The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

Academy Tournament.

This annual competition draws significant attention from outside the Academy.

It provides a preview of the students' abilities and allows observers to identify promising graduates.

Knights representing various territories and scouts from different organizations flock to the tournament.

Rumor has it that ticket sales from this event constitute the largest portion of the Academy's revenue.

“So? Any promising prospects this year?”

“Not really.”

“Why? There are a few who seem skilled.”

“Most of them are already affiliated with other organizations. That big guy over there, the first-year Hundred, is with the Iron Mercenaries, and that girl with the… ample bosom over there…”

Of course, the Academy isn't a place one can easily enter simply because they possess talent.

Those who stand here are mostly geniuses who have shown exceptional promise from a young age, or prodigies honed through rigorous training.

By the time scouts spot a talent and start salivating, someone else already has a firm grip on them.

Yet, the reason they still come to the tournament is…

“Hmm? That kid…”

“Why? Do you know him?”

“No, I feel like I sense something, but I’m not sure.”

Hidden gems, unknown to anyone, are occasionally discovered at the Academy.

─Match begin!

‘Kwaaang—!’

─M-Match over! Winner, Arthur!

“……Hmm.”

The thrill of discovering such a gem isn't a sensation easily found elsewhere.

* * *

“Kyle!”

“Arthur, well done.”

After the first match, I headed to Arthur’s waiting room.  

A sign read “Authorized Personnel Only,” but if Arthur and I aren't authorized, then who is?

Arthur, who greeted me, plopped down on a chair, her hands trembling as if she couldn't believe the technique she had just performed.

“Haa… I'm nervous.”

“Why, after winning?”

“Can I do it again?”

“Why wouldn't you be able to?”

Letting out a chuckle, I lightly punched Arthur in the chest, infusing her with encouragement not to be nervous.

“─You can do it. Trust me, who believes in you.”

“Kyle…”

“And, well, even if you don’t win the championship, you beat that Hundred guy.”

“Huh? Oh, right. What was that bet about again…?”

“You even told him about that? You're such a wimp.”

I let out a few hollow laughs, recalling Hundred's petty and unmanly behavior, then patted Arthur’s shoulder.

While she might manage to pull through the first match, I wasn't convinced she could win the second and third matches without any problems.

The fact that she could use a Secret Technique despite being an Aura User was already widely known.  

Assuming people weren't fools, they would have devised strategies to counter her.

“Don’t worry too much. Unless they’re Expert level, they won’t even touch your sword. You’ll definitely have the upper hand in stamina, so just focus on slowly wearing your opponent down.”

“Wearing them down…”

─Student Arthur, please prepare for the next match.

“Oh, yes!”

At the referee's voice from outside, Arthur answered energetically and stood up.

Whether it was the aftereffect of using her Secret Technique or the tension of standing before a crowd, her hands were still trembling.

Seeing this, I held her hands, interlocked our fingers, and looked her in the eyes.

“Good luck. I'm going now.”

“O-Oh-? Y-Yes! Th-Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it. Half the winnings are mine if you win.”

Waving lightly, I left the waiting room and walked down the hallway to return to the audience seats.

After walking for a while, I encountered a large man occupying the middle of the hallway.

This unknown man was standing alone in the center of the hallway.  

Passing him would inevitably lead to a collision, so I politely requested,

“Excuse me, sir, could you please move?”

“……Are you Arthur?”

“No.”

“Hmm. I see. Well, she was a girl anyway.”

“I get it, so could you please…”

As I naturally tried to pass him, I realized something was odd and looked at him.

How did this guy know Arthur was a girl?

As I stared at him, he glanced at me and moved aside, as if urging me to hurry up and pass.

Instead, I stopped and leaned against the wall.

‘Is he a Force User? But for that, his body is too…’

Looking at his excessively developed latissimus dorsi muscles, one could tell how long he had been systematically training.

However, the muscles were slightly twisted to one side, and that twist alone revealed this man's profession.

‘He uses a Bow. And he’s exceptionally skilled.’

The power of a bow depends on its draw weight, which is proportional to the archer's strength.

The larger the archer's back muscles, the stronger the bow they can draw, and an archer with surprisingly large muscles is a very threatening presence on the battlefield.

Perhaps noticing my stare, the man finally looked at me.

“What? Something to say?”

“Which territory’s scout are you?”

“Scout?”

“Aren’t you? You’ve been watching here for a while, so I assumed…”

“─A scout, huh? Yes, I am a scout.”

The man said so and began to scan me from head to toe. I wondered if it was an occupational habit since he claimed to be a scout. Suddenly, the man flinched and stared intently at me.

“You…”

“What?”

“What’s your name?”

“Kyle. What about you, mister?”

“I’m Kenneth. Kyle─ won’t you join me?”

“……What?”

Looking at Kenneth, who was suddenly trying to scout me, I wore a bewildered expression.

What was this all of a sudden?

* * *

Second Match.

Arthur’s opponent was a Magician.

Arthur inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness.’

The Magician who had implanted the Dragon’s Heart within her, the Magician who had sent her to the Academy, had said that she had become a natural enemy to Magicians.

The Dragon’s Heart, which constantly emitted a surprising amount of energy, possessed considerable magic resistance in itself, and considering Arthur was an Aura User, that resistance would be even greater.

Thus, he had said that Magicians of an average level wouldn't be able to lay a finger on her.  Indeed, his words proved true.

“Match begin!”

‘Doong—!’ 

With the drumbeat signaling the start of the match, Arthur simply took the incoming magic head-on.  

While it wasn't a significant impact for her, it seemed to be different for the opposing Magician.

Stunned by the absurd counter-strategy of blocking a perfectly executed spell with her body and charging forward, the opposing Magician could only watch in a daze as Arthur ran towards him.

The match ended with Arthur reaching him, lightly shoving him with her shoulder to knock him down, and placing her sword against his neck.

“Match over─! Winner, Arthur!”

“……Good match.”

“G-Good match.”

Leaving behind the opposing Magician’s dumbfounded expression, Arthur descended from the arena.  

Priests waiting outside rushed over to check for injuries.

Leaving behind the bewildered priests who realized she was perfectly fine after taking a magic attack head-on, Arthur returned to the waiting room.

Unfortunately, Kyle didn’t come this time.  

Perhaps he felt there was no need since he had already visited earlier.

“Haa…”

Leaning against the wall and sighing as she waited for Kyle, Arthur abruptly stood up at the sound of someone knocking.

“Yes-.”

─Excuse me. Student Arthur, you have a visitor…

“A visitor?”

If it were Kyle, they wouldn’t have called him a visitor─ Arthur tilted her head in confusion and replied that they could enter.

The door opened, and the so-called visitor entered.  It was a face she had never seen before, but Arthur realized from the aura he exuded that he was no ordinary person.

“Greetings. Student Arthur.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I apologize for this sudden visit. However, with matters like this, the sooner the better.”

The man smiled gently and revealed the reason for his visit.

“Would you consider joining our Imperial Knights?”

“……What?”

It was an offer to join the most prestigious knight order in the Empire.

* * *

“─So, you want me to join you?”

“Yes.”

Kenneth revealed the name of his organization.

“I am Kenneth, the “Bow” of the Sacred Weapons. I recommend you as the “Sword.””

I pondered his words.

Sacred Weapons.

…What kind of unheard-of organization was that?