Class Assignment Ceremony
I could feel the astonished gazes shifting from Peter to me, filling my entire body with an indescribable sense of superiority.
Did you see that, you ignorant masses? This is Battōjutsu—the supreme sword art, usable only by chosen swordsmen.
Now, at least some of the nonsense rumors that scheming political knight Peter spread would finally die down, if not completely.
"Falthahaha!!!"
I couldn't stop laughing. As I let out another hearty burst of laughter, Jessica asked from beside me.
"Y-you...!! What the hell did you do?!"
Even as she said it, Jessica kept her eyes fixed on the principal, as if she wanted nothing to do with me.
"W-what? Say something...! That was you who did it, right?!"
Jessica kept pressing me for an answer, but I said nothing.
For the next two days, I wouldn't speak to her—that was the promise Jessica and I had made.
It wasn't like I was sulking because she was being cold to me or anything.
"Q-quickly, answer...!!"
"H-hey there...!!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the platform—cold yet somehow laced with heat—cutting Jessica off.
The source, Marina, was trembling with flustered anger as she pointed at me.
"......Q-quiet down and take your seats immediately."
"Yeah."
Part of me wanted to mock her a bit longer, but I'd already achieved my goal, so I obediently sat down.
One wrong word, and those eyes of hers would pin some ridiculous charge on me and boot me from the academy.
"......Sir Peter."
Marina turned back to Peter, calling his name in a frosty tone, and a swirl of pure white snow enveloped his body.
"...We'll talk later."
The snow whipped around Peter, and when it cleared, he was gone—as if he'd never been there to begin with.
Space transfer magic, huh.
In the novel, those snowflakes were just for show; she cast teleportation magic while they obscured her view.
If I hadn't known the truth, I'd have thought it was some flashy spell, but now I couldn't help snickering.
Marina caught even that tiny chuckle, her eyes blazing as she glared at me.
Hysterical woman. No wonder she's still unmarried at her age.
Marina waited until the commotion Peter had caused settled, then resumed the class assignment ceremony as if nothing had happened.
"Now, for the Knight Department..."
As she restarted, Marina paused and bowed her head.
Her face was nearly buried in the platform, so I couldn't see her expression, but her back alone radiated visible fury.
"Hoo.... Knight Department, Ian Bar Tow. Come forward."
"Me?"
Stunned that Peter actually knew how to separate personal grudges from duty, I slowly rose from my seat.
"Hmph...."
Jessica, sitting next to me, glanced over with an expression that said she got it but wasn't fully convinced, then sharply turned her head away.
As I descended the stairs toward the platform, a barrage of gazes—laden with all sorts of emotions—fixed on me.
The puzzled.
The jealous.
The appraising.
Those who could gauge even a sliver of the skill gap between us quietly averted their eyes, but the rest refused to drop their infuriating stares.
...Should I teach them a lesson about knowing their place?
As my hand instinctively reached for Nanga's hilt, Marina's icy mana halted me.
My footsteps faltered unconsciously, and our gazes clashed across the distance.
"......"
"......"
We stood frozen, glaring, until I backed down first.
I wasn't truly angry anyway, and from an Adam Smith-style Battōjutsu economics perspective, not drawing was the profitable choice. I obediently lowered my hand.
...I'll crush that ice bitch someday.
Harboring that secret resolve, I walked to the platform where Marina stood.
Standing right next to her, in the spot where the second-year S-Class student had been earlier, I could see all the students in the hall at a glance.
As I calmly took in the dumbfounded faces of these losers who couldn't even gauge my superiority, Marina continued.
"Knight Department, Jessica von Grind. Come forward...."
Called by Marina, Jessica rose without a hint of surprise—as if she'd known—and stepped forward.
Unlike when I was called, friendly gazes turned her way.
Not all were friendly, of course. Some mixed in jealousy, others lecherous desire.
But Jessica ignored them, descending to the platform with leisurely grace, almost enjoying it.
"......"
As she neared me, Jessica glanced my way but stopped a few steps short of standing beside me.
Feeling a pang at her iciness, I heard Marina speak again.
"Knight Department, Rain von Reinhardt. Come forward."
Though not the next Sword Saint herself, her sister piqued my interest.
Mine and Jessica's gazes turned to Rain, descending with steady footsteps.
Gleaming sky-blue hair, visible even in the dim light.
If Jessica's beauty was flashy like striking gold, Rain's was refined—like a masterfully forged sword.
Considering they're sisters, the older one must have sky-blue hair too, right?
In the original, she was golden-haired, now changed to sky-blue. Proof that foreign blood—impossible in the original—had mixed in somewhere.
Even if not directly from a possessor, some cause had altered it.
Maybe the family she was marrying into changed, or possessor blood had entered that lineage.
Either way, investigating the Sword Saint's family would reveal the related possessor quickly.
"......"
Rain descended with an icy expression, glanced at me once, then hurried past to my side.
What's her deal? Anyway, only the prince left now.
The next Sword Saint was the biggest deviation from the original, so I'd hoped for a close look, but alas, I didn't meet the prince that day.
"That damn brat...!!!"
The worst.
Today wasn't just the worst entrance ceremony since the academy's founding—it was the worst day of my life.
The prince couldn't attend due to illness, and Sir Peter had shown an unspeakable disgrace before the entire student body.
What else could you call this but the worst? Even demon worshippers invading would've been better.
"Sir Peter!!!"
I flung open the door to the room where I'd teleported Sir Peter, rushing to his side. He sat on the bed, his face beyond gloomy—like the world had ended.
Sir Peter looked up at my call, his expression so dour it made his initial cheerfulness seem like a lie.
Overwhelmed by his face, I forgot my scolding and asked in a tone like worrying over a sick friend.
"S-Sir Peter...!! W-what happened?! What could make you act like that...!"
"......Nothing happened. I dueled and lost. That's all."
"L-Lost?!"
My first thought was, naturally, dirty tricks.
How else could a royal knight captain—not just any knight—lose to a mere student?
And not to a publicly acclaimed genius like the next Sword Saint, but some lowly baronet.
"Did he use some cowardly trick?!"
"...No. If he had, that might've been better. The duel was fair and square. We clashed fairly, and I lost...."
I couldn't close my gaping mouth at words no sane person would utter.
I'd known Ian wasn't normal since he blasted Sir Peter away that day, but I never imagined this level.
Dangerous...
Madmen are frightening for many reasons, but the scariest is their unpredictability.
I couldn't foresee what outrageous act Ian might pull to trouble me next.
Mentioning expulsion got him to listen somewhat, but nothing else worked.
Pressuring his family? He was the family head, so no dice.
What the hell is his goal in enrolling here?!
With that skill, he didn't need the academy.... Not here for socializing like lesser nobles either.
Expulsion threats worked, so he had some purpose here, but I couldn't guess it.
"Urgh...!! Huh?"
As I clutched my head in agony, Peter—who'd seemed rooted—suddenly stood.
And, as if to pile on my misery, he said the last thing I wanted to hear.
"......I should have mentioned this days ago, but I'm sorry to say it now. I wish to resign...."
"W-what?!"
"How can I teach other students when I can't even beat one? And after that disgrace, I can't show my face...."
"Urgh...!!"
Ridiculous. By that logic, last year's first-year homeroom teachers—who failed to teach the next Sword Saint properly—should all be fired.
I grabbed Sir Peter's hand as he tried to flee and scolded him.
"Sir Peter!! I know this wounded your pride deeply, but calm down!! Who else could take over S-Class if not you?!"
"I know full well how irresponsible this sounds...."
"Then you know you must withdraw it! And imagine this: Ian leaving the academy without proper education!!"
I said "imagine," but even I couldn't picture it.
Madmen's actions are unpredictable.
Thus, nothing came to mind—just endless, abyssal darkness.
"...I can't even imagine it."
"Exactly!! So we must seize this chance, while we still have his leash, and make him even a little human!!"
Turning a beast into a man.
Exaggerated perhaps, but fail, and the kingdom might have no future.