When I think about it, it’s not hard to understand.

The Republic is still scheming, both domestically and abroad, looking for reasons to restart the war. No matter how much Kilpus desires peace, if the Nesep administration’s provocations go too far, even the people of the kingdom will eventually shift their stance—toward the defeat of the Egil Republic.

To me, that future doesn’t seem far off.

Obviously, those who graduate from the knight academy and choose the path of full-fledged knights will be heading to a war far more dangerous than any dungeon curriculum.

Having lived as Blythe, I know that people grow stronger each time they cross the threshold of death. Lili, who spent her youth running through battlefields, must have felt this firsthand.

And by coincidence, Class One is filled with exceptionally talented students. Rather than letting them taste the brink of death for the first time on the battlefield of the future, it would be better for them to experience it while they are still students—while I, Void, Oujin, and Riona are here. That must have been Lili’s reasoning.

The trigger for this thought process was probably our report.

Riona confirmed that the homunculi originated from the Egil Republic. The grotesque dragon, judging from its forearms, was clearly an artificial chimera, a fusion beast created by human hands.

Given the state of the ogres' living quarters, it seemed the dragon had emerged only recently. Considering all this, it was hard not to suspect some kind of conspiracy.

At the very least, I can only pray that war does not break out before we graduate.

That aside, even as students, we must already prepare to face such threats. If we always rely on someone to protect us whenever danger arises, there will be no end to it. As it stands, Class One has been thrown into crisis far too frequently.

We must change as soon as possible—not as students, but as knights, as warriors, as the strong.

In short, Lili wanted to raise the overall capabilities of all of us.

For me, this was a perfect opportunity.

At long last, I could properly cross swords with Lili. If I could study her movements and absorb her habits, I would take another step closer to becoming a Sword Saint.

Surpassing Blythe as the true Sword Saint.

At least, that’s what I was thinking—until just moments ago.

“Haaah!”

Ilga brought his wooden sword down from a seigan stance. I stepped back to dodge and hooked his foot just as he lunged for a follow-up strike.

“Whoa!?”

Ilga tumbled forward, landing headfirst. Just as he pushed himself up onto his knees, I placed my wooden sword against his neck.

“Ugh…”

“Knight swordsmanship is awfully well-mannered, isn’t it? Move with more unpredictability. Look for openings. Exploit weaknesses. In a real fight, you would’ve died three times over already.”

“Grr…!”

This was the training grounds of Lehan Knight Academy.

After school, about half of Class One stayed here to hone their swordsmanship. This was our club activity. As for the other half, I had no idea where they were or what they were doing. Most likely, Riona was teaching them espionage, sabotage, assassination techniques, and how to sense presences.

Fix and Bernald were holed up in the library. If Fix’s magical technology and Bernald’s knowledge of nature were combined, they might forge a new power for this era—or so I suggested to Lili.

By the way, Void calls himself a member of the “Go-Home Club.” We live in a boarding school, though. Where the hell are you going?

“Come on, get up. One more time.”

I pulled my wooden sword away from Ilga’s neck and tapped the center of his neatly parted hair.

“This is humiliating…!”

“Then get stronger and surpass me already. Come on, hurry up!”

Kotsun, kotsun.

Ilga’s face turned bright red as he let out a beast-like growl and swung his wooden blade at my legs. Of course, I lightly hopped to evade it.

“Hahaha! That’s it! Now you’re getting into it!”

“Gaaahhhh!!”

Whoosh—his wooden sword sliced through empty air. Again and again.

I dodged each swing and tapped the center of his neatly parted hair.

“Stop mocking meee!”

“Fahaha, good! Come at me like you mean to kill me, Ilga!”

I didn’t block or deflect with my wooden sword.

There was no need to cross blades at all. And considering Ilga was one of the better students, raising the overall skill level of my classmates was proving to be quite the challenge.

“Oh? That was close. Come on, keep coming.”

I dodged everything—with the bare minimum of movement.

Kotsun.

And then, I tapped the top of his head. Right down the middle, as if splitting his left and right brains apart.

“Fnggrraaaahhh!”

Maybe it got under his skin, because he charged at me with a terrifying expression.

Well, not that he’d hit me. I thought Ilga had a fairly decent-looking face, but it was starting to get pretty comical now.

Seneca was pointing at him and laughing. Good. You’re next, and your face is going to crumble, too.

Beside me, Oujin was handling two classmates with ease. He lightly traced his wooden sword along one’s side as he slipped past, then ducked beneath a horizontal slash from the other, brushing his blade against their leg as he passed.

The moment his leg was touched, the student froze, eyes widening. Then, with an excited look, he asked Oujin:

“H-how did you do that? It looked like you disappeared for a second!”

“You have to exploit gaps in awareness. Move in a way that makes your opponent expect one action, then suddenly do the opposite. That way, you slip outside their perception.”

“That’s way too advanced for me to understand… But damn, you’re amazing, exchange student!”

“Ah, no, actually, it’s not that hard—”

As I glanced in their direction, my vision was suddenly blocked by Ilga, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

His face… is terrifying.

His wooden sword was already drawn back, nearly behind his back.

“I don’t care if you’re just a kid—mock me any further, and I won’t hold back!!”

With a sigh, I easily dodged Ilga’s wide horizontal swing, extended my arm, and dropped my wooden sword onto the middle of his parted hair.

Kotsun.

“Gugiiiih! Stop hitting the same spot over and over!!”

Well, you’re full of openings, so it just happens.

“Then learn from this, you fool. When your enemy shows an opening, strike without hesitation. Don’t stand there shouting like an idiot. Blocking my vision and then attacking? That’s the kind of move only an idiot would pull.”

“I could never resort to such cowardly tactics! I’m going to be a full-fledged knight! I want to win with honor and dignity!”

Idiot.

“With your skills, you’re just going to die.”

Ilga puffed out his chest proudly and placed a hand over his heart.

“Hmph! Then I, Ilga Freiges, will just have to become strong enough not to die!”

“That’s the spirit! Now get over here, you slowpoke!”

Ilga, huffing and puffing, swung at me again and again. I wondered which would happen first—his neatly parted hair going bald or him actually getting stronger.

But—

Something felt… off. Really off.

“Drop dead, Eremia!”

“What the hell was that pathetic swing? Even a fly could land on it.”

Kotsun.

Lili, who had volunteered to be our instructor, refused to spar with me. Talk about a letdown.

“You little shitttt!”

And while Oujin was getting showered with gratitude and admiration from the students he taught, all I was getting were insults and looks of pure hatred.

Why…?