Welcome to Polaris Academy (5)

“…Huh.”

Bell Lore let out a low sigh.

Rock masses, stone pieces, pebbles, and dust filling his vision.

No, it couldn’t be explained by such trivial ‘accessories.’

It was the ground.

What was now visible before his eyes was the forcibly upturned ground itself.

The emotion Lore felt at that moment was awe.

For something overwhelmingly beyond his reach.

‘In this duel, I will approach with the intention of trying to defeat you.’

Lore suddenly recalled that he had said such words.

“…Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Trying to win?

With such lukewarm determination, to overcome the opponent before him?

“Not a chance.”

At this moment, at least for this duel.

Lore decided to give up being an instructor.

What stood here was a knight.

A knight who wants to prove himself before a strong opponent.

Lore swung his aura blade upward.

The aura blade, wielded chaotically like a whip, cut through the rock masses like tofu.

-Thud, thud, thud…!

The rock masses, cut into pieces about the size of a human head, fell to the ground one by one, raising thick dust.

“Cough, cough.”

Not only was his vision completely blocked by the dust, but it was also difficult to breathe.

“She’s hidden herself.”

No matter where he looked, there was no sign of Princess Knight Evangeline.

As Lore was busily turning his head to look around, a question suddenly arose in his mind.

“…Wait.”

Rather, isn’t this situation advantageous for me?

Turning the entire ground upside down to avoid the aura blade—up to that point, one could say he was caught off guard by an unexpected response.

But now?

Isn’t this dusty environment where one can’t see a step ahead precisely the stage where a dagger as a weapon can demonstrate its true value?

Moreover, the overwhelming level of magical power emanating from the Princess Knight’s combat prosthetic.

If I track her position by detecting just that, won’t I be in an overwhelmingly advantageous position?

“…You’ve made a self-defeating move.”

Lore shook his head and muttered as if whispering.

Indeed, it was the best move she could make in that situation.

However, acting without anticipating the aftermath was clearly a factor that would lose points.

Lore continuously checked Evangeline’s position and moved his footsteps silently.

-Tock.

With each step, he exercised extreme caution.

He lightly kicked a pebble caught on his toes, mimicking footsteps to confuse his position.

And when the dust settled a little, providing visibility for both sides.

“…A pebble?”

Toward Evangeline, who was standing still looking down at the pebble, Lore approached quickly without a moment’s hesitation.

At the moment when Lore was certain that the match was decided.

His eyes met Evangeline’s.

-Crunch!!

“…Oh my.”

The left prosthetic hand extending toward Evangeline’s back firmly grabbed the blade of the dagger Lore had thrust.

-Crack.

With a crumbling sound, shattered metal pieces fell.

“Even so, to crush a dagger by gripping it with a hand.”

Having lost one of his weapons in an instant, Lore shook his head weakly.

“It indeed deserves to be called a combat prosthetic.”

“…The pebble was, even so, too crude.”

Evangeline retorted with a shrug.

As she lightly dusted off her left prosthetic hand, small metal pieces flew into the air.

“…”

“…”

The two looked at each other silently.

-Scrape.

Lore slightly dragged his foot backward,

Simultaneously, Evangeline kicked the ground.

-Kwang!!

‘Her right hand?!’

A bare hand wrapped in aura collided with the aura blade extending from Lore’s dagger.

The reason auras without physical form can collide with each other is because magical power in its pure state has a property of repelling each other.

Lore’s body was pushed back, unable to withstand the impact, and Evangeline pursued him.

Both sides knew that if even a small distance was created, Lore would become absolutely advantageous.

Lore extended his one remaining dagger forward.

The aura blade, long and sharp like a whip, narrowly grazed Evangeline’s nape.

‘She read it.’

Lore inwardly clicked his tongue and withdrew his aura blade.

Evangeline, who approached faster than the speed at which he was pushed back, now swung her left hand.

Not a straight attack from back to front, but a curved trajectory swung from top to bottom to slam the opponent to the ground.

-Kwaaaaaaang!!!!

Evangeline’s left hand came down on the aura blade, which was spread as wide as possible.

It was closer to hammering than punching. Centered on Lore, who took the blow head-on, the ground was gouged out, raising fierce dust.

An honest blow without any grappling techniques or artistry mixed in.

The most terrifying advantage of this type of attack is its pure destructive power.

Despite clearly blocking it, a shock like all his internal organs turning upside down swept through his entire body.

But at the same time, Lore gritted his teeth and raised his dagger-holding hand.

If not at this moment, it would be impossible to gain the upper hand.

He was aiming for Evangeline’s nape.

There are two ways to achieve a decision victory in a mock duel.

Just by aiming an edged weapon at a vital point, it’s essentially considered subduing the opponent, resulting in his decision victory.

In the duel with Alice, who was first in order, seizing her back and effectively subduing her was this type of decision victory.

It’s true that Evangeline’s combat prosthetic is a powerful weapon. However, since it’s not an edged weapon that can inflict injury even at close range, it’s difficult to aim for a decision victory.

And Evangeline’s left hand had just delivered a blow.

There’s no way she has the strength to move it again and grab the dagger.

This time, he was certain of victory.

-Thuck.

“…Right hand?”

Until Evangeline’s bare hand grabbed the blade of the dagger.

‘No way. A bare hand on a blade…’

-Crack.

Evangeline’s right hand slowly crushed the remaining blade.

-Crunch…!

Under the palm where pale blue and red lights subtly mixed, the remains of the dagger, not just shattered but turned to powder, fell.

The second way to achieve a decision victory in a mock duel:

Permanently damaging the opponent’s weapon, rendering them unable to continue the duel.

“……Ah, I’ve lost.”

Lore muttered with a dejected sigh.

With his right hand that had held the second dagger laid on the ground.

He thought as he heard the cheers of students from far away.

It was a perfect defeat that he had no choice but to acknowledge.

However, more frustrating than the fact of defeat itself was the fact that his movements had been read completely from beginning to end.

Not once. Throughout the mock duel, he had not been able to land a single effective hit against Evangeline.

He recalled the moment when, in the dust, he was certain he had seized her back.

Though her eyes that he met then were clearly golden, Lore felt as if he were looking into an endlessly deep abyss.

What would the world look like through those eyes of hers?

“Weren’t you too focused on aiming for a decision victory?”

At that moment. Evangeline asked him, who was lost in thought.

“That’s why your movements were so obviously readable.”

“…”

Lore opened his mouth in a low voice.

“…I thought I couldn’t win.”

Lore, lying on the ground, said in a voice thick with regret.

“I thought I could never beat you in a head-on fight. That’s why I persistently aimed for a decision victory.”

“…”

“Even by doing that, I wanted to win just once against the famous Princess Knight, even if it was just a mock duel.”

Lore, who had been muttering his words, shook his head with his eyes closed.

“…Indeed, a real knight is different.”

“…Pardon?”

At Lore’s strange remark, I asked back, thinking it was odd.

“A real knight, what do you mean by…”

“I’ll see you behind the faculty building after today’s training ends.”

Lore said softly as he got up.

“…”

A real knight.

What could that mean?

All the mock duels had ended.

Among the freshmen, a total of three students had landed effective hits against Instructor Lore or recorded victories.

Among them, only I had achieved victory.

In a way, it could be said to be an expected result, but the expressions of the freshmen were all gloomy.

My victory was essentially equivalent to being considered an exception. It was certainly disheartening that not a single winner had emerged from their class.

“Good work, everyone.”

Instructor Lore said in a somewhat tired voice.

But he was still full of energy. More so than the freshmen who had run all 100 laps.

That endless stamina was starting to scare me. Does that man ever get tired? No, is he even human like us in the first place?

However, Instructor Lore’s words were quite different from what the freshmen expected.

“This class has been quite impressive. Among my five years as an instructor, there have been notably many outstanding students.”

Looking around at the faces of freshmen who were surprised, opening their eyes wide or raising their heads, Instructor Lore smiled and said:

“I’ve spent five years as an instructor, and two years urgently training soldiers to be deployed to the front lines. A total of seven years spent rolling and teaching others.”

No, you shouldn’t use the expression “rolling”. It’s too blunt.

“Excluding the time spent training soldiers, among the five classes I’ve met over five years, you are the second most outstanding.”

At those words, the expressions of the freshmen noticeably brightened.

“That’s good.”

Delphina said softly, but even she couldn’t hide her pleased expression.

Before being my bodyguard, she is also a Polaris admittee and a knight candidate. In a way, that’s natural.

“Today’s training ends here. Good work, everyone, and please don’t forget to stretch to relieve muscle fatigue as a cool-down exercise. See you tomorrow.”

Light applause filled one corner of the training ground.

“…Princess Knight.”

After the training ended, as the freshmen were dispersing in groups.

A large male student with dark skin approached me.

“What is it?”

Delphina reflexively blocked in front of me and spoke, due to his intimidating appearance.

“…I have business with the Princess Knight.”

“I’m the Princess’s bodyguard. Please state your business.”

“Delphina, it’s okay.”

Thinking she was being a bit too protective, I tapped Delphina’s shoulder.

Of course, it’s good to be cautious, but it’s also not polite to be too wary just based on someone’s appearance.

“So… Oswald, right? Oswald Revil.”

“…It’s an honor that you remember me.”

At my words, he bowed his head and spoke impassively.

He was one of the two who had landed an effective hit on Instructor Lore in today’s class.

A martial artist who used only his two fists and legs, without using any separate weapon techniques.

When he turned Lore’s chin with just the air pressure emitted from his fist, the freshmen’s cheers were tremendous.

Oswald raised his head and opened his mouth.

“The Saint of the Holy Nation wishes to see you.”