All of You, Get Lost
The perpetrator’s brazen statement made Railer’s eyes bulge. What are you going to do by bulging them?
“Truly shameless. As expected, even if the atmosphere has shifted a little, your character hasn’t gone anywhere.”
“So what?”
Since I’d already started down the brazen path, I might as well go all the way. I’d crush them with the logic of power and earn popularity that way. After all, swordsmanship was exactly that kind of field. Once you suppressed them with overwhelming strength, they’d grovel on their own and come to admire that power. The empire’s knights all dreamed of it—becoming the strongest knight in the empire and devoting themselves to the imperial family and the nation. These fools would turn out the same.
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave the swordsmanship department before you embarrass yourselves?”
This time it wasn’t Railer but an unnamed swordsmanship student who threw the provocation. His face showed zero intention of protecting a woman the way a proud knight should. It was probably reserved just for me. Or, more accurately, for the original owner.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. The swordsmanship department is only for those advancing to the third-year knight course. This isn’t a place for someone like you.”
In short, he was telling me not to forget I was only here as a joke. But deciding that was my business, not theirs. Right now I had to focus on surviving, which meant I had to make them submit. In moments like these, the correct move was to provoke them right back.
“So what you’re saying is that a villainess like me doesn’t belong here, so I should get lost before you all lynch me together?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Like hell it isn’t. It would be nice if we could keep things simple.
“If that’s not what you meant, then what? In the end you’re talking about humiliating me, and you’re threatening me right now, aren’t you? No matter how much of a perpetrator I am, do you people truly dream of becoming knights?”
“““!!!”””
Whether they were shocked or furious, the way their faces flushed red was honestly hilarious. Having spent all my time around the hero party, seeing kids like this felt refreshingly new. It had been a while since I last warmed up, and massacring civilians suddenly sounded like a great idea. I should start living exactly as I pleased. From the terrible impression the original owner had left behind, I would show them I could be every bit as arrogant as I wanted.
“Fine. Mr. Plant. Let’s spar.”
“What—”
“I never learned proper swordsmanship.”
I hadn’t had a dedicated teacher. It wasn’t that I had none at all, but the only one I’d taken as a master was the person I studied under right before reaching sword sainthood. My fundamentals were nothing more than swinging a blade desperately to survive. Swordsmanship without tradition or dignity. It would be completely different from the proud chivalry these men embraced.
That was why they would feel wronged. Because from this moment on, I was going to thoroughly crush them.
“Are you seriously suggesting you’ll face me?”
“Face you? Not just you. I’ll take on every last one of you.”
Only that level of dominance would make them believe in my skill. I needed to beat them into a bloody pulp.
“This is going too far no matter how you look at it. You think you can win against all of us? After being dumped by the crown prince, has your head finally broken?”
A few of them sneered openly, calling me a fallen lady with a broken engagement.
“Hmm. Is this a practice blade?”
In the kingdom they used wooden swords, but the empire apparently favored these decent-looking practice blades. The quality was surprisingly good. As expected of a great power. The kingdom’s wooden swords snapped easily even when coated with mana, but here the baseline was metal, so durability would hold up fine without coating.
I wrapped mana around the practice blade, layering it into a coating. Then I lightly struck the ground.
“People are talking—!”
BANG!
I had tried to control my strength, yet the ground still caved in deeply. Even so, I had managed the new body’s power well. At this level, I just needed to dial it back a little more and train.
But hadn’t they said something earlier?
“What was that? I didn’t catch it. Say it again.”
“““……!”””
Everyone stood there stunned. Does the imperial academy really not reach even this level? After all the training I’d put the imperial officers through, there was no way the academy could be weak.
Time to test them. The one who looked the most dissatisfied was that bastard Railer.
“First, Railer—you with all the complaints—step forward.”
“Is that by any chance a magic sword?”
Wow. I hadn’t expected them to be this stupid. A magic sword? Did they think those grew on trees? Besides, I had simply picked one at random from the practice blades. Their heads were even emptier than I thought. Or perhaps the original owner had been such garbage that she was misunderstood to this extent. Probably the latter.
“Is the sword department short on brains? You all watched me pick this from among the practice blades earlier, didn’t you?”
The sword department’s practice blades were strictly managed. There had been no chance for me to slip in a magic sword. There was even less reason to bring one specifically to target the department.
“Then by any chance you’ve become a demon—”
Olivia really has zero credibility.
“Then I would have been caught already, wouldn’t I? I know you want to deny reality, but hurry up and come at me.”
When I beckoned with my finger, Railer narrowed his brows and let out a sigh. A sigh? In front of me? That bastard was dead now.
“Very well. If I win, you must leave the swordsmanship department.”
“And if I win?”
“Yes?”
What did he mean, yes? Surely it wasn’t that only this side had to leave the department in such an unfair bet. The other party needed corresponding stakes, didn’t they?
“If I win, then what? You’re all telling me to get out, yet this is unfair, isn’t it?”
“Then…”
I pointed at them one by one. When I had indicated every single person, I gave them a wicked grin—an evil smile that could never be called a noble lady’s smile.
“If I win, all of you will leave the swordsmanship department.”
It had to be at least this much.
“All of us? What kind of ridiculous—”
“What, so you don’t have the confidence to beat the villainess of the Ashtar family who was dumped by the crown prince and has done nothing but torment you all this time?”
At this point even these fools had their pride ignited.
“Fine, let’s do it! Promises must absolutely be kept!”
What idiots. This was exactly why the original owner had looked down on them. Falling for provocation so easily.
“First batter—Railer, step forward. I’ll teach you how meaningless the chivalry and swordsmanship your family taught you really is.”
At the nonstop provocation, Railer finally snapped and strode forward.
“I will tolerate no more insults!”
“I got it already, so come at me.”
“Hiyap!”
The guy charged straight from the front with his sword raised. Was he underestimating me? Or was he simply that type? The spirit shout while running was decent, but it was painfully obvious.
In truth this body itself wasn’t that strong. However, this body was in a mana-fusion state. I could convert physical ability into power with mana at any moment. Let me repeat: mana fusion was a truly high-level technique, and the original owner’s mana capacity was enormous. As long as I wasn’t using complex spell formulas without chanting, I could raise my physical abilities enough to trample mere academy students.
In short, these fools charging at me while mistaking me for the original owner were—
Clang!
“It means it’s laughable.”
The match ended in an instant. Even after watching me display such power with a single sword, they had doubted their own eyes and charged anyway. Well, the spirit was commendable. Honestly, even among the kingdom’s soldiers there had been those who charged the demon king’s army knowing they couldn’t win.
But that was that and this was this. Railer and his companions had simply disliked me and thought “so what if she uses her power?” before rushing in. Those who only remembered the original owner Olivia’s usual behavior refused to believe even what they saw with their own eyes. The result was obvious.
“H-how…?”
“It’s simple. Clang! Whoosh! Got it?”
It really had been that simple. I had just knocked Railer’s sword away with a clang and thrust my blade with a whoosh. Clang! Whoosh! So easy, right?
“What the hell does that even—”
“Do you admit defeat? Surely the son of the Plant family wouldn’t lie now, would he?”
If he clung to my pants and refused to admit it, that would be annoying in its own way.
“…I admit it. Just where does such strength come from…?”
“I was originally strong. You people simply decided on your own that I was a villainess who only threw tantrums while relying on my family’s prestige.”
The swordsmanship students’ faces twisted beautifully. The woman who had ignored them all this time had actually been stronger—it must have been hard to accept.
“Even so, this isn’t over yet.”
“Since it’s annoying, all of you come at once.”
“There is a limit to arrogance! We cannot tolerate you remaining in the swordsmanship department after tormenting Lady Lily all this time!”
Ah, so that was the reason.
“Ah, what is it? Do you people like Lily?”
“Do not utter Lady Lily’s name so casually with that mouth!”
Lily. It seemed the original owner had tormented her quite a bit, yet in the academy she appeared to be quite popular. In the end they were acting like this because I had bullied the girl they liked. Pathetic fools.
“Why are your words so long? I’m telling you to come at me all at once. Is it embarrassing to gang up on a woman? I’m generous. Even if you all attack together and lose, it’s only natural that you’re weaker than me, so I don’t mind.”
It was ridiculous to act this way toward kids, but it couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t a detective. And I couldn’t awkwardly pretend to know about Olivia and ruin everything. If imitating the old Olivia was difficult, I would simply play an arrogant, overwhelmingly strong version of her based on the existing character. That was the route I had chosen.
“You really don’t act like a young lady from a proper noble house. Unlike Lady Lily you’re not humble at all, your speech is crude, and you do nothing but look down on others!”
If it bothers you, just win. That was all there was to it.
“Ah, if it bothers you, then win.”
I would really end it at exactly that level.
“Don’t regret this.”
“Yeah. Just try attacking already.”
The swordsmanship students seemed to have decent teamwork. The moment the match began they exchanged glances and naturally surrounded me from every direction. Since they were aiming for the knight department next year, it was passable. I had thought they were simply ignoring me, but they at least possessed the will to defeat me.
And then they charged from all sides.
“Surround and annihilate. Much better than the kingdom’s knight school.”
If not for me, these guys would have advanced safely into the knight course. Duke Ashtar would come to understand. What kind of value the existence called Olivia possessed. And how she proved it.
Whoosh! Whooosh! Boom!
I swung the practice blade precisely left and right, knocking the students away, then slammed it into the ground. The students—who had displayed teamwork hundreds of millions of times better than the hero party—were pushed back by a light swing and collapsed from the force of the blade striking the earth.
“This can’t be. How can you have such power? How much have you trained your body with mana?”
“Understand now? It means I’m strong enough to be as arrogant as I want compared to you people.”
The students, still wearing dissatisfied expressions, looked like they wanted to say something. But when I glared at them they lowered their heads. Yes. This was exactly how it had to be. In the end these ignorant bastards only listened after you beat them into submission. This was why mages were preferable. Even if they were stubborn, at least their heads worked.
“Now then, you all made a promise with me, didn’t you?”
“Eh.”
“Get lost from the swordsmanship department. I’ll stay here alone and take first place.”
Taking first place was so easy. After suffering in the hero party, one-sided slaughter at the academy was this much fun!
“Are you serious? We are all children of knight families!”
“So what? Do I have to go easy on you just because you’re from knight families? Didn’t you clearly bet with me? Didn’t you accept it?”
“That was—”
Promises had to be kept.
“You never thought you’d lose. That’s why you made the bet. You’re not going to say that now, are you? Wow, you really are simple. I like it. Are all knight families this ignorant?”
“Do not insult us!”
Then don’t do things that deserve insulting.
“If you don’t want to be insulted, stop acting so pathetic and get lost already.”
At that moment Railer stared at me and frowned. What, did you think I was joking?