028

“Teacher, Teacher, I heard you bet on our grades again? Gambling is bad.”

“I’m sorry……”

In reality, I had nothing to gain from this bet.

It was unfair.

It would have been less unfair if I had actually planned this proactively for some personal gain.

But this whole affair was the result of Rozalin and Avril whispering among themselves.

Bridget, who was sitting at the very front of the desk, asked bluntly.

“So, what's today's class about? Swordsmanship?”

Right, let’s not stay depressed.

At least it’s a good thing I'm not teaching the students with that old draft that fell into Rozalin's hands.

This basic swordsmanship was made for the students anyway, so I had to teach it.

“For the next three weeks, you will forget your own swordsmanship.”

At my words, the students' gazes focused on me.

“The swordsmanship you will learn is Cassian's Basic Swordsmanship, named after me. It is a physical training method that forms the basis of all swordsmanship.”

As the explanation continued, the students' reactions were split about half and half.

The students from Class A and B had expressions of disappointment.

There was also a mix of distrust in their eyes.

It was the kind of look I often received from students when I conducted classes just a month ago.

And the other half were the students from Class C.

They were looking at me with a clear mix of anticipation in their eyes.

‘Half is better than nothing.’

Compared to the past when not a single one paid attention, the conditions were much better.

“We will learn the theory of every process, from how to hold a sword to extending your arm and moving your feet, one by one.”

I distributed the textbooks, which I had copied with a magic tool, to the students.

It was the introduction part of the textbook, about the first ten pages.

“For the next week. There will be no practical classes during the theory lessons.”

“Aww—?”

“Because this class is not about teaching you how to fish.”

There are classes that catch fish for hungry students.

And there are classes that teach hungry students how to fish.

In the Imperial Capital, classes that taught how to fish were popular.

But I thought even that was insufficient, and I went deeper into the teaching method.

“I will teach you how to ask questions. How the fishing rod should change according to the surrounding ecosystem. Why you need to change the bait.”

My swordsmanship was literally basic swordsmanship.

The goal was to upgrade their very perspective so that they could refine their own swordsmanship.

After the explanation, the students became quiet.

Amidst their eyes, where various emotions seemed to be mixed.

Bridget quietly raised his hand.

“……If I learn that, can I beat Pan?”

Pan, huh.

I tried to organize the theories of the past swordsmanship I had created.

I recalled the lines of interpretation that Rozalin, Avril, and Hati were discussing at the training ground back then.

I understood the swordsmanship Pan was currently using, and by combining all its possibilities, I drew a picture.

‘I see it.’

In my mind, the blurry figure of a single swordsman appeared.

Pan, with a more muscular and larger build than in reality, was holding a sword.

He deceived his opponent with short steps, and at the same time, delivered a powerful blow through immense strength.

A violent and yet arrogant swordsmanship.

‘And our students?’

In a short time, the swordsmanship of all the students sitting here flashed through my mind.

I could feel my forehead to the crown of my head heating up with rapid thoughts.

Through the faint migraine and heat, the images of the students were enhanced.

When their basics were solidified, and they themselves came to know the sword's intent of the swordsmanship they used.

‘Not everyone can win.’

Not all students from Classes A, B, and C could follow my class 100%.

Among the images standing before Pan, less than thirty achieved victory.

But thirty was about 20% of the entire student body.

‘Not bad.’

And if, among them, there was a student who could not just know the sword's intent but also establish their own will.

“You can win.”

It would surely go beyond simply winning.

At my declaration, the surrounding atmosphere became quiet.

The same went for the students from Classes A and B who had been sending me skeptical glances until a moment ago.

They must have known.

Class A had the experience of everyone except Bridget losing to Class C, and Class B had heard the rumors.

“Good. Then let's start from the beginning.”

I began to read the textbook slowly.

* * *

“You’ve been weird lately.”

As soon as the class ended, friends flocked around Bridget.

They were the kids who usually hung out together and bullied Pan.

“You don’t even drink the alcohol you used to love and just train every day.”

“Teacher Cassian is, well, a bit…… yeah, he’s okay to look at, but isn’t it still weird?”

“Why are you sitting in the front seat? It doesn’t suit you.”

Bridget let their words go in one ear and out the other.

He didn’t dislike them.

They were friends he had been with every day just a month ago, and if he hadn't realized it himself, he would probably be living like that too.

“I find this fun.”

Bridget said, picking up his bag.

His friends took a step back with reluctant expressions.

They must have felt like a small wall had formed between him and them.

Bridget advised them sincerely.

“You guys should try to find some fun in it too. The final exams are soon.”

“Well, since when did we care about exams……”

“You said you were just going to mess around at the academy and then go home.”

There was a time when they used to talk like that.

The fourth son of the family.

He had three older brothers, and the eldest of them was already married and even had a son.

His abilities were outstanding, and his swordsmanship skills and knowledge were all excellent enough to be called an aristocrat of the Empire.

No matter how hard he tried, all he could be was a knight loyal to the family or an administrator.

‘It wasn’t that I disliked it, but.’

It wasn’t that he liked it either.

So he had been living aimlessly.

But now, he had a goal.

Pan.

He wanted to beat him.

‘After that, well, it’ll work out somehow.’

His friend in reality was too big to worry about a future that hadn't come yet.

So much so that if he didn't live fiercely, he would have no choice but to lose again.

Just as Bridget was about to leave the classroom, he heard the voices of students talking in a corner of the classroom.

“……Isn’t he freaking arrogant?”

“He said there are no practical classes. Can we really win with this?”

“I think he’s just acting up because Rozalin is backing him.”

“In the first place, everything that’s happened so far, he didn’t do it himself, right? It’s the Class C kids who are amazing.”

“His swordsmanship skills are probably still not that great, right? A klutz doesn’t just go away. He was a really fatal klutz.”

He had no intention of moving.

“Hehe, right. I mean, how can a swordsmanship teacher fall over while swinging a sword?”

“I heard he’s trying to imitate the Vürhelm family’s swordsmanship. He should just teach that.”

“Actually, isn’t it just swinging a few poses? That's why he can't teach.”

But as he continued to hear the insults.

“He keeps talking about the lower body, but shouldn't he be the one receiving physical training?”

“After class, he goes to the center of the village and just sits there spacing out. Isn’t it pathetic? That’s the time he should be training himself.”

Without realizing it, his body moved on its own.

“Seems to me you guys are the same, just cooped up gossiping instead of training during your training time.”

The students’ chatter came to a sharp halt.

Because a strange voice, not of the people who were talking, had intervened.

A physique about half a head taller than his peers.

Short-cut, dark red hair.

And a sturdy build with sharp, beast-like eyes.

Bridget, who gave off an intimidating aura just by standing there, stood with a hardened face.

“What’s it to you?”

A Class B student, whose build was similar to Bridget’s, opened his mouth.

He was a second-year in the past, a senior who was a year older than Bridget and in the same year as Rozalin.

Since they were organized in groups of two years, there were people like this who had been attending the school for a long time.

And most of them were concentrated in Class A or B in terms of grades, and perhaps because of that, there were more cases of them ignoring Cassian.

Perhaps that was why his tone was exceptionally sharp.

“What do you mean, what's it to me? He’s my teacher. And your teacher too.”

But Bridget wasn't one to be intimidated by such things.

No, it wasn't just Bridget.

The gazes of the students who had not left the classroom were now focused here.

The students from Classes A and B seemed to be watching the situation with curiosity.

But the students from Class C.

‘What’s with these guys? Why are their eyes rolling back.’

Their gazes were a little scary.

They were looking here with their eyes lit as if they had been personally insulted.

“In the first place, you guys are the ones who came here to take this class.”

At Bridget's words, a hint of shame crossed the students’ faces.

It wasn't wrong.

As soon as the rumor that Class C had beaten Class A spread, they had started to pester the Class B instructor.

They insisted that they too would take the Class C lessons, and that's how they got here.

“If you came here by your own choice, show some respect. If you're really suspicious of the teacher……”

Bridget brought his face close to the face of the Class B student who seemed to be the leader among them.

So close that their noses almost touched.

A distance where Bridget's fighting spirit could be felt directly.

“I'll teach you, so let’s have a match.”

The rumor about Bridget in Class B had spread quite widely.

The only student who lost in Class C, which was on the verge of a complete victory.

The result alone might be embarrassing, but not when you considered the opponent.

The opponent Bridget had pointed out was Pan.

A student who had defeated Sordian, who was the instructor of Class A.

And on that day, Bridget and Pan had exchanged blows to the extent that they could be called equals.

In fact, it was said that Pan and Bridget had become quite close, discussing swordsmanship with each other since then.

A duel with such a Bridget.

“……Hey, let's go.”

They had no choice but to avoid it.

The Class B students glanced around and moved away from Bridget.

Bridget stood still in front of the desk until they had all left, then soon returned to his seat and packed his things.

‘Why did I.’

To think he would move like this just because someone was insulting the teacher.

He had only just now barely acknowledged the teacher's teaching eye and swordsmanship skills.

‘Maybe I didn’t want to hear from someone who knows nothing about the sword. Yeah. That's it. Because they're blind.’

The other students who had been watching the commotion also packed their things and left the classroom one by one.

One person.

Only one student, who had never brought anything that could be called baggage in the first place, approached Bridget.

“Ugh?”

Bridget, who was turning around without thinking, was startled to see Yuria standing next to him without a sound.

‘Didn't they say she was a Saint? This is more like an assassin…….’

Can the holy power of the Holy Kingdom even kill one's presence?

He thought as he looked at Yuria.

Her purple eyes, which had no focus like a dead fish, were staring at him.

For some reason, it felt like he was being cursed by God in real time.

“Wh-what?”

“……You are a student who knows the greatness of the Great Master and knows how to put it into practice. Well done.”

“Uh……?”

After saying that, she turned around and left the classroom, didn't she?

“What, what was that. What was that.”

Was it because the afterglow was too strong?

Bridget remained in the classroom for a long time even after Yuria had left.

And Yuria.

“……This is what happened.”

Reporting every detail of what had just happened in the classroom to Cassian.

“God is a being who correctly knows and evaluates our entire lives. In a world where such a God has disappeared, for whose evaluation should we live our lives?”

She was asking the first question.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.