Academy’s Genius Swordsman

24. For my sister (3)

#24

Kratir pulled into the air. The space that formed the background was torn out like a curtain.

The empty landscape disappeared and a large square filled with people appeared. The crowd facing the freshman cheered for the sky to leave.

“Nice to meet you! Juniors!”

“Is anyone interested in sky alchemy…?”

“If it’s martial arts, please join the jousting club!”

They were all wearing school uniforms. 786 Phileons. They were seniors in the second year of the Phileon Academy, who entered Ronan a year earlier.

Ronan frowned at the bustling students.

“Are all those people our seniors?”

“A lot…”

Asher opened her mouth in admiration. I heard there was only one rider, but it seemed there were hundreds. Obviously, the number of wizards was small, so most of them were wearing martial arts school uniforms.

“I’ll explain in case anyone doesn’t know. The face-to-face ceremony is a place to greet and share common names with the seniors of the upper ranks, which you will see the most during your school life.”

Kratir continued to explain, stroking his beard. It was the so-called place of friendship between seniors and juniors.

After exchanging light greetings, it was said that events such as awarding of outstanding people and a banquet were prepared. At that moment, a loud voice resounded from the second year’s camp.

“Uh-huh! You said there was someone who overcame the Empire’s Morning Star on this rider? Let’s get one!”

The second graders split sideways, and a boy resembling a bear stepped forward. Currently ranked 2nd. It was Braum Biodan, the head of the martial arts department last time.

“Braum! Braum! Braum! Braum!”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Martial arts students chanted his name. Braum, who came out in front, posed with his biceps bent. The muscles reminiscent of tree trunks seemed to tear off the school uniform at any moment.

Kratir smiled as he touched his beard.

“Haha, Braum-kun is still there. Are you increasing the weight of your sword well?”

“yes!! Thanks to everyone!! Successfully increased the weight to 120kg!!”

“Good. Then, shall we prepare a stage for a light greeting?”

Kratir beckoned to the air again. This time it was like grabbing something and pressing it.

– Gugugugugu!

Suddenly, the plaza vibrated as if there had been an earthquake, and the floor began to sink around Kratir. The professors were also embroiled in erosion, but they remained in their seats without changing their expressions.

Before long, a huge circular space with a radius of about 200 m was created. The freshmen who watched the arena that appeared in an instant burst into admiration.

“Hey, what is this?”

“It’s awesome···!”

The second graders, on the other hand, were not so surprised. It was a sight I had already seen last year, but as I lived in Phileon, I was bound to see a lot more scenes.

“Uh-huh. Last year we did the same.”

“Don’t be too surprised, guys!”

Rather, to them, the new students with round eyes were a much more interesting spectacle. Kratir exclaimed.

“Then, I will proceed with greetings from the martial arts department. I will call the top 10, so please come down to the arena. First, the freshman martial arts department head! Schlieffen Sinivan de Grancia!”

“Wow!”

The crowd of freshmen split, and Schlieffen walked out. Cheers erupted from all the riders. Indeed, it was popular as the morning star of the empire. Ronan’s name was called in the next order.

“Next! Freshman martial arts department second seat! Ronan!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Hey bastard, be surprised.”

There was a burst of applause that was no different from before. Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Ronan bit his tongue. He murmured as if stunned, and climbed into the arena.

“···Nimi, is it a light greeting?”

I had no idea, but he was very popular with students, especially sophomores. There was no student who didn’t know the story of the boy who appeared like a comet and took first place in the actual performance.

“Hey, hey, look at his jawline. I’ll cut the apples too.”

“Wow… he’s handsome. You don’t even kneel next to Schlieffen?”

“Are you from common people? There is no last name.”

Kratir called the students of both martial arts departments in order of their grades. A total of 20 students stepped onto the stage.

Ronan looked around. He could hardly find Iril sitting in the front seat and waving his hands. Then a familiar voice came from the other side.

“hey! A long time!”

“Marya.”

“If I had my hair cut, I should have said I cut it. Even looking at it, I thought about it for a long time.”

Among the students who were called, Marya, who placed ninth, was also included. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her in a long time, and she had lively horsehair. Marya said, turning one wheel around in her place.

“How about a uniform? suited?”

“yes.”

Ronan nodded. Thanks to his superior body shape, his clothes were well preserved. Marya let out a cheerful laugh and tapped Ronan’s forearm.

“Your hair suits you so well! I’m going to go with that!”

“I hate it because it’s awkward.”

“What did you do while I couldn’t see you? Have you ever had a chance to decorate all of a sudden?”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya asked, narrowing her eyes. Ronan recalled what had happened over the past fortnight.

Virtually annihilating a branch of the poacher’s organization, the monster Sita awakened from the egg. Schlieffen fell in love with the older sister he brought along with him, and he heard information about the Grancia family’s secret smithy.

Ronan shook his head.

“Well. Nothing happened.”

“Huh? More suspicious…?”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya tilted her head as if in doubt. Ronan said.

“But what are you doing now? All of a sudden, they are called to come out and fight.”

“Well, it’s one of the regular face-to-face events. Don’t you know about ‘light greetings’?”

“It’s not light at all.”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya closed her eyes and shook her head. It had been a long time since I had gotten used to Ronan’s ignorance. She gestured and explained the ‘light greeting’.

“In a nutshell, this is a declaration ceremony.”

“Well, you can see that. It’s rare for a freshman to beat the sophomore year.”

A light greeting was the main event of the entrance ceremony. A place where freshmen and top performers compete and show off each other’s skills. Ronan nodded.

“Not bad. In the first place, you have to meet swords to become friends.”

“i think so too. By the way… did you just cut your hair when it was time to cut it?”

“Because it is.”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya drooled. She returned to her seat without dispelling her suspicions until the end.

Ronan shrugged. I don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with your hair.

1st and 2nd graders stood facing each other. Kratir said.

“Okay then, first-year students, please start the nominations! From Schlieffen-kun!”

Schlieffen stretched out his finger without saying a word and pointed to the young man in front of him. It was Nasudo, who currently holds the 1st place in the second year.

Nasudo nodded calmly as if he had expected it. It was Ronan’s turn to nominate. A bear standing in front of him grinned wildly.

“Uh-huh! You are the head of the rumor! Nice to meet you, Ronan!!”

2nd place in the 2nd year martial arts department. It was Braum Biodan. Ronan shrugged his eyebrows in interest. Braum’s back was filled with a large sword almost the size of a Ronan that had been deflected.

“It kills the knife.”

“Oh oh! Can you recognize the coolness of this guy at a glance? I also thought I could communicate with you!! Come on, name me!”

Ronan nodded. Braum screamed and raised his arms. Applause erupted from the audience again.

‘You seem to be expecting a lot from this friend, but it’s a pity.’

Seeing Braum’s excited face, Ronan smiled bitterly. Whoever it was, the match would be over in seconds. If you do, tuk. That was Braum’s future.

It was the car Ronan was about to turn around.

“I have a huge difference in physique like that… is it okay?”

“Well?”

The face of my sister, who was panicking in front of the audience, caught my eye. Come to think of it, he had never shown Iril wielding his sword.

‘Well. No need to worry.’

Illyl will return to Nimbutton again today. Due to the nature of her affectionate sister, she must have lived with worries. Ronan was contemplating something and raised his hand.

“Principal. I have one suggestion.”

“Well? Something, Ronan-kun?”

“Can I face all the second graders by myself?”

The tone was calm, but the content was not. A terrible silence fell on the plaza.

****

In conclusion, Ronan’s opinion was accepted.

Kratir had a brief discussion with the professors. The judges who were in charge of Ronan’s interview at the time, including him, said, ‘Well, as long as the parties are okay, wouldn’t it matter? I think it would be fun.’ concluded that

“I also wanted to know more about Ronan-kun’s skills.”

It was not surprisingly difficult to persuade 19 opponents, including classmates and seniors. They already knew that Ronan had beaten Schlieffen to take first place in the practical exam.

“Can I deal with everyone? Tell me if you don’t like it.”

“Oh, no…! It’s a new ceremony anyway. If you win, it’s refreshing and good for us.”

“Me too. But will you be okay…?”

The comrades wondered what kind of skill Ronan had shown him to achieve such a result.

“Does not matter. Do it yourself.”

Schlieffen also accepted Ronan’s argument. He considered the event itself a light greeting as a waste of time. However, the response of the second year was different from the motives who expressed favor on the whole.

“Hey younger brother. What were you thinking about doing this?”

“Kah ha ha! He was a crazy man, yeah!”

“Does it look like we’re happy because we’re called second-class seats? Crush it, Braum!”

Ronan’s remarks were full of action that trampled on the pride of his seniors. Together, they were burning with a passion to take care of their cheeky juniors.

Braum exclaimed, raising the bar.

“Ronan!! my passion! So deceived! I will not let it go!!”

Of course, that kind of pride wasn’t something Ronan knew. He intended to reassure Iril for sure. It was much better to show it once than to tell him not to worry for a hundred days.

“Then, let’s start with a ‘simple greeting’. To the power position!”

Kratir said. Ronan and ten sophomores faced each other 50m apart. All of the students wearing blue ties were glaring at Ronan with dreadful eyes.

“Ro… Ronan! Why would you do something like that…!”

Iril was looking at Ronan in contemplation. She was the first to recognize her brother’s talent, but it didn’t seem like this was really the case.

-pop!

At that time, a magic firecracker that signaled the start was triggered. Ten boys and girls rushed towards Ronan. Braum, who was honest, took the lead with a thump, followed by Nasudo, who was the first.

‘Ummm… don’t you have some fancy techniques?’

It was a gap that could be closed in just a few seconds, but it was enough time for Ronan to think about it. Suddenly, I remembered the swordsmanship that Nabirose showed during the interview for the practical test.

‘Yeah, that was pretty good.’

A swordsmanship that is cast while rotating the entire body with a sword. There were times when I was interested in that strange sword and followed it for a while. Ronan nodded.

“Okay, decided.”

“Take it!!!”

At that moment, Braum arrived in front of him and swung his great sword. A golden sword flew horizontally.

Whoops! The wind pressure that had come before us tilted Ronan’s forehead. Ronan, who rotated two wheels in place, struck the great sword as it was.

bang!

“Uh huh?!”

Braum grabbed the hilt. If I had had a little more power, I would have missed the sword. It was unbelievable strength that came from a small body. Seeing the familiar sword, Braum’s eyes widened.

“Yes, how can you use Instructor Nabirose-sama’s swordsmanship…!”

“Oh, you know?”

“Where did you learn that!”

Instead of answering, Ronan stepped on Braum’s greatsword and jumped. He swung his sword three vertical turns.

“Ugh!”

Braum hurriedly raised his sword horizontally and took a defensive stance. The 120kg bayonet reinforced with mana was nothing more than a large shield.

However, what Ronan was aiming for was not a head-to-head match. The trajectory of the Black Iron Sword was slightly distorted.

Scratch! The hilt of the great sword was cut off and a heavy sword fell to the floor.

-thud!

“Huh!”

The cut section was clean. Braum stared blankly at the severed sword. Ronan answered dryly.

“I just watched it once and copied it.”