Irene's voice rose sharply as she stood up from her seat.
"?"
In that instant, the eyes of everyone in the student cafeteria turned toward her.
The few model students, annoyed that their peaceful lunch had been disturbed, furrowed their brows.
Irene drew surprised gazes from the people around her, her expression contradicting the nickna "Cold-blooded Knight" she was known for.
Even a male student gaped at Theo with envious eyes.
Amidst the myriad of gazes, Irene realized she had impulsively raised her voice.
'I've made a scene in front of all these people.'
anwhile, Siena smirked and regarded Irene with an air of amusent.
Mina grabbed Irene's sleeve. Irene looked down at her.
"...Irene."
Mina spoke quietly, shaking her head.
'Please restrain yourself! Showing such anxiety in a crowded place like the student cafeteria only makes the elf more delighted!' Mina thought to herself, but Irene's unease remained.
Still standing, Irene fixed her gaze upon Theo.
To those unfamiliar with him, his expression appeared no different than usual.
'...But I can tell.'
He seed saddened about sothing.
She didn't know what it was yet, but it was clear that the golden-haired elf had a hold on him.
'I promise I'll save you, Theo.'
Irene bit her lip firmly and made a vow. Theo opened his mouth.
"...Irene. Sit down."
"Alright."
Only then did Irene return to her seat.
Before long, she had reverted to her usual "Cold-blooded Knight" deanor.
"......"
A long silence hung over the table.
When the other students in the cafeteria lost interest and looked away, Irene turned her gaze toward Siena.
"Siena, it's highly unbecoming to behave as you did earlier in front of so many people. Theo is the heir of the prestigious Waldeurk family. We must maintain his dignity. Even if you've spent a long ti in the deep forest and are unaware of how the outside world works, haven't you crossed a line?"
"Hehe, I'm well aware of how the outside world works. I'm royalty, after all. Besides, why should I be concerned about those around ? I'm not doing this to just anyone. Can't I do this much for soone I love?"
Siena continued to wear a leisurely smile.
Irene suppressed her annoyance.
"...Do you know that Theo and I are engaged? It's indecent to say such things in front of one's fiancé."
"Hehe, of course I know. But it's a political marriage, isn't it? You're not even married yet. Moreover, I know full well~ how much the Waldeurk family desires an alliance with our Great Forest."
With her composure unbroken, Siena had countered with an underhanded fact.
Irene was at a loss for words.
'...So that's how you want to play this.'
A formidable opponent, indeed. She was so brazen.
After clenching her fists and thinking for a mont, Irene spoke calmly.
"Fine, Siena. But this is the Knight Departnt's student cafeteria. It's a public place, so please show so restraint."
"Hehe, alright."
Siena smiled slyly. Mina looked at Irene with a sympathetic gaze.
After lunchti, the Knight Departnt began their afternoon practical sparring session.
Similar to the Hero Departnt, students could pair up with whover they wished to spar.
Of course, since Siena and I were observing the classes, we were also allowed to spar with the Knight Departnt students.
I looked around with the practice longsword at my waist, scanning the area.
'I should observe as many techniques as possible.'
Having seen nearly all of Irene's techniques, it seed best to observe those of an entirely new character.
Surely, in this vast Knight Departnt, there would be soone utilizing a useful weapon technique.
In the original work 'Kyren Zena Chronicles,' a character's importance was not determined solely by their prowess in battle.
Occasionally, there were strong characters like Noctar who had little presence in the original work.
'Of course, most of the main characters are quite powerful.'
I hadn't yet noticed any eye-catching students. While I continued to search, a male student approached .
"Hero Departnt. Let's have a match."
He challenged to a duel.
He was tall, with a decent build and looked like he could put up a fight.
He had been staring at intently since morning.
"Alright."
I gripped my practice longsword, and my opponent picked up his practice spear.
"My na is Theo Lyn Waldeurk. What's yours?"
"…Maxim."
Introducing himself as Maxim, the male student glared at .
Maxim.
The na rang a bell.
In this story, Maxim paled in comparison to Theo, having the presence of nothing more than a minor extra.
Considering the total playti of the original work was nearly 20,000 hours, it was impressive that I could rember him at all.
'Anyway, I don't have much information about him.'
Maxim was just a pitiful fellow who was rejected by Irene after confessing to her in every route.
His preferences and primary techniques remained unknown.
He must have impulsively challenged because I was Irene's fiancé.
[Na: Maxim Markin]
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Race: Human
Affiliation: Elinia Academy, Knight Departnt
Strength: 9
Stamina: 9
Mana: 6
Tenacity: 7
Traits:
Spear Expert (Passive Effect) [View Details]
Throwing Expert (Passive Effect) [View Details]
Fighting Spirit (Passive Effect) [View Details]
However, I had his status window.
'Judging by his stats and traits, he's not an ordinary extra.'
Irene, the top student, had Strength and Stamina of 10 each, while Maxim had 9.
The students of the Knight Departnt's A-class were certainly sothing else.
Nevertheless, he was a worthy opponent.
Having honed my Natural Power and various techniques, I had a good chance of winning.
Losing never crossed my mind.
I didn't want to experience the powerlessness I felt when Piel defeated .
'If necessary, I'll use Overload.'
Before long, all the students stopped their sparring and stared at Maxim and .
The supervising professor, seemingly intrigued, crossed his arms and focused on our impending duel.
"I'll go first. Hero Departnt."
Surveying the surroundings, Maxim lowered his upper body and thrust his spear towards my face—a blatantly insulting gesture.
"Fine, I'll give you the first strike."
Feeling quite irritated, I snapped my fingers at him—an equally insulting gesture.
'I'll teach him a lesson.'
This would be my first ti actually facing a spearman.
Still, I had seen plenty of them during the practical evaluations.
The most popular weapon in this world is the spear, after all.
"Don't ss around!"
With that, the excited Maxim charged at with his spear, true to the Fighting Spirit trait he possessed.
However, I could clearly see his movents.
Whoosh!
I easily dodged Maxim's thrust and imdiately closed the gap between us.
A battle between a spear and a sword favored the spear user, as the reach difference usually ant that the spear users would win nine tis out of ten.
The most effective strategy against a spear users was to close the distance.
Of course, spear users knew this and typically had counterasures in place.
"Not much of a challenge."
But that only applied when their opponent's couldn't read their movents.
Thanks to my Observer's Eye, I could clearly see Maxim's blind spots.
Thud!
After closing in, I swiftly struck Maxim's abdon.
"Ugh!"
Maxim doubled over with a single scream of pain.
***
Clutching his stomach, Maxim refused to accept reality.
'How could there be such a gap between us?'
Two weeks ago, Theo's performance at the dod stadium flashed through Maxim's mind.
At that ti, Maxim had fervently wished for Theo to be struck down.
The reason was simple: jealousy consud him.
Irene had rejected Maxim's confession outright, and today, he had clearly seen her looking at Theo with admiration in her eyes.
'Damn it.'
Anger boiled within him, and he couldn't concentrate on the morning lectures.
Two weeks had been more than enough ti for a passionate teenage boy to forget the past.
That's why he had planned to provoke Theo with a duel.
Maxim hadn't planned to win from the start.
His goal was a draw.
It would be humiliating enough for a student from the Hero Departnt to tie with a student from the Knight Departnt.
There was a possibility of victory.
Theo's main weapon was a longsword, while Maxim's was a spear—a distinct advantage in compatibility.
"Uh, ugh," Maxim retched, clutching his stomach.
Fortunately, he had eaten a small lunch; otherwise, he would've disgracefully vomited all over the place.
"…Heh, heh."
Maxim gasped for breath, lifting his head to gaze at Theo.
However, Theo's expression was as indifferent as before the duel, displaying no sign of joy in his victory.
'Did he never even consider the possibility of losing to ?'
It was devastating.
To Theo, defeating Maxim was probably akin to breaking a re toy.
As Maxim's body trembled with sha, his classmates sward around Theo.
"Will you duel next, Theo?"
"I want to go first."
"Ah, please! It's always been my dream to face soone from the Hero Departnt."
Not a single person showed any interest in Maxim.
The students of the Knight Departnt were no fools; they all knew that Maxim's challenge had been anything but pure.
To them, Maxim had beco a disgrace, a blight on their sacred duels.
"…"
Maxim sniffled as he stood up.
With his head bowed, he moved desolately to a corner of the room.
***
Bonus! Thank you Elfkan and Timothy.
Enjoy the chappy!
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