Chapter 17

‘The taste is quite good.’

I thought to myself as I chewed on a baguette I picked up from the restaurant, inside the carriage. It wasn’t insanely delicious like Amy would have you believe, but there was nothing better to quickly satisfy hunger.

But still.

‘What a tough day, huh?’

The Blood Witch Riviera.

The Knight of the Whirlwind, Regina.

Having faced two big shots in a row, I felt mentally exhausted. It took quite a bit of mental strength. Relationships can be so draining. Whether in reality or in a game.

‘Let’s see.’

I organized my relationships so far in my head.

The protagonist, Camian Croycher.

Annette Laiel, the Song of Healing.

Elaine of Fire and Ice.

Princess Hiresia of the Forgotten Forest.

Amy, the Blessing of the Baguette.

And so on.

My relationships with them were………….

‘….a mess, huh?’

Except for Hiresia, who I won over properly with steak, I was pretty much branded as human trash by most.

At least my relationship with the dormitory head Cophen, who I bribed with cash, and my Imperial Style instructor turk was favorable, but what about those who seem like they’d be in the ‘other characters’ category?

A chuckle escaped me. But I wasn’t particularly discouraged. Instead, I felt a surge of defiance.

I’ll show everyone who treats me like trash. What kind of person I am. I was looking forward to seeing the expressions on their faces when that time comes.

I cleared my thoughts and turned to Dolph.

“Dolph.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“You know Regina Erenbert, right?”

“Huh? Of course, isn’t she your fiancée, Young Master?”

Dolph answered, looking puzzled.

“I have a question about her.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“What did I call her?”

“Huh? Why do you ask that all of a sudden…………”

“Just answer the question.”

“That, that would be rather disrespectful for me to say…………….”

Dolph was genuinely flustered.

That’s how I knew. Ah, Max, you bastard, you’ve done it again.

“It’s okay, just tell me.”

“That, that b*tch…………is what you called her………”

Dolph stammered, his voice trailing off as if it was too dreadful to even say. I clicked my tongue.

No matter how bad the relationship, to refer to one’s fiancée as ‘that b*tch’ in front of a servant.

He’s trash with no basic manners.

Was it only to the servant? When drinking with acquaintances and Regina’s name came up, he must have said ‘that b*tch, that b*tch’. If it’s this bad, there’s a chance she might have heard it herself, right? If she still treated me like earlier despite knowing that, then she’s a living saint. A saint. Her patience and composure are almost superhuman. I feel sorry even though it wasn’t my doing.

“Dolph.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Then what did I call her in front of her?”

I asked to confirm one last thing.

“You, you called her ‘you’…….”

‘You’, huh.

It’s definitely not the affectionate ‘you’. It’s the ‘you’ that has a certain distance. Whatever it is, even a scumbag wouldn’t dare to use a harsh nickname in front of Regina. If he had, the heir to the count’s family would have been half dead.

“Hey, Dolph.”

“Yes.”

“I see why I’m disliked wherever I go.”

“Wha, wha, what do you mean……?”

The carriage arrived at the entrance to the lower district.

“I’ll be back, so take a rest.”

In my hand was a real sword, not the necklace I had been carrying. The start of serious training.

It meant that I would now begin to truly learn the Imperial Style’s basic forms.

Finally, I would acquire swordsmanship skills that I could use.

The skills that Max had learned before were so poorly mastered they were practically nonexistent.

As turk said on the first day, it was better to seal away the old swordsmanship forever.

“Hmm, then as I mentioned before, we’ll increase the intensity of the lessons starting today. The true acquisition of the Imperial Style begins now.”

turk spoke solemnly. Of course, I already knew all this from training so much in the game.

“I understand.”

Still, out of courtesy, I nodded. You have to match the rhythm to inspire enthusiasm in the teacher.

“Then I’ll demonstrate the first form.”

turk spoke with gravity.

“Downward Slash.”

A form name that seemed a million miles away from gravity,

……probably not a few students would think ‘Ah, this just isn’t right.’ and quit right there.

Of course, I’m different from those students. Honestly, I admit the form names are very, very humble.

‘But they’re quite useful.’

It’s true that they’re just a step on the path to mastering the basics, but they have their own value. They’re skills you can use without hesitation, like a normal attack. Everyone knows that powerful skills are good.

But you can’t fight with just those. Such skills bring a physical burden. And most skills have a skill delay. You can’t spam them even if you want to.

That’s why normal attacks are essential. But the Imperial Style adds a bit of power to attacks you can use like normal ones. Plus, they’re solid with few openings. So they have their own value.

“Haap!”

turk executed the first form, Downward Slash. It lacked flair, but it was so perfect and clean that you could tell right away. That’s the sword of a man who has seen the end of the basics. Seeing it with my own eyes gave me a bit of a chill.

“Now, please take the stance.”

I picked up the sword.

Lecture, training, training, review, sleep.

Lecture, training, training, review, sleep.

A day that repeats like a loop. I completely synchronized the rhythm of my daily life. To normalize the biological rhythm that was ruined by a lazy and debauched lifestyle.

Max’s cronies sent overtures of reconciliation, suggesting we drink and make up, but I ignored them. I couldn’t waste my time on such people.

The time given to me is not plentiful. I have to get good grades in the second semester. I had to become somewhat strong to get good evaluations in practice, not just in studies. Of course, there were results. I learned three forms of the Imperial Style.

With archery, I could hit the target with 3 or 4 out of 10 shots.

Thanks to such progress, my grades went from ‘Swordsmanship E-, Archery F+’ to ‘Swordsmanship E, Archery E’.

Not only that, but my strength, agility, and stamina, all previously ‘E-‘, reached ‘E’.

Although the low rank rose quickly, it would have been impossible without tremendous effort. However, there was a problem. From the other side……

Magic.

Magic was too difficult.

“This is serious.”

I muttered to myself, clicking my tongue. If it continues like this, I will definitely fail magic studies.

If that happens, the goal of class promotion is out of reach.

“It’s troublesome.”

I know what the problem is. It’s because the foundation is empty. It’s incredibly hard to build new knowledge without a foundation. Out of frustration, I even asked Hiresia, whom I had some connection with, for help, but to no avail. She taught archery well, but her magic lessons were terrible.

‘Why doesn’t this work? Just do it like this, like this! Then it would work.’

“ Is that possible?”

I realized anew that being excellent doesn’t necessarily mean one can teach well.

“I need to find a true master.”

Whenever I played, the sword was always the main, and magic was just a secondary tool, so I didn’t know much about it.

But if I think about it.

‘The professors are out of the question.’

The magic professors at the academy are basically too busy with their research. It’s okay to ask questions briefly after lectures, but it’s impossible to receive personal basic instruction.

‘Then…’

Several faces came to mind.

First, Elaine of Fire and Ice. Turk’s only daughter and a genius magician recognized by the academy.

We’re in the same grade, so there’s some connection, but…

The problem is that the connection is the worst. There’s no hope.

Then, the Knight of the Whirlwind, Regina? A master of the sword, but I know she always had excellent grades in magic studies. Maybe it’s possible if I go to her with a thick face since she’s my fiancée.

But…

Confidently tell her to watch me and see if I’m qualified, then beg her to teach me the basics of magic? It’s a facelosing and reputation crashing move.

‘It won’t work, it won’t.’

I shook my head.

Then, who else is there…

None.

Seriously, there’s none.

That’s the kind of guy Max was. There’s no answer. The answer is…… wait a minute.

I narrowed my eyes at the thought that suddenly came to me. There was one.

A master of magic. And in the same class. The Blood Witch Riviera.

The boss of Chapter 7 and an executive of the most nefarious organization ‘Red Rain’, but ironically, the very person being extorted by Max’s gang. She will undoubtedly become a very dangerous enemy later, but that’s not what’s important right now. The fact that she’s a master of magic.

“If I can extort money, why can’t I learn magic from her.”

Convinced logically, I nodded repeatedly. Use what can be used, even from an enemy. How good is that? I made a decision very quickly.

“Let’s confront her.”

“what?”

Riviera, who obediently stayed behind after being told to stay, after the end of lecture.

…Isn’t this one actually a good person?

No, no, that can’t be. How many times have my colleagues and I died because of this person,

I brushed away the silly thought and spoke to her.

“I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“You’re good at magic, aren’t you?”

She should deny it since she’s in disguise. But now I know. This person is Fourth dimensional. I could see she would answer without much thought.

“I’m good.”

As expected, she answered immediately. I smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

“I thought you might be. So, here’s the thing.”

“Teach me some magic.”

Her eyes widened with doubt.

Naturally.

I would feel the same.

“Teach me some magic.”

I said it again. Only then did she understand what I was saying and shook her head.

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

“Our family’s magic.”

She seemed to be talking about blood magic. It was ridiculous. Pretending to be someone else, yet she’s spilling that she knows some special magic.

Too clumsy.

But she looked completely calm as if she didn’t see what the problem was. For a moment, I seriously wondered if Red Rain was actually suffering from a severe manpower shortage.

…Otherwise, why would they send someone like her to infiltrate the academy,

“No, not that.”

I corrected her.

“Then?”

“Elemental magic.”

Riviera’s eyes pondered for a moment.

Then she shook her head again.

“Impossible.”

“Why again?”

“You don’t have the ability.”

What, this woman? An unexpected fact assault hit me hard. But I had nothing to say. Because it’s true. I coughed and spoke again.

“Not that.”

“Then?”

“Basics of elemental magic.”

Suddenly, she looked as if she was thinking, ‘Where am I? Who am I?’ It seemed like a severe blow to her pride. After a little time passed, she reluctantly opened her mouth.

“That kind of thing.”

“Yes.”

“Learn it yourself.”

“It’s hard.”

“It’s easy.”

“It’s hard for me.”

She clamped her mouth shut. I pressured her slightly, mentioning her undercover identity.

“Your house needs to keep doing business without trouble, right?”

It was an effective pressure for her, who was pursuing a perfect disguise. Eventually, she opened her mouth as if she had no choice.

“Poss… ible…”

She seemed to really dislike it. I barely held back the laughter that was about to burst out.

“Really? Then that’s fortunate.I look forward to working with you, teacher.”