“Hmm… this doesn’t seem right…”
Early in the morning, I carefully left the room so as not to wake the other friends.
The destination was the training ground.
Even though I train and practice every day with friends, I came here alone so early in the morning for a different reason.
Now that Selian has become a Sword Master, I felt I couldn’t just sit idly by, so I decided to move more diligently.
I entered the individual training ground, where no one else would see me, and swung my sword.
The trajectory was smoother than usual, but since I had already seen the limits I could reach, it wasn’t a satisfactory arc.
This time, instead of wielding the sword, I tried walking.
The sound of each step was silent, but of course, it wasn’t comparable to the way I’d moved to escape the eyes and senses of an Intermediate Demon in the past.
For comparison, I first put away the sword I was holding and then drew the Holy Sword that I had brought tied to the other side.
Just by gripping the Holy Sword, I felt an overwhelming surge of power through my body.
But the true strength of the Holy Sword was not so simple.
Without much preparation different from before, I swung the sword again.
The only difference from earlier was the sword I was holding, yet the trajectory of this sword was clearly different from before.
Though I couldn’t feel the sensation I did the first time I held the Holy Sword, this was剑 a sword technique that had somewhat reached that level.
Still, I could clearly feel that I was gradually improving day by day.
It was different from the practice I did before becoming a Hero. With the strength of the Holy Sword, my skills were rapidly improving.
Just by swinging a sword once, it felt like I had swung it dozens or hundreds of times.
Rather, because my growth was so rapid, I felt less like I was growing and more like I was regaining the power I had awakened to back then.
This time, I went outside the training ground to practice stealth by hiding my body.
If there were people around, I could test how effective my stealth was, but in the early morning, all the few students around seemed to be in individual training rooms, so there was no one in sight.
Just as I was about to put the Holy Sword away again, I noticed someone entering the training ground, so I quickly tried to hide my presence.
However, the person who entered was someone I knew well.
Though it would normally make sense to conceal my assassin-like stealth skills, Selian had seen everything back when I was running rampant as a chosen Hero.
Considering Selian already knew about my stealth skills, and fortunately she didn’t seem to suspect anything about my identity, I decided practicing stealth would be easier with her help.
Selian entered the training ground, looked around briefly, and then walked directly toward me.
…Even so, did she spot me that easily?
But Selian’s eyes and footsteps were directly heading toward me. I glanced behind me, but there was nothing there.
Just in case, I moved to hide in the shadows, but Selian’s body immediately turned toward me again.
And as Selian approached just one step away.
I looked up at her from where I was crouching in the shadows. Maybe, just maybe…
“You came to practice but didn’t wake me up?”
“Haha…”
With an awkward laugh, I stood up and brushed the dirt off my backside.
Although Selian stared at me intently, she didn’t ask what I was doing.
Since Selian wasn’t suspicious anyway, it seemed like receiving her help while practicing stealth might be more beneficial.
“…You’re using the Holy Sword for practice again.”
Rather than my attempt to hide, Selian was more interested in the Holy Sword in my hand.
“It definitely helps with practice. After all, it’s the weapon I’ll have to use from now on.”
“That may be so, but… please don’t rely on it too much.”
It seemed Selian was dissatisfied with how I handled the Holy Sword, just like last time.
“Do you know something about the Holy Sword, by any chance?”
Since I thought Selian, who had seen and heard more about Heroes from a young age than I have as a newly chosen Hero, might know more details, I decided to ask.
Then Selian hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…No. I guess I’m just being overly sensitive. Don’t worry about it.”
“Alright. I’ll keep that in mind whenever I use the Holy Sword. Still, it’s called a ‘Holy’ Sword, right? It wouldn’t possibly harm someone like me, would it?”
“Of course not… but…”
Even so, considering that Selian was a master of the sword, her instincts were not something to be ignored. Therefore, I needed to at least pacify her, so I made her a kind of unspoken promise.
Of course, as a Hero, putting down the Holy Sword was out of the question, but even with such a minimal answer, Selian seemed somewhat satisfied and didn’t say anything more.
“It’s about time Yuli woke up and is probably looking for Elle by now, we’d better get back.”
Instead, Selian glanced at her watch and said. Indeed, enough time had passed that Yuli had likely already awoken.
Though Anne would probably still be sound asleep, dreaming in fantasy land.
*
“This year’s class competition, unsurprisingly, our class is number one again. Let’s have some applause!”
As if we were dealing with young children.
Still, it was indeed a cause for celebration, so the students in the class followed Ferent’s words and clapped their hands.
Somehow, our class had a lot of excellent students.
Though it’s embarrassing to praise oneself, I was certainly one of those great students.
Of course, the best among us was definitely Selian.
So, following Ferent’s words, our class consistently came in first place in the competition.
“Well, this event happens once a month, but since the same students keep participating, the others must have been bored, right?”
Whether it was an implicit agreement, or people just didn’t think so, or perhaps they just found it too bothersome to answer, the students in the class remained silent in response to Ferent’s question.
However, Ferent continued speaking with a face that didn’t seem to mind the silence.
“You came to the Academy and there aren’t really any special events, so it must have been boring. There’s a day coming up just for you all.”
Though everyone already knew the content, it was evident that the students’ eyes lit up.
Since they already knew the date, the fact that Ferent mentioned it meant it was time to start preparing seriously.
“Exactly, next month, during the Celestial Festival.”
“Wow!”
Ferent glanced at me briefly and continued.
“This year, both the Hero and the Saint are participating, so it’s going to be a more spectacular celebration than ever before. Also, there’s a school-wide competition held every year, so if any students were disappointed about not participating in the class competition, consider entering. It’ll be a great opportunity.”
Since it’s a competition where the entire school participates across all departments, there is no distinction between swordsmanship and magic. Typically, it’s a fact that first-year students are less skilled compared to the upperclassmen.
However, despite that, the participation rate among first-year students in the Department of Swordsmanship is quite high.
As mentioned earlier, the class competition tends to be dominated by the same students participating, so there aren’t many opportunities to face off in formal settings.
Therefore, while students from the Department of Magic might be cooped up in research labs, the energetic students of the Department of Swordsmanship participate in large numbers, it seems.
In fact, last year, half of all students from the swordsmanship department across all grades participated, giving you an idea of the festival’s fervor.
This year, it’s said the scale is even bigger, so it’s impossible to determine which arenas the competition will commence in.
Though the organizers and judges will probably be extremely busy, they’ll manage on their own. After all, as a participant, it’s not something I should worry about.
After Ferent left, the students in the class started gathering in small groups, evidently with plenty to discuss about the Celestial Festival.
Anne, who was sitting in the front row, quickly came over to us.
“Of course Selian will participate, right?”
“Um… I’m not really interested, so I just plan to watch.”
Though her response was unexpected, considering Selian’s personality of hiding the fact she’s a Sword Master, her claim of having no interest must be sincere.
I then turned my head toward Anne and Yuli’s direction.
“I also plan just to watch. After all, if I participate, making it past the first round would already be fortunate…”
“What? So, only I’m participating? Elle, you’re going to participate, right? Huh? Right?”
Anne loudly urged me with her already boisterous voice.
Of course, I intend to participate in the competition. There aren’t many opportunities to safely engage in sparring matches with various people.
This is an excellent chance to evaluate the rapid improvement in my skills.
“Hmm… well? What should I do? It doesn’t really appeal to me…”
But, contrary to my true intentions, I lied out loud.
At that, Anne, as if having a minor fit, slammed my desk and shouted.
“Why!?”
Other students turned to look at our side, but seeing the source of the noise was Anne, they nodded in understanding and returned to what they were doing.
But, Anne, why? Why indeed. It’s because I wanted to tease your confused, shocked face.
“Anne, you’ll be busy preparing for the competition during the festival, but I’ll be cheering you on, so don’t worry too much.”
The innocent Anne seemed to truly believe my lie.
“Ugh… you’re leaving me out…”
She’s such a cute friend to tease.
Though, if I teased her too much, she might really cry, so I decided to stop the jokes.
By the way, the possibility of crying actually applies to me. Last time, I was joking with Anne and got a nasty smack on the back, causing real tears to well up.
“What, if Anne feels lonely, maybe I’ll participate?”
At those words, Anne’s face lit up.
“A… but Elle is a Hero…”
Selian began to say something, but Anne’s loud voice and actions drowned out whatever she intended to say.
“Because I won’t lose! No, let’s go register now!”
With that, she grabbed my hand and headed straight to Ferent’s office. A few classmates from our class had already come to sign up.
When it was our turn, after Anne registered, I was about to follow suit, but…
“Ah, now that I think about it, I forgot to mention something. Alicia, as a Hero, you have several reasons why it’ll be difficult for you to participate in the competition. Sorry you made this trip for nothing.”
In the end, I had to break a sweat trying to console Anne, who was on the verge of sulking again.
