A Short Story

It had been mentioned before that the food in this world was far from delicious.

Compared with the world Li Qi had lived in before he crossed over, it fell short by an even greater margin—not to mention the two worlds he had visited afterward.

But firstly, Li Qi had already grown accustomed to the flavors of this world's food, and secondly...

He now had a "story" to accompany his meals.

"So, they were the ones who picked a fight with Corporal Andrew first. You just happened to pass by and then saved him?"

Li Qi summarized what Andrew and Sean had experienced earlier.

"Yes."

Sean nodded with a bitter smile.

The whole thing was actually quite simple.

As three of the current "Newcomer Class's" qualified students, Li Qi and the other two had vaguely become the targets of hostility from the remaining seven.

However, Li Qi's strength was obvious, and he also had merits to his name, so no one dared provoke him.

Sean and Li Qi lived in the same dormitory. Out of consideration for Li Qi, no one would provoke Sean either.

But Andrew was different.

Andrew came from the White Family of the Royal Capital.

Although his father was an earl and a high-ranking official in the Duchy of Uno's Ministry of Education, Andrew himself was not well-liked because he was an illegitimate son.

This was no secret in the Royal Capital's noble circles. Andrew had often faced hostility and ridicule from other noble youths his age.

When he entered the Military Academy this time, the spot had not originally belonged to Andrew.

The White family's eldest young master felt he could not endure the hardships of military training, so he gave the opportunity to Andrew.

Naturally, Andrew had been eager to leave his family behind. Thus, although he had failed to detect the people who came to "assassinate" him in advance and lacked strength like Li Qi's, he had still passed the assessment through sheer determination and a refusal to admit defeat.

Although he had consequently spent the night lying in the infirmary, there was no denying that he had indeed caught the attention of the higher-ups.

But Andrew was, after all, an illegitimate son—a despised existence in noble circles.

That was why Beru, his dormmate, disliked him and constantly looked for trouble.

Andrew had endured their bullying at every turn. If he could not afford to provoke them, he could at least avoid them.

But who could have expected them to go further and further?

Today, they had even blocked Andrew's way, intending to beat him up.

Li Qi knew why they had chosen to act at this particular time.

Nearly a month had passed since they enrolled, and their first assessment was only a few days away.

If they performed excellently, they could leave the "Newcomer Class" early and keep up with the regular teaching schedule.

If they failed, not only would they have to remain here, but the higher-ups might also lower their opinion of them.

That was why they had chosen this moment to deal with Andrew.

Sean knew this as well, which was why he had immediately stepped forward when he saw Andrew about to be beaten.

Then Li Qi had arrived and resolved the dispute between both sides.

That was the whole story.

After they finished speaking, Li Qi also finished his dinner.

Looking at the two men sitting across from him, he asked in an even tone:

"Are things in your noble circles really so boring? You have to get into a fight over something this trivial?"

"Second Lieutenant Li Qi... you're not a noble, so you don't understand how those people think. Besides, they're part of the Traditional Faction..."

Andrew spoke solemnly.

But before he could finish, Li Qi interrupted him:

"I don't understand how they think, but a group of eliminated failures, unwilling to accept being eliminated, went to harass the qualified students... What do you think the officer responsible for assessing us would think if he found out about this?"

Sean and Andrew looked at each other and shook their heads.

Li Qi did not give them an answer. He simply stood up with his tray and continued:

"Regardless of which faction they belong to, failures are still failures. If they wanted to challenge you to a one-on-one duel, then whether they won or lost, perhaps the officers behind them would think more highly of them.

"But... gathering together to bully someone—and not for any purpose, but merely to vent their frustration... Hmph."

Li Qi gave a final cold snort.

Although he had said nothing more in the end, Andrew and Sean could hear the deep disdain and mockery in his words.

The Duchy of Uno was not a country that particularly revered individual martial prowess.

Especially now, with firearms technology developing at breakneck speed, that was even more true.

But although it did not revere individual martial prowess, there were still times when gathering a group of people to deal with one of their own would earn the contempt of others.

Especially when this kind of "bullying" had no obvious purpose. It was not revenge or retaliation, and it was not even related to honor.

It was merely to vent the flames of unwillingness and jealousy burning in their hearts.

Li Qi did not know how such behavior was viewed among the nobles.

But in the military, it was obvious that the commanding officers would not like this kind of infighting.

At least, if Li Qi were in charge, everyone who had banded together to bully someone would be punished.

Li Qi would not care whether they were nobles.

As they watched Li Qi leave, Andrew gazed at his back with a trace of envy in his eyes.

He sighed to Sean:

"No wonder he came from the front lines. He's completely different from those pampered nobles."

"Yeah. It's hard to imagine that he's only thirteen this year..."

Sean was equally impressed.

But after sighing, Sean asked Andrew:

"By the way, where are you staying tonight? You definitely can't go back to the dormitory, can you?"

"...I'll find a way."

"If that doesn't work, how about the infirmary? There are plenty of empty beds there. Talk to the officer in charge of the infirmary; maybe they'll let you stay there for a while."

Sean offered a suggestion.

The school had a dedicated infirmary managed by three Medical Mage Masters.

The three Medical Mage Masters included both men and women, but all of them were very gentle. It seemed that anyone capable of learning Healing Magic could not have a bad temperament.

If Andrew begged them, they might allow him to stay in the infirmary for a while.

"I'll give it a try." Andrew sighed.

It seemed that the infirmary was his only option now. Otherwise, even if he returned to the dormitory, he would have no way to rest.

To Li Qi, what had happened with Andrew and Sean was merely a trivial matter.

Li Qi had saved them partly to improve how others—especially certain officers—viewed him, and partly to establish good relations with his future colleagues in advance.

He still remembered the "assessment" the higher-ups had conducted on them the day they enrolled.

Although they were all currently in the same class, Li Qi was certain that the qualified and unqualified students would ultimately receive different arrangements.

At a conservative estimate, the qualified students among them might be gathered together after graduation.

Therefore, to make his future work smoother and his relationships with his colleagues more harmonious, it could never hurt to get along well with Sean and Andrew.

After returning to the dormitory, Li Qi read as usual, studied magic, and refined his magical power.

Everything proceeded as normal, without the slightest change.

No nobles came looking for trouble with Li Qi. Even though he had caused them to lose face in front of so many people, none of them dared come to challenge him.

They might have been somewhat stupid, but they were not idiots.

A Strategic Rank Mage Master was not someone they could afford to provoke.

And so, amid this peaceful daily routine, Li Qi welcomed the weekend.

Major Bolent, as agreed, also sent someone to contact Li Qi and have him go to the designated location.