Chapter 93: Another Swordsmanship Class
“Take this! Feel my blade!”
“Yeah, yeah… I won’t be taking it, though.”
Dodging the incoming slash, Rest countered with a swing of his wooden sword. The thrust landed squarely in his opponent’s abdomen.
“Ugh…!”
As his opponent stumbled, Rest pressed the attack. He struck the arm, shoulder, and leg in quick succession, sending his opponent crashing to the ground.
“Damn it… I lost again! I surrender!”
The frustrated shout came from Danyla Betras, a first-year student in the Department of Knights, known for his impressive ranking as the second strongest among his peers. They were currently in the midst of their “Swordsmanship” class. Rest had just defeated Danyla once more.
“Another win for me. That makes it four victories, right?”
In truth, this was their fourth match. Danyla had challenged him every time during their Swordsmanship classes, and Rest had emerged victorious each time.
Earlier, a mock battle had been held among all the students at the start of the class. Only those who won were allowed to learn sword techniques, while the losers were relegated to running and strength training, not even permitted to practice with their wooden swords. However, a safety net had been introduced for subsequent classes. Students could challenge the winners during class, and if they won, they could join the lesson in place of the defeated.
“By encouraging competition like this, we can draw out the students’ motivation!”
This was the philosophy of Beick Oddman, the instructor for Swordsmanship. Known for his intense dislike of magicians, Oddman had a warped personality, often using his classes to bully students from the Magic Department. The introduction of the safety net was likely due to the unexpected struggles of students from other departments, aimed at rescuing the defeated knights.
(After all, both the first and second ranked first-year knights ended up losing…)
“…You’re persistent, aren’t you, Danyla? Why not challenge someone else instead of me?”
Rest addressed Danyla, who had just been knocked down in their mock battle. Ever since his defeat on the first day of class, Danyla had been relentless in seeking out Rest for a rematch. Today, after finishing his assigned strength training and running, he had approached Rest, who was practicing with his wooden sword.
“With your skills, you could easily take down the others. Why do you keep targeting me?”
“Ha! Of course, it’s for revenge! I want my revenge!”
Danyla stood up, clutching the spots where Rest had struck him. Despite his frustration, he glared defiantly into Rest’s eyes.
“There’s no way I’m going to let this end with me just losing! I’m not going to fight anyone else until I’ve beaten you! Get ready to taste defeat!”
With a fiery spirit, Danyla roared his determination. His choice to target Rest instead of weaker opponents showed that he wasn’t as bad as his attitude suggested.
“You really are competitive… Well, I don’t mind that kind of spirit.”
For Rest, battling Danyla was quite educational. Though Danyla’s demeanor and speech were rough and brash, his swordsmanship was grounded in solid fundamentals. There was much to learn just from fighting him.
(Oddman clearly provides lackluster instruction to students from the Magic Department… Fighting Danyla is far more beneficial.)
The victorious students in the mock battles earned the right to wield their wooden swords and receive guidance from the instructor. However, Oddman clearly had no intention of teaching the students from the Magic Department properly. Even when they asked questions, his responses were dismissive, showing no desire to genuinely educate them.
(Professor Swipe would at least take the time to teach properly… This blatant discrimination is infuriating.)
Not all instructors in the Department of Knights were like Oddman, but he was certainly an extreme case. If this were a school-themed manga, he would undoubtedly end up facing a terrible fate and receiving his comeuppance.
Strangely enough, there were surprisingly few complaints from students about Oddman’s lack of seriousness. This was likely because the students from the Magic Department who chose to take Swordsmanship were doing so more as a noble pastime than with any real intent to master it. They sought only the pretense of having “learned swordsmanship,” and thus refrained from challenging the instructor.
(Oddman probably knows this, which is why he slacks off in his teaching… He figures as long as they get their credits, they won’t care about learning seriously…)
“By the way… Are you heading to the Student Council Room today?”
Danyla suddenly asked, as if recalling something.
“My brother told me there’s an important meeting, so I have to attend. You heard about it, right?”
“Yeah, I heard. I’ll be going too.”
Since then, Rest had informed Prince Andrew II, the Student Council President, about joining the Executive Committee. Surprisingly, Danyla was also a member of the committee. It seemed that Yusugos Beturas, one of the Student Council officers, was Danyla’s older brother, which had helped him gain entry into the committee. Danyla was recognized as the second strongest first-year knight, not merely due to connections, but for his considerable skill.
(Though the first-ranked student isn’t part of it…)
“Wait! I want to fight you again!”
“Stay away! Don’t touch me! Keep your distance, girl!”
A bit further away on the training ground, the top first-year knight was shouting in a panic. Wilhelm Lübesse, the student who had ranked first in the entrance exams for the Department of Knights, was being pursued by Yuri, who seemed intent on confronting him for some reason.
“I wasn’t satisfied with our last fight! I want a rematch today!”
“Don’t bother me! I refuse to fight a shameless woman like you again!”
Despite having quickly defeated a student and returned to class, Lübesse was now running from Yuri. Previously, they had fought, and Yuri had emerged victorious, but it seemed that the winner was not content with the outcome and was demanding a rematch. Lübesse, apparently averse to women, was trying to escape.
“…In a way, they seem to get along.”
“Tch… That Lübesse is flirting with girls… I’ll definitely take him down one day.”
“It doesn’t look like they’re flirting, though…”
With a shrug at Danyla’s bitter expression, Rest lightly swung his wooden sword in his hand.