Chapter 59: Irene Windler Is a Villainess?! (2)

Though the two met by chance(?), Lee Han wasn’t so crass of a person that he wouldn’t treat a woman who had drawn in her courage to approach him considerately.

“Well, meeting by chance could be considered a fateful encounter. Why don’t we hang out together, Chick Number 2?”

“…Can’t you call me by my name?”

“…What was your name again?”

“?!”

“That was a joke, Cadet Irene.”

“Y-You seem like the person who’d forget, Instructor… T-That didn’t seem like a joke at all…”

“C’mon, I’m not that trashy of a person.”

“I know, I was also joking, hehehe.”

“Jeez, you got me there.”

Although there was an awkward atmosphere between them at first, the conversation between the knight and the girl flowed well afterwards without any hint of stopping.

In the first place, they were neighbors who had seen each other’s faces all the time. If anything, it would be strange if they weren’t familiar with each other.

However, there was indeed one thing that made them feel a little awkward around each other…

“It feels a little strange to talk like this at the Academy…”

“Yeah. Outside, we are neighbors, but here, you’re my student and I’m your instructor.”

“Mhm.”

The tension between an instructor and a student that enveloped them.

Irene Windler nodded in agreement with Lee Han, but she actually felt that she didn’t need to worry about such a thing today. After all, it was the exam period; a period without classes being held in all departments, a period when instructors, lecturers, and professors didn’t have to do their duty towards their students.

…This was the reason why she mustered up her courage to approach him in the first place.

W-We don’t look like we’re on a date or something, right…?

As a beginner in love, it wasn’t a wonder that she was concerned about what other people thought about them. Particularly, she was worried that people might mistake them as a couple.

But, if that actually happened…

T-That’ll be embarrassing!

Irene Windler’s cheeks turned red, as if they were soaked in balsam water.

…Unfortunately for her, though…

“Hm? Is that Miss Irene? Who’s the guy next to her, though? Is he her escort knight?”

“He looks like a mercenary. Galahad is a dangerous place, so it’s only natural that they employed someone as an escort.”

“Wait, isn’t he the instructor of the Swordsmanship Department?”

“Oh, you are right! Did the Galahad Family ask him to be her escort?”

“It seems so.”

To others, they didn’t look like a couple at all.

Instead…

“Still, looking at those two walking together is a little…”

“I feel you. It feels like looking at two different styles of painting.”

“Yeah…”

One of them looked like someone out of a romance manhwa, while the other looked like someone out of a painting from the ‘fin de siècle’¹…

The surrounding cadets gave them strange looks, thinking that there couldn’t be an odder combination than the two of them.

Lee Han actually didn’t have to come to the Academy today. During the two-week exam period, most of the teachers would either stay at their home to rest, or take care of their remaining work. However, since this period was more like a preparation period than a full on break, it was normal for the teachers to busy themselves.

-Why is it always me?!

In Lee Han’s case though, he had a wailing assistant organizing everything, so he was completely free from all his duty. He couldn’t help but praise how good of a sla—ahem, assistant, that guy was.

So, he decided to devote himself to training during this precious break time. He also spared his time wandering around the Academy to see how his students were doing.

Was it his sense of duty, or was it his way to express his hateful love?

Whatever it was, after being together with those punks for three months, he couldn’t help but feel a little affection towards them. There was also this psychological instinct that urged him to see how his students performed in their exams.

Irene completely understood what her instructor was feeling. That was why, the first place they headed to was…

Pak-!

Paaak-!

“Chick Number 7 is pretty good.”

“Miss Rose is quite athletic…”

The tennis court, where some of the chicks performed actively. One could say that it was a battlefield for blooming flowers.

“This place feels like a flower field.”

“My nose hurts because of all the perfume.”

“…Don’t you think you should say what I said while I should say what you said?”

“What are you talking about, Instructor?”

“…Am I the weird one here…?”

Since most of the noble ladies picked tennis as their sports subject, the ratio of women in this exam was overwhelmingly high. But, the only ones who were particularly active in the examination room were the young ladies from the Swordsmanship Department.

Paaak-!

“I-I won!”

“Wow!”

“Huh? Instructor is here?!”

“Instructor, I won—!”

Perhaps it was because they had trained under Lee Han, and even received special lectures from him…

The girls showed overwhelming performance and won their matches. They even seemed to have left a good impression on the judges.

As expected of my cadets—no, my chicks.

It’s about time for their yellow hair to fall out.

Maybe I should call them gamecocks from now on.

Lee Han knew that noble ladies were the type of people who’d find it bothersome to even walk with their own two feet. They’d rather starve themselves to lose weight and brag about being skinny from their strict diet than exercising.

Well, they also had tea time every day to eat cakes, black tea, and cookies, but that was why they starved themselves to begin with, to offset all the calories they got from that. They also did horseback riding to burn some more calories, though.

That’s why their bodies are a mess.

Since they had a body with the kind of health that would soon deteriorate, those young noble ladies were easily defeated by the chicks.

Their unhealthy bodies are because of nutritional imbalance and extreme lack of exercise…

They wouldn’t notice the problem since they were still young, but Lee Han could tell that once they got older, they’d turn into grouchy middle-aged-women.

Compared to them, my chicks are like phoenixes.

Unlike those skinny patients, the chicks were smiling and swinging their arms vigorously. He was reminded of the time when he first met them. Back then, they were no different from those skinny patients, but now, thay had grown a lot.

“Rascals… Those chicks made me feel touched…”

“…Touched by what…?”

“You know, the feeling you get when you see a patient standing up healthy? It’s something like that.”

“??”

…His sentiment was something that Irene Windler found hard to understand.

After visiting the tennis exam field, Lee Han and Irene went around the place to see different kinds of things.

“Kunta, coming!”

“G-Get away, quick, quick! D-Don’t stand in his way, or you’ll just die!”

“Ahhh!”

Like a certain barbarian who was blasting other cadets away like a buffalo on the rugby field.

“If you don’t want a world of hurt, get the hell out of my way!”

“What’s that ridiculous horsemanship?!”

“This mercenary—! Heuk—!”

Or one of the disciples of the Mercenary King who somehow became a master of polo with his insane horsemanship. Seeing him flexing his skills freely made the spectators think that he wasn’t a mercenary, but a member of an exotic tribe who lived in grassland.

“I-It’s gone!”

“Crazy bastard!”

“As expected of the heir of the famous swordsmanship family.”

“…I’m not sure what’s the correlation between me being a heir to me being good at hitting a ball…”

Or the descendant of a certain famous swordsmanship family who became a hero to his cricket team by hitting a walk-off homerun.

It wasn’t only them. All cadets from the Swordsmanship Department received excellent grades as every single one of them managed to completely overwhelm their opponent. As their instructor, Lee Han couldn’t help but feel proud of them.

Is this how those old men who showed off their well-groomed bonsai to others feel?

But, unlike Lee Han, who was feeling satisfied on their own, Irene was a little confused by what she was seeing.

“Umm… Those people are our seniors right? The second and the third years…?”

“Yes.”

Of course, among those who attended the exams, the second and the third-years of the Swordsmanship Department—the people who had never attended Lee Han’s classes—were also there. They were all unfamiliar faces to both Lee Han and Irene, and the latter was frowning at them.

“Those people were the ones who skipped your classes and received private lessons from their tutors, right?”

“Yes.”

“…Then, why are they so weak?”

“Huh?”

“Like, look at them! Compared to us first-years, they’re lagging way too far behind! Even the bears would be able to beat them!”

“…”

“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Pfft, nothing. I just thought that your reaction was cute.”

“H-Huh!?”

“Hmm.”

Without realizing that he had made the girl’s heart flutter, Lee Han started to look at her in a different light.

Is it because she’s a mage? Or is it because she abandoned her original peers and involved herself too much with the folks in the Swordsmanship Department?

Somehow, the mage girl managed to develop an eye to observe the difference of skills between warriors.

Or…

It could also be because she has that gangster’s blood in her veins.

Which means, this is the talent she has from the beginning.

I mean, her father is THE peerless master of the demon sword. Even if she were to abandon her identity as a mage, she could still grow into a fine warrior.

Though Lee Han valued hard work highly, he once again realized that in this world, the power of one’s bloodlines couldn’t be dismissed so easily.

Irene’s assessments were terrifyingly accurate to the point that he couldn’t stop admiring her. As she said, the second and third-years’ capabilities were way behind the first-years. Even at a single glance, the difference in skill level between them was painfully obvious.

If I were to use a gaming term, those guys are like newbies who haven’t even completed their first job change.

Meanwhile, the first-years are the people who are about to complete their second, or even third job. That’s how vast the gap between them is.

…I did hear from the other people in the Knight Order that the level of the new knights is getting worse and worse every year. This is probably why, huh?

Looking at them, Lee Han dug further into his thoughts. Aside from one junior, Yord—the guy who charged at him right before he was sent to the Academy—the other new guys were like a bunch of scared sheep, they had no fighting spirit at all.

They were similar to those second and third-years.

Those guys haven’t improved their physical abilities at all. Not only that, their bloodlust and fighting spirit is lacking. It feels like they have only gained experience by hunting wild animals.

Their fighting spirit is just too…weak… It feels like they wasted all their skills hunting rabbits all their lives.

And most importantly, their basics are poor, extremely so.

Lee Han never did his job as an instructor half-heartedly. He always approached everyone sincerely and trained them. The one thing he emphasized to all his students the most was none other than ‘basics.’

He engraved these basics into their bodies and minds like a mental reformer. Because of that, even though the first years had only been taught by him for three months, their overall capabilities had increased by leaps and bounds.

On the contrary, these guys who had learned for two years longer than the first years…

What a waste.

If he were to give his personal evaluation towards them…

I’d expel them if I could.

They’re all style, no substance.

“Um, are the basics that important to swordsmen?”

“Of course. Look at it this way, if they are mages, they are basically mages who can’t even use telekinesis.”

“Wow, that’s just…wow…”

The moment Lee Han used that comparison, Irene immediately understood his explanation. A mage who was unable to use telekinesis was like a child holding a hammer. There was nothing more dangerous than being unable to control one’s own power.

“But, why is their level so low?”

“War… They ruined people in all sorts of ways…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

This wasn’t something that these children realized, but those who were hailed as heroes during the kingdom’s war with Britain weren’t the knights of the current generation, but the knights from the previous king’s era. In other words, those who had retired a long time ago. Well, there were some of them left, but those people were the ones who were only partying during the war while pretending to lead the army during the fight.

It seems like the absence of the God of War is a more serious problem than I thought.

The God of War.

That was the moniker of the previous king of Pendragon who ruled the kingdom for 120 years and raised its power level to become one of the superpowers in the continent.

His moniker might sound arrogant—after all, the words ‘God’ was in it—but anyone who looked through his achievements would be able to tell that those achievements weren’t something that a normal human could have accomplished.

He was strong enough to form a whole new country on his own.

The previous king had a special talent that made even Lee Han—who only heard of him through records—struck in awe; the ‘talent for picking out talented people’. Those who were picked out by him were all capable people who managed to become either great generals or prime ministers.

Back then, the Pendragon Kingdom was filled with talented people who were personally picked out by the king. Their might was so great that even the empire feared them. Among those talents was Baltar Grace in his youth.

However, it had been over seventeen years since the previous king had left for Avalon.

Many people of the same generation as him had also already passed away. Those who were still alive were already counting their days, waiting for the day they could finally leave this world to rejoin their king.

It was already time for the younger generation to take the reins of the kingdom, and yet…

In the future, if I were to see any sign of war, I’ll just leave the kingdom immediately.

Looking at the nobles who were currently leading the country, Lee Han was completely sure that there would be no ‘next time’ for this kingdom.

“Is this why it was ruined?”

“Pardon?”

“…No. It’s nothing.”

“??”

The boy, Roen, swallowed his words. After all, the thing that he was thinking about wasn’t something he could mention to anyone yet.

At that moment…

“Is this what you wanted to show me, you arrogant brat?”

“…I believe it’s better to see it once rather than hearing about it through a hundred words.”

“Indeed. Seeing it directly like this angered me in an instant.”

“…”

Roen felt a chill run down his spine as he turned around to see the man who was exuding a cold atmosphere at him.

He thought he knew all there was to know about this man—one of the pillars supporting the kingdom along with the Pendragons and the Lionels—and that he could stand confidently in front of him.

He thought that even if it was this person, there was no way that he could make him nervous.

And yet…

…This person is terrifying…

He was scared of him. Him, Roen Dmitri de Lionel, was scared of the man in front of him, Blake Vivian de Galahad.

Is it me who’s scared of him, or…

Is it the lion’s blood inside me that’s scared of him…?

Whichever it is, I shouldn’t let my guard down.

“Should I hit him, my lord?”

“No. We didn’t come here to fight.”

“But, he presumptuously dragged you all the way here. There’s no way I could just let him live, my lord.”

“…What are you, a butcher? Act more like a knight.”

“As long as you give me your order, my lord, I’ll be your butcher.”

“…Haa.”

…There’s also him…

Lake de Duran. Galahad’s final sword.

That’s the title he would obtain in the distant future. Alongside that title, they will also call him the ‘Butcher’, someone who’ll make everyone in the kingdom tremble in fear.

In my previous life, no one knew that such a vicious and terrible Evil Star was sleeping inside him…

The only person who was able to put a leash on that Evil Star was the duke, the owner of the demon sword. However, at one point, the duke disappeared somewhere, and with that, there was no one who could capture this vicious ‘Demonic Man’.

But that’s a future that has not yet arrived. No matter how vicious he could be, right now he’s still obedient to his master.

With that in mind, Roen decided to take a gamble. After all, the duke was still alive and well this time, and the worst murderer in the kingdom’s history was still acting as his ‘loyal dog’.

“…Your Majesty, I have come to offer you some suggestions.”

“You insolent—!”

“Enough.”

“…”

“Continue, little one.”

“…”

Bringing up a suggestion in the duke’s face in such an insolent way was pretty much the equivalent of throwing one’s life away. But, Roen had already rolled the dice; he couldn’t just back down at this stage.

“Your Excellency the Duke—no, the man who had inherited the thickest blood of the previous king. Please, succeed to the throne.”

“You insoleeeeeeent—!”

Hearing his words, Lake immediately drew his sword. Meanwhile, Roen quickly grabbed Jack, who was beside him, as if he had already predicted this reaction.

“I will hear your answer the next time we meet, Your Excellency.”

Whoosh-!

…With that, they disappeared in an instant.

The ability he had used to hide their presence could be said as almost at the same level with [Mystic]. After all, it could even evade the senses of a high-ranking knight.

Although, Lake was still confident that he could chase and kill the young men even if they were people who had awakened Mystic Power. But, the moment he was about to make his move…

“Stop.”

“…My lord?”

“Those little rats are still good at hiding, huh?”

“…”

“…Still.”

A smile gradually formed on the corners of Duke Blake’s mouth.

However…

“That is indeed an interesting suggestion.”

His cold eyes clearly showed that he wasn’t in a very pleasant mood.

This was something that happened four days after the exam period started.