Chapter 93: Back to Swordsmanship Class

“Hey! Take this!”

“Alright, alright… I won’t take it!”

Dodging the oncoming slash in front of him, Rest swung his wooden sword back, striking his opponent’s abdomen with a thrust.

“Ugh…!”

Seizing the moment when his opponent’s balance faltered, Rest followed up with another strike.

His opponent was struck on the arm, shoulder, and then the leg with the wooden sword, causing him to fall to the ground.

“Damn it… Ah, I give up again! Surrender!”

The frustrated howl came from Danila Betras, a first-year Knight Academy student who was ranked second in his class and considered quite skilled.

They were currently in the midst of their “Swordsmanship” class, and Rest had just won against Danila once again.

“Another win for me. Is this the fourth one now?”

To be honest, this was the fourth time Rest had sparred with Danila.

A mock battle had been held among all students attending the first class of this course.

Only those who won were allowed to learn swordsmanship, while those who lost were not even allowed to practice with wooden swords and were confined to running and strength training only.

However, from the second class onward, a relief measure had been added.

During the class, defeated students could challenge the winning side to a mock battle, and if they won, they would swap places, allowing them to participate in the class.

“This is the way to bring out the students’ motivation by actively competing against each other!”

 Proclaimed their “Swordsmanship” instructor, Beik Oddman.

Oddman was known for his strong dislike of magic users and had a twisted personality, often using his classes to harass students from the Magic Academy.

The addition of this relief measure was probably to help the struggling Knight Academy students who had unexpectedly been defeated by students from other departments.

(Both the first and second-ranked first-year Knight Academy students ended up losing…)

“You’re quite persistent, huh, Danila? Why don’t you try challenging other students instead of just me?”

Since losing on the first day of class, Danila had been challenging Rest to fights at every opportunity.

Even today, after finishing their required running and strength training, as soon as Rest began practicing with his wooden sword, Danila challenged him again.

“You’re the only one who’s strong enough to take me on. Why would I fight anyone else?”

With his hand on the spot where he was struck by the wooden sword, Danila got up from the ground.

Although his expression twisted with frustration, he stared straight back at Rest.

“There’s no way I’m going to keep losing like this! I won’t even think about returning to class unless I defeat you! Get ready to be knocked down and lick the ground!”

Burning with fighting spirit, Danila shouted vehemently.

Despite his attitude, he wasn’t the worst type of guy to target opponents who were clearly weaker.

“You’re really competitive… Well, I don’t mind that kind of attitude.”

For Rest, sparring with Danila was a valuable learning experience.

Although Danila’s manner and personality were rough and crude, his swordsmanship was clean and based on solid fundamentals.

Just by fighting with him, there was a lot to learn.

(Oddman’s teaching towards magic users is clearly lacking… Training against Daniela seems much more beneficial.)

While winning a mock battle allowed students to practice with wooden swords and receive instruction from the instructor, Oddman clearly had no intention of teaching magic users.

Even if students asked questions, his instructions were so sloppy that it seemed like he didn’t intend to teach them properly.

(Even Professor Swaip would teach more seriously… He’s blatantly discriminating against them.)

Although not all Knight Academy instructors were like that, Oddman stood out as particularly bad.

If this were a manga set in a school, he would definitely end up getting his comeuppance in the end.

However, surprisingly few students complained about Oddman’s lack of seriousness.

This was because… Those who chose to take the “Swordsmanship” class in the Magic Academy were people who were learning swordsmanship as part of their noble upbringing.

They weren’t actively seeking to master swordsmanship but were content with the established fact that they “learned swordsmanship.”

In other words, once they chose the “Swordsmanship” class, they could say, “I am learning swordsmanship,” so they didn’t bother challenging the instructor.

(Oddman probably knows this, so he’s slacking off on his instruction… Since they don’t plan to seriously study anyway, he probably thinks it’s enough to just give them credits…)

“By the way… Are you going to the student council room today?”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Daniela asked:

“Do you remember? Big meeting today, my brother said I have to attend. You heard about it too, right?”

“Yeah, I heard. I’ll go too.”

Since then, Rest had informed Prince Andrew, the student council president, that he would join the student council.

And surprisingly, Danila, who was here, was also a member of the council.

One of the student council members, Eusgoth Betras, seemed to be Danila’s older brother, and that’s how Danila became a member.

Although Danila was considered the second-strongest among the first-year Knight Academy students, it seemed he was recognized for his own abilities rather than just connections.

(Although… he’s not ranked first.)

“Wait, I want to challenge you to another match!”

“Stay away from me! Don’t touch me! Don’t come near me, woman!”

In a spot a little away from the grounds, a boy who was supposed to be the top of the first-year Knight Academy students, Wilhelm Lubase, was shouting.

He was a student who had taken the top spot in the entrance exam for the Knight Academy.

Behind Lubase was Yuri, and for some reason, she was chasing after him.

“I wasn’t satisfied with our previous match! Today, we’ll settle this once and for all!”

“Don’t bother me! I won’t fight someone like you, you perverted woman!”

Lubase had returned to class after defeating the winners in the mock battles, but since then, he had been chased by Yuri.

Although Yuri had won against Lubase in their previous fight, she seemed unsatisfied with the result and challenged him to a rematch.

Apparently, Lubase, who seemed to dislike women, was avoiding her because of that.

“…In a way, they seem to get along.”

“Ugh… Lubase, that guy, fooling around with girls… I’ll take him down eventually.”

“It doesn’t seem like they’re getting along in that way, though…”

Rest shrugged at Danila’s disgruntled muttering and lightly swung the wooden sword he had in his hand.

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