Chapter 56: Class Assignment

As the astonished gazes shifted from Peter to me, an indescribable sense of superiority washed over me.

Behold, you ignorant masses. This is the power of Baldo, the ultimate swordsmanship wielded only by chosen swordsmen.

With this, the baseless rumors spread by that wicked political knight Peter should be mostly, if not entirely, put to rest.

“Baldahahahaha!!!”

I truly can’t stop laughing. As I let out another vigorous laugh, Jessica beside me asked:

“Y-You…!! What the hell did you do?!”

Despite her words, Jessica kept her gaze fixed on the headmaster, as if wanting nothing to do with me.

“A-Answer me…! That was your doing, wasn’t it?!”

Jessica kept pressing me for an answer, but I remained silent.

Not speaking to Jessica for two days – that was the promise we’d made.

It’s absolutely not because I’m sulking over Jessica’s cold attitude towards me.

“Q-Quickly answ–!!”

“Y-You there…!!”

Jessica’s words were cut off by a voice from the podium – cold yet somehow heated.

The owner of that voice, Marina, pointed at me with trembling hands despite her flustered state and said:

“…S-Stop causing a disturbance and sit down immediately.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Though I wanted to mock them more, I’d already achieved my goal, so I obediently returned to my seat.

Judging by that look in her eyes, she seems ready to fabricate some strange accusation to expel me from the academy if I say even one word.

“…Sir Peter.”

Marina turned back to Peter and called his name in an icy voice. White snow swirled around Peter’s body.

“…We’ll talk about this later.”

The snow whirled fiercely around Peter’s body, and when it dissipated, Peter had vanished as if he’d never been there.

‘Spatial movement magic, huh.’

In the novel, that snow was just for show, concealing the use of transfer magic.

If I didn’t know the truth, I might’ve thought it was just flashy magic. Knowing the reality, I couldn’t help but snicker.

Not missing even that tiny chuckle, Marina glared at me with fire in her eyes.

What a hysterical woman. No wonder she’s still unmarried at that age.

After waiting for the commotion caused by Peter to die down, Marina resumed the class assignment ceremony as if nothing had happened.

“Now then, from the Knight Department…”

As Marina restarted the ceremony, she paused briefly and lowered her head.

Though I couldn’t see her expression with her face nearly pressed against the podium, her back alone seemed to radiate deep anger.

“Huff… Knight Department, Ian Barthow. Step forward.”

“Me?”

Surprised that Peter could separate public and private matters, I slowly stood up.

“Hmph…”

Jessica, seated next to me, glanced at me with an expression that seemed understanding yet somehow unconvinced, then sharply turned her head away.

As I slowly descended the stairs towards the podium, many emotionally-charged gazes focused on me, just like before.

Those who wondered.

Those who envied.

Those who sized me up.

Those who could discern even a little bit of the difference in skill quietly lowered their eyes.

But those who couldn’t maintained their unpleasantly intense stares.

‘Should I teach them a bit about knowing their place?’

As my hand instinctively moved towards Shadowstrike’s hilt, Marina’s cold mana, which had been watching me closely, restrained it.

My steps stopped involuntarily as Marina’s gaze met mine from quite a distance.

“……”

“……”

After a prolonged standoff, I was the first to back down.

I wasn’t truly angry to begin with, and from an Adam Smith-style Baldo economic perspective, not drawing my sword was more beneficial. So I quietly withdrew my hand.

‘…Ice b*tch, I’ll get you someday.’

Secretly making that resolution, I resumed walking towards the podium where Marina stood.

Standing right next to Marina in the spot where the second-year S-class students had stood earlier, I could see the faces of all the students gathered in the hall at once.

As I calmly appreciated the dumbfounded expressions of these losers who couldn’t even distinguish the skill gap of their opponent, Marina continued:

“Knight Department, Jessica von Grund. Step forward…”

At Marina’s call, Jessica rose from her seat and came forward, showing no signs of surprise as if she’d known this was coming.

Unlike when I was called, favorable gazes were directed at Jessica.

Of course, not all were favorable. Some mixed with jealousy and others filled with lewd desire.

However, Jessica paid no attention to such gazes, instead seeming to enjoy them as she gracefully descended to near the podium.

“……”

As Jessica approached me, she glanced at me briefly before stopping a few steps away, rather than standing right next to me.

Feeling hurt by Jessica’s coldness, I heard Marina continue:

“Knight Department, Rain von Reinhardt. Step forward.”

Though not the future Sword Saint, her younger sister’s appearance piqued my interest.

Jessica’s and my gazes turned to Rain, who was descending with calm, measured steps.

Her sky-blue hair, gleaming even in this darkness, was visible under the lights.

If Jessica’s beauty was like the brilliance of gold, Rain’s beauty had a neat elegance reminiscent of a well-honed sword.

‘Considering they’re sisters, her older sister probably has sky-blue hair too, right?’

The blonde hair from the original work had changed to sky-blue. It’s evidence that blood that shouldn’t have mixed in the original work has somehow mixed in.

Even if a transmigrator’s blood wasn’t directly involved, it’s clear something caused this change.

Perhaps the family they were supposed to marry into changed, or maybe a transmigrator’s blood mixed into that family.

Either way, investigating the Sword Saint’s family tree should quickly reveal which transmigrator is involved.

“……”

Rain, who had descended with an ice-cold expression, glanced at me once before quickening her pace to move away from me.

‘Why is she acting like that? Anyway, all that’s left now is the prince, I guess.’

Along with the future Sword Saint, he was one of the characters who differed most from the original work, so I wanted to see him up close. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t meet the prince today.

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Raei  Translations
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“That damn brat…!!!”

This is the worst.

Not only is this the worst entrance ceremony since the academy’s founding, but it’s also the worst day of my life.

The prince couldn’t attend due to illness, and Sir Peter displayed such shameful behavior in front of the entire student body that I don’t even want to mention it.

If this isn’t called the worst, what should it be called? It would’ve been better if those demon worshippers had attacked instead.

“Sir Peter!!!”

I roughly pushed open the door to the room where I had teleported Peter and approached him. He was sitting on the bed with an expression beyond dejection, as if the world had ended.

When Peter raised his head at my words, his gloomy expression made it hard to believe he was the same cheerful person I’d first met.

Overwhelmed by that face, I forgot my intention to berate him and asked in a tone like someone worried about a sick friend:

“S-Sir Peter…!! W-What on earth happened?! What happened to make you act so shamefully…!”

“…Nothing happened. I simply dueled and lost. That’s all there is to it.”

“L-Lost, you say?!”

The first thing that came to mind upon hearing those words was, naturally, some underhanded trick.

How else could the commander of the Royal Knight Order, not just any knight, lose to a mere student?

And not to a universally acknowledged genius like the future Sword Saint, but to a mere baronet.

“Did you fall victim to some cowardly tactic?!”

“…No, it would’ve been better if that were the case. The match was fair. We fought fairly, and I lost…”

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth after hearing these words from Peter’s mouth, which I couldn’t believe were spoken in his right mind.

I knew he was extraordinary since the day I saw Ian send him flying, but I never imagined it was to this extent.

‘This is dangerous…’

There are many reasons to fear a madman, but the most terrifying is the inability to predict what they’ll do next.

I can’t even begin to guess what erratic actions Ian might take to trouble me in the future.

Mentioning expulsion makes him listen to some extent, but nothing else works.

Even if I try to pressure his family, it won’t work since Ian himself is the head of the family.

‘What on earth is his purpose for enrolling in the academy?!’

With those skills, he shouldn’t need to enroll in the academy… He doesn’t seem to be here for socializing like other lower nobles either.

The fact that the threat of expulsion works suggests he has some goal at the academy, but I can’t even begin to guess what it might be.

“Ugh…!! Huh?”

As I was clutching my head in distress, Peter, who I thought wouldn’t move, suddenly stood up.

And as if to deliver a finishing blow to my already troubled state, he uttered the words I least wanted to hear in this situation.

“…I should have said this a few days ago, but I apologize for saying this now. I wish to resign…”

“What? What?!”

“How can I teach other students when I can’t even defeat a single student? Moreover, after displaying such shameful behavior, I can no longer show my face…”

“Ugh…!!”

What nonsense. By that logic, all of last year’s first-year homeroom teachers who couldn’t properly teach the future Sword Saint should be fired.

I grabbed Peter’s hand as he tried to flee the room and said urgently:

“Sir Peter!! I understand this incident has greatly wounded your pride, but please calm down!! Who else but you could possibly be the homeroom teacher for the S-class?!”

“I’m well aware of how irresponsible my words just now were…”

“Then you must also know you should take them back! And imagine this! Picture Ian leaving the academy without proper education!!”

Though I said to imagine it, even I who spoke those words couldn’t envision exactly what scene would unfold.

A madman’s actions are unpredictable.

That’s why nothing came to mind, only an endless, deep darkness like an abyss.

“…It’s beyond imagination.”

“Yes, exactly!! That’s why we must do everything we can to make Ian somewhat human while we still have a hold on him!!”

Turn a beast into a human.

It may be an exaggeration, but if we fail to accomplish this, the kingdom might have no future.

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