The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

Seeing Principal and Gawain being controlled, I immediately drew my Aura Blade and charged.

Individually, neither posed a significant threat.

One was a retired knight, weakened by war injuries, and the other an aging magician whose reflexes had dulled with age.

However, facing them simultaneously was a different story.

Sir Gawain was a legendary knight who once shaped an era, and Principal Eventide was a master magician with decades of experience.

“Hmph—!”

“Kyle—!”

Aura Blade clashed against Aura Blade.

The blades of light, capable of severing anything, even sliced through the kinetic energy of the impact.

This allowed the aged knight to withstand heavy blows without issue, rendering the simple difference in strength meaningless in a battle between Masters.

“[Stop!]”

As my blade locked with Gawain’s, an intense magical force constricted my body.

I froze momentarily, and in a fight where blades flashed every second, even the slightest hesitation could lead to a fatal injury.

In that moment, the best way to minimize damage was to charge ‘towards’ the blade.

I lunged into Sir Gawain’s chest, sacrificing my shoulder to collide with his solar plexus.

While Aura Masters could emanate Aura from their entire bodies, its intensity was inferior to that of an Aura Blade.

This meant that an Aura-infused punch could still inflict significant damage on Sir Gawain.

“Ugh—! This damned brat…!”

Gawain groaned in pain as he swung his fist at me.

I knew that in close combat, I would undoubtedly be outmatched by his superior martial arts skills.

Therefore, instead of meeting his fist head-on, I slid between his legs.

As I slid behind him, I immediately launched myself towards Principal Eventide.

“W-wait—!”

The startled principal quickly cast several spells, but magic effective against an Aura Master required time to cast.

My Aura Blade swiftly sliced through the principal’s magic, and the severed spells dissipated harmlessly.

With the principal now defenseless, I struck his jaw, knocking him unconscious. Then, I turned back to Sir Gawain.

“……?”

Strangely, Gawain, who should have attacked immediately, didn’t move. It was a significant opening, even by my standards. Sensing something amiss, I looked at him. Gawain sighed deeply and began to speak.

“Lad. We weren’t being controlled by her.”

“Then why did you stop me?”

“Because if we attacked her, every student she ‘is’ controlling would die.”

“What? What are you…?”

I looked incredulously at Aria.

She was watching our fight with a surprised expression, her jaw agape.

“Kyle… you.”

“What?”

“Are you a Master?”

By now, most people around me knew about my status as a Master, so her surprised reaction was rather refreshing.

I belatedly recalled my Aura Blade and sheathed my sword. If they weren’t being controlled, there was no need to fight.

“……Ah, Principal.”

Turning my head, I realigned the principal’s jaw and carefully laid him on the desk.

I was worried he might have been seriously injured, considering his age.

Gawain rushed over and checked on the principal, then breathed a sigh of relief.

“He’ll be alright.”

“Really?”

“Worst case scenario, he’ll have to wear dentures for the rest of his life.”

“Isn’t that a big deal?”

“Well, who told you to start throwing punches without thinking?”

I awkwardly scratched my cheek at his words. He wasn’t wrong, but in that situation, it had seemed like the most logical course of action.

‘No wonder they weren’t fighting seriously.’

If it had been a fight to the death, it wouldn’t have ended so anticlimactically.

They had no intention of truly harming me, and I only wanted to knock them unconscious, which was why it ended so quickly.

Sighing, I stood up and approached Aria. She was still grinning at me.

“Aria.”

“Yes?”

“Release your ability and surrender.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You might die.”

“Try it.”

Aria grinned, seemingly confident in the students she claimed to be holding hostage.

However, I knew she was bluffing. Gawain and Principal Eventide, lacking detailed information about her, might have believed her, but I didn’t.

‘If she had that kind of ability, Sera would have told me.’

Sera’s information was accurate.

While variables arising from the present could change the ‘future’ she knew, the information itself remained unchanged.

Moreover, having spent time with Aria, I could tell when she was lying. And right now, she was lying. She had a tendency to put on a particularly bold smile when she was being deceitful.

“If you touch me, the students will— Mmmph!?”

I knew her threat was a bluff.

I could have knocked her out, but Gawain, glaring daggers at me from behind, would have intervened.

I needed a way to neutralize her without Gawain’s interference. And as it happened, I knew just the way. I swiftly captured Aria’s lips in a kiss.

Our lips met, and the Aura emanating from within me surged into her body. Just like yesterday, at the club presidents’ party, when I severed the unknown connection with Princess Hella.

I forcibly severed the threads within her mind.

“Mmmph, mmmph!?”

Severing the threads connected to her seemed to cause a shock similar to a brain aneurysm, as Aria started bleeding from her nose and her eyes rolled back.

I didn’t relent, continuing until every single connection was severed. Only then did I slowly release her.

Looking down at her as she collapsed onto the table, I met Gawain’s stunned gaze and asked,

“What, never seen a kiss before?”

“No… What was that all of a sudden…?”

Finally realizing that Aria had collapsed, Gawain dashed to the window to check on the students outside.

Freed from Aria’s control, the students looked around in a daze, seemingly unaware of what they had been doing.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Gawain looked down at the unconscious Aria.

***

After Aria collapsed, Principal, having regained consciousness, took her away.

He confined her to the Academy’s secret prison and immediately began to clean up the mess.

Fortunately, no one had died in the incident.

There were some injuries, but the Academy housed dozens, if not hundreds, of cleric students dispatched from the Holy Kingdom.

After they healed all the injured, Kyle truly understood how fearsome Principal could be.

[La, lalala─]

“……I thought it was crazy.”

“─If it means no one has to take responsibility, it’s the best option.”

Aria, brainwashed by the principal, sang a song.

Her melody, amplified by magic speakers, spread throughout the Academy.

Everyone who had remained at the Academy to inquire about the rampage heard her song, and upon hearing it, they lost all memory of the day’s events.

They would only remember that the Academy’s cultural festival was fantastic, unable to recall any specific details of what had transpired.

Watching the principal casually manipulate people’s memories and erase the incident as if it never happened, Kyle realized what a frightened old man was capable of.

“That’s it. As long as we keep our mouths shut, today’s events become the perfect crime.”

“Principal. Crime? What are you talking about?”

“Ahem, I misspoke. It was a wonderful cultural festival this year.”

Saying so, the principal disappeared, seemingly having further plans for Aria.

Kyle was curious about what would become of her, but it likely wouldn’t be anything good.

She had targeted several nobles, and many people had nearly died because of her.

From the principal’s perspective, she was a dangerous liability, easily disposable.

‘I guess I won’t be seeing her again.’

He felt a pang of regret, but Kyle couldn’t bring himself to ask for Aria’s release.

If she had been his fiancée, things might have been different, but Aria was, ultimately, a stranger to him.

The day after the Academy’s cultural festival ended, Kyle was greeted by the sight of Aria, and he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“Hello, Kyle.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Ahaha, so this is how it is.”

Aria gestured to a black choker around her neck, laughing awkwardly.

Beyond the choker, a tattoo adorned the nape of her neck. Sensing the magical power emanating from it, Kyle realized it was a curse of some kind.

She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a small remote control.

“Here, take this.”

“……What is this?”

“The principal told me to give it to you.”

Handing him the remote, Aria explained its function.

“If you press this, it’ll inflict pain through this spell here.”

“What?”

“He said it could even kill me if you use it too much. So, it’s like a… slave collar?”

Handing him the device that controlled her very life, Aria smiled sweetly.

“Now you’re my master, Kyle.”

Kyle’s face hardened.

It was because he realized that the principal had played him.

And it was a huge landmine, at that.