episode_0117

There’s an old saying.

Jun-sa-bu-il-chae (君師父一體).

It means that the grace received from one’s monarch, teacher, and father are one and the same, and thus should be equally respected and served.

The grace of one’s parents, who gave birth to and raised you, is like the heavens.

The grace of the king, who leads the nation and people and creates a place for them to live, is like the earth.

But how can one say that the grace of a teacher, who shows the path one should rightfully follow as a human being, is not like the sea?

As for me, I have at least a minimum level of respect for Amelia, the department head, whom I regard most unfavorably.

Even though I call her by a nickname, adjust my underwear in front of her, pick my ears at her loud curses, deceive her by having two identities, directly oppose and thwart her plans, occasionally whisper gossip about her, stealthily grope her breasts while she’s asleep to check her cup size, and have even fantasized about sleeping with her a couple of times.

Regardless, I respect her.

It’s the duty of a learner.

Even if they are not necessarily in a teacher’s position, I tend to have a certain level of awe for those who have taught me.

Yuri, who awakened my love; Lulu, who taught me the end of distortion; Eve, who made me feel the thrill of combat; Aspi, who taught me the meaning of following and defying fate; Nix, who showed me the hall of memory and knowledge.

Well… even Tier, who, to be extremely generous, displayed the pinnacle of faith.

And even the long-tongued nobles who taught me anger, despair, and vengeance.

I show respect to each in their own way.

Because there’s no end to learning.

Anyway… the first reason I’m angry is that my classmates, who are supposed to be close friends, started a brawl in front of their teacher, who’s like heaven to them.

And second… it’s only been a few days since I urged everyone to work together to overcome this.

It’s not like they’re teenagers; how could they splinter and fight so quickly?

“Did you have that much energy to spare? I wonder if you’ve all completed the training manuals I gave you.”

“That’s…”

“……”

No matter how I look at it, I don’t think these guys are that courageous.

Their most rebellious moment was when they beat up the punks from the neighborhood, but even then, wasn’t I leading the charge?

Without me, they’re not capable of starting anything.

It’s not that I’m looking down on them, but rather it means they are cautious and prudent.

Those guys… started a brawl.

I simply can’t believe it.

There was only one thing I could think of.

That some unknown force was at work.

It’s too late to start from the inside, so it seemed better to punish them all and see how they react.

“Let’s see… how much you’ve grown while I was away.”

“HIIIEEK—”

“W-wait… that’s too harsh—”

As I rolled up my sleeves, they started to back away.

See… what kind of nerve do these cowards have to beat up their classmates?

I helplessly gestured slightly.

“Aspi instructor.”

“Ye-yes sir!”

Aspi, who had been quietly observing the scene, came running as soon as I called her.

“Have the instructor deal with them, and those cadets who don’t appear to need special training will be excused. What do you think?”

“Yes sir!”

With her back stiff and her hands raised high, she was overflowing with passion, without needing any further words.

So I patted her shoulder lightly and whispered in her ear.

“Don’t hold back.”

“…As you command.”

Then Aspi’s soft eyes flashed intensely.

She is also an elite of the Knights Order.

She must certainly have experience training juniors.

A true strong person knows not only how to shatter a rock but also how to keep a small egg from breaking.

In short, they have incredibly good control over their strength.

Strong when it needs to be strong, soft when it needs to be soft.

That skill of controlling strength and weakness, similar to piston action, is the criterion for judging a master.

Aspi, who has won the Kingdom Swordsmanship Tournament, would surely know how to do that.

It was a natural assumption.

She had drawn a blunt, iron practice greatsword instead of a significantly less lethal wooden sword.

Thwack- thud-

An instructor with devilish eyes just like mine stood before the cadets.

“We’ll now conduct a simple mock exam. Those who pass… can feel free to attend this training.”

. . .

Crack- clang- thud-

“AAAAAH—It’s a monster—”

“Guh-gack!! Run away!! Go to the corners!!!!”

[Cadet A has died-]

Bullshit… they’re not dead.

Well, what can I say?

Countless cadets were already sent flying by Aspi’s skillful swordsmanship.

In particular, the members of the opposing faction were instantly wiped out except for one.

That one person eventually raised their hands in surrender.

“I… I will diligently attend training…”

“Good.”

Thud-

Only after Aspi left did the cadet collapse, their legs giving way.

Most of the cadets were like that.

Generally, swordsmen with short swords about half their height are hard to survive on battlefields where magic bullets fly around.

Therefore, excellent swordsmen are adept at controlling distance.

Because a duel is established only when the sword touches the opponent’s body.

In the case of Aspi, who possesses exceptional skills as a swordsman, she can approach from a distance visible only faintly in a blink of an eye.

Naturally, it was impossible for those feeble magicians to see and react to that movement.

Those who survived were one of three types.

Those whose physical abilities were good enough to somewhat compete, or those with corresponding innate instincts.

Or… those with sufficient combat experience.

The first example is Eve.

Whoosh- clang—!!

Ting- hit- thud-

“Not bad?”

“Gah— Haap—!”

Aspi disappeared from sight in an instant, swinging her sword towards Eve’s back.

But Eve’s gaze was already on her.

While others would close their eyes in fear, Eve never lost sight of the sword’s trajectory, twisting her body to avoid it.

Fully expected.

Her strength doesn’t solely come from being a four-attribute mana user.

The second was unexpected.

“Kyaat—!!”

Her name is… Jane.

In the last group sparring, she seemed to have some talent, but I thought it was only that much.

But—

“Uwat- Heok- Hiik-”

“…You dodge quite well.”

Whiff- Whirl-

Astonishingly, Aspi’s sword never touched her.

Judging from her slightly collapsing posture, she clearly isn’t dodging visually.

Or rather, is she even trying to dodge?

It seems rather like instinct.

“I… I don’t know… I just sort of sensed the instructor’s movements…”

“Let’s try to become more sensitive to that feeling.”

Aspi, leaving no room for error, pointed out the specifics of Jane’s movements before moving to another cadet.

And third…

“Ag-again… I smell it from you, sister. The scent of a highly aroused… woman in heat.”

“……”

“Saliva… tears, snot… sweat and vaginal fluid… all new smells… this strong scent suggests you’ve done it at least five times a day for a week…”

I’ll spare the details.

“The faint trace of cosmetics remaining on your lips… that’s from the temple… they aren’t meant for the face… you must have kissed someone’s hand. A formal greeting? It’s clearly a smokescreen to hide the fact that you were banging all night.”

“……”

「Who is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho is itwho the hell is it」

Who exactly did what wrong to this cadet?

I really don’t know.

Anyway, a fierce aura swirled behind her, clearly enraged.

“…You shouldn’t be daydreaming.”

That also meant she wasn’t focused on combat at all.

Aspi naturally took advantage of that opening, swinging her practice sword.

Clang—!!

“…!!”

The next moment, the blade was broken in two.

“Hoo, how…”

“They say marital disputes are like cutting with a knife, right?”

The furious cadet turned to look at me.

Oh no!

Her face, full of anger, was obscured by darkness.

A magic sword conjured from water mana pulsed in her trembling hand.

“Surely, a magic sword using water pressure.”

“Yes… I have to cut it with this…”

I ran away without looking back.

But for some reason, my feet were stuck to the ground.

Only my spirit appears to have flown to the other side of the training ground.

. . .

Surviving there wasn’t easy.

I was only forgiven after promising to spend an entire day having sex.

The condition included it being just the two of us, fulfilling all her requests, not losing consciousness at all, and an implied threat implying that she would eat my ass if I collapsed.

Well, I’m glad I survived.

Aspi’s mock exam ended smoothly.

Only three out of the many cadets passed her standards, and even the successful candidates agreed to take special training for improvement.

In the end, everyone participated without exception.

That’s good.

What’s most important is that everyone becomes united, so I actually wanted this outcome.

『[Main Story Chapter 4: Final Exam] progress conditions are checked.』

-[Achieve 3rd place or higher in the Final Exam Class Competition]

-[Achieve 1st place in the Individual Tournament]

-[???]

3rd place in the class competition, in other words, the team event.

The status window seems to be telling me that I can’t achieve anything by only doing well myself.

It’s always been this way.

As if to remind me that humans are social animals, it sets these conditions whenever it seems appropriate.

Well… I can’t do it.

The system has judged it as ‘achievable’ and, in any case, I would like to do it.

I thought it might be fun to aim for first place.

What’s most important is the third condition.

-[???]

As soon as I saw this, I immediately thought, ‘Shit.’

Why.

This doesn’t mean it’s not unlocked yet.

If that was the case, a message stating that it was pre-unlock would have appeared instead of a question mark.

In Acastos’ scenario progression conditions, [???] means a ‘random event.’

A disruptive villain appearing outside the flow of the main story that [Player] is following.

In other words, something dangerous enough to change the end of my life is coming up.

At first, I was honestly so goddamn dizzy at that.

Because I was very flustered, I apologize for my lack of vocabulary.

It’s understandable, given that I was told a ‘big something is coming, and it’s gonna be really bad’ right before a big event like the final exam.

It’s amazing if your mind isn’t reeling.

The reason I went to Tier for help is partially also due to this ‘random event’.

I was anxious for these past few days, racking my brains.

I just found it.

The clue to the disruptive villain.