After the academy’s entrance ceremony, which felt both short and long, ended, Ethan, who had been recognized on stage as the second-place student of the Swordsmanship Department, hurriedly looked around inside the auditorium.

He tried to find Lilith, his exclusive maid, in the chaotic auditorium where nearly 400 new students pf the academy had gathered. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

They had definitely been in the front row of the auditorium together at first.

He hadn’t seen her move seats during the event, so if she was waiting inside the auditorium, she should still be in that spot.

…But the place where he had been with her until he went up on stage was already crowded with new students trying to leave after the entrance ceremony ended.

 

‘Did she go outside first?’

 

Given how chaotic the situation was, she might have thought it would be easier to find each other outside rather than staying in the auditorium.

Still, he should be able to recognize Lilith easily, even outside, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Her beautiful appearance, her distinctive figure, and her strange outfit that looked like a mix between a maid’s uniform and the academy uniform would be hard not to recognize.

 

‘I hope she’s not causing any trouble.’

 

Although Lilith usually made wise decisions, she also had a tendency to become emotional at times.

At the very least, he hoped that if such a thing happened, it would be within his sight.

That way, even if she caused trouble, he could somewhat handle the situation if it was under circumstances he could manage.

Lately, however, Lilith had become more well-behaved without causing any particular trouble. In fact, looking back on most of the incidents she had caused so far, they were mostly things she had to step in for.

Even Lilith wouldn’t cause a commotion on the day of the entrance ceremony for no reason.

 

“……”

 

Somehow feeling a bit uneasy, Ethan hurriedly prepared to leave the auditorium.

Perhaps thanks to living with Lilith for many years, Ethan’s indescribable intuition was telling him he needed to find her quickly.

Just as Ethan, after briefly exchanging words with Princess Seraphine, was about to move his steps outside the auditorium with other students, he suddenly felt someone grab his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

 

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“……”

 

Ethan paused at the voice of the white-haired young man who suddenly called out to him.

Although they hadn’t even exchanged words yet, he already knew who he was.

He was the man who had enrolled as the top student in the Swordsmanship Department at the entrance ceremony just now and stood next to him.

His name was… Gyeongmwajogyegigwat Volt, wasn’t it?

…and he seemed to be accompanied by women who looked like the top students from the Theology and Archery departments. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Although he approached in a manner that breached etiquette, Ethan accepted it, thinking it was because the other party was a commoner.

 

“What business do you have?”

“Ah, well…”

 

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat Volt rolled his eyes, hesitating a bit at Ethan’s words.

It couldn’t be helped. He, too, had just hastily grabbed Ethan, who was trying to rush out of the auditorium.

Thinking any conversation starter would be awkward, he decided to speak straightforwardly instead.

 

“I was just wondering if you might have something to say to me.”

“…Something to say?”

“You know, like a commonality between you and me? Anyway, it’s like a secret that’s hard to tell other people.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying. Even if I had a secret that’s hard to tell others, why would I discuss it with you, whom I’ve just met? Especially in this situation where your women are listening too.”

“Wh-what?! I-I’m not the Hero’s woman…”

“…Wait, don’t make strange misunderstandings. I’m not this guy’s woman or anything, I’m just accompanying him because our interests align…”

“Wait, Selena. Don’t interrupt the conversation, it’s getting unnecessarily complicated. We’re in the middle of an important discussion right now.”

“…Hmph.”

 

He approached with a serious expression as if he had something to say, but all he’s showing is bickering with his women?

Ethan’s interest rapidly cooled at Gyeongmwajogyegigwat’s deflating attitude, enough to turn his hurried steps back.

 

“It seems there’s no particular business between us. My companions are waiting, so I’ll be going ahead.”

“W-wait, Ethan!”

“…I’m not sure when we became close enough to call each other by name. Mind your manners.”

“J-just a moment! Gyeongmwajogyegigwat Volt is a Hero who received a revelation from the goddess!”

“Does the Aurelian Church teach that Heroes don’t need to mind their manners? I don’t think such arrogant teachings should come from the mouth of a Saint.”

“Th-that’s…”

 

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat and Serista quietly shrank back, at a loss for words against Ethan’s logical argument.

In the conversation that wasn’t flowing in a particularly good atmosphere, the hero quietly thought…

 

‘…As expected. He seems to have already experienced at least either regression or possession.’

 

The Ethan he knew from the game wasn’t such a noble young man with dignity, nor was he a character capable of silencing others with logical conversation.

At least, it seemed certain that he had gone through something that changed him completely as a person. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Since he himself was already a possessor who had flowed in from a world outside the game, he couldn’t be certain that the Ethan before his eyes wasn’t in a similar case to himself.

If he had realized his mistakes in the future, regressed, and then changed the past, it would be fully understandable for him to show such a cautious attitude towards himself.

If Ethan was possessed by someone, like himself, Ethan would naturally be wary of him since he knows the game’s story.

Anyway, it seemed clear that his somewhat bold approach had offended him, so Gyeongmwajogyegigwat quietly apologized to him.

 

“Sorry, Blackwood. Thinking about it, my sudden impolite approach might have been unpleasant from your position.”

“……”

“But I was sincere about wanting to talk with you, Blackwood. I didn’t ask with any strange intentions, it should be a conversation that’s not bad for you either.”

“…I’m already quite displeased.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to get close as fellow excellent students in the Swordsmanship Department. Since we’re first and second in grades, we should have a lot to talk about between just the two of us, right?”

“……”

 

Ethan’s guard naturally lowered a bit at the attitude that was somewhat different from the rude one just now.

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat was about to continue with a bit more persuasion, finding that gap.

However, their conversation was forcibly interrupted by a commotion heard from outside the auditorium.

 

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

 

“…What’s that sound?”

“Wh-what could it be…? Could someone be having a duel or something outside the auditorium…?”

 

The attention of Ethan and the Hero was also drawn outside by the words of the elf archer and the Saint who first noticed the commotion.

The words that followed were enough to make the young master of the Blackwoods react.

 

“Wow! The maid! The maid is winning!!”

“No way… How can someone wielding such a sword lose to someone just wielding a dagger?”

“……!!!”

 

As soon as he heard the words coming from the mouths of students watching the fight, he had no choice but to abandon the conversation and rush out of the auditorium.

The moment he heard about a maid fighting with a dagger, only one person came to Ethan’s mind.

 

‘Lilith…!’

 

How strange; she seemed a bit more well-behaved recently.

The duel between me and Raidenhart ended much more easily than I had expected.

I had anticipated it to some extent from the moment we first crossed swords.

His movements were so pathetic that they could hardly be called swordsmanship, and even his strikes lacked weight. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

They were just pitiful movements that implied that he could only think about cutting down the target in front of him.

Perhaps because I had watched Ethan and Harold’s duels twice a week, the academy freshman’s sword seemed to move in such a simple trajectory that my body reacted before my eyes could.

It wasn’t particularly difficult to parry his sword with just the silver dagger in my hand.

No special technique was needed to parry such a crude sword.

 

Clang!

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Just by using Shockwave at the moment the blades collided, it wasn’t too difficult to handle a longsword with a dagger.

In less than a few minutes after the duel started, the duel went completely in my favor.

A fight between a dagger and a longsword is generally disadvantageous for the wielder of the dagger. You have to expose more of your body to danger due to the shorter range, and each strike is inevitably weaker due to the lighter weight of the weapon.

However, these were meaningless penalties in the current situation when dueling with this guy.

There was no particular reason for my body to be in danger just from dodging that simple trajectory of his sword, and I could compensate for the lack of power by using Shockwave when the blades collided.

With those two weaknesses reinforced, it was now time for the dagger’s advantages to shine.

The only advantage of a dagger was its attack speed; it was several times faster than swinging a longsword.

 

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

“Ugh, guh…! Aaaaargh!!”

 

Although he was struggling desperately to land a strike on me, Raidenhart’s sword couldn’t even properly touch my uniform, let alone my body.

The match between us was finally decided when I allowed myself one strike in the gradually widening gaps.

 

Stab!

“AAAAARGH!!”

 

With Raidenhart letting out a painful scream as his left wrist was stabbed by my silver dagger, the longsword in his hand fell to the ground.

With the sound of the blade hitting the floor, the duel ended.

 

Clang….

 

“AAAH, AAAAAH…!”

 

…It’s not as pleasant as I thought.

Even though he picked the fight first, it still felt quite uncomfortable fighting person to person.

…Even in a world where you can reattach an arm or leg at the church if it’s cut off.

 

“Do you understand the difference in skill now?”

“Y-you damned bitch…!!”

 

Raidenhart glared at me with murderous intent while clutching his wounded area with his right hand.

You’d think he’d calm down a bit after this, but it seems his pride was quite severely hurt.

 

“AAAAH! Damn it!! You damn…!!”

“Admit your defeat. If you want to keep what little honor you have left, that is.”

“I-I’ll kill you! You lowborn bitch of unknown origin! I’ll kill your entire family in the name of the Raidenharts, and I’ll cut off your limbs and tongue and make you a sex slave for the soldiers…”

“…What did you just say?”

“…Huh?”

 

A familiar figure appeared in front of the guy who was cursing me with lines from a third-rate villain.

Ethan, who appeared with the Blackwood family crest embroidered on his cape, drew the sword at his left waist before I could explain anything.

His sword swung through the air once at a speed that eyes couldn’t follow.

 

Slash!

 

Blood splattered.

A painful scream rang out.

Both of Raidenhart’s wrists flew up into the sky.

 

“AAAH! AAAAAAAAAH!!”

“Say those exact words one more time. Then this blade will come out the back of your head.”

 

Ethan held out another sword blade towards the guy who had fallen to the ground, screaming.

His eyes were sharpened with an icy gaze that even I had never seen before.