Chapter 20
Chapter 20
“Come at me all at once.”
“Take this!!”
“Haaah!!”
Thud! Clang! Thud!
About a month had passed since receiving the imperial letter promising a noble title.
The semester was now just about to enter midterm season.
“Ugh….”
“He shows no mercy….”
“I’ve got a bump on my head… sniff….”
Because of that, the classes had become much more intense.
The main focus was practical combat training—sparring with wooden swords, with me against six students at once.
The reason was simple.
For this midterm, the graduating class of the Knight Department would take a real combat test at the academy’s “Monster Hunting Ground.”
“Stop whining and come at me again. At this rate, you’ll lose your lives the moment you step onto a battlefield.”
In a real combat test, a single mistake could get you killed.
There was no room for leniency.
Even for Yuria Rozhill.
‘Out of all of them… only Yuria still has life in her eyes. She’s still gripping her sword properly with both hands. She’s trembling, but she hasn’t let go.’
In real combat, everything comes down to one thing—whether you keep holding your weapon and keep your eyes on the enemy until the very end.
By that standard, Yuria passed.
Even without her dragonkin power awakened, she showed remarkable tenacity.
“That’s enough for today! From here on, continue with individual training!”
““Yes…!””
Thud!
Time passed, and the class ended.
Only about ten fourth-year students were still standing in the training hall.
The rest were sprawled across the floor.
‘At this rate, we professors will need to stay extremely alert during the exam. One moment of distraction, and someone could die.’
To be fair, their weakness wasn’t entirely their fault.
Most of the noble students left were from baron or viscount families, while the rest were commoners.
They had been oppressed by higher-ranking nobles before those students were expelled.
Errands, harassment… they never had the chance to properly train.
Still—
Their mindset was a different matter.
Some people used hardship as fuel to grow stronger.
Others broke under it.
The ones lying on the ground had already labeled themselves as failures.
They didn’t even realize how foolish that was.
Meanwhile, the ten still standing—
They had grit.
Especially Yuria.
Even as her body swayed, she refused to sit, forcing herself to stretch and recover.
‘I should tell Cecilia Silvesta to give her a full-body massage later.’
As a princess, she didn’t need to push herself this far.
She only needed to graduate.
And honestly, she didn’t even need to be in the Knight Department.
Once her dragonkin power awakened, she would naturally master all weapons and magic.
So why?
‘She just wants to achieve something with her own strength… That desire is strong.’
That desire was understandable.
But she needed to take care of her body too.
I had already been holding back during sparring with her—
And even then, she had nearly collapsed.
“Aria. Come with me.”
“Y-Yes, Professor!”
Calling her by her alias, I led her out of the training hall.
After putting some distance between us and the others, I took out a small bottle filled with red liquid.
“Your Highness. A recovery potion. Please drink this first.”
“Thank you… Damian….”
After drinking it, her complexion improved.
“…Your Highness.”
“Y-Yes!?”
She looked up at me, startled.
We were about a head and a half apart in height.
“Working hard is good. But please take care of your body first. As you know, your condition isn’t stable. A serious injury could throw everything off balance.”
“…Is it wrong to try hard?”
She looked at me with eyes like a drenched puppy.
That made it harder to stay firm.
“…It’s fine to work hard. Just don’t push yourself to the point of injury.”
“But I heard you have to push yourself to the limit to get stronger….”
“That’s a mindset—not something you literally do. The human body is strong, but also fragile.”
Training intensity varied by individual.
But damaging your own body was simply foolish.
I had heard that countless times growing up.
“Right now, your limit is about one hour of today’s training. Beyond that, your body will overload. Promise me you won’t overdo it.”
“…Okay.”
She held out her pinky finger.
“I promise, Damian.”
“…You have a childish side too.”
I hooked my finger with hers and shook it.
A promise that had to be kept.
“This is how I used to promise with my mother. It means a lot to me… when it’s with someone I trust.”
“…So I’m one of those people?”
“…Cecilia too. Anyway, I’ll head back. She’ll be waiting.”
“Yes. I’ll see you next class.”
Yuria walked off—
Practically skipping.
“Hm~♪ Hmhm~♪”
Even humming to herself.
‘She has a cute side… Yuria Rozhill.’
◈
“You called for me, Head?”
“Come in, Professor Marco.”
With midterms approaching, I had been summoned to his office.
“I’d like you to inspect the Monster Hunting Ground.”
“You want me to confirm whether it’s safe for the students’ exam?”
“Exactly. The previous professor in charge was… removed.”
“I see.”
Hiring new professors was ongoing, but slow.
Positions were still unfilled.
“You won’t be going alone. I’ll assign a first-year professor to assist you.”
“…I’ll be the senior?”
“Of course. You’re a 20-year veteran mercenary.”
“…Understood.”
That made sense.
In the mercenary world, experience meant authority.
“Ah, they’ve arrived.”
Knock knock. Creak.
A man entered.
“Professor Merio.”
He had short brown-orange hair, black eyes, and wore flashy clothes.
Far too flashy for a professor.
“Ah~ You must be the famous mercenary professor~! Nice to meet you, I’m Merio. Haha.”
“Marco.”
He seemed… carefree.
Too carefree.
‘There are mercenaries who avoid fighting… I hope he’s not one of them.’
“Assist Professor Marco in the inspection.”
“Yes~ Leave it to me~.”
‘…This is going to be troublesome.’
In more ways than one.