Chapter 1
Getting Strong While Writing Love Letters
Prologue
I picked up the pen.
“All right, then tell me. What did you do this morning?”
“Horizontal strikes.”
Is this person serious? I thought and met his gaze. Clear eyes, full of confidence in his training, looked right at me.
Right. This person is just like that.
“And in the afternoon, what did you do?”
“Stabs.”
“…….” I sighed.
“I can’t write a letter just talking about your workouts.”
“Really?”
“The recipient isn’t some mercenary captain—they’re the daughter of a duke! Who fills a love letter with only exercise stories?”
Despite my arrogant attitude, Helphion only nodded slightly, not reacting much.
“And in the evening… you didn’t practice swordsmanship, did you?”
“No.”
Thank goodness!
“Then what about the evening?”
“Cardio.”
This crazy servant of mine.
“No, not that—don’t you have any cute, heart-fluttering lines? Something like your breath caught thinking of me, something sweet like that.”
“Oh, I did have that.”
Oh, of course. People are supposed to change a little when they fall in love.
I picked up the pen again.
“This morning while doing horizontal strikes, I had a small realization. Do I really have to insist on a straight line for the quickest strike? Actually, the concept of a curved horizontal strike that’s faster than a straight one…”
I really can’t handle this.
I threw the pen straight at the duke.
Getting Strong While Writing Love Letters
Episode 1 – Missing at the Academy Graduation, Unemployed After Graduation (1)
Like any school, there are two reasons students use the library.
The first is for studying,
the second is for napping.
This truth applied even to Delphi Academy, which prided itself on holding all the knowledge in the world.
Even in the legendary place where only those recognized by the academy’s spirits could enter—the top floor of the Delphi Academy library.
The place that I once thought was just a rumor actually existed, and for someone like me, who had no place in the school, it became the only sanctuary.
I still remember that day vividly.
Three students from the Magic Department running at me, intending to lynch me.
I ran without thinking to the top floor of the library to survive.
And a voice whispered in my ear:
“Come here.”
Following the voice, I reached a place that became my perfect refuge.
“Laward!”
A sharp, ringing voice called me. I moved toward the exit of the Akashic Records.
Though it’s called an exit, there wasn’t an actual door—it was hidden by illusion magic, so to anyone outside, it would seem like I appeared out of nowhere.
“Barbara?”
“So you were here. The graduation ceremony is about to start!”
“I said I’m not participating.”
“Maybe another day, but it’s graduation… hurry down! Aren’t you going to show your face on the last day?”
Annoying.
Reluctantly, I walked downstairs.
There was Barbara, about 155 cm tall, with wavy blonde hair under her graduation cap, staring at me angrily.
“Oh, a graduation cap.”
“Here, this is yours too.”
I took the cap Barbara handed me. Graduation cap…
“So it’s really graduation.”
Five years of hell… all the memories I had forgotten—or rather suppressed—flooded back into my mind, seeping into my heart.
Barbara seemed to sense my feelings and snickered.
“Yes. Now it’s both your graduation and mine.”
“Thanks. Now, I should go. I’ll be late for the ceremony.”
“Really not going?”
“Yes. You know I won’t look good there anyway.”
“Even though Deon is the heir to a marquis, he can’t run the graduation ceremony however he wants.”
I shook my head.
“You know that’s not true. You too, and I too.”
“But…”
“Barbara, I’m really fine. Thanks for coming all this way. At least now I got to wear a graduation cap. I feel like I got the graduation experience.”
I carefully put the cap on my head. Its warmth felt like it acknowledged my struggles, and for some reason, it moved me to tears.
Five years ago, I entered Delphi Academy, reputed to be the best in cultural arts and magical engineering, as the second-ranked student.
Embarrassingly, I was a bit of a prodigy. Barbara, the top-ranked student, came from a prestigious magical family and received excellent early education. Yet I, the son of a small merchant family, barely missed the top spot.
Students found me curious and tried to befriend me; professors guided me earnestly. I stayed up late reading novels, wrote my own stories, and even won awards at school competitions, enjoying a happy academy life.
For the first two years, I maintained second place. With Barbara being a genius, that alone was enough to satisfy me.
I even gained a patron—a noble who regularly sponsored students read my work and covered half my tuition. Life couldn’t have been better.
Then everything went wrong when I met Deon Krapy, the eldest son of the Krapy marquis.
“So it’s you. I heard you’re a lowborn who writes well for pocket change. Even outside the academy, you’re notorious.”
He came to me abruptly after the start of our third year.
“My father says I should offer you a secretary position in the Krapy marquisate. Consider it a three-lifetime honor.”
He looked proud, as if he were truly doing me a favor.
I remember exactly what I said:
“Get lost.”
“…What?”
“I know the marquisate is great, but you’re a despicable brat who can’t even hide behind your family’s name. Go away.”
Deon Krapy couldn’t contain his anger and charged at me. I knocked him down instantly.
From that moment, my entire school life—and life itself—went downhill.
The power of a marquis was far greater than a merchant’s son could imagine. It was more persistent, and much stronger.
Deon claimed to his father that I had insulted and disrespected the Krapy family. Perhaps that alone gave them justification. The marquis began to pressure my father’s business, canceling trades and orchestrating robberies. Trusted retainers betrayed us, treasures vanished, and eventually, my father collapsed from continuous failures.
My already sickly mother followed shortly after, and the family business crumbled. My younger sibling barely managed a small operation.
Even my noble patrons cut support for unknown reasons, some professors unfairly graded me, and classmates began ostracizing me.
Deon had, in just one year, manipulated the academy’s social currents.
[Students who can’t do magic live off the Magic Department’s tuition.]
Originally, Delphi Academy sought to balance arts and magical engineering. But Deon’s scheming caused everyone to be misled.
Magic students treated me like a parasite; cultural arts students resented me. I was bullied everywhere, with no place to rest or hide.
Only Barbara, the top magic student, consistently reached out to me despite the situation. Yet even she could not stop all harassment.
The only refuge was the top floor of the library—the Akashic Records. A legendary space only accessible to those recognized by the academy spirits.
I don’t know why I was chosen, but after class, it became my secret sanctuary. I hid from people, read books, and gained knowledge to survive day by day.
Three years passed. My pride crumbled, my family ruined, and I lived in hiding, unable to contact them. Yet now, that life is ending.
“Laward.”
Warmth wrapped around my hand. Barbara looked at me with gentle eyes.
“Thank you.” I pulled my hand from hers, embarrassed.
“By the way, Barbara, you’re skipping the ceremony too?”
“Hmm… yeah. I’m skipping today too.”
“A graduation without a top graduate?”
“Who cares? After Deon took over, everything at the academy was weird anyway.”
“Still…”
“Anyway, Laward, what will you do after graduation?”
Graduation.
“I used to have no idea.”
“Why?”
“No time to think about the future.”
Going home was embarrassing, and honestly, I feared Deon Krapy. The moment I stepped outside the academy, they’d be waiting.
But for the past year…
“My thoughts have changed.”
“How?”
“I’ll probably stay at the academy after graduation.”
I glanced toward the door to the Akashic Records, a place invisible to ordinary people.
“There are still books I want to read.”
“You’re really going to hide in the library? You’ll definitely be found.”
I was serious. At first, I hid here to avoid people, but now I truly loved the knowledge in this place.
Books with information never before seen. Dragon magic from over a thousand years ago. Customs of a fairy kingdom from 520 years ago. Lost histories of the empire’s founding.
If the Akashic Records truly held all information, maybe even someone like me, unable to feel mana, could learn magic.
Then perhaps I could gain the power to take revenge on Deon Krapy. That’s why I cling to the Akashic Records.
The Records displayed everything—from spirit magic, swordsmanship, martial arts, to Eastern and Western tactics and secret techniques. Even someone like me could learn something.
“Food or drink?”
“I’ve got supplies.”
A lie. In truth, the Records had dishes that produced infinite bread and fountains that never ran dry, as if anticipating my stay.
“Other preparations?”
“Mostly. Everything necessary is done.”
Just greetings for a few people: you, my sibling, and a few friends who truly trusted me.
“How long do you think you’ll be here?”
I counted the remaining books roughly on my fingers.
“About five years, maybe?”
“Five years.”
Barbara stared at me with an unreadable expression.
“Five years. Got it.”
“What do you mean, got it?”
“I’ll change the world so that Deon can’t interfere or harm you when you come out in five years.”
Haha, she’s worried about that?
“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it.”
“You don’t sound like you’re looking forward to it at all.”
“No, I really am. By then, I’ll be strong enough to handle myself properly.”
At that moment, noise came from the library below. People were gathering.
“I should go. No one can know I’m here.”
“……”
Barbara reached out one last time. We high-fived, and she left. I returned to the Akashic Records.
Delphi Academy Graduation, Year 127 of the Empire
97th Graduation Ceremony
128 attendees, 127 graduates, 1 missing
Missing: Laward Gordem
Two archmages and faculty searched for three days but found nothing.
Witnesses reported that since third grade, he wandered the campus with a gloomy expression.
Search ended with his disappearance.
Five years later, around 2 a.m., I finally stepped into the world after exhausting all knowledge the Akashic Records offered.
One year has passed, and I have become a capable unemployed person. Damn it.
A dropout with a higher-education diploma…
Even without Deon’s interference, there’s no land I could claim with such a background.
Getting Strong While Writing Love Letters
