Shall We Spar?
'Class starts in an hour, right? Well, it's still just the theoretical portion, so...'
Ever since the incident where Rubelia was rescued, Leonia had harbored quite a bit of goodwill toward Selene.
She possessed immense magical prowess and a deep affection for her students. Yet, because of those very traits, she was a stubborn eccentric bound to get swept up in political schemes.
"Now, Professor Selene. Take this sword."
"(Tilt head?)"
"It's absurd to think you can acquire swordsmanship skills in just an hour, but we have to grasp at straws."
That was why she was alone right now. Therefore, Leonia had to help her.
"Straws? (Look around)... Where are they?"
"Still, in true fashion of Professor Selene, you memorized the entire theory book, didn't you? This time, let's try memorizing practical combat."
Had Leonia herself not once lived a life consumed by endless loneliness?
"Very well, take your stance. We shall have a brief spar here."
"......"
"Oh? Your stance is quite good."
Harboring that delusion, Leonia swung her sword without holding back, just as she had been trained to do since childhood.
Clack!
"Ngh?"
But—
"......"
"...Huh?"
Leonia's thrusting sword was deflected in an instant.
By the time she regained her senses, Selene's blade was already pointed directly at her throat.
"I-impressive. Haha."
She had let her guard down for a split second and lost focus. It seemed the professor wasn't entirely devoid of basics, enough to joke about having studied swordsmanship for a thousand years.
Thinking only that much, Leonia stepped back once more.
"Then, once more!"
Once again, the two swords clashed.
Clang!
Leonia's swung blade was deflected.
"......"
Tap.
A slight sensation registered on Leonia's arm.
Selene had precisely tapped Leonia's arm with the very tip of her sword. It was a light touch, but had she swung with intent, it would have left a nasty bruise.
"Selene... you?"
"(Tilt head)"
"My word. Haha! I have been rude."
"What is?"
Leonia was flustered for a moment, then burst into a hearty, boisterous laugh.
"My, my, Professor Selene. Is there anything you cannot do? Your swordsmanship skills seem to far surpass those of an average intermediate."
"Intermediate?"
"Indeed."
"Then, Student Council President student?"
"Me?"
Leonia smiled at Selene's question. Completely forgetting her brief fluster from moments ago, she pointed to herself with pride.
"This body is Leonia Valteria. The eldest daughter and next head of the Valteria Family, a branch of the imperial line."
"????"
"And I am also called by another name."
She raised her sword once more, settling into a stance.
"The Imperial Strongest Sword."
Leonia regulated her breathing. She discarded her previous delusions. Perhaps, without realizing it, she had committed an act of disrespect toward Professor Selene.
'Show proper respect, Leonia. The opponent is a master.'
The skill Selene had displayed in those brief moments was clean, precise, and utterly devoid of waste. Selene was, without a doubt, an expert in swordsmanship.
"Here I come!"
"(Nod)"
With her stance perfected, Leonia lunged at Selene.
Clang! Clash! Clang!
Several exchanges followed. Pouring all her focus into the fight, Leonia blocked Selene's sword while simultaneously launching her own attacks. She defended against Selene's strikes and immediately retaliated.
"Ngh."
"End."
But—
"*Pant, pant...*"
It was her defeat.
She had focused her entire mind to block every single attack. She had concentrated solely on her defensive stance so her opponent could never find an opening. Yet, at the exact moment her concentration was forced to waver, she lost.
"O-once more!"
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal echoed repeatedly across the empty clearing.
"Once more!"
And the result was always the same.
"Once more!"
Leonia's defeat.
"Ugh! Just one..."
It was the defeat of the Empire's Strongest Sword.
"Ngh."
In the end, Leonia collapsed while trying to evade Selene's strike.
"*Haa... haa...*"
Her breath came in ragged gasps. As her stamina rapidly depleted, she found herself utterly defenseless against the attacks she had barely managed to block before.
"Okay?"
On the other hand, Selene was completely unfazed.
"O-once more!"
"Leonia."
"Yes?"
"Look tired."
"I-I am not!"
"Do not overdo."
"I am not overdoing it!"
Leonia's face had gone pale. With trembling eyes, she quickly scrambled back to her feet.
"Class start. Thirty minutes left."
"J-just once. Just once more..."
Tap.
But this time, her sword couldn't even touch her opponent's blade.
"Student Council President student."
"J-just once... just once more..."
"Scared?"
"What?"
And then came the words she feared most. The words she wanted to hide from everyone.
"Losing. Scared of it?"
"......"
Hearing those words, Leonia's hand trembled violently.
"Okay."
Selene quietly stepped closer and took Leonia's hand.
"Do not fear."
"I, I..."
"Will not hurt."
"......"
At Selene's words, Leonia hung her head low.
"I-I am sorry."
"(Tilt head?)"
"I bothered you for no reason, Professor Selene..."
"......"
"S-shall we head out then?"
Leonia looked at Selene, forcing her usual easygoing smile back onto her face.
"Since class starts in thirty minutes, haha."
Masking the awkward tension, Leonia hurriedly led Selene away from the clearing.
"My, my..."
Utterly unaware that someone had been watching them the entire time.
"I've witnessed quite a new side of you. Student Council President... or should I say, the eldest daughter of the Valteria Family."
A short while later.
"Selene, Selene, Selene."
Having arrived at the Swordsmanship Training Ground, Selene offered her introduction.
"......"
An awkward silence descended upon the training arena.
"Excuse me, Professor."
"Yes."
"I don't understand this situation at all."
One of the students raised a hand, speaking in a highly disgruntled voice. The question spoke for everyone present in the arena.
"Why are you the one taking over this class?"
"Because professor."
"No, that's not what I mean."
"(Tilt head?)"
"This class is originally Instructor Brika's responsibility."
"My class now."
"That's exactly why it makes no sense! Why is someone who doesn't know the first thing about swordsmanship taking over this class?"
"First thing?"
"You don't even have the basics down!"
"Am not."
An unpleasant silence fell. Unlike during the theory lectures, almost all the students gathered here were rejecting Selene.
"N-now, everyone. Professor Selene's class hasn't even started yet..."
Except for one person—the Student Council President, Leonia.
"Please sit down, President."
"Ngh?"
Leonia had tried to stand up to calm the atmosphere, but someone grabbed her arm, preventing her from doing so.
"Demian!"
The Vice Student Council President, Demian Cromwell, cut Leonia off with an amiable expression.
"There's nothing we can do about this situation."
"What do you mean, nothing we can do?"
"You know how it is. Swordsmanship is the pride of the academy students. Even the upperclassmen said it took quite some time for Instructor Brika to establish her presence here."
"But still..."
"A pastime of nobles and the foundation of all combat. A culture commoners could never hope to replicate. That is what swordsmanship represents."
"......"
"Therefore, Professor Selene must break through this on her own."
"......"
Half-convinced by his words, Leonia sat back down, though her expression remained deeply dissatisfied.
Meanwhile, the hostility toward Selene in the training ground only intensified, to the point where a collective boycott of the class seemed imminent.
"YOU SCUUUUUUUUUUUM!"
Right at that moment.
"I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIIIIIIIIIS!"
Shattering the silence, someone burst into the training ground. It was a woman wearing an eyepatch over one eye.
"Are you that wench?! The wench who stole my position?!"
She was as tall as most of the male students, standing nearly two heads taller than Selene when she stood before her.
"Who?"
"Ha! Playing dumb, are we?! Right! Because I'm of lowly mercenary stock, you high-and-mighty nobles won't even deign to speak my name, is that it?!"
"(Tilt head)"
"Then I shall introduce myself!"
The woman slammed her sheathed sword onto the ground.
"This body is none other than the great mercenary and war hero of the Empire! The great Brika!"
"Brika."
Brika shouted in a booming voice, her movements theatrical and exaggerated. Watching her, Selene...
"Selene."
"Huh?"
Recalling something Mona had once told her, Selene extended her right hand.
"Selene, Selene, Selene."
"Eh?"
"First greeting. Handshake."
"A-ah, my word. This humble servant is Bri..."
Caught off guard, Brika reflexively shook Selene's hand—
"...Wait, no!"
Startled by her own reaction, she leaped backward.
"(Tilt head)"
"Nice try! You think you can intimidate me by making me say my full name just because I don't have a family name?! Not a chance! Absolutely not!"
"(Tilt head)"
"A-anyway, that's that! I cannot accept this situation!"
"What?"
"I don't care what kind of underhanded tricks you used to steal my spot, I won't allow it! I cannot leave this class in the hands of someone who doesn't even know the basics of swordsmanship!"
"(Tilt head)"
Selene stared at Brika with an entirely blank, expressionless face.
"Am not."
"Y-you brat?!"
Brika took this as a direct provocation.
"You little...! So that's how you want to play it?!"
Clatter!
Brika dashed off, only to return a moment later holding three weapons, which she slammed onto the floor.
"Then I shall prove it right here! I'll prove you don't even have the basics down! I'll make you taste humiliation in front of everyone!"
"????"
"Now, if you cannot answer my question, leave this place at once! Leave my endless pension... *cough!* I mean, my beloved students' class!"
"Why?"
"Because no basics."
"Am not."
"Grrr! You sly fox! Are you telling me to bet my own hand on this?!"
"????"
Brika balled her hand into a fist and thumped her chest hard.
"If you answer my question correctly, I shall kowtow right here and apologize to you!"
"...What about hand?"
"There is no greater humiliation than that, so you will be satisfied!"
"Kowtow means hand is bet?"
"Now, let us begin!"
Brika pointed to the weapons she had dropped.
"These are standard weapons of the Empire."
"Know."
"A longsword! A rapier! And a mace!"
"Know."
"Then, here is the question!"
Brika looked at Selene with a smug, confident expression.
"Choose the heaviest weapon among these three."
Without a single moment of hesitation, Selene pointed at all three weapons simultaneously.
"These."
"What?"
"All same. Weight. Only tiny difference."
At that moment.
"Pfft!"
A snort of laughter erupted from the students' side.
"What is she even doing?"
"How ridiculous."
"There's no way those three weapons weigh the same."
The students began whispering and sneering. Believing she lacked even the most basic knowledge of weaponry, they assumed Selene was simply dodging the question.
"Well, that settles it."
"......"
"It looks like that 'Professor Selene' won't be able to teach this class anymore."
However—
"Don't you agree, President?"
A few students, including Leonia, remained silent. Their eyes were fixed not on Selene, but on the instructor standing before her.
"Did you just say... their weights are all the same?"
"......"
As the students' mockery grew louder, filling the training ground, a sudden sound cut through the noise.
"Damn it."
Thud!
A tremendous, heavy impact reverberated from the center of the training ground, silencing everyone instantly.
"I HAVE COMMITTED A GRAVE INSULT!"
The booming shout left the crowd speechless.
"PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR FOOLISHLY BELIEVING YOU LACKED THE BASICS!"
Right before their eyes, Instructor Brika was on her knees, slamming her head against the floor in a deep kowtow.