Assault (1)

Prince Antonio’s passionate confession to Agnes.

First, let me just tell you the outcome-it didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped.

Up until Agnes told Prince Antonio that she wanted more time to observe him before making a decision, things seemed to be going well, so I wasn’t particularly worried. However, the prince’s response afterward wasn’t ideal.

‘So, Miss Agnes, you’re saying you need more time to get to know me before making a decision?’

‘…Yes.’

‘…Understood. Then I have no choice.’

‘……’

‘I don’t think I can give up on you yet, Miss Agnes, so I’ll accept your proposal.’

When the prince said he “had no choice,” Agnes momentarily tensed up, but upon hearing that he would ultimately accept her terms, she quietly relaxed her stiffened shoulders.

Despite her outward indifference, Agnes must have been nervous deep down-after all, she, too, ultimately desired an engagement with the prince.

At that point, I thought it would end as a healthy relationship where Agnes would take her time to get to know him better instead of rushing into an engagement, and Prince Antonio would compromise and work to win her heart.

…If only he hadn’t added that one unnecessary sentence at the end.

‘In that case, Miss Agnes, I have one question.’

‘…What is it?’

‘How many years until you enroll in the academy?’

‘……What? What are you talking about?’

‘With your level of skill, I’m certain you’ll pass Luminor Academy’s entrance exam in one go! I just turned eighteen today, so I’ll be eligible to enroll starting next year. But if it means being in the same class as you, I can delay my enrollment by a few years!’

‘……’

‘At your current level, you should be ready to enroll in about three years. I can wait that long. What do you say, Miss Agnes? If you’re okay with it, we could spend that time getting to know each other better, and in 2-3 years, we could even apply for the Marriage/Engagement Dormitory…’

‘…I’m already attending.’

‘……Huh?’

‘I said I’m already attending! I’m a second-year! Who the hell do you think you’re mocking?! You and everyone else treating me like a damn kid…!’

‘A-ah…! M-my apologies, Miss Agnes! Y-you just look so… young-no, I mean beautiful-that I mistook…!’

And so, in the end, Prince Antonio managed to trample all over Agnes’s biggest insecurity, leaving their engagement in an awkward limbo.

In a way, it felt like my unnecessary comment had only widened the gap between them, but since it was the prince’s slip of the tongue and not mine, I didn’t need to worry about it too much.

All I could do was silently pray that Antonio would somehow make up for his mistake and build a good relationship with Agnes.

And so, the conclusion of the events at Prince Antonio’s birthday banquet ended with the newly eighteen-year-old protagonist and Agnes caught in a push-and-pull dynamic.

…And in my heart, I quietly hoped that would be the end of it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

『Lilith has reached Level 17!』

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

A week had passed since the incident of Antonio’s public confession to Agnes.

After the prince’s birthday banquet and several other events that coincided with the end of the academy’s midterms, the slightly chaotic atmosphere within the academy settled back into its usual rhythm after a week.

For one, the most significant achievement in the past week was finally leveling up after a long time.

With no recent events to earn experience points, my growth had slowed, but the accumulated hunting experience from the shared class ‘Practical Monster Hunting’ with Ethan and the sparring experience from ‘Applied Magic Swordsmanship’ finally allowed me to achieve a single level-up.

‘Honestly, leveling up is such a pain in the ass…’

If only leveling up were easier, things would progress much more smoothly.

Still, at the very least, my growth rate wasn’t lagging behind as a second-year magic department student, so I had to be grateful for that.

Of course, the fact that I had leveled up also meant Ethan, who had far more opportunities to gain experience, had likely leveled up as well. And so, the two of us, having grown side by side, now stood glaring at each other with swords in hand.

…Each exhaling tired breaths in a steady rhythm.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

“Haa, haa, haa…”

The second-year first-semester shared class between the Magic and Swordsmanship Departments: Applied Magic Swordsmanship.

Under normal circumstances, Ethan, a first-division student, and I, a second-division student, wouldn’t have been paired for sparring. But due to a slight change in Harold’s curriculum starting in the second year, Ethan and I had somehow ended up in this situation, swords in hand.

‘Damn, this is exhausting…’

After exchanging blows over a dozen times, my mental stamina was already significantly drained, leaving my mind thoroughly exhausted.

There was no way I could win against Ethan in a pure swordsmanship duel, so my only strategy was to predict his movements and react a step ahead.

After all, I had spent the past two years observing Ethan more closely than anyone else, so I at least had an idea of how he moved in certain situations.

…Of course, this trick only worked because it was Ethan. Sparring with other first-division students was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter.

The Hero, who was flawless in both offense and defense, went without saying.

Natalie’s swordsmanship, which involved rapid thrusts multiple times per second with a dagger, was sharper than mine despite my own agility.

And Karaham, who swung his greatsword with brute force, was so strong that blocking wasn’t even an option.

‘Honestly, the Swordsmanship Department’s protagonist generation is full of monsters…’

Even if swordsmanship and magic were the main focus of the game, having one heroine and two mid-bosses in a single department was definitely a balance issue.

And among them, Ethan should have been the hardest opponent for me to face in terms of compatibility.

Despite wielding two swords like me, Ethan surpassed me in every aspect-reach, speed, and power-making any duel with him inevitably one-sided.

The only reason I could last as long as I did was by using the aforementioned trick and the fact that Ethan seemed oddly hesitant when facing me.

For the record, Harold wasn’t forcing me to spar with first-division students just to humiliate me after last semester’s disgrace. There were four other students besides me who rotated weekly, sparring with the four first-division students or Harold himself.

As you might have guessed, the five of us-including me-were students who had managed to land at least one solid hit on Harold last semester and earned his recognition.

We weren’t strong enough to compete with the first-division’s superhuman-level students, but we were far above the average achievements of second-division students.

Harold had designated the five of us as “1.5 Division” and began a new training regimen starting in the second year’s first semester-to serve as a bridge between the first and second divisions for the overall growth of all students.

‘The problem was that this meant we were stuck in handicap matches where we’d get beaten by both the first and second divisions.’

If we fought normally, there would be no reason to promote us to the 1.5 Division, so the rules were adjusted based on the opponent.

When a 1.5 Division student fought a second-division student, magic was forbidden-only pure swordsmanship was allowed-while second-division students could use magic for defense only.

Conversely, when fighting first-division students, first-division students were forbidden from using magic, while 1.5 Division students could use magic for defense only.

And thanks to this awkward handicap, the 1.5 Division students-myself included-were piling up losses every day. Against both first-division and second-division students.

‘Of course, the fact that we couldn’t break through Arcane Shields with swordsmanship alone made this inevitable.’

First-division students could, of course, tear through Arcane Shields with pure swordsmanship. Some could even slice through defensive spells with ease.

Being allowed to use defensive magic against them wasn’t much of an advantage for us, since most of them could just slash or smash through our shields.

To make matters worse, we 1.5 Division students hadn’t yet reached the level where we could cut through Arcane Shields with swordsmanship alone.

In my case, I might have been able to do it with a sharp blade enhancement spell, but that was forbidden under the no-magic rule.

In other words, even if I landed the first strike, it would just get blocked by an Arcane Shield, leading to an immediate counterattack. Now that I think about it, first-division students who could destroy Arcane Shields with pure swordsmanship were truly impressive.

At any rate, Harold must have anticipated this skill gap long ago. He was probably using this extreme training to push us toward achieving the ability to break through Arcane Shields.

Thanks to this, my offensive power with the sword had noticeably improved after more than half a semester, but my mental stamina was steadily being worn down. And in a moment of distraction, Ethan, who had rushed toward me, struck down the dagger in my hand without hesitation.

-Clang!

“Ugh?!”

Before the sharp vibration in my hand could fade, Ethan’s other sword came swinging from the opposite side. As I frantically tried to pull out another dagger from my coat, his grip clamped around my wrist.

-Clatter!

“Agh!”

My other dagger fell to the ground as his other hand seized my wrist, and in the next moment, I was pinned beneath him on the training mat.

-Thud.

“…Still going, Lilith?”

“…I yield, Young Master Ethan.”

It was a moment of utter humiliation, leaving me completely powerless in the face of defeat.