The Eve of Partner Practice
The Saint Ignis Academy was filled with a strange excitement on the eve of the partner practical. Students kept crowding into the central hall of the main building to check the team assignment lists, and the sound of swords clashing continued from the training grounds even as night drew near. Magic Department students inspected their practice artifacts, while Holy Church students received divine art talismans in preparation for potential injuries.
The first-semester integrated partner practical was no ordinary evaluation. For students, it was an opportunity to prove their abilities, and for nobles, it was a stage to display their factions and connections. Who became whose partner, who assisted whom, and who shone during the practical could instantly change rumors and reputations. And at the center of it all was me. Much to my dismay.
“Kyle Diaren and Edan Gray are official partners?”
“Is it true that Her Highness the Princess is joining as support?”
“I heard the Saintess candidate is moving with them too.”
“Lady Bayern is taking the vanguard, right?”
“Isn’t that more like a subjugation squad than a practice team?”
Such whispers followed me whenever I walked through the central hall. I pretended not to hear them. But Edan didn’t.
He spoke quietly beside me. “Are the rumors bothering you?”
“It would be strange if they didn’t.”
“I suppose noble society is always like this.”
“It must be exhausting from a commoner special admission student’s perspective.”
Edan gave a slight smile. “A little, yes.”
His smile was natural. No hostility, no sarcasm. That made it harder to judge.
This was the Edan Gray from the original novel. He maintained courtesy even toward those who made him uncomfortable. He didn’t anger easily and tried to understand the other person’s circumstances first. But at the same time, if he determined there was no reason to back down, he never would.
He was a good person. And because he was a good person, he was all the more dangerous.
If someone harbored ill will, I could avoid them. If an enemy attacked, I could block them. But people who approached with goodwill and a sense of justice were difficult to evade.
Edan suspected me, but that suspicion was closer to verification than malice. He wanted to see for himself whether I was a dangerous person. And I wanted to confirm whether he was the same person as in the original work.
Partners who monitored each other. I already had a feeling that the practical wouldn’t end normally.
We were heading to the training grounds to inspect equipment before the practical. As official partners, we at least needed to check each other’s equipment and combat styles. The problem was that we weren’t alone.
Siella followed behind us. She carried her sword in silence, but her presence alone radiated the message, ‘Make any suspicious moves and I’ll cut you down.’ Her red hair swayed slightly in the breeze blowing from the training grounds, and her scabbard hummed lowly with each step.
Aria was a short distance away. She held my recovery status record board and occasionally checked my complexion. More accurately, it was almost constant. Even if I breathed a little deeper, her gaze immediately dropped toward my side.
Rhea hadn’t come in person. Instead, two imperial knights were naturally monitoring the surroundings. Even if they tried to be natural, two knights in black uniforms following behind didn’t look natural at all.
Noel was nowhere to be seen. That made me more uneasy. Noel Ignis not being visible likely meant she wasn’t truly absent, but observing from somewhere.
Upon arriving at the training grounds, Edan picked up a wooden sword.
“Are you sure you don’t need to use real swords?”
“My body isn’t fully recovered yet.”
“Understood. Then let’s just match our movements lightly.”
Lightly. I couldn’t trust what the protagonist meant by lightly.
I picked up a wooden sword.
Siella spoke from beside me. “Kyle, don’t spread your feet too wide. With your mana circuit condition, lowering your center of gravity will slow your reactions.”
“Understood.”
“Use your left arm only for defense support. There’s still some residual effect.”
“You can see that too?”
“Your posture tells me.”
Edan glanced at Siella after hearing that. “Are you personally instructing him, Lady Bayern?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No. It’s just a bit unexpected.”
“Kyle is weak. If he’s weak, he needs to train.”
“I see.”
Edan’s gaze returned to me. “You’re quite trusted.”
There was no edge to his words. But there was a subtle sense of distance.
I spoke while gripping the wooden sword. “We’ve nearly died together a few times recently.”
Edan paused for a moment before laughing. “That’s certainly a quick way to grow close.”
We faced each other. Siella stood beside us like a referee, while Aria prepared her divine arts with a worried expression. The imperial knights monitored the perimeter of the training grounds.
“Begin.”
At Siella’s signal, Edan moved.
Fast. I’d expected it, but he was fast. His sword wasn’t the type to overwhelm with sheer power and speed like Siella’s. Instead, his balance was excellent. Thrusts, slashes, evasions, and footwork were all stable. Above all, his ability to read his opponent’s reactions was outstanding.
If Siella’s sword was like flames, Edan’s was closer to flowing water. Rather than clashing head-on, he sought openings, and the moment his opponent blocked, he came in from the next angle.
I avoided a direct confrontation. I recalled Edan’s swordsmanship patterns from the original novel. The first move was probing. The second confirmed the opponent’s reaction. The third strike targeted the opening. So I had to break the pattern at the second move.
Edan’s wooden sword feinted toward my shoulder before dropping toward my wrist. I pulled my wrist back a beat earlier. Edan’s eyes widened slightly.
“You predicted it?”
“Luck was on my side.”
“That was too precise for luck.”
He pressed in again. This time, his footwork had changed. A pattern I hadn’t seen in the original.
‘He’s already adapting.’
As expected, Edan adapted quickly.
Instead of blocking, I retreated. But my body wasn’t fully recovered. A sharp pain shot through my side, and my balance faltered for a moment.
Edan’s wooden sword stopped. Precisely in front of my neck.
“Are you alright?”
He hadn’t followed through with the attack.
Siella narrowed her eyes. “Good judgment, stopping there.”
Edan lowered his wooden sword. “It would have been dangerous in a real fight.”
“If it were real, I would have intervened.”
“I suppose so.”
Aria immediately approached me. “Lord Kyle, you’re feeling pain in your side, aren’t you?”
“A little.”
“Not just a little.”
She channeled divine arts near my side. A warm light eased the pain.
Edan quietly watched the scene. His expression was hard to read. It wasn’t jealousy. Not yet. But one thing was clear—he was witnessing the trust and warmth that should have naturally gone to him in the original story being directed toward someone else.
I wasn’t sure if Edan was consciously aware of that fact. But I could tell he felt it.
Just then, applause sounded from the training grounds entrance.
“Quite the scene.”
It was Noel. She walked over with an expression that suggested she’d been watching for who knows how long.
“Kyle read Edan’s first pattern, Edan immediately changed to a second pattern, Siella evaluated both, and Aria only had eyes for Kyle.”
“Senior.”
“Hm?”
“You didn’t have to mention the last part.”
Aria’s face flushed red.
Noel smiled and pulled out a document from between us.
“The first day’s assigned zone for the practical is out.”
I took the document.
Mana Zone B-7.
The moment I saw the name, a chill ran down my spine.
B-7. The zone where Edan and Rhea first faced a major crisis in the original novel. Originally, only a few mana beasts should appear, but due to an abnormality in the ley lines, a hidden seal gate opens, and Edan gains Rhea’s trust by saving her.
But now, Edan’s official partner was me. Rhea was coming along as part of the support surveillance team. And the Black Moon had tampered with the ley lines in the Central Sealed Area.
In other words, it was likely to be far more dangerous than in the original.
Edan looked at my expression. “Do you know this place?”
I took a breath. “It’s a dangerous place.”
Siella gripped her scabbard. “How dangerous?”
“Much more than originally.”
Aria’s hand touched my sleeve. “Another premonition?”
I nodded.
Rhea’s voice came from behind. “Then we must prepare even more thoroughly.”
When had she arrived? Turning around, I saw Rhea standing at the training grounds entrance. The imperial knights were behind her. She glanced at Edan once, then looked at me.
“Kyle. Don’t hide anything this time. Tell me everything you know about the danger.”
I looked down at the document.
Zone B-7. The first partner event from the original novel. And perhaps, the first stage that would determine Edan’s and my relationship.
“I’ll tell you.”
I slowly opened my mouth. “There’s a hidden seal gate there. It shouldn’t open under normal circumstances, but this time, there’s a high chance it will.”
Noel’s eyes sparkled. “Inside the seal gate?”
I fell silent for a moment. “It’s not mana beasts.”
Everyone looked at me.
“It’s an illusion that tests people. Especially… an illusion that shows what one desires most and what one fears most.”
Aria’s hand trembled. Siella’s expression hardened. Rhea’s gaze turned cold. Edan quietly swallowed.
I didn’t know what Edan desired most. Nor what he feared most. But I knew one thing. Even the original protagonist had weaknesses. So did the heroines. And so did I. And the Black Moon wouldn’t overlook such weaknesses.
The eve of partner practice. We hadn’t even begun yet. But already, a trial targeting each of our deepest parts awaited us.