I arrived at the academy’s knight training grounds.
Inside the training grounds, which resembled the Colosseum, many students were honing their skills.
“I don’t really like the sports club atmosphere…”
Although I train with a sword every day, watching the intense training of the knights is almost nauseating. The reason I came to this training ground was that I promised to accompany Reinhardt and the others in their training. (I was more or less forced into making that promise.)
“Hey, Toma! You came, huh?”
“Yo, Toma!”
“Good day, Lord Toma.”
Reinhardt, Daniel, and Lady Rena appeared together.
As soon as the three of them appeared, the students stopped moving and saluted them.
Reinhardt is a prince, Daniel is a count’s son, and Lady Rena is a marquis’s daughter, so their noble status makes them stand out. They look so glamorous and radiant, it’s almost blinding for me.
After exchanging greetings, the three of them immediately began loosening up their bodies.
Lady Rena wasn’t wearing her usual skirted uniform but instead a knight’s outfit. Her slender legs, visible from beneath the skirt, looked very feminine, but in the knight’s uniform, she resembled a gallant woman in male attire.
Reinhardt used a one-handed sword and shield, Daniel wielded a greatsword, and Lady Rena used a rapier-like slender sword.
Now that I think about it, it’s been four months since I entered this academy, but I haven’t visited the knight or mage training grounds since the first tour.
I have a goal to get revenge on the self-proclaimed three divine messengers and help Lord Deuro reclaim his divine position. I’m sure they each have their own goals, too. I hope they work hard toward them.
“Toma, would you mind sparring with me?”
I faced Reinhardt for a mock duel.
My sword is a slightly longer one that can be used with either hand.
“Here I come!”
“Go ahead.”
“Ha!”
I calmly redirected Reinhardt’s thrust with my sword, changing its trajectory.
When I trained with my father, just this would have been enough to make my posture falter, but Reinhardt was impressive. He held his ground and immediately followed up with a reverse slash.
I stepped back to dodge, and then he came at me with an overhead strike. His movements were clearly well-thought-out and coordinated.
But… that’s precisely why it’s easier to predict his attacks. From there, I easily anticipated a reverse slash.
I stepped back half a step and avoided the reverse slash, just as I predicted.
“Ha… ha… ha… I see now, Toma. I understand that I’m like a baby compared to you.”
I noticed the surrounding students whispering. It seemed everyone had been watching my spar with Reinhardt.
“That’s not true… is it?”
“I’ve always prided myself on being at a high level for my age, and yet I can’t match you. Just how high is your level, Toma?”
I’m not going to tell you. It’s not good to ask about that.
“Reinhardt’s swordsmanship is from the Royal Knight Swordsmanship, the orthodox style, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve been taught the Royal Knight Swordsmanship by the captain of the knight order.”
“Reinhardt’s movements are just too beautiful.”
“Beautiful?”
“His sword is very faithful to the basics of the Royal Knight Swordsmanship, so it’s easy to predict the next attack.”
“I see… so that’s why you dodged so cleanly.”
“My father also practices the Royal Knight Swordsmanship, but his style is much more unorthodox.”
“I’ve heard rumors about Lord Roxfall, the knight. They say he’s one of the top five strongest in the kingdom.”
“Really?”
“I think he graduated from the knight department. Apparently, he never lost to any student during his five years at the academy.”
Wow, really!? Dad is so cool!
“I also heard that the captain of the knights, Steuben, was his classmate. And he said that Lord Roxfall remained undefeated, even against students from both the knight and magic departments.”
There’s an exhibition match where the winner of the martial arts tournament faces the winner of the magic tournament. So, my father is the undefeated champion! Just how legendary is my father!?
He was strong even when he was young. I’ve always respected him, but now I respect him even more!
“Hey, Toma! Now it’s my turn!”
Next, Daniel stepped forward with his greatsword.
“I’ll avenge Reinhardt!”
“Uh, Reinhardt’s not dead, though…”
“Please don’t kill me…”
“Daniel, you haven’t changed one bit.”
Daniel blinked, looking confused.
Daniel’s sword is a heavy one. It belongs to the Royal Knight Swordsmanship, the “Great Sword” style, which is said to be on par with the orthodox style of swordsmanship.
Because of the sheer size of the sword, if you block it poorly, the mass will overwhelm you. So, the best strategy is to focus on dodging and, if you do block, deflecting the blow.
“Take this!”
Daniel swung the massive sword with a blade about one to two meters wide, his muscles flexing. For an eleven-year-old, Daniel’s physique is already quite impressive.
He’s about 173 cm tall. He might even end up taller than Ben in the future.
“Stop dodging!”
However, Daniel’s sword is very straightforward. He doesn’t think about anything other than attacking, making it a true heavy sword.
This makes it easy to predict his moves. It’s much easier to dodge than Reinhardt’s attacks. After all, his attacks are straightforward.
“Ha… ha… ha… I can’t land a hit!”
“Daniel’s sword is too straightforward.”
“Straightforward? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means it’s simple and direct. He tries to overpower you with sheer force. That’s how it is.”
“Yeah! Power is everything!”
He’s so refreshingly brainy.
His bright white teeth shining as he grinned…
“Now it’s my turn, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Please, Lady Rena.”
“Of course, it’s a pleasure to spar with you, Lord Toma.”
Lady Rena’s sword is based on sharp thrusts. It was a type of swordsmanship I had never seen before, and at first, I was taken aback. But above all, I couldn’t help but be captivated by her beauty as she wielded her sword.
“Is this the Nieken Swordsmanship?”
“Yes, I am learning the Nieken Swordsmanship.”
The Nieken Swordsmanship was developed by the past hero Nieken and is a style meant for thin swords. I had read about it in books but had never seen it in practice before.
“Thrusts, which take advantage of the characteristics of the slender sword, seem to be the main attack method.”
“Thrusting is fundamental. But that’s not all!”
Oops, the sword looked distorted like the body of a snake.
I see, so this is what they mean by a “serpent-style sword.” It moves in unpredictable ways, making it difficult to predict its next move. If my level were the same as Lady Rena’s, I might not have been able to deal with it.
“Ugh, I just can’t seem to land a hit.”
“That’s not true. It’s my first time seeing this swordsmanship, and the serpent-style sword is difficult to predict.”
Lady Rena’s level is 40, second only to Reinhardt’s. But Reinhardt is easier to fight against.
It’s partly because I am more familiar with his swordsmanship, but it’s also easier to predict.
On the other hand, Lady Rena’s sword is difficult to predict. Since I focus mainly on evading or deflecting attacks, it’s not a good match for me.
“I couldn’t land a single blow. I need to train more.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen Nikhen Swordsmanship. I’ve learned a lot, Lady Rena.”
A bead of sweat drips down Lady Rena’s cheek. I couldn’t help but think it was a beautiful drop of sweat, like a gem.
▽▽▽ Side: King Otfried of the Kingdom of Kurudia ▽▽▽
Duke Bayerlein arrived at the castle.
“You wish to discuss the party? Lead him to my private chambers.”
The term “party” here is a code for a confidential discussion.
The Bayerlein family, which oversees the dark side of this country, often has conversations that cannot be overheard by others. Hence, they use various coded terms.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“Your Excellency, good day.”
“Enough with the formalities. What’s going on?”
“It seems that the movements of Haten, the dark faction infiltrating our country, have become more frantic.”
“What…?”
“It is highly likely they are targeting the academy.”
“The academy? Right now, my children and the public’s grandchildren are there.”
“There are also many children of high-ranking nobles attending.”
“Do you have any idea what their goal is?”
“Unfortunately, no. However, there are upcoming martial arts and magic tournaments at the academy.”
“I see, it’s already that time of year… You believe something might happen during the tournaments?”
“We can’t be sure yet, but given the timing, we should be on alert. However, we don’t know how deep Haten’s influence at the academy goes.”
“If we notify the academy, the risk of information leakage is high.”
“Exactly.”
“In that case, I’ll deploy the knight order under the pretext of protecting my children.”
“But that would alert Haten to our vigilance, and it would make investigation difficult.”
“Hmm… What do you suggest?”
“We could disguise the knights as teachers and claim the increase in staff is for that reason. Some of them could be from the dark side.”
“An increase at this time… It’s better than openly mobilizing the knights.”
“We still don’t know the enemy’s objective, so we’ll have to deal with it with the minimum number of people.”
“Understood. I’ll have some skilled knights sent.”
Haten is the name of the dark faction of the Kingdom of Catorias, and they are a troublesome adversary.
Ever since I ascended to the throne, they’ve been causing trouble. Two of my trusted subordinates have been killed, and though there’s no proof, it’s highly likely that Haten was behind the assassinations.
