Ch.30Let’s Do This Together

“Even with me right in front of you, that’s quite a haughty tone.

Is this because you’re a high noble of the Empire?”

“So, do you have some business with me, red hair?”

“…I am Ophelia. The second daughter of Count Sigmillus, Ophelia van Sigmillus. From what I see, you seem to be looking for additional sparring partners, but those fools don’t seem particularly interested in fighting you. Isn’t that right?”

Ophelia mockingly scorned the attitude of the freshmen with contempt.

Well, I can see that too. So, is she suggesting we spar?

That can’t be right.

There’s no point in her fighting me here since she wouldn’t win, and it would only draw unwanted attention.

Wasn’t she the type who disliked being in the spotlight?

“So what? You want to fight me? I suppose facing a mage wouldn’t be bad.”

“Me? No. Of course not. I just thought I could help you find opponents if you’re looking.”

Ophelia shook her head and pointed toward the other freshmen.

“Help me?”

“If you simply ask them to spar, they’ll obviously refuse. But if you offer to pay them a semester’s worth of tuition later, commoners desperate for money would gladly accept, wouldn’t they? The academy’s tuition must be quite burdensome for those people.”

“…I don’t have money either.”

Lord Ludwig doesn’t provide for me. He only pays my tuition.

“I’ll cover that part. In exchange, I’d like you to do me one favor later.”

“A favor?”

Ophelia lowered her voice significantly and leaned toward me, whispering in my ear.

“I’m planning to kill someone later, and having a capable warrior with no particular ties to the Empire would be extremely helpful.”

Her voice was eerie and low, like a snake crawling through the underbrush.

So, she’s asking me for a contract killing?

She’s quite the character.

“…Who are you talking about? I’m in a rather difficult position to cause trouble in the Empire myself.”

“If you agree, I’ll tell you later. But it won’t cause any major incident. I’m just selecting people who aren’t under that person’s influence.”

That’s not very reassuring. So she won’t tell me who it is?

Who could Ophelia want to kill at this point?

……Family?

Let me take a guess.

“You speak as if you know them well… Someone you want dead, whose influence you understand, who can be killed without problems but must be kept secret for now… Come to think of it, you said you’re the ‘second’ daughter of the Count’s family, right?”

Ophelia’s expression stiffened slightly. Did I get it right?

“…You’re surprisingly perceptive. Is that some kind of barbarian intuition?”

“Siblings naturally try to kill each other all the time.”

“Haaa… Yes, you’re right. My sister, Claire van Sigmillus. I want to kill that detestable woman.”

As I thought. This was the correct answer.

Was she already thinking about killing her sister even at this point?

“The execution would be much later, of course. Anyway, I promise to arrange a situation that won’t cause you any problems. So, do you accept?”

Well, I was going to have to deal with the Sigmillus family later anyway.

That’s also a prerequisite for properly developing Ophelia.

“Fine. I accept. Just gather some good sparring partners for me. People who won’t mind getting a bit hurt.”

“You can rest assured about that. As long as you don’t cut off their limbs. Well then, I’ll be counting on you later.”

Having heard my answer, Ophelia headed toward the freshmen.

…So amputation is off the table.

I’ll just stick to breaking them then.

—-

As promised, Ophelia prepared four opponents for me.

One man with a shield and axe, one young man with a longsword.

Two men from the magic department.

A total of four men had agreed to spar with me.

I appreciated that she didn’t bring any women. Though we appeared to be women fighting women, crushing female students would likely evoke contempt or disgust rather than fear.

These guys didn’t seem much different in skill from the other freshmen.

Except for one, they all looked at me with fear in their eyes.

Only one mage was staring at me with challenging eyes rather than fear.

…Well, at least there’s one decent-looking opponent.

Anyway, if they’re willing to face me despite being so afraid, they must be quite desperate for money.

Though after this sparring session, they’ll end up with more money than me.

—-

After the third group’s matches ended, it was time for additional sparring.

Perhaps not wanting to exhaust themselves on the first day, only about eleven people volunteered for additional sparring, including myself.

And after excluding those who agreed to spar with me, there were only six left.

“Is this everyone for the additional sparring?”

Carlain looked at us with slight dissatisfaction.

Certainly, from a soldier’s perspective, it wouldn’t look good to see future talents responsible for the Empire’s safety hesitating to fight.

Especially on the first morning of enrollment. Though I understand the freshmen not wanting to shed blood unnecessarily.

Well, it’s not my concern. They’re only hurting themselves.

Considering the chaos that will unfold in the future, it would be better to build up strength as much as possible, but even if I advised them, those guys wouldn’t listen to me.

The six people excluding my group had already paired up to fight each other, so the matches would proceed one pair at a time, sequentially.

I volunteered to fight four consecutive matches at the end.

That would be more impressive.

“…Fine. Get ready. We’ll start right away.”

—-

The six people before me finished their sparring without any major surprises.

Edgar still cast healing blessings, engaging in an endurance battle where they exchanged one attack each.

It was a typical paladin’s underhanded tactic where only the opponent ended up battered while his own wounds were continuously healed by the blessing’s power.

In the duel between a mage and a knight department student with a spear, the knight student won by throwing his spear at the incoming spell and then charging in unarmed.

The mage did draw a dagger to resist, but couldn’t overcome the knight student’s fists.

The magic duel between two mages was quite spectacular.

Fire arrows and lightning bolts collided and exploded, creating a display like fireworks.

In the end, one side forfeited, claiming to have exhausted all their mana.

Finally, it was my turn.

Having observed the previous matches, I had a general idea of how to fight mages.

I could neutralize incoming spells by throwing weapons at them, then close in for melee combat.

—-

My first opponent was a slightly older man with a sturdy round shield and an axe.

His name was Hans, if I recall correctly. Not that I needed to remember it.

Perhaps because he had seen me destroy Millia, Hans approached cautiously with his shield raised.

…No need to waste time, right?

I lowered my sword and charged forward, kicking off the ground.

Startled, Hans thrust his shield forward.

Well, that won’t block it.

“Kaaah!”

I put strength into both arms and swung upward at an angle.

The longsword bent as if about to break, and the rising slash struck the shield.

– Kwang!

With a thunderous sound, shattered wooden fragments exploded into the air.

Two fingers were mixed among the fragments, dotting the air with red.

“Kraaaah!”

Even while screaming, I blocked the axe swinging toward my waist by striking down his arm.

With a crack, Hans’s right arm bent outward.

The axe fell to the ground with a clear metallic sound.

I twisted my body and kicked him in the abdomen.

I felt about two ribs breaking.

“Kheuk!”

Hans flew backward, coughing blood, then went limp.

That should be within acceptable limits.

“Next.”

—-

A young man with a longsword walked out, looking like he really didn’t want to do this.

He had quite a handsome face that could make girls cry.

How annoying.

I parried his thrusting sword with my longsword.

He must have learned swordsmanship somewhere, as he twisted his sword trying to entangle mine.

But to succeed at something like that against me, you’d need to be at least Nigel’s level.

I just overpowered him with brute force.

“Kugh..!”

Under my strength, the young man’s arm was pushed back almost to his torso.

His expression contorted in pain as his own sword pressed against his shoulder.

I could clearly hear his shoulder blade cracking.

This can be done with one hand.

I removed my left hand from the sword hilt, lightly clenched my fist, and tapped the young man’s face.

With a sound like an eggshell cracking, the young man’s facial structure broke exactly as much as I intended.

His legs gave out and he collapsed.

Kneeling with his face planted on the ground, he showed only the back of his head while twitching and convulsing.

Blood slowly seeped out from under his buried face.

His upturned buttocks trembled.

I thought about stepping lightly on his head but refrained.

Even for me, that seemed too cruel.

“Next.”

—-

A male student from the magic department walked out, tightly gripping a short staff.

He looked about fifteen years old, with an expression like he was facing a hungry tiger.

Since he’s just a kid, I should go easy on him.

The boy muttered something and swung his staff widely.

My senses sharpened.

The anti-magic blessing responded, and I could clearly feel the flow of mana.