Chapter 9- Two People

This is part of the class, a time for the teachers to gauge the level of their students.

But the teacher, who thought that these two would be a good match and had other ideas, didn’t try to stop the two from crossing swords either.

Instead, the teacher adds a few words.

Not just to the two of them, but to all the students.

“This is part of the lesson, and although it is a test of your ability, you must understand that it is a class and you must swing your swords. It is outrageous to injure your opponent.”

With these words, the two began to cross swords

Although it was assumed that this was a class, Sarah swung her sword as if she was unaware of it.

The step and the swing of the sword are definitely not that of a mere girl.

“—- haa!”

The pressure that breaks the sky ripples through the training ground.

The way she carried herself, the brilliance of her sword, everything about her was so good that it took away the confidence of the other students.

However, the attention directed towards Sarah, who was displaying a sword trained by Prince Riohard was diverted. The greatness of Licia, who was able to parry everything, began to be emphasized against Sarah, who had been showing a brilliant appearance so far.

“Fufu! That’s strange! You’re getting stronger again, Licia! But what’s wrong? You’ve been watching me this entire time!”

“I’m not underestimating you. I’m just checking you out.”

As if to prove it, Licia’s behavior changed after a certain moment.

Sarah’s sword, swift as the wind, slides right next to Licia’s sword.

Suddenly, Sarah was knocked out of her stance, and she hurriedly braced herself.

“—-!?”

Licia’s sword approached there.

It was as fast as the wind, several times faster than Sarah’s sword, which was supposed to be.

She parried it, but it’s heavy and she felt like she’s wobbling on her feet.

Nevertheless, Licia didn’t use the concept of cloaking, which is unique to hard sword techniques.

It is difficult to say whether that was treated as a martial technique or not, but she had stopped because she thought it was not in line with the purpose of the class.

“Fufu …… Licia! You’re still holding back, aren’t you!? Show me! Show me your true sword speed!”

“Yes, of course I intend to!”

Licia’s sword swinging speed increased one step and then another, and before long, she had raised it to the speed she would swing against Ren.

If the strength of the hard sword technique had been added to it, it would have been different.

The weight and speed of the sword would have been transformed into that of a different thing, and would have presented an even more exceptional appearance.

However, Licia managed to overwhelm Sarah without using her power.

After blocking the first blow, Sarah’s feet were shaken by a new shock.

Her arms, which had been unable to brace themselves to defend against the second blow, were stretched wide open at the sides.

The third blow finally did nothing, and the sword in Sarah’s hand was flung away.

Soon, Licia’s sword was thrust in front of Sarah, who was kneeling on the floor.

“Another complete defeat.”

Although she had suffered defeat, she was smiling.

The girl’s strength, which is her goal, made her want to become even stronger.

Then the sound of applause echoed through the room.

“Look, Sarah!”

Licia lent her hand to Sarah.

“Thanks. Huh…you’re more competent than you were before…. You can use the hard sword technique with this, right? What will happen if you do?”

“But even you will be able to use the holy sword technique.”

“You’re able to use sacred magic as well. Even without that, you’d be a different kind of strong just by using the hard sword technique.”

Sarah did not say this in a dissatisfied manner, as if she were trying to guess.

A smile appeared on her cheeks, and it’s true that she had gained fulfillment from the battle that had just taken place.

In fact she was grateful to Licia. The sword she displayed at the end was the fastest that Licia could perform if she didn’t use the cloak.

She was glad that she didn’t cut corners.

Any more of that and it would have been a real battle. So it should have been all that Licia could have shown here.

On the other hand, Sarah was frustrated that she could do nothing against that sword and was defeated.

“One more time! There’s still time.”

“Fufu, fine. But is Vane okay with it?”

“It’s fine. I told Vane that I want to duel you today.”

She was still full of enthusiasm and was able to swing the sword with Licia without losing heart during the training sessions that followed.

The other students were inspired to get fired up as well.

The thought of having two girls of the same age who were so strong was enough to make the students who had come to the academy jump up and down.

On the way to the school, several boys approached Licia and said they would like to cross swords with her.

These boys were the ones who were usually attracted by Licia’s beauty and approached her. There was a glimpse of this here as well.

“We too are familiar with the sword. My father was a general in the army, and I learned swordsmanship from an early age.”

“I, too, have studied the art of swordsmanship since I was a child. Please, will you be my sparring partner?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve decided to duel Sarah for today.”

“So, how about another day?”

The boy who had been turned away continued to press his luck.

He was unaware of this.

“I think I would be a better training partner than the knight boy!”

Sarah was listening next to Licia and put her hand on her forehead.

Licia, on the other hand, had a dainty smile on her face.

“Thank you for your concern. But I’m fine, I’m sorry.”

After saying this with a smile, Licia turned her head to Sarah.

“Let’s continue.”

“Yes.”

The two boys could only watch the two cross swords, unable to intervene.

The teacher immediately told them to continue, and they gave up and went back to where they were.

“Licia, you are surprisingly not angry.”

“It’s true that those two don’t know Ren’s strength, so it’s more unreasonable for me to be angry with them. I remember that those boys are the children of the royalist and heroic nobles, aren’t they?”

“There are quite a few of them these days.  There are places where the factional warfare continues, and there are places where it doesn’t.”

“Phew. So that’s why….”

For the first half of the afternoon class, these two drew more attention than anyone else.

Vane attracted just as much attention and showed his abilities to the boys and girls of his age. Even though he may not yet be as good with a sword as Sarah, he may be equal to her, or maybe even slightly better, in terms of his physical strength and other things.

It was just before the end of class when Ren arrived.

“I’m sorry, I’m late!”

“No, I’ve heard about you. I’m sure you’ve done a great job as a committee member.”

Soon the bell rang, signaling the end of class, and the swordsmanship instructor mouthed the signal that class was over.

The sweaty students gradually left the training grounds at the end of the class.

Some stay behind to take a break and chat. Others looked at Ren, who had just arrived, and observed him with interest, wondering if he, too, would swing a sword. Including the duo who had approached Licia, about half of the students were still in the class.

“I’m sorry. I should have been working with you.”

“No. it’s okay. Wouldn’t want to have kept Riohard-san waiting further.”

Originally, Ren was the one who took on the role of executive committee member, so he also felt a little sorry.

Licia smiled and thanked him for his concern.

“What was the class like today?”

“The teacher wanted to see how good we all were, so he asked us to swing swords in pairs. So I was swinging the sword with Sarah the whole time.”

“Oh, so he wanted to measure your abilities for the future?”

“Yes. The second half of the training included instruction in imperial swordsmanship, so I’m sure everyone got tired. I think that’s why they left the training ground so soon.”

Then, there it was,

“Ashton.”

The instructor of this class walked up to him.

“I’m sorry, can I have a moment of your time? I’d like Clausel to stay if you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“Me too. But what’s going on?”

“I had a thought when I confirmed Clausel’s ability. I want Ashton to actually show me what he’s capable of for the future. I want Clausel to be his partner.”

“I wouldn’t mind, but would you mind if I stand up against him in a real battle format?”

The teacher nodded.

When the class started, he had a certain intention to let Licia and Sarah fight freely without stopping them from dueling each other up. It also had to do with the presence of Ren.

The students who remained in the training hall noticed Ren and Licia’s situation.

First, the duo who approached Licia,

“…… Is that guy really that strong?”

“I heard he was quiet on his final exam, so I doubt it.”

“Well, I guess we’ll see. He will probably be overwhelmed by the saint.”

Sarah, who heard the voice in one of the seats, rested her elbow on the back of a chair in the front row and smiled wryly as she propped herself up on her cheekbones.

Vane, sitting next to her, also looked like he had no choice.

“Are you listening Vane? I heard Ren didn’t show any ability at all in the final exam and was only there to assist.”

“I heard that. Whenever a monster appeared, he would just swing his sword and defeat it so easily that you couldn’t tell how strong he really was.”

“That’s right. I’m looking forward to seeing how strong he is with my own eyes once again.”

The two were secretly exchanging words, but without noticing, Ren and Licia turned around to face each other and straighten up their residence.

The two, who were facing the center of the stage, did not look particularly nervous, just as they always do.

It was just like when they do preparatory exercises before training at the Holy Lion’s Sanctuary.

“Ren you need to do some warm up.”

“I think I’ll be fine as long as I keep my body warm while swinging the sword like I usually do.”

Vane, Sarah, and the teacher widened their eyes when they heard his voice.

He relieves his body in a real battle format in front of Licia, who showed such a great sword technique?  They wondered if he was underestimating Licia’s strength.

Or, they wondered, would Licia take it easy on him and act as his opponent?

The way everyone looked at Ren, you could tell they doubted his ability.

“Are you okay with the usual?”

“Yes. I’ll leave it to you.”

The steps that Licia took and the speed at which she swung her sword were all almost identical to when she was standing with Sarah.

It was easy to imagine that Ren, who was poised comfortably, would not be able to react quickly enough and would be beaten.

…… However,

“That’s impossible!”

“What just happened?”

The female students voiced out their surprise.

When did he parry it with his sword? They didn’t see anything. The girls’ expressions were such that you could almost hear them say so.

The girls saw a scene where Licia’s sword was easily blocked.

Ren’s hand was still in the same position, and his torso was not shaking at all. He was just silently and calmly receiving the sword, literally working on his warm up exercises.

Sarah and Vane, who are familiar with his skills were also astonished.

“As expected, it’s different from last summer.”

“….Ah!”

The two students, both of whom had witnessed Ren’s strength firsthand, recalled that summer and reaffirmed that it was the truth.

The voices of the other students were overwhelming, so much so that, as the saying goes, they gasped and forgot to blink.

The duo who had approached Licia was absolutely stunned.

The speed at which Licia swung her sword increased even more, and the sound of swords clashing against swords pierced everyone’s ears.

At some point, Licia’s appearance changed.

“I’m really jealous. She always changes her mood when she’s around Ren.”

As Sarah said, even the atmosphere she wore had changed.

The other students also noticed this, and began to think that they might be witnessing a much more horrendous scene than they had imagined.

Suddenly, Licia put more strength into her hand holding the sword and took a deep breath.

The boy in front of her, Ren Ashton also changed his stance which had only been to parry Licia’s sword.

The roar of swords clashing for a moment echoed through the air.

The shock brought to Licia’s hand from Ren’s hand, which changed the way it was received.

“What’s going on? It’s almost as if Ashton is stronger than Saint-sama —-.”

“It’s not ‘as if’ he’s stronger, he actually seems stronger.”

Despite the change in atmosphere and the increased causticity of Licia’s sword, Ren dealt with it without seeming to mind.

“I’ll go first.”

Licia should have attacked earlier, but she was caught and was retreating in the opposite direction.

Ren’s sword, who had just made that declaration, was approaching.

Licia readjusted her sword and at about the same time, Ren’s sword was about to swing down.

He was not approaching with a deep step and with great force. Yet, unlike his appearance, his movements were faster than Licia’s. But Licia was not to be outdone.

Licia adjusted her hands and put more strength into her hand holding the sword.

She avoided Ren’s sword with a light movement, and a sword flash passed through the spot where she had dodged.

This time, on the opposite side, Licia’s sword flash, which is her forte, was sharper than ever.

All of these were blows that no one had ever thought of preventing or avoiding.

Both her speed and his physical strength were spectacular.

—-But,

“Huh!”

Ren easily repelled it head-on, and at the same time, he thrust his sword at Licia, who had lost her stance.

A momentary sword fight, a moment that none of the students could see through no matter how hard they looked.

The only thing that astonished the students was the fact that Licia had lost the fight.

“Haa! I was pretty confident about that one.”

The moment Licia decide to let go of her sword, her sword fell to the floor with a clank.

Ren smiled at the fact that he had taken one rather than easily prevented it, and gently lowered his sword.

The term “student disengagement” is hardly an adequate description of the situation.

The two of them showed how those who hone their swords at the Holy Lion’s Sanctuary can display extraordinary power, without using any form of cloaking or battle techniques.

There is no one who doubts Ren’s ability anymore.

The eyes that looked at him were filled with wonder and admiration.

“Ashton! Clausel!”

The swordsmanship instructor approached Ren and Licia with a mysterious look on his face.

He was one of those who had been speechless at the sight of the two swords and had been thinking about their strength.

“I need to talk to you. Come with me.”

The two left the training hall, accompanied by the teacher.

The students, who had let loose, looked away without saying a word, but after a dozen seconds, they opened their mouths as if they had just come up for air.

The students nearby all came together to speak of their amazement and admiration for the strength of the two.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“Do you usually train at a much higher intensity?”

The teacher asked as he walked Ren and Licia out of the training area.

“Yes. I still thought it was just a warm-up exercise.”

“Good grief, it’s good to hear you say that too.”

The teacher’s words made Ren and Licia wonder, and they tilted their heads at about the same time.

The two were taken by the teacher to the preparation room used by the swordsmanship instructors near the training grounds.

The teacher sat down in front of them on a chair.

“By the way, are you sure? We’d be better off if you made sure we were training properly like everyone else.”

“Don’t be silly. What more do you want me to check?”

The swordsmanship faculty had also heard that the two were hard sword users. Needless to say, it goes without saying that many people know that the two are frequent attendees of the Lion’s Holy Sanctuary. A few of them seem to think that Ren goes there as Licia’s bodyguard or something, but that is beside the point.

There are extremely few users of the hard sword technique compared to other schools.

Ren is sometimes mistaken, but he only knows that the Holy Lion’s Sanctuary is a sacred place for hard swordsmanship, and if you go outside, you will rarely find a hard sword user.

This teacher hadn’t seen a scene of hard-sword fighters exchanging swords with each other for a long time.

“I heard from Clausel that Ashton is one of the most famous swordsmen in the hard swordsmanship. I hear that you are also a cut above Clausel in hard swordsmanship. I think we need to discuss the future with the two of you since you are both here—-.”

He uttered this with a difficult look on his face.

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