The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

Ruby came to find me on the morning of the second day.

She abruptly asked me to be her partner.

“You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

“Yes. Can you do it?”

“I think I need to hear the story first.”

After hearing my words, Ruby seemed to realize that she had been so hasty that she hadn’t even explained the situation properly.

She cleared her throat a few times, ‘ahem, ahem,’ and began to explain why she had made such a request.

“There’s a party tonight for all the club presidents.”

“A party?”

“Yes, a party for the Academy’s club presidents to socialize. I need a partner to go with.”

She went on to explain that she didn’t want to be looked down upon by the other club presidents, and that socializing with them would be good for me too.

I listened quietly to her words, then tilted my head, realizing something was amiss.

“Isn’t that a partner, not a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, right. A partner.”

“You just said, boyfriend.”

“……Did I?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, uh, uhh……”

Ruby covered her face as if she had said something she shouldn’t have and turned around. Even from behind, I could see her ears turning bright red.

Chuckling at the sight, I spoke to her, still blushing and embarrassed.

“Alright. I’ll be your partner.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. Is there, like, a dress code or something?”

“A suit is fine, or your uniform if you don’t have one.”

After making plans to meet at the party venue tonight, she dashed away.

From a distance, I could hear her muttering something; she must have been incredibly embarrassed.

Well, I would have been embarrassed too.

Making a slip of the tongue to someone of the opposite sex, and asking them to be your boyfriend, no less?

‘Amazing.’

Impressed that Ruby hadn’t bitten her tongue and committed suicide on the spot, I enjoyed the second day’s performances with Yuri.

Yesterday, the first day, featured performances by the first and some second-year students, while today, the second day, featured performances by the second and third-year students.

The graduating third-year students put on performances that were professional-level. It was a level of skill rarely seen, even back on Earth.

This meant that the Academy was churning out dozens of artists of this caliber every year.

There was a good reason why most artists starved to death.

In an industry where only the best could survive, near-perfect performers were being added to the mix every year.

“Kyle, Kyle.”

“Huh, what?”

“Let’s go over there, over there this time.”

Yuri seemed to have become interested after seeing the third year’s performances, and she actively led me around.

I let her pull me here and there, enjoying the Cultural Festival.

And so the second day came to an end.

***

Evening. Dressed in a suitable suit, I stood at the appointed place, waiting for President Ruby.

Before long, Ruby appeared, wearing a vibrant red dress that matched her hair color.

“D-did you wait long?”

“Not really.”

I looked her up and down, letting out a gasp of admiration.

While it felt a bit strange to compliment a woman other than my fiancée, I couldn’t help but praise her stunning figure.

“The dress… it suits you.”

“Oh, um. Thanks. You look good in a suit too.”

Ruby said so, then lowered her head and closed her mouth tightly.

Watching her nibble on her lip, I tilted my head and asked.

“Where’s the party?”

“Oh, this way.”

Coming back to her senses, she led me to the party venue.

A party only for the Academy’s club presidents. I was already excited to see what kind of eccentric individuals awaited us.

Following her, we entered a building. A steward standing at the entrance immediately began checking tickets.

After checking our tickets, the steward led us inside.

I gasped at the dazzlingly ornate interior of the building.

“This is……”

“Magnificent, isn’t it? Previous club presidents donated their belongings, one by one. It’s accumulated over decades.”

“I’d be worried about someone stealing it.”

“Stealing? Who? The moment they do, the whole noble society will know. They’d be known as the thief who stole the belongings left by their seniors, as if they were some beggar.”

Thinking about it for a moment, she was right.

Nobles weren’t exactly strapped for cash; they wouldn’t steal and sell things like this.

As I spent time admiring the ornate paintings and gold-plated pottery, people who had arrived earlier began to approach us, showing interest.

“Ruby, who’s this? Another one of your deflowering projects?”

“……Barbara, what nonsense.”

The woman who approached us had distinctive, voluminous curly hair.

Noticing the flesh on her stomach and arms, I could tell she wasn’t from the Knight Department.

Judging by the faint magical power emanating from her, she was probably from the Magic Department.

I couldn’t tell her year, but since she was speaking informally to President Ruby, she was likely a third-year as well.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Barbara Passier, president of the Fortune Telling Research Society. You are?”

“Kyle Meyer, from the Swordsman Club.”

“See, I told you! Another deflowering project!”

Upon hearing my introduction, Barbara exclaimed, looking at Ruby.

Ruby started waving her hands in denial, looking wronged.

I chuckled at the sight.

“Does President Ruby do that often?”

“You didn’t know? After this party, you’ll probably─”

“I told you I haven’t! Be quiet!”

Ruby forcibly covered Barbara’s mouth before she could say anything more, and looked back at me.

“……Just in case you’re wondering, nothing like that has ever happened. I’m still a virgin. Got it?”

“Yes, well. I believe you.”

“It’s not a lie!”

Leaving behind the yelling Ruby, I headed further inside.

Several intriguing auras were emanating from within the party hall, drawing me in.

The murderous intent of knights sizing me up, the magic power of magicians, and an unfamiliar aura, all washed over me, one by one.

“Is everyone here now?”

As we entered the party hall, a man who had been sipping champagne at the far end stood up abruptly and raised his glass.

“Welcome, Kyle Meyer. We welcome you to the Nobles.”

“Nobles?”

“You could say it’s a new club formed by the club presidents. A club within a club, so to speak.”

He said so and began to introduce himself.

“I’m the president of the Drama Club, Car……”

Leaving him mid-introduction, I looked around.

I was searching for the source of the unidentified aura that had been poking at me.

‘Not this one, not this one, ─is it this one?’

I caught the aura that was presumptuously trying to invade my body with my own.

The opponent quickly retreated, as if surprised that their ability had been detected, but an Aura Master’s aura manipulation was as swift and precise as blood coursing through the body.

Following the aura, I found a small girl, not even half my height, trembling.

Short in stature, small in chest.

I tilted my head, wondering what a little girl like her was doing here. Ruby, who had been behind me, rushed over and stopped me.

“W-wait! Kyle! What are you doing!?”

“Huh? What……”

“─Kyaaaaaah-!”

As the girl suddenly screamed, I quickly raised my hands and stepped back. A gesture to show I hadn’t done anything.

However, the girl had already screamed and fainted, and everyone’s eyes were now fixed on me.

I didn’t know much, but I knew one thing for sure.

‘The party’s over.’

Tonight’s party was ruined. Ruby was also looking at me with a despairing expression.

***

Immediately after the girl fainted, Ruby took me out of the party hall.

“Don’t worry. These things happen!”

“I’m sorry. Because of me.”

“No, no. It’s quite common for Princess Hella to faint.”

“Princess?”

“You didn’t know? Princess Aska Hella. She’s been frail since childhood, so she faints often.”

She tilted her head, wondering how such a thing was possible.

However, I was more concerned about something else than the princess’s name, which I was hearing for the first time.

“You’re using honorifics inside the Academy.”

“It can’t be helped. We’re graduating next year. All that talk about equality in the Academy only applies to the first and second years.”

And since her family was practically a vassal family of the Aska family, she couldn’t help it, Ruby shrugged.

She was a noble, but only a Baroness by a hair’s breadth, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Oh, and you really don’t have to worry about what happened today. If you’re really sorry, come again next time.”

“It seems like it’s held often.”

“Yeah, almost once a month.”

“Ah.”

I had thought it was a special party held only once a year, since it happened to be held today, but apparently not.

Figuring it was alright then, I nodded and said goodbye to her.

“Then I’ll see you next time, President.”

“Yeah, see you next time.”

Perhaps because I had ruined the party, or perhaps because we were parting without any gains ─ she gave me a bitter smile as she saw me off.

Looking at her face, I recalled the story I’d heard at the party.

The story about her being a deflowering fiend.

‘Could it be… true?’

***

The third day of the Cultural Festival had begun.

One of the few days the Academy opened its doors to outsiders.

The Academy’s guards, welcoming countless guests, were on high alert, prepared for any possible incident.

“─Did you hear? About the performance today……”

“What? Is it true?”

People were buzzing with excitement, already anticipating the grand performance on the third day.

The grand performance, where students who had performed well on the first and second days would showcase their skills once again to an external audience.

Effectively a performance featuring only the elite of the elite within the Academy, expectations were sky-high.

‘Aria… is she in the dormitory?’

And naturally, the list of performers for the third day had already been released.

Not finding Aria’s name on the list, Kyle felt a sense of unease.

She hadn’t been rejected due to a lack of skill in her performance, had she?

Perhaps due to the low audience turnout… Ultimately, she had been eliminated.

‘She must be devastated. To be eliminated like this just because she’s a commoner…’

He wanted to console her, but he didn’t even know where she was. Kyle headed towards the Grand Performance Hall, deciding to see just how amazing the performance that had eliminated Aria was.

“─Everyone, welcome!”

The grand performance, which began shortly after, surprisingly consisted of talents no less impressive than Aria.

While it was a shame that Aria had been eliminated, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

At least, none of the students chosen over her were so lacking in skill that her elimination seemed unreasonable.

Kyle thought so, waiting for the next performance to begin.

“One, two.”

“Lord Carlos-!”

“Kyaaaah-! My Lord!”

The students and the audience began to cheer in anticipation.

The final highlight of the Grand Cultural Festival.

The scheduled performer was Carlos, the president of the Drama Club whom he had met yesterday.

However.

“Who is that…?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen her before……”

The person who walked out from behind the stage was Aria, dressed in a pure white dress.

Wearing a dress as white and ornate as a wedding dress worn by a bride on her wedding day, she walked gracefully onto the stage.

If she were the true star of this performance, the crowd would have welcomed her with cheers. But that wasn’t the case.

Aria was not only not scheduled to perform today, but she was also an unknown newcomer.

“What are you doing! Get her off the stage!”

From backstage, the Art Department professors could be heard shouting at the guards. But there were no responding footsteps.

At this moment, Kyle realized something was amiss.

The professor was yelling so loudly, but no one was moving?

‘What’s going on?’

The strangeness solidified when Aria cleared her throat, ‘ahem,’ and began to speak.

“Greetings, Academy students. And honored guests.”

Even in this perplexing situation, Aria captivated the audience with her melodious voice.

“─My name is Aria. Aria Vesta.”

Murmurs of confusion rippled through the audience. As far as they knew, the Vesta family had no daughters.

Just as they were wondering if she was a hidden child of Marquis Vesta, Aria stamped her foot.

‘Tap!’ The sound of her heel echoed throughout the performance hall, and her singing voice followed, reaching everyone.

“Requiem æternam dona eis─.”

“Ugh, uh, uhh….”

“Grrrrgh…!?”

Her singing voice was a celestial harmony, but those who heard it began to writhe in agony, clutching their heads.

And ─ the audience members, rising from their seats, began attacking those next to them.

“W-what’s happening!?”

“What’s wrong with you!?”

“Dies iræ.”

She sang.

Those who heard her song attacked those around them as if controlled by something.

Even amidst the chaos, the song continued.

After confirming that most of the audience was under her control, Aria stopped singing, grinned, and spread her arms dramatically like a stage actress.

“I hope you all enjoyed it.”