Diana's Feast and Midnight Sword Practice
The announcer's voice rang out loud and clear across the stage. "The moment I speak! First-year student Pruella launches her assault! Oh! She just stabbed right next to Instructor Leila!!"
The crowd in the stands leaned forward, eyes glued to the screen.
On the display, first-year Pruella led her soldiers in a fierce charge against Leila's unit, and the spectators erupted in cheers.
Yet Rai remained perfectly composed, directing his forces with calm precision, countering by trapping Pruella's squad right into a deadly trap.
"Aaaah!! The one who pulled off the surprise attack was Pruella, but why are they getting wiped out?! Diana, please provide the commentary!"
"Instructor deliberately left a weakness exposed," Diana explained. "They tried to split our forces by using the opposite bank, but Instructor exploited the terrain to drive Pruella right into the kill zone."
Following Diana's words, Pruella's path to escape was cut off; she was surrounded and hammered from every direction.
As the academy crowd roared with approval, Aslan took a long sip of his drink and muttered, "Here we go again."
Last year the academy had opened its gates to the general public and hosted public tactical training sessions. It had been a one-off event born from Rai's influence, but the overwhelming reaction turned it into an annual tradition. With the festival added, tourists would flock to Legandia, boosting the city's finances and earning warm citizen applause—perfect for elevating the academy's prestige.
The catch was that Rai's first demonstration had stirred the student body so thoroughly that the burden on the subsequent instructors had skyrocketed. Unlike the original rules, simply capturing an instructor no longer awarded extra points, yet the very structure of "instructor versus student" had created an inherent disadvantage. If an instructor were humiliated here, their reputation would crumble.
Instructors who taught tactical subjects had every reason to eye Rai with resentment. On top of that, this year Leila was dominating the students from the very start. While everyone knew she was an outstanding commander, she had thrown herself into a reckless charge the moment the event began, wiping out nearly three entire squads. The opponent facing her now—Pruella—was scheduled to be eliminated soon as well. At barely the midpoint of training, Rai had already sent half his students packing.
Although Leila's unit had suffered heavy casualties, with the number of soldiers halved, Pruella's ambush had left her completely helpless. The other students had wisely decided to hold back.
"Is that some sort of joke? Even a low-level event like this shouldn't be this one-sided."
Whether Leila was shining or the next instructor was wailing, Aslan's gaze stayed fixed on the battlefield footage rather than the display.
Even if the festival brought in a huge profit, the equipment costs were enormous. The mana stones consumed were a luxury the army rarely used, yet the academy—currently slashing budgets—was unlikely to afford them.
"No matter how tight the money is, you have to spend when the time comes."
Leaning back in his chair as if asleep, Rai's casual remark left Aslan blinking in confusion.
"You don't have to pull off such stunts. Legandia Academy already enjoys plenty of fame. It would be smarter to save every coin."
"Thinking about management? My hard work finally paid off. You finally started thinking."
"I was always thinking about it. I just didn't say anything."
Complaining under his breath, Aslan turned away, sensing that Rai felt the same way.
Watching Rai's behavior, Diana's eyes sparkled with mischief as she straightened up and offered an explanation.
"Yes, yes. Let's start practicing the habit of thinking a little more. The academy has to recover its lost honor."
"Lost honor?"
Not a single major incident had ever struck the academy so far. If forced to name one, it would be the case where Orle had framed Zeroa.
After Zeroa's suspicion was cleared thanks to the students' quiet efforts and Orle—the real culprit—was captured, the Ketel Faith theft charge had never stuck. The students had helped secure the guards, winning genuine honor for their actions.
Aslan nodded, thinking everything was fine, but Rai gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Students helped reveal the real culprit! Those wild, hero-loving youths will love something like this."
"Ignorant old farts, you mean?"
"It has nothing to do with age. Exactly what it depends on is whether you're an academy student or not."
Rai scanned the crowd gathered in the square and continued.
"What would outsiders who don't belong to the academy—the ones who don't make up the majority—think of this?"
"Students who helped catch the real criminal are magnificent?"
"Too one-dimensional for me."
Aslan's reply drew a chuckle from Rai.
"The academy's students are blaspheming a god."
"But that's..."
"Yes, it was Orle, a student from the academy, who blasphemed a god. It's not Zeroa and Orle who are being talked about—it's the academy's own excellent students committing a crime. That's all that remains."
Even in Legandia, Zeroa was just a drop in the bucket on a continental scale. Most people had no idea that students had exposed the real culprit and cleared Zeroa's name. What mattered to the outside world was only that academy students had defiled a god and stolen a sacred relic.
The academy might feel they had handled it well internally, but from an external viewpoint, the memory would linger that the academy's students had committed a grave offense. With future guardians of the empire being trained by the academy, questions would naturally arise about their instructors and the academy itself.
"... ... It was that Orle bastard..."
"Yes, the diligent student who studied hard in the academy—Orle."
Rai gave a faint smile, feeding Aslan the perspective outsiders would adopt.
Aslan's face twisted in disgust, like he'd bitten into something rotten, and he stayed silent.
"Many people will question the academy's education, its instructors, and even the headmaster. As a chance to attack, there will be plenty of critics and aggressors."
"... ..."
"From the academy's standpoint, we must restore our honor at all costs. Look at the bigger picture. Everyone doesn't think the same way. What we see and what we choose to see depends on where we stand."
On the surface, the incident had been satisfying for an individual, but when viewed as a group, the academy had only suffered loss.
Gradually widening his view thanks to Rai's explanation, Aslan fell into silent contemplation.
Seeing that his thoughtless attitude was a good sign, Rai rose from his seat without a word and walked away.
"Rai-kkang!"
"Kuek!"
As Rai tried to leave his seat, Diana pounced on his shoulder and sent him tumbling to the floor.
"I told you not to do that!"
"But you were too defenseless—I couldn't resist."
"I wasn't defenseless at all."
Diana's bright face lit up as she grabbed Rai's hand and helped him up.
"Let's go eat something delicious."
"What about your commentary?"
"It was always meant to be handled by Seset in the second half. I can't just sit and comment while something fun is happening."
Without waiting for Rai's reply, she tugged him along toward the stalls.
"Ten drinks for today and all kinds of cake, please!"
"You planning to eat all of that?"
"Eee~ Do you think I'm a pig? You have to share delicious food."
Diana, arms full, led Rai toward the entrance.
There, academy students were checking people entering.
"Hey! Everyone thirsty? The generous Diana has delivered snacks~"
"Oh, I'm already tired, but thanks."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
While the students and staff divided into shifts for a short break, Diana kept checking those entering the venue.
"Annoying..."
"I'll give you snacks, so just help for a bit until the kids get a break."
"Are you treating me like a wild animal?"
"Huhuhu—me, make you tame?"
Diana dragged Rai along as she walked among the people arriving at the academy.
Watching Diana dart around, flashing bright smiles at everyone, the students praised her.
"Only Diana could do it."
"The management office is looking for Diana, right?"
"If it were Diana, she'd have solved it already. What are we supposed to worry about?"
The conversation clearly showed her popularity.
As Rai listened to their words while being pulled along by Diana's lifeless expression, he understood why staff alone couldn't manage such a large event. Students had voluntarily stepped up to help.
Security at key locations, guiding visitors—there were many tasks requiring hands, and Diana handled most of them.
After the break, Diana switched with the other students and sat with them.
"Diana has such beautiful hands."
"Yo..."
One student spoke enviously, but the one beside him shot a warning look and stopped him.
Calling beautiful hands a compliment might sound nice, but to the students it was not praise. A warrior's skill was clear from their hands.
This famous saying meant you could tell how much effort a person had put in simply by looking at their hands.
Apart from the pure mages, no student had smooth hands.
Even Aria, who had chosen to train against a duke's elite squad to avoid hard calluses, had calluses on her fingers. Diana's flawless hands were beautiful, yet they also symbolized laziness.
"Hehehe—look, my hands are prettier than Aria's! Ah! Come taste these soft hands!"
But Diana paid no attention and instead rubbed the cheeks of the students with her bright, cheerful face.
The students laughed at her playful antics, while Rai quietly watched Diana's hands.
"Then I'll go enjoy the festival!"
After Diana bowed and stood up, the students raised no complaints.
They knew perfectly well that she had plenty of work still involved with the event.
Watching Diana drag the unwilling Rai away, the students giggled and returned to their duties.
"Diana's supplies are almost gone—are there any leftovers?"
"Diana-senpai! Play with me too!"
"Diana, too many people are crowding B area..."
Whenever Aslan wandered the academy grounds, students sought out Diana.
Some simply wanted to talk, while others asked to play together.
While she handled the festival duties and played with them, making her life busy, Rai remarked, "Aren't you tired?"
"Eh? It's fun."
Finally seated on a bench after roaming the entire festival grounds, Diana stretched her legs and rested them on Rai's thigh.
"You've taken on too much, haven't you?"
"Eee~ But everyone's asking me to do it. Besides, being busy is part of enjoying the festival."
Even while busy, Diana moved from stall to stall, tasting delicious food and enjoying the event with people.
Rai gazed at Diana's calf resting on his thigh and began massaging it.
"Ee—pervert!"
"Get some sleep."
"Eh? Even when I try, I fall asleep the moment nine o'clock hits. I also take morning naps and sleep ten hours a day. If I sleep more here, won't that disqualify me as a human?"
"Yeah? Sleep more."
"Hahaha, what would a teacher say? 'Diana, since you have talent, you must work harder!' That would be insulting talent!"
As if imitating someone, Diana spoke in a deeper voice.
Yet her bright energy clashed with Rai's usual calm demeanor. Diana glanced at him curiously, then turned her head away.
"Yes, yes. That's the end of the service. If you want to touch my legs, play with me more."
Diana lowered her legs, stood, and extended her hand to Rai.
Rai stared at her hand, flawless and smooth, as Diana blushed and lightly clenched it.
"Ah, this isn't it."
Diana rummaged in her bag, placed a cookie on her palm, and offered it.
"I'm not a wild animal."
"Ehehe—come on, tame me!"
Rai took the cookie from Diana's hand and ate it before standing up.
The two walked around various places together until the festival ended, then parted ways.
"Diana, we're gathering for dinner—want to join?"
"No~ It's time for bed~"
"Right, you sleep a lot."
"Hey! Hey! Diana-senpai! Sleep with me?!"
"Eee—I'm scared, I don't want to."
Except for one junior, the students nodded without any reluctance.
Since she slept a lot, Diana rarely made evening plans, so the students had long since grown used to it.
Waving to passersby on her way home, Diana changed into comfortable clothes, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.
"... ..."
After lying still for a moment, Diana let out a small sigh and sat up.
Twisting her stiff body, she pushed all the furniture in the room to one side, gripped her sword, and focused her mind.
With no trace of laughter on her face, she stared at the blade in her hand.
Slowly the sword moved, repeating simple motions.
Late into the night, cheerful sounds drifted from outside, yet Diana's sword never stopped.