Defiance (1)
“……”
What in the world was that absurd scene I witnessed today?
A considerable amount of time had passed since the class assignment ceremony ended, but that utterly unrealistic spectacle still lingered vividly in my mind.
Battōjutsu? Why? How?
I knew exactly what battōjutsu was. A cowardly technique that caught opponents off guard with a surprise attack.
I was well aware of the facts surrounding that man, but why had Teacher Peter proclaimed battōjutsu as the supreme art?
Was he forced into that disgraceful display under threat?
If it was blackmail, what could he have been blackmailed with? If not, why on earth would he act that way? I couldn't even begin to guess.
I don't get it... Just who the hell is that guy?
At first, I'd just thought of him as a suspicious man, but now, in my mind, Ian Bar Tow had shifted from "suspicious" to "dangerous."
With skills like that, he had no need to even enter the academy. So why had he enrolled? What was his purpose...?
Bearing this unsolvable riddle, I arrived at the villa where His Highness Euclid was staying.
As I stood before the entrance, one of the knights guarding the gate approached and bowed to me.
The knights guarding the villa had all memorized my face, so there were no tedious procedures needed.
The knight bowed a bit excessively in greeting, then looked up and said,
“Lady Rain. What brings you here today?”
“I've heard His Highness isn't feeling well, so I've come to pay my respects. Please inform him of my visit.”
“Understood. I'll relay the message right away. Please wait a moment.”
A few minutes after he entered, the one who emerged from the door wasn't that knight or His Highness Euclid, but a massive knight clad head to toe in blue armor.
She was more like a walking fortress wall than a knight, and as she approached the gate, it felt like the ground thrummed with each step—even though it didn't actually.
“Step aside for a moment.”
“Yes!”
Upon her arrival at the gate, the remaining knight swiftly moved without question.
“It's been a while, Lady Rain.”
“Yes, it's been a while for me as well, Knight Nana.”
Nana—a cute, village-girl name that clashed with her towering frame over two meters tall—but her swordsmanship was anything but cute.
At an age not much different from mine, her skills had already earned her an appointment as captain of the royal knights. There was no doubt about it.
“...How is His Highness Euclid?”
“It's a common occurrence even in the kingdom, so there's no need for deep concern. However, his condition isn't great, so he asked me to decline your visit.”
“I see...”
He'd seemed so healthy the last time we met, but what could I say about it?
“Then I'll take my leave. Please convey my wishes for his swift recovery.”
“Of course, I will. I'm truly sorry it turned out this way when you've come all this way.”
As Knight Nana saw me off on my way back to the academy, I glanced up at the room His Highness had been in during my previous visit to the villa.
A light was on.
For some reason, I stopped midway. I stared intently at the room, shrouded by curtains that hid everything inside.
And after a moment...
A faint shadow of feminine curves appeared on the curtain, and my heart began to race wildly.
...Who?
A maid? Or some other woman?
I couldn't tell. I didn't even have the courage to find out.
“Hngh...!”
*****
Was it because my face became known after the entrance ceremony? As I headed to the special classroom prepared for S-Class, students' gazes poured onto me.
They weren't friendly at all—tongue clicks echoed here and there—but thinking that battōjutsu was finally getting attention lifted my spirits.
Cowards... If you don't like it, just come at me right now.
If I'd failed to make S-Class, I would've drawn on every S-Class student there and taken their spots.
They lacked the guts for that and the magnanimity to accept their own shortcomings, so just glaring at me made me snort involuntarily.
“Heh!”
As I felt their stares heat up even more upon hearing that tiny sound,
“Hey! Wait a second!!”
The roll-bread-haired lady—who was so amusing she made me want to burst out laughing rather than just snort—called out to me, but I ignored her.
I kept walking forward, staring straight ahead as if I hadn't heard a thing. Jessica caught up, panting, and said,
“You did this yesterday too—why today?! I told you yesterday! It's fine to talk now!! So answer me quick! What the hell happened yesterday?!”
Since yesterday, Jessica had been trailing me, persistently hounding me about the little incident at the class assignment ceremony.
Of course, to keep my promise to her, I'd kept my mouth firmly shut, but she wouldn't give up, following and asking until I returned to the boys' dorm.
Surprisingly, she didn't barge into the boys' dorm.
If it were me, I'd have chased her into the girls' dorm—or even the bathroom—to get answers.
Since she'd stopped at the right place, a few days of silence might make her give up on her own.
“Are you even listening to me?!”
When we reached the S-Class exclusive building a bit away from the main academy structure, I figured it was time to speak and approached a nearby flower bed.
Jessica followed, of course, standing beside me in front of it with a puzzled look.
I stood at the flower bed and, avoiding the blooms, used my scabbard to carefully write letters one by one in the bare soil.
[Apologize for being cold.]
Jessica watched with narrowed eyes until the writing was complete, then her face twisted completely.
It was a demand for the apology Jessica should have offered long ago for hurting my feelings.
Seeing it, instead of apologizing, she pointed at me indignantly and yelled,
“Apologize for what?! I didn't do anything wrong to begin with...!”
Instead of replying, I whipped my head away just like she once did to me.
Having dealt with me enough to grasp my personality somewhat, Jessica realized yelling wouldn't work and hung her head.
“S-So...!”
As her trembling, stuttering voice reached me, the corners of my mouth crept upward.
“What?! What was that?! I can't hear our cute Jessica's voice properly!”
“S-So...!!!”
Whether my encouragement actually helped, Jessica's voice grew louder as she shouted at me,
“...You crazy bastard, you're the one who messed up first!!”
With that, Jessica bolted toward the distant S-Class building.
If you're gonna curse, use casual speech from start to finish—why mix in formal at the end...?
Her ingrained politeness slipping out like that was utterly adorable.
“Sorry, Jessica!! I'll tell you, so let's go together!!”
“Shut up!! Don't follow me or talk to me!!!”
Jessica fled from me, and I chased after her—a scene straight out of some youthful drama I'd seen on Earth.
In that cheerful mood, Jessica and I arrived at the S-Class building and headed straight inside without stopping anywhere.
“Whoa...”
It wasn't quite on the level of the main academy building, but the S-Class structure was grand enough to make my family home look like a doghouse.
Standing at the entrance like some country bumpkin visiting the capital for the first time, soaking it in, Jessica smirked and said,
“Heh... I forgot for a sec, but you're a low noble, right?”
“Yeah. Not sure how long I'll stay that way, though.”
Bloodlines of kings, queens, generals, and ministers weren't set in stone. Depending on how the story unfolded, I might even become king.
I had no particular loyalty to the royal family, and it might even help spread battōjutsu far and wide.
“Jessica, if I became king, what kind of country do you think it'd be?”
“The first nation in history where the entire populace chooses mass suicide. ...But wow, you sure say that casually. Depending on the place, that could be treason.”
“Hm... That doesn't sound half bad.”
The whole kingdom charging to lop off my head. What a thrilling life that would be.
Imagining the countless battōjutsu draws in that scenario made my mouth water involuntarily.
“If that day comes, I'd love for you to be the one to come kill me, Jessica.”
“Naturally. I'll make sure to twist off that arrogant head of yours.”
“Scary enough to make my legs shake. If that day comes, I'll go easy on you, so don't worry.”
“Tch...!”
Together with Jessica, who clicked her tongue at the blatant provocation, we entered the classroom. One student was already there, sitting demurely at her desk.
“Jessica, you know her?”
“......No, I know her face, but we're not personally close. And don't talk to me like we're buddies. It's unpleasant.”
Leaving those words, Jessica sat in an empty chair, and I took a nearby one.
I considered saying something to her, but the depressive aura radiating even here made it impossible.
Thus passed an excruciatingly awkward silence among the three of us, until footsteps approached from afar.
This S-Class special building's first floor had other rooms, but only this one was actually used.
So those footsteps were headed here—but there was more than one set, and crucially, they weren't Peter's.
Who is it?
My gaze naturally turned to the door. Opening it came several first-year students like me, all wearing uneasy expressions.
What the hell are these guys?
Spotting me, they approached and said with increasingly anxious vibes,
“You're Ian Bar Tow, right?!”
“Didn't I attend the class assignment ceremony? Of course I'm Ian Bar Tow. You think the cute roll-bread-haired lady over there is Ian Bar Tow?”
“......Shut up.”
As Jessica replied haughtily, the man who seemed to be their leader pointed at me and declared,
“Th-Then it's settled! Ian Bar Tow!!”
“What?”
“I challenge you to a duel!!”
“......What?”
What the hell did this guy just say?