10. Taming the Wolf
10. Taming the Wolf
A fight broke out on the very first day, but everyone just saw it as an entertaining spectacle.
That was what duels were.
After looking into it, I found out the family wasn't that great.
It was minor enough that a far more prestigious family like Simore wouldn't even need to worry about handling the aftermath.
Though I didn't think Riber had challenged him to a duel with that in mind.
'Charles Frazier... I'll have to remember that name.'
But the glare that bastard shot at Riber and Amy after the duel was over wasn't something you could just ignore.
Who knew what he might do later, so I decided to remember him.
Just as no one protected the exam-admitted students when the recommendation-admitted students treated them poorly, no one cared about the outcome being decided by a legitimate duel.
Because in this place, that was an entirely natural thing.
The strong bullying the weak, resolving personal disputes with duels, and even if someone died in the process, there were no legal problems whatsoever—all of it was just a fact of life in this world.
—————————————————————————-
The first day at the academy passed without any major incidents.
This kind of uneventful situation would likely continue for about a week.
During the first week, the professors mostly just did self-introductions and explained future plans, and the more perceptive students could be seen fiercely sizing each other up.
Most classes were clustering around their respective 'Five Pillars,' but our class was an exception.
"Lady Russell...!! Where did she disappear to??"
"I'll go check over there."
The first day's classes were over and everyone was dispersing, but the hallway was noisy.
Students from our class were busily looking for someone.
I didn't even need to check who they were looking for.
"They're looking for you. Aren't you going to go?"
"...!"
Because Lucia was right around the corner, peeking out and monitoring their movements.
When I spoke to her, Lucia flinched in surprise and hugged me.
"Shh..."
With a height difference of nearly 40cm, Lucia's hug buried my face right in her chest, but Lucia didn't mind.
The soft cushion effectively enveloped my face.
'...It's unpleasant, but nice. A complicated feeling.'
My mouth and nose were compressed, making it hard to breathe properly. When I inhaled as hard as I could, a sweet, cloying floral scent of high-grade perfume wafted from Lucia's embrace.
The fact that Lucia and I had this much of a height difference hit me directly, along with the memory of being called small the first time we met, so I felt a little choked up. But the luxurious cushioning sensation was so splendid that I didn't push her away.
She must have meant for me to be quiet. She hid remarkably well without being noticed, despite being so big.
The reason our class was unusual was simply that Lucia was extremely shy and would run away whenever people gathered.
With the pillar meant to be the center nowhere in sight, the students loyal to the Five Pillars' families panicked. And with the tiger absent, fox-like bastards were watching for a chance to act like the masters.
Only after confirming that the group looking for her had completely disappeared in another direction did Lucia finally realize she was hugging me.
"...!!"
The soft cushioning sensation disappeared.
Realizing what she had been doing, Lucia's face flushed red.
"This is..."
The flustered Lucia tried to say something, but my sparring time with Riber was approaching.
"Right, I'm sure there were circumstances. I have something to do, so I'll be off..."
As I turned my back and tried to leave, Lucia grabbed my hand.
"Just a moment...!"
"Do you have more business with me?"
Perhaps she was choosing what to say? Lucia shut her lips tight for a moment, said nothing, and hung her head deeply.
Since she seemed to have something to say, I was willing to hear her out first, but...
"...Just once..."
Restless and fidgeting, with her face flushed red, Lucia was breathing roughly and anxiously.
"Could I... hug you just one more time...?"
"No."
I ran away without looking back.
And so the first day at the academy came to a close.
————————————————————————-
Before dinner, during the free period, I arrived at the clearing where I had met Riber in the morning.
In the clearing, Riber had arrived early and was waiting.
Usually, she never smiled, but a faint smile hung on Riber's face as she waited with a scimitar at her hip.
Yes, that smile.
She had been smiling like that during the duel in the morning too.
The education she received—to confront injustice head-on was the right thing to do—was certainly a factor, but fundamentally, it was probably because of that personality of hers that just loved fighting. But with a personality like that, mediocre skill became poison instead.
If she kept charging in head-on, she might get tangled up, suffer badly, and die.
If Riber truly had boarded the fate of the protagonist... I had to make sure she acquired enough skill not to die a mysterious death somewhere.
"You hated it so much this morning. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"You're too weak, so you need to get stronger."
"I'm weak?"
"Yeah, weak."
"I'm... weak, huh... Interesting. Then how strong are you?"
"You're not even comparable to me... Fine. If we just fight as-is, it'll be unfair, so let's do this. In this spar, I won't use a single technique other than the four basic stances."
"Ha..! I've been underestimated..."
Riber took her stance.
Legs forward, body leaning forward, sword slightly raised—a stance like a predator about to charge at any moment.
It was the Wolf Stance, one of the basic stances of Imperial Swordsmanship.
A stance resembling a wolf baring its fangs at its prey, the Wolf Stance was the starting point for all techniques of Simore-style swordsmanship.
Even that arrogant noble brat had just blocked the frantic onslaught as soon as he saw that stance, and the match was decided in no time.
'I'll make sure you can never say that again..!'
To counter it, I straightened my back and lowered my sword lightly to the lower guard.
It was one of the basic stances of Imperial Swordsmanship, called the Snake Stance because it resembled a snake crawling on the ground, aiming for its prey.
The golden wolf began its charge.
At that speed, she could have dug into my flank, but her pride must have been wounded, as she charged straight in to break through my defense head-on.
In her ready stance, the scimitar—a broad, curved blade positioned mid-guard, ideal for slashing—remained fixed.
She closed the distance in an instant, entering the range of my long sword, its superior reach clearly visible.
What move would she make?
We were at a distance where our swords could touch directly.
It was time for the swords to move.
If there was no movement, it would be a thrust from that same stance,
or a slash while lightly deflecting my long sword,
The most straightforward would be to lock our blades together, suppress any incoming attack aimed at me, and slash the arm.
If you think of swordsmanship combat as playing a fighting game with your own body, it becomes easier to grasp.
The one who panics loses without exception.
Riber's sword moved.
My long sword moved at the same time, predicting where it would go.
-Chaeng!!
The scimitar and the long sword locked.
"One round."
Riber's scimitar was blocked by my long sword's cross guard, and the tip of my long sword was aimed at Riber's throat.
If I had applied a little more force in that position, it would have inflicted a fatal wound on Riber's neck.
Riber's first movement had been a feint to lock blades, which twisted into a slash.
Having read that, I switched from the Snake Stance to the Wolf Stance, raised my long sword, blocked the scimitar's arc with the cross guard, and simultaneously pressed the tip of my sword to Riber's throat.
Riber probably thought she had scored a point, only to realize she was the one who got hit. It must have been bewildering.
"You're not going to say it's over with this, are you?"
"One... more..!"
Confirming she couldn't win a head-on psychological battle, Riber this time utilized her signature mobility.
She dug into my flank outside the long sword's reach, making it hard to tell which side she would strike from, then executed a thrust from my blind spot. If we were of similar level, I might have been hit...
But from the start, Riber didn't realize that opening itself was bait. She bit, and her scimitar sliced through the air, while the blade of my long sword gently touched her shoulder.
"Well, does my skill seem worthy of that big talk you gave?"
"Urgh...!"
Riber's expression twisted slightly.
Through those two exchanges, Riber would have clearly realized the significant gap in skill between us.
But perhaps because of her pride, or maybe because she had more to confirm... Riber didn't stop the spar.
"Haa... haa...."
After that, the situation didn't change much.
No matter how many different approaches Riber tried, the moment I moved, the match was decided.
The sword of 'reacting late but striking first', a sword that moves later yet arrives first—it was a high-difficulty technique only possible when you've completely seen through your opponent.
From Riber's perspective, as someone who used the swordsmanship of 'striking first to subdue', it must have been a deeply frustrating situation.
And it wasn't even some amazing swordsmanship technique—I was using only the four basic stances to dismantle her family's secret swordsmanship.
She knew she couldn't overcome the skill gap immediately, but whether it was to accumulate experience, because she thought she still had a chance, or because she just couldn't admit it—I couldn't know her innermost thoughts.
But Riber was throwing herself at me with incredible desperation, and that tenacity to not give up confirmed to me that she was indeed born with the fate of a protagonist.
In this world, if you know nothing else, if you just have two things deeply ingrained—the tenacity not to give up even when you hit a wall, and thorough self-rationalization—you can succeed without fail.
"You can become much stronger than this."
As we continued sparring without any particular signal to stop, I spoke first.
The spar was already over.
What we were doing now was just me indulging Riber's stubbornness.
It was about time to talk about what came next.
"My goal is for you to reach the top-tier of Expert before this school year ends."
"Haa.. haa.. Top-tier Expert? That's right under Master... Is that even possible?"
Once again, Riber's scimitar sliced through empty air.
She should have stepped properly, but fatigue must have accumulated—her feet tangled and she was about to tumble to the ground, so I caught Riber's torso with my right arm.
"It's up to you whether you do it or not. Why would you think you can't?"
My body pressed close to Riber's.
Supporting her with my small stature, I turned my head and Riber's nape, flushed pink, came right into view.
Sniff sniff.
I wasn't thinking anything in particular.
It was just right in front of me, so I caught a whiff without thinking.
From the repeated sparring, Riber's body was soaked with sweat, and her breathing was rough.
Even though her body was drenched with sweat to this degree, there was no unpleasant odor.
There was a refreshing citrusy scent.
"...!"
Realizing I had smelled her, Riber shook off my arm and created distance.
"W-wh-what...!! Why are you smelling my sweat??"
"It was just right next to me. It smelled nice. What kind of perfume do you use?"
"I-I don't use any!!!"
Completely differently from before, flustered,
"A student or whatever... you weren't after my body, were you??"
"Are you crazy!"
Her face bright red, Riber fled the clearing at a much faster speed than when she had been sparring earlier.
I ended up causing a weird misunderstanding.
But the scent was nice.
I could have caught up immediately if I chased her, but I just watched the direction Riber had disappeared into.
"Well then... shall I take care of that lot over there now?"
———————————————————
At dusk, masked thugs gathered at the foot of a hill near the dormitory.
They didn't even wear the brooches that proved their student status. Besides wearing masks, they all had one thing in common: each of them was holding a menacing weapon.
"Remember. Blonde hair, amber eyes."
As the apparent leader of the thugs explained the features in detail, the rest of them all nodded.
The hillside where they were waiting was a place located near the dormitory—it was the only path connecting the clearing Atlas and Riber had their eye on to the dormitory.
The masked thugs hid in the bushes along that sole passage, waiting for the moment Riber would return to the dormitory.
"Young master, no matter what, isn't this a bit... too much...? The opponent is also a noble..."
"A Frazier always repays their grudges. How can I raise my head after being bitten by a southern watchdog!!"
When the thug right behind the leader spoke up, the leader got angry and took off his mask.
The face revealed beneath belonged to Charles, who had lost the duel against Riber that morning.
"We are simply conducting a 'duel'. We demanded a 6-on-6 group fight, but that bitch just accepted the duel alone. Whatever unsavory things happen afterward are the just rights of us, the victors of the duel."
"I wonder what's inside that watchdog. Curious."
"So when is she coming? My neck's about to snap from waiting."
The thugs gathered here were all students he had rounded up.
The son of a viscount belonging to his vassal group, a knight-hopeful admitted via exam, a friend who tagged along just because it looked fun—
These were the people who went along with the trashy proposal of ganging up on a girl because a little brat got beaten by her in a one-on-one duel.
"It's about time she passes... The dormitory curfew is soon, so she'll definitely come back!"
"Hmm~ I see."
Which meant there was no need for mercy. I slowly revealed myself from where I had been hiding in the shadows of the trees.
"What?? Who the hell are you!!"
"No need to know. But what are you going to do... Riber isn't coming this way."