The Crown Prince's Explosive Defeat
I didn't have a weapon, after all. Even among this year's academy freshmen, who were being called the Golden Riders, there were exactly four people I would find troublesome to spar with. The current strongest student among them: the Empire's Crown Prince, Teo Calyx. The Pirate King who leads the pirates in his father's stead, Dylan Emerald. The thousand-year-old spiritual beast hiding among the people, Raul. And finally, Heidi's childhood friend who went missing when she was young—the Saint, Eden Holloway.
And of course, all four of them were characters who ended up in the protagonist's reverse harem. 'You're asking who the last one is among the five people stronger than me?' Who else? It was Heidi. I sparred with her often enough that it wasn't particularly troublesome.
Anyway, I thought there was no way I'd hit that one-in-120 chance. But as expected, my life never went according to plan.
'Is that even human...?'
Watching the Crown Prince swing his dual swords with a whooshing sound right in front of me, I couldn't help but curse inwardly. He'd only been given a brief moment to prepare, but even a quick glance showed his perfect stance and excellent sword form.
'...Well, it does have its romantic appeal.'
It was often said that dual-wielding swords was an inefficient style. The weight didn't transfer properly, and it demanded several times more grip strength than normal. 'That's why, in this world, people who use dual swords are extremely rare.' Except for one family—the imperial house.
The imperial family's sword style, called Two-Interval Sword. It accumulated power in one strike and unleashed massive force in the next. Fast attack speed, irregular movements, and an unpredictable finishing blow—it embraced all of that, allowing the dual swords to be used to their absolute limit.
'A bottom-tier extra like Jack would never have been able to win against that...'
Well. In the original story, anyway.
Now commencing the 258th match. The spar between Teo Calyx and Jack Orlannte will now begin!
The academy's class placement exam involved two hundred people per day, with a hundred matches at a time. Since six hundred students were entering the academy this year, there were three hundred matches total. I had drawn the 258th slot two days ago.
'And it's not like I spent those two days just sitting around.'
All items and artifacts are prohibited per regulations. The match will end if it is deemed impossible to continue or if either party requests to surrender.
Like I said, in the novel, the one who killed Jack was none other than the Crown Prince. Naturally, I'd prepared several countermeasures specifically for facing him, but there was no need to reveal those cards during a simple spar. Still, since I had to get into A-class, simply holding back would likely result in a half-hearted outcome either way.
"Come at me."
That was why the first method I decided to use was a simple trick that took advantage of the Crown Prince's inherently arrogant nature. It was a scheme that might not only get me into A-class, but had a good chance of sending the Crown Prince straight to E-class—the one reserved for students with the lowest scores.
"Are you yielding the first move to me?"
That arrogance of always giving the opponent the first strike. That would be his downfall.
"Is it not acceptable to give the weak a small chance?"
The thought of crushing that utterly rude way of speaking made my heart race so hard I could hear it in my ears. Before the match began, I unwrapped one of the ten lemon candies I'd asked Lucia for and popped it into my mouth. Then, without any weapons at all, I simply walked toward him at a steady pace.
I didn't need overwhelming speed that he couldn't react to. I didn't need any tricks to fool his eyes, either.
"Excuse me for a moment."
I simply walked right up to him, dropped the candies, slowly touched both of his swords, then carefully stepped back.
"...What exactly did you do?"
The Crown Prince looked bewildered. He'd expected me to do something when I got close, but all I did was touch his swords and retreat.
But.
"I did do something, yes."
Who in their right mind would give up an attacking opportunity just to high-five someone's sword and back off?
"If you're standing too close, you might get hurt. So please hold your swords at a proper distance from your body."
"...What?"
Instead of answering, I raised my right hand where he could see it clearly and snapped my fingers once.
-Kwaaaaang!
A massive explosion erupted simultaneously from the Crown Prince's direction. Whew. It went off nicely.
"Wh-what is this...!"
If the imperial family had the Two-Interval Sword passed down through their bloodline, the Orlannte viscount family had Explosion. To put it simply, it was a technique that infused mana into anything you touched, twisting and destabilizing it abnormally before detonating it at the desired timing.
"You don't have any swords. Do you still wish to continue?"
Which meant the dual swords I'd just touched had all exploded without a trace at my signal. The imperial family's pride, the Two-Interval Sword, could no longer be performed without swords to store and release its power.
'So I'd really appreciate it if you'd just give up now...'
If the Crown Prince didn't surrender here and kept coming at me, I'd have no choice but to knock him down. But taking down someone who was practically the top prospect would draw far too much unnecessary attention.
'Besides, this is the only time I can beat the Crown Prince this way...'
Since he'd already fallen for it once, he wouldn't allow contact again. And even if I somehow managed to touch his swords and detonate them, he would eventually reach the level of recreating his blades from light, rendering the technique useless.
In other words, this tactic was practically cheating. If people started misunderstanding things and making a big deal out of me, that would be its own problem.
"Ha... haha."
I prayed the Crown Prince would surrender, but the odds of that arrogant bastard doing so were slim. Sure enough, he stared at his now-empty hands with a hollow expression, let out a dry laugh, then assumed a stance as if he intended to fight me with his bare fists.
"You're the first one I've seen like this. If you think you can win just because I don't have the Two-Interval Sword..."
He started saying all sorts of things to me.
"My condolences."
The only thing I had to say to the Crown Prince, who refused to give up, was a half-hearted apology laced with a bit of resentment. I snapped my fingers once more. At the same time, the ten candies scattered beneath him all detonated at once.
They might look like tiny candies, but since I'd packed them full of mana, their explosive power surpassed that of the swords. And with ten of them going off in a chain reaction...
"Hrrk..."
His inability to continue fighting was practically guaranteed. The Crown Prince collapsed to the ground, his body completely scorched, and fainted.
If the Crown Prince had charged at me from the start with the intent to attack properly, I probably would have lost. But because he always struck poses like this and refused to move an inch until a proper blow landed, this strategy had been possible.
"..."
It was incredibly underhanded, but so what? A win was a win.
When I looked toward where the examiners were seated, they seemed quite shocked as well. Since the Crown Prince's strength was among the highest even among the students, they must have naturally assumed I would lose.
Uh... Match suspended! The winner is Jack Orlannte!
That was probably why the announcement came so late. Normally I should have left the arena now that the match was over, but I cautiously approached where the Crown Prince lay.
Then I reached into the pocket of the completely unconscious boy and pulled out a white rosario, slipping it into my own pocket where no one could see. This was a rather important token. I'd need it soon, so it was best to keep it with me.
'Isn't this stealing?'
I'm just borrowing it for a bit. I'll return it later. Whatever.
Anyway, with a performance like that, A-class should be all but guaranteed. It was a satisfying victory.
-Bang!
The sound of a fist slamming down on the round table echoed through the room where ten people were seated.
"Does this even make any sense?!"
What followed was a furious shout full of rage coming from a man wearing glasses.
"Placing His Highness the Crown Prince in E-class—what kind of decision is this?!"
His eyes were bloodshot, his body trembled with anger, and it was plain to see. The hand that had struck the table had hit it so hard that a small crack now ran across its surface.
As if shattering the icy atmosphere that had been on the verge of breaking, a young woman raised her hand and spoke in rebuttal.
"Student Teo Calyx failed to inflict even the slightest damage on his opponent during the class placement exam. He collapsed without making a single move."
She took a breath to steady herself, then continued.
"Therefore, according to the class placement criteria, we have judged it appropriate to assign him to E-class."
"That's ridiculous...!"
The man with glasses tried to say something again, but—
-Knock knock!
His words were cut short by a knock from outside. And without waiting for anyone's permission, the door opened immediately, as if the knock had merely been a courtesy to announce the visitor's arrival.
"D-Director...!"
At the same time, everyone present bowed their heads upon seeing who had entered. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, a dignified voice came from the open doorway. The voice of the academy's director—who could rightfully be called the strongest of this generation—carried an appropriate weight.
"A message has arrived from the imperial palace."
At those words, a sly, victorious smile slowly spread across the lips of the man with glasses. The director of Campbell Academy had connections to the imperial family. Therefore, he had assumed the request to send the Crown Prince to the lowest class, E-class, would naturally be rejected.
"It is an imperial decree to fix the Crown Prince in E-class."
"..."
In that instant, every sound in the room ceased. Not just voices, but even the tiniest rustles. That was how shocking the emperor's decree was. And everyone knew there was nothing to be gained by opposing it.
'Ugh...!'
That was why, for the man with glasses—who had been trying to ride what was known as the 'Crown Prince line'—this was incredibly unpleasant and bewildering.
'Jack Orlannte, was it...'
He didn't know what trick the boy had used, but he clearly needed to be watched. That thought struck the man's mind with force.