I Heard That Person Is a War Veteran

“Teacher…?”

“Yes~ I’m Seine Velvet, hired as the health teacher of this academy from this year~”

After entering the club room, I smiled gently towards Eric.

“I don’t know what the situation is, but it seems emotions have run high. Could you calm down for now?”

“…I apologize for my rudeness.”

Soon, Eric bowed his head quietly, in stark contrast to his previous fierce demeanor.

Fortunately, it seems he has manners towards superiors befitting a noble.

“But why has the health teacher come here?”

However, that’s just his outward attitude.

Since health teachers have a lower status compared to other teachers, it’s obvious he’s grinding his teeth inwardly.

Well, I’m used to such treatment, so it doesn’t matter either way.

“It’s obvious that kids will be rolling around and not treating their injuries, so I came out for a visit.”

“Haha, can’t minor injuries just be left to the clergy later?”

“Clergy are few in number and have limited working hours. In the meantime, if there are kids in pain, I can take a look at them.”

“Well, if it’s not serious, they can just endure it, right? I don’t think there’s any need for you to come all the way here, teacher. Above all, we can hire as many clergy as we want if we just pay a bit more money.”

“The club budget is for buying equipment and for you kids to buy meat and snacks after practicing hard, not for you to overwork your bodies recklessly.”

And frequent use of divine power causes muscle loss.

“If necessary, we can use personal funds, that’s the policy for club activities in this academy. Receiving assistance from one’s family is also part of one’s ability.”

But even considering that, showing off money can indeed be a form of ability in noble society.

The academy can’t say much about hiring clergy for the purpose of more efficient injury treatment.

This pesky spinach kid. I thought he was just an emotional guy, but he seems to know quite a lot in various aspects.

“Ah~ Of course, it wouldn’t be very appealing to the current baseball club. They can’t get budget support because they can’t achieve results, and all the members are from families that don’t have much.”

But what’s more notable is that he still finds timing to sneer even in this situation.

Is he a born opportunist?

Or is he just being arrogant relying on his backing?

“…I understand roughly how things are going.”

Of course, I’m not one to be irritated by that level of provocation.

To begin with, I’m not an emotional person who would waste unnecessary emotions on this.

“In short, the team formed by the former president showed less than expected results, and as the president is retiring from the baseball club ahead of graduation, you want to lead the team instead of student Gillette who has newly inherited the position? Even changing the existing policy.”

“You’ve summarized it well.”

Eric smiled with satisfaction and spoke proudly in front of everyone in the club room.

As if he truly believed his conviction was right.

But does good intention justify extreme means?

“…Did you consult with the student council before barging in like this?”

“If we leave it to the student council, it would take at least a few months just to process, wouldn’t it? Rather than wasting practice time by dragging it out like that, it’s more efficient to get the consent of the existing members.”

“What if they don’t consent?”

“If that were the case, they would have already risen up and driven me out.”

Eric looked around as he said this.

As the existing members all avoided eye contact, smug smiles appeared on the faces of Eric and his followers.

“…Yes, time is important.”

I thought he was just an arrogant delinquent, but surprisingly, he’s quite perceptive.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. This guy, while his personality is dirty, he’s someone who knows how to seize opportunities well.

“Honestly, as a teacher, I shouldn’t ignore this… But I can understand your position to some extent.”

“Haha, then……”

“But there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

Can’t be helped.

To calm this guy down, I’ll have to use means other than dialogue.

“Before causing this disturbance, did you have a match with the baseball club friends you’re looking down on?”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s a simple question.”

After answering, I picked up one of the scattered equipment on the floor.

“In baseball, the faster the ball, the better.”

A baseball made by sewing leather.

But because it’s specially treated, it can contain mana, and by manipulating the mana inside, various pitches can be created.

“In baseball, the better you can see that fast ball, the better.”

Along with that, what I raised in my other hand was a bat used in baseball.

It had a grip similar to what I used in the principal’s office not long ago.

“If you can see the ball thrown like that.”

I held the bat in my hand and lightly tossed up the ball I was holding.

And Tang!

“…Isn’t it good to hit it hard with both arms and then run fast with both legs?”

The batted ball flew out of the club room, past the exit, and far beyond the field, landing in the middle of the prairie.

The wide stadium mainly used by the baseball club.

I turned to everyone who was focusing their attention there and said.

“The word ‘sports’ itself implies rules and competition. Innate talent or assistance received through environment are ultimately just processes and means until proving the result, and predetermining that result from the beginning goes against fair play.”

If everything is divided by class, you might as well just bring out rank badges and settle it.

But sports is an act of competing with pure skill under fair rules, and therefore everyone who stands on the ground is equal.

“So what you’re saying is that you want me to have a match between the talented individuals I’ve noticed and this lousy baseball club?”

“That would be easier for everyone to accept.”

As we’re getting to the main point.

I spoke while looking at Gillette, who had been in conflict with Eric until now, and another member who had been knocked down by Eric.

“But the existing team has two injured members, so it would be good to supplement the personnel……”

“Then you can stand on the ground instead, teacher.”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

“Haha, you don’t need to pretend. You just don’t like me and want to put me in my place, right?”

The eyes above the tear moles narrowed.

“Once you’ve intervened this far, it wouldn’t look good for a teacher to back out. It would end up just being empty words from a teacher.”

…It seems I’ve really rubbed him the wrong way.

Well, fine. I had that in mind from the beginning anyway, so there’s nothing to hesitate about now.

“Dale.”

Moreover, I was looking for an appropriate place to test this child’s ability.

“Since we’ve come this far, would you like to try playing baseball?”

“Yes!”

Dale shouted with a bright smile.

---

“Young master, are you really sure about this?”

Graian, a follower of the Imperial Marquis Kidman and Eric’s subordinate, asked cautiously.

Eric, who was warming up in the stadium’s waiting room, turned to him with a smirk.

“Bersi, why are you acting so unlike yourself?”

The deeply drawn smile symbolized confidence in itself.

Eric had such confidence in the match that was about to unfold.

“No, I phrased my question wrong. Do you think the team I carefully selected would lose to the losers Gillette inherited?”

“I don’t think so. Neither Gillette nor the vice-president who worked well with him will be participating.”

Yes, to begin with, apart from the former president, weren’t there only two useful guys?

Other talented individuals had left one by one, realizing the team’s limitations.

No matter how straight Gillette inherited the former president’s spirit, he too must feel considerable skepticism about the club’s declining performance.

Once this match is over, they’ll surely realize their own situation.

“But I’m still a bit concerned. The opponent in this match is a teacher, not a student.”

“She probably just came to interfere because she couldn’t bear to watch kids fighting. Either she’s clueless because she’s new, or she’s looking down on us because we’re young.”

The teachers must also be quite dissatisfied with the baseball club’s stagnant performance.

If it had been another teacher there instead of that woman, they would surely have turned a blind eye to his actions.

To Eric, who had such conviction, her existence was seen as a thorn in his side.

Just a bit annoying.

An existence that couldn’t interfere with his plans.

“…Is there something bothering you?”

“Ah, well, I heard a little rumor, you see.”

Unlike the confident Eric, Bersi was wearing an unsatisfied expression.

As if considering the possibility, even if not certain.

“I heard that person is a war veteran.”

“A war veteran? You mean a war participant?”

“Yes, since she introduced herself as an Imperial, she must have belonged to the Imperial army. If we investigate in detail, something might come up, but……”

“Ha, I thought it was something serious.”

Eric let out a snicker as he left the club room and stepped onto the field.

“What would a health teacher with a military background have done? She was probably just a nurse who took care of the wounded in the rear.”

Occasionally heroes emerge even among commoners, but how common could that be?

Humans cannot go against their environment, and therefore it’s natural for nobles with superior birth to have the upper hand.

“She’s probably thinking like this. If a teacher and students of commoner origin show that they won’t be beaten, we’ll naturally submit.”

Eric shifted his gaze to the woman in a white gown waiting on the field in advance. Seine Velvet.

“You shouldn’t be so delusional. Treating you as a teacher only applies outside the stadium.”

As Eric approached her, not a trace of hesitation could be felt from him.

“…Are you ready?”

“Of course.”

Seine and Eric.

The two took their positions in a line, each with their teams behind them.

Behind Eric were confident and reliable elites.

And behind Seine were the powerless existing members.

“This is my first time playing with so many people gathered. I’m so excited!”

Moreover, one of them was a 14-year-old newcomer who had just joined.

And he seemed quite immature and somewhat lacking.

“My, looking at it again, the team situation is quite a sight.”

In a match betting the club’s existence, a newbie kid and a war veteran who just sucked honey in the rear.

Isn’t it essentially a foregone conclusion?

“Don’t say it like that. We’re all friends attending the same school, aren’t we?”

Friends my ass.

Eric clicked his tongue inwardly and said.

“How about the rules? It seems like dragging it out will just tire everyone out unnecessarily.”

“That’s right. I think it would be good to end after just one set, like a practice game……”

“What if it’s a tie after one set?”

“Then we can do one more set.”

“Not bad.”

Of course, he said this meaning there wouldn’t be a tie.

He would solidify the match overwhelmingly in one set and teach them their place.

“Just to mention, this isn’t a bet or anything. You’ll just judge the results that come out of this match on your own.”

“I understand.”

As a teacher, she probably doesn’t want to make bets with students.

But whatever her intention, it doesn’t matter. If we widen the score overwhelmingly, they will realize their place on their own.

“Well then, shall we start?”

Then Seine, standing on the pitcher’s mound, faced Eric in the batter’s box and took her stance.

The sight of her stepping forward slightly, bending her waist a bit, and focusing on the catcher’s glove.

-Woong.

The vibration sound coming from behind the glove indicated that mana was being infused into the ball to cause some phenomenon.

‘Come on. Whatever comes flying, I’ll hit it.’

At that moment, Eric also exerted his will and spread mana around him.

The spread mana will exert a restraining force when it detects a projectile above a certain speed, and as a result, the ball with reduced speed will naturally be guided towards the bat.

If it’s slower than that?

Just hit it and that’s it.

He’s already secured that level of reflexes.

-Shrik!

But the moment his confident smile froze.

‘Huh?’

Eric had a blank expression as he saw Seine’s throwing form.

The ball that should have been in her hand had somehow disappeared.

‘What?’

Where did the ball go?

And why does his body feel this sense of discomfort?

As if a storm had hit his body…

-Pushhak!

No, a storm really had hit.

The ball thrown at a speed impossible for human eyes to even detect.

The air that the ball passed through was pushed away, temporarily creating a vacuum.

-Paang!!!!

The roaring sound of that air rushing back to its original place.

Feeling the wind pressure from that hitting him, Eric reflexively tensed his body and suppressed the urge to step back.

Yes. That was all he could do at the moment.

“What are you doing, umpire? Aren’t you going to make a call?”

He came to his senses when he heard the voice of the one who threw the ball.

“S.”

The umpire, who had reflexively opened his lips, struggled to continue his words as he saw the ball stuck in the catcher’s glove.

“Stri… ke.”

Something he himself hadn’t even realized.

Just announcing the judgment made based on the result observed belatedly.