(Continued)
“…Yeah, let’s do that.”
Sharp as always, that red cat. Before he could come up with an excuse, the hero was caught with his hands behind his back, humming as he carried the box of strawberry cake.
“It’s a bit cold. Did you even use ice magic?”
“They didn’t do this in our village back home. Things are different in the Empire.”
“They’re skilled here.”
The blond hero’s face turned bright red. Honesty would be better for both of them. Why is tsundere behavior still a thing when it barely works anymore?
“Licht, I’ll see you during the practical session.”
“Whenever you like.”
Though he was determined to get back at me,
[Kainel♡Ariel 24% ‘NEW!!’]
I smiled as I saw the text pop up on the status window.
Sometimes, it was nice how quick it worked.
***
When we arrived at the classroom, Dennis pulled out a sphere containing several condensed magic circles and used it to teleport all of us.
“Huh? Wow… it’s teleportation magic?”
“This must’ve been expensive, huh? Oh, wait, it’s the Academy.”
“That’s amazing… I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Is it thanks to the magic circle? Wouldn’t it mess with the circuits? I guess it works because it’s the professor.”
Just like a stage set changing, the sudden teleportation left me and the other students dumbfounded.
‘The protagonist is definitely on another level,’ I thought.
Mastering the three-dimensional magic circle instantly? Honestly, I had my doubts.
In *Knight Heart*, he had mentioned that he discovered it through his own research, so there wasn’t any contradiction here.
“Today, as I mentioned before, you’ll use your specialty to eliminate the training slimes over there,” said Dennis, gesturing to the slimes scattered across the wide field.
“Unique sword techniques, unconventional magic, your own spirit, or weapons made with divine power—whatever you choose is fine.”
“We’ll grade you based on a relative scale, and each person will be assigned one slime.”
“You’ll get extra points for finishing quickly.”
“Now then, let’s begin. Students—no, soldiers.”
As soon as Dennis finished speaking, the students rushed toward the slimes to begin their mock battles.
“Well then, I’ll head over here. Good luck, everyone.”
“See you later, helmet guy!”
“I won’t lose to you today, Licht. Just watch.”
After briefly saying goodbye to the group, I approached a slime for my own evaluation.
A cube-shaped barrier suddenly formed around me. It was a type of protective magic.
Oh, this really feels like a 1-on-1 training ground.
“It’s been a while.”
I glanced at the wall, reminiscent of the training grounds I often saw in the game. So, this magic was passed down from the Academy, huh?
I looked at the green, bouncing monster in front of me.
“A training slime, huh…”
Feeling a bit off today, my mind drifted to a random thought. It wasn’t a great day for focus.
“…It’s something I should have forgotten by now.”
A red core pulsed within the squirming slime. The more it splits, the stronger it gets—just a practice monster.
I had a memory associated with this.
A sudden event.
After the wedding between the hero and the mage in *Black heart*, the Nameless saintess vanished from her seat. It reminded me of that moment.
If the player immediately headed toward the nearby training grounds, they could find the saintess, who had run away.
I reloaded that save file so many times. She wasn’t the kind of person who would just disappear without reason.
A woman sat, crying with a training slime kept far from her.
[Sir Knight…? How did you…?]
It was a place where no one could find her due to the barrier, except for those directly involved. She wiped her tears and pretended everything was fine.
If only she could act as well as Nex.
[..The story of someone without a name, I suppose, is meant to be forgotten.]
I could still picture the saintess’s expression, trying to laugh it off as she touched her long, silver hair. The Platinum Wolf, with her tearful eyes, lying through her sadness.
[Watching Mr. Kainel and Miss Ariel’s wedding made me envious.]
Her desperate attempt to hide the fact that she had looked at others’ happiness with sorrow in her eyes.
From *Knight Heart* to *Black heart*, there was never a happy ending for her.
Was she really here, in this world?
“Sigh.”
I let out a breath. My chest felt tight. An uncomfortable feeling squeezed at my heart. Was she still suffering somewhere in this third installment? Was she crying alone again? I couldn’t help but worry.
[As I’ve always said, I’m disqualified from being a saintess.]
“…”
I needed to push these negative thoughts away.
I drew my sword from its sheath. The metallic scream echoed as the silver steel slid free. It was clear to anyone that it was on the verge of breaking.
[As long as others are happy, I should be content with that, even if it’s cowardly.]
Her feelings back then must have been similar to mine.
“Fourth Form.”
The sword in my hand felt heavier than ever. My helmet reflected in the blade, probably showing an angry expression underneath.
I stomped hard on the ground. The wind began to gather in one place. With my right hand, I slashed through the air, creating a gale focused purely on cutting.
It was a technique that turned brute force into precision, substituting strength with skill. It was the essence of Drake’s swordsmanship.
The fourth form, a reinterpretation of the Wolf King Roque’s movements.
When strength is lacking, it’s filled with technique. The result was a method that could create a sword aura purely through force, regardless of distance.
[Not everyone can be happy, Sir Knight.]
The unforgettable scent of roses lingered, pressing down on me.
But still…
Isn’t it okay to be happy, just once?
I poured a lot of emotion into it.
「Vacuum Slash.」
The gathered wind exploded outward, a force of nature that transcended distance, designed to cut through anything in its path.
Even magic would have a hard time blocking it.
*BOOM!!*
The dust kicked up as the protective barrier and the slime shattered into pieces.
***
─ *Shatter!*
The sound of the Dark Knight’s swordsmanship breaking the protective barrier echoed throughout the training ground.
It was as if dozens of glass windows had shattered at once, the sharp noise piercing the air.
The field was a mess, as though a bomb had gone off, the destruction fanning out in all directions. Anyone watching might have thought I had used wind magic or an aura to fire off sword energy.
“Kyahhhh!”
“What the heck just happened?”
“Did a hurricane blow through here?”
“Was that magic? But why would the protective barrier break? That doesn’t make sense…”
The gale had swallowed up the slimes and passed by the students without harming anyone. It was a strange wind that seemed to deliberately avoid people.
“That was from Licht’s direction, wasn’t it?”
Kainel sighed as he looked at the broken trees and the splattered remnants of slime.
He knew Licht was stronger than him, but this was different.
‘It looks like he couldn’t control his strength.’
He quietly thought to himself as he observed the trail left by the slash. As someone who had also trained in swordsmanship as a hero, he could tell what kind of power had been wielded.
It was rough and raw, as if he had let his emotions take control.
Something had been off with Licht since the morning.
It wasn’t the usual controlled swordsmanship he was used to seeing from him. Didn’t he come running earlier, pale and sweating as if he had seen a ghost?
“Kai, what’s going on here?”
“Oh, Ariel? You came out from training too?”
“Yeah. Did helmet guy do this?”
As Kainel pieced together the puzzle, Ariel approached, her red hair bouncing. She, too, was shocked by the wreckage surrounding them.
“Looks like it. There’s no one here besides Licht who could’ve done this.”
“Isn’t this at the level of a sword master…?”
“…Probably.”
“That’s impossible. He can’t even use magic…”
Kainel had seen firsthand how Licht blocked his Shine Strike, so it made sense, but Licht didn’t use mana.
The blond hero had a look of disbelief. Searching for the black helmet, they saw Licht already apologizing to Professor Dennis.
“Professor, I’m sorry. I didn’t know how quickly I was supposed to take down the slime.”
“It’s an impressive result. Not quite dragon-slaying, but close enough to the ‘extreme.’”
“…It was a mistake.”
“No harm done, so keep your chin up. My future assistant.”
Licht kept bowing repeatedly in front of Dennis, whose eyes gleamed with a faint white glow.
“I’m not going to grad school…”
“If you take the integrated bachelor’s and master’s program, you can graduate even faster, Licht.”
“I still refuse, Professor Dennis.”
In his plain clothes, he almost looked like an actor performing on stage.
‘People make mistakes sometimes. But it looks like he intentionally avoided hurting anyone.’
Kainel admired that about Licht. It was clear he wasn’t the type to recklessly rely on his power.
Something must have troubled him deeply, and it had come out through his swordsmanship.
***
“Did I… lose?”
While Kainel was lost in thought, wondering about all that had happened, the Glass Knight standing far away muttered to herself as she looked at the scoreboard.
Mardol had been confident that she had taken down the slime the fastest, so she had taken her time leaving the training grounds.
But by the time she stepped out, everything was a mess. And there it was, displayed in the air.
[1st place: …]
[2nd place: Mardol.]
The name of the person just above her.
‘Licht.’
Phine had experienced her second defeat ever.