漫画大王

Chapter 215

She thought the whole situation was absurd.

Reinhart had gone to the Orbis Class dormitory, faced-off with two of their students, and while fighting a senior in the second round, had forced himself to use Mana Reinforcement and then passed out for four days.

When Reinhart regained consciousness, though, all the emotions that had built up in her over those four days vanished.

‘He’s alive and safe now. No need to worry.’

Once that thought washed away her pent-up worry, she got angry.

She was so angry that it was hard to bear. Both she and now Reinhart had paid the price for clumsily achieving success.

However, she had been in a life-threatening situation, while Reinhart had merely been in a quarrel with a senior.

Ellen found it hard to understand why he had to engage in such reckless behavior in such a trivial situation.

She wanted to tell him, “Why are you in such a hurry, and why do you always choose the dangerous path? Never do that again. Watching you doing this feels like it’s killing me. While you were unconscious, it felt like I was the one dying, not you.”

Would he stop doing such things if she said that?

She wasn’t sure, but she wanted to say it. Maybe he would refrain from such dangerous actions, even a little.

‘What is he so desperate for? Why is he overexerting himself like this?’

In Ellen’s mind, there was only one reason she could think of.

After their return from the Dark Land, the gap between their skill level had widened even more. She had learned to use Mana Reinforcement, and although Reinhart had also gotten much stronger, the absolute gap had widened.

That was why he had asked her to teach him Mana Reinforcement. The lessons weren’t going so well, though, but he tried to force it to happen. Ellen was frustrated because she couldn’t teach him properly, and Reinhart was frustrated that it wasn’t working, but kept trying anyway.

Was that why he’d gone and done something so reckless again? Could he have believed that, after awakening a supernatural power through reckless actions the last time, it might work again?

The way Ellen saw it, Reinhart’s urgency stemmed from wanting to somehow catch up to someone who had become too strong.

But there was no need for him to think like that.

Did Reinhart hate drifting away from her?

When she thought about it that way, she could somewhat understand Reinhart’s urgency. It made her angry, but perhaps she could accept it if he was being driven by such a feeling.

Ellen headed to the kitchen in the dining hall and grabbed a knife.

Although she was always scolded for eating too much, she knew Reinhart ate just as much. The porridge he had been eating in the recovery room wouldn’t be enough. She intended to make something for him.

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

Ellen chopped the ingredients silently. She prepared the vegetables and sliced the chicken.

Since it would be hard for him to move his jaw, she chose tender thigh meat. She made the pieces smaller than usual, small enough to swallow without chewing.

She never knew how to cook before.

She never had a reason to learn.

At home, her parents prepared the meals, and at the Temple, the chefs served the dishes. The snacks available between meals were sufficient.

There were various breads, jerky, sausages, biscuits... Those used to be enough for her.

However, they no longer satisfied her. On the occasions when Reinhart didn’t cook for some reason, Ellen found herself not wanting to eat the same snacks as before.

She got tired of them.

During those times, Ellen either made something for herself or didn’t eat at all. More often than not, she wouldn’t eat if Reinhart wasn’t around.

Although she used to sit alone and eat various things, now it felt... well... a little lonely.

‘No, not lonely, just boring,’ she corrected herself.

Ellen was now less inclined to eat alone.

She never knew how to cook before, and had no reason to learn.

But now, she could.

Thanks to Reinhart constantly nagging her to stop letting herself be fed and start learning to cook on her own, she had spent a lot of time observing him over his shoulder.

Ellen had good dexterity and a good memory, so she had learned how to make most of the dishes she’d seen Reinhart make herself.

Sometimes, she even made them on her own for herself .

Thanks to her extraordinarily keen senses Ellen could often foresee an outcome without actually having to see it. She could know how things would turn out without actually trying it out first.

This talent of Ellen’s extended to cooking as well.

Truly.

Ellen now thought she was better at cooking than Reinhart.

She couldn’t make what she hadn’t seen before, but after watching Reinhart make something and then trying it herself, she could mentally map out how to make it better.

She knew it without trying.

While Reinhart used rough measurements when he cooked, she could predict the exact amount of each seasoning required to achieve the desired flavor.

After watching Reinhart cook something, she could make it better on her own.

But Ellen rarely took up the knife.

When Reinhart would annoyingly force her to cook, she would make it imperfectly on purpose. She’d make it a bit bland, or a bit too salty, or she’d intentionally leave out a key ingredient.

She did it all on purpose.

Reinhart would then scold her for getting it wrong, and eventually take over.

She knew it was a bit mean-spirited, but she wasn’t doing it out of petty malice.

It was because if she made it better than his... if Reinhart found out she was better at it than he was...

She feared he might never cook for her again.

Although she knew it was childish and somewhat mean behavior, Ellen had some understanding of how Reinhart was.

If she outperformed him, it would hurt his pride. She often saw Reinhart smiling to himself in the kitchen while cooking something for her, despite pretending to be annoyed or bothered.

Although he always said it was a hassle and pretended to be frustrated, she knew that Reinhart was smiling while cooking for her.

Ellen knew he enjoyed the act of doing something for her.

If he found out she was better at cooking, Ellen knew it would take away that enjoyment from him. That, at least, she understood.

She thought of it as the price of her teaching him swordsmanship. She knew that if she showed that she also excelled at cooking, Reinhart might feel hurt.

She wanted Reinhart to have at least one thing he thought he did better than her.

She wanted it to remain a source of joy for Reinhart.

That’s why Ellen rarely took up the knife in the kitchen.

She still didn’t quite know how to deal with other people, but when it came to Reinhart.... At least with Reinhart, she felt that she understood a little.

No. Actually, the reasons didn’t really matter.

Simply put, she liked it when Reinhart did something for her.

Reinhart always grumbled, but would always end up making something for her. Even when he called her a glutton when she asked for more, he would go back into the kitchen.

If she said she wanted to eat something, he’d mutter that she should make it herself, but still went on to make it.

If they didn’t have the ingredients, he would ask the staff to restock them and make it the next day.

She just liked that.

Even though she could make it taste better on her own, she enjoyed seeing him grumble yet still make the things she wanted to eat.

If she didn’t say anything, he would make food she’d never seen before and nonchalantly ask her how it was, while all his attention was secretly focused on her reaction.

When she said it was good, he’d tell her to be thankful and brag about it.

If she said it wasn’t good, he’d grab the plate and tell her to stop eating.

All those moments, that interaction, was what she liked.

That was the kind of person Reinhart was.

He spoke harshly, acted rough, and always chose words that seemed mean.

But in the end, he did everything she asked. Although he pretended not to care, he paid a lot of attention to people.

Still, his annoyingly foul personality often meant got into needless fights or found himself in trouble.

She couldn’t fully understand Reinhart yet.

But Ellen still felt that it was okay.

She had been angry, but that anger had somehow disappeared. Ellen didn’t even realize that she had been angry, and that she had somehow forgotten about it.

Ellen continued to prepare the ingredients to make the soup, unaware that she was smiling.

Like Reinhart, she smiled unknowingly while making chicken and vegetable soup.

She boiled the vegetables and meat until they were so tender they could be swallowed without much chewing, and seasoned mildly so it wouldn’t be too salty or difficult to eat.

Reinhart ate a lot and needed to eat a lot to recover quickly, so Ellen made quite a substantial portion.

She poured the finished soup into a pot and headed towards the recovery room. It was night, and everyone had likely gone to bed, so the hallway and lobby were empty.

The priest on duty was outside the recovery room, dozing. He was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed, and didn’t even notice Ellen coming in.

Though it wasn’t good for him to sleep on the job, Ellen didn’t bother waking him up.

She entered the recovery room and saw Reinhart sleeping.

It was late, so that made sense.

“E-Ellen?!”

“Oh, hey.”

Her eyes met those of Harriet de Saint-Ouen, who had been gently stroking the sleeping Reinhart’s hair.

Startled, Harriet quickly pulled her hand back from Reinhart’s head. Her face turned bright red, as though she had been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be seen doing.

“Th-Th-That... That was because, uh... It’s because he asked me to put him to sleep. No! It’s not what you’re thinking! With a s-s-sleeping spell...”

Harriet stammered out excuses that hardly made sense, while Ellen just stared at her quietly.

What could be so embarrassing?

Ellen didn’t understand.

However, she had seen Harriet clearly for a brief moment upon entering; she had seen Harriet’s face as she gently stroked Reinhart’s hair.

Ellen had noticed Harriet’s warm and gentle smile.

It was a smile that Harriet never showed in front of Reinhart; one she only showed while watching him sleep.

A smile that she seemed unwilling to show when he was awake, but one she could show endlessly when he was asleep.

If affection were a tangible thing, her eyes and expression would be overflowing with it.

Was it really so embarrassing for someone else to see such an expression?

Ellen found herself feeling envious that Harriet could make such a face.

Though she didn’t know why, she thought it would be nice if she could smile like that.

Ellen felt a sense of unwarranted jealousy.

In an attempt to change the subject, Harriet pointed at the pot Ellen had brought. “S-So... What’s that? It smells good...”

“I made soup.”

“Soup? Ah, I see...”

Harriet seemed slightly flustered when she realized that Ellen had made it for Reinhart, but she still nodded absentmindedly.

Though the soup was meant for Reinhart, he was in a deep sleep induced by a sleeping spell, necessitated by the pain he was experiencing.

“Do you want some?”

Since she’d made a lot of soup, Ellen offered Harriet some.

“Huh? Oh... Is it okay?”

“Yes.”

Even though she had made it for Reinhart, there was no reason not to share it with Harriet. The two of them poured the soup into bowls and ate it in front of the sleeping Reinhart.

Harriet’s eyes widened after taking her first spoonful.

“It’s delicious...”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Ellen, you’re really good at cooking too...”

The use of the word “too” indicated Harriet thought Reinhart was good at cooking as well. Harriet knew that Reinhart and Ellen often cooked something together at night, with Reinhart mostly doing the cooking.

From Reinhart’s grumbling, Harriet assumed that Ellen rarely cooked.

However, Ellen was good at cooking too.

And now that Reinhart was ill, Ellen had made soup herself.

The taste could satisfy even Harriet’s palate, which was accustomed to refined foods.

‘What can’t she do?’ Harriet thought.

Harriet ate the soup gradually, feeling a strange sense of defeat.

Reinhart learned swordsmanship from Ellen. On days when there wasn’t much to do, he would hole up in the training hall all day. Harriet had watched them a few times.

She had been curious about how physical training differed from magical research.

No—it hadn’t been a curiosity about swordsmanship training. She just wanted to see what those two, who had naturally grown closer through their training, did all day.

Since the start of the first semester, Reinhart, who had begun with no talents, had certainly grown stronger. Honestly, in the first semester, Reinhart was just a strange guy who was weak, knew nothing about swordsmanship, and tried to do everything despite all those flaws.

But now, he could wield a sword quite well. That was thanks to Ellen, no doubt.

Harriet knew Ellen had incomparable talent in swordsmanship and close combat.

Considering Reinhart was learning swordsmanship from such a person, his growth was only natural.

That’s why he continued to practice swordsmanship with Ellen.

However, Harriet often had another thought.

Reinhart was intelligent, so he could have learned magic too.

‘What if Reinhart had learned magic instead of swordsmanship?’

Ellen’s skill in swordsmanship was unparalleled.

Reinhart had reached his current skill level because he stuck with Ellen all day.

However, Harriet didn’t underestimate herself.

If Ellen was the pinnacle when it came to talent in close combat, Harriet was the pinnacle when it came to magical talent.

If he had learned magic from her instead of learning swordsmanship from Ellen, he could have spent all day with her in the dormitory’s magic lab instead.

—“This is how you do it. That’s how you do it. Think of this spell formula this way, and it becomes easier to cast.”

She would have taught him constantly.

He might not reach her level, but he could have become a competent enough mage by now, and be able to use magic in real situations. They could have spent all day together, even past curfew.

But all this was already in the past.

Reinhart had made his choice.

Reinhart was learning swordsmanship from Ellen, and they had so little time together.

Once, Harriet had even considered learning swordsmanship during her spare time. She had plenty of excuses to do so, and it wasn’t unreasonable to say that fencing was a basic noble art.

Perhaps she could have asked to join them under some pretext or another, perhaps even for physical training. Pretending that it was not just an excuse to be with them.

These thoughts, and her own curiosity about what those two did in the training hall all day, led Harriet to observe Reinhart and Ellen training a few times.

The actual training she’d witnessed was very different from what she’d imagined.

She had thought they might have grown closer by sweating together, bickering, and chatting frequently. But no.

Just watching it made her legs go weak.

Ellen was relentlessly tough on him, and Reinhart was barely keeping up, constantly being knocked down and thrown about. Each time, he would get up again.

Harriet flinched just from watching Reinhart suffer the hits.

‘Is that really okay? Doesn’t it hurt? I mean, is it normal to train this hard? So this is how intense it had to be...’

These thoughts often crossed her mind.

There was hardly any conversation between them.

—You’re dead.

—Hey, take it easy... I’m gonna die...

Those were the brief words they exchanged, and they were almost always engaged in something close to hand-to-hand combat every day.

Of course, Harriet was mostly concerned about the intimate physical contact between the two of them.

However, whatever contact they had were from fistfights, collar grabs, and ground-and-pound moves in close combat and submission holds more than anything else. Harriet thought that if their hearts raced from that, it would be because of fear, and not anything else.

She thought they grew closer by training together, but seeing them like that, it was strange Reinhart didn’t hold a grudge against Ellen because of it.

It wasn’t that Harriet felt uncomfortable watching Ellen and Reinhart’s training. She just couldn’t watch because it felt like she was running out of breath just observing them.

Her desire to learn swordsmanship completely disappeared.

Reinhart, who kept getting up no matter how many times he was thrown to the ground or knocked down, and Ellen, who continued to overpower him with the same attitude and posture, without any emotional fluctuation...

They both possessed a mental fortitude incomparable to her own.

‘If it were me, I’d probably just sit down and cry after one fall or hit.’

Harriet realized how naive she had been to consider learning swordsmanship as a cultured hobby.

She realized anew how blessed her magical talent was, how it let her sit at a table and study spellbooks all day.

And so, Ellen continued to teach Reinhart swordsmanship alone.

“Did you originally know how to cook?” Harriet asked.

“No,” Ellen responded.

So, although it might not have been a reciprocal exchange, Ellen must have learned cooking from Reinhart.

“Was it... from Reinhart?”

“... You could say that,” Ellen replied ambiguously.

When she heard this, Harriet silently imagined Reinhart teaching Ellen how to cook.

Peeling potatoes, chopping vegetables, Reinhart guiding Ellen, kindly and gently, to prevent her from cutting herself...

“...”

As she thought about it, Harriet felt an unwarranted sense of jealousy rising within her. She didn’t even know why she felt jealous.

In reality, it was more likely that Reinhart would constantly nag Ellen.

—Come on, you don’t put that in there. Ugh, never mind. I guess this is edible.

—Ellen, this is so bland! Are you trying to go on a low-sodium diet after all this sweating?

—If it’s bland, you add salt, not sugar! Geez!

—Hey, don’t glare at people like that while holding a knife! I’ve told you that before.

The reality differed greatly from what Harriet was imagining, but Harriet still felt emotional while imagining Ellen and Reinhart cooking together affectionately.

She knew Reinhart wasn’t the type to teach anything gently, but her mind still ran that way.

Even so, Harriet was better off than before.

The guy who used to hole up in the training hall all day had now been forced to become the president of the Magic Research Club, thanks to her efforts.

Every week, on scheduled days, Reinhart would show up, grumbling the entire time, but he would still come.

That was just how Reinhart was.

Though he spoke harshly and said strange, irritating things, he was always willing to help when it mattered.

Harriet quietly watched Ellen eating the chicken soup.

‘Does Ellen like Reinhart?’ she thought.

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of making and bringing soup in the middle of the night.

But Ellen’s expression was always unreadable, which made it hard to know what she was thinking. She rarely showed any reaction. Which was why Ellen’s occasional gestures, like bringing soup, seemed very out of the blue.

Ellen was such a different person from her. Steady, unflappable, seemingly able to endure anything with her strong mental fortitude.

Harriet envied Ellen because of that.

Just as Ellen found certain aspects of Harriet enviable, Harriet also found aspects of Ellen to envy.

‘What does Ellen really think of Reinhart?’

Harriet couldn’t know Ellen’s true feelings, but she had a wish.

She hoped they were just friends.

That they were just very close friends, and that was it. Although she knew that wasn’t true.

She knew it could never be just that.

But Harriet could see, too, her own cowardly longing to believe it to be so.