– Your Highness… ah, Milia, let me escort you to your classroom!

– What are you talking about, Isella? You have swordsmanship class, and I have magic class.

– But it’s my duty to protect you, milady!

– This is Hernan Imperial Academy, the pride of the Empire and the greatest academy on the continent. Nothing could possibly happen in here.

– But still…

– Besides, if you get demoted to Class A for skipping your lessons, we will be able to attend class together even less. Are you really okay with that?

– I can get high marks even without attending the academy-level swordsmanship class!

– What about attendance? I heard you automatically fail any subject if you have insufficient attendance.

– …

– Isella. As I always say, think not just one move ahead, but two steps, even three steps ahead, and act accordingly.

Having been scolded by her master, Isella looked sullen—and then the ‘brute’

Luca Traverse appeared before her.

“Hoo… Of all things, I have to spend a whole year teamed up with a brute like you.”

“Don’t get so worked up. This is all her arrangement, after all.”

“…?”

Isella frowned at his words.

Seeing her reaction, Luca gave a wry smile.

“You wouldn’t have registered for the SA Class, which you can only take if you’re both A-Class and S-Class, on your own, would you?”

“…!”

At Hernan Academy, the classes you can enroll in are determined by your status.

Naturally, the classes available to the higher-class students are more difficult and advanced.

And of course, most S-Class students try to attend only classes reserved for S-Class.

It hurts their pride to take classes that lower-class students also attend.

Of course, Isella didn’t care about such things, but it was also true that she hadn’t enrolled herself.

“You didn’t know? Not that I care, but don’t get in my way. I have to prove myself, and she probably wants that too.”

“… Hmph, just don’t drag me down.”

Isella, not the sharpest mind, nevertheless realized this was all arranged by the princess—no, by Milia.

No wonder she’d been so insistent that Isella attend class.

‘If this is Her Highness’s will… I shall accept it.’

Isella glanced over at Luca with resolve.

‘But… how did this brute know?’

His sword skills in the square as well as this—could he really have some hidden depths, as Milia said?

But she only thought about it briefly.

Her role was Milia’s sword—nothing more.

She had no need to worry about others.

As Isella set her mind and Luca smirked at her, Kryphi’s voice rang out to them.

“Now that all the pairs have been made, let me introduce myself once more. My name is Kryphi Mosto. Shameful though it is, I am called the Nightmare of the Battlefield, a knight honored with two consecutive victories at the Hernan Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament, and I believe I am more than qualified to teach you swordsmanship.”

Kryphi bowed his head as he spoke.

But no one replied.

Luca glanced around—no one seemed pleased.

‘Well, that’s to be expected.’

The SA class was for those who were a bit lacking for S-Class, and those a bit too good for A-Class.

Those whose skills could get them into S-Class but whose status did not allow them to take full S-Class courses, and those from A-Class who wanted a taste of the S-Class, enrolled in SA.

Only a handful of people with the status to address high nobles, royalty, even the imperial family as equals could hold S-Class-only lectures, and there were few such courses. So it couldn’t be helped.

So within S-Class, there were divisions all over again.

With those edged out of S-Class and A-Class students tiptoeing around the S-Class kids, the class atmosphere was less than pleasant.

Add to that Kryphi throwing around his nickname and resumé, and he hardly made a good impression.

“As I said during the orientation, in my class you will learn how to fight opponents using as little magic power as possible.”

“Huh? Why’s that?”

Several students looked surprised, as though hearing it for the first time.

Though you’d expect him to get annoyed, Kryphi’s expression didn’t change as he answered calmly.

“Most of you will one day become commanders on the battlefield, lords on your lands, or knights of the imperial city. You’ll be fighting humans, not monsters. And when fighting humans, you’ll often have to go without using magic power.”

“Why not use magic power? Whether it’s a duel or a war, everyone uses it.”

“Human magic power isn’t unlimited. If you’re up against a vastly superior opponent, that’s one thing—but if you’re evenly matched, the battle will last until you both run out of magic power. When that happens, pure sword skill is what decides victory or defeat.”

Kryphi then drew his sword.

“I plan to drill that pure sword skill into you through practice. That’s why I’ve paired you up and planned three stages for this course. Stage 1: basic combat skills training, stage 2: training against random opponents, and Stage 3: group battles.”

The more Kryphi explained, the more the students lost focus.

Most weren’t listening; they whispered among themselves.

‘So he hasn’t changed his teaching style.’

Luca already knew how Kryphi ran his classes.

That’s one reason he signed up.

He was also curious what had become of Kryphi after losing to the protagonist.

‘But why isn’t a hint being generated? We’ve finally met like this.’

Even when he’d just exchanged quick greetings with Oliver, his hint list had updated.

But neither for Milia nor now Kryphi had hints appeared.

‘Come to think of it, there was no hint for Ottbo either. What are the requirements?’

He was pondering why hints didn’t appear even after meeting characters who had left in the middle or hadn’t shown up for a while—when Kryphi swung his sword.

Fwish! Fwish fwish!

He swung lightly, yet the blade was invisible.

The sound of cutting air was heavy, and when they blinked, the sword was back in its sheath.

“What you just witnessed is one of the basics of modern swordsmanship: deceptive slashing. Even at a non-blinding speed, the blade is invisible to the eye. It exploits gaps in light and vision. It’s a move that’s hard to counter if you’re caught unaware.”

“Hah, so his two tournament wins weren’t just luck after all.”

Isella, standing next to Luca, murmured in admiration.

As the sword of the princess and of the Hernan imperial family, and holding one of their deepest secrets, for her to say that much meant Kryphi’s skill was exceptional.

“Now, I’ll teach you the trick to this move and how to counter it. Practice with your partner.”

With that, Kryphi drew his sword again and began explaining the deceptive slash step by step, giving them time to practice.

Thus, Luca and Isella ended up facing each other to train.

“Hmph, I mastered basics like this ages ago.”

“That’s a relief. I was wondering how I might teach you without being too irritated.”

“…”

Isella’s eyes narrowed.

Luca shrugged and slowly drew his sword.

“Even if we’ve both mastered the deceptive slash, we still need to put our skills to use.”

“And?”

“Let’s pick up where we were interrupted earlier.”

At that, Isella drew her sword as well, a slight smirk tugging at her lips.

“That’s the first thing you’ve said that I actually like.”

“Just don’t make it too obvious. We’re still in class, after all.”

“Fine. I’ll fight using only basics—no magic power.”

Isella gripped her sword tightly, grinning to herself.

‘Without magic power, a brute like this is nothing!’

As a member of ‘Night’, Isella had confidence in her skills.

But she didn’t know something crucial.

“Let’s start.”

“I’ll concede the first move.”

“It’s chivalrous to give the first move to a lady.”

“…”

“Well, I won’t argue, then.”

At the mention of ‘lady’, she suddenly gave off a murderous aura. Luca smirked.

He leaned forward—then slashed swiftly.

‘Hmph! Predictable!’

Isella snorted inwardly and moved to meet his blade—but realized something and hurriedly parried.

Kiiiiiiiiing!

“…”

“Ho, you blocked that.”

The blade of Isella’s sword, which had parried Luca’s attack, was trembling.

Isella stared at her own sword, then took a deep breath.

Her expression was now serious as she looked at Luca.

“Oh~ Was that a ‘iron-cutting’? As expected of a scion of the Traverse family, you’ve mastered all the basics.”

It was then that Kryphi, who had been watching from a distance, approached in admiration.

‘Iron-cutting’ was one of the fundamentals of modern swordsmanship; with that, Luca had tried to cut Isella’s sword on the very first exchange.

‘So, he’s not just a brute—maybe he really practiced hard.’

Luca had used the iron-cutting not as a simple attack, but as a subtle, leading strike.

It was so precise that someone unfamiliar with the basics would never have noticed.

Had she been just a little less careful, her sword would have been split in two.

For a swordsman, losing their blade meant defeat.

Realizing for a moment that she’d nearly lost, Isella’s gaze changed.

“As expected, master Luca of House Traverse.”

“Sir Mosto, we’re still sparring.”

“Ah, my apologies. Excuse my rudeness.”

As Kryphi stepped back, Luca grinned slyly at Isella.

“What’s wrong? Your eyes have changed. Are you frustrated because you were caught off-guard?”

“… All right, I’ll apologize for one thing. Giving you the first move. I really underestimated you.”

“Glad you recognize it. So you’ll be going all out now?”

At his words, Isella gripped her sword with both hands.

“Yes. From now on, I’ll crush you with everything I’ve got.”

The secret weapon of the Hernan imperial family, the knight from ‘Night’, in charge of “Moonlight”—Isella—had decided to get serious.

* * *

‘Tsk, everyone looks dead inside. How am I supposed to find someone to connect me to the powerful like this?’

Kryphi clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched the students.

He’d been teaching at Hernan Academy for years, but nothing changed.

No one cared about his class; all they wanted was to network with other nobles.

Of course, Kryphi was the same.

He came to Hernan Academy for one reason: to climb the social ladder.

‘I thought if I made a high-born noble’s talented child my disciple, they’d take me higher if they made it big. But none of them is interested in swordsmanship.’

Kryphi was of commoner origin.

He’d discovered his talent for the sword by chance, then honed his skills through brutal effort.

He earned distinction in war and won swordsmanship tournaments twice, eventually receiving the surname ‘Mosto’.

But soon he ran up against a wall.

— He did good, but he’s still a commoner.

— He’s a great swordsman, sure, but so what? There are even better ones.

— Hmph… He’s just a pawn, a commoner to use and discard.

He ended up ranked above commoners but below true-born nobles.

That was why he’d come to Hernan Academy.

‘If I could just make a noble-born disciple, maybe things would change.’

He dreamed that a disciple born a noble would achieve greatness thanks to his teachings, and, once they reached a higher station, pull him up with them.

But he realized as soon as he arrived.

That dream would not come easy.

‘All the high nobles take only S-Class exclusives, and only low nobles or gutter commoners take my class.’

The lack of interest was one thing, but none of the students in his class could make him a count or higher in the noble ranks.

So he became increasingly bitter and resentful toward commoners.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

‘Every last one of them annoys me… and yet, of all things, the ones who stand out…’

Kryphi didn’t miss even a single spark as swords clashed in Luca and Isella’s duel.

‘A second son of a count with zero inheritance prospects and a commoner…’

The duel between Luca and Isella began to draw attention.

Their clash was simple—basic, no flashy moves—yet demonstrated exactly why basics mattered. Their swordplay was heavy and clean.

Watching them, something stirred in Kryphi’s chest.

‘But for the first time in ages… my blood’s boiling.’

It was ambition.

The urge to compete, to win against someone.

That basic drive of a martial artist rose anew.

‘I don’t know about anyone else—but I do want to watch those two grow.’

Just when some new resolve was awakening in Kryphi, capable of changing his future, the duel ended.

Clink!

Whing whing whing! Thud!

Someone’s sword flew and stuck in the ground.

“I lost.”

“… Tsk.”

The winner was Isella.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep