"HRAAH! Take this!"
"Right, right... I think I'll pass."
Rest sidestepped the incoming slash and swung his wooden sword on the counter. His thrust caught his opponent square in the gut.
"Guh...!"
As his opponent’s stance crumbled, Rest pressed the advantage. He struck the boy's arm, shoulder, and leg in quick succession, sending him sprawling to the dirt.
"Dammit! Argh, lost again! I yield!"
The one barking in frustration was Danila Betras, a first-year in the Knight Department and currently ranked second in his class.
They were in the middle of their Swordsmanship lesson. Rest had just faced Danila in another duel, and once again, he had emerged victorious.
"My win. That makes four, right?"
In truth, this was the fourth time he had fought Danila. The boy had challenged him every single time they had a Swordsmanship class, and so far, Rest was maintaining a perfect winning streak.
Early on in the course, a mock battle had been held for all participating students. Only the victors were permitted to learn actual sword techniques; the losers were relegated to running laps and strength training, forbidden from even performing practice swings with a wooden sword.
However, from the second lesson onward, a "relief measure" had been introduced. A student on the losing side could challenge a winner to a duel during class. If they won, they swapped places, and the challenger was allowed to join the actual lesson.
"Active competition is the best way to bring out a student's motivation!" Professor Beick Oddman, the instructor for the course, had claimed.
Oddman was a notorious mage-hater with a twisted personality. He delighted in using his position to harass students from the Magic Department. The relief measure had likely been established to save the Knight Department students who had unexpectedly struggled against the "other" departments and ended up on the losing side.
After all, Rest thought, the first and second-ranked students of the first-year Knight Department both went down at the same time.
"...You really are persistent, Danila. Why don't you try challenging someone else for a change?" Rest asked.
Ever since his initial defeat, Danila had challenged Rest at every possible opportunity. Even today, the moment he finished his required laps and strength training, he had come charging over while Rest was practicing his swings.
"With your skill, you could easily beat anyone else here. Why do you keep coming after me?"
"Hah! Isn't it obvious? Revenge. Pure revenge!" Danila stood up, clutching the spots where the wooden sword had struck him. Though his face was twisted with frustration, he glared back into Rest's eyes with unwavering intensity. "There’s no way I’m letting things end with me just getting beaten! I have no intention of getting back into the lesson by picking on anyone but you! Just you wait—I’m absolutely going to crush you and make you lick the dirt!"
Danila barked his declaration, his fighting spirit blazing. Given that he refused to target lower-ranked opponents he could easily defeat, Rest realized the boy wasn't as bad as his rough attitude suggested.
"You really hate losing... Well, I don't exactly dislike that about you."
For Rest, these duels were quite educational. While Danila's speech and personality were crude, his swordsmanship was remarkably clean and followed the fundamentals. Just by sparring with him, Rest had plenty to learn.
Oddman’s instruction is blatantly lazy when it comes to Magic Department students, anyway, Rest mused. Fighting Danila is a much better use of my time.
Victors of the mock battles earned the right to receive guidance from the instructor, but Oddman clearly had no intention of teaching anyone from the Magic Department. Even when asked a direct question, he gave sloppy, dismissive answers.
Even Professor Snae would teach more seriously than this, Rest thought. The man is discriminating so blatantly.*
While not all Knight Department instructors were like this, Oddman was exceptionally poor. In a school-themed manga, he was exactly the type of teacher who would eventually meet a miserable end and get his comeuppance.
That said, surprisingly few students complained about his lack of sincerity. Most of the Magic Department students taking Swordsmanship were only doing so for noble refinement. They weren't looking to master the blade; they just wanted the prestige of having "studied the sword." As long as they could claim they were learning it, they didn't care enough to defy the teacher.
Oddman knows that, too. He probably thinks that as long as he gives them the credits, it doesn't matter if they actually learn anything.
"Oh, right... Hey, are you heading to the Student Council Office today?" Danila asked suddenly, as if just remembering. "My brother said there's an important meeting today and that everyone needs to be there. You heard about it, right?"
"Yeah, I heard. I'll be there."
Since their last encounter, Rest had officially informed the Student Council President, Second Prince Andrew, that he would be joining the Executive Committee. Surprisingly, Danila was also a member. His older brother, Yusgos Betras, was one of the council officers and had apparently helped Danila get on the committee. Since Danila was officially the second-best student in the Knight Department, it wasn't purely a matter of nepotism; he was recognized as having the necessary skill.
Though, the top-ranked student isn't on the committee...
"Wait! I want you to face me one more time!"
"Stay away! Don't look at me! Don't touch me! Keep back, you woman!"
A short distance away on the practice grounds, the man who was supposed to be the ace of the first-year Knight Department was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Wilhelm Lyubase—the student who had taken the top spot in the Knight Department during the entrance exam—was being relentlessly pursued by Yuri.
"Our last fight was a fluke! Today, we're settling this properly!" Yuri shouted.
"Leave me alone! I'm never fighting a pervert like you again!"
Lyubase had defeated a winning-side student early on to reclaim his place in the lesson, but he had been hounded by Yuri ever since. Although Yuri had technically won their first encounter, she was unsatisfied with the result and was demanding a rematch. Lyubase, who harbored an intense phobia of women, was doing everything in his power to flee.
"...In a way, I suppose they get along quite well," Rest remarked.
"Tsk... That Lyubase, flirting with a girl like that," Danila spat, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "I'm going to knock him flat sooner or later, too."
"It doesn't really look like they're flirting to me..."
Rest shrugged at the irritated Danila and gave his wooden sword a light, practiced swing.