9
Chapter 9
"Even so, I believe it is unfair to block the duel."
Good job, Amelia.
If Instructor Amelia persists, will the Dean eventually give in?
"Of course, I don't have the right to stop you. Hmm, so you're dissatisfied with Instructor Bio's teaching method?"
"Yes. Self-study for two weeks straight? Even for a theory class, that's going too far."
"I see. Then how about this? The winner of the duel will become the Senior Instructor of the Ranger Class."
"Senior Instructor?"
"It's not an official rank, but every department except the Rangers has one. They handle scheduling, exam questions, and general requests—essentially leading the department."
Even from the sound of it, the position seemed like a hassle. "If every other department has one, why haven't we had one until now?"
"Usually, the role goes to a veteran with a strong reputation, but since you are both rookies and there are only two of you, it was unnecessary to appoint one."
"If I become the Senior Instructor, can I give orders to Instructor Bio?"
The Dean simply nodded his agreement.
"In that case, I'm in."
As soon as Instructor Amelia answered, everyone turned to look at me.
'What are you going to do?'
What do you mean, "what"? I have no intention of taking a position like Senior Instructor even if they give it to me for free.
I didn't want to take orders from a reckless person like Instructor Amelia, but if she's as passionate as she seems, she'll likely interfere in every single thing I do, not just the self-study.
Besides, I hate the idea of more work, and I suspect it would be even harder to quit once I'm the Senior Instructor, so it's probably best if I just admit defeat and let it go.
If I lose regardless of whether I win or lose, there's no point in fighting.
I had no desire to become a spectacle for the other instructors, so I planned to make a polite excuse and decline.
"You sounded so confident before; are you getting cold feet?"
I tried to handle this amicably, but if she's going to be like this, I have no choice.
'Scared?'
Scared? I wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but her sarcastic tone sealed my decision.
"Fine. Let's move."
I accepted and we moved to the backyard of the tavern.
It was less than ten meters wide and long, narrower than a standard dueling arena, but still sufficient for a spar.
Every instructor in the tavern followed us out, except for the Dean, who had volunteered to be the referee.
"Instructor Alex, deploy Barrier Magic around the perimeter so the building isn't damaged."
"Yes, sir."
A transparent barrier unfolded, and the Dean called Instructor Amelia and me to the center.
"I assume there's no need to explain the rules? I have a personal request: since you're both members of Belliard Academy, please show some restraint."
I answered and stood opposite her, keeping a slight distance.
I watched as Instructor Amelia opened her subspace and pulled out a large longbow and a dagger about half the length of her arm.
It was the typical armament of a Ranger.
"I am ready."
"Instructor Bio, you should also bring out your weapon and prepare."
"This will be enough for me."
I held up a dagger from my waist, which was about half the size of the one Amelia had drawn.
"Just a single dagger?"
"Is there any need to use an Ogre-slaying blade just to hunt an Orc?"
Instructor Amelia's face twisted, clearly offended by the provocation.
"Such confidence. Very well. I shall fire Fire Magic into the air as the signal to begin."
I nodded, and a moment later, a small flame shot up into the sky from the Dean's hand.
At that same instant, two arrows flew toward me.
They weren't ordinary arrows, but Magic Arrows shimmering with a blue aura.
Since she hadn't taken out a quiver, I had expected her to use Magic Arrows, but I was still slightly surprised.
Creating a Magic Arrow itself isn't that difficult, but the incoming arrows weren't just one, but two.
Such rapid-firing is a fairly high-level skill.
Of course, even so, it was never enough to exceed my expectations.
Bang— Bang—
I infused Magic Power and threw the dagger.
The dagger, having shattered the Magic Arrows, continued to fly straight toward Amelia's hand.
However, having lost speed from the two prior impacts, Amelia dodged it effortlessly, and the dagger lost its momentum shortly after and fell.
"Instructor Bio is out of weapons now."
"I knew it from the moment he tried to act tough with just a single dagger."
"Practical skills really are better than theory."
It seemed the spectating instructors thought I was at a disadvantage.
Instructor Amelia must have thought she had the upper hand, as she tried to fire another Magic Arrow, but it was in vain.
Swoosh—
My dagger, which had fallen to the ground, soared up as if it had a will of its own and sliced her bow in half.
"What.... what?"
"How did the dagger on the ground...?"
The dagger that had split the bow glided through the air, flying smoothly back into my hand.
"Is it an Artifact?"
Wrong answer.
I do have a few Artifact daggers in my subspace, but the one I was using right now was just an ordinary dagger.
'Oh ho, I thought you didn't understand it at all, but since when could you use this?'
Even Ark's voice was filled with surprise, which made sense since this was a technique from the ancient era of magic that he had taught me.
Was it called the Flying Sword Technique?
'Not that long ago.'
The method of manipulating Magic Power was completely different, so I couldn't grasp it at first, but once I understood it, it wasn't that hard.
'Don't get cocky. Among the Seven Stars, the Sword King didn't use Magic Power like you; eventually, he controlled his sword freely with just his gaze and mind.'
'Yeah, yeah. Seven Stars is the best. You happy?'
I replied to him dismissively and twisted my body a step to the side.
Amelia, who had been flustered by her broken bow, had somehow closed the distance and swung her short sword.
I wanted to commend her for quickly snapping back to reality and attacking, but compared to the Magic Arrows from earlier, her close-quarters combat was a bit clumsy.
Her movements were too wide, and honestly, at this speed, she was around the level of an apprentice Knight.
Actually, weak close-quarters combat was a chronic issue for not just Amelia, but most Rangers.
Ranger classes did include Dagger Techniques, but it was strictly at the level of learning the basics for an absolute worst-case scenario, making them weak in melee combat.
In contrast, a Black Agent had to be proficient not only in Dagger Techniques but also in standard spears, swords, bows, and all sorts of hidden weapons.
"You dodge quite well, like a little rat."
Perhaps realizing she was outmatched in speed, she threw a clumsy provocation my way.
"It's not so much that I'm good at dodging, but rather that you're just too slow, don't you think?"
When I casually retorted with a smirk, Instructor Amelia's face flushed bright red.
She swung her sword multiple times, but I didn't counter a single strike, dodging them all.
Just like before, she was agitated by my sarcasm, making her movements even larger and her trajectory easy to predict.
After repeating this for about ten minutes, I could hear her ragged breathing, likely from a significant drop in stamina.
At first, I thought she might be faking it, but seeing her speed drop so noticeably, that didn't seem to be the case.
Now it was about time to wrap this up.
Unlike before, I didn't dodge; instead, I stepped forward and clashed my blade against hers.
With a clear ring, Instructor Amelia's sword flew out of her hand and clattered to the ground.
She hastily backed away to retrieve it, but I was faster.
"I surrender."
I picked up her sword and backed away as I spoke.
I gave another smirk to Amelia, who stood frozen in bewilderment.
It seemed Instructor Amelia wasn't the only one bewildered, as a murmur began to ripple through the crowd.
"Giving up when you've basically won?"
"What is he doing?"
Amidst the confusion, the Dean, acting as the referee, approached us.
"Instructor Bio? Why the sudden surrender? Isn't the match already over?"
"I surrendered before you, the referee, could officially declare the winner, so it is my loss."
"Why make such a choice? Anyone could see you had the upper hand and had practically won."
"A true gentleman doesn't fight a fragile lady. However, refusing a duel request is also beneath a gentleman's dignity, so I had no choice but to accept. Still, wouldn't it be too cruel for me to actually claim victory?"
"What kind of..."
Instructor Amelia trembled with rage, but I ignored her and continued speaking.
"It was obvious that Instructor Amelia really wanted to be the Senior Instructor, but I have no desire for such a position, so I exercised the virtue of yielding."
I gave a rather lengthy explanation, mindful of the surrounding instructors as well as the Dean, but to sum it up, it was simple.
What's the point of beating a woman?
I just let her have it.
If I had been on the defensive the entire time and then suddenly surrendered, no one would have bought my excuse. But since I had leisurely dodged her attacks the entire time and even knocked her sword away at the end to firmly grasp victory, everyone seemed to accept my explanation.
Except for exactly one person.
"What kind of nonsense is that! Let's go again!"
She must have been so furious that she wasn't even using honorifics anymore.
She shrieked, demanding a rematch, radiating a level of venom that completely dwarfed anything she had shown before.
It was a natural reaction.
My other remarks were bad enough, but the phrase "fragile lady" in particular was a clear mockery, implying that I didn't see her as an instructor, but merely as a woman.
"That's enough, Instructor Amelia. Instructor Bio surrendered out of consideration for you."
"Indeed. Have you no shame?"
As the spectating instructors chimed in, Amelia's face turned an even deeper shade of red, looking as if she were about to explode.
"I don't need your consideration. If anything, he has insulted me. A fragile lady? I am not a lady; I am an instructor at Belliard Academy."
"Enough!"
When the Dean shouted, everyone fell silent.
"Amelia, if you are an instructor and not a lady as you say, then you shouldn't be throwing such a tantrum. Did you not feel the difference in skill? The duel is over, and the result has been decided."
At the Dean's firm words, Amelia wore a deeply dissatisfied expression before turning on her heel and storming off.
'Isn't she going to get fired before you?'
Tell me about it.
I may have provoked her, but throwing a fit and storming out like that in front of all the other instructors was incredibly rude.
Does she come from a prominent family?
Judging by her behavior, she definitely wasn't a commoner, but I didn't recall anyone named Amelia among the High Noble families of the Empire.
Well, I couldn't claim to know every single member of every High Noble family.
"Instructor Bio?"
"Yes? Ah, yes."
"Bio, you always exceed my expectations."
"Haha. You're too kind."
"Not at all. Keeping your composure despite your opponent's rudeness, and even yielding your victory out of consideration for her—everything about that was truly impressive."
The Dean looked at me with a pleased smile, and I forced an awkward smile in return, but in reality, I wasn't happy at all.
It was a golden opportunity to get fired, but this old man had to step in and complicate things, ruining my perfect chance.
Not only did my plan fall through, but I probably earned even more points with him today. This was going to be a huge problem.
"Given how things turned out, wouldn't it be better for you to take the Senior Instructor position as well..."
Good heavens, was this old geezer trying to dump the Senior Instructor position on me too?
The entire reason I held back from beating some sense into her and dealt with this so delicately was specifically to avoid becoming the Senior Instructor. I couldn't accept it.
"No, sir. We agreed to the terms before the duel, so it's only fair that Instructor Amelia becomes the Senior Instructor, as per the result."
Whatever else happened, this was the one thing I absolutely could not yield on.
"You're truly unbelievable. Fine."
It was a relief that he accepted it so readily, but my future looked bleak.
Instead of getting closer to being fired, I had only gained the Dean's trust and even made an enemy out of Instructor Amelia.
Especially Instructor Amelia.
Judging by her actions today, she seemed like the type to hold a serious grudge. Should I just pack up and flee in the night?
It was a serious dilemma.
****
A week had passed since that humiliating dinner.
I had considered resigning after being disgraced in front of all the instructors, but I remembered the promise I made to my father when I became an instructor, and I couldn't bring myself to quit.
Fortunately—truly fortunately—the Dean must have kept everyone's mouths shut, because the rumor hadn't spread to the students.
No, actually, it wasn't fortunate at all.
'It's not so much that I'm good at dodging, but rather that you're just too slow, don't you think?'
'A true gentleman doesn't fight a fragile lady.'
'I yielded out of consideration for you.'
Even though a week had already passed, these three sentences kept echoing in my head.
There should be a limit to how much you look down on someone.
"Amelia? Did I make some kind of mistake...?"
It seemed I had failed to control my facial expression for a moment.
"None of your business... What about the favor I asked for?"
"I got them, but as you know, if it gets out that I leaked an instructor's personal information like this, I'll..."
"I told you I'd take responsibility if anything happened. Just keep your mouth shut, and there won't be any problems."
Annie hesitated for a moment before handing me a brown envelope.
I had been utterly humiliated in front of all the instructors, so I couldn't just sit back and take it.
Desperate to find a weakness on that insolent instructor, I remembered my friend Annie, who worked at the Academy Administration Office, and asked her to pull his records.
[Bio Rain
Title: Baronet (Inherited)
Age: 29
Territory: None.
Family: Parents deceased, only child.
Career: Ranger in the Southern Legion for 10 years.
Ranger Instructor at Seinty Academy for 2 years.
Notes: Lost right arm during a mission while serving as a Ranger; eligible for a disability pension.]
He's missing an arm?
He always wore long sleeves, so I hadn't seen it clearly, but his right sleeve certainly hadn't looked empty.
Was it a Prosthetic Arm?
Come to think of it, he only used his left hand during our duel.
Being beaten by a guy who was missing an arm was even more embarrassing.
His career history seemed ordinary... no, wait, why was the information so sparse?
"Annie, is this everything?"
I had benefited greatly from my family's background as well, but even I submitted a much more detailed profile when I applied.
"The Seinty Academy he used to work at was a private institution, so they didn't officially transfer his records."
"He didn't even submit basic information when he came to Belliard?"
"He was already a Civil Servant and came highly recommended by the Imperial Family, so..."
"Alright. I should get going, Annie. See you next time."
Annie still looked anxious, so to reassure her, I used Fire Magic to burn the documents, leaving not even a trace of ash behind.
I wasn't happy with how sparse the documents were, but it didn't matter.
If he served as a Ranger in the Southern Legion for 10 years, an investigation would definitely turn up something.