All classes at the academy can be broadly classified into two categories.

A written subject in which students learn and memorize theory, history, etc.

Practical subjects to learn how to move and what to do in actual combat.

Of course, both subjects were essential classes for students attending the academy.

If I had to insist, the practical subjects were a little more important, but that didn’t mean I could neglect or let go of the written subjects.

First of all, all departments of the academy had to take both written and practical subjects regardless of the combat department and other departments to graduate.

It was a different story as to whether it would be possible for departments such as the Ministry of Pensions and the Department of Theology, where theory is more important than actual combat, to properly utilize the theory learned in real situations.

Even in departments like swordsmanship and spearmanship, which seemed to require only physical movement, there was of course the basic knowledge of movements that needed to be known.

In particular, the first year students prioritized building theories rather than practical experience, so the proportion of written subjects was higher than practical skills for the first year in any department.

In an extreme case, it is possible to omit all practical classes for the first year only and occupy the top of the department only with the written classes.

Of course, most of the results of the fake faculty chiefs obtained in that way were bound to be revealed as soon as they were in the second year.

A student who is only strong in theory without practical skills is not the type of person the academy wants.

On the contrary, students who do not have the theory properly will always have a section where they cannot grow beyond a certain point in practice.

That’s why I told Delphina before admission to pay attention to this part when designing the lecture composition and to set a balanced timetable.

In particular, I told my sister to take the most necessary subject, ‘Understanding Weapons and Materials’, even if it overlaps with other subjects.

It was a subject that contained the theory of choosing the weapon that best suited one’s body type, so it was a common subject that anyone belonging to the combat department had to take as a required liberal arts level.

Especially for Delphina, who wields anything that looks like a long stick.

No matter how much, I thought I was going to throw away my old spear and use a new one when I took the academy entrance exam.

When I heard the news that she had taken the entrance exam with that old weapon intact, I couldn’t help but say something to Delphina.

Of course, during Delphina’s entrance examination period, I should have taken care of the children at Cherryfield Nursery School, so it happened because I didn’t check last.

Of course, even though it was old, the base was made of steel, and if Delphina’s energy was blown into it, it would have been harder than most Orihalcon spears.

So, he would have been ranked first in the entrance exam.

Anyway, thanks to taking the proper classes and listening to my advice, I showed myself participating in the mid-term evaluation with a decent weapon.

If I had tried to take the test with that old stick again, I would have tried to forcefully hold a spear made of Orichalcon alloy in my hand.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen as Delphina first appeared with a high-quality item in front of her eyes.

I heard that he didn’t buy it, but he gave it to someone, and he put on a slightly disturbed expression.

‘There is no favor without a reward’ was the younger sister’s theory, so she must have been thinking about repaying the favor.

In any case, he was still a hard-working character.

Anyway, the combat department’s written subject was also an important subject that could not be skipped, just like the practical one, and the opposite, the non-combat department’s practical subject, was just as important.

Compared to other combat departments, even the students of the Ministry of Magic, who had an overwhelming proportion of theoretical classes, needed to be prepared for actual combat at any time.

That’s why I, too, have been running with Stella from dawn today to prepare for a real battle that could come at any time.

“Ha ha, ha, ha… .”

Looking at the back of Stella, who was running about five steps ahead of me, I calmed down my rough breathing.

It’s really great stamina no matter what time I see it.

At first glance, it might look like I’m physically catching up with Stella, a swordsmanship student, even though I’m a student at the Ministry of Magic.

In fact, Stella was running with all her own handicaps, so in reality there was an overwhelming difference in strength beyond what was visible.

Not only the weight and discomfort of the full plate mail worn on the whole body, but also a considerable amount of weight pockets hanging under the iron plate armor.

When I saw Stella running with a body that was several times uncomfortable and heavy than mine, I automatically realized that it was the strength of human beings themselves.

I also recently gained strength and trained with weights, but it still couldn’t compare to the things Stella had on various parts of her body.

I was curious about it once, so I changed only the one on my ankle and ran, but I thought my thighs would burst after less than 50 steps.

Well, that’s because Stella has Stella’s strengths, and I have my own strengths.

It was enough to maintain enough physical strength to keep up with the other party members.

If it was necessary, it would have been enough to strengthen the muscles with arcane magic.

“Would you like to rest for a while, Senior Conrad?”

Noticing that I was slowing down with other thoughts, Stella asked me with a slightly worried expression.

“It’s okay, I can still run two more laps.”

“All right. Then let’s run two more laps and rest together.”

“yes.”

Stella waited a moment for me to stand next to her, then started running again, matching my steps at the same starting line.

It was a precious moment in my daily life that would be empty without it.

* * *

After completing the academy’s running course a couple more times with weights hanging.

Stella and I were always sitting on a bench where we breathed together, taking the sweet break that comes after hard training.

When I was able to breathe and use magic to some extent, I reached out my hand to Stella who was sitting next to me.

“Stella, give me the water bottle.”

“Yes, I am here”

He lightly thrust his right index finger into the empty water bottle he received from Stella and used the weakest level of water magic.

A straight line of water from her fingertips filled her empty bottle with clean water in less than two seconds.

Stella accepted the splashing bucket, and I thanked her.

“Thank you as always, Senior Conrad.”

“It’s nothing, what.”

It really wasn’t a big deal, so I took Stella’s thanks in moderation and aimed my finger at my mouth to create a stream of water as well.

Compared to other departments, the advantage of wizards was that they could create fresh water anywhere if conditions were met.

Of course, so is fire. Thanks to that, I was almost on duty at the drank subjugation party.

“Phaah!”

Stella also gulped down the contents of the water bottle she had received from me, then put on a satisfied expression on her face.

It goes without saying, but hydration during exercise is important.

If you do not replenish the water consumed and lost due to intense exercise in time, it will be hard on your body to maintain continuous physical training.

Even for muscle growth, a certain amount of water was an essential element.

I remembered that my father also made sure to drink enough water and nutrients after training Delphina in spearmanship.

I also grew up watching my father and sister like that, so naturally drinking water like this right after exercise became a habit.

That’s why filling Stella’s empty water bottle is also an action that stems from that.

For reference, Stella didn’t even bring her own water bottle when we first worked out together.

Sometimes it gets in the way of jumping.

If you were wearing a heavy bag or full plate mail, you would naturally forget things like water bottles that had a relatively low priority.

Then, how did you replenish her moisture?

As I do now, I had Stella open her mouth and drink the water directly from her fingers.

I thought it was cute because it looked like a baby bird receiving and eating food.

Within days of that, Stella had definitely developed the habit of bringing a bottle of water with her.

It made me feel a little sad, but what can I do when I say that I am ashamed of myself.

“Is Conrad-senpai going in now?”

“yes. Today’s class starts from the first period, so I shouldn’t strain too much in the morning exercise. Stella, are you?”

“I’ll run for two more hours and then go in.”

He quietly stuck his tongue out in his mind at the merciless training menu that still whipped himself.

Even though he worked so hard, he was still second in the second year of the swordsmanship club.

If it hadn’t been for the self-penalty caused by Professor McDowell’s class, of course Stella would have taken the top spot.

… Wait a minute.

Come to think of it, wasn’t there a class conducted by Professor McDowell among the 2nd year swordsmanship classes?

“stellar.”

“Yes, senior.”

“I’m asking just in case, are you taking Professor McDowell’s class this semester?”

“no. I tend to attend Master’s classes as much as possible, but unfortunately, there were no lectures from my father that I could listen to this semester.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Originally, most of the classes for that professor were for the upper grades.

In the first place, following the absurdly difficult class itself was impossible unless you were in the senior year of the academy.

Because of the quota system that requires each professor to run at least one first-year subject, the professor’s class was only held in the first-year subject.

That’s why there were no classes from Professor McDowell in the second year of the swordsmanship department.

No matter how much Stella wanted to participate in Professor McDowell’s lectures, it was structurally impossible, so it meant that she had to give up even if she regretted it for this year.

Of course, just as there are advantages and disadvantages, Stella was not without its advantages.

“Then, can we expect Stella to reclaim the top spot this semester?”

As much as Professor McDowell’s course was missing, Stella’s grade point average would of course rise, so a rise in her grade was, of course, expected.

Of course, the only place where Stella’s grades would go up, who was in second place in the school year, would be the top spot.

In the first place, even if one of the six subjects scored the lowest, being second was the same as saying that he was the overwhelming top, except for the grade in that one subject.

Perhaps her grades didn’t stop at the top of the grade, and she could aim for the position of the head of the faculty of swordsmanship.

It was because not only me, but most of the people who knew her already knew that Stella’s actual skills were higher than second-ranked swordsman.

“Ah, ahahahaha… .”

However, at my question, Stella only gave me a shy smile as if she had no face.

“what’s the matter? Are you not sure?”

“Ah, it must be difficult, Senior Conrad. Because I made a mistake on one of the midterm written tests and ruined it grandly.”

“You messed up the written test?”

“Yes, embarrassingly… .”

It was an unexpected story.

Until now, Stella’s academy grades had boasted almost perfect scores, except for one subject from Professor McDowell.

Of course, not only practical subjects, but also written subjects were included.

It was said that the subject they were learning changed as they entered the second year, but it was of course nonsensical that Stella’s integrity had collapsed and her grades had changed.

Besides, no matter how badly she messed up, she would take the final exam, but if Stella had excellent grades in other subjects, she would be able to make up for it in the final.

Even so, she was self-deprecating with an expression as if she had already given up, as if the current Stella had no hope at all.

I was able to understand naturally that there was definitely another reason besides probably simply failing the written test for one subject.

“stellar.”

“Yeah.”

“Be honest, what happened to the written exam?”

Stella’s hesitant mouth made eye contact with mine once, and then began to carefully explain what had happened.

The absurd story of what happened to her from the swordsmanship department professor last week.