Afternoon Sparring Time
It was afternoon sparring time. To the two people staring at me in bewilderment, I brushed the whole thing aside with a vague excuse: “I was simply pondering why something like the Academy Grand Court would exist in the first place, and that led me to lightly entertain a few random thoughts.” But I had a different, far more pressing question.
If Erika was right, and Maria von Letiaponk—a powerful mage from the empire’s foremost ducal house—truly wanted to eliminate Elena Kerru, the commoner special student from the novel, then why did it have to be through the Academy Grand Court? There were vacations, temporary leaves, even dungeon exploration practicums. This academy might be a boarding school with restricted movement, but once you adapted, opportunities to slip outside were hardly nonexistent. And yes—this nation was unmistakably a strict class system state, even if my casual hangouts with Erika and Zophy sometimes made me forget that fact.
No matter how strong a mage Elena Kerru might be, dragging her outside the academy’s principle of educational equality gave me the far better battlefield. So why had the original Maria wagered everything on a grand court battle by suing for Elena’s expulsion? Why had the other characters gone along with that plot? What exactly had happened in the original work’s The Lady Sues!?
“Thinking about it now is pointless… The current me has zero intention of steering the story toward suing Elena Kerru anyway…”
What stung most was that I couldn’t discuss this with Zophy or even the deceptively sharp Lillia. Once I started talking about original novels or possession, there was no telling what chaos would follow. So I simply devoted myself to the immediate classes and duties, carrying out the tasks given to me one painstaking hour at a time.
In that sense, the afternoon class after lunch was physical activity—training without magic. Perhaps because this lesson carried the second-highest risk of accidents after dungeon exploration practicums, the academy’s head administrator, Principal Priscilla Diab, oversaw it personally. She was known for a somewhat stuffy, frail, and easily influenced personality, yet after witnessing a mad professor who shot flames at students’ heads and a history teacher who mumbled through lectures in near-incomprehensible mutters, she seemed positively angelic by comparison.
The principal gathered us on the academy’s expansive green training field and stressed the importance of mages familiarizing themselves with conventional weapons and their proper use.
“When exploring dungeons, you will be trained to remove your gloves and remain ready to cast magic at any moment. However, a mage’s life is not so simple. There is no guarantee you will always face enemies in a fully prepared combat state. Especially in times like these.”
“What does ‘times like these’ mean, Zophy?”
“She must be referring to the Black Knight Order, my lady. They don’t appear near us as often as Lady Lillia imagines, but it is true that their threats against mages within the empire have been growing stronger.”
“The Demon King’s army, huh.”
“The rumors are rather odd. I spoke with some upperclassmen, and while the academy is keeping things quiet, apparently the Black Knight Order focuses more on kidnapping and detaining mages than killing them. They release the captives after some time, and the returned mages usually show no obvious abnormalities.”
“The complete lack of abnormalities is the most suspicious part.”
“There are plenty of rumors. That the Demon King’s army isn’t waging all-out war on the empire but is surviving by collecting ransoms from imperial nobles. Or that the nobles stay silent because admitting they paid the Demon King for their daughters’ release would be considered treason…”
“There’s the matter of honor, too.”
“Exactly. In any case, the academy is paying close attention because…”
Zophy fell silent. The story she had been about to tell was already being explained quite thoroughly by Principal Diab right before our eyes.
“It is clear that the empire’s primary adversaries have been deliberating at length on how to counter mages. Therefore, mages must significantly increase their training in martial arts to protect themselves even in situations where magic cannot be used…”
What followed was a tedious lecture on safety regulations and the absolute necessity of wearing gloves during training. As if they had no intention of running actual military drills, the final instruction was to treat this as cultural refinement: choose whatever weapon you liked and train lightly.
Many of the young ladies drew their preferred fencing blades, and Zophy passed me the sword I had brought from the estate. I accepted it carefully, only then noticing that Zophy herself carried no blade.
“What about you, Zophy?”
“Ah, my lady. I don’t particularly like swords. Did you not notice back at the mansion? I have never once requested a sparring match with you.”
To be honest, the idea of the young lady of the house crossing blades with her maid had never struck me as normal, so it had never crossed my mind.
“I assumed it was because you cherished me too much to dare point a sword at me.”
“If I accidentally nicked even a strand of the hair I’ve so carefully styled, it would break my heart. But you needn’t have worried about that, my lady. With your swordsmanship, even if I wielded a long spear while you held a wooden practice sword, I would be no match for you.”
“Am I really that strong?”
I had said something foolish. Zophy let out a small “Pfft,” covering her mouth as she laughed.
“I really should have challenged you once or twice. Then I could have taught you earlier that you’re allowed to be far more confident and even a little arrogant. Though I must admit, I rather like this friendly, slightly clueless side of you as well.”
“We could still have a match right now.”
“No thank you. You want me to be humiliated in front of this many people? Besides, it seems someone else is quite eager to spar with you, my lady.”
Even without turning around, I knew exactly who Zophy meant. I could practically feel the silver-haired young lady behind me craning her neck and clearing her throat with an obvious hmm, hmm.
“Leave her be. She’s a stalker. We danced once and now she’s convinced she’s my girlfriend.”
The worry that the visibly powerful Erika and I—in my current possessed body—might spar and my body would fail to keep up with my thoughts weighed heavily on me. Of course, remembering how skillfully I had danced and how magic had flowed surprisingly well after that single mistake, I held some hope that swordplay might go decently. Still, as Zophy said, showing a pathetic display in front of so many people would be utter humiliation. There was no need to take such a risk.
“That remark borders on lèse-majesté, Maria.”
“Then why don’t you sue me in the grand court?”
“Aha… Shall I? You know, Maria, whether you like it or not, becoming a litigation opponent means you’ll be forced to see each other’s faces quite often. When I sit in the imperial palace, nobles occasionally come requesting the dissolution of their marriages. Most still harbor lingering feelings. If there were none at all, they wouldn’t come all the way to the palace entrance where the two parties must face one another.”
“Does the imperial family really have to handle such trivial chores? That sounds exhausting.”
“The dissolution of noble marriages is a matter of national importance, entangled with family assets and power dynamics. Yet among all those cases, none was as grave as the severance of our relationship.”
“You’re not still acting on His Majesty the Emperor’s desire to swallow up the Letiaponk family, are you?”
At my question, Erika’s face hardened noticeably. I instinctively realized I had carelessly prodded the most painful dilemma and wound that Erika usually endured with composure no matter how harshly she was treated.
“…Father has nothing to do with this.”
“He clearly does. That’s why your face just stiffened.”
“Even if he does, that’s all it is!” Erika’s voice rose. The sound rang louder than the clashing blades of the young ladies who had already begun sparring, drawing every eye in the area toward us for a moment.
“It is merely related—nothing more. The emperor is not holding my leash, nor is he trying to put one around your neck as well.”
In the dining hall Zophy had been the one boldly provoking Erika, yet now that the princess was visibly shaken, Zophy was the most anxious of all. As I debated whether to comfort Erika or cut the conversation short, Zophy stepped between us.
“Would you two perhaps like to see the weapon I use?”
“A weapon, Zophy?”
“Yes, a weapon. I don’t like swords, but I’m rather fond of this.”
So saying, Zophy drew a long dueling pistol from inside her coat. Erika’s eyes widened with clear interest, and I too stared at her in open-mouthed astonishment.
“A gun, Zophy?”
“It belonged to my father, who served as a general during his military days. When I fought with him and left home, he said nothing kind, but at the very end he stopped me and placed this in my hands. I’ve been practicing in secret without your knowledge, my lady, and I’ve become quite proficient. There’s a shooting target in the corner of the training ground. Shall we continue our conversation over there?”
“The gunshot will drown out our voices, Erika,” I said in agreement. It felt uncomfortable to let others witness Erika’s agitation for too long.
“I think that’s a good idea.”