Ch.77EP.21 – The Knight Teaches (2)

“Now, this is how you do it.”

Ihan swung the dagger with a gentle motion.

Swoosh.

-Flower petals bloomed from the tip of the blade.

The cadets stared blankly at the beautiful petals with wide eyes.

Despite confirming it was an ordinary dagger, not a magical item, flower petals were spreading.

It was truly a magical moment straight out of a fairy tale.

The chicks’ eyes grew moist like girls immersed in a fairy tale, while the bear and young master recalled the heroic poems about knights that traveling minstrels used to tell whenever they visited estates or villages, awakening their childhood aspirations.

Not only scattering flower petals with a sword, but using it as a means of attack…

Isn’t this exactly the kind of skill knights in heroic poems would display?

Rustle.

The petals melted like snowflakes upon touching the ground.

However, what remained where they melted was ground indented in the exact shape of flower petals.

This demonstrated that it wasn’t just beautiful, but also considerably powerful.

The boys and girls watched the Plum Blossom Sword Technique with admiring eyes.

“Wow, how is something like that even possible?”

“It’s beautiful…!”

“P-please show us again!”

They called for an encore.

“…Can’t we stop now?”

It was the tenth encore, and Ihan was getting tired.

Though it looked easy, it consumed an enormous amount of energy.

But as is often the case, the audience doesn’t care how exhausted the performer is.

“J-just one more time, please? Pretty please…”

“…Ugh.”

He couldn’t become the kind of heartless adult who would refuse the pleading of chicks with tearful expressions.

“Oh my, what a fate.”

Having unexpectedly become a performer, Ihan once again made plum blossoms bloom with his sword.

‘I might make a fortune if I did street performances.’

Ihan was unwittingly nurturing a talent that could bring in quite a tidy profit.

* * *

The reason Ihan was playing the role of entertainer was simple.

“I-Instructor, c-could you teach us that technique?”

Disciples who desperately wanted to learn the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

Even the elite students who had claimed they only needed one combat technique were now showing interest in the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

That’s how attractive the technique was.

Indeed.

‘Making flowers bloom with a sword is irresistible.’

Using a sword to make flowers bloom and then attacking with them?

This was undeniably a technique that embodied every aspect of coolness.

No wonder characters from Hwasan Sect were often protagonists in his previous life.

…However.

“Sorry, but I can’t teach this yet.”

It wasn’t about the fundamental martial arts issue he had jokingly mentioned.

The real problem was that this technique was still incomplete and therefore couldn’t be taught.

An unfinished technique.

The Plum Blossom Sword Technique was not only unique in its application, but it was also Ihan’s original technique awakened solely through his special senses and intuition.

He hadn’t had time to establish it theoretically, and even what he had was still incredibly crude.

Moreover.

“This drains too much qi after use.”

If the sword energy Roen had shown the previous day was an artistic masterpiece completed through a complex combination of techniques showcasing genius, Ihan’s sword energy was simply a manifestation of sword power (劍力) that recklessly used his entire body’s energy and the sword as payment.

In other words, it was essentially disposable.

Not only was it disposable, but it also carried substantial risk.

After using sword power, one inevitably lost their weapon.

It’s painfully obvious how absurd it is to lose a weapon on the battlefield.

And if that weren’t enough, it was followed by tremendous fatigue…

‘Even I’m in this state; they definitely couldn’t handle it.’

Even he, with ten times the stamina of an ordinary knight, found it this burdensome. If they were to use it, who knows what damage their bodies might suffer.

It would be fortunate if they merely fainted; there could be risk to their lives.

Therefore, although he was generally not stingy about teaching techniques, this time he had no choice but to refuse.

He explained these sufficient and valid reasons, and the cadets understood, but.

“Th-then! Could we at least watch it once?”

“W-we want to see it!”

Does the concept of vicarious satisfaction exist in every world?

Though they couldn’t learn the Plum Blossom Sword Technique right away, they desperately wanted to see it, and Ihan couldn’t refuse the request of these kids he had grown fond of.

‘Maybe I really do have a soft heart like the old man said?’

And so began the demonstration of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

Since he wasn’t using his full power like when fighting the Demon King, the dagger didn’t break immediately, nor did he completely exhaust his body’s energy.

Unexpectedly, this became practice for the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, and by about the eighth demonstration, he succeeded in making flowers bloom with just a light hand movement.

However, as the price for this mastery.

“Oh my, I’m dying…”

“I-Instructor, are you alright!? Here, have some water and food!”

“…Thank you.”

Finally collapsing from exhaustion, Ihan lay on the grass, recovering his energy by drinking the beverage and eating the sandwich that Irene Windler offered.

Looking at Ihan, Irene Windler,

“Eek! What have you all done! How could you make someone who suffered so much yesterday work this hard!”

“W-well…”

“Don’t make excuses!”

“…I haven’t even made an excuse yet.”

The girl was furiously angry, and the cadets could only lower their gazes and watch their step.

To be fair, things had turned out this way because Ihan had been more excited about using this as practice, but to the lovesick girl, the other cadets were nothing but villains.

The girl growled, and the cadets were thoroughly intimidated.

Normally, Irene Windler’s growling was as cute as a Pomeranian’s, but now it was different.

‘How can we talk back to someone who can cause natural disasters with magic?’

‘That was incredible magic.’

‘We absolutely can’t upset her. If we do, our estates might be destroyed too.’

Hadn’t they seen it?

The girl they had thought was merely weak in physical strength had controlled an entire lake with magic, and even manipulated the wind to create a waterspout—a terrifying display of magic.

Though it was a small waterspout, it had enough power to sweep away a medium-sized estate, and thinking about this, confronting the girl was absolutely something they shouldn’t do.

They had become so familiar with her that they forgot, but Irene Windler, like Roen, was indeed a monster worthy of being called an extraordinary genius.

“Don’t be too hard on the kids. I got excited and used the sword energy myself midway through.”

“Hmph.”

However, as if taming this monstrous girl, he calmed her down and got up from where he was lying.

Though still looking tired, he felt he should fulfill his duty as an instructor.

And so he said,

“Have you had enough of watching now?”

“……”

“I’m not scolding you. I’m asking for your impressions of this sword technique.”

“Hmm.”

Only then did the cadets realize that the instructor had no intention of scolding them and was asking a serious question.

Though they wondered why he was asking this, they knew he never asked questions without reason, so they pondered seriously.

Soon, the blue-haired girl who represented the top students raised her hand.

“…I-I thought it was a technique with many openings. The sword energy spreading like flower petals is certainly threatening, but it’s not like there’s no way to avoid or defend against it. Of course, I’m not saying I could do it at my level. But perhaps Sir Arno or Kunta, or maybe Sir Garand or Young Master Roen…”

Swish.

The girl’s gaze fell on them, and the four people responded with expressions suggesting they found the honorifics attached to their names awkward.

“Just Kunta is fine. And yes, as bear girl says, it can be blocked. But you’d probably have to sacrifice an arm or a leg.”

“Please speak comfortably, my lady. …If I were to answer, I think I could avoid it. There are definitely many openings.”

“That’s embarrassing… Ahem, like the others said, it’s possible to counter. However, it would certainly be effective against magical beasts.”

“I agree with them.”

That was their response, and the cadets blinked.

They had thought it was just a flashy and powerful technique, but hearing this…

“That’s why I said it lacks fundamentals.”

It didn’t seem like such a strong technique after all.

Ihan hadn’t been underestimating the Plum Blossom Sword Technique or just playing the entertainer.

He wanted to show them clearly.

While it might work against magical beasts with extremely low intelligence, against humans it was undeniably a questionable technique…

A technique that was flashy but still had terrible cost-effectiveness.

“Whether it’s sword techniques or martial arts, just because something looks flashy doesn’t mean it’s effective. A martial artist I respect once said that someone who practices one kick a thousand times is more fearsome than someone who knows a thousand different kicks. Similarly, in swordsmanship, what’s important isn’t how many hundreds of techniques you know, but how well you’ve honed a single slash. So focus on the basics, and don’t envy others who use sword energy. What’s more important is following your own path.”

This lesson wasn’t just for the cadets.

Through this battle, Ihan needed to recognize how lacking he was.

If he had trained in sword techniques (劍技) like Baltar, who could behead magical beasts with a single stroke, what would the outcome have been?

He probably wouldn’t have been defeated so pathetically.

‘I relied too much on raw power.’

It seemed like it was time to dig deeper into what he already had, rather than just relying on physical capabilities.

Not only the basics, but he needed to improve the proficiency of his techniques.

Iron Body.

Lion’s Roar.

Palace God Elastic Shadow.

Hundred Step Divine Fist.

Internal Force Cultivation Method.

Penetrating Spear.

And now the newly acquired Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

He needed to train deeply in all of these to improve their completion level rather than just their power.

And if he did that.

‘Then I’ll kill the Demon King or whatever with my own hands.’

It was a resolution not to let someone else determine his fate.

Ihan hoped that his disciples wouldn’t make the same mistake of postponing important things as he had, and he conveyed what he considered his most important teaching.

* * *

Meanwhile, Derrick, who had somehow become an unexpected addition, was sighing.

‘How did I end up here….’

He wasn’t the athletic type, so why was he at the pinnacle of this world’s athletic department?

‘Is this the life of a debtor?’

“If you’re going to repay your debt, either pay with your body or with information.”

-With these words, he had been forcibly transferred to the Swordsmanship Department, and while Derrick was infinitely perplexed, he had no choice but to accept the unreasonable demand because of what he had done to him.

However, it wasn’t just because of debt that Derrick stayed by his side.

‘I need to take initiative too.’

Hadn’t he realized it from this incident?

He couldn’t remain a bystander forever, and he shouldn’t wait for help like this time.

Rather, it would be the right choice to be with reliable people and where the main characters gather.

At least then he could respond if something happened.

Therefore, coming to the Swordsmanship Department wasn’t just about repaying a debt, but a significant resolution to take the first step.

But looking around now…

‘N-now that I look, it’s all named characters gathered here?’

Derrick realized that everyone gathered in the Swordsmanship Department was of named class.

The bloodline of the Barbarian and Sword Master, the disciple of the Mercenary King—these were individuals who could become either the greatest allies or enemies.

Originally, they were characters who would play significant roles in “Villainess Lady – ‘The Irene Windler Subjugation Campaign'”.

…But now.

‘The villainess lady doesn’t seem to be a villainess anymore.’

Something had gone wrong somewhere, and the villainess lady character seemed to have disappeared, so it was unclear what role these other important supporting characters would play in the future.

‘The Northern Duke, the villainess lady…’

A reality already 180 degrees different from what he knew.

Derrick’s head ached, but he decided not to worry about it.

He didn’t know what butterfly effect had turned the man who should have become the Northern Duke into an academy cadet, or the villainess lady into an innocent girl, but one thing was clear…

‘If you do your best, you can overturn fate.’

As that person had shown.

The rebellion against fate demonstrated by a hero class he had never heard of or seen.

Having witnessed this, Derrick decided to no longer view this world merely as a game.

So what was important now was to use the information he knew appropriately, without getting swept away, and to choose the wise path.

For example.

Swish…

‘…I’ll have to decide whether to prevent the misfortune of someone who will become a big shot in the future, or to leave it be.’

Derrick’s gaze fell on a girl whose blue hair suited her well.

Her face was so different from what he knew that he hadn’t recognized her at first.

But upon hearing her name and confirming the girl’s surname, he realized.

In fact, she might be more important than Roen or Irene Windler—a girl with an interesting setting who was considered for the role of “Part 2 protagonist” during the planning stage.

‘…What should I do about the Saint?’

The girl who would become the Saint of Mercenaries after the Mercenary King’s death.

‘Mercenary Queen [Levi Jeanne d’Arc].’

Derrick looked sympathetically at the girl who, 15 years later, would be called the terror of the nobility as the vanguard commander in the “Revolutionary War.”

…Because he knew that, true to her name, there was no happy ending in the girl’s future.