"Grrrr..."
An unexpected development. Yuri had defeated the strongest first-year student in the Knight Department.
Oddman groaned in frustration at the unforeseen outcome... but Lubeth had already been carried off, and the result was plain for all to see.
Clenching his teeth and fists, Oddman drew suspicious glances not only from the Magic and Civil Service Department students, but from the Knight Department's own students as well.
No matter how far the faculty abused their authority, it seemed impossible to overturn Yuri's victory.
"...The winner is Lady Yuri Cattleya."
"Hmm..."
Yuri returned wearing a dissatisfied expression.
"Good work. How was it?"
"Honestly, it was a fight where I learned nothing... And here I finally got the chance to fight a real swordsman, too..."
Yuri pouted her lips in response to Rest's question.
She apparently had quite the battle-hungry side to her, and was unhappy that she couldn't fight to her heart's content.
"I see. That's a shame."
"Yeah, a real shame... But if I take the 'Swordsmanship' class, there'll be another chance to fight, right?"
"...I wouldn't count on that."
Judging from how Lubeth had reacted, Rest doubted a day would ever come when she'd willingly fight Yuri again.
"...Next up, Danila from the Knight Department. Rest from the Magic Department."
"Ah, that's me."
Oddman called Rest's name in a sour tone.
Rest, who had been tending to an injured person, stood up, took a wooden sword, and headed for the field.
"You can go all out, Danila."
"Heh heh... You don't have to tell me twice. I've been dying to wipe that smug look off those Magic Department guys' faces."
Encouraged by Oddman's fierce exhortation, a young man with short-cropped, dull brown hair stepped forward.
Wait — I need to remove that Japanese character. Let me redo this paragraph.
Encouraged by Oddman's fiery encouragement, a young man with short-cropped, dull brown hair stepped forward.
He didn't look particularly muscular, but he was tall.
A ferocious gleam shone in his eyes, and he bared his teeth like a carnivorous beast.
"Truth is, I wanted to fight that girl from earlier... I just love pounding women into the ground."
"...What a dangerous guy. Have they started keeping wild animals in the Knight Department?"
"Ha ha! That's such a Magic Department thing to say!"
Facing Rest, the violent young man named Danila raised his wooden sword.
"Lubeth's pathetic too, y'know! There's no way a guy who gets owned by a girl should be the top first-year! Well, I'll be taking that spot in the ranking matches soon enough!"
"Ranking matches... So the Knight Department's tradition really does exist, huh?"
Each student in the Knight Department was assigned a rank, and there was apparently a custom of competing for those ranks through tests and one-on-one duels.
The higher your rank, the better your prospects after graduation.
"Top five in the rankings get scouted by the Royal Guard, right?... That sounds kinda interesting."
"Beating up Magic Department kids won't do anything for your rank, but... ha ha! I'm still gonna enjoy this!"
"Begin!"
The start of the fight was declared.
Danila lunged forward, swinging his sword down at Rest's legs.
"Aiming for the legs... Poor taste."
Rest lightly leaped to dodge the attack.
He'd aimed for the legs on purpose—trying to prolong the fight and inflict pain.
"Ha ha ha! Nice dodge! I'll give you that!"
"............"
"Right next, then left! How about the torso!?"
Rest blocked the incoming attack from the right with his wooden sword and backed away to avoid the one from the left.
A thrust came at his torso, but he twisted his body to avoid it.
Danila swung his wooden sword again and again, pressing the attack relentlessly.
This man was likely among the top students of the Knight Department... rough around the edges, but his sword was sharp and fast.
Rest dodged each attack by a hair's breadth while retreating across the field.
(If I hadn't trained under Master Diebl, I would've been killed instantly... This guy is legitimately strong.)
His arrogant words were more than hot air.
It wasn't just talk—you could feel his real strength.
"I'm not done yet... [Acceleration]!"
Danila pushed his speed even higher.
They'd both already been using [Body Reinforcement]... but the fight kept escalating in speed.
"I'll use [Acceleration] too... This is quite the uphill battle..."
"Hey, not bad for a magician... This is fun! Keep entertaining me!"
"I'm not having fun, though... As expected, your sword skills are better."
If it were a fistfight, Rest would win.
But... when it came to fighting with swords, the advantage lay with his opponent.
Even at equal speed, Rest was gradually being pushed back.
"Using body reinforcement-type magic is perfectly legal. In that case..."
"Ha ha ha! What's wrong? You gonna let yourself get killed like that!?"
"I won't let that happen."
"Huh?"
Rest dodged Danila's attack and immediately circled around behind him.
Before his opponent could turn, Rest drove a strike into his back.
"Guahh...!"
Hit in the back with a wooden sword, Danila staggered forward but quickly recovered his stance.
"Fast recovery. As I thought—you're strong."
"You bastard... What was that just now...!"
"We're in the middle of a fight. Let's keep the chitchat to a minimum."
"!...?"
Rest immediately kicked off the ground and circled behind him again.
Danila spun around quickly, but this time Rest drove his wooden sword into his face.
"Tch... What the hell is this speed of yours...!?"
Rest had no obligation to explain.
He darted all over the field, striking Danila's body with his wooden sword.
He hit his shoulder, his thigh, his torso—blow after blow rained down.
"[Super Acceleration]."
It was a superior version of [Acceleration].
It was the only advanced magic his master Diebl could cast, and he had passed it on to Rest as well.
(Maybe it's a bit outside the scope of the swordsmanship class... but there's no rule against it. Don't hold it against me.)
"Oooooooh...!"
Struck again and again, Danila screamed.
The fact that he still hadn't fallen was likely because he'd activated some kind of defensive magic.
Even so, there was a limit to taking dozens of hits.
"Kuahh..."
Danila stopped moving. Standing upright, eyes rolled back.
"He's... he's dead on his feet..."
Someone watching the fight murmured.
Stunned gazes fell upon Rest and Danila.
"No... He's not dead, you know?"
He'd simply passed out.
Rest would appreciate it if people didn't arbitrarily make him out to be a murderer.
"The m-match is over..."
Oddman announced the end of the match in a bitter tone.
Rest would learn later that Danila had been the second-ranked student among the Knight Department first-years.
Word that the top two of the Knight Department—first-ranked Lubeth and second-ranked Danila—had been defeated in their own field of swordsmanship soon spread throughout the entire year.