Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Orientation -1-
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If you grabbed someone on the street and asked, "Do you know the Skadi Marquisate?"
The knights would refuse to answer.
The mages would just find it intriguing.
And the priests of the Church would be too busy condemning the Skadi Marquisate.
After all, the survival of their sole heir, a frail young girl, that day was nothing short of a fluke to anyone who saw it.
Rike Skadi stared blankly, lost in memories of a past that had always been happy yesterday and today alike.
It was a problem without an answer, but the option of not thinking about that time simply didn't exist.
Born the eldest daughter of a prestigious marquisate, her parents were like two sides of a mirror to her.
She had no intention of shirking the noble duties that came with her affluent life.
She fulfilled her responsibilities as expected.
Even at an age when she didn't understand the emotion called love, she didn't refuse the engagement, and she never neglected her studies.
Holding and swinging a sharp weapon made her hands tremble with fear, but thinking of her knight father, she at least learned the basics of etiquette.
She couldn't claim to have done better than anyone else, but she gave her all without shame to herself.
She believed that someday, after these grueling days ended, she would be recognized.
She wanted to feel, just once, the warmth she sensed from her mother from her father as well.
Her father, always cold and intimidating in his efforts to uphold the marquisate's dignity.
Wasn't that fact unbearably sad?
Her mother, the opposite of her father, read her books, made snacks herself, and raised her.
It was a "family love" unbecoming of high nobles with blue blood.
With her mother there, she could overcome any hardship.
She could conquer the endless piles of books someday, attend nerve-wracking noble banquets over and over.
She could endure the palm-tearing sword forms without crying until the end.
Because at the end of every unwanted task, her mother waited with a smile like spring sunlight.
That day, the clouds were incredibly dark, and rain poured down.
With her father away for a long time on business, she shared a bedroom with her mother.
It was something her father would never allow under normal circumstances, but at her mother's words that it would be fine now, she headed to the bedroom without hesitation.
The servants had all promised to keep it secret, so her footsteps racing down the corridor were as light as feathers.
"Mom!"
She flung open the ornately decorated door.
It was far from noble etiquette, but her mother always welcomed her with a smile.
When her father wasn't watching, she called her "Mom" instead of "Mother."
She took it for granted that this would never change, today or tomorrow.
"M-Mom...?"
Things that shouldn't have been in the bedroom were there.
Men clad in knight-like armor filled the room.
The moment she saw them, her eyes stung painfully.
Tears streamed down unknowingly, but clutching the door, she shouted.
Looking back now, she had no idea where that courage came from.
"Who are you people?! Ger-! Boris-! Someone, come here!!"
She yelled toward the corridor, but no sign of life responded.
It felt as if this bedroom alone had been cut out and floated in another dimension.
"The lady bearing the Skadi blood—stay still."
One man stepped forward from the group of knights.
His voice sent chills down her spine, like scraping iron.
"I am Yurgena di Venta, third of the Empire's Five Knights. If you have even basic knowledge and etiquette, you know who I am."
Of course she knew the Empire's Five Knights.
She even remembered seeing his face at a border event.
'Back then, he definitely didn't give off this vibe...'
"I-I'm sorry for not showing proper respect... But please understand my situation. Where is my mother?"
"Hoh—"
Rike had been experiencing a bizarre phenomenon unlike anything before since earlier.
After her eyes stung, the knights looked strange.
Blink once, and they appeared as robed mages.
Open her eyes again, and normal knights stood there.
Behind the knight standing with an intrigued expression, a man stood hazily—but without a hood, his face was clear.
An elderly man whose face was half-burned, skin discolored differently.
In Rike's eyes, he flickered between an armored young man and an old man.
He was muttering something to the third knight from behind.
"We've come to investigate an anonymous tip that a black mage plotting to insult the Imperial Family is hiding in the Skadi Marquisate."
"Absolutely not! Never! We're just a normal... a normal territory! Who would say such a thing..."
For a renowned knight to move on mere anonymous tips—it was hard for young Rike's mind to comprehend.
Her head spun, unsure what to say.
If her father, skilled in dialogue and negotiation, had been there, this wouldn't have happened.
Fearing something might happen to her mother, Rike knelt and bowed her head.
"The judgment is mine."
The young girl, powerless to resolve the situation, simply closed her eyes, knowing not provoking him was best.
A sinister energy reverberated through the bedroom, eerie voices tormenting her ears.
Her eyes felt changed somehow, but that didn't matter now.
"Mmph!! Mmph!!"
"Look."
Moments later, one knight dragged her mother roughly.
A thick cloth gagged her mother's mouth. Her eyes immediately turned to Rike.
Rike could clearly see the worry in those eyes.
"Knight, please—please... I beg you. Hear me and my mother out... Just for a moment."
Her eyes ached as if they might be gouged out, but she couldn't close them.
Purple smoke-like wisps flowed from the air into her mother.
"This is proof that the Skadi Marquis or his wife's family plotted to insult the Imperial Family. If you want to live, girl, you'll witness this situation."
Crunch—grind!
"Mmph!!"
The girl couldn't believe the scene unfolding before her was reality.
Horns sprouted from her mother's head, nails lengthening.
Skin turning black, eyes staining red.
"Aaah—! Kyaaah!!!"
The creature that lost its human form reacted to the screams with vanished reason.
Its elongated nails reached for Rike's face.
Slash—!
The third knight grabbed her mother's hair as she lunged, but the nails raked across Rike's face.
Blood splattered to the wall.
"Do you get it now? Undeniable black magic."
His scabbard shook, the blade tracing a chilling arc past her mother.
"Haa—haa..."
Rike bolted upright in bed the moment she opened her eyes.
Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat.
'Nightmare...'
Maybe because it was an unfamiliar bed for her first night.
Now that she was awake like this, going back to sleep seemed impossible.
Outside, the sun hadn't risen yet—it was early.
Perhaps hearing academy stories about black mages had triggered nightmares of that day.
Rike had entered the academy to escape home.
Just existing in the same space as her father suffocated her.
From that day, family ties were completely severed.
It was an contrived situation no matter how you looked at it, yet her father offered no defense or counterargument. Her mother's family crumbled instantly on charges of black magic ties.
The damage to the Skadi Marquisate was far from negligible.
She was certain.
Her father hadn't grieved her mother's death.
These eyes had shown her the truth she didn't want to know.
And the identities of those men that day.
'I should take the Practical Combat class...'
He was the first in the Empire to openly speak of black mages.
If she could hear even a word about black mages, it would be worth it.
"...!"
The scar on her face ached.
Tracing it slowly with her breath, her eyelids felt raised.
The facial scar and the special eyes gained that day were both mementos from her mother.
In her hellish daily life, feeling this trace was what kept her alive.
"Mom..."
Lofty Academy's First Indoor Gymnasium.
The day of the first Practical Combat 1 class.
Unlike last time, I arrived at the gymnasium before class in comfortable clothes.
"I'm grateful for the strong support."
The Knight Department still harbored resentment from my last remark, shooting me uneasy glances.
But over half the Swordsmanship Department had signed up, apparently liking my style.
"First, let me introduce one person. This is the priest sent from the Church. Applause!"
"I am a humble servant of the Goddess from the Church, High Priest Maxime. It is an honor to meet the brothers who will lead the Empire's future."
""""Please take care of us!!""""
Clap clap clap—
A high priest was top-tier talent.
They could reattach a severed arm on the spot.
Without Roland and Doran's connections, no amount of money would have worked.
Money meant for me was flowing their way instead.
"Let me explain the class overview."
Most students held swords, but each varied in form.
Without the instructor's permission, personal weapons were banned in class; only academy-issued standard gear was allowed.
From the academy's standard short swords to long swords.
There were greatswords with wide blades, short daggers.
A few spears or blunt weapons among the cadets.
Couldn't help it if they weren't sword users in the Swordsmanship Department.
No separate spear or blunt departments existed.
"Today, we'll quickly assess each one's skill one-on-one with the instructor. I'll give verbal advice on any obvious shortcomings."
"No skill use to see pure ability, but mana-enhanced physical reinforcement is allowed."
First day before formal lessons.
Best to run it like an interest-based orientation.
"Next classes, we'll pair up or have solos against multiples. Order: one from Knight Department, then one from Swordsmanship. Got it?"
I pointed at the cadet in the front row.
"Left to right, one by one. When a row ends, start from left again at the back. Understood?"
"""Yes!"""
"You there—come out."
One from the Knight Department stepped forward.
Short-haired, wielding a long sword. Burly build, copper skin.
Thick brow ridges gave a veteran mercenary vibe just from his face.
He took stance and glared at me.
"Knight Department, Brom Basti."
"Right."
"Instructor, no weapon?"
Noticing my bare hands, he glared but didn't charge.
"Don't try to gauge the instructor at cadet level."
"...Khum! Then I won't hold back."
Unhappy, he raised his sharp sword.
Infusing mana into his feet, he stomped the floor and charged.
Proud of his physique-based bull rush, no feints—just straight ahead.
"Hup!"
The flashed long sword came down straight.
The blade aimed at my shoulder halted abruptly.
"What? Stopping the sword—are you sane?"
"...Why aren't you dodging—"
Thwack—!
With a whoosh, blood burst from Brom's face mid-sentence, his head snapping back.
He staggered several steps, barely bowing his head as blood poured.
Jaw torn completely, lower teeth shattered.
Plink. Plop.
Flying tooth fragments hit the floor.
"Kuheuk..."
Blood frothed from his hand-clutching mouth, bubbling over.
The waiting cadets' eyes widened to the max.
"I said don't gauge me. If you won't do it properly, drop out. You're dragging down the class quality."