The School Nurse Appears (3)

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon?"

The Class B professor stared at me, her face openly startled. Apparently she hadn't expected me to raise my hand.

"I'd like to participate as well."

That was when Elise, standing right behind me, put her hand up too.

Hey. What are you doing. Don't get in my way.

"I want in!"

Kim Young-han, who had been sitting quietly until now, raised his hand as well.

"I'd like to participate too!"

"How often do you even get a chance to spar with a second-year!"

"...?"

Roughly one in ten cadets had their hands in the air. This was not the plan.

I'd wanted to grab the short one, flatten him, and step down. Not that I could exactly announce I was only here to wreck that one bastard and tell everyone else to clear out.

"Uh... that's quite a few volunteers. What should we do?"

"Why not just let them all go at once?"

"Pardon? Ah, Professor Park. How would that work?"

The man who popped out from behind the hesitant female professor was a second-year instructor. He scratched his head like the whole situation was a chore and looked us over.

"Send them out one at a time by rank and run it winner-stays-on. Everyone gets at least one match, no exceptions. Anyone who wants more can use the extra rings we set up in the back — there are plenty."

"Ah... that's not a bad idea. The first-years haven't taken their exams yet, though, so we don't have rankings for them."

"Just eyeball it and split them roughly. I'll go sort the second-years by rank."

"Yes, yes. Understood."

The two professors went back and forth for a bit and then simply decided the matter for us.

The rules the female professor laid out were simple. One first-year and one second-year would step into the ring for a one-on-one. The loser left. The winner stayed. With over two hundred cadets in each year, they split us into five groups. The second-years divided their teams by official rank; we divided ours by gut feeling based on everything we'd seen so far.

I landed in the top bracket, of course. I hadn't been able to get a re-evaluation, but that didn't mean anyone actually thought I was weak. I'd already beaten that scrawny loudmouth who'd tried to pick a fight with me.

For the record, Do Jinhyeok and his little pack of lackeys had ended up in the top bracket too, most of them. They'd been keeping their distance ever since that day, which suited me just fine. Nothing like a good beating to set a guy's head straight.

"Mind if I go first?"

I asked the roughly forty cadets in my group for their understanding. My target was the short one, and there was no telling when that bastard would come out. So what was I supposed to do? Keep knocking people down until he showed up.

"Fine by me."

Elise carried the most weight among the first-year elites. Nam Da-eun was stronger, no question — but Nam Da-eun almost never voiced an opinion, so the floor defaulted to Elise.

"Looks like they're sending their rank one out first over there. You going to be okay with that?"

That was Kim Young-han. He'd slotted himself into the top bracket like it was the most natural thing in the world. I hadn't paid him much attention since he was a guy, but he really was strong, apparently.

"How do you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even know that?"

"I've got my ways. I've got my ways."

"...Then do you know what rank that pint-sized senior is?"

"You mean Senior Yoon Hyun-gyu? Eighth. And isn't he on the student council with you? How do you not know that?"

"Never cared enough to notice."

At last, Kim Young-han was fulfilling his destined role as my informant. All that investment was finally paying off. I was so proud.

Eighth, huh. So I just have to smash the top eight and I'm done?

Now that I knew his rank, it would be ideal if I could time my entrance for exactly that match. Should I just say so?

"Hey! It's the Saint!"

I was still turning over how to play this when a word I could not possibly ignore hit my ears. I snapped my head toward the voice.

A stunning woman was coming through the main doors of the auditorium. She'd quit the Association, and she was still dressed like she worked there. Jet-black hair falling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to her waist, skin like fresh snow, and those blue eyes — the combination pulled every gaze in the room. A skirt of just the right length and a crisp white blouse completed the office-girl look to perfection.

Baek A-young flicked her head this way and that, visibly uncomfortable under so many stares, and then her eyes found mine.

"Ah..."

Baek A-young let out a small, breathless sound and started straight toward me.

"I-it's the Saint?!"

I locked eyes with her and poured every ounce of do not come over here I could into the look. The moment I called her Saint, she seemed to come back to herself. She cleared her throat — ahem, ahem ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— and retreated a step.

The professor standing behind her approached and asked what had brought her here.

"Ah. This is my first assignment as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the school nurse. I'm here in case of any accidents during the spars."

"Ah, I see. The other professors are gathered over that way — shall we?"

"No. I'll keep watch from here, among the cadets."

"Y-yes. Of course."

The male professor made a halfhearted attempt to steer Baek A-young away, then gave up in the face of that firm refusal and turned back.

The cadets kept stealing glances, clearly unused to seeing her at the Academy. Nobody actually walked up to talk to her, though. They'd all gotten the chairman's notice through their professors, by the look of it. Nobody wanted to find out what happened if you crossed the Saint.

Leaving her standing there alone like that didn't sit right with me either. She'd just changed jobs. Everyone around her was a stranger. It had to be awkward. Should I at least wander over and say something?

I checked the status window. Yeah, no. That wouldn't be necessary.

Awkward? She wasn't registering anyone around her at all. Was she actually going to be okay like that? In the original, she never even quit the Association. Having her walk away from it because of me felt... off, didn't it?

Ah, whatever. If I was going to worry about the original, I should have started a long time ago. The moment I committed to the harem route, the original getting twisted out of shape was inevitable. What matters is how you ride it out.

"Have you settled on an order?"

Professor Kim Jin-hyeok, who would be refereeing the top-bracket spars between the first and second years, walked over to us.

"Ah, hold on a second! Ho-yeon. You're going out first?"

"Honestly, I only need to fight their eighth. Doesn't really matter to me."

"Then how about we go out by rank too? Nam Da-eun first, Elise second, Lee Ho-yeon third..."

I didn't particularly care — except that if Nam Da-eun and Elise went all out, eighth place wouldn't be the problem. They could sweep all forty. Nam Da-eun especially was a complete cheat of a character. Even I couldn't picture how strong she actually was at this point in time.

"Nobody's got a problem with that, right? Strongest first-year, top first-year cadet, and the best-looking guy in the first year. Of course that's the order."

Best-looking? I've taken down Demons. I've taken down ogres. Now that I thought about it, this guy had been doing his part to wreck my public image too.

"Will this be reflected in our grades?"

Nam Da-eun, who had been silent until now, stepped up to Professor Kim Jin-hyeok and asked.

"It's in the spirit of a friendly exhibition. It will not affect your grades."

"Yes. Understood."

Judging by that, she had no intention of taking this seriously. That meant I only needed to talk to Elise.

"Elise. I really need to fight the second-year eighth. Could you take them through seventh and then forfeit?"

"...And why would I do that?"

Not the reaction I was hoping for.

Huh. So she'd even put on the cutesy act with her father just to do me a favor. The thought of that ice-cold girl acting spoiled on purpose was something I suddenly very much wanted to see.

"Don't tell me you're still sulking over that bet."

"Please. What do you take me for? I'm not."

Elise scowled, turned on her heel, and fled. She said that, but I had a feeling she'd still do it. She would... right?

I left the rest of the first-year order for them to figure out among themselves — I didn't care — and settled in to watch Nam Da-eun's match.

Nam Da-eun and the second-year rank one faced each other across the ring.

"I look forward to a good match."

"Mm. Likewise."

Nam Da-eun, for all her usual silence, was actually quite proper in official settings. To be precise, she said that one line and then nothing else at all.

"Begin!"

At Professor Kim Jin-hyeok's signal, Nam Da-eun moved.

BOOM!

Her unique authority — Spatial Dominion — seized the space around her. She folded Acceleration into it and her body vanished, crossing the ring in a single heartbeat. The second-year rank one had already thrown himself backward the instant the match started, and he still took the hit.

"Ghk—!"

He'd gotten his sword up in time, which was genuinely impressive given the speed of that opening strike. It didn't matter. He couldn't match the force behind it. The blow drove him back several steps.

"If this is all the second-year rank one has to offer... I suppose I can keep holding back."

Nam Da-eun muttered something nobody else could parse, then suddenly raised her hand.

"I forfeit."

"H-hey!"

The second-year rank one, pride clearly stung by the abrupt surrender, grabbed for her.

"You can't just end it like this! I haven't even gotten started!"

"I'm sorry. I don't believe this will be of any help to my training."

"..."

Wow. That had to hurt. The fact that she was being so polite about it only made it worse. She sounded like she genuinely meant it — like he really was useless to her.

The second-year rank one stood in the ring staring after her, looking like his soul had left his body. Nam Da-eun walked out without a flicker of expression and left the auditorium entirely.

"Ahem. By first-year forfeit, the winner is second-year Han Seo-yul. Han Seo-yul remains. Next first-year, step up."

Elise was next. She offered a courteous greeting of her own and the match began.

"There's no way that girl is actually a first-year."

"Right? With Nam Da-eun you just know she's stupidly strong and leave it at that, but with Elise you can see it — the technique, the mana control. It's ridiculous. Makes her look even more impressive."

"Honestly her talent and her ability are both broken. She was born with a gift that burns through mana like crazy, and she was born with the reserves to match."

The cadets around me were running their evaluations of Elise. Most of it was glowing. What almost none of them knew — a secret kept by a handful of people close to her — was her congenital mana disorder.

It was a condition that left her with a mana pool far smaller than anyone else's. Even a prodigy in both swordsmanship and magic couldn't outrun the hard limit of her reserves. To actually use her power, Elise needed mana stones. To run sword and spell side by side on a tank that small, she had to force the mana in from outside, so every day she absorbed mana stones through expensive equipment. It only raised her raw capacity. It wasn't doping, which was why Victoria Academy had formally signed off on it. Of course, whether they would have approved it for anyone who wasn't the daughter of the Iris Guild was another question. That was just how the world worked.

Every time Elise's blade met Han Seo-yul's, a wave of scorching heat erupted from the clash.

"Ngh..."

He didn't go down in a single exchange the way he had against Nam Da-eun, but he was being pushed back, inch by inch. At this rate, it wouldn't be long.

CLANG!

Driven steadily toward the edge, Han Seo-yul finally snapped and charged. He kicked off the floor and wrenched his mana up. In a blink his sword split into four, each blade streaking toward one of Elise's limbs.

"Block this if you can!"

It looked like a trump card if ever there was one. Elise barely moved her arms. She caught the two blades coming at her with her own sword, one in each hand. Vines burst from the floor and seized the blade diving for her right leg. A touch of Force magic kissed the last one, the blade aimed at her lower left, and sent it skating wide of her body.

"Kh—!"

When that single exchange ended, Han Seo-yul's sword was on the ground and Elise was still standing exactly where she had started.

A perfect, crushing victory. The second-years shook their heads at the miserable sight of their rank one getting dismantled. The first-years erupted in cheers.

"Senior. I've learned a great deal. I forfeit."

And then Elise forfeited.

"...?"

"What did you just say?"

Han Seo-yul had been wearing a face that said I lost, but I fought well — and his head snapped up in shock. Professor Kim Jin-hyeok asked her to repeat herself, as if he must have misheard.

"You really are on another level, Senior. This junior has learned a lot."

Elise bowed her head with perfect, unshakable courtesy.

What on earth was she doing?

Ah. So she's testing me.

Anyone could see it. She wanted to take the measure of the next person in line — me. I didn't mind. The more real combat experience I got, the better, and this was a perfect chance to shake off that weakling reputation. If I was going to put on a show, I might as well make it a good one.

I walked into the ring without hesitation. Waiting for me was the second-year rank one, his face flushed an ugly, mottled red.

"Just how little do you people respect your seniors, to put me through this kind of humiliation...!"

I hadn't even done anything yet.

"Senior. I look forward to a good match."

"...This time, I'm winning."

Han Seo-yul swallowed his anger and returned the greeting. What had this man ever done to deserve losing to underclassmen three times in a row?

For the first time, I actually felt sorry for a second-year.