025

Two days passed quickly.

Gwen didn’t come to see me.

“Don’t you think she forgot?”

“I doubt it. She’s not that kind of person.”

“Her personality?”

“Yeah. Follow me.”

I finished my class and headed to Gwen's office.

There, Gwen, in full gear, greeted me with a glare.

“You’re late!”

“I came as soon as my class ended.”

“I thought you ran away.”

This was the kind of person she was.

Someone who thought everything had to revolve around her, and that everyone had to accommodate her.

Rozalin, who had followed me, had a look of disbelief.

“Wow, if you’re the one who challenged him, you should be the one to crawl over. We didn’t even promise when, where, or how we would fight, and you’re just here in this corner……”

“What was that?”

“Never mind.”

Gwen looked like she was about to lash out at Rozalin with her eyes lit, but I calmed Rozalin down first.

“Remember why we’re here.”

At my words, Rozalin clicked her tongue and turned away.

“Purpose? Are you planning to pull some trick?”

“It’s not so much a trick as it is for attestation. I’m not a student, nor a faculty member, but I need someone who can vouch for the outcome of the duel.”

“You’re very confident, aren’t you?”

Confident, she said.

Of course I was.

I briefly scanned Gwen’s appearance.

She was equipped with gear that was excessive for a sparring match in a place like this.

A leather helmet that covered her ears, elbow pads, leather gauntlets made of layered leather, knee pads, boots, and hard leather armor.

Anyone would mistake her for a mercenary heading out to hunt monsters.

Yet her sword was an utterly impractical wooden sword, flashy as could be.

‘She’s actually an instructor who’s a better fit for Class C.’

Gwen.

She had no talent for swordsmanship whatsoever.

It was strange for me, a klutz of fatal proportions, to be evaluating Gwen like this.

To be precise, Gwen's sword skills were no better than an ordinary person's.

The only reason she could stick around at the academy was, of course, because of the Chairman.

‘Teaching is also a part of education! Above all, isn't Gwen an alumna of Akarind Academy before being my daughter? Seeing a senior become an instructor will surely motivate the students. Hahahaha!’

Let's just stop there.

Anyway, since that was the kind of person Gwen was, there was a possibility she wouldn't properly accept defeat.

The more people lived by their pride, the more they were willing to sacrifice their lives to maintain it.

“It’s just so-so.”

I said, gripping my wooden sword.

We headed to the training ground used by Class B.

‘There’s no one here.’

Even though it was after class, for not a single student to remain.

It said a lot about the learning environment of Class B.

‘Either the teacher hasn't earned their trust, or the learning isn’t deep enough for them to stay for self-study.’

I thought I could understand why students were saying they wanted to move to Class A or Class C.

I wished she were more aware of the influence she had on her students.

“Alright, a duel! I will officiate according to the Imperial Capital’s standard laws? It’s a standard duel, and the winner is decided when one person says they’ve lost, drops their sword, or when an attack deemed to inflict a fatal injury is effective? This body will interpret it for you.”

Rozalin spun her hat on her finger.

“I’m stopping you in the middle so you don’t get hurt, but if you’re stubborn, I’ll faithfully reenact the swordsmanship for you, so when the judge says you’ve lost, you should know how to accept it. Okay?”

Gwen took her stance, holding a brand-name wooden sword with her name finely engraved on the hilt.

It was a swordsmanship that had been passed down at Akarind Academy for a long time.

It was said to be a swordsmanship created and passed down by a knight from over 100 years ago.

So I also took my stance.

‘Right, to have to do it like this…….’

It was a trash-like stance.

I exposed an opening by dropping my shoulders and arms, making it difficult to apply strength.

My feet were also planted on the floor, crossed diagonally back and forth, making it difficult to move.

My head was not facing forward but slightly askew, looking at the opponent’s side.

The most crucial part was the stance of holding the sword.

I held the sword with one hand, not straight in the center but at a slanted angle, and swayed it from side to side.

And Gwen saw this entire stance and.

“……?”

She glared at me with her eyes half-open.

“Are you forfeiting the duel? Or are you planning to perform a sword dance instead of a swordsmanship duel?”

I knew full well that my current stance was closer to a dance than swordsmanship.

It was a relief that I didn't have to make eye contact with Gwen, and a misfortune to make eye contact with Rozalin, who was making a proud expression beside me.

‘Let’s end this quickly.’

I composed my breath and took my stance.

The saving grace was that after eating the Mandrake, my whole body’s muscular strength had become quite firm, enough to hold this stance.

The sword I would wield this time was the thrusting technique from Fel’s Three Swordsmanships.

However, this thrust did not lunge the sword forward.

‘Focus.’

When I first raised my concentration and opened my senses, all five senses were unlocked.

The musty smell of sweat from the training ground mixed with the unique smell of poorly-tanned leather.

The now slowly chilling night air that carried it, and the cries of nocturnal birds from afar.

Even the beautiful canopy in the sky created by the setting sun.

The countless things that the demons would later take away unfolded and then disappeared one by one.

And finally, only Gwen’s figure remained.

She looked at me with eyes that held both tension and confidence.

Her muscles contracted, and at the same time, they exploded.

Pah-aht!

Her first sword strike.

I checked the distance.

It wouldn’t reach.

I pulled my sword back in place so that our swords wouldn’t cross.

The second sword strike.

Judging by the distance, if I let it be, my chest would be cut.

I placed my diagonally held sword in the middle to deflect its trajectory.

Thud!

It wasn’t a very strong collision, but just that was enough for the deflected trajectory to miss my body.

“Ugh!”

Gwen's steps got tangled, and her body leaned diagonally in the direction I had struck.

I turned my sword in the direction her body was falling.

Twinge—.

A sharp pain shot from my right wrist up to my arm.

It felt like a parasite had entered my wrist and pierced through to my elbow.

‘I can endure it.’

It wasn't an attack, but a simple defensive change of stance.

But the effect of the attack was certain.

“Stop!”

Rozalin extended her wooden sword, blocking Gwen’s body.

Gwen couldn't say a word despite the sudden halt.

Because the tip of my wooden sword was waiting about 20cm away from her eyes.

‘A retreating thrust, not an advancing one.’

I questioned whether this could even be called a thrust.

Still, it was a swordsmanship I had painstakingly devised with Rozalin and Sordian for two nights.

“Uh, uhh?! I, I wasn't stabbed!”

“Teacher, do you like one-eyed people? Sordian is still handsome even without one eye, his features are good.”

Gwen tried to be stubborn to end the situation somehow, but it was no use.

I had brought Rozalin along in the first place, anticipating she would act this way.

Rozalin pulled my arm and smiled sweetly.

“Now, our teacher’s qualifications have been proven, and Class B can also freely apply for Class C’s lessons, right? Okay? If you have any complaints about my judgment, you can just fight me.”

Gwen wouldn't have that much guts.

Her halo came from her father, the Chairman.

In other words, she couldn't help but be weak against people of a class and authority that even her father couldn't touch.

Besides, her opponent was none other than Rozalin Vürhelm.

Wasn’t she the swordsmanship genius that Akarind Academy had produced?

To fight such a person with a sword?

The result was obvious without even seeing it.

“No way…… what kind of swordsmanship is this…… I lost to a swordsmanship with such a trash-like stance? No, I didn’t lose, but my victory was stolen like this……?”

‘Poor thing.’

Gwen was slumped over, her hands on the floor.

I considered comforting her, but decided against it.

She was different from Sordian, who had been swayed against his will.

‘What if I hadn’t eaten the Mandrake?’

No matter how basic the defensive stance was, swordsmanship was still swordsmanship.

In the old days, wouldn't I have gritted my teeth and endured, only to stumble and fall?

I was able to win thanks to a lot of good luck, but if not for that.

So I just left Gwen behind and walked out with Rozalin.

“You seem to be bothered by it.”

“A little.”

“Don’t worry about every little thing like that. Anyway, when the demons come out, what’s pride like that? Think about it. Akarind Academy will be gone in 1 year and 3 months because of the demons.”

Rozalin’s gaze swept around.

“So clinging to something like this and putting up a front is over. Gwen? I've never heard her name after that. She probably just died.”

“Rozalin.”

“Ah, did you dislike me talking like this, Teacher?”

Rozalin slapped her mouth and continued.

“But it’s the truth.”

“……”

“Hey, Teach. It’s not like I’m abandoning students like that, right? Don’t forget. All this trouble we’re going through now. It’s all to save even one more person.”

“You can’t just get caught up in saving people and play hero. As important as saving them is, choosing how they will live is also important.”

“Is that so?”

Rozalin, Yuria, and even Avril.

They often ignored people’s emotions and reason because they were so focused on saving people.

They were said to be the ten heroes who fought at the forefront of humanity.

Having fought only at the very top, they seemed to have naturally forgotten how the people below them thought.

“The dead weren’t meaningless people, you know.”

At my point, Rozalin went ‘hmm’ and gave a bitter smile.

“Well, I guess I did sound too much like a wolf pup. My bad. Yup.”

“What kind of person is this Wolf King?”

She had only described him as a lunatic, but I didn't think I had gotten a proper explanation.

Rozalin wrinkled her fine brow and scowled as if just thinking about him was unpleasant.

“He’ll probably try to kill you, Teacher.”

“……?”

Suddenly, what’s this about?

“He’ll probably try to kill all of us too.”

“W-wait a minute. Weren’t there ten heroes of humanity?”

“It’s just that our ways of saving the world are a little different. He hates the Empire and its subordinate kingdoms as much as he hates demons.”

The story Rozalin then unfolded was this.

The Wolf King.

A druid from the great forests of the northwest, he blamed the Empire for the demon invasion and the fall of humanity.

A class structure where humans dominated and exploited humans.

Different religions and values.

All of these were factors that prevented humanity from uniting as one.

“So, erase all those factors, and all of humanity can unite before a single power! That's what he argues, saying everyone should believe in the Great Spirit, the god of druids, and live primitively outside of nations and systems.”

I could see why Rozalin disliked him so much.

Such a person would have likely complained and been at odds with them throughout the entire fight until the very end.

Rozalin was the Great General, she said.

He must have been a hindrance when she planned and executed operations from a high position in the Empire.

“But for him to try to kill us……”

“He was the type to eliminate and get rid of anyone who got in his way beforehand. Seriously. What kind of Great Spirit is that, he's a mad evil spirit.”

There really are all sorts of people in the world.

But well…….

“I understand some of it.”

“Whaaaat?”

Rozalin's jaw dropped as she looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief.

“Wanting to organize everything into one because it's a mess. That’s what I’m doing with my swordsmanship right now.”

“You said you were creating a swordsmanship theory, Teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Can you show it to me?”

I thought for a moment.

I had certainly created the basics, but in the past few days of teaching students and getting mixed up with Class A and C, regressors and what not, my thoughts had changed a little.

‘Are the basics I thought of really the basics?’

I wanted to organize and refine it a bit more before talking about it.

“Can you give me about a week? I’ll organize the initial part and show it to you.”

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