Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 66

EP.66 If You Can’t Handle It, You’re Weak!

Kyle Jonathan. Just a few days ago, the students of the academy reacted like this upon hearing his name.

Jonathan Storm, Jonathan Natural Disaster, a monster who would hang you upside down if you even brushed against his clothes.

It might seem unfair to those who heard it, but from the students’ perspective, it was understandable.

Who in the world could break a flying sword with their bare hands and split a desk in two while greeting someone?

It was beyond the level of something achievable through mere effort. It was something ordinary people couldn’t even dream of.

There were already widespread rumors about the existence of ‘Jonathan.’

People from the north, whom the Empire dreaded so much that they avoided fighting them altogether.

And relatively recent events from just a few years ago added to the fear.

There was a story about a beautiful woman from Jonathan who destroyed a building with a single punch.

It was hard to believe, but it actually happened.

With such stories combined, it was only natural for people to avoid approaching them.

Even those who harbored hostility towards Jonathan didn’t dare to do anything.

They just quietly scratched their heads and watched from a distance.

“Is there any student willing to meet Kyle Jonathan?”

If such a question had been asked, everyone would have shaken their heads in horror.

Yes, until a few days ago, before ‘that incident’ happened.

“I’ll go.”

A female student from the school newspaper raised her hand.

A hero who saved the academy from ruthless intruders.

A strong person who accomplished in minutes what even knights couldn’t.

The best student of the academy this semester, who now owed a debt to the Empire and the Church.

Moreover, he was someone who usually kept to himself, quietly focusing on his training.

And despite being from ‘Jonathan,’ he was said to be quite gentle and kind, which completely changed his image.

From a monster no one wanted to encounter to a northern guest everyone was curious about.

So, instead of being scared, she looked excited and eager.

“Do your best. If you actually get to talk to him, we’ll be the first.”

He was already the hottest topic these days.

Various newspapers in the Empire were competing to publish articles about Kyle.

But not a single interview had been published.

Journalists couldn’t freely enter the academy.

And even if they got permission, Kyle refused to meet them.

“Oh, I have to train!”

When journalists finally tracked him down to his training spot, Kyle fled to the library.

Even if other places were noisy, the library was always quiet. The librarian’s authority was quite strong.

Especially since many noble children requested silence, causing a disturbance was strictly forbidden.

So, the journalists couldn’t catch Kyle once he fled to the library.

After that, all journalists were banned from entering the academy.

The reason given was that they were causing excessive commotion and disrupting the students’ studies.

As a result, most journalists waited in the outskirts of the academy city, hoping for Kyle to appear.

“Won’t he come out of the academy at some point?!”

“We’ll get that interview then!”

The journalists didn’t know that Kyle mostly stayed inside the academy to train.

Even if he needed something, he could just have Ian and Leto fetch it for him.

Thus, despite being the hottest topic, no one had managed to interview Kyle.

In this situation, the academy’s internal newspaper team aimed to be the first.

And the second-year student Dorothy was tasked with finding Kyle for the first interview.

‘They said he’s always in the indoor training hall when he doesn’t have classes.’

But when she went to the indoor training hall, only a few students were there.

Kyle, who was always there, was strangely absent today.

Could he still be hiding in the library to avoid the journalists?

But it had been two days since the journalists were banned. He must have heard the news by now.

‘Where could he have gone?’

The interview that even those persistent journalists couldn’t get.

If the academy’s internal newspaper managed to do it first, it would be a tremendous achievement.

So, Dorothy searched all the places where Kyle might be.

‘Found him!’

Finally, she spotted Kyle in the distance.

‘Remember, don’t make him feel pressured. Emphasize that you’re both academy students first, creating a sense of camaraderie before asking for the interview.’

Building rapport with the interviewee was said to greatly influence the quality of the interview.

Fortunately, being a fellow student and a junior, this part shouldn’t be too difficult.

So, Dorothy didn’t rush over or immediately pull out her pen and notebook.

She approached casually, like any other student passing by, not drawing attention.

She walked leisurely, closing the distance, when suddenly—

“Graaah!!”

A sudden scream startled Dorothy, making her wonder, ‘What’s going on?’

Next to Kyle, who was standing still, a male student was hanging onto his arm.

‘What, what is this? What’s going on? What is this?’

The way the male student was hanging on wasn’t some prank that boys usually play.

He was genuinely, with all his strength, screaming and clinging on.

“Tsk.”

Kyle, watching the student hanging on desperately, lightly swung his arm.

The student was lifted off the ground and then slammed into it.

He hit the ground so hard that Dorothy couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

“Next.”

“Huh.”

Next? What did he mean by next? Dorothy turned her head.

Next to the fallen student, there was another male student.

‘Wait a minute. Isn’t that first-year student the one who was always with Lady Littorio?’

She couldn’t remember his name immediately, but she was sure he was from Littorio.

Noble children often entered the academy with someone playing the role of a secretary.

The male student she saw now was one of those cases. His name was… Ah, yes. Leto. He was definitely called Leto.

‘Why is he here alone without Lady Littorio… huh?’

Dorothy had to doubt her eyes at the next scene.

– Thud! –

“Gah!”

Kyle lightly swung his fist at the male student.

The student, hit by the blow, rolled on the ground like a ball.

‘V-violence?!’

Any form of violence between students was strictly prohibited in the academy.

There could be extenuating circumstances, but this didn’t seem like one of those cases.

Kyle swinging his fist at Leto out of nowhere didn’t seem normal at all.

‘W-what is this?’

What is this? What is this, what is this? What on earth is happening?!

One boy was hanging on Kyle, and another was being hit by him.

Why were they doing that? What was going on? Why….

Dorothy blinked her eyes and then hurriedly turned around and ran away from the scene.

When her fellow newspaper members asked if she had met Kyle, she decided to lie and say she hadn’t.

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***

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Ian still couldn’t push Kyle’s arm down today.

And Leto still screamed, “Gah!” today.

It had only been a few days, but their progress seemed slow.

‘What a waste of my time.’

Sitting alone in a café, eating ice cream, Kyle shook his head.

Recently, his workload had suddenly increased dramatically.

He had to oversee Tisha’s training, check on the saintess’s progress,

and Elga kept inviting him for tea whenever she had a moment, which he couldn’t refuse.

All of this easily consumed at least three hours of his day.

And amidst all this, more tasks kept popping up.

From journalists wanting to know how he repelled the intruders and what he felt at the time,

to professors praising him and opportunists hoping to gain something by getting close to him,

and even a few genuinely curious academy students wanting to befriend him.

‘Since I brought this upon myself, I can’t really complain.’

Kyle smacked his lips and finished his ice cream.

Still, consuming sugar like this melted away his irritation.

Such indulgence was unimaginable in Jonathan, but it was certainly enjoyable.

Now that his taste buds were satisfied, what was next? Burn off what he had eaten.

Leaving the café, Kyle headed straight to the indoor training hall, which he referred to as the gym.

‘I’ve been feeling like I haven’t been working out enough lately.’

If the academy students heard this, they would have thought, ‘What nonsense is that?’

A guy who never missed a day of working out for one or two hours suddenly saying this?

Of course, the people from Jonathan would have said, ‘Oh dear! Is there really so little time to work out?!’

“Kyle!”

Not wanting to just walk, Kyle lightly sprinted towards the gym.

Hearing a rough voice from behind, Kyle slightly turned his head.

“…Nell?”

“Huff, huff! Yes, it’s me! J-just a moment! Please wait!!”

Kyle stopped in his tracks, worried that Nell might collapse from exhaustion.

Nell finally caught his breath, though unlike Kyle, who was unaffected, Nell bent over, panting heavily.

“I-I brought it.”

“What?”

“What you asked for! Huff, huff! I-I gathered it all!”

“Wait a minute. You mean you really….”

“Yes, as you instructed! I brought it all!!”

With that, Nell handed a pouch to Kyle.

It looked heavy, filled with quite a lot of gold coins.

Despite the difficulty of running, Nell had carried this weight.

Gathering the amount was one thing, but managing to carry it was even more impressive.

Considering how heavy coins are, carrying them while running was quite a feat.

‘…In terms of effort and determination, he’s definitely passed.’

He was much better than the first and second male candidates.

“Passed.”

“What?”

“I said you’ve passed.”

Kyle placed the Jonathan acceptance necklace around Nell’s neck.