Grateful Spar and Dorm Duel Tradition
Cletta Peliche, wearing an unusually excited expression, spoke to Ludenberg Lavante.
“But, Ludenberg.”
“What.”
“Can I ask one last favor?”
“What is it?”
“Could you spar with me once?”
“……Fine.”
Cletta raised her sword, gazing at Ludenberg. He did the same.
As the eyes of the various students in the training grounds turned toward them, Cletta moved first.
Ludenberg simply watched as she swung her sword at him.
Her stance was far more stable than before she'd changed weapons, and her swordsmanship had improved dramatically. The clumsy swings that made her look like she was being dragged by the blade had mostly vanished.
The fact that she'd shown such skill right after switching weapons meant she had a solid grasp of swordsmanship theory. Her body just hadn't been able to keep up before.
She knew the proper forms in her head, but without the physical strength to maintain them, her performance suffered.
At this rate, Cletta's skills would improve rapidly.
But for Cletta swinging her sword at Ludenberg, it felt suffocating.
Even as he just stood there in stance, watching her, her body trembled.
She realized now that the irritation he'd shown her before was nothing at all.
Just facing him with a sword in hand brought a terrifying pressure crashing over her.
Still, she gritted her teeth, drew on Terra's divine power, and thrust out her hand.
The sword in her grip surged toward Ludenberg with sharp momentum, just as she willed it.
But that was as far as it went.
Ludenberg's sword swept past hers at a speed no ordinary eye could follow.
At the same moment, the blade wrapped in solid Terra divine power split cleanly in two.
It was just like when he'd cut Gawin Greta's sword.
Even as the blades clashed, there was no sharp clang—just a clean slice, like paper.
The students watching were once again filled with awe at the sight.
“Much better. Keep it up like that from now on.”
Cletta stared in shock at her sword, now halved.
Still, satisfied with her own growth, she smiled faintly and bowed her head to Ludenberg.
“Thank you, really. If it weren't for you, I'd still be beating myself up like an idiot.”
“Enough. This was just compensation for my rudeness.”
“Still……”
“I'm leaving.”
Cletta tried to say something more, but Ludenberg ignored her completely and left the training grounds, heading somewhere else.
Ashytara Solenute watched the training grounds after Ludenberg had left.
The dazed faces, doubting if what they'd seen was real, looked almost foolish.
Good.
Ashytara observed them with a cold expression.
As expected.
No—better than expected. Things had gone even smoother.
The mere fact that Ludenberg had reviewed Cletta's swordsmanship would erase a lot of the nonsense rumors about him.
Right now, the conversations in the training grounds were all sparked by his actions.
“Did you see that? Cletta's skills shot up in an instant!”
“Yeah…… But does that even make sense? Just changing weapons did that? Wasn't she the worst among us?”
She overheard Abyss rank students envying Cletta's sudden growth.
“Eden and Mion were spreading rumors that Ludenberg has a bad personality, right? But maybe that's not true?”
“Yeah. Come to think of it, has anyone here actually talked to him properly? He apologizes and helps out someone who was terrible—doesn't that make him nice? If it were me, I'd have given her a half-assed review and called it a day.”
“Hey, did you hear what Ashytara said yesterday?”
“What?”
“You know, that Ludenberg used to be really kind…… Doesn't it kinda fit, seeing him now?”
Doubts about the rumors from Eden Asta and Mion Altis were growing, and more students were starting to believe Ashytara's words.
Hearing that, Ashytara left the training grounds and headed back to her dorm, thinking.
This is enough for now. Over time, the nonsense rumors about Ludenberg will fade away. But……
Eventually, she had to uproot the source.
To do that, she'd inevitably have to clash with her roommate, Mion.
But Ashytara didn't care.
It wasn't a big deal to fall out with someone she wasn't close to anyway.
They'd only been roommates for a short time—no need to get friendly, and honestly, she'd love to kick her out.
Just sharing the same air made her sick.
She couldn't tolerate anyone who opposed Ludenberg.
If she spotted such a thing, she'd bet everything to eliminate it with her own hands.
At that moment, one piece of information flashed in Ashytara's mind.
Come to think of it, there were rules about roommate disputes…… I should check them when I get to the dorm.
Ludenberg couldn't shake off the question nagging at him.
Why was Ashytara acting on his behalf?
He'd tried so hard to avoid getting tangled with her, thinking she'd lose interest if he did.
Yet her actions and attention only bred more questions.
Was it because of that incident last time? Damn it.
Raha's trial and the past echoes that had engulfed him because of it.
Of all people, it had to be Ashytara—who shared those memories—who approached him then.
What a cruel twist of fate.
No. Stop thinking about it. From now on, just ignore her.
Ludenberg forcibly suppressed his doubts about her.
If he couldn't resolve them, he could at least use them to his advantage.
If the annoying rumors vanished thanks to her machinations, that was a win.
No time to waste energy on this. I won't be swayed by others.
He just needed to keep doing what he'd done for the past five years—steadfastly training himself and inching forward.
Everything else was mere distraction.
Besides, he still hadn't fully grasped the swordsmanship his future self had shown in his dreams.
Even though he'd mastered his father's—the empire's greatest knight's—techniques at just eight years old.
That meant his future self's skills were on another level.
Enough to surpass even his father.
It just means I'm not there yet. So…… no more distractions.
He sensed instinctively that Raha's previous trial was just a taste, and in his current soft mental state, he couldn't overcome it.
That's why she'd given him time to steel his mind and train.
Ludenberg gripped Liberra and steeled himself.
Before entering her room, Ashytara scowled deeply.
Because her designated enemy, Mion Altis, was surely inside.
She forced her expression neutral and opened the door.
The golden threads scattered everywhere twisted her mood again.
But she kept a blank face and said to Mion,
“I'm back.”
“Oh, welcome back?”
“Yeah.”
“You're late today.”
“Just…… training went well.”
“Ah.”
Ashytara brushed off Mion's question indifferently.
“……”
“……”
The conversation ended there.
An awkward silence unfit for roommates hung between them.
Not liking the vibe, Mion suddenly said to Ashytara,
“Oh, I found a good dessert shop in the shopping district. Wanna go together? Some others are coming too.”
“Sorry, but I have a lot to do.”
“Oh…… really?”
“Yeah. Next time I have free time, though.”
“Sure.”
Tsk. Total iron wall. If I could just win over Ashytara, screwing over Ludenberg would be easy. Not that I thought it'd be simple. Driving a wedge between those two won't be. Gotta think of something……
Mion buried her face in her pillow, looking dissatisfied.
Ignoring her, Ashytara started rummaging for her student handbook.
Clatter—rustle, rustle.
Curious about the noise, Mion glanced at her.
“Whatcha looking for?”
“Student handbook.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Wanna check the rules ahead of time.”
“Rules?”
“Yeah. Homework's done, nothing else to do, so might as well.”
“Ugh, why bother with that?”
“No harm in knowing. Ah, found it.”
Ashytara finally pulled her student handbook from the drawer and opened it.
What she sought was the section on dorm room transfer regulations.
Let's see……
Flipping to the table of contents, she scanned the relevant parts and soon found what she wanted.
1. Dorm rooms at Solemnute Adem are assigned arbitrarily.
2. Rooms are primarily for two occupants. Single occupancy is allowed only if numbers fall short.
3. In case of disputes over room use, the matter must be reported to the dorm supervisor.
4. If mediation by the supervisor fails, ownership is decided by duel.
5. This is termed a room duel.
5-1. Conditions for a room duel are as follows:
- When at least four students involved in unresolved disputes request it.
- With supervisor approval.
6. The winner claims ownership from the loser.
7. The loser must concede to the winner.
8. If spare rooms exist, the winner may use it alone.
Room duel.
Solemnute Adem's overt regulation for resolving student room disputes.
A tradition unique to the Knight Faculty, passed down since the academy's founding.
It started as a simple way to settle squabbles among students.
With approval from professors who believed knights grew through combat, and the endorsement of the early academy dean, it became official.
Students found the idea of choosing roommates via duel appealing, so it took root quickly.
Ashytara memorized every detail of the room duel rules without missing a word.
To remove what bothered her, proper effort was essential.