Class Exchange Match (5)

I opened my status window once the Class Exchange Match was over.

Being able to check my stats down to the decimal point was convenient. I could see at a glance just how much they'd climbed.

Already clearing 2.1 was plenty satisfying.

Well, things get different once you hit the late game.

Even the original protagonist's growth rate would slow once the story pushed further along. My physical cheat was probably similar to his, so it would start crawling up around then too. Of course, none of that mattered right now in the early game. Thanks to the physical cheat, the numbers were shooting up just fine.

And stats weren't the only thing I needed to check. Whether because I'd already been locked in as the Class Exchange Match champion, a notification was blinking on Ultimate Physique.

A Cheat Selection Right.

The cheats I currently held under Ultimate Physique were Indestructible Body, Heavenly Martial Physique, and Magic Slayer — every last one of them absurdly broken. If I could pick something with the same level of power, nothing could be better.

I opened the list and looked it over.

Hmm.

A whole string of useful-looking cheats floated up. The ones that really caught my eye were Strong Heart and Berserker — both massive pluses in a fight. Comparing them to a gag cheat like Golden Ratio down below almost felt insulting. Why was Golden Ratio even on the list?

I turned the choice over carefully between the two, and one line in particular kept snagging my gaze.

※ Strong Heart: Immune to status conditions.

Immune to status conditions, huh.

Considering the sheer variety of status ailments that existed in Song of Sword and Magic, it was a broken cheat. The most attractive part was being able to ignore the forced CC the story bosses dumped on the party.

Yeah. This is the one.

I hoped I wouldn't get dragged into the story directly — but Act One's boss fight was already a situation without the male lead. Since I'd have to take part no matter what, picking Strong Heart was the right call.

And just like that, Strong Heart was added to Ultimate Physique. One less thing to worry about. Preparing for the Act One boss fight had just gotten a whole lot easier—

"He. Ra. Cle?"

"Yes."

The voice jolted my wandering brain awake.

A woman sat in front of me with her lips pushed out in a pout — brilliant golden hair braided down, dressed in a beautiful gown. Princess Helene was fiddling with my hand.

"You weren't listening to me, were you~?"

"I was."

"Then what did I just say?"

"That I was your fated person."

"……Hmph."

She stuck her lip out even further, looking thoroughly displeased — but a correct answer was a correct answer, and she couldn't quite find anything to scold me with.

Yikes.

Crossing a princess's temper never ended well. I shut the status window and focused on Helene.

"Please forgive me. The sheer honor of Your Highness personally treating my hand left me so overwhelmed I lost my wits."

"Hmm~. That's some pretty transparent flattery. But I'll let it slide, just this once."

"Your grace is boundless."

"Honestly. Heracle, you have a real talent for being a sycophant."

She said that, but my answer must have pleased her well enough — Helene grinned from ear to ear. Her lovely hands kept moving busily as she wrapped the bandage. Around what? Around my hand.

……This is seriously a lot of pressure.

The honor of Princess Helene wrapping a bandage with her own hands. Any other student wouldn't have even been allowed to look at her. This was only happening because Helene considered me her "fated person."

Heavenly Insight.

Helene's unique power. Because fate itself marked out her future for her, her life had never known real hardship.

The spoiled youngest princess, kept far enough from the succession that she was simply adored. She'd never wanted for food, clothing, or shelter to begin with — and on top of that, Heavenly Insight walked her through the future step by step. So Helene had grown up thoroughly optimistic. A life with no hardship, where all she had to do was follow what Heavenly Insight told her. At least, that was how Helene herself would see it.

And that was why Helene loved her "fated person." She poured genuine affection onto someone she'd never even met, someone heaven had simply tossed her way. That was her entire life. Doubt never entered the picture.

The problem is that "someone" is me.

That role was supposed to belong to the male lead. So why was I the one stuck with it……?

"Heehee. Come to think of it, your opponent ended up in a pretty ridiculous spot. He named you himself and still lost — and by a huge ranking gap, I hear?"

"Well, he brought it on himself. He'll have to own it."

"I knew it, I knew it! You had a trump card all along. I believed in you~."

Helene beamed, clearly delighted that I'd won. Her remarks about Jackson were ice-cold, and moments like that really did show the princess in her.

She finished tying off the bandage around my hand, then puffed out her chest with a little ahem — as if waiting to be praised.

"There. All done. You have no idea how startled I was when your precious hand got hurt. I wrapped it myself, so you'd better be careful, all right?"

"Thank you. ……But is it really all right for you to fuss this much over a mere student? Someone who saw us might say something."

"Tch! Don't say things like that. When someone comes to treat you the second a duel ends, all you're supposed to say is 'thank you'~."

"……."

She wasn't wrong. After the duel with Jackson, my hands had picked up a few light scrapes. Of course they had — I'd been slamming bare skin into steel and beating a person with my fists. I'd figured I'd just swing by the temple for a quick heal, and then……

Ah! Heracle, could you come here a moment?

What is it, Your Highness?

Heeheehee. I'm going to treat you. How could royalty sit still when her person is hurt?

……And just like that, she'd grabbed me on my way out of the Colosseum, hauled me into an empty room, and treated me herself. I'd been a little dizzy from it. Being treated by a princess was a luxury most people would never taste in their entire lives.

"Shall we head back, then~?"

"You mean to watch the rest of the duels?"

"Of course. Well, I'd be fine just watching you~, but a princess has to keep up appearances. I should at least see the first-years through."

A fair amount of time had passed since my own duel. The second-years were probably already finished by now, and the first-years would be underway.

Come to think of it, I am curious.

The first-years' main match. The duel between Isolet, top of the Knight Department, and Irina, top of the Mage Department. I was very interested in who would win.

"All right. Let's go."

"Ah, before that~."

"Hm?"

I was about to leave the room when Helene poked me in the side. Beyond those slender fingers, her pale face bloomed into a bright smile. She held a hand out toward me.

"Escort me, please?"

"……."

It was just a short walk. Did it really need an escort……? But I wasn't quite dense enough to say that out loud.

"Of course, my princess."

"Heeheehee. You sound more like a knight than a mage~."

I took her pale hand with practiced ease and led her out.

We climbed up to the VIP seats where Helene had been sitting. It wasn't a place a student was normally allowed, but when a princess personally brought someone along, who was going to stop her? The instructors who'd started to intervene ended up clearing their throats and swallowing their words.

……Well, some of them did manage to get a word in.

"Cadet Heracle! Just what was that technique?!"

"Heracle. I'd like to ask you a few things about that physical magic you produced……."

"Listen here. Fancy stopping by my office for a moment? I've got a rather good offer for you……."

Every last one of them looked ready to die of curiosity. I, on the other hand, didn't get it at all.

Physical magic? What?

No, that was just a cheat. A physical cheat. I hadn't cast magic — I'd just…… moved my body, and the mana had answered in kind. I definitely hadn't been thinking of it as magic when I did it…….

But there was exactly one person who could cut off every last one of those desperate love calls from the instructors.

"Heehee. Would you all mind stepping back?"

Princess Helene. At her smiling words, spoken with me held firmly at her side, the instructors shut their mouths at once and withdrew. Even Olympia's instructors were powerless before a princess. A sad little reminder of the class system.

"Here. Right here, Heracle."

"Yes."

The seat beside Vice Chairman Kiron — a place no instructor would dare claim lightly. Helene sat me down there with her. It was a lot of pressure, but…… what was I going to do? I had to take it.

"Whose turn is it right now~?"

"Isolet and Irina, Your Highness. The match between the top students."

Kiron answered Helene's question kindly — she'd come back mid-bracket and didn't know the lineup. And just as he said, a fierce battle was already raging in the arena.

KRAKOOM!

Countless ice spears bloomed behind Irina's back. It was the same magic Penelope, the second-year top student, had used — and it didn't fall short of hers in the slightest. The craft of a seasoned mage. True to form for the mage-route heroine.

WHOOSH! Beyond the spears streaking forward at blinding speed, the woman kicking off the ground and charging straight into them was Isolet.

CRACK, CRACK! The spears shattered under the sword strokes Isolet swung. It was a barrage of ice lances so overwhelming that a single blade shouldn't have been enough to defend against it — and yet Isolet cut down every last one, holding the line without leaving a single gap.

—Hah, hah.

Neither of them had much stamina left. Irina, her mana drained from casting spell after spell. Isolet, her body spent from blocking every strike and forcing her way forward. Both of them gasped for breath, staring each other down without blinking.

Looking at them, I felt a fresh wave of nostalgia.

This is it.

Act One, Chapter Four of Song of Sword and Magic. The top students of both departments meeting in the Class Exchange Match. The male lead and the heroine sizing up each other's strength, marveling, and finally acknowledging one another. A burning page of youth.

Well, even if it is two girls……

No man in sight, but that didn't matter. The passion in those stares alone already made them look every bit the protagonists. What I was really watching for, though, was something else.

I still need to know who the true protagonist is.

The male lead was gone, but there had to be a true ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠protagonist somewhere, right? Even if Isolet and Irina were both women, one of them would be the one to carry this world's story. In the original, the male lead had claimed that role by winning — so it would be the same for them.

Whoever wins is the real protagonist.

I was sitting here to witness that historic moment……!

—Incredible, Irina. I never imagined it would be this hard to land even a single attack……. Honestly, I'm impressed.

—……Thanks for the compliment. Same goes for me, Isolet. I've never faced an opponent as troublesome as you.

A heartwarming friendship between two women who recognized each other. But it only lasted a moment.

—In the end, though, it will be decided. The winner of this duel — and who becomes Senior's foremost disciple.

Isolet settled into her stance. At a safe distance from Irina, her hand clamped hard around the hilt. A red light like heat haze coiled along the blade — a special power different from the blue aura knights usually raised. Just looking at it, the force was ferocious.

—Fair enough. It's not like I particularly care about what you just said…… but if you're going to stake the match on it like that, fine. I'll take you up on it.

At the same time, countless spells ignited behind Irina's back. Her mana should have been completely drained from continuous casting — and yet Irina was weaving magic as if the duel had only just begun.

Whoa. There they are.

They were drawing on the unique powers they'd gained from the Secret Room. Isolet had Charge; Irina had Rewind. Pulling those out at the absolute last moment, pouring everything they had into finally bringing the other down.

Gulp—

Someone swallowed hard in the silence. A fight of a level no one would believe belonged to first-years. Every eye in the crowd locked onto who would come out on top—

KRAAAAAAAAAASH—!!!

The blows Isolet and Irina exchanged sent a massive cloud of dust billowing across the arena.

"What?! Who won?!"

"Damn it. Did Isolet lose……? Are we going to lose the first-years too, Knight Department?!"

"Obviously Irina won! Today's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠championship goes to the Mage Department!"

Instructors who'd been watching shot up from their seats and shouted. Mana tangled so thickly through the dust cloud that nothing was clear. At last the haze that had blocked everyone's view cleared, and the two women beyond it came into sight.

"……Huh?"

Everyone was stunned.

—…….

—…….

They were down. Isolet and Irina both lay on the floor, neither of them able to move a muscle. Whether they'd lost consciousness or not, not so much as a fingertip twitched — and a faint smile rested on both their lips. A smile that meant they'd acknowledged each other that deeply. A smile of youth, born from meeting a true rival—

—Right. To cut to the conclusion: this duel has no winner.

Both of them had lost consciousness. Neither had stayed on her feet to the end. Kiron must have reached the same conclusion I had, because his announcement rang out across the arena.

Clap, clap, clap……

Applause and whistles rose from the students. Knight Department and Mage Department alike forgot their grudges and offered praise for the duel — a warm ending, all things considered—

"……Oh, for fuck's sake."

I muttered a quiet curse under my breath. I couldn't help it.

……So then who the hell is the true protagonist……?