Chapter 24: Academy is discontinuing service(2)

One of the mass-produced cursed swords was broken, but the dark mages here seemed to be more competent than I thought. There were quite a few completed swords, and I managed to get another one from Aryn as compensation.

It felt wrong to say this, but if our kingdom’s mages were even half as competent as these dark mages, Leon wouldn’t be called a magical wasteland. Of course, the abundance of dark mages meant the Empire would continue to be plagued by their attacks. And it was a headache to think that most of them would be drawn to the academy by the alluring ropan heroine, Daisy. But for a dark mage creation, it wasn’t particularly dangerous, so I put it to use immediately.

“Got a minute?”

“I guess…”

My target was Aslan, the Little Sword Emperor, the most underwhelming of the ropan male leads. According to Violet, he was currently in hiding, ashamed of being controlled by a cursed sword.

He’d been skipping Flower Arranging Club activities and training alone, just like me. How infuriating. I was still dealing with the aftermath of the midterm terrorist attack and the dark mage incident, while he, a ropan male lead, was sulking. If he was so embarrassed, he should be seeking comfort from Daisy.

Honestly, it was absurd. As if to maintain balance, Ellen, who was supposed to be aloof, was now clinging to Daisy, while Aslan, who was supposed tobe by her side, was now isolating himself.

If their roles in the academy arc were reversed, it would be a disaster. If Ellen went, I had to go too… And summer break, and the Church arc, were just around the corner. I couldn’t afford to get dragged into that mess.

“What’s this?”

So, I gave Aslan the cursed sword I’d obtained from the Empire. At this rate, he wouldn’t even become the “Lesser Sword Emperor,” let alone the Little Sword Emperor.

“It’s the cursed sword you used before.”

“Argh!”

He immediately threw it away. PTSD, apparently.

“Ugh.”

I caught the sword, frowning.

“What if it broke?”

One cursed sword had already broken when I’d imagined fighting Ellen. It was so fragile that it broke just from my imagination, so it needed to be handled with care.

“D-Daisy purified that one!”

“She did, and I returned it to the Empire.”

“Then what’s this?”

Aslan stared at the mass-produced cursed sword in my hand with a bewildered expression.

“A mass-produced replica of that cursed sword?”

I briefly explained its effects. It couldn’t enhance abilities by a full level like the original, but it could induce mind control to draw out the user’s hidden potential. If used while protecting the mind with mana, it could be utilized without any problems.

“How do you do that?”

“Just imagine protecting your head with mana.”

“…No, seriously, how?”

What was wrong with this guy? He could at least imbue his sword with mana. He just needed to apply that same principle to block the cursed sword’s mana from reaching his head.

“Just think of it as an application of that principle.”

“Really?”

“Why would I want to control you?”

You’re weaker than me. I barely managed to stop myself from saying that; he might refuse to train if I did.

“Haa…”

After some persuasion, Aslan hesitantly drew the cursed sword from its scabbard. He’d fallen for my claim that he could unlock his hidden potential with it. And then…

“Argh!”

“Ugh.”

He was immediately controlled by the sword, and I promptly knocked him out. It seemed he still had a long way to go.

****

After four attempts, Aslan finally managed to resist the cursed sword’s control. Of course, this was only possible because it was a mass-produced replica. He was supposed to have overcome the original in the novel. He really had a long, long way to go.

“N-Now… what?”

He gritted his teeth, barely managing to control the sword. I sighed but refrained from commenting. Our “Lesser-Lesser-Lesser Sword Emperor” probably wasn’t enjoying this either. For the day he would confidently woo Daisy…

“Talk to the sword.”

“Talk? To the sword?”

“Yes. It keeps asking if you desire power, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“If you say yes, it’ll ask you to imagine a specific enemy. So, set your target.”

Then, a thought occurred to me, and I quickly added,

“Oh, by the way, don’t choose Ellen. It broke when I tried.”

It broke even for me; it would definitely break for the even weaker “Lesser-Lesser-Lesser-Lesser Sword Emperor.”

“…I wasn’t even thinking about him.”

It seemed the “Nano Sword Emperor” knew his limits.

“You can’t defeat Ellen if you can’t even surpass me.”

“Oh.”

Did he think he could defeat me? If I were a sword-obsessed knight like Princess Hestia, I would have taken that as a challenge. But for me, the sword was a means to an end, not the end itself.

Honestly, I was also curious. Would the cursed sword believe that Aslan could defeat me? If so, I’d have to upgrade his title from “Nano Sword Emperor” to “Lesser-Lesser Sword Emperor.” And the result was…

“It says I can.”

The “Lesser-Lesser Sword Emperor” smirked and raised his sword.

“Oh…”

I decided to test the cursed sword’s performance myself.

****

The cursed sword’s performance was certainly impressive. Aslan’s swordsmanship, pushed beyond its limits, was sharp and relentless. If he’d fought like this from the beginning, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed.

The mass-produced cursed sword couldn’t enhance his abilities by a full level, so this was the limit of Aslan’s current potential. In other words, what he lacked wasn’t physical strength, but mental fortitude.

“I lost again…”

See? He fought well, but he was still dejected after losing. That’s why he was so easily controlled by the cursed sword.

“You fought well.”

“So what? I still lost.”

And he’d even used a cursed sword. He muttered, looking crestfallen, and I sighed.

“What’s a man like you moping about?”

He looked momentarily indignant, but I wasn’t done with him yet.

“Are you going to impress Daisy like this?”

“Uh…”

He froze, as if petrified.

“H-How…”

“Anyone who doesn’t know is an idiot.”

It was so obvious. By the way, everyone in the Flower Arranging Club, except for Violet and the potentially villainous president, was an idiot.

Why?

“Th-The other members don’t know.”

Because they were a bunch of dense ropan characters who believed each other’s denials.

“Whether they don’t know or pretend not to know, they’re all rivals. What if someone else snatches her away?”

Aslan’s eyes widened, as if he’d just realized something.

“D-Don’t tell me you too…?”

“You want to die?”

How dare he try to drag me into the chaotic mess surrounding the ropan heroine? My sword, slightly drawn from its scabbard, radiated killing intent.

“Oh, no, of course not.”

They say swordsmen communicate through their swords. My sincerity seemed to have reached Aslan.

“W-Well, honestly, you seem more interested in Violet than Daisy… Sorry, just kidding. My apologies.”

We’d sparred frequently, but he was getting too familiar. There were things you shouldn’t say, even to a friend.

“Well, since you apologized within three seconds, I’ll let it slide this time.”

“You were really going to cut me…?”

Of course. If he said something like that again, I would cut him down, even if he were the Sword Emperor’s… well, I couldn’t cut down the Sword Emperor, but his father was also a Sword Master, so Aslan was the only one I could cut down.

“Anyway. You’re misunderstanding something.”

Daisy was kind. Her character was designed to be a saint who embraced everyone. …She embraced them so much that the romance plot was a mess even in the later arcs, with none of the male leads eliminated. But her kind nature wouldn’t look down on someone’s failures and setbacks. She would help them overcome their struggles and rejoice in their growth.

“In other words, to get closer to Daisy, defeat is more important than overwhelming victory.”

“Defeat?”

They say only the winner is remembered, but that’s only when there’s no story. An underdog with a compelling narrative can sometimes attract more attention than the winner. The important thing was an unyielding spirit.

“Think about it. I grew up training alongside Prince Ellen. How many times do you think I’ve lost?”

Of course, even if there was a world where I was stronger than Ellen, I would still lose due to my role as an instructor. But intentionally losing and simply being defeated were two different things.

And yet, I wasn’t affected. My only concern was how to keep up if he got even stronger. That was my job.

Of course, I couldn’t force Aslan to do the same. Losing wasn’t his job. But I gave him a new goal.

“Just trust me. I’ll make sure you can talk to Daisy all day long.”

Not a job, but romance. And the heroine was a ropan heroine. Something I couldn’t understand, or rather, didn’t want to understand. But for a ropan male lead, it was an irresistible offer.

“R-Really?”

Look at those sparkling eyes.

“Of course. I have the experience of sixty-eight relationships.”

Aslan looked at me with newfound respect. He hadn’t looked at me like that even when I’d defeated him. The sixty-eight relationships were, of course, the collective experiences of the Royal Instructors, but he’d misunderstood, so there was no need to correct him.

****

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Aslan lately.”

Prince Ellen’s complaint reached my ears. If he were a princess, I might have taken it as a compliment, but even in a ropan, it was best to nip any potential misunderstandings in the bud.

“I’m still mad at you, Prince Ellen.”

“…Still?”

He looked at me as if asking if I was still sulking at my age, but he was still a kid. He was turning twenty this year, and twenty-somethings were still kids. Some people might consider me old, adding my past life’s age, but I disagreed. I’d died around the same age in my past life, so I was a super-kid, having experienced childhood twice.

“And the reason is similar, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“The reason I’m spending time with Aslan.”

Honestly, I wasn’t avoiding Prince Ellen. It was just that due to recent events, I was frequently meeting with the handlers of other factions. And I spent my remaining free time training. In other words…

“You could have come to the training grounds then, or now. You just chose to meet Daisy instead.”

“Uh, well…”

Prince Ellen averted his gaze, speechless. Well, it was more normal for a man to be obsessed with a woman than another man. But that was about to end. I could see Aslan approaching, his expression determined. Prince Ellen seemed to have noticed him too.

“Aslan?”

He greeted Aslan cheerfully as he approached, but…

“I challenge you, Ellen!”

…Aslan responded with a typical ropan-style duel challenge.