Male Lead, Don’t Push, Pull!

Then I noticed that Kyle’s body was shaking.

He was really shaking. Quite a bit.

After a moment, he let go of me. His face looked like he was about to cry.

I had never seen him look like that in my life.

Not even when he was being abused by Titania.

My mouth opened, filled with conflicting emotions, but all I managed to say was a thank you.

“Thank you, Kyle.”

“…I’m glad that Vivi wasn’t hurt.”

“Thank you, too, Daniel. And I’m sorry I dragged you into this….”

“Oh, no. It’s okay.”

He should have resented me, but instead he said he was fine. He was an angel, really.

I’m so sorry, Daniel.

I’m going to do everything I can to help your family and you will be even happier than you were in the original!

Looking around, Kyle said, “I don’t know where the other two might be. Let’s get down there.”

“Yeah.”

“Then, Daniel, take my hand.”

Kyle held out his hand to Daniel. I blinked my eyes wide.

Did Kyle just reach out to Daniel and call him by his first name in a friendly way…?

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was surprised, as Daniel stared at Kyle in disbelief.

Kyle’s ears turned red, and he muttered, “Because you protected Vivi from Franz…. Anyway, don’t you need my support?”

“Oh, yeah, thanks.”

Daniel took Kyle’s hand weakly. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the two of them, who somehow seemed to be even closer than before.

“Let’s do this together, Kyle.”

We stood up at the same time, me on Daniel’s left and Kyle on his right. Now it was just a matter of getting down safely.

We’d be in trouble for being spotted by the other students… but Franz would be the one who’d get kicked out first!

It was time to start walking with determination.

Krrghh–. Kreeghh…

I heard the cry of a monster that should not be heard anymore.

I felt Daniel’s body stiffen slightly as I held on to him. We all looked back ominously.

My face paled.

“Ky-Kyle.”

The fallen orc had somehow regained its senses and was pulling itself up. The orc’s nostrils flared as it popped its head up.

“My wooden sword.”

Kyle fumbled for his wooden sword. But it had been snapped in half when he had struck the orc down earlier.

He tried to run, but the orc was faster.

“Vivi!”

Kyle, realizing it was too late, wrapped me up in a firm embrace from head to toe. I saw the orc swing a huge club at Kyle’s head.

“No!” I screamed.

Kyle pulled me into an even tighter hug.

Whack–

Hot liquid splashed onto my fingertips. I shuddered, keeping my eyes closed. I didn’t have the courage to look up to see what was on my hand.

But the voice I heard a moment later was neither Kyle’s nor Daniel’s.

“Hey, freshman. You okay?”

“…Senior Lionel?”

“What the hell, who are you guys?”

Kyle’s protective arms slipped off from around me, and I could see what was happening.

In front of us was a tall man with brown hair and a beheaded orc.

“Haha, this is pretty f*cked up,” the man Kyle had called Lionel laughed in disbelief. Blood dripped from the sword he held.

Lionel wiped the blood off his sword and put it in its sheath.

The orc that was about to attack us remained still; its throat cut.

Lionel kicked the orc in the torso, and its fleshy body rolled down the hillside with a dull thud.

He flicked back his unruly brown hair and spoke wearily.

“Anyone hurt?”

“….”

“None? Then that’s good. First of all, you are students I’ve never seen before; where do you belong?”

“The Ancient Languages Department.”

“Th-the Department of Magic.”

“Oh, so you weren’t one of my students after all. I thought you were here for the swordsmanship department today; I had no idea.”

“…I was aware. I’m sorry.”

I felt like I had no choice but to be honest at this point. I quickly admitted my error.

Luckily, my choice was the right one, and Lionel’s expression softened a bit. But that didn’t mean he would pretend he didn’t see it.

“You’re students, so I’m not going to punish you myself, but I will tell your professors.”

I nodded gloomily. I couldn’t help it. It was something I’d been prepared for since the incident.

“But there were more monsters – is it going to be okay?” I asked.

“The others have gone to catch them, so we should be fine now,” Lionel answered unconcernedly, “But Kyle.”

“Yes!” Kyle straightened nervously as Lionel called after him.

Lionel pointed at the fallen orc. “That orc, he was acting a bit strange; what happened? Did you attack him?”

“Yes.”

“What, really?”

“That’s right, Kyle knocked that orc unconscious.”

Lionel looked at Kyle in surprise, his eyes so intent that for a moment I wondered if perhaps I shouldn’t have spoken up.

All I wanted to do was plead with him not to punish Kyle for saving me and Daniel, but…!

“Wow, that’s great!”

But contrary to my worries, Lionel was quite amused.

“You mean a first year knocked out an orc, and that was with that wooden sword?”

“It was only for a moment.”

“None of the others can do that for even a second, but they say you’re the best of the first years. Who did you learn from before you joined the Academy?”

“Verdo Rosiere.”

“Rosiere? The winner of the imperial swordsmanship tournament last year?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Lionel’s eyes sparkled. He grabbed Kyle by the shoulders.

“Do you want to take private training with me? I’ll watch you practice.”

It was a great privilege to have a senior student teach a junior. Especially since Lionel was a real master of the art, not a wimp like Franz!

“By the way, do you still keep in touch with Rosiere? Are you close?”

I think that’s what he’s really after.

Anyway, it was a good opportunity for Kyle. But Kyle didn’t say yes right away.

He paused for a moment, then slowly spoke.

“Yeah, we’re close. By the way, senior.”

“Huh?”

“I think the other students would be unhappy if I told them I was being taught by you personally.”

“Who cares about the other students, I’m going to take the time to teach you individually.”

Lionel snorted, but Kyle shook his head.

“I’m sure some of them will feel it’s unfair, though.”

“You’re surprisingly timid for a kid who knocked out an orc. What are you going to do then? Secretly train?”

“Is that okay?”

“By all means, if you wish.”

Lionel threw up his hands in defeat.

And at that moment, I saw a small smile twitch at the corner of Kyle’s mouth.

Soon after, his expression faded, and he asked politely.

“I guess we can call this a secret between you and me, then.”

“Yeah.”

“If it’s a secret between us,” Kyle continued slyly, “Then no one else should have heard about it but us, which would explain why no one else was here today.”

“What? What’s that….”

Oh, boy.

I opened my mouth in surprise.

Kyle was asking Lionel to keep it a secret that Daniel and I were on this mountain today. He was taking advantage of the fact that Lionel was interested in Rosiere.

No, by the way, that Rosiere is me…. Of course, what Lionel is interested in is my older brother.

Lionel, sensing Kyle’s true intentions, chuckled in amusement.

I tensed slightly. The last thing I wanted was for Kyle to end up looking out for me and Daniel.

But Lionel was cooler than I thought.

“Okay.”

“Thanks!”

“Anyway, I’m letting you guys off the hook because you’re not seriously injured.”

With Lionel’s approval, Kyle looked back at me happily. He looked like a puppy looking for praise, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

***

My sneaking into the Swordsmanship Department’s courage training went unnoticed thanks to Lionel, the Swordsmanship Department’s student council president.

But that didn’t mean I was going to let Franz’s behavior go unnoticed. I handed Lionel the video footage of Franz.

I had a hunch that he’d be sympathetic to Kyle and would bring justice.

I also handed over all the evidence I had gathered that Franz had been harassing the new students.

A few days passed before Kyle broke the news to me.

“Franz has been banned from swordsmanship classes for the next year, and he’s going to spend every morning and night cleaning the training grounds and supply closet.”

In other words, it was as if he had been suspended from school.