Where Else Would You Find Someone as Pretty and Normal as Me?

As luck would have it, our very first class was interpersonal combat training.

After changing into gym clothes that were easy to move in and heading outside, a sparring ground of solid stone slabs awaited us. Apparently, that was where the duels would take place.

Cecilia stepped up onto the platform and addressed the students lined up below.

"Obviously, any attack that could kill someone is off-limits. Attacks that could seriously injure someone are banned too."

In short: hold back and manage your power so nobody gets hurt.

"If things look like they're about to get dangerous, I'll step in and stop it, so you don't need to worry too much."

You can't even see — how are you going to do that?

I wanted to ask, but none of the other students seemed the least bit concerned, so I decided to keep quiet. It felt rude, anyway.

Come to think of it, not a single student was dismissing Cecilia. You'd expect at least one person to grumble or look down on a teacher with a visual impairment. Had someone charged her yesterday and gotten thoroughly beaten for it? Or maybe it was simply because anyone skilled enough to become an Academy professor commanded that kind of respect.

Before long, Cecilia was pairing people off one by one. How she pointed to each student's exact position while speaking, even though she couldn't see, was a mystery — and the fact that she already had everyone's names memorized was just as impressive.

"Hanna and Albert. Hyunseok and Crinus. And lastly, Elysia…"

In that instant, every student's gaze swung toward me at once. Curious and fearful in equal measure — a strange mix of looks.

…What did I do?

Whispers drifted over from a few of them.

"That's the one who hangs out with Tania and Adele, right?"

"So she's a total psycho too, then?"

"Hey! What if she hears you?! Those two can't even lift a finger against her — that means she's got something going on. You say that kind of crap and get yourself murdered, then what?"

If I really could kill people, you'd be first on the list…

Still, I understood why they were looking at me like that. Tania and Adele's reputations weren't exactly glowing, and I spent a lot of time with them. But those two were so kind and adorable. It made me a little sad that people didn't see it.

If I stuck them with someone for a day, wouldn't that person figure it out? Then Tania and Adele's social lives would recover, and they'd make lots of new friends…

My mood soured instantly.

Introducing those two to other friends was clearly a terrible idea. I was already busy monopolizing them myself!

I was grinding my teeth at the imaginary person who'd gotten close to Tania and Adele without me when Cecilia continued.

"Then Elysia… how about sparring with me?"

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Honestly, the students' skill levels weren't nearly as impressive as I'd expected. Or maybe hanging out exclusively with friends like Tania and Adele had just warped my sense of scale.

Most of them had problems so basic even I could spot them immediately.

Whoosh. Whoosh-whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.

All flash and no substance — piling on flashy techniques that accomplished nothing.

BOOM! BOOM!

Or the opposite: so straightforward they couldn't manage a single trick, just dumping raw power until they ran dry.

Not everyone was like that, of course. A few actually looked useful.

For example…

FWOOOOSH!

A woman with yellow hair whipping behind her swung her sword, and electricity crackled forth like a blade aura straight out of a fantasy novel. Her male opponent flung himself desperately out of the way —

CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACK!

— but the lightning energy exploded outward in a wide burst and slammed into him anyway.

KRA-BOOOOM!

Unable to dodge, the guy took a direct hit and went flying. Watching it felt a lot like swatting a fly with an electric flyswatter.

Beyond that… a boy with exhausted eyes lobbing fireballs of various sizes, a woman summoning ice while swinging a spear. And…

"Ugh…"

…a girl standing over a guy rolling on the ground, fidgeting with a dagger in her hands?

Everyone else looked pretty useless, but the way they flailed around trying everything they could think of was so earnest it was almost cute. This was the beauty of youth, right?

Before I knew it, it was my turn — the last match of the day.

Cecilia strode up onto the sparring ground, so I started to follow —

"Ah."

— and stopped dead in my tracks.

"They confiscated my box cutter."

I have no way to use my ability.

Should I bite my tongue? The taste of blood in my mouth was metallic and gross, though… Of course, if Tania or Adele ever wanted me to drink their blood, I'd happily do it ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a smile.

…Not that that would ever happen.

So was there at least something box-cutter-adjacent lying around? If nothing else, I could pick up a sharp rock and— ah.

I spotted the weapon still clutched in the hands of the girl who'd just been up on the sparring ground, and I walked straight toward her. Whether it was my bad reputation or something else, the friends around her flinched. A little hurtful, but if I took the time to clear up the misunderstandings one by one, things would get better eventually. More importantly, I needed to borrow that right now.

When I stopped in front of her, the girl shrank her shoulders as if she were scared.

"Hi."

"Ah… h-hi…"

"Could I ask your name?"

"K-Kim Yeeun…"

"That's a pretty name."

I gave her head a gentle pat, and she trembled all over with a look of pure terror. That stung a little…

"Yeeun. Could I borrow that for a second?"

I pointed at the dagger she was clutching to her chest. Kim Yeeun held it out without a word, shaking like a leaf.

"Thanks."

"Y-yeah…"

I took the dagger, offered her a small smile, and turned toward the sparring ground. As I walked, I drew it from its leather sheath and looked it over.

The razor-sharp edge wasn't what mattered…

I tilted it slightly, and my pretty face reflected in the blade's mirror-clean surface.

Mm! Still ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as pretty as a flower today — no, prettier than a flower.

Satisfied, I set the sheath gently on the ground, clasped my hands behind my back, and bounced up onto the sparring platform with little hops.

There was Cecilia, still smiling as she idly stroked her sword's hilt, waiting for me.

"Oh? You're using a real sword to spar with a student?"

I ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked brightly. She waggled her blade with equal amusement.

"You think I'd get hurt using a wooden one?"

"Fair point."

I was about to reverse-grip the dagger and settle into a stance when Cecilia spoke again.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You don't have to go easy on me either. I already know you've got plenty of real combat experience."

I froze. The hand that had been fiddling with the dagger went still.

"I'm not scolding you, okay? Just saying I won't let my guard down either, so don't worry about it. And…"

Shiiing—.

As Cecilia drew her sword, the corner of her mouth curved into a soft arc.

"I'm LV.11, same as you."

She set her scabbard gently on the ground and faced me.

"Whenever you're ready, come at me."

She couldn't see it, but I gave the smiling woman a small smile of my own.

This was an important opportunity. We'd made a bet, after all. If I could figure out what her ability was during this spar, nothing could be better. But the fact that she'd put herself forward as my opponent after proposing that bet…

"You're that confident I won't figure it out?"

"Something like that."

A relaxed expression. A loose, swaying stance that looked full of openings at a glance. An inexperienced fighter would have thought now's my chance and charged right in.

But I'd been through enough real fights to feel it. Behind that casual exterior, there wasn't a single opening to be found.

"Hmm…"

"What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"

"I'll be right there."

We traded words that might have sounded affectionate if we hadn't both been holding blades, while I kept turning over my options.

The truth was, my odds of winning were slim. No matter how much real combat experience I had, beating someone skilled enough to teach at the Academy was basically impossible. So for this spar… my top priority was figuring out Cecilia's ability. And it was a chance to experiment with applications of my own power that I'd never dared try in a life-or-death fight.

Slash!

With the reverse-gripped dagger in my right hand, I cut across my left wrist.

I felt bad about cutting the bandage Adele had wrapped for me, so I aimed a little lower.

Blood sprayed, and from below the platform came a chorus of startled student screams — "Kyaaah!"

"Ow… that hurts."

It felt different from cutting with a box cutter. Because the dagger was so much sharper? Unlike the box cutter's slow, scraping drag, this one sliced clean through in a single stroke — a cold flash of steel, then a delayed, searing heat. And more than anything… I wasn't used to that keenness or that length.

"I cut too deep."

Blood was flowing a little more than usual… no, honestly, a terrifying amount. Tears started streaming down my face to match.

Blood pattered onto the floor and soaked the stone, but Cecilia wore a perfectly calm expression, as if she'd expected me to pull something like this.