Real Education (1)
Whoosh─!
The wooden sword, aimed at Iriel's shoulder, cut through the air.
Despite being in a dangerous situation where a sword almost struck her body, Iriel's expression remained perfectly calm.
"Hmm...."
Iriel let out a seductive moan and walked forward step by step.
Then, as if something had suddenly fallen to the ground, she lowered her head.
A beat later, Ash's wooden sword swung horizontally.
Iriel raised her head again and slightly twisted her body to the side.
Swish!
With a sharp whooshing sound, Ash's thrust pierced the spot where Iriel had just been standing.
In truth, Iriel's athletic abilities were significantly inferior compared to the other children.
If she had tried to dodge after seeing the sword, she might have been struck down in a single blow.
However, the price of witnessing Zeke's liberation firsthand...
Her abnormally developed senses had granted Iriel a special ability.
It was the ability to distinguish between a feint and a real attack.
Iriel could intuitively know where the sword would come from before her opponent even swung it.
Moving a beat faster than her opponent, she could avoid the sword even with slow movements, eliminating the need for exceptional athleticism.
Of course, against swordsmanship with overwhelmingly fast speed or unpredictable trajectories, even Iriel would be helpless.
Swordsmanship that moved two or three beats ahead would require commensurate athletic ability.
But fortunately, Iriel's opponent was from the notoriously rigid and inflexible Kilimbird Family.
And among them, one who particularly inherited that trait.
As if reflecting his personality, his downward slashes were also static and predictable.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Ash's sword continued to cut through the air.
His breathing grew ragged, and his jaw trembled.
Was she possessed by a devil or a witch?
He gradually lost his composure, and impatience crept into his swordsmanship.
'Why... Why can't I hit her!'
He knew that his swordsmanship wasn't particularly outstanding compared to others.
However, he never thought of it as weak.
With his firmly established foundation, he had crushed countless opponents with his basic yet solid swordsmanship.
'A girl who has only held a sword for a few months... My training hasn't been in vain, to be so easily countered by her!'
His eyes filled with frustration and resentment as he glared at Iriel. She blew on her fingernails, seemingly mocking his swordsmanship.
Ash thrust his sword towards her brazen face.
With a slight tilt of her head, Iriel dodged the sword once again.
Again, Ash's sword pierced the air.
In a sparring match where they were supposed to test each other's skills, a deliberate thrust towards the face was a foul. However, Ash was too overwhelmed to care.
"This is boring..."
Her words further enraged him, causing him to swing his sword more wildly.
But Iriel simply dodged with ease, yawning as she did.
In fact, all of her actions were deliberate provocations meant to rile up her opponent.
"Seeing how much I enjoy this, I guess I'm not cut out to be a proper lady. I can't even pretend to be demure in front of Zeke."
A mischievous smile spread across Iriel's face.
"I've shown you enough, haven't I, Zeke?"
Whoosh─!
She kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
Although her mana release was weak compared to Selena's,
by clumsily channeling mana into her feet for a burst of speed,
Ash couldn't react to her sudden advance.
In his eyes, it was as if Iriel's figure had suddenly vanished.
And in that instant...
He felt the cold touch of steel on his neck.
A drop of red blood trickled down from his neck.
"Good job, kid."
Ash's eyes widened.
As he turned his head, he was met with cruel crimson eyes piercing through him.
He barely managed to open his trembling lips.
"I... I lose."
* * *
"... Eustia Duchy, Iriel Eustia wins!"
The principal's declaration of Iriel's victory echoed throughout the training grounds.
Iriel's duel was a shock to everyone.
The captain of the Royal Knights, who had been watching the duel, abruptly stood up from his seat.
"Good heavens..."
Goosebumps erupted on the back of his neck.
He rubbed his neck, feeling the bumpy texture of his skin.
The previous matches had been within the realm of understanding.
The first match, Rosnante's defeat, was disappointing considering his trained physique, but the captain understood that overcoming mental trauma wasn't easy.
It wasn't uncommon for talented individuals to abandon the sword after experiencing war.
The second contestant, the commoner girl Elise, had used underhanded tactics, but from the perspective of the captain, a veteran of countless battles, it was only natural.
Whether weak or strong, everyone only has one life.
The tenacity of a hunting dog, willing to do whatever it takes to defeat an insurmountable opponent, was proof that she possessed the qualities of an excellent combatant.
Therefore, the captain could only nod in approval and award her extra points.
However, what Iriel had displayed shattered the common sense he had accumulated over the years.
"Huh..."
A gasp of admiration escaped his lips involuntarily.
How many people here had truly grasped the significance of the girl's feat?
The captain looked around, gauging the reactions of the others.
"Was it rigged?"
"Well, she's a Duke's daughter... Even with wooden swords, if she actually injured someone, it wouldn't end as a joke."
"But the Second Prince was bleeding from his head?"
"That's because he's the Second Prince..."
"Hmm... It was a decent match. The flashy swordplay suggests she's practiced for quite a while. But the finishing move was clumsy. Why did she swing so recklessly at the end?"
It seemed that no one truly believed that Iriel Eustia, a daughter of the esteemed Eustia Duchy, could spontaneously display such a miraculous feat.
But the captain of the Royal Knights knew better.
It was absolutely not a pre-arranged sequence of movements.
She had anticipated her opponent's attacks in advance and moved accordingly, based on their every move.
Each move was a gamble, as a single miscalculation could have resulted in a failed defense and her downfall.
That was the hallmark of a madman.
'To actually pull that off...'
Even First Prince Illios, who was sitting beside him, seemed oblivious to the true meaning of this match.
"Did Ash betray me...?"
Illios's face contorted in a grimace as he gritted his teeth.
His only weakness, if it could be called one, was his complete lack of talent with the sword.
His ability to judge swordsmanship was equally poor.
To him, it was nothing more than a pre-arranged display of flashy movements, nothing more, nothing less.
"Why... Why would he betray me? I believed it couldn't be true..."
The captain considered explaining Iriel's abilities to him right then and there.
However, he was only here at Illios's request.
He was neither on the side of the First Prince nor the Second Prince.
The Royal Knights were an organization dedicated solely to serving the Emperor.
However, the cunning First Prince had promised to show him something interesting, piquing his curiosity enough to make him use one of his three annual vacation days to come here.
'It was truly worth coming...'
But unlike the captain's satisfaction, the First Prince seemed displeased that things weren't going his way.
He bit his nails anxiously and muttered to himself.
"Rosnante lost... Yes, that was expected. But why did Elise and Iriel win? And there were no obstacles in their movements... Did they not drink the water? No, but... Yuri said they shared the water... How did they do it?!"
Then, he narrowed his eyes in realization.
"But... Selena hasn't arrived yet... So, the only one left is Yuri Gilbert."
Illios's expression visibly relaxed.
Yes, the current score was 2-1, with Zeke Clayman's class in the lead.
But if it was Yuri Gilbert, at least a draw wouldn't disrupt the script he had written.
'Yuri Gilbert, lose the duel. Then I will overlook all your mistakes.'
***
Selena's absence meant that Yuri had no choice but to step forward.
In truth, Yuri had wanted to end this duel simply by tampering with the water.
Thump.
Thump.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
Sour saliva filled her mouth, and her stomach churned.
"Ugh."
She clenched her teeth and forced down the nausea.
'I'm sorry... I'm sorry...'
She muttered meaningless apologies to herself, consumed by guilt.
But she had no choice but to lose this match.
Otherwise, her father wouldn't let it slide.
Even now, she could see her father staring intently at her from the audience.
And First Prince Illios, although he hadn't said it explicitly,
she could clearly sense his unspoken message.
Her final opponent stepped forward from the other side.
The person who would have been Selena's opponent was said to be the most skilled in Instructor Dios's class.
That was the only silver lining.
'It wouldn't be strange for me to lose.'
The strongest person from the other class.
Even if she deliberately tried to lose, she wouldn't stand a chance.
"...Then, let the final duel begin!"
Clang━
The bell signaling the start of the match rang out.
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