“The sighs are getting longer.”
“......”
“Haah...”
“......”
“Haaaah...!”
“Uh, um... Lady Irene, is sothing wrong?”
“...Just call Irene, Levi. And no, nothing’s wrong.”
“O-Oh, I see.”
“But...! Haah! No, never mind....”
“......”
...No matter how you looked at it, she was practically begging for attention.
It wasn’t just that she was sighing loudly for no reason—she kept throwing burdenso glances as if pleading for soone to ask what was wrong.
It was only natural for beads of cold sweat to form on Levi’s forehead.
“Poor Levi... she’s finally been caught in that snare....”
“Why is she doing this in the swordsmanship training grounds of all places?”
“She probably just wants soone to talk to.”
“But why here? If she went to the magic departnt, she’d find plenty of people eager to talk to her.”
“The magic departnt is full of fanatics who practically worship Lady Irene. Apparently, that makes them too overwhelming for her.”
“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Hm? Wait, how do you even know that?”
“...Because I got caught once and had to listen to her for five hours straight.”
“...So you’ve suffered too.”
When she first entered the academy, Irene Windler had been the object of admiration for the students in the swordsmanship departnt.
Being the daughter of a duke was impressive enough, but Irene Windler herself had an almost otherworldly charm that matched her noble lineage.
A fairy-like beauty with a bright, refreshing voice.
The talent of a grand mage and the skills to back it up.
And an intellect that had earned her the position of second place in academic rankings upon admission.
There wasn’t a single man who wouldn’t have fallen for a girl who possessed both beauty and intelligence in such perfection.
If not for her status as a noble, she would have likely received thousands of confessions.
...But there was one place where all admiration for her had completely cooled.
‘She’s beautiful, intelligent, and remarkable, but her personality is just...’
‘I had to keep up with her in conversation for ten whole hours last ti... I never want to go through that again.’
‘Whoever ends up with her better have really sturdy eardrums.’
...It was the swordsmanship departnt.
At first, they had admired her just like everyone else. But after actually spending ti around her, well...
‘She’s not a bad person, really. She’s not.’
It wasn’t that Irene had a bad or unpleasant personality.
She just had an extre need for affection, talked without giving anyone a break, and—like any good mage—had a tendency for eccentric behavior.
...Which was precisely why so many had ended up retreating from her.
So even collapsed from exhaustion and nosebleeds after spending too much ti engaging in conversation with her.
‘So things are best appreciated from afar.’
A girl whose charm only grew the less you interacted with her.
That was Irene Windler.
And as if to prove that point—
“So, listen, Levi, you have to hear this! It was four nights ago—I saw the maid and the instructor standing way too close together! I followed them around, and they were holding hands, eating together, taking strolls...! That’s a date! A date! And it just made so mad, and jealous, and envious—I wanted to be in that position so badly...!!”
“A-Ah, I see. But Lady Leira and Master have always been close, so it’s not really—”
“No...!! Anyone else can say that, but you of all people shouldn’t! Aren’t you jealous?!”
“Huh? I just want Master to be happy, so I think it’s all fine.”
“...Gasp!”
“And besides, I wouldn’t mind being... s-second... N-No! Forget I said anything....”
“Aaaaah! Why are all the good, kindhearted won surrounding ?! I’m the only bad one! Just ...!”
[You are so embarrassing, Irene.]
“Shut up!”
“Uh...?”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Levi! I was yelling at this damned ghost.”
“......”
“I swear I’m not lying! Stop looking at like that!!”
...And so, Levi, having been caught by Irene, had no choice but to patiently listen to the girl’s endless grievances and react accordingly.
“Bear-girl is too good. Kunta wants a wife like that.”
“Didn’t you get confessed to recently?”
“I said we should have kids right away, and she slapped . Then the next day, she spread rumors that I was trash. It made sad.”
“...That’s not really sothing to be sad about. That’s your fault.”
“The instructor saw it happen and called it karma, hehe.”
“Oh, Garland. Are you done sparring?”
“Yeah, I wrapped it up. Damn, the instructor’s gotten really strong. No, actually, it’s not just that—his bloodlust and danger level are insane now. Fighting him while he’s holding a hamr is a nightmare.”
“...Yeah, I fought him too. He’s definitely tricky.”
There were three students in the swordsmanship departnt commonly referred to as the “Three Pillars.”
The best swordsman in the departnt was undoubtedly Roen, but if you excluded him, the three most talented and skilled individuals were these three.
Arno de Offen, heir to the Sword Saint.
Kunta, a barbarian of a mysterious lineage.
And Garland, the apprentice of the rcenary King.
...And today, those three had decided to spar against a certain soone.
A spar that forced them to feel real danger.
Even now, there was a red mark vividly imprinted on Garland’s cheek.
A clear sign that he had been struck.
And the one who left that mark was—
“...Ghhkk...”
—Damian Follet, currently passed out cold.
He had taken a clean hit to the chin during his match with Garland and was knocked unconscious.
Normally, Garland wouldn’t have knocked out an opponent—he would have simply subdued them.
But against Damian, even subduing him had beco difficult.
No, at this point, he had to go all out just to fight him properly.
“He’s gotten stronger. Well, I guess it makes sense—he charges at the instructor every day.”
“It’s not just that. His aura is no joke.”
“Mm. Kunta sotis gets scared of the instructor. Yesterday, when I fought him, he looked like a ghoul.”
“Yeah, his condition isn’t great.”
Apparently, he had been working overti yesterday too.
Which raised the question—when was he not working overti?
Recently, he had even started suffering from insomnia.
And with how he looked now, Damian could honestly be mistaken for an undead.
“Hehehe... I... I can sleep now....”
...Apparently, being knocked out counted as “sleep” to him.
He had a blissful expression on his face, as if getting knocked out was the best thing that had happened to him.
“...That’s what he says in his sleep?”
“The instructor... is pitiful.”
“Kunta, maybe you should try being an instructor yourself—”
“Garland, don’t cross that line. There are so things you don’t say, even as a joke. Kunta doesn’t want to lose a friend today.”
“...I apologize. That was my mistake. I sincerely regret it.”
“Good. And I’d appreciate it if you never said sothing like that again.”
“Damn, since when did you get so articulate?”
And so, just like any other day, life in the swordsmanship departnt continued in peaceful chaos.
The kingdom was still rife with incidents and crises, but as cadets, they were in a position ant to be protected.
And since no one knew how long this peace would last, they might as well enjoy it.
But then—
“...The hell? Why is this bastard sleeping here instead of at ho?”
Soone who played a massive role in maintaining that peace appeared.
“Looks like the construction finished early today.”
“Yeah, mostly. Just need to wrap things up now.”
“...Haha.”
Ihan had shown up later than usual—having spent the entire morning at a construction site.
And what construction site was that?
'What the hell does it an that he "almost destroyed the royal palace"...?'
'Didn't my father tell not to ss with the instructor? ...Isn’t that just common sense at this point?'
'Who was he even sparring with?'
The royal palace.
The construction site Ihan had been working on was none other than the royal palace itself.
Most of the cadets already had a vague idea of what had happened—because quite a few of their parents were nobles working within the palace.
...From what they had heard.
‘Didn’t they say he almost destroyed the royal palace during a [sparring match]?’
How the hell does a sparring match end up nearly demolishing an entire palace?
They couldn’t begin to understand.
But one thing was clear—those parents who had previously voiced complaints about Ihan now fervently begged their children never to get on his bad side.
To the point where so were even sending him gifts.
Because of that, the cadets—sotis referred to as "young masters" or "chicks"—could easily guess what had happened.
‘He must’ve done sothing very typical of the instructor.’
As always, he had probably committed so ogre-like act of destruction.
“So, why the hell is this bastard lying here like this?”
“He passed out after sparring with Garland.”
“Yeah? He wouldn’t have gone down that easily, though.”
“Well, his face does have a nice mark on it.”
“Keep pushing yourself. At this rate, he’s going to catch up.”
“Already planning on doing that.”
“Hmph. Then how about you try going up against like this idiot did?”
“...Instructor, no matter how reckless I am as a rcenary, I’m not that stupid.”
“This dumbass did it.”
“That just ans he’s dumber than a rcenary. Tch.”
Even the rcenaries pitied Damian at this point, but the man himself was still fast asleep, smiling blissfully.
Ihan rely told them to dump him sowhere out of the way before turning his gaze toward the remaining cadets.
[...]
He clearly had sothing to say.
The air, which had been noisy just monts ago, suddenly grew deathly silent.
“You guys sure know when to shut up.”
Ihan looked satisfied that he didn’t have to say much.
Then, he reached into the bag slung over his back and pulled out a thick stack of papers.
“Take one each. Anyone who wants to can get their parents to sign it.”
“What is this?”
“A ho visit request form.”
“...Excuse ?”
“I said it’s a ho visit request form.”
“???”
***
Ihan explained simply.
“The kingdom’s been in chaos lately. Your parents must be worried. As your instructor, I should ease their concerns. I also want to discuss potential counterasures in case of an ergency.”
Only then did the cadets begin to understand.
“Aaah!”
“There’s such deep aning behind this!”
“Instructor, you’re being surprisingly considerate!”
“Head on the floor.”
“Yes, sir!”
After handing out a fitting punishnt to the bald cadet who had spoken out of turn, Ihan turned his attention back to the group.
“Of course, this isn’t mandatory. It’s only for those who want to participate. That’s why I told you to get a signature.”
“What about Kunta?”
“If you want, let know. I’ll run to your holand myself.”
“It’s 100 kiloters away.”
“That’s close.”
“...?”
“Anyway, if you understand, you’re dismissed. I’ll wrap things up early today, so go ask your parents.”
And with that, Ihan swiftly scattered the cadets.
There was an undeniable pushiness to the whole thing, but at this point, the cadets were so used to his ways that they didn’t find it particularly strange.
Having spent so much ti under his command, they had built up a resistance to his unique thods.
“...?”
One cadet, flipping through the contents of the form, suddenly tilted his head in confusion.
“Instructor, can I ask a question?”
“What is it?”
“...Uh, why does my form already have a signature on it...?”
Arno de Offen.
He stared at the pre-signed consent section of his form, perplexed.
Ihan smirked and reached into his inner pocket.
What he pulled out—
“Nothing much. Your house doesn’t require special permission, so I just went ahead and did it.”
“...Why is that in your hands?”
A worn-out dagger.
As soon as Ihan revealed it, Arno’s pupils trembled.
Because there was only one person in his family who possessed such an item.
His father, the Sword Saint.
“This thing’s like a free pass to your house, isn’t it?”
“......”
“Oh, and before I use it, there’s sothing I want to ask—”
...Is the Sword Saint ho?
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