The Sword Saint's Offer
Hint stared at the hand extended toward him.
Before deciding whether to take it, he first needed to collect his scattered thoughts.
‘Of course, the skills I’ve seen so far have made the world slow down.’
Did that ability really apply even to a technique he had only witnessed twice?
Wasn’t his Parry supposed to work only on techniques he had already encountered in the game?
Still, if the Sword Saint said so, then it must be true.
In this world, when it came to anything related to combat, the Sword Saint’s word was absolute.
Hint looked at Dio’s hand in front of him.
Growing stronger in this game world and saving it together with the protagonist and her companions—that was certainly an attractive proposition.
He had never intended to stay on the sidelines forever, anyway.
Once the first semester—focused on strengthening Stelle and the heroines—passed, he planned to step onto the front lines himself starting in the second semester.
Considering the state of the academy from the second year onward, without at least a minimum level of strength, surviving there would be impossible amid the coming chaos.
Moreover, growing stronger even a little would open doors to places he otherwise couldn’t reach and allow him to farm hidden pieces directly instead of relying on others. That was a significant advantage.
But there were clear drawbacks as well.
Since it was the Sword Saint’s training, it would undoubtedly be far harsher than usual and would eat up a great deal of the time he needed to farm items.
The first semester was meant to focus on strengthening the heroines and companions rather than himself, so this felt extremely inconvenient.
In Chapters 1, 3, and 5 of the first semester, three companions would face expulsion crises.
They would either temporarily leave the academy or depart permanently.
To prevent that, Stelle would have to manage them carefully, yet the mere fact that she had entered S-class a little late already made it impossible to predict what variables might arise.
Aside from the “Prince of the Underworld Kingdom” in Chapter 5, the “Elf Fleeing from Fate” in Chapter 3 required a very important early buildup.
In the end, what was needed to keep Yulia, the elf, and the prince as companions at the academy wasn’t strength so much as the hidden pieces that could help them.
And what Hint worried about most wasn’t any of that—it was the personality of this seemingly innocent halfling Sword Saint. Instinctively, he sensed danger.
After a long moment of deliberation, Hint took Dio’s hand.
Though the hand belonged to a childlike figure, the moment he grasped it, he felt as though he were facing a massive mountain.
So this was what it meant to be a true hero.
“Good. You made the right choice. You’ve got talent, so if I grind you down every day, you’ll grow endlessly strong.”
“Every day, sir?”
“Yeah. You already know your abilities, right? That ‘once-seen technique appears slower’ skill, and that heaven-sent talent that lets you Parry any technique you’ve seen. To push both of those to their limits…”
The Sword Saint’s lips curled upward in a grin that looked ready to split his face.
“You’ll have to get beaten half to death. Don’t worry—I may look like this, but I’m the Sword Saint. I really do know every sword technique there is.”
Good grief. That wasn’t a Sword Saint—that was a Sword Demon. Just look at that wicked smile.
No wonder his instincts had screamed danger.
As expected, the Sword Saint was just as much of a sociopath as he had been in the original work.
Fortunately, he had already prepared a countermeasure for this situation.
Hint voiced the Sword Saint’s only weakness.
“I see. In that case, this would also let you see Professor Felicia more often. Quite the efficient arrangement for you, Sword Saint.”
“Well, yeah… Huh? Wait, what did you just say?”
This time, it was Hint’s turn to smile.
He raised the corners of his mouth and spoke with a grin that would have looked positively demonic to the Sword Saint.
“Pardon? Was it not your intention to see Professor Felicia, the woman you’ve been one-sidedly pining after for a year?”
“Wha—wh-wh-wh-what?! Hey, hold on—how do you know that?!”
The Sword Saint visibly panicked.
His face flushed crimson, and he flailed his arms as he shot to his feet.
His reaction was surprisingly cute. Honestly, Hint had been worried the man might throw a punch.
“How did you find out?!”
“Heh heh heh. That’s a trade secret.”
This was information from the original Sword Demon setting.
Felicia found Dio’s repeated failed confession attempts endearing and waited for him, while Dio—despite being the Sword Saint—turned into a complete mess when it came to romance and kept failing to confess. That was also why he had turned down every offer from across the continent and remained at this academy, which didn’t even pay particularly well.
They were one of the few near-official couples in Sword Demon, and quite popular as a pairing.
Yet even that famous intuition seemed useless when it came to love.
“…So. What exactly are you trying to say?”
The Sword Saint sighed and slumped back onto the sofa.
The balance of negotiations had apparently been restored.
“I also have things I need to do. Would training once a week not suffice?”
“No. If you keep wandering around the academy like you have been, it’ll be troublesome not just for me—who’s supposed to be watching you—but for you as well.”
Of course. From the academy’s perspective, which had placed Hint in F-class—and on this island—under the premise that the Sword Saint would monitor him, leaving him completely unsupervised was apparently out of the question.
“Then how about this? We compress the training into a single day. Enough that I won’t be able to move for three days afterward.”
“Hey, you’ve got to consider my position too. The Sword Saint beat a student so badly he couldn’t move for three days? That’s enough to get me hauled before the disciplinary committee.”
“But you are the Sword Saint. Surely that much is acceptable?”
This part genuinely puzzled him.
The man was the Sword Saint—the continent’s strongest swordsman and a hero who had accomplished countless feats.
Yet he was concerned about how the faculty would view him?
In response to that unspoken question, the Sword Saint laughed.
“Haha. You really are still just a kid. It’s not a matter of whether it’s acceptable or not.”
No matter how strong he was or how many achievements he had, that did not give him the right to overshadow the accomplishments of others.
Every professor here was a hero who did their best in their own position.
So even though the original work had made him seem like he did whatever he wanted, he still drew his own lines.
Hint was just beginning to truly recognize that the small figure before him was a hero when—
“Ow?! Why did you hit me?!”
“My intuition told me you were thinking something nasty.”
“That’s a damn cheat skill…”
“What? So you really were thinking something bad?”
“I already got hit, so what does it matter? Anyway, I need at least four free days a week.”
He meant it.
He had to dedicate at least two days a week to Yulia, and one day to checking on Stelle’s growth.
The remaining day was purely for gathering and farming.
Somehow he was still in contact with Senior Suz, and whenever he brought her a large batch of medicinal herbs, she would make potions as payment.
The potions he had stockpiled would definitely come in handy later, so he had been collecting various types.
The Sword Saint nodded.
“Well, if I beat you up three days a week, the academy probably won’t complain.”
“Did you just casually say you were going to beat me up?”
“What’s the problem? It’s not like it’s any different from reality. And you’re one to talk about blackmail.”
It was a little infuriating how brazenly he declared he was going to thrash Hint from now on, but since it was true, Hint had nothing to say.
He had used Professor Felicia to reduce the training to three days, but if things continued like this, his relationship with the Sword Saint would remain purely that of a blackmailer and his victim.
Maintaining that kind of relationship with the continent’s strongest swordsman wouldn’t do him any good either, so Hint held out one final carrot.
“Ah, would you perhaps be interested in information about Professor Felicia?”
“Huh? Information?”
“Yes. I’ve lived on this island for quite a while, after all. I’ve heard all sorts of rumors. For example, which restaurants Professor Felicia likes…”
Before Hint could even finish speaking, the Sword Saint grabbed both of his arms and shook him.
“What?! Is that true?! Wait, how do you know that in the first place?!”
“Well, I’ve lived on this island for a long time. Naturally, rumors about the places someone like Professor Felicia frequents tend to spread.”
Dio’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
To think the Sword Saint was this desperate just because he wanted to date one professor.
Well, that was just how love worked. Hint felt no particular emotion about it.
“I don’t want to remain in a blackmailing relationship with you either. I’ll help you build your ‘romance front,’ and in exchange, you go a little easier on the lessons… How does that sound?”
The Sword Saint lowered his head deeply.
His body trembled for a moment, then he placed a hand on Hint’s shoulder.
What now? Had it not worked? Had that cursed intuition picked up on something?
Cold sweat poured down Hint’s back like a waterfall.
Then the Sword Saint spoke in a solemn voice.
“Disciple.”
“…Yes?”
Whether from surprise or not, his reply came a little late.
The Sword Saint continued.
“Call me Master.”