Ch.141EP.35 – The Instructor’s Flex (3)

The knight held a wooden sword and a one-handed shield.

“Let me tell you in advance, I’ve never received proper sword training or instruction. That means I have no foundation.”

His body moved languidly as he loosened up, and no aura could be felt from him.

While his worn wooden sword and wooden shield looked quite shabby, I suspected he might be deliberately suppressing his aura.

“So I have no school of swordsmanship, just methods I’ve somewhat perfected in actual combat. Therefore…”

Whoosh!!

“The swordsmanship I can teach you is only ‘this kind of thing.'”

The languid wooden sword suddenly shot toward the scarecrow like a wasp’s stinger.

It happened in an instant, a thrust too fast for the eye to follow.

Thwack!

The wooden sword precisely pierced the scarecrow’s eye.

An impeccably clean strike.

It was a cruel yet bold technique, remarkable in its precision.

“This is about all I can teach you. How to strike an opponent’s weakness. And how to induce an opponent’s carelessness, and ways to survive even if it means being cowardly. Honestly, it’s not the way of a knight.”

He disparaged the techniques he had mastered.

But he didn’t seem upset or ashamed of what he was doing.

“When I learned these things, I wasn’t a knight, and I had to be good at this sort of thing to survive. So I had no choice.”

Swish!

This time it was a strike using the shield.

He showed movements that made one think shields could be handled so freely, and additionally demonstrated various ways to utilize the wooden sword.

Like using the handle part and ways to cave in a skull with the back of the blade…

It was nothing but savage methods.

“Whew.”

…At some point, the scarecrow had become a tattered mess.

It was destroyed beyond repair, and if it had been a person instead of a scarecrow, I thought it would have been a truly horrific sight.

It was enough to give one goosebumps.

“Of course, I’m not telling you to learn these cowardly methods. I’m just letting you know that there are people who fight like this. I’m training you to be able to respond to such cowardly methods.”

“…Respond?”

“What I’ve shown you are shortcuts, methods that induce carelessness in opponents, techniques that work well against the weak. But there are quite a few people who can’t even respond to these methods. Even if someone has learned martial arts, they don’t survive a knife wound. If possible, it’s good to train in advance to counter such shortcuts, in that sense.”

Thud.

“From now on, you will be the scarecrows. And you just need to block the shortcuts that this instructor will demonstrate. This will be the essential task you need to master in the second semester. Of course, the exam will also be replaced with this.”

“……”

“I know, too easy, right? Don’t worry. As easy as it is, other special training is also planned. No need to be disappointed. This instructor has already made countless plans for your growth, haha!”

“You might as well put us in the same enclosure with wild beasts, what is this—”

“Oh? How did you know? That’s also in the plan.”

“……”

“Indeed, young minds. Predicting this instructor’s tests in advance. Excellent!”

“……”

…The cadets were not at all pleased with his praise.

Even if they had predicted it.

‘Wow, is he trying to kill us all?’

The cadets looked again at the thoroughly pulverized scarecrow, and gained a near-prophetic certainty that this would be their appearance in the near future.

Truly…

“T-the pace is too fast, isn’t it?”

They wanted to live.

And it wasn’t that he didn’t know the dangers of this training.

No matter how much he suppressed his strength, a wrong hit could result in death or at least a vegetative state.

And the knight had not the slightest intention of turning his disciples into vegetables.

“Don’t worry, there are precautions.”

Of course, would he really have made such a reckless training plan?

“Interns, step forward.”

“……”

“Don’t just move your bodies, answer as well. If you don’t, I might think that mouth is useless and rip out your tongue.”

“S-sorry!”

“Why are you doing things to be sorry for?”

“……”

“Sigh, fine. My mouth just hurts from talking. Now, quickly set up what I mentioned yesterday.”

“Th-that…”

“You won’t do it? Fine, don’t. Instead, a week-long course of dismemberment…”

“I’ll do it right away!!”

“…You should have done that from the start.”

Even though they were Inquisitors trained to withstand torture, the pain of dismemberment was not something one could get used to.

The knight had reduced the intensity, but it was still enough to leave trauma for them.

The Inquisitors, or rather interns, who obediently followed the knight’s words, and they…

[Grand Magic – Barrier of Sacrifice].

Activated holy magic.

Befitting their status as Inquisitors, the elite of elites, the interns demonstrated the feat of deploying on a small scale a holy magic that would normally require a hundred priests, and the magic enveloped the swordsmanship department’s training ground.

Gradually.

“Huh? Why did it suddenly become so cool?”

“It was so muggy just a moment ago…”

“Oh my? My skin suddenly became smoother?”

“Oh my goodness-!”

After briefly being amazed at the holy power emitted by these new interns Ihan had brought, the cadets were astonished in a different way as the space enveloped by holy power began to fill with a cozy and sacred energy.

Minor wounds, muscle pain, or fatigue that had accumulated without their knowledge suddenly disappeared.

“C-could it be, the B-Barrier of Sacrifice?!”

Arno de Ophen and several children from noble families realized what this was and gaped in astonishment.

They never expected to witness the legendary holy magic they had only heard rumors about.

“Arno? What is this?”

“……It’s the [Barrier of Sacrifice]. Those within the barrier will not be injured no matter what happens, nor will they get hurt. They can also maintain optimal physical condition, and there’s no particular problem even if they don’t eat food or drink water, they say.”

“Kunta doesn’t understand everything, but it sounds amazing!”

“It’s more than just amazing. It’s one of the top three barrier-type holy magics of the temple. According to legend, with this barrier, the Holy Knights fought against demons for a thousand days without rest.”

“Wow! If it’s so good, why don’t they use it more often?”

“…Because the priests who deploy the barrier bear all the risks.”

“…Huh?”

“The priests who deploy this barrier endure all the fatigue and injuries of those inside the barrier. That’s why it’s called [Sacrifice]. It’s a holy magic deployed on the premise of sacrifice.”

“…Kunta suddenly thinks this barrier shouldn’t be used…”

The kind barbarian boy thus retracted his statement about how good the barrier was.

He didn’t want to use it at the expense of others’ sacrifice.

However.

“Don’t worry, big guy. What he described is a bit of an extreme example. In the first place, deploying it for just a day doesn’t cause much of a problem, and the pain they bear is less than 5% depending on the priest’s capacity.”

Ihan explained, as if to dispel the somewhat noisy concerns.

“Then…?”

“Fortunately, our interns are quite excellent. So they don’t receive much pain or fatigue. And we’ll only use this barrier during classes, so there won’t be any major problems.”

“Ohh!”

“How about it? Feeling reassured now?”

“I’m reassured, instructor! This barrier is good again!”

“Good, I’m glad you’re motivated. Train hard accordingly, understand?”

“Yeah, I understand!”

“…Yeah is informal, you brat!”

“Aaack! I-instructor, don’t come! Instructor’s flick can crack Kunta’s skull!”

Kunta tried to run away, but the instructor’s unusually faster movements succeeded in delivering a flick to his forehead.

“Aaah! It hur… huh? …It, it doesn’t hurt?”

Kunta demonstrated proof that the Barrier of Sacrifice was working properly.

“Heh, so that’s the effect.”

“As expected of the instructor, you prepared something amazing.”

“…I’m relieved I don’t have to write a will.”

A sense of relief spread among the cadets, but Arno still had doubts.

‘Even if it’s only 5% damage, wouldn’t the accumulated damage from 80 people still be painful enough to kill?’

Hmm…

“Well, it’s not my concern.”

Arno deliberately shook off his worries.

Although he was concerned about who these priests really were.

“For now, it would be best to make good use of this opportunity.”

There would be nothing more foolish than missing this perfect opportunity to practice techniques he couldn’t attempt for fear of getting hurt.

While he was worried about the priests’ future troubles…

“Urgh!”

“Does it hurt? If it hurts, you can stop now. It’s okay to quit. Though I’m not sure if the instructor will let you off easily if you quit just because it hurts now.”

“Nngh!”

“Why are you glaring at me like that? Do you have a problem with me right now?”

“N-no, I don’t.”

“No? Hehehe, why don’t you try hitting me? Though I wonder if you can.”

“!!?!”

Arno thought it would be fine with Damian Pollet’s spirit of sacrifice(?), focusing all grudges on himself without fearing future consequences and living only in the present.

‘…Perhaps the instructor is right, that too is a talent.’

The talent to enjoy the present without fearing the future.

‘They say those who enjoy the present are the most fearsome… That person will become strong.’

“I said hit me if you have a problem!”

…Assuming he survives in the future.

Arno felt something akin to admiration and respect for Damian Pollet, who lived with the mental fortitude of a mayfly, for the first time.

* * *

“…These kids are completely excited.”

Perhaps because holy magic is definitely a type of power that even the upper class of this world rarely experiences?

Even the noble cadets couldn’t contain their excitement and were captivated by the holy magic.

It was somehow gratifying to watch.

“This is what you call flexing.”

“…How so?”

“Originally, I put those who deserve to die to work to make the training facilities incredibly good, right? They say even the royal family can’t do this? Then it’s definitely flexing.”

“I-is that so?”

Strangely persuaded, Derrick Pendragon hesitantly agreed.

Just then.

“Instructor, I have something to discuss, could you spare me some time?”

“……”

Roen Dmitri de Lionel, a regressor who knew the future in a different sense from Derrick, approached them.

“What’s this about? Even acknowledging me within the academy.”

“I’m rather urgent at heart right now. Instructor, I’d like to make a request.”

“A request?”

“Yes, a request.”

“Hmm, is it related to that redhead?”

“…So you noticed. Then I’ll speak without reservation. Instructor, please…”

—Give her to me!

“……”

…A moment of pervading silence.

Even Ihan lost his words, looking blank for about five seconds, and as soon as he regained his senses, he immediately asked back.

“…Black one. Don’t you think something’s wrong with what you just said?”

“What do you mean?”

“Reflect on the line you just delivered.”

“……What was wrong with it?”

“This is truly maddening…?”

Now that he looked, his eyes were completely crazed.

Eyes just before causing trouble.

Was it because he had lost his reason?

Roen didn’t realize that what he had said was strange.

‘…It’s quite a talent to sweetly express a desire to kill…’

However, for Ihan, who read the resentful emotion contained in that line, it was extremely awkward.

If he gave her over like this, there would definitely be bloodshed.

‘Sigh, adults say not to get involved in couples’ fights…’

Ihan was perplexed.