Chapter 127
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127
Beatrice had just remarked that I had the aptitude of a magic swordsman.
Hearing this, I replied without showing any surprise.
“Oh? Did you deduce that from the mana assessment?”
“Yes. I looked through the Magic Tower's archives and found a detailed explanation of the assessment device. I also compared your results with Senior Gawain's. I happened to have his data on hand.”
I nodded slowly and replied.
“Yes, Martelzier mentioned it to me as well—that I might have the aptitude for it.”
“Well, it’s not that surprising, really. You are a scion of House Devalis, after all. If anything, it’s stranger that you’ve chosen to pursue alchemy.”
That’s true.
House Devalis of the western front has long been famous for its domineering swordsmanship and formidable knights. The family has produced many renowned knights, but none have ever achieved greatness through magic. Roen choosing to become a mage was the real anomaly.
Beatrice continued her line of reasoning based on this.
“Is that why you signed up for the swordsmanship class at Ishtal? To begin training in earnest for the path of a magic swordsman…”
I cut her off flatly.
“That’s not it.”
I had no intention of using a sword. Wielding something so heavy and dangerous… And fighting up close, splattering blood, cutting through flesh and bone?
I can’t do it.
I shook my head at the gruesome thought.
Even though I was in Roen's body, I still possessed the soul and values of a modern person. The idea of facing an opponent with a blade, of hacking through flesh and breaking bone to take a life—it didn't sit right with me.
In fact, I didn't even like fighting. What modern person enjoys bloody brawls? I was only learning what I must to survive. I only signed up for the swordsmanship class to help this damn body recover faster and to create more opportunities to interact with Freya.
When I explained this, Beatrice looked disappointed.
“A pity. But if that’s your decision, there’s nothing to be done.”
“Don’t tell me… you weren’t planning on shipping me off to Ishtal under the pretext of having me focus on swordsmanship, were you?”
“You saw right through me.”
Beatrice shrugged, as if to say she’d been caught.
While I was currently part of the Student Council, my official affiliation was with Eredor. Even after I finished my term and graduated, my records would still list me as an Eredor student. It seemed she was trying to use this as an opportunity to change my official academy affiliation.
Beatrice chuckled and continued.
“Well, that wasn’t my only reason. I'm personally interested in your talent and thought it would be a shame to let it go to waste. An aptitude for being a magic swordsman is rare, after all.”
“That’s true.”
Most so-called magic swordsmen were just mages who could swing a sword or mercenaries who used magic scrolls. Someone like Gawain, who could wield both a Mana Hole and a Mana Heart, was exceedingly rare. Even those who could use both seldom reached his level of mastery.
Currently, Gawain was the only ‘true’ magic swordsman—one who could freely wield sword ki and cast specialized magic of the 4th-tier or higher.
After a moment of thought, I continued.
“I appreciate the interest, but I'm busy enough with alchemy. Besides, swordsmanship doesn't suit my constitution.”
Roen's trait, [Severed Yin Meridians].
It was a condition that usually proved fatal before the age of ten. The fact that Roen was still alive was a miracle. He might be holding on thanks to the powerful life force from his demonic blood.
Of course, that might change if I ever managed to cure the [Severed Yin Meridians].
“Your constitution… I see.”
Beatrice studied me for a moment, then nodded to herself as if she’d realized something.
Clang—!
Boom—!
Even as Beatrice and I spoke, the clash between Gawain and Leonhardt continued unabated. But the long battle was finally drawing to a close. The ten-minute time limit was nearly up.
The protective barriers on their student IDs were whittling down with each attack and defense. When a competitive match has no clear victor, the winner is decided by the amount of barrier remaining.
According to the display in the grand auditorium, Leonhardt had more of his barrier left. He had protected his entire body with a divine barrier, shield, and armor, allowing very few attacks to get through.
“Hah!”
Before time ran out, Leonhardt moved to secure his victory. Shrouding himself in a divine barrier, he charged forward like a juggernaut.
Rumble—.
It was a skill that used his famed shield work to lock down his opponent's movements while he advanced, his greatsword smashing everything in his path.
Leonhardt's signature charge: the Decimating Advance.
Divine power gathered on his forward-thrust greatsword, beginning to spin like a vortex.
Vwooom—.
This vortex of divine power was a wide-area attack. Even a glancing blow would tear away a huge chunk of the barrier, making it the perfect skill to seal his victory.
Meanwhile, Gawain watched Leonhardt charge and let out a long breath.
“Hoo…”
Then, he stood his ground, took a stance, and sheathed his sword.
Click—.
The students stirred at the sight of him sheathing his weapon. Sheathing his sword when he should have been dodging or defending—it was the act of a madman.
“What in the world…”
Beatrice shot up from her seat, her eyes fixed on the arena. I, on the other hand, watched and murmured quietly.
“The match is over.”
And then.
The moment the words left my mouth, black sword ki flooded the arena. A wave of that energy swept through the entire auditorium.
Shiiing—!
Their blades crossed in an instant, followed by a moment of silence. The two stood silently, having swapped positions.
Then.
Spurt—.
Blood spurted from Leonhardt, and he dropped to one knee.
Thud—.
Bweeeet—!
The whistle blew at the same time. The announcer's voice trembled as he declared the result.
“Th-the winner is Eredor's third-year, Gawain Ardion! Let's have a huge round of applause!”
Waaaaah—!
The students' cheers echoed through the grand auditorium. The first official match of the tournament was over.
*
After the opening match between Gawain and Leonhardt, the rest of the scheduled matches proceeded in order. But none drew as much interest as the first, and the audience began to trickle out of the auditorium.
My group in the VIP seats also left at a convenient time after Jeremy's match and headed for a restaurant. Our meeting place was, as always, Eredor's popular restaurant, Heaven's Breath.
We invited Trish to join us, but she said the group was too intimidating and quickly made her escape. And for good reason.
“I'm not sure if I should be here.”
A platinum-blonde student scratched his head with an awkward smile. Leonhardt, who had just fought in the opening match, had joined our table.
Well, not permanently. He was just stopping by to say hello before his third-year classmates arrived. Elena had invited him over, and since I had no good reason to refuse, I decided it was a good chance to get acquainted.
Besides, Leonhardt was one of the most important figures in the Myrillin Saga, so I needed to build a connection with him sooner or later.
Leon will be a valuable asset in the future battle against the Twelve Honored Ones.
I glanced at Leonhardt, who was sitting beside me. Without his heavy shield, greatsword, and armor, Leonhardt's build wasn't as massive as I'd expected. He had a large frame and well-developed muscles, but he wasn't bulky. He looked more like a finely carved statue.
I'd seen him bleeding profusely from a sword wound earlier, but it looked like he'd already been treated.
“This is our first time properly meeting, isn't it? Good to meet you, Roen.”
Leonhardt offered his hand first, and I shook it.
“It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“You can speak casually. We're not even from the same academy, so there's no need for formalities.”
Just like how soldiers from different units are practically strangers, Leonhardt seemed to have a similar mindset. If he was fine with speaking informally, that was fine by me.
“…Alright.”
“Anyway, I was shocked. To think you became the Student Council President while I was away training in seclusion. No, to be precise, I was shocked that anyone took the position. It's a seat everyone tried to avoid.”
“That's understandable. It's not exactly a coveted position.”
Elena agreed, and the others nodded. True, who but a guy like me would take on the role of Student Council President?
Leonhardt, as if wanting to clear up his curiosity then and there, asked me directly.
“Roen, was there a particular reason you became the Student Council President? You don't have to answer if you don't want to.”
Leon looked at me with his golden eyes. It felt like more than simple curiosity; he was asking about my true intentions. Since everyone was here and I'd already thought about this, I gave him a prepared answer.
“I decided I needed to change. I wanted to try being in a position of responsibility, just once. And at the time, the only such position available to me was the powerless Student Council presidency.”
“A position of responsibility. That's good. Having something to be responsible for makes a person stronger. It was a good choice. To be honest, when I came out of seclusion and heard you'd taken office, I wasn't exactly thrilled. You know your reputation, don't you?”
I nodded silently.
The shock must have been even greater for Leon, who hadn't heard about the recent changes in my reputation because of his training.
He continued.
“Still, reading through the recent rumors and articles, it seems you haven't caused the kind of trouble I feared. I'm glad to see you're fulfilling your duties well. Not that I'm in any position to judge, of course. If you keep this up, I'm sure your bad reputation will eventually disappear.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
Leonhardt offered the kind words with a smile. He was a bit of a goody-two-shoes and not very exciting to talk to, but unlike Jeremy, who had a shady side, Leonhardt was a purely good character. He was highly skilled and had a gentle personality, earning him the respect of all.
Aside from the fact that he used divine power, which was my natural enemy, he was someone worth keeping close.
Of course, like Elena, he is also an extremely dangerous person for Roen to be around.
I looked at Leon and recalled his past.
Leonhardt Michael.
A boy discovered in a village where every resident had been massacred by monsters when he was a child. He was taken in and raised by the Papal See, his thirst for revenge against demons fueling his rapid growth. He was eventually given the baptismal name Michael by the Pope himself.
His animosity toward demons surpasses even Elena's.
The only reason a justice-seeker like him wasn't openly hostile to a scoundrel like Roen was likely because Roen was a scion of House Devalis—the vanguard in the war against demons. If my true identity were ever revealed, I'd be in extreme danger.
Just like with Elena, I needed to keep him at a safe distance.
“By the way, I heard you bet on Gawain to win, not me?”
“…Ah.”
Leon was referring to the bet we'd made on the match earlier. Word of the bet must have reached him already. Just as I was shooting Elena a troubled look…
Leonhardt slapped me on the back and laughed heartily.
“Haha, you've got a good eye! How did you know? It wasn't just a lucky guess, was it?”
“…It was partly a guess. You two are practically evenly matched, after all.”
As Leonhardt and I were talking about the tournament and catching up on what he'd missed during his training, a few more people entered Heaven's Breath.
“Hey, Leon!”
Hearing his classmates call, Leonhardt stood up.
“Ah, my friends are here. Sorry for intruding. It was nice talking. Let's do this again sometime.”
“Yes, see you again.”
Leon said his goodbyes to our group, ending with Elena, and moved to another table. Just then, the food we'd ordered began to arrive. Appetizer bread, salad, and warm soup were placed on the table.
Elena smiled at the sight.
“Kiriel and I will be paying for dinner tonight. We lost the bet, after all.”
“Ugh.”
“Well, I'll gladly accept.”
Beatrice, Freya, and I, who had all bet on Gawain, were getting a free meal. We wet our throats with sparkling water and tore off pieces of bread as we began our main discussion.
“The reason we're all here today is to discuss the summer training camp, right?”
“That's right. The summer training camp is right after the tournament season. We haven't even chosen potential sites yet, so let's decide on some today.”
“How many locations do we need to pick?”
In response to Kiriel's question, Beatrice checked a document and said.
“I believe ten potential sites should be sufficient. We'll put them to a student vote afterward. The top three locations will be the final choices.”
There are roughly thirty thousand second-year students at Union. Holding a training camp for that many people in one place is incredibly difficult. Just finding a facility that can accommodate everyone is a challenge in itself.
That's why we select a few candidate sites, put them to a vote, and then each academy holds its camp separately at one of the top-voted locations. This was also why Hildegard had asked me for a favor with the class assignments. If they were sent to completely different locations, they wouldn't even have a chance to see each other.
However, there was one place that could satisfy all these conditions at once.
I spoke calmly.
“We're going to Full Moon Island.”