had not possessed in his past life.

Ulan nodded with sparkling eyes as his curiosity was satisfied.

By the time this happened, Laurea had already drained yet another bottle clean.

Already on her seventh. Although she should have stopped drinking by now, she fetched an eighth bottle instead.

"More alcohol?"

"This isn't enough, you know?"

She had dispelled the previous drunkenness too.

So to be able to ignore the voices of the stars and fall asleep, she needed to drink further.

After taking a sip of the wine, she suddenly had a mischievous look as she extended the bottle in her hand towards Ulan.

"Or would you care to join me?"

"If you're offering, I won't decline."

Ulan smoothly took the bottle.

A moment later, after gulping down the entire bottle of grape wine, Ulan handed the empty bottle back to Laurea.

"That was good."

"................."

All transpiring in the blink of an eye.

She blinked her widened eyes before letting out a flustered cry.

"What? You can drink too?!"

"You were the one who offered me first."

"No, that's not what I meant - I heard in the Empire, you're considered an adult at the age of eighteen..."

"I'm not from the Empire."

A very straightforward answer.

Laurea was at a loss for words.

"And even if we're talking about age, I can't really say I'm seventeen. I've already experienced forty-six years of life in my past life."

This was another logical response — although his physical body was seventeen years old, his mind was much older than that.

And the moment she realized this…

"......"

Laurea fell silent.

After a moment, she calmly re-buttoned her slightly loosened top, meticulously adjusting her collar as well. Soon, Laurea settled comfortably into the chair and began glancing furtively at Ulan without a word.

"Why all the sidelong looks?"

"Ah, no! It's nothing..."

Her voice diminishing gradually; a markedly different reaction from before.

When Ulan gave her a puzzled look, Laurea deliberately let out an overly loud, forced cough.

"Ahem! But there's something I'm curious about!"

As if trying to abruptly change the subject, she rapidly fired off a question, "About alcohol. Do you drink fairly often too?"

"You could say that."

"How much? Are you a better drinker than me?"

"No, not that much."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, out of all my comrades, there wasn't a single one who could outdrink you."

Laurea's eyes went wide.

As if she had just heard an unexpected fact.

"So everyone else was unexpectedly poor at holding their liquor."

"No, you're simply strong when it comes to alcohol."

Ulan corrected his statement.

At that, Laurea pursed her lips and decided to rephrase her question slightly.

"Then who was the second-best drinker after me?"

Surely this time it would be Ulan.

He certainly looked like he could hold his liquor well.

However, an unexpected answer came back.

"Perticia."

"Huh? Perticia, you mean..."

A name she had heard mentioned once before.

Racking her brain, she asked again.

"Wasn't she the one you said was closest to me besides Ian?"

"That's right."

Ulan nodded in affirmation.

Simultaneously, a new curiosity arose within her.

She had not had a chance to ask about this before due to lack of time.

"What was she like?"

"Compared to you, she had a gentle personality."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Laurea's face scrunched up in displeasure.

Meanwhile, Ulan continued recounting details about Perticia he could recall.

"Another notable trait was that she was a half-human, half-spirit."

"Half-human, half-spirit?"

"A hybrid of human and spirit races."

"Is...is that even possible? Spirits are incorporeal beings."

"I don't know the details either."

He had simply heard Perticia introduce herself as a half-spirit when they first met.

And she did indeed use spirit magic.

Seemingly realizing she could not get a definitive answer from Ulan, Laurea posed a different question about Perticia.

"Then what country is this Perticia from? Arpen Kingdom as well?"

"Ruben Empire."

"Really? Unexpected. For some reason I got the feeling she was from Arpen. Then was she a noble or a commoner of the Empire?"

As she speculated out loud, Ulan's response came.

"Perticia is the imperial princess."

"...What?"

"The seventh princess of the Ruben Empire. That's how she introduced herself when we first met."

Laurea's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you sure you're not misremembering? I thought the current emperor only had six bloodline successors..."

"You reacted the same way in the past life too."

Ulan replied familiarly.

But her disbelief soon dissipated.

Perticia's self-introduction viewed through 『Eyes of Penetration』had been verified as the complete truth. After hearing the explanation, Laurea muttered in an astonished tone.

"A hidden princess..."

So this was another interesting piece of information.

Her bright yellow eyes sparkled with intrigue.

Shortly after the talk about Perticia concluded, the slightly flushed Laurea spoke as if the alcohol was starting to take effect.

"Since we're on this topic anyway, tell me more."

"More of what?"

"Your memories of the future."

"Did you want to hear more about Perticia's story?"

"No, that's enough on her."

"Then what?"

When Ulan asked back, she briefly fell silent, hesitating to answer. After a moment, she muttered in a small voice.

"...When we first met."

"What was that?"

"When you and I first met!"

She repeated in a slightly louder voice this time; her cheeks had an odd reddish tinge, perhaps from the alcohol. With glistening eyes, Laurea gazed insistently at Ulan.

"And I want to hear all about whatever happened between us, and how we became close again."

"Why are you so curious about that?"

"I just am. So tell me."

She persisted unrelentingly.

For whatever reason, she seemed to have a compelling need to hear it. Since it wasn't particularly difficult, Ulan readily nodded.

"Very well. Then let me start from when you called me a damn barbarian."

"I, I said that?!"

"Yeah. It was... when was it..."

Soon, Ulan's story began.

As he continued, Laurea's complexion changed from one to another. Sometimes turning pale, sometimes flushed.

She seemed to be overwhelmed by the burdens accumulated by the past Laurea, and as the night deepened, her complexion changed continuously.

And by noon the following day,

The students from Arsene and Eloden Academies who had participated in the friendly mock battle had gathered in one place.

It was time for the after-match party celebration.

End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . .

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