After changing into the new chestplate that Emilia had just handed me, I moved in front of the full-length mirror to check my current appearance. In the mirror stood a woman who looked like nothing other than a knight to anyone who saw her.

In particular, by covering my unnecessarily large and heavy breasts with armor, my dull impression was considerably reduced.

Although it was still awkward to have my whole body covered in full armor, moving around in it was tolerable.

Perhaps it was because my strength had also been somewhat supported by the increase in Attack and Defense as I grew to level 5.

Originally, in the game, this kind of full-plated armor was equipment that Lilith couldn’t even wear, so I was a little worried. At least it didn’t seem like I would have trouble moving properly despite them being heavy.

At first, I had imagined just changing into a maid’s uniform as training clothes, not this full set of armor.

However, the situation had changed for me to wear this outfit due to Emilia, who gave off an aura that made it impossible not to wear the full set.

Still, the advantage was that my breasts were tightly fixed and didn’t shake. …Although I would have to struggle just as much to take it off as I did to put it on.

At times like this, I get really envious of Emilia’s physique next to me.

She has small breasts and a healthy, well-balanced body without any excess fat.

Since my type in my previous life was a healthy and fit woman, her body was truly enviable.

On the other hand, Lilith’s appearance was one with only unnecessarily large breasts, making her look dull, the very epitome of a one-trick pony in terms of charm.

…Of course, it’s not my place to say anything, considering I’ve benefitted from that charm in various ways.

After somehow fitting into a slightly larger size of armor with Emilia’s guidance, I had to spend a considerable amount of time choosing the weapon I’d use in the duel.

 

“…Have you still not decided?”

“Hold on a moment. Let me swing a few more.”

“……”

 

Emilia gave me a strange look from the side, giving off the feeling that she wanted me to decide quickly, but I couldn’t help it.

Since I was going to duel, I needed to maximize my chances of winning as much as possible.

Honestly, I don’t know exactly how the experience points gained in the training facility are calculated.

In the first place, there’s no way I could know that properly, right? It was a facility I used to leave unnecessary characters and collect them when moving between regions.

Still, I did have some idea of how to gain a lot or a little experience.

The period, level, and completion rate the character secured during training are all involved.

The period obviously refers to the time the character is left in the training facility. The longer they are left, the more experience they gain, a principle that is naturally easy to understand.

The level refers to the character’s level when they were left in the training facility, and naturally, the higher the character’s level, the slower their growth will be. How can a strong character who has learned as much as they can gain experience in a training facility?

Lastly, the completion rate refers to the amount learned by the character left in the training facility, but honestly, this part was an area where player intervention was completely impossible.

In Luminor Academy, the training facility was just a place where you could leave characters and retrieve them, not a minigame where you could directly control the character you’d left to gain XP.

Once you threw them in, you could only pray that the character would do well on their own and have a high completion rate.

…But for me, who had become that character now, the situation was completely reversed.

The opportunity to duel was at most three times, and it might end with just one chance, a fleeting moment that could hardly be called a period.

The level wasn’t even something that I could control in the first place.

So, the part corresponding to the ‘completion rate,’ the stats in the duel, was the only element I could control.

In order to gain as much experience as possible in a short time, I needed to maximize this ‘completion rate.’

Unconditional victory. Even if defeated, struggling with the body until the last moment.

At least until I could reach level 6, I had to put my heart and soul into the duel.

So, I couldn’t help but spend a considerable amount of time choosing a good weapon, one of the conditions for victory.

Picking up and putting down swords that looked similar on the outside, I also had similar impressions in my mind.

 

‘This one is also a bit… too heavy.’

 

Of course, even if I was level 5, it was still burdensome to wield an iron greatsword in a situation where I was already wearing a full set of iron armor. 

The moment I enter the duel with a weapon that doesn’t suit this body, I will be defeated without being able to make a proper attack.

If I could only use magic, I could easily win the duel no matter how much of a “new soldier” I was, but if it was discovered that I could use magic now, the matter wouldn’t just be resolved with a simple “commotion.”

In the end, the moment I thought about giving up and entering the duel with the lightest weapon I could find…

 

“…Huh?”

 

Suddenly, a certain sword in the corner of the room caught my eye.

 

“I’ll go with this one.”

“…What?”

“I think this one will do.”

“No, Lilith. Please don’t joke around and pick up a proper weapon. Your opponent will be using a greatsword in the duel, so how do you plan to face them with such a weapon?”

“It’s better to use a weapon that suits my body rather than a greatsword that I’m not familiar with.”

“No, Lilith…”

 

From behind me, Emilia tried several times to change the weapon in my hand to something else, but my mind was already completely set on this one.

With this weapon alone, I could demonstrate sufficient skill to face a new soldier, even with Lilith’s body…

…Just by using this dagger in my right hand.

Emilia hoped that this situation was all just a bad dream.

She was already in a desperate situation, just praying that this foolish maid, who had boldly requested to participate in training against a new soldier, wouldn’t get hurt.

As she watched Lilith pick up and put down various types of swords as if playing around, her stress gradually built up.

The moment she saw Lilith put down all the proper weapons at the last moment and enter the duel with only a single dagger, Emilia felt dizzy.

 

‘She’s definitely going to get hurt…. Maybe even seriously injured….’

 

Of course, since they were using swords that had been dulled to fit the purpose of the mock duel, serious injury in itself was rare.

…But that only applied when people of similar levels fought with similar weapons.

An adult man and an adult woman.

A new soldier and a maid.

A greatsword and a dagger.

No matter how you looked at it, there was bound to be an overwhelming difference in power, and Emilia’s mind went blank.

The threat that Young Master Ethan had whispered in her ear a little while ago flashed through her mind again.

 

<If the maid gets even a tiny scratch anywhere, I’ll make sure to carve an unhealing scar in the same place on your body.>

 

Gulp.

 

…What if the injury that the young lady suffers in the duel isn’t just a ‘small wound’?

What if she tries to block a flying sword with her arm and fractures her bone?

Or if she clumsily waves her hand and accidentally gets a finger cut off?

What if she gets hit in the helmet by mistake, shows symptoms of a concussion, and collapses on the spot?

All sorts of ominous imaginations swirled in Emilia’s mind, making her feel uneasy.

If Lilith, Young Master Ethan’s concubine, were to suffer an injury more serious than a minor wound, it seemed like there would be no way for Emilia to save her life.

Emilia deeply regretted her actions a week ago when she protested the official record to the captain, to the point of wanting to beat herself up.

To somehow survive this situation, she had to make a decision.

 

‘No, I can’t let this happen. I have to stop it no matter what.’

 

Even if Ethan reprimands her later for ‘disobeying my orders on your own,’ allowing this duel to happen was an even more absurd act.

To increase her own chances of survival even a little, this duel must never take place.

In the first place, Young Master Ethan didn’t seem to be very pleased with this training either, so if she could just prevent this training participation, there was a high possibility that punishment wouldn’t be imposed.

With her mind fully made up, Emilia’s mouth was already moving to dissuade Lilith from participating in the training ahead of her.

However, her words were naturally cut off by the maid before long.

 

“Lilith, it would be better for you to give up after all. There’s no need for you to gauge the skills of the new soldiers with your own body…”

 

Clap!

 

“…?!”

 

Lilith suddenly clapped her hands once before moving from the Battle Preparation Room to the Mock Battle Arena.

Surprised by Lilith’s action of looking into the air with her hands clasped together, Emilia’s words were lost for a moment and cut off.

 

‘Is she suddenly praying or something…?’

 

To anyone who saw her, Lilith, who quietly stood with her hands clasped before the duel, looked like nothing other than a girl praying.

Emilia stared blankly at Lilith, who was looking into the air with a serious expression.

After a short prayer of about ten seconds, Lilith lowered her hands and immediately turned to Emilia, opening her mouth with a faint smile.

 

“Sorry for cutting you off; I had something to prepare for a moment.”

“…Oh, no, it’s fine.”

“As for the answer to what you just said, I have no intention of backing down. So, no matter how much you try to persuade me, I’m going to enter the duel.”

“……”

“Besides, I’m going to win anyway.”

 

Lilith walked towards the arena with a confident tone and expression, and Emilia followed her as if bewitched.

There was only one thing she could do in this situation.

 

‘Now that it’s come to this, I hope she wins…’

 

The fact that this maid named Lilith was truly skilled enough to hunt down the Hooked Tusk on her own…

…And that she also possessed the ability to skillfully win a duel against a new soldier with just a dagger, without a single scratch.

Betting her fate on that slim possibility was the only way for Emilia to survive.

It was a moment when she desperately hoped, more than anyone else, that her previous statement, that there was no way that woman could have defeated the Hooked Tusk, was just ignorant nonsense.