A New Encounter (2)
With a heavy thud, a shockwave tore outward in every direction.
Blood sprayed across the pure white field of vision, staining it with color. As the light died away, that vivid brilliance pressed in all the more fiercely.
"Wow..."
I watched Professor Anton's sword strike in a daze.
"Guh..."
Dufresne had collapsed, unable to withstand the rebound, and a trail of blood was already spreading across the floor. The heat of combat had set my brain on fire.
I should have come to this world as a man like that...
If you were the protagonist of a fantasy novel, you were supposed to be like him. Late twenties was a touch old for a lead, maybe, but swordsmanship that bordered on the divine still wrung pure admiration out of me. Tall, handsome, and a temperament that couldn't stand injustice—he had the whole package.
While I stood there entranced, he came toward me.
"...Are you all right?"
He looked at me with puzzled eyes. Professor Anton was tall enough that I found myself tipping my chin up without meaning to.
"Ah! Yes... Professor..."
"What's your name?"
"May Blair, first-year in the Literature Department. Thank you for saving me."
I offered him a soft smile as I said it.
"Ah—aaaaah... Miss Blair, your chest..."
Professor Anton's face went scarlet. He twisted his head away as if his life depended on it, eyes spinning with how hard he was flailing.
Oh no...
I hadn't given a thought to my undone front. Without my noticing, my bare white breasts had been putting themselves on full display. With a calm face I buttoned up and set my clothes to rights.
"I'll deal with Professor Dufresne myself, so you should head back. We have evidence—he'll be dismissed and punished under the law."
He spoke while avoiding my eyes, one hand pressed to his forehead. A thin thread of unease flickered through my gaze.
Leave already?
I was interested in Professor Anton. For one thing, this man had protected me even when he could have taken my body—that meant he was someone I could trust. And he had that staggering skill with a blade.
"Professor, I have one request."
"What is it?"
"Would you teach me swordsmanship? I want to protect this body with my own hands."
There was no lie in those words. If I trained under him, maybe I could at least keep myself safe. I made the ask with a sliver of hope.
He only let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Some professors take private students, but I've always tried to avoid that approach..."
So it's no good after all?
Thinking about it plainly, of course it made no sense for a master of his caliber to carve out time for a first-year from another department. After dithering a while longer I went dejected and started to turn away.
"Wait. Miss Blair."
"Yes?"
He had been watching me with something like pity. Then he glanced my way.
"If evenings work for you, I'll look in when I can spare the time. After what you've been through, simply walking away doesn't sit right with me..."
Anton finished, exhaled a deep breath, and wiped the sweat with his sleeve.
"Thank you, Professor!"
I bowed my head in a bright, clear voice.
"B-but I'll train you strictly, so steel yourself. It will not be easy."
Even faced with my gratitude, his tone stayed firm. Still, joy and surprise had knocked me clean out of my wits. I caught both his hands and kept pouring out thanks.
"It's too early to be that happy. You have a body poorly suited to sword training. Without the resolve to carve yourself down to the bone..."
The rest went unsaid, but I understood well enough. I knew it too—a slender frame burdened with breasts and hips that were far too much for it. As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward my chest.
"..."
"Professor?"
"Ahem... It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Head on back now."
Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, he looked somehow uncomfortable.
Professor Anton's visit came without warning. With no advance notice at all, he walked straight in through the dormitory's front entrance. At first the caretakers didn't even recognize who he was and stood there blank. Barring a professor who was both a figure of respect and a center of attention at the Academy was unthinkable—but he didn't scold the ones who had tried to stop him.
"Professor!"
Coming back from a short walk, I spotted him and waved in pure delight.
"Miss Blair!"
"What brings you here?"
As I started to bend my knees in formal greeting, he offered a quiet word of his own.
"No need for unnecessary ceremony. Let's go to the back courtyard. We begin instruction today."
The words lit me up. I trotted after him like a puppy. He handed me the wooden sword he'd brought and taught me the five basic stances of swordsmanship. I poured everything into the practice, sweating hard, then demonstrated them in front of him. Even I could tell my form was unstable and shaking.
"Hmm... Was it too soon? You lack the muscle to handle a sword properly..."
"Should I do push-ups, then?"
"A hundred a day. Then for the next stance..."
My gaze, full of respect, stayed fixed on him. He only looked back with eyes that had gone even quieter. With a sigh he passed on several more stances and movements.
"Not like that here—draw the arm a little further back..."
Anton stepped in close, took hold of my arm, and pressed his body against mine. My already tense frame registered every point of contact with painful clarity—and it was the same for me. I flinched and stiffened, and without meaning to thrust my chest forward. A heated breath slipped out as my upper body brushed against the professor's chest.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Professor."
"...It's fine, Miss Blair. But you do have a tendency to be careless at times. Be careful."
Thanks to his careful coaching, I managed a more stable stance.
"Good. Much better than at the start. Shall we take a short break?"
"Thank you, Professor."
Even I felt proud. I hadn't reached the real stages yet, but at this rate, maybe I could take down a man or two before long. Buoyed by that kind of daydream, I sat on the bench with a bright smile and caught my breath. Concentrating so hard had left me soaked in sweat, though, and my throat was dry. I pulled out the water flask I'd brought on my walk and gulped it down.
"Haa. That's refreshing..."
Then I noticed Anton watching carefully from a distance as I drank.
Right. The professor must be thirsty from coaching me too...
I approached him carefully and held out the flask.
"You must be thirsty as well, Professor. Please have some. I'm sorry I can't offer you proper hospitality."
"......"
He looked at me with a momentarily flustered expression, then at the canteen.
Oh...
Thinking about it, maybe I was applying the standards of my old world. Back there, sharing a drink after exercise wasn't that awkward—but maybe it was different here?
"Ah, I'm sorry. It's the flask I've been drinking from, so that might be..."
In the middle of his brief hesitation, he took the flask from my hand and drained it in one continuous pull without even breathing. He must have been truly, desperately thirsty.
"That hit the spot. Shall we start again? Ahem..."
A dry cough escaped him. Stepping back a couple of paces from my side, the professor clasped his hands behind his back.
"You're giving me all this instruction, Professor, and I have nothing to offer in return. I'm sorry."
The words slipped out as I took a sudden step forward.
"Is that so? Then would you grant me one request?"
I looked bewildered—but then, as if I'd already committed, I nodded readily. I owed him. He was the one who had saved me when Professor Dufresne was putting me through something truly awful. On top of that, he was carving out time to coach me even though we had no prior connection. I couldn't refuse him anything.
The moment I agreed, he spoke at once.
"Join my class when the new term starts next week."
"What?"
I could only make a blank sound. I'd been planning to do that anyway. And he was asking it as a favor... It wouldn't have been strange if I'd been left speechless. Seeing my startled face, the professor seemed briefly tense.
"There's no other reason—you need to put real time into learning swordsmanship. It's not that you lack talent. If I take a bit more time guiding you, you'll certainly become a capable swordsman who can support this kingdom..."
"I'll do it."
"What?"
"I'll join the class. I was going to enroll even without you asking."
Looking at the professor's baffled expression, I covered my mouth and burst into a giggle.
"Good thinking. Among the students coming in this term, there's another friend at the Beginner level like you. I plan to focus my instruction on the two of you, so prepare yourself."
Professor Anton bowed his head. The way he absently scraped the ground with his toe looked somehow embarrassed. Seeing how much care he was taking with me, I briefly wondered if I might be a student he found rather rewarding to teach.