Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 48: Student Council (1)

Rylan left the study with a heavy heart and an equally heavy frown. Outside, Hayden and Jasmine were waiting for him. Rylan blinked and hurriedly got his expression under control, but not before his friends noticed it. Jasmine hurriedly stepped closer to him with a concerned expression.

“What happened?” she asked, her tone tinged with some anxiety. “Are you okay?”

Rylan smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

That only made Hayden frown.

“Rylan,” he started, making Rylan look at him. “We treat you as an equal, don’t we? So why are you trying to hide whatever it is for our sake? This isn’t the first time that it has happened.”

Rylan’s smile changed into a bitter one. Before he could reply, Jasmine snapped toward Hayden, then back toward him.

“Wait,” Jasmine said loudly, almost shouting, her voice now filled with a variety of emotions. “Is he trying to make you into a soldier?”

Both Rylan and Hayden widened their eyes at her at the same time. Rylan resisted the urge to berate himself.

Of course she knows about the war’s situation.

Jasmine was one of the two heirs to the Lamollet house. It was only natural for her to keep up with the continent’s changes. Hayden, on the other hand, seemed to have been caught off guard.

“Soldier?” Hayden said, blinking.

Jasmine didn’t reply. Instead, she looked at the doors to Damian’s study behind Rylan and stepped toward them. Rylan hurriedly raised his arm and put it in her way, making her stop. She looked at him, her eyes brimming with disbelief and fear, but also determination.

“I can’t let it happen,” Jasmine said, her voice cracking. “I won’t.”

Rylan looked at her with calmness, trying to influence her state of mind by even a bit.

“Calm down. I can explain everything,” he replied, but Jasmine only looked at the study’s entrance again and gritted her teeth.

She took another step forward, but Rylan kept up with her movement and acted as a barrier. Meanwhile, Hayden was staring at both of them like he had just been slapped. His questioning eyes made Rylan feel as if they were burning into him. He took a deep breath and grabbed Jasmine’s arm firmly, then beckoned Hayden. As he walked away from the study, Jasmine let herself be dragged along, and Hayden followed them. Still, she sent the study’s doors a glare.

“He doesn’t even come out of there to talk about this,” she said after scoffing as one last biting remark.

Rylan glanced over his shoulder at the study’s doors.

It’s alright, old man.

It was only obvious that a Mage of Damian’s caliber would be able to listen to a conversation through a door, especially since he was the one who had placed all the spells in the mage tower in the first place. However, the man hadn’t chosen to walk out of the study to explain himself. It was a decision that Rylan understood well. Damian was likely ashamed to face his disciples after trying to make one of them participate in the war.

Turning to face forward again, Rylan let go of Jasmine’s arm after some time and kept walking. Hayden and Jasmine followed him silently. The stairways and walls shifted as he followed the path toward the empty room he was thinking of. After a while, they arrived in front of a plain, wooden door. Rylan pushed it open. The room on the other side was nothing but a simple study with a wooden desk, a few books floating near the ceiling, and a bed.

“This is where I stay sometimes,” Rylan said. “I don’t come here often, though. I would rather sleep in the dorms with my brother.”

The other two remained silent at his slight attempt to change the subject. Rylan turned around to face them as Hayden closed the door. Jasmine was staring at him, her hands clenched into fists.

“Alright, someone tell me what’s going on,” Hayden hurriedly said before she could speak. Jasmine looked at him, but Rylan raised his hand to signal her to wait.

“Hayden, are you aware of the war?” Rylan asked, deciding to start with this.

“I am, but… why would you need to be part of it?”

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Hayden was looking at him with genuine confusion. Rylan took a deep breath and started his explanation. He started by getting into the details he knew about the Empire’s recent expansionism, then talked about the Kingdom of Mar and its relationship with Ceotha. By this point in the explanation, Hayden’s expression had changed entirely into one of disbelief and shock. Those emotions only intensified when Rylan started talking about how Ceotha and its Magic Academies were likely targets for the Empire. Still, the boy didn’t say anything and waited for Rylan to finish. Finally, Rylan wrapped up the explanation by talking about how the Empire could also target lone cities and towns, which included his hometown, Cantavega.

The room went silent for almost ten seconds.

“…And he wants to make you fight? Just like that?” Hayden tentatively asked.

Rylan shook his head.

“He doesn’t want to make me do anything I would be unwilling to. We simply agreed that it’s time I started moving as well, for the sake of this kingdom.”

Hayden stared at him without blinking.

“I’ll train with you,” he suddenly replied. “We’ll go into the Dungeons together, and I’ll study for as long as you do. I don’t want to let you deal with this alone.”

Rylan immediately shook his head.

“No. It would be better for you guys to stay here and study normally.”

Hayden raised an eyebrow.

“…I know you’re more talented than me and Jasmine, but are you really trying to say that we should just let you do everything alone? I want to fight for this kingdom too.”

Rylan couldn’t help but smile at his friend.

I’m glad we met.

It hadn’t been too long since they had known each other, as they were only a few months into the school year, but Hayden had become a truly precious friend, alongside Jasmine. It was why Rylan was unwilling to let them be thrown into the maelstrom of war. For their sake, he would bear this burden alone.

“You might need to fight, yeah,” Rylan replied. “So just be ready. I’ll do what I can on my end, so let’s just keep going.”

Hayden nodded with some hesitation, still staring at Rylan.

“This is bullshit,” Jasmine suddenly said from the side, making the other two look at her. “I’ll go talk to Dad. There’s no reason why an eighteen-year-old student should need to participate in anything related to the war. Don’t the Academies have professors and deans? Why do you need to be the one to do it?”

Rylan tilted his head.

“If my participation is enough to save even one more life, isn’t that enough?”

Jasmine’s reply died in her throat as she stared at him. Rylan only looked back at her calmly.

I don’t want to be the person I was in my past life.

Roland had killed far too many people, enough to create mountains upon mountains of bodies. On his own, he had been a walking disaster that was dangerous enough to be considered a calamity. Regardless of his intentions and what he had killed for, that had been the truth. Rylan didn’t want that to repeat itself, but the world wasn’t such a kind place. In this life, he would continue to need to fight.

So, at least, I should fight to protect others.

Ceotha was a small, unremarkable kingdom, but its innocent civilians still numbered in the hundreds of thousands. He didn’t want them to suffer because of the Empire’s actions, and most importantly, because he had chosen to take the easy way out and retreat from the war.

Jasmine continued to stare at him before lowering her gaze.

“…I’m sorry,” she said in a pained voice. “I shouldn’t have said that. I just don’t want you to die.”

Rylan smiled and walked closer to her, then patted her shoulder.

“I won’t,” he replied firmly. “It’s fine to feel like that. We’re friends, after all. And it’s not like I’m suddenly going to disappear to tackle every Dungeon under the sun. Things will only change a bit. We’ll stay together.”

As he spoke, he looked at Hayden, who nodded at him. Once the boy stepped closer, Rylan threw his left arm around his neck and his right arm around Jasmine’s.

“We’ll be fine,” Rylan stated with a smile. “I’ll make sure of it.”

The other two remained silent for a few seconds.

“I’ll become strong enough to help you,” Hayden abruptly stated, almost grumbling to himself.

“Me too,” Jasmine said right after. “I won’t let you do this alone.”

Rylan smiled bitterly. It was unlikely that he would be able to convince his friends more than this. At least they weren’t going to completely alter their lifestyles to keep up with his actions. He tapped both of them on the back, making them turn toward the door and start walking toward it.

Trailing a bit behind them, Rylan’s eyes were filled with steeled determination.

I no longer have the luxury of focusing only on magic.

He didn’t know how much time this kingdom still had before the Empire sent assassins and spies. Exactly because of that, he couldn’t afford to keep taking the long, fresh route to power.

It was time he started honing his swordsmanship again, for the sake of everything his current life stood for.

***

Lucian Raussac smiled at Ophelia.

“Finally, the day has arrived,” he said with a proud tone. “Though it took some time.”

Ophelia scoffed at him.

“Shut up. That’s your own fault. Be glad that I managed to get this window by talking to the Headmaster. It was getting difficult to keep the other members of the student council from talking to them.”

Lucian laughed.

“I just thought it would be better to wait for the Battle Fundamentals assignment to happen. I didn’t think Rylan wouldn’t participate at all, though.”

Ophelia nodded seriously, her eyes filled with disbelief.

“…I can’t believe Professor Alice asked him to oversee the assignment with her. Even if he’s the Headmaster’s disciple, that’s…”

Lucian nodded.

“That only means she knows more about his strength than we do. I’ve already told you about what my father said about her being one of the professors who went to Cantavega’s Open Dungeon.”

Ophelia nodded.

“Since it was after the tournament, she knows Rylan’s power better than us. Still… anyway, at the end of the second period, you’ll have your opportunity to talk to them, according to the Headmaster. They’ll all be in the same place, including Jasmine Lamollet.”

Lucian smiled widely. However, deep in his gaze, there was a trace of worry. He still didn’t know what exactly the factions inside the Academy had planned for Rylan, Hayden, and Jasmine.

No matter what, he couldn’t let them fall into their hands.