077

Three days after I asked Avril for monsters.

“It’s a pack of Kobolds. They were on the move. They are stragglers who have left their original habitat, are heavily wounded, and starving. The danger level is low, and they will be easy to deal with.”

He had brought good monsters.

“What’s the scale?”

“Forty-two. More than half of them are not yet adults, so the actual number of adults is about twenty.”

Kobolds are bipedal monsters that look like fat dogs, are about 80cm in size, and live in packs.

They wield crude pieces of iron or use tree stumps and iron plates as shields, but the danger level was not very high.

A single Kobold that has strayed from the pack can be handled by a 15-17 year old youth alone.

The truly scary ones were groups of over 200 with a leader like a Royal Kobold or a Kobold Shaman.

“Are there any other groups?”

“Goldline’s guards searched a radius of three days around the area. They were a group that had been moving for about two weeks. They were the remnants of a group that had been annihilated by the Belmein Knights.”

The conditions were optimal.

“They are currently approaching a half-day's distance from the academy. I put a hold on the final report before the guards killed them.”

The justification was also good.

No matter how weak and injured the Kobolds were, it would be a different story if they attacked a village.

Weak children could get hurt, and crops would surely be damaged.

“Good. Let’s leave immediately.”

This would be a safe field trip.

With that judgment, I immediately began to lead the people.

“The number of people is enough to make me feel sorry for the Kobolds.”

“Hmm… but an opportunity like this is rare.”

From Sordian, Pan, Bridget, and Eleveth, to Jessie, Qansia, Gwen, Freizier, and even Yuria.

“With just a third of these people, forty Kobolds would be easily crushed.”

“Let’s go safely.”

How desperate must I have been to bring even Yuria?

My gaze flickered to Yuria, who was walking silently at the very back of the group.

Yuria’s expression was even deader than usual.

The vitality that had been brought back to life by taking classes with her throughout the vacation seemed to have completely disappeared after Ganemia’s visit.

She rarely requested private lessons, and although she always attended class, it was hard to tell whether she was listening or not.

Unlike before, she went back to her dormitory immediately after class.

It felt as if the colors of her, which were slowly coming back to life, had all been burned away.

“To what extent can aura be utilized?”

Except for Yuria, all the other students looked excited.

And for good reason, as among the instructors, only Jessie could use aura, while Qantaii, Gwen, and Sordian could not.

However, among the students, everyone except Yuria could use aura.

It was understandable that they were excited to be able to swing their swords freely.

And.

“…”

“W-why are you looking at me like that.”

“…”

“I-I, did I do something wrong?”

“…”

“No, I think I did something wrong. I’m sorry…”

The instructors who hadn’t awakened their aura were all walking with stiff expressions, glancing at Jessie.

They would stroke their swords, look up at the sky and sigh, then glare at Jessie again.

As they silently shot gloomy glances at her, Jessie was completely intimidated and just watched their reactions.

“Why don’t you try emitting some aura instead?”

“T-teacher. Are you trying to kill me?”

“The losers who can’t use aura! You should show them something like that. Don’t be so intimidated.”

“Oh, so if you can use aura, you’re not a loser? Why don’t you try emitting some?”

“I would also like to see some aura! Can a swordsman who emits aura overcome the strategy of 100 soldiers?!”

“Hah! Aura, what’s the big deal!”

At first glance, it seemed like they were bullying Teacher Jessie, but I could feel the tension of those who had not awakened their aura.

So I asked.

“Have you thought about the reason why you swing your sword?”

At my question, the two teachers, Sordian and the others, fell silent.

They hadn’t found it.

“The more you think about it, the harder it will be.”

“It’s harder to think of something difficult as not difficult.”

Sordian said that and sighed.

Dark circles were under his eyes.

I heard that he had hardly slept properly since that night at the pub.

He would swing his sword in the training ground every night, practicing, but he still hadn’t awakened his aura.

“Why did you first start swinging a sword, teacher?”

At Sordian’s question, I recalled the first time I swung a sword.

The first time I swung a sword was to survive.

I was almost killed by three clumsy robbers while on my way to my commission.

And that’s when Captain Ferdius de Lionheart saved me.

“I could have just let it go. If I had gone for my commission and requested a knight to protect me, I might have lived a peaceful life.”

But I couldn’t let it go like that.

I couldn’t escape the fist that had knocked me down and the sword that was aimed at my throat, threatening to pierce me at any moment.

I had to learn the sword to escape that fear.

“That’s intense. Then do you still swing your sword to survive now, teacher?”

Ganemia and Berlis, both had warned me that the more I swung my sword, the faster I would die.

It was an awakening in that situation.

How should I put it, rather than to survive…

‘To leave something behind. No, to protect?’

It was difficult to give a clear reason.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t explain the reason now. In any case, it wasn’t the initial reason, was it.”

“Yes.”

“Me too. At first, I swung the sword to get stronger. And I had a decent amount of talent. But now, I just swing it because I make a living with it, I’ve forgotten why I’m swinging it.”

At Sordian’s words, I looked at Qantaii and Gwen.

Although they didn’t say anything, it seemed they were in a similar situation.

At some point, they had become buried in the daily routine of swinging a sword.

“Instructor Jessie?”

“Uh, I, I just… uh.”

I had heard Instructor Jessie’s life story.

She wasn't swinging her sword with such a grand goal.

As people’s gazes gathered, Instructor Jessie fidgeted and glanced at me.

“I-I just thought it was cool… I wanted to be like that person, just, uh, um.”

Me?

When I pointed at myself with my finger, Instructor Jessie turned red and averted her gaze.

“When our class was in danger, you led the Beholders yourself and…”

“No, that was.”

It seemed that a few misunderstandings had helped her awaken her aura.

At Instructor Jessie’s words, the surrounding instructors’ eyes glinted as they looked at me.

“...Teacher Cassian. I have decided to forget all my grudges against you and respect you.”

“Kobolds!”

Fortunately, before the instructors’ nonsense got any worse, I was able to spot a group of Kobolds in the distance.

At Pan’s voice, people started to draw their swords and get into position.

The group of Kobolds seemed to have spotted us too, as the healthy-looking adults were sniffing the air and glaring at us.

“We’ll spread out and go.”

We widened our encirclement to prevent the monsters from escaping to the village.

They were the ones who had been defeated by humans and had fled.

There was a possibility that we could lose them in an instant.

We kept a wide distance and slowly advanced.

— Keong! Keong keong!

A couple of the largest Kobolds barked like dogs.

They were trying to threaten us, but their actions themselves seemed as if they were scared.

“Let’s go.”

We rushed forward at once before the monsters could escape further.

“Let’s go!”

The one who broke into their center the fastest was Pan.

He was a kid who originally used a swordsmanship that broke the rhythm with his nimble body and fast feet.

After awakening his aura, Pan could move his body a little more swiftly.

Chwaak!

And so was his sword.

Every time he took a step, a part of a Kobold’s body was sent flying.

It was a swift sword, to the point that it was impossible to tell when, where, and how it had cut.

— Keong! Hung!

But the sword that was more terrifying to the Kobolds was Bridget’s, which followed immediately.

Bridget’s sword after awakening her aura was truly divine.

She had powerful strength, but it was difficult to find where and how that strength started and flew.

She emitted aura from her entire body, shaking the opponent’s senses, and unlike killing intent, it was very difficult to deal with as it conveyed a feeling as if one’s own hands and feet would be cut off.

Saaaah—!

And Eleveth moved through that empty space.

When the Kobolds moved their bodies to avoid the monstrous students, Eleveth’s sword moved into that space as if it had been waiting.

Her sword accurately pierced the Kobolds’ vitals.

She didn’t even use any strength.

It was as if the Kobolds were running up and offering their own lives.

‘The more I see it, the more eerie it is.’

If those three were the type to run wild, Jessie’s sword was more of a calm sword that organized the situation.

Every time the giant greatsword moved, the body of a Kobold that was trying to escape to the outside of the group was cut in two.

No matter how much she was bullied by the surrounding instructors, her skills were not bad.

Freizier swung her sword little by little by Jessie’s side.

Although she had awakened her aura, her basic swordsmanship was not fully refined, so that was the best she could do.

‘But the problem is those people…’

Sordian, Qantaii, and Gwen.

The three of them were having a staring contest with the Kobolds.

It was a staring contest, but in one corner of the serious battle scene, they had drawn their swords and were just staring intently at the Kobolds.

They were staring at the Kobolds with their eyes filled with power, as if they had met a life-and-death enemy, and their momentum was so fierce that the weak-willed Kobolds didn’t even budge in their direction.

Compared to Pan, Bridget, and Eleveth who were swinging their swords, the momentum of those three ‘alone’ was fierce.

As a result.

“Teacher!”

Some of the remaining Kobolds broke through the encirclement and ran towards me.

It was the one that looked like the leader of the group.

I quietly drew my sword.

Sreung—

A sharp metallic sound rang out as it scraped against the scabbard.

I held my sword and took in everything about the Kobold with my eyes.

The trajectory of its feet, its right hand holding a rusty blade, its anxiously trembling eyes, its torn-off ear, its white and seemingly blind left eye, its broken teeth, its worn-out clothes, its unstable gait.

It doesn’t have the leaping power to jump up.

It will sweep the ground, using its short height to run on all fours.

Its target is my legs.

In response, I bent both knees and laid my sword obliquely.

As soon as I got into my stance, the muscle from my right hamstring to my thigh tensed, and the pain began.

‘If I just endure it…’

I don’t cut, but I let it flow and get cut naturally.

It was when I was thinking that.

One, no, three figures suddenly appeared in front of me.

“You’re in danger! I’ll save you!”

“I will save you!”

“It’s dangerous, Teacher Cassian!”

It was a movement as if they had been waiting for me to be in danger.

The problem was that the three of them had jumped in at almost the same time.

“Huh?”

The three of them got tangled up and fell.

— Keong?

The Kobold with bad eyes couldn’t avoid the three people who had suddenly jumped in, and it rolled on the ground and hit my stomach.

“Kkek?”

I fell to the ground.

“...You have a lot of worries, but I wish you wouldn’t project your worries onto me like this.”

All four of them were scolded by Yuria.

It was a mess.

* * *

The group of Kobolds was easily taken care of.

However, the worries of the swordsmen who had not yet awakened their aura did not seem to be easily resolved.

As if they had lingering feelings, their steps were slow, and in the end, we couldn’t return home before evening and ended up camping.

We lit a bonfire and pitched our tents.

It was still too early to sleep.

We sat around under the densely packed stars.

“I think I’ll quit the sword…”

Sordian lamented with a serious expression.

“No, why quit the sword all of a sudden?”

Sordian had not yet been able to use the aura that even Instructor Jessie, Avril, Bridget, Pan, and even Eleveth or Freizier had awakened.

But apart from that, Sordian’s swordsmanship was the strongest and most delicate among them.

Although Pan had defeated Sordian in a previous sparring match, if they had fought seriously with real swords, Pan still couldn’t beat Sordian.

It was a difference in experience, skill, and physical ability, and the completeness of his swordsmanship.

However, it seemed Sordian wasn't just speaking emotionally.

“The guard captain said that incident would start in a year.”

“...That's right.”

Sordian chose his words, perhaps because there were many ears listening.

“When those monstrous creatures come out, we swordsmen need aura to fight. Then what use is a swordsman who hasn’t awakened aura?”

Sordian turned to the bonfire that had just started to burn.

“You might think it’s just aura… damn. Knowing the future, it just makes you feel powerless. It sucks.”

The orange light flickered across Sordian’s face.

He looked deeply troubled.

I took a fresh look at Sordian’s entire body.

From his shoulders to his forearms, arms, wrists, thighs, legs, and abs.

His entire body was like a well-honed sword.

He was a person who was always thorough in his self-management, and that was the result of practicing my basic swordsmanship more diligently than anyone else since joining the security team.

Since his basic understanding of swordsmanship was high, his absorption rate was much better than the students.

Is it right for such a person to be worried about the sword just because of the presence or absence of aura?

That's why.

“If you defeat Rozalin in swordsmanship, won’t you gain some courage?”

“What?”

I found myself making such a suggestion.