Chapter 12
Of course, the purple-haired bitch was no match for me.
-Thud! Wham!
“Ghk! Aaaagh!”
My, my. No matter how ugly she is, she's still a count's daughter. She shouldn't be making such an ugly sound.
“Ha ha ha, s-surren…! Guh!”
“Wow. You can still laugh?”
I grabbed her by the hair and drove my knee into her so she couldn't finish what she was saying.
I couldn't let her surrender already.
Not only that, I was beating her just enough to keep her from passing out.
A one-sided spar she couldn't end by fainting or surrendering—in other words, an assault.
Well, that's what happens when you get on my bad side.
No matter how many safety measures the academy had in place, they couldn't stop a Swordmaster like me.
In other words, if I really set my mind to killing her, I could easily kill a purple-haired bitch like that.
Honestly, just not killing her makes me pretty kind, doesn't it?
“Right?”
“Y-yes! So please…”
-Wham!
“Kyaaaah!”
The purple-haired bitch screamed after I hit her in the side.
With her lackeys and all the other students watching, was she really okay with looking this pathetic?
“Guh…”
Maybe the blow to her side at the end had hurt, because the purple-haired bitch couldn't get back up.
The spar still wasn't over, even in this state. How fascinating.
“Want to find out how badly she has to be mangled before they stop the spar?”
“…!”
The purple-haired bitch trembled all over at my words.
…Maybe I should wrap this up.
“Aaaagh!”
I grabbed her by the hair and threw her out of the sparring ring.
Huh. I pulled out a huge clump of hair?
Oh dear. Looks like she's developed a bald spot at such a young age.
“Sparring match over! Winner: El!”
With Cain's declaration of victory behind me, I stepped down from the ring.
When I approached the purple-haired bitch, she trembled so badly it was almost amusing.
“T-The spar's over, isn't it?! So why…!”
“Who knows.”
She looked pitiful as the clerics helped her.
Her whole body was covered in bruises, and the bone in her right arm stuck out.
Both eyes were blackened, of course, and several missing teeth made her look hideous.
The crowning touch was a huge bald spot in the center of her head.
It looked as though that spot alone were shining, inspiring horror in everyone who saw it.
Her face alone looked like a character customized by a hardcore veteran player.
“…Pfft.”
Even when I gave her a quiet sneer, the purple-haired bitch could only tremble.
I guess I'd traumatized her.
…Was I a little too harsh?
I glanced around, and everyone was staring at me with expressions mixing shock and fear.
Well, I guess beating someone that badly would be a little scary.
“You really went to town on her! I'd believe you were a martial artist, not a swordswoman!”
Just then, Cain, who'd served as the referee, came over to me.
“Could you tell me why you didn't use your sword?”
“I didn't need to draw it.”
I could've just swung it once and finished things. Why bother?
Sure, letting your guard down is a bad habit, but there's a limit.
Worrying about a piece of trash like her would just be a waste of stamina.
“Oh? That's quite the confidence.”
“It's not confidence. It's just a fact.”
“Besides…”
Honestly, even if I let my guard down a little…
-Clang!
I could easily block an attack from a bitch like this.
“What?!”
“And I wouldn't get hit by an attack like that, either.”
When I stopped the knife aimed at me with my finger, Lackey No. 1 let out a startled cry.
Well, I hadn't even caught it between my fingers; I'd only touched the tip of the blade with my index finger, and yet the knife had stopped.
But it was easy if you knew how to handle even a little aura.
“I'll make an exception and take you down in one hit.”
“What does that even—Gweeeek?!”
I slammed Lackey No. 1 face-first into the floor, and the lackey let out an ugly sound as they were driven into it.
My, my. Their master-servant bond even extended to their ugly screams.
“Hmm. A perfect response.”
“Who knows. More importantly, why didn't you stop her?”
“I wanted to test your ability to respond to danger… but from what I saw, you weren't in the slightest bit of danger.”
“This much is nothing.”
It was easy.
“Still, wasn't that a bit much? She's a student, after all.”
“If you'd really been in danger, I would've stepped in. I simply didn't think I needed to this time.”
Cain said that, then looked down at Lackey No. 1.
“And you, Colan, was it? You'll be disciplined for a serious violation of academy rules. You could even have been expelled, but since your victim isn't injured, we'll end it with disciplinary action.”
As he spoke, Cain slung Lackey No. 1 over his shoulder.
-Ding~dong~dang~dong
And then, with uncanny timing, the class bell rang.
“That'll be all for today's class!”
After Cain announced the end of class and left, Ian came out of the private practice room.
He glanced around, then whispered to me.
“…What happened?”
“Eek?!”
The problem was that my ears seemed more sensitive than I'd thought.
When Ian's breath brushed my ear, I instinctively moved away from him.
“…”
“…”
Silence fell once again.
Ian was staring at me in surprise, while I stood frozen in my own shock.
No, what was I doing, reacting like that just because a little breath touched my ear? You pervert!
…
A little while later, Ian and I were eating.
Today's menu was salmon steak.
I liked it a lot even in my previous life, so I'd wanted to savor the salmon with a happy smile, but because of the incident at the training grounds earlier, I couldn't enjoy it with a smile.
It's delicious, though. Hmph.
“Ahem. So, El. What happened at the training grounds earlier?”
“Ah… It was nothing much.”
I gave him a rough explanation of what had happened, and Ian's initially angry expression gradually turned a little ambiguous.
How should I put it… He was angry, but didn't really know what to say? Something like that.
I guess he thought I'd gone a little too far.
“Th-That… You must've been angry.”
“Right?”
I could tell he was only reluctantly agreeing with me, but so what? The important thing was that he understood!
“I'm a little sensitive about that sort of thing.”
Well, at this point, I might as well accept that I'm a woman.
I'd been through my period several times, and feminine gestures sometimes slipped out unconsciously.
It's just… my pride won't let me admit it right now.
Before my first period came, I really used to remind myself ten times a day that I was a man, but if I started saying I'm a woman now!…
I'd be so embarrassed about my past. It'd feel like I was creating a cringe-worthy memory in real time.
And I still felt disgusted by the idea of doing that sort of thing with a man, so I wasn't admitting it.
I probably wouldn't mind if I never got married or anything, either.
“I guess. Saying that kind of thing to a woman is pretty awful. I think what you did was justified.”
-Honestly, I do think you went a little too far.
I heard a strange remark at the end, but brushed it off with a flourish and continued eating.
Mm! Delicious! More, please!
…
A dark, sealed room somewhere unknown.
There was a round table with thirteen seats.
But only twelve of them were occupied.
Beings cloaked in silver robes sat around the table.
“The time has come.”
“No, it is still too soon.”
“Since the Demon King fell, the world has been enjoying an unprecedented ‘false peace.’ Shouldn't we put a stop to this at once?”
“Even so, the timing is far too early! We are not yet prepared to bring about ‘true peace’!”
The twelve figures quarreled among themselves.
“Enough! We won't reach a conclusion by fighting like this.”
“‘Loyalty.’ Then what do you suggest?”
The man called Loyalty pondered for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
“As ‘Glory’ and ‘Peace’ said, the world is more steeped in ‘false peace’ than ever before. It is true that we must save them as soon as possible, before they are further corrupted.”
“Then!”
“However, as ‘Patience’ and ‘Humility’ said, it is also true that we are not prepared.”
Having said that much, Loyalty paused briefly before continuing.
“So we will gradually spread ‘true peace’ throughout the world.”
Loyalty pointed to a spot on the map.
“There is a place here called Gaia Academy. If we destroy it, we will be that much closer to ‘true peace.’ ‘Glory,’ you will destroy this academy. Can you do it?”
“Understood. I will.”
As the man called Glory slipped into the shadows, the others began to leave one by one.
“Phew.”
Left alone, Loyalty sighed and took out a book.
A book depicting twelve shadows stretching from a dark sun.
Reading the book known as the ‘Scripture,’ Loyalty murmured in a low voice.
“‘The God Without a Mask’ will bring us ‘true peace.’”