038

The orc warrior was clad in light brass armor all over its body.

There was a scratch on one eye, probably an injury sustained while being captured by Hati, and one side of its head was caved in.

In particular, one of its tusks, which could be called the symbol of an orc, was completely broken, and such scars made the orc look even more menacing.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaak—!

The people around were momentarily overwhelmed by the scream, which had been suppressed and then burst out with fury.

But in front of it.

Bridget and Eleveth stood facing it with grim expressions, holding their swords.

“Avril!”

I stood up from my seat and shouted, but the sound was soon swallowed by the cheers of the surrounding spectators.

The cheers of hundreds of people were filled with joy and excitement.

Since it was a rural village, the fight between monsters and students was as stimulating an event as a circus.

“I-is this really okay?”

The only ones watching the situation with tension were the three of us.

Gwen and Qantaii looked at me with pale faces.

I looked outside the stage, at Avril, the Chairman, and the high-grade instructors.

Perhaps because Avril was standing so leisurely.

They didn't seem worried, but simply interested.

‘Hati?’

I hurriedly looked at the place where the monster had flown from.

There, Hati was standing with his arms crossed, an amused expression on his face.

“Teacher.”

“……Rozalin?”

“I came in person because I thought you'd be this flustered. But since the teachers next to you seem to be flustered too, this seems like a rather interesting scene.”

“You knew?”

“Of course. We were the ones who caught the monsters, how could we not know that a warrior was mixed in?”

Rozalin said with a playful smile, as if telling me not to worry.

“Teacher. Pan killed even more orcs and orc warriors than this.”

“But……”

“If you decided to believe in the students, then believe in them fully. Above all.”

Rozalin’s gaze turned to the center of the training ground.

Towards Bridget, who was charging at the orc warrior.

“Those two, I taught them, and they're really good.”

Bridget’s sword danced in the air as if it had been flicked once.

With a dull ‘chaeng’ sound, the sword was struck against the orc warrior’s arm armor and bounced off.

An opening was created, but the warrior couldn't attack easily either.

Swish—.

Because Eleveth’s sword, which thrust in at the right timing, was threatening.

‘Fel’s Three Swordsmanships?’

A thrust that maintains its center and is placed in the opponent’s attack trajectory.

Eleveth’s sword was positioned in a place where it would be life-threatening if it struck a spot where Bridget would have been fatally wounded.

But how did she do that?

‘Could it be Rozalin?’

I knew well that Rozalin was fond of Eleveth.

But I didn't know until now that they had become close enough to teach her Fel’s Three Swordsmanships in such a short time.

And it wasn't a swordsmanship that could be used easily just by learning it.

It was a technique that was only established by calculating the opponent's trajectory and pushing the swordsmanship into it.

Was that what she meant by talented and good?

Kwaaaak!

The orc warrior, as if frustrated, took a step back and regrouped.

Its eyes turned red.

It was a secret art that drew out the unique magic of monsters and amplified their power.

And on the opposite side, Bridget caught his breath and took a sword stance.

The basic stance of the House of Marquis Vürhelm, which had now become the basic sword stance of Akarind Academy.

Bridget’s sword shot towards the charging orc warrior.

Kwoooooo!

Every time the orc warrior kicked the ground, sand scattered due to its weight and strength.

The muscles in its arms tightened as if they would burst.

Its two hands were aimed at Bridget as if to tear him apart at any moment.

Bridget’s body sank low, as if crawling on the ground.

“Waaaaaaaa—!”

In the midst of the cheers of the spectators, who were so excited they seemed to have stopped breathing.

Bridget’s sword soared from the ground to the sky like a bird, and immediately, blue blood scattered.

Through the domineering sword that cut through even the orc warrior’s upper body armor in one go.

“Haaap—!”

Eleveth’s sword plunged deep into the orc warrior’s heart.

The sword was completely embedded in its body, leaving only the hilt.

Bridget grabbed Eleveth and threw himself back to create distance.

When the two had created some distance.

Kwo, o.

The orc warrior, whose eyes had lost their vitality, gasped for breath and then slowly knelt to the ground and died.

“Amazing—!”

“Didn’t they say they were academy students? Basic class? But they took down a warrior by themselves! Aren't they much better than our guards?”

“That young lady’s swordsmanship is incredible! I couldn't even follow her movements with my eyes!”

“Akarind Academy has really sharpened its claws this year!”

And cheers erupted from all sides.

People who could no longer sit in their seats stood up one after another and clapped.

In the center of it all, Bridget and Eleveth were looking at the people with a slightly dazed expression.

Especially Eleveth, who seemed unable to believe what she had just done.

“……sniffle.”

At the sudden sound of crying, I looked to the side and saw Gwen staring at the training ground with a blank expression.

As if moved, she bit her lower lip, holding back her tears, and clapped.

Qantaii also couldn’t hide his surprised expression; it seemed he hadn’t expected the students to show this level of skill.

Among us, only one person had predicted this victory.

Tuk tuk.

Rozalin, who was smiling brightly beside me, patted my arm.

“You don’t like Avril, do you?”

“……”

“But Teacher. Please believe this. We are currently moving for you, accommodating you as much as possible.”

“……”

“Avril can profit from both your success and your misfortune. He's the kind of guy who can make that happen. But in the end, the winner of this bet is you, Teacher, and Avril bet on your victory.”

Following Rozalin’s words, I looked at Avril.

He was slowly turning and leaving the training ground with an unreadable expression.

Only the Chairman, who was left alone, stood up with a very satisfied expression and shouted.

“It was a truly excellent practical evaluation! Everyone worked hard!”

Anyway, the final evaluation was over.

Now, all that was left after grading was.

“Teacher.”

Vacation.

“So please spend a lot of time with us during the vacation. Your swordsmanship has improved, so now it’s our turn. I told you why we came back, right? We want our swordsmanship to become stronger. The stronger we become, the more demon bastards we can screw over.”

Rozalin, with winter in her hair, smiled fiercely.

* * *

Gwen knocked on the door with a tense expression.

A short reply, ‘Come in,’ came from inside.

When she opened the door and entered, the Chairman greeted her with a surprised expression, as if he hadn't expected her to come.

“What is it?”

She had practiced this in her head hundreds of times before coming here.

Could she really say these words, because of her pride, her embarrassment, or the numerous reputations and shame?

But.

“……I want to learn swordsmanship properly. Please assign me a teacher.”

Surprisingly, her desire came out of her mouth easily.

The corner of the Chairman’s mouth drew a curve as he looked at her.

“It seems the teachers this year aren’t just teaching students!”

* * *

Pan stared at Hati with a blank expression.

“You’re taking me to the mercenary guild?”

“That’s right. And to the most notorious Western Desert unit among them.”

Hati smiled with a proud expression.

“Do you think I’ll be able to survive?”

“Hehehe. You’ll die.”

“Pardon……?”

“But if you survive, it will be a good experience.”

In the past, Pan had not had the time to experience various worlds.

Because of that, his way of handling the sword was old-fashioned, and he had a strong, single-minded disposition with a lack of social skills.

To make up for those shortcomings, he planned to put Pan in the most flexible and adaptable mercenary guild from an early age.

Of course, it wasn't mandatory.

“Boy. You may have received our help, but you are a warrior who has even faced a high orc.”

Mercenaries are typically divided into gold, silver, and bronze ranks.

If Pan were to work as a mercenary right now, he could easily receive a silver plaque.

Of course, even mercenaries with gold plaques struggle in the desert region, but with a silver plaque, he should at least be able to secure a seat as an apprentice.

“What will you do? Don’t you need to get stronger? You have to protect the Teacher.”

At those words, Pan’s eyes became a little more serious.

For the past week, he had heard the story of the future from Rozalin and Hati while conducting his lessons.

He couldn't believe it all, but it wasn't something he couldn't believe at all.

“……I’ll do it.”

His winter was likely to be hot.

* * *

“Bridget! You were amazing!”

“Awesome, Orc Warrior Slayer!”

“Your teamwork with Eleveth was incredible. Are you two dating?”

“Get lost! Hey, Bridget. If you have time later, please read this letter.”

The center of the Class C classroom today was, without a doubt, Bridget.

Even as the sunset was darkening outside the window, the students lingered around Bridget without any thought of going home.

Usually, it was rare for people to gather around Bridget like this.

This was because Bridget had a sharp impression and a strong personality, and he had a scary image because of how he used to bully Pan.

But the situation had changed since Bridget started training his sword seriously and reconciled with Pan.

Students would casually approach Bridget and make jokes, and some even expressed their interest.

Bridget responded to the students appropriately each time.

He looked like he was annoyed with the world, but that was considered his charm.

His short-cut hair and sharp eyes made Bridget’s image even stronger.

Today, Eleveth was sitting next to Bridget.

She was still frozen, staring at her own hands as if she couldn't believe her achievement.

“It’s vacation now. What are you going to do?”

“I have to go home. I’m going back to my family and show my swordsmanship to the knights. They’ll be surprised.”

“I think I’ll go to the Imperial Capital for private tutoring. My mother said she found a retired knight for me.”

“It’s nice to be a noble. I’ll probably go home and help with the farm work. My father is sick.”

“Should I send some people from my family?”

“Really?”

Since the two’s reactions were lukewarm, the students soon gathered in small groups and shared their upcoming schedules.

When winter comes, most of the students of Akarind Academy leave the academy.

They leave the academy at the coldest time and return about two months later when winter is about to end.

A chance to meet their families after a long time, check their growth, and gain various experiences.

You could already feel the students’ excitement.

The students who were checking their plans all left, and the sunset slowly tilted outside the window.

A man entered the classroom.

“What will you do during the vacation?”

A low, raspy, yet fundamentally captivatingly clear voice.

Bridget’s gaze slowly rose.

There stood a man in a red tunic.

“……I’ll go back to my family.”

“And you?”

The man’s gaze turned to Eleveth.

As if she hadn't expected to be asked, Eleveth looked flustered and glanced at Bridget.

“Answer me.”

“Uh, I, I’ll just…… stay in the dormitory. I don’t have parents.”

At the sudden story, Bridget looked a little surprised.

They had trained together as a team for the past two weeks, but they had barely had any personal conversations.

Considering that some in other teams had started dating, and some had started true friendships that transcended status and class, their relationship was very dry.

“Excellent.”

“What?”

“You two, I’ll buy your vacation.”

A heavy pouch was placed in front of them.

The distinct clinking sound of gold coins echoed heavily from within.

“One thousand gold.”

At the sudden weight of the money, the two swallowed dryly.

Even for a noble of the Empire, a thousand gold was an overwhelming amount of money for a young person.

This was even more so for the fourth son who had been removed from the family succession dispute, and even more so for the orphan, Eleveth.

“……What is your purpose?”

The large sum of money actually increased their wariness.

Bridget stood up from his seat and stood between them, as if to shield Eleveth.

As if finding Bridget ridiculous, the man slowly brought his face close to Bridget’s.

“I told you. I’m buying your vacation.”

“Why……”

“I’ll make you beat Pan.”

A spark flew from Bridget’s eyes.

“Rozalin, I’m not so sure. I don’t know about that witch.”

“What does that……”

“Something I want to confirm has come up.”

The man slowly backed away.

His body was slowly dyed by the shadows.

Bridget and Eleveth, despite the brightly colored man being right in front of them, felt as if he wasn't there.

“Think about it and decide. I’ll give you two days.”

And soon, the man’s figure completely disappeared from the classroom.

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