Troublesome Class
Translated by GXYRU
Edited by GXYRU
The next day, the morning class was swordsmanship. Despite being a magic academy, swordsmanship was a required subject because most of the kingdom’s nobility enrolled in this academy instead of the knight school.
The swordsmanship class was conducted jointly for our Class A and Class B. In Class B, there were Sofia Victarino, Erik’s fiancée with whom he had a dispute yesterday, and another capture target from “Love Studies – Koigaku.”
When we moved to the training ground, Sofia noticed me… It seems like she’s glaring at me. Sofia’s entourage is also whispering among themselves.
“Arius, it seems like something happened between you and Sofia yesterday,” Erik approached me while looking at Sofia. He didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts and had his usual refreshing smile on his face.
“Yeah, my acquaintance and Sofia’s group had a disagreement at the cafeteria. When I stepped in to meditate, I couldn’t help but be captivated by Sofia’s beauty,” I honestly replied. Although the part about being captivated was a lie.
“I see. But I didn’t expect Arius to be interested in Sofia. There are rumors that you tried to kiss her, you know?”
“That’s a misunderstanding. I just peeked at Sofia’s face.”
“Hey, Arius. You… Sofia is Prince Erik’s fiancée, you know!”
Ragnus, one of Sofia’s followers, interjected. He may be considered an influential person to be called a follower, being the son of a duke.
“Yeah, I know. But since I was captivated, there’s nothing I could do about it, right? If Erik is angry, I’ll apologize just in case.”
“What did you say, you… Understand your position already!”
“Hey, Ragnus. If Arius didn’t try to kiss her, I don’t mind. But it would be nice if Arius could restrain himself a bit regarding Sofia’s matter. After all, she is my fiancée.”
“Understood. I’ll be careful too.”
For Erik, Sofia was his political marriage partner, so there wasn’t much romantic attachment even in the game. Well, if Erik genuinely fell for Sofia, there would be no room for the protagonist.
“But, Prince Erik…”
“Come on, Ragnus. The class is about to start.”
The instructor arrived, and the swordsmanship class began. The joint class of Class A and Class B was divided by gender, and we started with light stretches using half of the training ground each.
After finishing the stretches, we went to the equipment room to get the swords as instructed. The boys had blunted blades, while the girls used wooden swords.
In the first swordsmanship class we had last week, it was all about practicing the basics, like swings and forms, starting from this point.
“Alright, pair up with someone. Once you’re paired, begin the match.”
Hey, wait a minute… There are so many things to point out. Is the basic practice over in just one class?
If someone is knowledgeable about swordsmanship, they understand the importance of basic practice. Even if we assume that the students’ level is mediocre, this is beyond a joke.
“Hey, Arius. Normally, I should be the one accompanying Prince Erik, but I’ll teach you the spirit of chivalry!”
My partner was Ragnus. Well, I don’t remember forming pairs, but I guess it was decided on its own.
Ragnus lunged at me with full force, but I parried his sword. To avoid developing bad habits, I focused solely on parrying.
“Damn… Why can’t I hit
you?”
Since I didn’t need to demonstrate my skills, I continued parrying until the time was up. When Ragnus got frustrated and dropped his sword on his own, I wasn’t sure what to do.
“Fool… This must be some kind of mistake…”
Ignoring the dumbfounded Ragnus, I sat down at the edge of the training ground. Well, it’s better than him accusing me of using underhanded tactics or making cliché accusations.
“You’re Arius Gilbert, the son of Ronaudiya Kingdom’s Prime Minister, right?”
Confidently approaching me was a boy who stood close to 190cm tall.
He had flaming red hair and tanned skin. His face had a wild, handsome look, and his body was well-muscled. This boy was Burn Lenning, the third prince of the Grandblade Empire, one of the capture targets in “Love Studies – Koigaku,” and had the second highest status after Arius. His sword skill level was top-notch among the capture targets.
“It seems like you’re not an amateur with the way you handle the sword. No wonder, being the son of a former SS-rank adventurer,” Burn said.
“Burn, you seem to know a lot about my parents,” I replied. Darius and Leia were SS-rank adventurers unlike Gray and Serena. They had the qualifications to be promoted to SSS-rank, but they retired before participating in the promotion mock battle.
“It’s only natural to investigate the key figures of the country you’ll be studying in. Well, leaving that aside… Arius, let’s have a match this time. Don’t hold back like earlier,” Burn said, looking down on me with an intimidating attitude. It’s a typical behavior pattern of someone taller.
“Yeah, I don’t mind,” I replied. But I’m actually taller than him. When I stood up and met his gaze, Burn subtly lifted his heels, probably out of a sense of competition. It’s quite amusing.
Well, it’s a good experience to face off against an arrogant member of the royal family. Since I became an adventurer at the age of seven, I’ve dealt with people who belittle children many times.
But this time, I’m facing a prince, not an adventurer. Using force to silence him wouldn’t be the right approach.
“Arius, here I come!” Burn exclaimed.
Unlike Ragnus, Burn didn’t recklessly charge in. He slowly closed the distance, and when he entered his own striking range, he swung his sword with all his might.
As I parried his sword, he immediately followed up with a second strike. I parried again, and then a third strike. This pattern repeated.
“Hey, Arius… I told you not to hold back!” Burn stopped and glared at me.
“Well, Your Highness Burn, I’m parrying seriously without holding back,” I replied.
“Don’t play around! Attack me too!”
Burn had high stats just like in the game, and his sword skill level was high. But for now, we’re just students of the academy.
In terms of adventurers, he would be at most a C-rank. If I were to attack seriously, even with a sword that had its blade crushed, I would undoubtedly kill him. Well, in situations like this…
“Alright, I’ll attack then.”
“Yeah, I’d like to see that…!”
The reason Burn choked on his words was that his sword shattered into pieces. Of course, it was me who shattered it. I only broke it so that the blame wouldn’t fall on the sword itself.
“It’s because I was trained by my parents, former SS-rank adventurers.”
To avoid being exposed as an SSS-rank adventurer, I let my parents take the credit. Well, even now, as I attend the academy, Adventurer Arius appears in the city of Kernal every day, so they probably don’t think I’m the same person.
I told Jessica and Marcia that I used teleportation magic to commute from Ronaudiya. Even if they talk to someone else, they probably won’t believe it since it doesn’t make sense to do so.
“Arius, you…” Burn alternated his gaze between his sword, which was now bladeless, and my face.
“…Impressive! Someone like you doesn’t exist in the Empire!”
A genuine praise. This guy might be unexpectedly good.
“That’s a bit exaggerated. There should be people in the Empire who can do this much. It’s just that Your Highness Burn is unaware of them,” I replied. This kind of feat can be accomplished even by an S-rank adventurer. It’s impossible for the Empire not to have S-rank adventurers.
“Well, anyway… Arius, I recognize your strength,” Burn said suddenly, extending his right hand. He’s asking for a handshake, right?
I’m not a fan of this battle manga-like atmosphere, but I’ll shake his hand because there’s no other choice.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Burn Lenning. Arius, I’m counting on you. You don’t need to use ‘Your Highness’ anymore.
Just call me Burn,” he said.
“Yeah, Burn. Nice to meet you too,” I replied.
The surrounding students were paying attention. I don’t care what others think, but this cheesy atmosphere is a bit embarrassing.
Among the students watching us, of course, Sofia and her entourage were there as well.
“Arius might become the kingdom’s top knight,” Prince Eric said.
“Your Highness Eric…” Sofia had somehow ended up standing next to Eric. Eric is a good guy, but he has a side that can’t be underestimated. Sometimes, in his seemingly casual remarks… No, in his disguised casual remarks, I can sense cunningness.
Considering that someone in the Kingdom of Ronaudiya has noticed that I’m an SSS-rank adventurer, Eric is the most likely candidate.
Putting that aside, Sofia and Eric really suit each other.
I don’t care about the world of “Love Studies,” but since I know that Sofia is actually a good person, I genuinely want to support her. I don’t want to see Sofia becoming a villainess manipulated by the protagonist, Eric.
But… Sofia, why are you glaring at me again?
※ ※ ※ ※
Arius Gilbert, 15 years old
Level: ????
HP: ????
MP: ????
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