"...Oof, not good." Eugeo rapped himself on the head with the wooden sword he had rested on his shoulder. A year had passed since he had enrolled and perhaps due to getting a little used to the life at the academy, there were times when he was about to lose sight of the feelings he held when he set out on this journey from the village. He was not here to gain fame or honor as a swordsman. "...Alice..." As if he was advising himself, he muttered the name precious to him. Living here, winning in the official matches, and even his aim to become an integrity knight, none of those were the end result, but only the process. To take back that blonde childhood friend of his, who should be confined somewhere within the Axiom Church's Central Cathedral— After descending to the first floor through the stairs constructed on the northern side of the building, Eugeo headed towards the exclusive practice arena beside the dormitory. This too, was one of the privileges of the elite swordsmen-in-training. He had swung his wooden sword in either a large, crowded practice hall or an open-air outdoor training field back when he was a novice trainee, but now he was able to practice indoors in a bright and spacious area, for as long as he liked. Opening the door at the end of a short passage, the refreshing scent of the annually refurbished floors welcomed Eugeo. Standing still, he was about to inhale it before he stopped his breath. He could sense a faint, sticky smell mixed into the air. When he got out of the small changing room, into the practice arena, those foreboding feelings turned to reality. The two male students positioned right in the middle of the vast wooden floor noticed Eugeo and turned to look at him with blunt scowls. Perhaps in the midst of style practice, one of them stayed still with his wooden sword held aloft, while the other was adjusting his stance, but then both of them dropped their arms in an unnatural motion. You don't have to be that cautious, I won't be stealing your techniques; muttering that thought in his mind, Eugeo simply gave a light nod and started walking towards a corner of the practice arena. He figured they would ignore him as usual, but for some reason tonight, the ones who had arrived earlier took a step forward and opened their mouths to speak. "My, Swordsman-in-training Eugeo... you're alone tonight?" The one who called out was the man with his sword raised overhead. A garish red uniform covered his burly and tall body while his long and wavy blonde hair hung down. A delighted smile settled on his well-ordered face lacking any flaws, but that intentional pause after «Eugeo»[1]was to call attention to Eugeo's origins as a peasant with no family name. Responding to harassment of this level would only serve to reduce the time he had for practice, so Eugeo returned the greeting with a contrived expression. "Good evening, Swordsman-in-training Antinous. Yes, unfortunately, my roommate is..." However, those words were interrupted by the other male student's shrill scream. "How rude! When addressing Raios-dono by name, be sure to add in the «Head Swordsman-in- training»!" Turning to the man wearing a pale yellow uniform with his grey hair plastered in oil, he performed a slight bow despite being fed up as one would expect.