Ch.154EP.38 – The Knight Does Not Forgive the Bully (3)

In an instant, the stage seemed to have a new protagonist.

This impression suddenly struck me as the magical chick’s presence was beyond imagination.

‘Wow, she’s completely dominating the stage with her looks.’

Honestly, Ihan had little interest in the chick’s appearance. He acknowledged her beauty, but when looking at people, he tended to observe bone structure and skeletal form rather than facial features, so the outer skin of the face wasn’t particularly fascinating to him.

Only recently had he begun to feel flutters for a certain maid, but besides that, he hadn’t particularly felt attracted to women. Yet now was different. Not that he was attracted.

But…

‘So this is what they call a walking work of art.’

He couldn’t help but admire her.

It felt like looking at a beautiful sculpture or painting. In his previous life, people would naturally fall into admiration when seeing famous beautiful sculptures, and the chick’s appearance and aura gave a similar feeling to such artwork.

“Bear cub, I’m starting to feel a bit strange around her.”

“M-me too…”

A bewitching charm that even captivated other women.

If he hadn’t seen actual succubi before, he might have suspected the magic chick was one.

‘Half-fairy, they said. Your mother’s blood runs strong, little chick.’

Only he knew that Irene was Blake the Duke’s biological daughter, and that the girl named Irene had inherited potent fairy blood.

From ancient times, fairy beauty was compared to goddesses or angels, and they appeared as goddesses of beauty in various myths…

‘Now I understand why such sayings exist.’

Even though he thought he’d grown accustomed to her appearance, seeing her deliberately dressed up made him truly understand why fairies were even worshipped by people of old.

This must be why they say a woman’s transformation is criminal.

‘The scary part is that she’s still growing.’

Surprisingly, the chick hadn’t finished her growth period yet; she was just beginning that stage. Perhaps when she fully matured, one would understand the meaning of “beauty that could topple a nation.”

…If she was already this beautiful, how frightening would she be in the future?

Ihan hoped that whoever ended up with her in the future, it wouldn’t be him.

‘I don’t want to be the Duke’s son-in-law, and more importantly…’

Swish,

Tingling!

‘I don’t want to get involved with jealous males either.’

Even when he had Bear cub beside him, he received some prickly glances, but with the magic chick hovering nearby, jealous stares of a different dimension were gathering.

An intensity that could kill a person hundreds of times if looks could kill.

Hmm…

‘Now I understand why they say the brave win beautiful women.’

Without courage, one couldn’t handle such jealousy.

However.

“…This is annoying.”

Tsk!

Ihan clicked his tongue, feeling displeased.

Not that jealousy was bad, but the pouring gazes were certainly distracting.

As Ihan muttered quietly, feeling bothered…

[…………]

“…Huh?”

…Why did everything suddenly get so quiet?

In an instant, the surroundings became eerily silent, and Ihan blinked, looking around.

The males who had been shooting fierce glares at him just moments ago were now all quiet as mice, turning their heads away.

Why were they suddenly acting like this…?

As he blinked in confusion…

“…Instructor, why are you growing further from humanity?”

“What are you talking about?”

Kunta looked at him incredulously, and Ihan tilted his head.

He couldn’t understand why they were acting this way.

…Perhaps the men who had been staring at him felt their hair stand on end, no, their entire bodies shiver.

‘Is this… a lion’s roar?’

Shiver…

Lion’s roar. A technique of infusing spirit into one’s voice, and Arno and Garand had been subdued by this method before.

It happened during their first meeting with the instructor in a practice match…

– It’s called a lion’s roar.

The memory of him emanating the aura of a fierce beast like a lion or tiger roaring right in front of them was still vivid.

It must have been an unforgettable, shocking memory for them.

But the lion’s roar now was different from back then.

He wasn’t consciously emitting his aura; he was ‘naturally exuding’ it.

The instructor had unconsciously emitted a [threat] toward those showing hostility to him, and those who had been glaring at him must have even experienced hallucinations.

─The illusion of a tiger the size of an elephant growling right before their eyes.

And though they harbored no hostility, the trio, who were skilled enough to read others’ auras, trembled as if they’d been caught in sparks from a nearby bonfire.

“This is maddening. My body was paralyzed for about 5 seconds.”

“K-Kunta was paralyzed for 10 seconds…”

“…That doesn’t seem human anymore.”

The three who had been temporarily paralyzed were visibly shaken.

This was beyond the realm of technique.

Just getting angry naturally produced a lion’s roar, which meant…

“The instructor has become a beast.”

“…That’s a bit…”

“Well, it’s not wrong, but…”

“More like a wild beast, I’d say.”

“That sounds better. …Huh? Lord Roen? When did you arrive?”

“Just now. I thought a monster had appeared when I got here. What happened?”

“…Haha.”

To think that even the presence of Lionel’s young lord was overshadowed by such intensity…

Arno swallowed a hollow laugh, Garand looked visibly shaken, and Kunta…

“Hmm, ah! Is this what they call ‘Beauty and the Beast’?”

The barbarian unexpectedly mentioned the title of a fairy tale that didn’t exist in this world, and Kunta would only realize later that this was the inspiration for that tale.

* * *

Unaware that this might be a historic moment where a “Grimm Barbarian” could be born instead of the Brothers Grimm, Ihan was simply pleased that the surroundings had quieted down.

‘Now it’s less annoying around here.’

For some reason, people kept averting their gaze whenever they met his eyes.

Why were they acting like that?

“Why are those people acting that way?”

“I wonder?”

As those who hadn’t been exposed to his threat simply tilted their heads in confusion…

[[~♪.]]

The sound of instruments subtly began to play.

Violins and cellos, pianos and euphoniums, and various brass instruments started performing wonderful music.

It was a performance by the wind music department students.

“One of the reasons balls and parties are held within the academy is because of this. It’s also a day for music and art students to showcase their skills. If they make a good impression here, they might receive scouting offers from nobles.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“Hmm, it seems you really leave everything to Assistant Damian. The faculty should have received a cooperation notice too.”

“…Why didn’t that guy tell me something so important? What an unreliable fellow.”

“……”

The reason he didn’t know such basic information was because of his irresponsible assistant.

With shameless confidence, Ihan criticized his assistant.

…If the person in question were here, he would feel wronged. He had definitely reported it, so why was Ihan pretending not to have heard?

Unfortunately, the assistant was currently sleeping at home after three days of night duty, unaware of the unreasonable scolding that awaited him.

But dealing with the assistant could be done anytime; what was important now was…

Swish.

“I’ll be in your care.”

“Y-yes…”

He needed to show manners befitting the occasion.

As the music played, men and women naturally paired up to dance.

It was like watching a staged situation, almost like a play, but surprisingly…

‘This is indeed a staged situation.’

If that’s how you feel, I’d say you’re correct.

This party isn’t just about having fun. It’s ultimately an extension of exams for cultural department students and a trial run for those who will experience high society in the future.

So to a third party, it might seem somewhat unnatural, like a staged situation.

However.

“I-is this how you dance?”

“You’re doing well, yes, that’s right, Bear #8.”

“…Chick #12. Could you please stop with the bear thing?”

“Then how about Baldy #8?”

“…Just call me Bear.”

“Hehehe.”

For commoner students or lower nobles experiencing such an occasion for the first time, all of this was fresh and enjoyable.

Just mingling with a partner was a great pleasure and experience.

‘Well, what wouldn’t be fun during school days?’

Isn’t ‘youth’ about laughing hysterically even at the sight of a leaf?

‘Assets in the name of memories and experiences…’

What suddenly came to mind were stories from acquaintances from a previous life who had attended university.

No matter how much time passed, they couldn’t forget, and they would recite tales of their school days while drinking alcohol or coffee, laughing, chatting, and getting angry.

They enjoyed talking about those times.

So this isn’t just a simple party or test stage.

For these young men and women, this experience will become an unforgettable memory even after 10 or 20 years.

Romance that can only be obtained in youth.

Although it might seem like an awkward staged situation, there is definitely such romance present here.

The same goes for his disciple dancing with him.

With a flushed expression, she danced and laughed happily.

As if this moment couldn’t be more perfect.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“…No.”

“?”

“I’m happy.”

“…I see.”

Ihan simply continued dancing silently at his disciple’s words.

He didn’t dance excessively.

He just did his best to dance in a way that his disciple could enjoy.

Though there were many awkward points, he wanted to praise himself for being able to dance like this after just four days.

He owed all his gratitude to the maid with honey-colored eyes.

…Therefore.

‘…Why are there so many pathetic guys trying to ruin the kids’ fun?’

As an ‘adult,’ Ihan couldn’t stand by and watch as a page of youth was about to be ruined.

Perhaps he, the black one, and the trio had already noticed?

‘There are some creepy guys here.’

People with qualities he didn’t want to associate with.

To him…

– ‘They are Assassins,’ Instructor.

“……”

– They’re assassins from the Western continent, and they’ve undergone quite harsh training, making them quite brutal. I didn’t expect the Sultan to bring them along…

“…Hmm.”

You’re even more surprising to me.

Transmitting sound directly into someone’s mind.

Moving one’s lips without sound being heard externally, conveying the voice only to the intended recipient.

The black one had performed such a technique, and Ihan was dumbfounded.

He wondered how one could do such a thing.

But Ihan set aside his curiosity about how the guy was using sound transmission.

Instead.

“Bear cub, I need to take care of something quickly.”

“What?”

“There are too many rats here.”

“……”

“I’m sorry for being an inadequate partner.”

“…Hehe, no. It’s actually very like you, Master.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

He decided to teach a lesson to the pathetic guys trying to disrupt the kids’ fun.

After all.

‘I just need to make sure the kids don’t notice.’

Ihan gently released the hand he was holding.

Levi’s expression was filled with regret, but still.

“Be careful.”

“Thank you.”

She let him go easily, and Ihan conveyed a message to the black one through lip movements.

Though he couldn’t use sound transmission like him.

-I’ll be back, so you watch over her,

…like that.

It wasn’t difficult to convey his intention, and Ihan raised his fist.

It was an expression of his will that he wouldn’t let it slide if the other failed to protect her, and the black one…

– I’ll cut down any suspicious person who approaches.

…gave a satisfactory answer.

Whoosh!

Ihan’s figure blended into the crowd and disappeared instantly.

As if he had never been there in the first place.

“…How does one even do that?”

Roen found himself asking about the already vanished figure.

If Ihan had found his sound transmission fascinating, conversely, Roen found his movements incredibly intriguing.

Truly…

“No matter how I look at it, you’re more unusual than I am.”

It was the sincere statement of a regressor.