The day before the start of the Academy semester.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ludmila Lionheart.”
A military bunny girl appeared before us.
“I’m the adventurer known as Cutting Wind, and I’ve joined this Academy as a new student under special admission, just like you.”
We had a moment to introduce ourselves to our new teammate, who had joined the Academy as a student while still being an active adventurer.
“Uh, hello! I’m Yunia!”
“Red Sol Phoenix.”
“Hmm. Nice to meet you both.”
Ludmila didn’t react much to Yunia or me.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested; rather, it was clear she already knew quite a bit about us.
‘The Dean of Academic Affairs must have informed her.’
Ederson Lionheart, the Mercenary King, had probably given her a heads-up.
“I heard you stepped up to save people during the t*rrorist attack on the magic train. That’s impressive. It couldn’t have been easy to take action.”
“A-Ah, it was the right thing to do!”
Yunia blushed and stammered at Ludmila’s praise.
Even though she grew up in the countryside, having someone like Cutting Wind, an A-rank adventurer among the top contenders for S-rank, praise her was something else entirely.
‘It’s like a famous singer complimenting your singing skills.’
Not just any famous singer, but one with real talent and a large fan base.
Of course, the way Ludmila looked at Yunia wasn’t just simple admiration for a girl who had bravely stepped forward to help others.
‘She’s the target of her escort.’
The one she had to protect.
To be exact, she was the one who approached her as a student without knowing her true identity according to the given mission and followed her as her escort to protect her.
‘The Academy must know about Yunia’s background.’
Who did Yunia learn from?
What is the identity of the old witch who taught Yunia various forms of magic and raised her like a daughter?
The Grey Witch.
While there was no way to find her from this side, in time, she would inevitably come to the Academy herself.
Although she would come in her true form, different from the old woman Yunia knew, the reason for her visit would include both public and personal matters.
‘She’s coming to see Yunia.’
To make sure the disciple she cherished like a daughter wasn’t being mistreated by some delinquent or scoundrel at the Academy.
And that delinquent, of course, was my former self—Regif.
At the end of the first year, when Yunia is kidnapped under hypnosis, the Grey Witch—an S-rank Grand Mage—will appear.
To demonstrate that “Our Academy is doing its best!”, the Academy staff assigned the Mercenary King’s granddaughter as a guard.
‘It’s partly because of the special class, but personal connections play a big role in this too.’
If Yunia wasn’t the Grey Witch’s heir, would the Mercenary King have still assigned his granddaughter to protect her?
If that weren’t the case, another special admission student might have joined our team, or it could have just been Yunia and me working together.
“Phoenix-nim.”
“You don’t have to add ‘nim’, Miss Ludmila.”
“I heard you’re not too fond of the name Red.”
Not really.
“Using Phoenix as both your family name and given name suggests you have quite a bit of confidence, doesn’t it? I’ll be expecting great things from you.”
“Yes, Miss Ludmila.”
She was more cautious than expectant towards me.
‘I came here openly hiding my true identity, so it’s no wonder her wariness is maxed out.’
Though she wasn’t an enemy. Esta would have explained what happened on the train, and the report would have reached Ederson and, in turn, Ludmila.
Like with Yunia, stepping up to save people is seen as a positive.
But whether I did it out of pure goodwill or if I was just pretending to be good to impress the women around me, that’s what she’s assessing.
Besides that.
“Hmm…”
“Miss Ludmila?”
“How much do you usually train?”
Ludmila’s ears perked up once, as she was trying to gather information while being wary of me.
Not the human ears hidden by hair, but rabbit ears towering over her head.
“Since there’s no equipment in the Old School Building, I do simple exercises that I can manage with just my body.”
I rolled up my sleeves and extended my arm towards Ludmila.
“Push-ups and things like that in my room.”
“Hmm.”
Ludmila nodded slightly as she examined my arm.
She was an active A-rank adventurer and a front-line mercenary, as well as a beastfolk warrior.
“Good muscles. Not overly bulky, but this kind of functional muscle likely packs a lot of strength.”
I felt a slight pang of guilt.
‘It’s actually created by magic.’
It wasn’t my real body.
While it looked and felt like real flesh, it was, in essence, mana organized into muscle fibers.
But to be fair, I had gone through training in Hell for 10 years, enough to build up such muscles.
Therefore—
Shaaak!
“Kyaaa?!”
“Ho.”
Without any warning, Ludmila attempted to thrust her fist towards my solar plexus. I smoothly dodged her attack and instinctively reached out towards her body—this kind of combat sense had been honed through my experiences.
“Isn’t this a bit dangerous?”
I remarked, pointing to my fist that was now aimed at her solar plexus.
“…”
Ludmila looked at me with wide, surprised rabbit-like eyes.
Her punch had been avoided by me as I twisted my body and trapped her arm under my armpit, while my fist was poised, stopped just short of her solar plexus.
“L-Ludmila?!”
“Apologies. For someone like me, it’s quicker to make judgments this way.”
Ludmila briefly bowed her head towards Yunia, then turned her gaze back to me.
“Impressive. It seems your muscles aren’t just for show. My grandfather said you might have potential.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Hmm.”
Ludmila’s wariness towards me decreased.
Although it was just one exchange, she realized that at least I was capable of defending myself—at a C-rank level.
‘If it had been a serious punch, I would have taken it head-on and been slammed into the wall.’
Before Ludmila initiated her attack, I had already gauged the seriousness behind her punch.
– Remember, the stronger the opponent, the more they’ll test your abilities!
That’s what Changyeom said.
– If you see an E-rank attack coming, they’re looking down on you—go after them. If it’s a C-rank attack, pretend to respond with your full strength. But if it’s an A-rank attack? Brace yourself for at least a month in recovery, then make sure they visit you daily in the infirmary so you can charm them there!
I followed the script I had prepared. Fortunately, Ludmila had attacked at a level appropriate for a C-rank fighter, allowing me to counter it.
“What do you think, Cutting Wind? Satisfied?”
Instructor Esta, who had been quietly watching from behind, clapped her hands, breaking the tension.
“Yes, this is excellent. I’m impressed by your potential.”
For the first time, Ludmila smiled.
“To have this much combat experience at 17… I don’t know who your mentor is, but they must have trained you harshly.”
“Yes, I don’t even know how many times I’ve died.”
“Haha, you’re joking.”
I didn’t react further.
If I did, she might start asking, “Did you really die?”
“Um, excuse me….”
Yunia stepped forward, raising her hand to get our attention.
“How long are you two going to stay like that? Especially, um, there…!”
Yunia reached out and grabbed my hand, which was still touching Ludmila’s solar plexus.
“Hmm.”
Ludmila didn’t blush or get flustered, but she did take a small step back, slightly embarrassed.
“It’s not really a problem.”
“But your fist was touching her chest! And Phoenix-nim, you shouldn’t attack a woman’s vital points like that…!”
“The solar plexus is a vital point for men too, Miss Yunia.”
“That’s not what I meant!!”
“And even if I did punch her, it would’ve been my fist that got damaged, not her.”
I lightly tapped the wall of the old school building’s classroom with my hand.
“Punching a part of the body protected by mana? Might as well try breaking a brick wall instead.”
“That’s right.”
Ludmila placed her hand over her chest.
“As a warrior, one must know how to protect their vital points, especially areas where mana is concentrated.”
“Uh, well, that’s true….”
“I’m wearing armor underneath, so it’s fine. See?”
“Kyaaa?!”
Ludmila pulled down the front of her bunny girl outfit.
“W-What are you doing?!”
“I should be the one asking that.”
Yunia quickly rushed over and covered my eyes with her hands.
‘Blocking such a wonderful view…’
While it was a shame to lose my sight, Yunia clinging to me did provide a tingling sensation in my sense of touch. However, Ludmila’s action wasn’t the inappropriate gesture Yunia was imagining.
“It’s not like… huh?”
“It’s a specially made mana protection barrier.”
Ludmila’s body was probably just like a mannequin under that outfit—nothing visible beneath the surface.
Her body shape, contours, size, and curves were all visible, but the actual skin color and details were concealed by a thin mana ‘barrier’ that covered her skin.
“It’s a kind of camouflage. A suit that’s less than a millimeter thick, made to look like real skin. Instructor Esta used to use one frequently, didn’t you?”
“I don’t wear it now.”
Esta blushed and cleared her throat.
“Miss Yunia, this is one of the highest-grade pieces of equipment you’ll rarely see in the Academy. Some people even call it the [Fairy Suit] or [Fairy Clothing].”
“This… this is clothing…?”
“Yes. It’s designed to cling tightly to the body, so it doesn’t provide any additional camouflage.”
It’s different from a chest manipulation device. That creates a large form from the beginning, filling it with mana inside, while this is like latex that clings to the body.
In other words, Ludmila would look even more impressive without it.
“Then why are you wearing that bunny girl outfit on top of it…?”
“It’s a strategy to divert the enemy’s attention.”
Ludmila pointed to her body as if disappointed.
“If I wore it in reverse bunny style, I could distract the enemies even more. Or, I could just wear the Fairy Suit alone…”
“S-Stop!”
Yunia blushed and shouted.
“No indecency!”
“…But.”
Ludmila spoke in a bitter tone.
“I think sticking so closely to Phoenix is a bit more of a public disturbance….”
“…Oh.”
Yunia awkwardly responded, lowering her hands for a moment.
“…T-This person is fine!”
She started saying something strange.
“P-Phoenix-nim is a safe male, a male who needs to be protected!”
In other words, she was babbling.
“…??”
Ludmila tilted her head in confusion.
“Alright, alright.”
Instructor Esta quickly clapped her hands to shift the attention.
“There’s still one more person, so let’s proceed with the introduction.”
“One more person?”
“Yes.”
“Instructor.”
Before Yunia could ask, I pulled my arm out from her embrace and raised my hand.
“Is it a man or a woman?”
“Which one would you prefer?”
“…”
“Don’t worry. At least it’s close to what you desire, Phoenix. …Although it’s an unfortunate situation.”
Esta sighed deeply.
“Among the 15 special admission students, excluding one special case.”
I knew about that person, though.
“Congratulations, Phoenix. Everyone else besides you is female.”
Special admission students.
To give a slight spoiler, out of the 16, in the original story, everyone except the protagonist was female.
Either heroines.
Or related to heroines.
Or perhaps, ‘villains’.
“It seems like being the only man will be tough for you, but are you okay with that?”
“I’m fine.”
Because.
“That’s exactly what I hoped for.”
All special admission students are women.
A well-designed system, I’d say.
“Instructor, how did that happen…?”
“It’s simple.”
Ludmila spoke up instead.
“They’re afraid of being devoured upon entering the Academy.”
“Devoured…?”
“Yes.”
Ludmila made a gesture of cutting her own throat.
“They’re scared they’ll lose their mana, so they don’t come.”
In reality. Since the spread of Mana Drain, by the third year, the system has seen a significant drop in male student admissions.
Because.
“If they get caught by Vinyudan on their way to the Academy, their vitality will be drained.”
Everyone who comes gets devoured.
