episode_0024

“Cosette, your posture is off. If you don’t tighten your armpits more, you won’t be able to apply the strength properly.”

“Be quiet.. Princess..”

It’s so much fun to nag at Cosette, who’s sitting comfortably on a cushion and swinging her wooden sword diligently.

Of course, nothing happened during my time at the academy. I just listened to lectures, explored various places on the grounds, studied, and trained.. Every day was similar, so it felt like time passed by quickly.

Well, what on earth could possibly happen at the Academy? There’s no way a mysterious terrorist group would needlessly attack the Academy, and even if they did, they wouldn’t attack an ordinary academy for upper-middle-class nobles, and they wouldn’t target this idiot’s coffin like some idiot. Well, the security level is probably lower than that.

For reference, I had submitted a medical certificate from my doctor stating that I should avoid excessive or strenuous exercise due to genetic and habitual high-intensity anemia, so for things like fencing practice, I mostly just sat around idly by and gave Cosette some advice.

Of course, since the attending physician is Yu Gram, he gave permission under the pretext that I don’t need to sit here and learn fencing now. It seems strange enough that I participate in basic physical training but only feel pain during fencing and play, but as a teacher, I have nothing to say because the attending physician says so, and there’s no reason to force me to participate in class while saying, “Isn’t it strange that you do this and that?” There are only a few students to worry about.

The class itself is for all grades of the academy, so it includes not only upper-level classes but also intermediate and lower-level classes. Then, naturally, the number of students taking the class is huge. Simply put, it is 1/3 of the total number of first-year students. Of course, if you consider this and that, it could be more or less than that, but roughly speaking, that is the story. If this were a theory or a simple lecture, it would be okay if the teacher taught the class alone, but in the case of a swordsmanship class that focuses on practical skills, it is obviously impossible for the teacher to take care of all the students alone.

So, many seniors work as assistants in the hopes of getting extra credits or finding a job. And then there are quite a few cases where they end up getting a job at the academy.

Those assistants are supposed to teach the younger students who are paired up in groups, but in the case of Cosette and me, I sent the seniors away so that I could take care of Cosette. There are only two of us, and I don’t actually receive any lessons, so it’s a waste of manpower. That’s why I’m diligently training Cosette right now.

Of course, swordsmanship consumes a lot of physical strength. It would be strange if it weren’t difficult to swing a heavy iron block around. Of course, the humans of this world, especially the nobles and royalty, have ridiculously good physical abilities. However, that doesn’t mean swordsmanship is easy. After all, swordsmanship is fundamentally a technique for killing people, and the sword is a tool for that. Since the heavy one is stronger at the same speed, it’s natural that the sword user would become heavier within the limit that he can handle.

Of course, there are thin and light swords that are mainly used for stabbing. However, they are also relatively light, and are equally heavy. In fact, there are cases where the weight is placed more on the decorations attached to the handle that protects the hand. To exaggerate a bit, commoners would be surprised and say, “This is a light type?”

In other words, it is obviously very difficult and tiring to hold such a lump of iron and swing it around and maintain a posture. In the first place, it is very difficult to control your body by correcting it into an unfamiliar posture, even without holding a sword. I don’t do it though.

“Ah.. That’s not how you bring it down.”

“Hmm… Is it that hard to keep your right foot still?”

“Why can’t I do this? I see that even lower level students can do it very easily..”

“Huh? If you swing it like that, the sword will fly straight to your side.”

“I thought Cosette could do this much… I guess I was wrong”

Cosette, who had been listening to the constant chattering from the side, had a face that was obviously seething and wanted to say something, but she just kept listening. Of course, it wasn’t like this from the beginning. On the first day, when Cosette couldn’t stand it anymore and asked how great she was to do that, she justified it by just expressing her doubts. When Cosette didn’t move an inch from where she was standing still and deflected or blocked all of Cosette’s attacks, Cosette naturally acknowledged the difference in skill.

In fact, even if the skill gap is a skill gap, it is understandable that she doesn’t want to listen to the training and gets annoyed, but in the end, it is for her own benefit, so she puts up with it to this extent. This is Cosette’s way of thinking, which is the knight’s way of thinking. If he really wasn’t the right person for a knight, she would have just gotten annoyed and hit him.

“The princess… surprisingly has a bad personality.”

“I don’t really know what you’re talking about. I’m just adding my thoughts to help Cosette improve her skills.”

When I answered with a bright smile, Cosette started swinging her wooden sword again as if she was tired. Cosette and the other noble students here eventually learn their family’s swordsmanship. However, even so, the basics never betray. Just as someone who can’t even hold a kitchen knife properly can’t become a great cook, and someone who can’t even sharpen a blade properly can’t become famous as a blacksmith, the basics are the most important. I kept hearing this in my head several times a day, and it’s not wrong, and I agree.

“Okay, Cosette’s hands are still. Cosette knows that she has to try harder because she starts slower than others, right?”

By the way, I understand why people take on this kind of educational role. It’s so much fun.

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Days passed like that, and before I knew it, the exam was approaching. I didn’t have any particular pressure about my grades and I didn’t prepare much, but as expected, I was ranked first.

I got full marks on all the exams related to the College of Civil Service and the College of Engineering, and although I had some mistakes here and there in the general subjects, my average score was the highest in the end. It’s not something to brag about, and in some ways it’s an obvious result. In the first place, not only commoners but also nobles receive education, but they also have to gather together to socialize and do things, such as learning various cultures, court etiquette, and training their successors. They can’t just repeat high-intensity “Study!” “Train!” “Study!” “Train!” like I do. If they were elites like that, they wouldn’t have come to this academy in the first place.

But if this is a problem because it is only natural for me and Yugram and not for other people, then it can be seen as a problem. Cosette checked her grades and looked at me like I was a monster. That would be understandable. Even if we take the same classes, after class, all we do is eat, eat snacks, and play all day long, so I don’t understand why my grades are like that.

I thought that there was nothing I could do about the other students muttering and talking about the Masked Princess, but that wasn’t the end of it. This letter that Yugram brought was left in front of my room in the dormitory. I opened it with a smile, thinking that someone had confessed to me, but it was something I could never have imagined.

‘Don’t think your next test will go that well, you idiot.’

hmm..

The content is cute and doesn’t really have anything special to say, so it doesn’t really matter, but I have no idea who sent it. First of all, judging by the handwriting, it’s not Cosette. If that’s the case… If that’s the case…

“It seems you have finally realized that your only companion is Miss Cosette.”

“It’s noisy, Yugram.”

It’s not that I didn’t know. I just didn’t know how to become close to them, so I just ignored them. Of course, I memorized the names and faces of the kids I often saw in the same class or class. I also remember things like what my friends talked about, like their special skills or hobbies. But I don’t say it out loud because I think they’d think it’d be a little creepy if I said I knew them so unilaterally.

“If I were to look at it as a possibility, I think it would be a student in the same class named Agnes Berche. During the entrance exam, she was pushed back by the young lady and came in second place.”

“Oh.”

Now that I think about it, that’s what happened.

Besides, I just thought of this after hearing it, but when I think about it now, the girl who was mumbling and biting her thumbnail next to me when the entrance exam results were announced was also Anies. She must have been a tired person who couldn’t be satisfied unless she was number one.

I think it’s almost impossible for him to get better grades than me, so what should I do? If I say, “You can’t beat me, so just give up,” even the kindest kid would probably give up right away.

Well, it’s not a big deal, so it doesn’t matter. They don’t seem to have any malicious intentions, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to do anything. In the first place, since I couldn’t say those words in person, I wrote a letter myself and brought it to them, so it’s obvious that there’s no danger at all.

Now that the exams are over, let’s take our time thinking about Cosette’s training schedule.