Chapter 120

Harold’s Basics of Magic Swordsmanship class was decent enough.

Of course, all we actually did was just duel with swords against students from the Swordsmanship and Magical Departments.

With the Top 1-4 from the Swordsmanship Department excluded, the remaining students were fairly evenly matched.

However, that was partly because their opponents were just lower-ranked students of the Swordsmanship Department.

Even though it was a common lecture class for the two departments since it dealt with the basics of swordsmanship, enrollment from the Magic Department wasn’t very high. As one of only about ten Magic Department students out of 60 total, I didn’t end up crossing swords with any top-ranked Sword Department students from the first day.

With this win rate, I might be able to face off against some higher-ranked students in the next class.@@novelbin@@

‘To be honest, I’d like to try facing off against Ethan or Natalie.’

Of course, it would obviously be a match I’d lose, but so what? As a man, don’t you want to challenge yourself even in matches you’re clearly going to lose?

It wasn’t so strange to think about the mindset the characters who faced Natalie’s swordsmanship head-on had until now or wanting to directly experience Ethan’s swordsmanship after his dramatic growth in skill due to my intervention in the story.

Of course, I probably won’t get the chance to duel against those inhuman-level kids, even among the Sword Department, being just someone from the Magic Department who can use a sword a bit.

Besides that, Harold’s class was useful enough to be quite helpful even for me.

You might think the legendary Sword Master would naturally have a rigid teaching style, but Harold was teaching the kids with a much more flexible mindset than I expected.

One unexpected thing I learned about Harold today was that he didn’t care at all about the types of swords the students used. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Rather, he tried his best to impart his knowledge even to students who didn’t use conventional sword types.

“If you’re going to swing that heavy greatsword, think several times more than your opponent. And from now on, try to build up your abdominal muscles as much as possible rather than your arms.”

“Yes, professor!”

“If you’re going to use an estoc *1, focus on thrusting rather than slashing in your training. With that light sword, concentrating on piercing one point will be much more effective for inflicting fatal wounds than slashing a wide area.”

“Understood!”

This was the advice Harold gave to Caraham and Natalie after observing their duel once.

The sword Harold usually uses is a typical two-handed sword seen in fantasy worlds, and even in the game, he never used any sword other than the short sword he usually carries at his waist.

But unlike his seemingly old-fashioned appearance, his knowledge of swords seemed to be quite extensive. As long as the weapon the user wielded maintained the form of a sword, he imparted his knowledge without prejudice. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

He didn’t hold back advice on Caraham’s huge greatsword, Natalie’s estoc, or the various types of swords used by other regular students.

Naturally, he also gave advice to me, wielding a dagger.

“Out of all these students, only you use a dagger, Lilith Rosewood. …Even though you’re not the only Magic Department student taking this class.”

“…That’s right.”

“Is there a reason you insist on using a dagger?”

Because there’s an awesome option that gives “+15 Attack When Wielding a Dagger”.

I couldn’t tell him that directly, so I deliberately presented a plausible excuse packaged in convincing words.

“The biggest reason is to induce carelessness in the opponent.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s true that I’m learning magic swordsmanship based on a dagger in this class, but after all, my most powerful ability is magic. The most important thing for a mage to be mindful of when using swordsmanship is not creating situations where they have to use swordsmanship in the first place. I think the professor knows this part as well.”

“…Go on.”

“But even if one doesn’t want to, there might be times in life when you have to face an enemy in close-quarters combat. In such a situation, if you, professor, assume that you are that enemy facing a mage up close, what would you think if there was a long sword hanging at the mage’s waist?”

“…I’d think they’re someone who can handle both magic and swordsmanship well, so I wouldn’t let my guard down until the very end.”

“Then, what about a mage with nothing at their waist but a dagger hidden in their breast?”

“…I’d still be on guard, but it would take a bit longer to realize their trump card is a hidden dagger.”

“That’s exactly the part I’m aiming for.”

“Hooh…”

Harold stroked his chin and looked at me with quite a serious gaze at my answer.

Having come this far, I couldn’t vaguely gloss over it, so I somehow completed the excuse I made up on the spot.

“For a mage, auxiliary armament is just a supplementary means, after all. The moment close-range combat is allowed, the tide of battle has already completely turned. In such a situation, there’s no way to properly respond by swinging around a longsword.”

“……”

“But this dagger can be effective for stabbing the heart of a careless enemy after keeping it hidden until the last moment. At the very least, the attacker won’t notice what auxiliary armament I have until they get close enough to see the blade of this dagger.”

“…A fairly plausible theory.”

Harold looked at me with a strange smile, seemingly not displeased with my answer.

Then, he took the silver dagger I had pulled out during my explanation and held it in his right hand.

“There are two ways to handle a dagger – the forward grip and the reverse grip. The forward grip allows you to freely wield the dagger as you wish by holding it comfortably, but it’s also easier for the opponent to predict the trajectory. The reverse grip has the opposite advantages and disadvantages.”

“Yes.”

“So if you’re going to handle a dagger, it’s good to at least learn how to switch between normal and reverse grips with one hand. …Like this.”

With those words, Harold demonstrated how to roll the silver dagger in his hand, changing the direction of the blade. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at how easily he changed grips even while holding the blade.

“You’ve finished your duels for today, so practice changing your grip on this dagger until the end of class. Feel free to ask if you’re unsure about anything.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“And please continue to take good care of Ethan in the future.”

“…Yes.”

Harold left those words with a strangely different implied meaning and moved to check on another student’s swordsmanship.

Watching his back as he left, I practiced handling the dagger grip as he advised.

By the end of class, I had become somewhat accustomed to holding the blade in reverse, if only a little.

…The slightly depressed feelings I had tried to shake off by concentrating on the class didn’t disappear at all, even until the lesson ended.

After the Basics of Magic Swordsmanship class, the common subject Ethan and Lilith take once a week, ended…

Lilith, who returned to the dormitory room after finishing her classes for the day, had been exuding a gloomy aura with her whole body since she returned.

“Sigh…”

Lilith sat half-perched on the bed, resting her chin on her hand and sighing.

Watching this, Ethan and Isabel could immediately grasp that she wasn’t in a good mood.

Ethan and Isabel poured out considerable worry towards her, who had seemed to be in a bad mood since returning to the dormitory room.

“Did something happen to Lilith at the academy today, Young Master?”

“…Well. I don’t think there’s anything in particular that comes to mind.”

One thing that was certain was that she had been in this state continuously since after listening to his father’s Basics of Magic Swordsmanship class.

At least until lunchtime today, there was nothing particularly strange or depressing to be found in Lilith, so if there was something making her mind complicated, it must have happened during or after that class. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

However, Ethan couldn’t imagine any reason for her to show such a reaction.

Especially since, even during the duels in the class, Lilith had won three times in a row.

After the class ended, they had dinner at the dormitory cafeteria and went straight back to the dormitory room, so there was no reason for anything to happen that would upset her mood.

“Sigh…”

However, seeing Lilith groaning weakly while precariously perched on the bed, she had clearly experienced something unpleasant.

Even if he couldn’t figure out the cause, Ethan’s thought was that he wanted to at least cheer up her mood.

…The problem was that he had no idea how he could cheer up Lilith’s mood.

“Ugh…”

“Lilith, are you feeling sick somewhere?”

“Mm, not really…”

“Is it because sleeping with Young Master Ethan is tiring? Do you want to sleep in my room’s bed just for tonight?”

“No, it’s okay… Just let me think alone for now…”

“Mm, if you have any worries, don’t suffer alone, and make sure to tell us, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks…”

Ethan’s worry increased as her symptoms didn’t seem likely to improve, even with the comfort of Isabel, her closest friend.

He was pondering in his own way how he could cheer her up.

‘What does Lilith like again…?’

Come to think of it, despite loving Lilith so much, he didn’t actually know much about what she liked.

He knew that she enjoyed spending time with her fellow maids like Isabel and Catherine or that she felt joy in using magic…

…but Lilith hardly ever showed signs of liking specific foods or things, so Ethan’s worries deepened about what he could do for her to cheer her up.

Ethan closed his eyes and tried to recall when she had last shown her happiness recently.

If it was the last memory of her showing an unreserved happy expression in front of him, it was probably that moment…

‘…No, no, no. What are you thinking, recalling that memory now…’

To think that what came to mind when trying to recall Lilith’s happiness was her moaning while he touched her chest…

Because of that, the manly desires that had been dormant in Ethan’s heart for a while strangely awakened. Fortunately, the current Ethan did not act irrationally and was not consumed by momentary instincts. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

He had already become a man who could suppress his own desires through the past year of training.

“……”

However, separate from his calmed self-control, Lilith’s flushed face kept flickering in Ethan’s mind.

From the brief imagination that suddenly came to his mind, Ethan was able to find a small hint.

He quietly began to come up with one way that might be able to cheer up Lilith’s mood.