episode_0015
by fnovelpiaAs soon as I possessed her, my older sister couldn’t remember.
Strangely, even before the possession, I could barely find her name in the scattered memories.
Hedy Marigold.
She was a girl who, despite being pretty, had a rough demeanor and had been a lunatic who wouldn’t hesitate to tear apart anyone who crossed her, including the previous owner of the body I possessed.
At Hedy’s casual remark, the noisy group fell silent, their chatter subdued.
Laura didn’t seem to intervene in that atmosphere.
Perhaps it was for the best; she too seemed quite exhausted from watching over the kids.
The children might not have noticed, but judging by my experience as the elder in my previous life, that seemed to be the case.
Even if I were to become a national-level sword master, I wouldn’t volunteer to run a daycare. Unless someone really adored kids, Hedy’s presence would likely freshen up the atmosphere in such a situation.
“Shall we head to the practice hall?!”
Seizing the moment, Laura leaned on the teacher’s desk, smiling, and spoke.
As if nothing had happened, the kids regained their energy, answered, and began to rise from their seats, heading towards the practice hall.
I, too, got up automatically.
While doing so, I glanced at Hedy.
“….”
A face that seemed discontented and sensitive.
Was she always like that?
I don’t know why, but my gaze kept returning to her.
Before Hedy could notice my gaze, I averted my eyes and followed the children towards the practice hall.
The practice hall was spacious.
There were two lines divided between training dummies capable of withstanding an orcish sword and regular dummies.
We gathered in the line with the regular dummies.
Seeing that all the students had assembled in front, Laura, without delay, addressed us loudly.
“Listen up, everyone. Today’s lesson will be about Thunder Swordsmanship.”
The students’ reactions were somewhat puzzled.
“Thunder Swordsmanship…? But we’ve already learned that swordsmanship?”
“Isn’t it time to learn Water Swordsmanship next? Why Thunder Swordsmanship?”
“It’s good for review. It’s great if she’s going to review the lessons I missed.”
I was also a bit puzzled.
Thunder Swordsmanship was a basic level 1 swordsmanship using the fundamental Triple Strike technique.
Even if the previous body’s owner had learned it dryly, it was undoubtedly a swordsmanship they had completed before the vacation based on memory.
But suddenly learning Thunder Swordsmanship?
Just as I pondered this, Laura unfolded the Thunder Swordsmanship 2nd form without a word.
– Swish! Whoosh! Swoosh!
Swift and graceful rotations, flexible yet never loose sword strikes.
It was the Thunder Swordsmanship 2nd form.
Although it was indeed the Thunder Swordsmanship 2nd form…
“What is that!”
She modified the form.
I had never seen such a thing even in games. Modifying an established form like that…?
This was a remarkable discovery.
By adapting forms according to the situation, one could avoid life-threatening situations from enemy attacks.
In a player versus player duel, one could overwhelm opponents with unpredictable swordsmanship.
I was greatly inspired by Laura’s demonstration just now.
“What, is that Thunder Swordsmanship…?”
“Could it be that Laura made a mistake? It looks completely different from any other swordsmanship.”
The surroundings seemed not to understand well.
“Hey, did you see that mid-air flip just now…? It’s killer.”
“I wonder how she’d be on a bed.”
…It seemed like they were expressing admiration in a different sense.
To openly make suggestive remarks in a public place like this… They were quite something in various ways.
While Laura seemed to have noticed the actions of the group of boys, she turned away from them and continued with the lesson.
Being a professor seemed like quite a challenging job.
As the lewd remarks continued, some of the surrounding female students frowned at the boys from earlier, showing discomfort at their display of inappropriate desire in front of the person concerned.
Some of the girls among them debated whether to step in and stop those boys.
In the midst of this.
Just now, one of the female students who had been standing behind until then stepped forward.
I thought she might have had an urgent need to use the restroom, but judging by the direction she was walking in, that didn’t seem to be the case.
A contemptuous expression twisted on her face. Her steps were directed towards the male students in question.
“Oh.”
It was none other than Hedy Marigold.
Her steps came to a halt soon after.
“Huh? What’s this?”
She stood in front of the male student who had just been making derogatory remarks about Laura.
-Clang!
“Ah-!”
Wow.
The dull sound of a watermelon being struck resonated among the kids.
Hedy had grabbed the head of the male student who had just made derogatory remarks.
“W-what is this! You crazy b****, I want to…!”
“Should I tell Lady Laura?”
“….!”
The confronted male student was momentarily taken aback.
If it became known that he had insulted a Sword Master, there would be no way to avoid direct disciplinary action.
It could lead to expulsion or even his family taking responsibility. Despite knowing this fact, he still made derogatory remarks…
It’s like digging his own grave with his childish mind.
Realizing the situation, the male student shuddered for a moment, then turned his head away from Hedy with a gulp.
In response, Hedy smirked as if to say ‘pathetic.’
“Idiot.”
She turned around and went back to her place.
The male student was still seething with anger.
It felt refreshing.
There wasn’t a character like her among the heroines of Cain, but… the character of Hedy seemed quite distinct for an extra.
A small curiosity about Hedy arose.
“Everyone, do you all think I didn’t cast Mind Blade just now?”
While saying that, Laura chuckled and spoke to us.
“What I cast was precisely Mind Blade 2 seconds. However, I added some changes.”
“Eh-?! Is that possible, Lady Laura?! The moves are predetermined!”
“Yes. The moves are predetermined. But isn’t the Blade part not predetermined?”
I understood.
Blade is the process where the sword accompanies the Mind Blade move.
While the Mind Blade move must be executed as prescribed, can you freely wield the sword during the Mind Blade?
It’s a good idea.
Even canceling a normal attack during Mind Blade or wielding the sword when you shouldn’t be, is that allowed?
As if answering my question, Laura continued speaking.
“There’s a saying from the late Sword Master Bella Brace. Beginnings may be similar. However, how they unfold is up to me.”
At the familiar name, my body twitched.
Bella Brace…? The Brace family?
Is this person related to the eccentric philosopher Cyan?
“Are you a disciple of Bella, Lady Laura?”
A female student asked.
“Not exactly. But I’ve worked under him a lot. Now, let’s move on to the question here.”
Laura placed her hand on her hip and continued speaking.
“While dueling with someone at a similar level, both parties cast Mind Blade 1 second simultaneously. However, the opponent casts it faster. What happens then?”
A male student raised his hand.
“Yes, you there.”
“Mind Blade 1 second involves a rotation followed by a thrust. So, if you’re rotating and the opponent rotates first, you’ll end up getting stabbed by them.”
“Right. So, if you cast it later than your opponent but still want to thrust first, what should you do?”
“Um….”
After pondering deeply, the male student said, “I don’t know.”
“You should cast a vertical cut while rotating.”
“…?”
The male student seemed puzzled.
Upon which Laura chuckled and explained again.
“If you rotated late, cast a vertical cut while rotating to confuse the opponent, take advantage of their confusion, rotate once more quickly, and complete the Mind Blade move.”
In other words, disrupt the opponent’s move with a feint, then quickly cast yours to strike first.
“Lastly, the message I want to give you is, don’t be confined by the framework of Mind Blade. I believe smart friends will understand the meaning behind these words immediately.”
I don’t know if understanding this is clever, but I got it all at once.
Laura’s words seemed like they would have a significant impact on my future swordsmanship training as well.
“Alright! Study the previous teachings while practicing swordsmanship alone. Everyone, line up. I will teach you the basic sword form, so pay attention!”
The following lessons were quite ordinary.
I learned a new sword technique and quickly grasped it.
However, what had the most impact was undoubtedly the initial lesson on basic form transformations.
I wanted to make it mine quickly. So, just like yesterday, after having lunch with Lloyd, Bobby, and Louis, I swiftly headed to the second-floor student training hall.
Just before opening the training hall door.
“That bastard Hedy is from a fallen noble family?”
I was momentarily taken aback by the voice beyond the training hall door.
‘…What is this about?’
I decided to pause for a moment before opening the door and listened carefully.
“So he claims to be a viscount, but turns out his family is crumbling apart except for the nameplate!”
“Yet he strutted around acting all high and mighty…? This won’t do. How dare he mess with Francis, a descendant of a prestigious lineage and a renowned writer?”
Soon, the voices drew closer to the door.
I quickly hid behind the wall.
-Creak!
The door opened, revealing the owners of the voices stepping forward.
To my surprise, it was the two male students who had made inappropriate remarks during the previous swordsmanship class.
“Where is that girl now? This concerns the honor of our family.”
“We usually go to Professor Philip’s lecture on strategic theories next. Should we call the guys? Philip’s class is in the adjacent building, right? There’s a courtyard towards the corridor; let’s drag her there and give her a warning she won’t forget.”
As the two male students moved further away down the opposite corridor, their conversation gradually faded.
After confirming they had completely disappeared, I emerged from behind the wall.
It seemed like I had accidentally overheard a rather peculiar conversation.
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