"Alright, here’s how you do it."

Ihan held a dagger and gracefully swung it.

Swish.

—At the tip of the blade, flower petals bloomed in full.

The cadets gazed at the beautiful petals, wide-eyed with awe. They verified that it was just an ordinary dagger, not some enchanted item, yet the petals were blooming. It was a moment of pure, storybook-like magic.

The "chicks" looked on with wide, starry eyes like girls caught up in a fairytale, while the "teddy bears" and "young masters" recalled tales of heroic knights shared by bards in their lands, stirring a sense of longing from their childhoods.

Not only did he scatter petals with his blade, but he used them as a means of attack…

Wasn’t this a technique worthy of knights from the ballads?

The petals drifted down to the dirt floor, melting away like snowflakes. Yet, where they melted, the ground was left with petal-shaped indentations, showing not just beauty but remarkable power.

The boys and girls looked at the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship with admiration.

"Wow, how is something like that even possible?"
"It’s beautiful…!"
"Please, show us again!"

They clamored for an encore.

"...Can you guys give it a rest?"

It was the tenth encore, and Ihan was getting exhausted. As simple as it looked, the technique consumed a tremendous amount of energy. Yet the audience rarely considers how much effort the performer is putting in.

"Ah, just one more time, please?"
"...Sigh."

He couldn't bring himself to refuse the pleading eyes of these "chicks."

“Oh, what a life I have…”

Reluctantly, Ihan, now an unwilling entertainer, made the plum blossoms bloom once more with his sword.

‘Maybe I’d be a hit if I did street performances?’

It seemed Ihan was unwittingly blossoming a hidden talent for lucrative side gigs.

 

There was a reason Ihan was putting on this show.

"Ins-Instructor, c-could you teach us that technique?"

The cadets were eagerly pleading to learn the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship. Even the elite students, who’d claimed they only needed Aura Arts, couldn’t resist showing a bit of desire for it. The technique was just that captivating. After all,

‘Who can resist making plum blossoms bloom with a sword?’

Making flowers bloom with a sword and using it to attack? This was a swordsmanship that embodied all that was cool.

No wonder the Huashan Sect always seemed to star in his past life’s stories.

…However,

"Sorry, but I can’t teach this yet."

It wasn’t just a casual issue of traditional martial arts roots. The real problem was that this technique was incomplete; it wasn’t something he could teach yet.

An unfinished skill.
The Plum Blossom Swordsmanship was Ihan's unique, original technique, developed purely through his own senses and intuition. He hadn’t had the time to fully establish it in theory, and even he still found it far from perfect.

And beyond that...

"This thing drains too much energy when I use it."

If Loen’s swordsmanship the other day was an artistic creation formed by combining various skilled techniques, Ihan’s swordsmanship was simply a manifestation of raw sword power, fueled by his life force and weapon as collateral.
In other words, it was nothing more than a single-use skill.

Not only was it single-use, but it also came with considerable risks.
Using it meant losing the sword afterward, and everyone knew how devastating it was to lose one’s weapon in the middle of a battlefield.
And on top of that, an enormous wave of exhaustion followed every use...

‘If I’m like this, there’s no way they could handle it.’

Even he, with stamina ten times that of an average knight, found it overwhelming. If the students attempted it, who knew what kind of damage it might cause their bodies. Passing out might be the best-case scenario; it could very well threaten their lives.

So, while he was usually not stingy about teaching techniques, this time, he had no choice but to refuse.

After explaining his reasons thoroughly, the cadets seemed to understand, yet…

"Th-then! Could we at least watch it once?"
"P-please, let us see it!"

It seemed that, wherever you go, there’s always a concept of vicarious satisfaction.
Even if they couldn’t learn the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship immediately, they were desperate to see it, and Ihan couldn’t bring himself to refuse his attached students’ requests.

‘Maybe, like the old man said, I do have a soft spot?’

And so, he put on a demonstration of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship.

It wasn’t an all-out performance like when he fought the Demon King, so the dagger didn’t break easily, nor did he drain all his energy.

Unintentionally, it also served as a chance to practice the technique. By about the eighth demonstration, he was able to make the flowers bloom with just a light flick of his hand.

But with that newfound mastery…

"Ah, I’m dying…"
"Instructor, are you alright?! Here, please have some water and food!"
"...Thank you."

Finally exhausted, Ihan lay on the grass, recovering his strength with a drink and sandwiches brought to him by Irene Windler.

Watching Ihan like this, Irene Windler burst out,

"Wh-What are you all doing!? How could you make someone who suffered so much just yesterday go through this again?!"
"W-Well, we just..."
"Save your excuses!"
"...We haven’t even given any excuses yet."

She was a furious girl, leaving the cadets to lower their heads and sheepishly avoid her gaze.
Granted, it was Ihan who had enjoyed the practice session, leading to the current situation, but to a girl blinded by admiration, the other cadets were nothing short of villains.

The girl growled, and the cadets deflated even further.

Normally, Irene Windler’s growling was as adorable as a Pomeranian, but this time was different.

‘How can you go against someone who creates natural disasters with magic?’
‘That spell was terrifying.’
‘Better not offend her, or she might destroy our territories.’

They had all seen it.

The girl, who had seemed like nothing more than a fragile doll, had used magic to control an entire lake and even conjured a whirlwind that turned into a tornado.
Even though it was a small tornado, it had enough power to wipe out a mid-sized estate. That alone was enough reason to know not to provoke her.

They had grown close to her, but they were all suddenly reminded that Irene Windler, like Loen, was also a monstrous genius outside the norm.

"Don’t be too harsh on them. I also got a bit carried away myself with the demonstrations."
"Hmph."

However, Ihan, as if he were taming a wild creature, calmed her down as he sat up.

Though he still looked tired, he stood, determined to fulfill his role as their instructor.

"So, I assume you’ve seen enough to your heart’s content by now?"
"......"
"I’m not scolding you; I’m just asking. What did you think of the swordsmanship?"

"Hmm."

Realizing he wasn’t reprimanding them but sincerely asking, the cadets paused to think.
Even if they weren’t sure why he was asking, they knew he wouldn’t ask such a question for no reason, so they considered it seriously.
Before long, the top student, a blue-haired girl, raised her hand.

"...It felt like a technique with a lot of gaps. The way the sword energy spreads like petals is certainly threatening, but it’s not impossible to evade or block. Not that I could manage it, of course. But maybe Arno, Kunta, or even Garland or Lord Loen could..."

She glanced at the four, and each of them looked slightly embarrassed as they responded.

"Just Kunta is fine. And yeah, I think I could block it, though I’d probably have to sacrifice an arm or leg."
"Please, just speak freely, my lady. …I’d say it’s possible for me too. There are definitely gaps."
"Stop with the formalities... Ahem. I’d agree that a few of us here could counter it. However, against monsters, it would likely be very effective."
"Same here."

The cadets blinked.

They had thought it was a spectacular and powerful technique, but hearing it like this...

"See? I told you. It lacks roots."

It didn’t seem as powerful as they’d thought.

Ihan hadn’t dismissed the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship just for show; he wanted to teach them a clear lesson.
It might be effective against mindless monsters, but against humans, it was a more nuanced technique, lacking real efficiency.

Though dazzling in appearance, it was a technique with terrible cost-performance.

"A swordsmanship or a martial art doesn’t always have substance just because it looks flashy. A martial artist I respect once said, ‘The one who practices one kick a thousand times is scarier than the one who knows a thousand kicks.’ Swordsmanship isn’t about how many techniques you know, but how well you’ve refined a single strike. So, focus on the basics and don’t envy those who use sword energy. Following your own path is more important."

This wasn’t a lesson for his cadets alone.

From his recent battle, Ihan realized just how much he still lacked.

If he had trained himself to decapitate monsters with a single cut, like Baltar, how might the outcome have changed?
He probably wouldn’t have lost so pitifully.

‘That was the problem, relying solely on power.’

Rather than depending solely on his body’s capabilities, it was time for him to delve deeper into his strengths.
Not just focusing on the basics, but raising the level of his skill achievements.

Diamond Body.
Lion’s Roar.
Bow Shooting.
Hundred Steps Divine Punch.
Inner Pressure Technique.
Piercing Spear.

And now, the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship he had gained.

He needed to train these all thoroughly, aiming for completion of the techniques rather than raw power.
And when he achieved that...

‘At that point, I’ll kill the Demon King with my own hands.’

It was a vow not to leave anyone else’s fate in the hands of destiny.

 

Ihan hoped his cadets wouldn’t make the same mistake he did, of postponing what was truly important, and he had just imparted what he felt was his most vital teaching.

 

Meanwhile, Derek, who had unknowingly become a third wheel in all this, was sighing heavily.

‘How did I end up here…?’

He wasn’t the athletic type, yet here he was in the ultimate training ground of this world.

‘Is this what it means to live the life of someone in debt?’

"Either pay off your debt physically or provide information to clear it, right?"—with those words, he had been forcefully transferred to the Swordsmanship Department, and though Derek found it utterly baffling, he had no choice but to accept given the trouble he’d caused Ihan.

However, it wasn’t purely his debt that made Derek stay close to Ihan.

‘I need to start taking initiative myself.’

This recent incident had taught him something.
He couldn’t just stay a bystander forever, waiting for help as he did this time.
It was wiser to remain where there were dependable people and major players.

If something happened, at least he would be able to respond.

So, his transfer to the Swordsmanship Department wasn’t just about repaying a debt; it was also a decision to take a more proactive role.
But, as he looked around…

‘Now that I see, it’s full of named characters?’

Derek realized that the people gathered in the Swordsmanship Department were all top-tier figures.

The Barbarian bloodline, the Sword Duke's descendant, the disciple of the Mercenary King—these were people who could either be his best allies or fiercest rivals.
Originally, these were the very characters meant to play significant roles in the scenario "<The Villainous Young Lady—Irene Windler Subjugation>."

...For now, though,

‘The villainess herself doesn’t even seem like a villain anymore.’

Somehow, things had gone off the rails, and the villainous young lady character had virtually disappeared, leaving Derek uncertain about how the other crucial supporting roles would turn out.

‘The Northern Grand Duke, the villainous young lady...’

Reality had already veered 180 degrees from what he knew.

Derek felt a headache coming on but tried to push it aside.
He didn’t know if some butterfly effect had made the person destined to be the Northern Grand Duke become a mere academy cadet or turned the villainous young lady into an innocent girl, but one thing was clear...

‘If you put in enough effort, you can change your fate.’

Just as Ihan had shown.

Derek had seen Ihan, a figure practically unheard of, defy destiny itself.
Seeing that, Derek decided he could no longer treat this world as just a game.

So, what mattered most was using the information he had wisely, not getting swept up by events, and choosing the best course of action.

For example…

He glanced subtly in a certain direction.

‘…I’ll have to decide whether to prevent this future powerhouse’s misfortune or let it play out.’

Derek’s gaze settled on a girl with blue hair, suited perfectly to her.

Her face was so different from what he remembered that he hadn’t recognized her at first.
But once he heard her name and confirmed her family, he realized the truth.

She was the girl with an intriguing backstory, originally considered for the role of ‘second protagonist’ in the project stage.
The one who might even surpass Loen and Irene Windler in importance.

‘...What am I supposed to do about the Saintess?’

In the future, this girl would rise as the "Saintess of the Mercenaries" after the Mercenary King’s death.

‘Revi Jeanne d’Arc.’

Fifteen years later, this girl would become a vanguard of the "Revolutionary War" and the nobles' worst nightmare.

Derek looked at her with pity.

…because he knew that her story had no happy ending to match her name.