Sudden Attack
In the first checkpoint, the groups had completely mixed, but in Class B only Team 7 and Team 8 overlapped.
To move on to the next checkpoint, every team had to arrive there. They had been waiting a long time, yet Team 8 still showed no sign of appearing.
“What’s going on?” Zeroa murmured anxiously. He had watched the signal flares rise earlier. Rai, sprawled out on the ground in a carefree pose, answered without a care.
“Whatever is happening, we’re supposed to be resting comfortably at this time.”
Philia and her close friend Cesset lounged comfortably beside Rai. A blanket had been laid out, and Cesset was nibbling on smoked meat while humming a tune. She looked utterly unconcerned.
“Fuhuhu~ Fuhung~ Tastes good~ Fuhuhung~ Huh? What?”
“Nothing,” Zeroa replied, turning away. Cesset noticed his glance and grinned.
“You don’t need to worry. Zeroa is always full of worry.”
“But it’s already so late…”
“Yes, they must be handling their duties. If Philia said it’s fine, then it’s fine.”
Cesset reached for more meat as if it were just a snack. Rai picked one out and asked casually.
“You seem to trust her a lot.”
“Among everyone I know, if asked who I trust most, it would be Philia. Not even Grandfather.”
Cesset’s grandfather was a renowned mage. He had served as a court magician in the former empire, even before the word “pure” was attached to mages. He was in the same generation as Vice Principal Bright.
“Your grandfather that strict mage? The one who beats people with his fists even though he’s a wizard.”
“Wh-what? You’re insulting Grandfather right now?”
“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
Cesset’s grandfather, Neufmar, had clashed with Rai several times. No matter how much his appearance had changed, he had once been a court magician. Rai could not possibly have escaped notice.
Rai was not trying to hide his identity, but he had never wanted someone he didn’t know to hear his past stories. He immediately apologized and withdrew.
While Cesset and Rai bantered, Team 8 finally arrived at the checkpoint, but only three members were present—Philia among them.
Everyone stared in astonishment, but Cesset understood at once. Gilbard was missing from the team, so Philia had handled everything perfectly. She had not expected to be removed from training entirely, of course.
“Gilbard Franchend. Disqualified under military law. Executed.”
Dudley handed the report to the instructor overseeing the checkpoint. The students gasped at the word “executed.” Even the instructor’s eyes widened in shock as he read the report and frowned.
Phil’s gaze was steady, but she reported calmly to the instructor and headed toward Team 7’s position.
“Hey, execution platform. What happened to Gilbard’s head?”
Rai lay on the ground joking. Phil smiled faintly.
“Rats don’t need their heads anymore.”
“…”
Every time Rai made a joke that sounded like he was provoking her, Phil gave him a disgusted look and ignored it. Rai had expected the same this time, but her bright, cheerful expression left him speechless.
Cesset shot upright. “How did you do it?!” she asked. Phil explained the situation as if it were someone else’s story.
Philia had violated military law, but from the academy students’ perspective, carrying out an execution was an extreme choice that was hard to imagine. Yet she had created the first disqualification by execution in academy history.
“Nice one.” Rai nodded in approval. Zeroa, however, thought an execution was still too much.
While the two teams chatted, the instructor held a meeting with the staff. They decided to let the new Team 8—now three members—continue. The instructor announced the changes. Rai was chosen for Team 7, and Phil for the new Team 8.
Dudley’s suggestion was that since Phil had taken on too many roles in her team, the others needed checking. Another opinion was to place the ruthless leader who had executed an academy student in a new team to evaluate her actions.
“Ehehe~ Rai-kkang, you must get along well without me. I’ll miss you.”
“Don’t leave my meat pouch behind.”
“No way. Meat is Team 7’s communal asset. I can’t give it away. You’re the one leaving, Rai-kkang.”
“You have your own things. Don’t be greedy.”
Rai and Cesset exchanged a few more teasing remarks and parted ways. Tomorrow they would be in the same team again, so there was no point regretting the separation now.
Team 7 welcomed a new female student from Class D. Her name was Tena. The moment she joined, she saw Aria and tears of emotion welled in her eyes.
The training proceeded exactly as Xenia had described—simply marching while the teams rotated. At the next checkpoint, Cesset switched teams, and the new male student reacted to Aria with the same overwhelming emotion, then prayed to the gods.
Zeroa, who had been hoping to stay in the same team as Aria, sighed with relief when the male student left. In contrast, the male student left with tears in his eyes.
Philia was the one who had switched. After hearing reports of her execution, she had been rotated through teams until she reached Team 7.
“Nice to meet you all. Who’s leading here?”
Neither Tena nor the male student who had left crying was the type to lead. Zeroa and Aria also did not lead. Team 7 had simply marched without a leader, following the flow.
Tena looked at Aria, Aria at Zeroa, Zeroa at Phil. Faced with the silent explanation that no one was in charge, Phil nodded and suggested they all express their opinions together. Tena, who had been cautious about the ruthless person who had executed someone, watched her in surprise.
During their short journey, Phil chatted brightly. To Tena she asked if anything fun had happened in their team; to Zeroa she asked if what Cesset had said was true.
Team 7 now had only Phil and Aria, who was looking at Phil with happy eyes, and they had walked in silence all this time.
Zeroa, who was used to Rai and Cesset’s lively chatter, found the silence painful. When he tried to speak, he had almost no words to say. After a few exchanges and then long stretches of silence, he had stayed quiet. When Phil appeared and brightened the mood, he was relieved.
“Did you really carry Cesset on your back all the way there? Amazing. If it were me, I would have tossed her aside halfway when I got tired.”
“No. She was light.”
“Light? You’ve been complaining about gaining weight lately, yet you eat dessert every day. Wait, have you tried Sothen’s orange cake?”
Phil had no trouble engaging Aria in long conversation despite her few words. She proved far more talkative than Zeroa had expected. He had always seen her as quiet and serious in Team 8, but he had now witnessed her lively side. Perhaps her true self was like this all along, he thought.
Even if the reason was unknown, Zeroa was satisfied with the cheerful atmosphere. Phil suddenly stopped talking, reached for the bag she carried, and turned her gaze beyond the forest. Aria did the same.
Only Zeroa and Tena stared blankly as Phil looked at Brown, who was handling Team 7’s records.
“Can you hear that?”
“…” “… Yeah… It sounds like weapons clashing.”
“Was that part of the training?”
Brown shook his head without a word.
Multiple teams converging on a few checkpoints meant that, no matter how they drew routes, some would always approach closely. The training’s goal was not to add obstacles but to focus on adaptability.
There was no training scenario where weapons clashed. Brown’s serious expression—when he was always half-closed eyes and bothered—meant a serious problem.
“Please take command.”
“Team 7, stay here and wait.”
Even considering the students’ safety, Brown agreed with Phil and ran in the direction of the sound.
The remaining Team 7 looked at one another’s faces.
“I’m going. What about you?”
Philia’s words prompted Aria to nod and draw her rapier. Someone was fighting. They had to help immediately, just in case.
Zeroa knew it was not empty bravado. Even as academy students, they had come from families, training halls, or real combat. Ordinary people could not match them, yet some had defeated veterans who had seen battle. Simply by combat ability, Phil and Aria were at least Brown’s equal or better.
In such a dangerous situation, they would need every hand. The two decided to help even if it meant abandoning training. Tena hesitated slightly, but Aria’s resolve made her draw her sword too.
Zeroa, who had been standing still, followed suit and joined Phil.
Phil had naturally taken the lead, chasing the source of the noise and explaining.
“We’ll provide support as far as possible. If the situation is bad, someone will have to retreat and request help. Is there anyone with confidence in stamina or speed?”
When no one answered, Phil turned to Tena.
“Tena. I’m counting on you.”
“… Yeah, got it.”
Although Tena disliked the idea of leaving her own safety, she believed Phil’s choice was correct and nodded. Simply thinking of safety, leaving the weakest Zeroa behind would have been right, but Tena was faster than him.
This kind of situation was resolved simply by requesting support. They did not know what was happening, so they would check and request aid.
Academy staff carried signal flares. If someone was fighting and no flare was fired, it meant either the situation was not serious or they were fighting legally for some reason.
Tena saw academy students and unknown figures clashing ahead. She did not like the idea of abandoning her post, but she ran to request support without hesitation.
As soon as Tena left, masked black-clad figures chased her, but a few rushed toward Team 7. Phil’s bracelet had already turned blue.
“Push!”
Phil’s shout was followed by a powerful explosion from her and Aria’s swung rapiers, flinging the approaching black-clad figures backward.
Phil and Aria ran through the gap and joined the academy students.
“Oh, Phil! You’re just in time. I was getting tired. Good work.”
Zeroa saw the blue-haired girl speaking brightly even in a crisis. She was Diana Deschubella, the prodigy known as a genius. She had knocked back three black-clad figures with her rapier and now lowered it leisurely.
“Status?”
“Unknown identity, around thirty. Objective: assassination of our princess. Combat ability… mid to low? Not as impressive as expected.”
Phil asked the question. Diana answered casually. The words “assassinate the princess” made Zeroa’s blood run cold. He looked behind her at Emilia.
Emilia, who had a faint layer of dust from the surprise attack, looked dignified even at the gathering point. She held Somneri, who had collapsed, in her arms and had raised a protective barrier. Outside the barrier, only Diana and Abigail were fighting.
“Eh? Abigail?”
Zeroa stared blankly at Abigail, who had not been at training but was now here. Red hair, red eyes, and an insufferably arrogant expression were unforgettable.
Abigail, wearing the same black outfit as the assassins, frowned menacingly at Zeroa.
“What are you staring at? Focus ahead.”
Although the outfit was the same, Abigail was not on their side. She cut down the person in front and retreated from the next assassin’s attack.
Though the situation was chaotic, Phil and Aria maintained formation, blocking the approaching assassins.
“The signal flare?”
Brown had not been seen, nor had any staff with Emilia’s team. Diana answered while waving her arm frantically.
“Some weird barrier has been set. They boasted that sound couldn’t escape. I must have pierced it a little. They’ll be upset.”
While fighting the assassins and the barrier, Diana laughed and swung her rapier.
“What about the academy staff?”
“The staff are fighting that leader over there. They’re not strong, but the leader is quite powerful, so…”
Diana’s words trailed off.
A masked assassin presumed to be the leader grabbed Brown’s head—his sword buried in his abdomen—and dragged him along.
“I was going to say it would be hard to join, but it really is hard.”
Diana placed her rapier on her shoulder and clicked her tongue.
The leader Uraros appeared late, and the assassins fell back into a stalemate. Uraros threw Brown’s unconscious body forward and said.
“Hope for you is now gone. Hand over the sixth princess, and we’ll spare your lives.”
“Fuhng~ Why no hope? I’m still fighting.”
Surrounded by enemies, Diana smiled.
Uraros glanced at the bold girl, then at Emilia.
“The sixth princess, are you really willing to stake your life for such an unnecessary existence? For someone as useless as you?”
“Useless is not for you to decide. Nor for me. It’s not something a person who kills for a living should hear.”
Emilia, who had looked gentle, argued back. Uraros stared at her unflinching, defiant posture and nodded. The other assassins began to move stealthily.
“Everyone, it’s showtime. Don’t die—enjoy yourselves.”
“Crazy woman.”
Abigail cursed and took her stance. Aria stood to the side with her thin rapier lowered. Phil remained in her original alert posture, not moving.
Although their positions looked different, the four who knew formations well adjusted them. Diana gestured for the staring Zeroa.
“Zeroa-kun. Come over here. Dance with me.”
Zeroa approached hesitantly. Diana bumped his shoulder lightly and winked.
Though she was risking her life, she looked anything but serious.
Zeroa, however, was experiencing life-and-death combat for the first time. His breathing grew ragged from tension, and his hands grew sweaty.
He kept opening and closing his unfamiliar grip on the borrowed longsword.
Rai’s words echoed in his head: Prepare for battle at any moment. It was terrifying to imagine wielding a shortsword.
Zeroa’s heart pounded wildly at the assassins’ sharp killing intent.
Calm down.
He shouted inside, but his heart still raced. His vision narrowed; the assassins before him blurred.
Zeroa’s mind went blank. He prayed that everyone would be safe and swung his sword.