Hearing that Rei would continue serving as a mock battle instructor at the Officer Academy, the one most pleased was, naturally, Maruka, who happened to be present at the time.
Since she had gone all the way to Gilm to recruit Rei, she likely felt a fair amount of responsibility as well.
With a single statement, Rei had blown away that anxiety, so it was only natural that Maruka was overjoyed.
Thus, in high spirits, Maruka naturally voiced her desire to see Rei in action as an instructor...
"Your decision to retreat is too slow! Don't hesitate between attack and defense. Burn the movements into your body so you can react instinctively!"
The mock battle spear Rei swung swept the legs of Insula, who had failed to respond as Rei closed the distance.
Insula had been the last one remaining of the five-person group, but with his legs swept out from under him, he tumbled toward the ground—only to catch himself with his hands at the last instant, somehow preventing a full fall.
Rei was impressed by Insula's recovery, but the reason he had held out became clear the next moment.
"As if I'd show a pathetic figure in front of Maruka-sama while she's watching!"
Shouting, he stood back up, took his mock battle longsword in hand, and faced Rei.
(Because Maruka is watching, he's pulling out hidden strength... is that really how it works?)
Wondering this, Rei squared off against Insula.
But then again, this Officer Academy was a gathering place for those who aspired to join Duke Quento's Knight Order or to become adventurers.
Given that, it was only natural that many students knew the face of Maruka, Duke Quento's beloved daughter.
Maruka in particular was widely known for her magical talent, making her an extremely famous figure.
That was precisely why Insula, not wanting to disgrace himself in front of Maruka while she watched, fought with everything he had to land at least one blow on Rei.
Insula was of noble birth and had personal acquaintance with Maruka, which made him feel that way all the more.
"Come. Let me get a proper look at just how skilled you are."
"That smug mouth of yours won't last past today!"
Words spoken down at him from the younger Rei.
Determined to land at least one blow in return, Insula kicked off the floor and closed the distance.
The first strike he unleashed toward Rei was a horizontal slash aimed at the torso—the hardest to evade.
Normally, stepping back to dodge would be the standard approach.
But Rei easily deflected Insula's strike with a one-handed swing of his spear.
Even so, Insula showed no sign of panic. Rather, he used the momentum of his deflected longsword as-is, spinning wide to bring the blade crashing down on Rei.
"Too naive."
With that single word, the longsword was deflected by the spear once again.
But Insula shouted back defiantly.
"You're the one who's naive!"
Insula had never intended to settle the match with that last strike to begin with.
The counterattack he had launched off the recoil of Rei's spear swing carried almost no power—it was easily deflected and returned to his hands. What Insula unleashed next was a thrust.
That strike, aimed straight at Rei, had exploited an opening... or so Insula must have thought.
In truth, it was sharp enough that a Low-Rank Adventurer might well have taken the hit.
However... the one Insula was facing was Rei, an opponent who could by no means be called a Low-Rank Adventurer.
In response to the longsword thrust aimed at his own torso, Rei unleashed a spear thrust of his own.
Even though he had clearly started moving only after seeing Insula commit to his thrust, the tip of the longsword and the spearhead collided right in front of Insula.
A thrust is fast and powerful.
But if it is stopped before reaching its maximum speed, that high power cannot be brought to bear.
Furthermore, Rei and Insula had fundamentally different physical abilities to begin with.
As a result...
"Uwaaaah!"
The collision between the two thrusts sent Insula flying.
Even so, thanks to Rei holding back his power for a mock battle, Insula was only blown back a few meters.
Additionally, the fact that it took place indoors in a gymnasium rather than outside was probably fortunate for Insula.
...Though for Insula, who had been sent flying in front of Maruka, it was by no means something he could call fortunate.
"Guh... hah, hah, hah... damn it!"
That frustrated shout bore no trace of the condescending attitude he had displayed when he first laid eyes on Rei.
Less than ten days had passed since Rei began conducting mock battle classes, but even so, Insula could grasp the overwhelming gap in strength between Rei and himself.
No—if he couldn't grasp that, he wouldn't be in the Fourth-year S-Class to begin with.
Even nobles were placed in lower classes if their abilities fell short. That was the rule of this Officer Academy.
It was only possible because Ronald, who held the position of Duke Quento, had personally pushed for it.
"Hmm, splendid! To fight that well against Rei—his future is promising indeed. Koan, do you not think so as well?"
Maruka, who had been watching the match unfold, nodded in satisfaction and called out to the guard standing beside her.
The guard she addressed—Koan—softened his expression at her words, nodded, and spoke.
"Indeed. It would be fair to say he possesses upper-tier strength within this class. However, he seems to have some difficulty putting his weight into his thrusts. If he can master that, the power of his thrusts would improve by one... no, two levels, I should think."
At Koan's assessment, Maruka nodded in understanding.
Maruka had considerable insight when it came to magic, but she was not particularly knowledgeable about those who fought in the vanguard, such as warriors and knights.
When she grew older, she might end up on the battlefield like Elena, who bore the alias Princess General, but fortunately, at her current age, no one would order such a thing.
...If anyone did, Ronald would have crushed the idea with all his power for the sake of his beloved daughter.
Instead, she had studied magic in depth, and presumably because this was known through rumors or the like, there was Samarun—peeking in through the gymnasium door, eager to talk about magic with Maruka even just a little.
Samarun had always had an extremely strong curiosity about magic. Knowing that Maruka, a prodigy of magic, was within the Officer Academy, it would not have been strange for him to take such action.
However, Samarun was completely unaware that the half-bloodshot eyes he directed toward Maruka were provoking Koan, her guard.
(Samarun... I just hope Koan doesn't strike him down as a suspicious person.)
Given his position as a guard, Koan might very well lay hands on Samarun if he made any suspicious moves.
In fact, Samarun's behavior of peeking through the gymnasium entrance was something he could not deny if accused of being a suspicious person.
Since Samarun had also taken care of Rei in this land, Rei decided he would step in and stop him immediately if anything happened. Then he opened his mouth.
"Next five, come!"
At his shout, five new students stood up eagerly.
They had watched with their own eyes as Insula, one of the most skilled in the class, was defeated, but rather than fear, a fighting spirit to challenge Rei burned even stronger within them.
They had lost to Rei countless times in previous classes.
Their attitudes seemed to say that one or two more losses at this point wouldn't change anything.
But that fighting spirit was in truth absolutely necessary for going forward as knights or adventurers.
On the battlefield, facing an enemy stronger than oneself was a common occurrence.
Especially for the students of this Officer Academy, by the time they graduated, there would be many opponents stronger than them.
That held true even for the S-Class, the highest year and renowned as the academy's elite.
That was precisely why being able to spar against Rei—an opponent they would normally be absolutely no match for—was nothing short of a privilege for the S-Class students.
(What will become of these guys... I feel a mix of slight unease and anticipation, I suppose.)
Mock battle spear in hand, Rei waited to receive the five students charging toward him.
"Hmm. I do not understand much about those who fight in the vanguard. Even so, I believe I am somewhat knowledgeable about mages... but even from my eyes, that was honestly lacking."
The Fourth-year S-Class lesson had ended, and the Third-year S-Class lesson was not until the afternoon, so Rei was currently eating a slightly early lunch together with Maruka and Koan in the cafeteria.
Originally, they had wanted to eat in the school building's cafeteria, but with the famous Maruka present, standing out was unavoidable.
Given that Maruka was famous in various senses, they had come to the staff dormitory cafeteria for the time being as a place with fewer prying eyes...
(Well, compared to the student cafeteria...)
He scanned his gaze across the cafeteria.
Present were those who, like Rei, were thinking of eating a little early, as well as instructors and staff whose classes started in the afternoon and who were grabbing a somewhat late breakfast.
Naturally, such people also understood what kind of person Maruka was, and she attracted attention.
However, unlike students, they were discerning adults. The fact that they didn't direct gazes as blatant as the students' was a relief for Rei.
"Being able to use magic freely in combat is difficult, after all. If you could chant while moving, that'd solve a lot of that at once."
"...Rei, one who can perform such a feat is not so common."
"I can, though?"
"As if there are many like you!"
Maruka reflexively shouted at Rei's words, and Koan, seated beside her, nodded as if to say the same.
If every student at the Officer Academy possessed the same proficiency as Rei... thinking of it that way, the combat power of this academy alone would be enough to destroy a country.
"Magic, you say? I would very much like you to let me hear that discussion as well."
Cutting into the conversation between Rei and Maruka was Samarun, who had been watching for any opportunity to speak with her.
...Though both Rei and Koan had sensed his approach.
Even so, the reason Koan did not treat him as a suspicious person was likely because Rei had informed him about Samarun beforehand after the mock battles ended.
Samarun was someone who had taken care of Rei in this land. Rei had no desire to see such a person dealt with by Koan as a suspicious individual.
"Hmm, so you are Samarun. I have heard about you from Rei. From Isukerudo as well. I hear you are well-versed in magic."
When Maruka looked at Samarun and told him this, being described as knowledgeable about magic by her must have pleased him. Samarun smiled happily and spoke.
"It's unsettling hearing that from that muscle-brain, but I'm honored you know my name. Now, regarding magic... I hear that Maruka-sama can use three attributes: Wind, Earth, and Light."
"Umu. That is correct."
"How about the superiority among them? For instance, is Earth easier to use than Wind, or something of that sort?"
"...Let me think. I myself do not have such a feeling. I can use magic of any attribute, with no particular strengths or weaknesses."
"Oh!? According to the information I have gathered so far, the vast majority of those who possess multiple attributes have a dominant attribute. For example, Rei-san over there is the same. He can use the Wind attribute in addition to Fire, but as one would expect from the name Rei-san, it's Flame Magic—there is clearly a defined dominant attribute."
Samarun's gaze turned toward Rei, who was sipping after-meal tea.
Rei, subjected to that gaze, momentarily considered saying something back but ultimately kept his silence.
That was because he understood where the widely circulating rumor that he possessed the Wind attribute came from.
If it were only Flying Slash, used as a means of restraining enemies and for long-range attacks... it would not be difficult to insist it was a skill rather than magic.
But the Flame Tornado—now synonymous with Rei, enough to be called a disaster capable of burning an entire army to ashes.
The ordinary wind tornado necessary to create this could not be explained by skills alone.
If he claimed it was a skill of Set, who was designated as a Rare Species, people might believe it, but if that happened, even more attention would be drawn to Set than there already was.
...If it were only a matter of increased attention, Rei would not have any particular issue with it. No, rather, Set would probably be pleased that more people were paying attention to it and that it had more playmates.
But if, for that reason, people started thinking about obtaining Set, it would definitely become troublesome.
(If a whole bunch of people like that Azoth Firm incident showed up, it'd just be a pain. If anyone comes after Set, I have absolutely no intention of holding back.)
Listening with half an ear to the exchange between Maruka and Samarun discussing magical theory, a faint killing intent leaked from Rei's body.
Sensing it, Koan turned his gaze toward Rei, but upon judging that Rei harbored no ill will toward Maruka, he returned to guarding her.