I finally pried the princess off me and headed for the swordsmanship department's testing grounds.
“Just you wait at the academy!”
The princess's anxious voice followed me from behind, but who knew? In my experience, the swordsmanship and magic departments almost never crossed paths. Unless one of us went looking for the other, we'd only run into each other during meals or breaks. The princess was a little lacking in social skills, but thanks to her background and talent, plenty of people wanted to become friends with her. Once the semester started and she got busy with her schedule, she'd soon forget about me. She seemed to think of me as something like a childhood friend. It was nothing but a nuisance to me.
[Those who dream of becoming knights, this way.]
The magically amplified voice rang out once more. As I got closer, I saw many people whose bodies were noticeably sturdier than those in the magic department. Though only to a certain extent. Not everyone dreamed of becoming as strong as I was. Most had simply trained enough to pass the test.
“Hey. That's Young Master Helleim.”
Then I heard whispering voices.
“Aw, hell. Young Master, my ass. He's that famous adopted son. No doubt Duke Helleim took him in out of charity, just to show off his noble spirit.”
There were more children taking the test at the grounds than parents. Maybe that was why I heard so many people talking carelessly about me.
“His body isn't bad. No, it's actually pretty good.”
“Does that matter? Swordsmanship is what counts. My father knows Duke Helleim, so I heard he wasn't even taught the Helleim swordsmanship. Apparently, he's got only the basics.”
“Pfft. The duke's really being too harsh. How's he supposed to survive at the academy without the family's swordsmanship? Looking at this, I bet the duke plans to disown him if he fails out of the academy. He'll have fulfilled his duty to the family, so no one will be able to criticize him.”
Some of them were sons of count's families whose names I couldn't even remember. One particularly ugly boy was going out of his way to criticize me.
They weren't wrong. I was an adopted son, and the king had treated my grandfather as a traitor and had him killed. I had no claim to that family, either. Why else would my grandfather have built a cabin and lived in the wilderness? And more importantly, these were only fourteen-year-old brats. I was a grown man. I didn't want to argue with them.
……Still, this much should be fine.
I approached the boy with bulging eyelids like a toad and greeted him as if we knew each other.
“Oh, what a coincidence meeting you here. Have you been well?”
“Hmm-hmm! Yes. Looks like you've been doing juuuust fine too, huh? Living the easy life in a place that isn't even your home.”
Oh, he had some backbone, at least. A son of a count speaking informally to the son of a duke.
“Ooh. Just what you'd expect from the eldest son of House Grant!”
“Even that commoner bastard is using proper speech every time. He must be scared stiff, heh-heh.”
The other children from noble families around us looked up to the boy. I smirked and added one more thing.
“Was it the year before last? Is the spot where the count beat you feeling better?”
“W-What?! Beat me? My father loves me more than anything!”
The boy visibly panicked. Even then, he seemed more concerned with what his gang thought than with me. That irritated me.
“I agree. That's why he must have taken up the rod of love. He doesn't want his son to go astray. The count is such a fine man, too. It's a wonder a son like you was born to him. How heartless the heavens can be.”
“You commoner bastard! How dare you insult a noble?!”
“Indeed. Insulting a noble is a serious crime. And yet you dared to flirt with the employer of House Helleim. What a shameless little brat, ha-ha.”
His group began to murmur. Of course. No one enjoyed proudly laying out their own disgraceful past. But if you had an embarrassing history, you had to be careful with your words and actions.
“You have no idea how disappointed Duke Helleim was that he hadn't cut off that hand. It seems the count came that day to ask for something rather important, but didn't he leave on his knees instead?”
By then, the smile had vanished from my face. I'd only meant to give him a light jab, but the more I reminded myself of it, the hotter my blood ran. Apparently unaware of who had truly tarnished his honor, the boy lost his head and grabbed me by the collar.
“You bastard! Shall I cut your throat right here and now?!”
“Gladly. However—”
I glanced around, turning my head slightly.
“Ooh, is there going to be a fight?”
“Wait, isn't that the young master from the speech?”
“Ah, from House Helleim. And his opponent is the count's son.”
Unnecessary attention gathered around us. I had enough justification, and I was confident I could win. There was just one thing missing. Not enough spectators.
“The test is about to begin, so let's postpone the duel until later. The second test is a duel anyway. And it seems the head of the swordsmanship department isn't pleased with this situation.”
The boy looked around and assessed the situation. The head of the swordsmanship department scowled and muttered.
“Tsk. Those boys are causing a disturbance before the test has even begun. That sort of thing is only tolerated when it's done by someone with real ability.”
He was probably already in a foul mood from always falling behind the magic department in terms of results. If we caused a disturbance here, academy life wouldn't be very comfortable even if we passed.
The toad from House Grant released his grip on my collar.
“Hah! Looks like you're scared. Fine. I'll choose you for the second test. We'll settle this with swords there.”
“That's exactly what I was hoping for.”
I brushed off the spot where he'd touched me and straightened my clothes. The second test. I was looking forward to it.
The first test took place in the training yard. The instructions were simple.
“Face a third-year student.”
As soon as the professor finished speaking, a large number of students appeared in the training yard with wooden swords and took their places in front of the applicants. They all wore expressions filled with anticipation.
Third-year students at an academy with a four-year training and education program. They should be at the entry level of Sword Expert, or somewhere just below it. Maybe intimidating the new students was a tradition. They swung their wooden swords with exaggerated force and even slammed their fists together.
“Eek!”
“……This is the test?”
The applicants on either side of me swallowed nervously. The one on my left was completely terrified. The one on my right merely broke into a sweat and remained calm. He had fighting spirit.
“Don't worry. Naturally, your opponents won't attack you with their swords. However, if you fail to earn their recognition within five minutes, you will be eliminated.”
Oh? It was different from the magic department. As I remembered it, they passed applicants there as long as they demonstrated Second-Circle magic. Who would've thought the swordsmanship department would be harder?
“Begin.”
The moment the professor gave the signal, the third-years charged.
“Waaaaaah!”
“H-Hiiik!”
Smack! Smack!
“Ha-ha-ha! Have you ever even swung a sword before?”
“U-Ugh!”
The coward on my left swung his sword with all his might, but he had no fundamentals. Unfortunately, he was going to fail. The one on my right, however, was pretty good.
“Hyaaah!”
Clack! Clack! Smack!
“You're an interesting one.”
The third-year student wore an amused expression as he blocked the boy's consecutive attacks.
And my opponent—
“You insolent brat! Where do you think you're looking?!”
Rumble!
He charged at me with his shoulder thrust forward, carrying incredible momentum. Since he couldn't attack with his sword, was he planning to shove me with his body? He was making up for the restriction on attacks in another way. The idea was good. But—
Tap.
“Whoa!”
Crash! The massive boy, his momentum working against him, tripped over my foot and went down easily.
“Y-You bastard! Just wait a second!”
I stood up and pointed my wooden sword at his neck.
Click.
“Will you acknowledge defeat?”
It was only unfortunate that his opponent had been me.