Chapter 10: Innate Talent
Al accompanied his fiancée, Selestaria, to the briefing for the Royal Guard’s entrance examinations, only to discover that the proctor in charge was a man named Barnes—her stalker.
Barnes had even chased them on their way home, going so far as to threaten Al. He was no harmless man.
…Most likely, the bastard would pull strings to become Selestaria’s sparring opponent in the mock battle.
If that happened, the surest path—within the bounds of the rules—was for Selestaria to defeat Barnes herself.
Do that, and she’d pass the exam without question. She’d finally become a full member of the Royal Guard.
Thus Al resolved to train Selestaria himself, to raise her level with his own hands.
───The morning after the briefing.
Al donned his gear and stepped out through the mansion gate.
“Well, I’m off.”
“P-please have a safe trip…”
Maid Meruru sent him off smoothly enough, yet her expression betrayed clear, unmistakable shock.
(Al-sama… the same Al-sama who’s perfected the art of shutting himself away… not only woke up early, but is actually going to help his fiancée train with a sword? This isn’t a dream, right…? This is real?)
No matter how many times she rubbed her eyes or pinched her cheeks, the man she’d just seen was undeniably Al.
For three years he’d barely left the house except on exam days, lounging about in utter idleness.
“…We might get an out-of-season snowfall today.”
Muttering so, Meruru pressed a hand to her forehead and staggered back into the mansion.
◇◇◇
The Ducal House of Levian owned several estates, and the one here in the Imperial Capital was the second largest.
Al shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand as he looked up at it.
(It’s huge no matter how many times I see it. Didn’t think much of it yesterday, but… this is twice the size of my family home. As expected of Levian—one of the Empire’s Four Great Ducal Houses.)
A knight approached and addressed him. The Levian crest was engraved upon his armor.
“Sir, do you have business with the House of Levian?”
“I came to watch Seles train.”
“You came to watch the young lady’s training…?”
(Only her parents are permitted to call Selestaria-sama by a nickname. Who is this man…?)
The knight looked Al over once more.
(That black robe… could he be a Court Magician!? And at such a young age, the only one who fits is the young lady’s fiancé—)
“Ah, you must be Al Dragals-sama. My apologies for the discourtesy.”
“Think nothing of it. Anyone would question a suspicious man staring at the estate from beyond the fence.”
“I will guide you at once.”
(A good thing he’s so easygoing, even poking fun at himself…)
Al followed the knight through the courtyard toward a training ground tucked in one corner of the estate.
Even from afar, the metallic screech of clashing blades could be heard—far more than just one or two pairs.
“Is the ducal army training right now?”
“No, this is voluntary training.”
“I can’t condone giving up a day off. Resting one’s body is part of a knight’s duty.”
“You are absolutely right. The Lord of the House has warned them of the same, but…”
“I suppose yesterday’s border skirmish left an unsatisfying result, and now they’re fired up.”
“Yes… you see right through everything.”
Recently, the ducal army had participated in an annual skirmish.
Normally, they would repel the enemy almost instantly, but this time they had struggled. In the end, it was Selestaria—rushing to the front lines and rallying the soldiers—who pulled them through. Still, the knights were far from satisfied.
Thus they had forsaken their day off and were now training fiercely.
“But training out of frustration is pointless. You should make them stop.”
“They know that in their heads… yet somehow their feet always bring them here…”
As they spoke, they reached their destination.
It was somewhat smaller than the arena used for the briefing yesterday, but still more than adequate for the Levian knights stationed in the capital.
Selestaria, who had just finished a bout and was drinking water, spotted Al from afar and rushed toward him like the wind.
“W-wait, Al!? You really came!?”
She touched his face all over to confirm he was real.
“I told you I’d come.”
“I honestly thought you were joking… I’m completely stunned.”
“How rude.”
“Look who’s talking. Try reviewing your behavior over the past three years before you say things like that.”
A shut-in for three years showing up simply because he promised—anyone would be shocked.
Al was practically a rare mole emerging into the sunlight.
“I’m planning to come every day for the two weeks before the exam.”
“I—I see… Then I’ll have to work that much harder.”
Despite her words, Selestaria looked genuinely happy.
Al draped his robe over a bench and began stretching.
“Ahh… exercise after so long really hits the knees.”
“Don’t start sounding like an old man before training even begins.”
Since the entrance exam used real swords, so did the training.
Al would use his beloved Kurikara—family-gifted, precious in every sense.
“We’re supposed to practice swordplay together today, but… can you really fight? Yesterday you said you’re ‘better with a sword than with magic’.”
“Yeah. I had my wild days when I was younger.”
“You’re still only eighteen!”
Al considered himself an ordinary man.
But in truth, both his studies and magical research were the product of relentless effort.
He’d been secretly working hard all along.
Yet there was one thing he believed he’d been gifted with from birth:
────Talent with the blade. Especially katana-style swordsmanship.
Though he’d been focusing on magic lately, back at home he would crash the baronial army’s training sessions out of boredom, rampage through monster forests, and sometimes watch imperial troops during their drills. Even now, he regularly trained in imagined battles against powerful foes within his dream-attribute magic.
──The Kurikara bestowed upon him by his family.
──The blazing intensity of the ducal army around him.
──And his beloved fiancée’s upcoming entrance exam.
“… ………………”
(It’s been a long time since I felt this.)
Al’s thirst for the sword began to reignite.
“Alright, I’ll spar with Al a little to warm up. Everyone else, step back.”
“Selestaria-sama, wouldn’t that be cruel to your fiancé?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Al says he’s training me, after all.”
…Truth be told, Seles had been secretly irritated with Al since yesterday.
From the moment she became self-aware, she had lived with a sword in hand. Rain or wind, she trained until calluses formed. With the dream of becoming a fine knight, she swung and swung again.
Just days ago, she had stood at the very front of the battlefield and successfully rallied the troops.
Now she was rumored to be second only to the vice-commander of the ducal army—in other words, the strongest in this training ground.
That was why the knight had said it would be “cruel” to Al.
Yet ever since yesterday, Al had been treating her like some fragile princess. When a Court Magician said he’d guard her “with the sword,” she’d been bewildered. And then he’d offered to train her personally for the exam.
“Hey, Al. Do you… think I’m weak?”
“I don’t. If anything I should apologize for making you think so.”
“No, it’s fine. This is just my own bad personality talking. Ugh… I really hate how selfish I can be. It’s all your kindness, but still…”
“………………”
Seles was not someone who wanted to be protected—she was someone who wished to protect. She wanted to be the shield of the one she loved. Her desire to become a Royal Guard—the pinnacle of protectors—was proof of that.
Through swordplay, she intended to show Al that resolve.
She gripped her longsword tightly and took her stance.
Someone swallowed audibly.
“Begin!!!”
At the judge’s shout, Seles stepped forward.
A classic first-strike-wins strategy.
──But.
Cling!
Before she could take her second step, her sword was flicked away.
It arced through the air and stabbed into the far edge of the training ground.
“…Huh?”
She didn’t understand.
One moment she was holding her sword. The next, it was gone. And Al—who had been in front of her—now stood behind her.
She hadn’t looked away, not even for an instant… yet everything was already over.
Al sheathed Kurikara and spoke quietly.
“One correction. I said I was ‘better with a sword than with magic,’ but that wasn’t entirely accurate. The truth is──────
────I’m overwhelmingly better with a sword.”
◇◇◇
Meanwhile, at Imperial Army Headquarters—
A laid-back female knight chatted with a stern-faced knight reviewing documents.
“Commander~ He got snatched up by the Court, didn’t he?”
“…I should have approached him before he graduated. I’m always a step too late.”
“Hehehe. Well, depending on our assignments, we might meet again. We should cross swords like old times.”
“Yes. I’m eager to see how brightly that light of his has grown.”
The stern knight—the Commander of the Imperial Knights—smiled faintly.
…Had Al not been appointed a Court Magician, the Commander had been planning to personally visit and recruit him as a future officer of the Imperial Army.
Either way, Al Dragals was never meant to escape.