Rukna recalled what she had learned in history class.

‘Come to think of it, the first alchemist to create the elixir was said to be a mermaid. After that, mermaids who came on land and those with mixed blood became alchemists, maintaining that lineage.’

They revered water and used sacred water to create various things.

The most famous was the ‘Golden Elixir’, said to be made only by the great sages.

It was a panacea and when dropped on metal, that metal would turn into gold.

‘Mermaids and elixirs are fascinating, but…’

What if I die while trying to catch terrorists?

Rukna, who wanted to live a long and precious life, crossed her arms in an X shape to indicate her refusal.

But seeing this, Hans was suddenly moved.

Then he raised his arms over his head, making an X shape like Rukna.

“Lady Rukna has given the signal of light towards the fallen Isle of Wisdom!”

An excited Hans looked around.

Louis Bit Dong made the same gesture as Hans while shouting loudly, “Rukna! Rukna!”

Everyone’s attention turned to Rukna.

Eventually, even cadets who weren’t part of the club were swept up in the atmosphere and about to follow the gesture.

‘Save me!’

Rukna, who never wanted to receive such attention, did her best to escape from this embarrassing situation.

Meanwhile, the holy sword spoke up annoyingly.

「Master who has become the lord of the fallen ones, the great holy sword supports your expansion of power.」

‘What are you suddenly talking about?’

「Shall we set the Isle of Wisdom as our destination now?」

‘Now even the holy sword is pushing me to go catch terrorists?’

「According to analysis, there’s an 82% chance of finding clues about you there, Master.」

‘Clues about my existence? What exactly?’

「That’s information I cannot mention.」

And the holy sword’s voice disappeared.

‘Hmm, it’s not like I can go just because I want to on this mobilization order.’

Only about 20 people would be selected.

According to rumors overheard, the student council usually participates in most dispatches, and they select people in order of outstanding ability.

‘The reason for eagerly participating in a battlefield where one could die must be for merit’.

The more ambitious a cadet was, the stronger their desire to accumulate merits.

The more medals on one’s chest, the higher a noble’s standing in high society, and commoners could rapidly increase their value.

‘Could I beat those guys and participate?’

Rukna sighed deeply. No matter how much she racked her brain, no particular solution came to mind.

Matian selected the list of cadets to participate in this mobilization order in the student council room.

Chad, who was rolling around on the sofa, looked at the list and his eyes widened.

“Rukna Golden? Did you put this in by mistake, Matian?”

I’m wide awake now. Chad was surprised as he looked at the list again and again.

Matian snatched the list Chad was holding with a smiling face and put it in his desk drawer.

“She’s improved a lot lately, so I just want to see how she does.”

“Bolton would be surprised if he knew, wouldn’t he? The guy he always teases as an idiot, if she even gets selected for the mobilization order, that simple-minded guy would flip out!”

“He’ll handle it.”

Matian roughly wrapped up the conversation and left the student council room.

‘I wonder if Rukna Golden can hold up well.’

He put Rukna on the list as per the Grand Priest’s words, but he felt uneasy for no reason.

The battlefield was full of very dangerous variables unlike practice.

Imagining that small figure swinging a club or something on the battlefield made him feel strangely anxious.

Matian quickly went down the stairs and walked along the first-floor corridor. At that moment, he saw Rukna and Bolton walking from the opposite corridor.

“Just spar with me once, idiot.”

“Oh my, I don’t want to.”

Bolton was demanding a sparring match with Rukna, and Rukna was refusing.

Bolton’s request for a sparring match looked so fervent, like confessing to ask someone out, that if he hadn’t heard the previous conversation, he might have misunderstood.

“Just spar with me once.”

“What’s with the sudden obsession with sparring!”

Rukna shook her head and hands, expressing her refusal with her whole body.

“I might really end up confessing to a man at this rate, you know?”

“Oh dear.”

“I’m so lonely these days, my heart’s pounding.”

“Oh my.”

“Don’t just give vague answers, help me out here!”

Bolton burst out shouting.

Matian, who had been listening to the conversation from across, frowned deeply.

Bolton confessing to a man? No way.

Matian’s eyes focused on Rukna. Rukna was lazily waving her hand with an expression of utter annoyance.

“Whether you confess to a man or not, what’s it got to do with me? Do as you please.”

“How desperate do you think I am to ask an idiot like you for a sparring match? If I win, introduce me to Giselle Golden. She’s as pretty as you, right!”

“And if I win?”

“I’ll grant you one wish, no matter what, on my honor as a man.”

“…Then I’ll think about it.”

Rukna inwardly rejoiced. This could be an opportunity if used well.

‘Hey Bisbee, can I beat Bolton?’

Rukna called out to the holy sword with a triumphant expression.

But the holy sword didn’t answer. What’s this, why no response this time?

‘Is Matian around somewhere…’

Rukna’s lips stretched into a long line as she looked around. A tall silhouette was visible at the opposite end of the corridor.

His face wasn’t visible as he was backlit, but there were few individuals with such a picturesque figure in the military academy.

‘This Bisbee is like a ghost, as always.’

Rukna cleared her throat, which felt oddly burning, and quickly passed through the corridor where he was standing.

She felt tense when Matian was around, probably because of this damn holy sword.

She didn’t exchange any special greetings with Matian.

The closer she got to him, the stronger the scent of his cologne capturing the freshness of cool water became, making his presence even more strongly imprinted without having to look at him.

Just as she was about to brush past him like that.

“Are you going to do it? The sparring with Bolton.”

Matian grabbed Rukna’s wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

Matian, who would normally offer a gentle greeting first, was unusually getting straight to the point.

“Ah. I’m thinking about it.”

Does he have a lot of heat in his hands? The spot where Matian grabbed felt particularly hot, so Rukna pulled her wrist out of his grasp.

“What’s your wish?”

Matian asked, looking down at the hand that had held Rukna. He couldn’t understand why his hand felt empty.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I’m curious what wish could be more important than your stepsister.”

Matian knew that Rukna was regularly replying to Giselle Golden’s letters.

It wasn’t that he tried to find out, he just naturally came to know it while observing.

Recently, Bolton had gossiped that Rukna even sent flowers with her letter.

But it was probably unnecessary meddling to worry about whether that seemingly innocent guy might have impure feelings for a stepsister with whom he shared no blood.

“Participating in this mobilization order to the Isle of Wisdom. That’s my wish.”

At those words, Matian’s lips parted slightly before closing again.

He wanted to say that your name was already on the list, but he was concerned about Bolton, and for Bolton’s sake, he felt their sparring match needed to happen.

“Then I’ll be the referee.”

Matian left the college, leaving behind a gentle smile.

And he recalled the memory of Rukna dodging his sword last time.

It seemed there would be no need to return to the student council room to revise the list.

“Rukna Golden, victory!”

Matian, acting as referee, raised Rukna’s hand.

“Rukna beat Bolton from the student council?”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

The cadets watching the match exclaimed in surprise at the unexpected result, their eyes wide.

The Louis Bit Dong members made X shapes above their heads, shouting “Long live Lady Rukna!”

In truth, it had been a hair-raising match.

If Bolton proved too strong, Rukna had planned to draw on the holy sword’s power, but because Matian unexpectedly volunteered as referee, she couldn’t rely on the sword’s power.

Rukna had to defeat Bolton entirely with her own strength.

Though she suffered injuries here and there from Bolton’s mace, she achieved victory with a single strike.

She was able to easily exploit openings thanks to Bolton’s visible panic each time she was injured.

“I told you the club wouldn’t suit you. Yet you keep using it.”

Matian leaned close to Rukna and whispered softly.

Even as he spoke, his gaze was fixed on the wound on Rukna’s left cheek.

Conscious of his stare, Rukna wiped the blood flowing from the wound with the back of her hand and smirked.

“Even if it doesn’t suit my body, isn’t it impressive to beat a student council member?”

Rukna looked down at the fallen Bolton.

He was lying face down on the floor. A bump had swollen prominently where the club had struck his crown.

“Unlike appearances, Bolton is more of a scholar type. His body wasn’t built through training, but through alchemy and exercise, so his actual combat ability is weak.”

“You can build your body with alchemy?”

“There’s apparently a drug that activates muscles. He took that and exercised, so only his body grew big. Inside, he’s as soft as cheese, the weakest among us.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m worried you might make a mistake if you get too cocky about beating a student council member. I’m concerned about you.”

Matian smiled kindly while delivering a fierce warning not to underestimate the student council.

What a frightening guy. But does he think I’ll cower?

However, contrary to that mindset, Rukna’s eyes lowered respectfully.

She tried to step back to distance herself from him immediately, but it was awkward as he was still holding her hand.