The Desant Sword
"So, for today's shift assignment—Squad Leader?"
The moment Hanswel brought up work, Evelyn vanished on the spot.
She moved so fast that for an instant, she was nothing but a blur.
"Gone again, I see……. Well then, I shall begin distributing the assignments. Heh heh, we've received more support requests than usual today."
The corners of Hanswel's mouth twitched upward. He seemed pleased by the influx of requests.
"Squad 9, which covers the Male Dormitory. Squad 10, covering the Main Building. And even Squad 13, assigned to the Back Gate security. All three requests named Grave specifically. He must have done an excellent job. Since he's been singled out three times, he may choose whichever he likes. The Male Dormitory, the Main Building, or Back Gate inspection—those are your three options."
Hanswel looked at me as he spoke.
Today was the day of Evangeline's Basic Swordsmanship orientation.
She'd just come back from an Aura-attribute Rift, so her Aura stat had probably gone up. I needed to observe her firsthand to confirm it.
"I'll take the Main Building."
"Very well."
"Wh-what about me?"
Milo shot his hand up in a panic. Hanswel scowled and glared at him.
"Squad 10 requested Grave. Milo, you're assigned to Squad 9, covering the Male Dormitory."
"No way! That's nothing but toilet-cleaning duty!"
"Excuse me? Did you just say no?"
"N-no, that's not what I meant—"
"Refusing what you hate and doing only what you like—that's not a job. That's a hobby. Milo, you are at work."
Milo's face scrunched up under Hanswel's tirade.
Then, abruptly, he jabbed a desperate finger at me.
"What if he goes and causes an accident!"
"Grave, cause an accident? Please. Just focus on doing your own job, Milo."
Hanswel clicked his tongue and dismissed him, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Milo shot me a look of wounded injustice, but I ignored him too.
The area around the Main Building was positively radiant. Warm sunlight poured down, and students in their uniforms laughed and chattered—a scene straight out of a coming-of-age film.
These kids. Not a shred of interest in the studying they're supposed to be doing.
Even studying for their lives wouldn't be enough, and here they were flirting around.
I fought down the urge to shave every last head in that crowd.
Unlike the leisurely students, the guard detail hustled about as if their feet were on fire. Not one of them paid me any attention.
The Swordsmanship Lecture Hall was on the third floor, if I remember right.
I slipped naturally into their flow and moved among them.
When I reached the third floor, there it was—the Swordsmanship Lecture Hall.
There were no chairs or desks inside. Instead, a thick carpet of grass covered the floor, with wooden practice swords and training equipment standing here and there.
It looked less like a lecture hall and more like a training ground.
At Elysium Academy, the lecture halls varied wildly depending on the discipline. The dark magic hall, piled with blood, bone, and flesh, resembled a butcher's shop, while the theology hall looked like a monastery.
The closest thing to an ordinary classroom was the magic hall—but even that was crammed with every magical contrivance imaginable, so calling it a mere classroom would have been a stretch.
The practice-heavy Swordsmanship hall took the form of a training ground like this.
Guards were bustling across the spacious hall.
"Did you water that grass over there?!"
"Yes, sir! Watered it!"
"That patch over there's got a divot in it! Fill it in, now!"
The hall's grass was so lush and vibrant that you'd naturally assume it was maintained by magic tools. In reality, the guards tended it by hand. The reason was obvious.
Guards are cheaper than magic tools.
Unlike magic tools that ran on expensive mana stones, guard labor was dirt cheap. Of course the guards did it themselves.
In the game, I'd only ever seen the halls after maintenance was finished, so watching the guards handle it directly was a novelty.
"Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?"
Just then, the guard who'd been barking orders turned and looked me over with narrowed eyes.
"I'm here on support assignment."
"Then hurry up and get over here and pull weeds! What are you standing around daydreaming for!"
The guard roared. I gave a perfunctory nod, went over, and started pulling weeds.
"Hey!! Match the height! What are you doing yanking it up like that!!"
The shout came down like a thunderbolt.
Apparently, even the grass had a regulation height.
Just then, the front door opened, and a familiar face walked in. Hans—the teaching assistant I'd personally educated.
"Assistant Hans, sir!"
The very guard who'd been fuming seconds ago snapped a crisp salute toward Hans. The others scrambled to their feet and bowed as well.
Hans gave only a slight dip of his chin. The man had attitude to spare.
"You're still not finished preparing?"
"Lecture prep is in its final stages, sir!"
Hans clicked his tongue and began inspecting the hall.
Before long, his gaze snagged on one particular patch of grass that stuck out conspicuously. The section I'd pulled.
"The grass height is uneven here. If someone trips mid-lecture, are you going to take responsibility?"
"My apologies, sir. It's just, the support guy came through and pulled it up however he pleased……"
The guard shot me a sidelong glance as he said it. And so Hans's eyes turned to me.
The moment Hans saw my face, he went pale as a ghost and started trembling from the shoulders.
"I'll have him redo it right away. Hey, you, get over—"
"N-no! It's fine! No need!"
"I beg your pardon? But the grass height is—"
"I said it's fine! Not needed! Everyone out, now!"
Hans screamed, twisting desperately away from me. The bewildered guard gestured to the others with a tilt of his head.
"Understood. Everyone, out!"
The guards filed out through the back door in a clump.
I stayed where I was.
And sure enough, that same guard squinted at me.
"Hey, why aren't you leaving?"
"I'm here for lecture support."
"Lecture support, my ass. Get out here right—"
"He said he's here for lecture support!"
Hans bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Huh? But—"
"That's enough! Just go!"
At Hans's thundered order, the guard shuffled out of the hall, thoroughly perplexed.
I slid over and took up a position at Hans's side. The corners of Hans's eyes quivered violently. He appeared to be suffering a magnesium deficiency.
"……What brings you here, of all places—"
"What? Am I not allowed to come?"
"O-of course you are. Haha! I'm just so delighted to see you!"
Hans forced the corners of his mouth upward into a smile. Sweat had beaded along the bridge of his nose.
"I got curious."
"Curious about what, exactly—"
"The Knight of Radiance."
"Ah! Of course! The Knight of Radiance is truly a magnificent man, without question!"
Hans brightened and launched into an enthusiastic sermon on how great the Knight of Radiance was.
His objective was transparent.
He was hoping the Knight of Radiance's name alone would make me cower and flee.
Not a chance, of course.
The Knight of Radiance was a card I absolutely intended to use.
Just then, the back door opened and students began filing in.
"Wow, a lecture from the Knight of Radiance himself! I can't wait!"
"I couldn't even sleep last night, I was so excited."
I quietly withdrew and moved toward the back door. At that, Hans visibly relaxed.
Soon the hall began to fill with students. Just as it reached a comfortable capacity, the front door swung wide open.
"Evangeline! This is the FRONT door! The front door is for the professor only—!"
"How was I supposed to know which was which?! They look identical!"
"Just get out here!"
Evangeline and Andy. The two of them scrambled back out in a hurry, and just then, the back door opened.
A slithering, snake-eyed creature with lids sliced into narrow slits entered.
Kilian—heir to the Magic Tower Coalition and one of the male lead candidates.
The moment Kilian appeared, the hall fell dead silent.
Fair enough.
The Magic Tower Coalition was thriving to the point of being called a new form of empire. And Kilian was its heir.
Kilian swept his gaze slowly around the hall.
The students ducked their heads one after another—lambs frozen stiff at the arrival of a wolf.
I clicked my tongue.
"Get in already. You're blocking the door."
Kilian's eyes found me. They glinted with defiance.
"Move."
Only when I rattled my guard baton did Kilian finally take a step forward.
At the same moment, the back door opened and Evangeline came rushing in.
If I'd been a second slower, she'd have face-planted straight into Kilian's back. Same as in the game.
Kilian threw me a glare and stalked off toward the rear seats.
Before long, the front door opened, and a middle-aged man strode in.
Deep, burdened eyes, a thick and dignified nose, a robust, powerful frame—a man whose looks belonged in a heroic epic.
The Knight of Radiance, Roxveil.
Roxveil was chivalry incarnate. The textbook ideal of knighthood, exactly as one imagines it.
His character was the finest of anyone in the game.
And that was precisely the problem.
Roxveil was too upright. The moment a crisis appeared, he was the type to bellow, 'Leave this to me and go!' without a second's hesitation.
Which was why he always died young.
It was the reason Roxveil was a dud as a male lead.
"Welcome, everyone. I am Roxveil, professor of Basic Swordsmanship. Now, before we begin the lecture, I will first assess your Aura aptitude."
Roxveil produced a box fitted with multiple layers of locks. Despite the grand packaging, all it contained was an ordinary sword, worn dull with years of handling.
"This is the Desant Sword, an instrument for measuring Aura aptitude. When you grip it, light will radiate according to your Aura compatibility. The brighter the light, the higher your aptitude."
Roxveil tapped the box lightly as he explained.
"Ah, so that's the sword that reveals Aura talent."
"The Crown Prince grabbed it once and it reportedly blazed with incredible light!"
The students chattered excitedly.
"Called students, please come forward and take hold of the sword."
One by one, the students stepped up and gripped the blade. Their eyes sparkled with hope. They seemed to be dreaming that they, too, might possess Aura talent.
Naturally, no miracles occurred.
Every single one of them gave off a light so faint it was almost insulting.
Just as the crowd's expectations began to wilt—
"Kilian."
Kilian stepped forward with lofty, unhurried strides.
Kilian was heir to the Magic Tower Coalition and a genius of magic, tipped to become the next Archmage.
Surely he couldn't have Aura talent as well.
Every eye in the hall fixed on him in disbelief.
As if savoring the attention, Kilian wrapped his hand around the sword at a deliberate pace.
Bright light erupted from the blade.
It was bright enough to bathe the entire hall in a flash of radiance.
"Whoa, a genius at Aura too?"
"Is that even possible? That's just unfair."
Kilian's Magic stat was S+, and his Aura was A. To the students who didn't know his full stats, it was only natural for the word "unfair" to spill out.
The reason Kilian possessed such cheat-level stats was simple.
Because he's a male lead candidate.
Zero romantic prospects, but superior abilities in every other respect. The fundamental qualification of any otome-game male lead.
"Evangeline."
Evangeline sprang to her feet and marched boldly to the front. Her every step brimmed with confidence.
She'd returned from an Aura-attribute Rift, so her Aura stat should have risen.
She was clearly revved up to show it off.
"HAAAAAP!"
Evangeline let out a dramatic battle cry and seized the sword.
Not a flicker of light came from the blade. Not even the faintest glimmer. It was enough to drain the will to live from anyone watching.
That's strange.
Granted, Evangeline's baseline stats were all rock-bottom C. I didn't call her F-tier for nothing.
But Evangeline had just come back from an Aura-attribute Rift.
Her Aura stat should have gone up as a reward—so how was there no light at all? Something was off.
"What's with her? Why'd she scream like that?"
"Did she just take another dump or something?"
The students laughed openly in her face.
As Evangeline's face flushed crimson to the point of bursting, Roxveil moved to console her.
"It's quite possible to lack a talent for Aura. After all, not everyone needs to become a knight."
Under normal circumstances, that would be where she retreated. But her opponent was Evangeline.
Evangeline thrust her hand skyward and shouted.
"R-R-REMATCH!!!"
I squeezed my eyes shut.