13. The others’ stories (3)

#6 Their story: A certain new student’s story.

“This, this place is....”

I looked up at the giant academy with sparkling eyes.

This was it. This was the famous, greatest school in the empire.

“Yugrasia!”

Until recently, my dream had been to enroll into Marcis.

Purely for that purpose I tried my hardest, and last spring, my household tutor finally said that I should be able to make it in.

But as I watched the imperial festival that happened in autumn, my dreams changed completely.

Each and every one of Yugrasia’s matches were magnificent.

Those whose names were unknown defeated the other academies’ rising stars, or even their strongest one by one, and their student council president, whose names were well known, dominated all their events single-handedly.

And in the end, they even fought against each other as if their opponents weren’t even worth fighting against!

The people who were jealous of Yugrasia gave them the insulting name Team Kill Academy, but in my eyes, that school was the coolest out of all of them.

So I worked even harder and harder and sent in my application to Yugrasia, and I was accepted!

So I happily sat through the entrance ceremony and followed the seniors scouting new students as new club members, and..

“You want to die?”

“Hiiik!”

I was being threatened.

“Ple, please don’t....”

It took but a moment for the male senior student’s saintly face to turn into a demon’s.

All the other first years had run away a long time ago.

I also wanted to run away, but I was surrounded on all sides by older students with menacing faces, so I couldn’t escape.

“You.. do you not want to survive in Yugrasia?”

“N, no.... You don’t know how much I wanted to come to Yugrasia!”

“Then.. then you dare!”

“Uwuuuuuuu....”

I felt my eyes water up.

Just what had I done wrong?

All I did was.. answering them when they asked what my name was!

“Hold it!”

It was then.

That a ray of light cut through the dark room.

“This is the student council president Aris. I heard a report from a student that there was a new student being bullied....”

It’s Lady Aris.

The empire’s youngest swordsmaster, and the daughter of the Letia house, of the Ten Great Families!

As she ran in with her crimson hair whipping around in the air, I felt the tears spill over and run freely.

Every girl’s probably imagined being rescued by a prince on a white horse at least once in their lives.

And right this moment! Rescue at the hands of a prince, no princess on a white horse, was..

Not coming for me.

“She says her name’s Arcadia, Pres.”

“What?”

“Her name’s Arcadia.”

Slam!

“Hiiiik!”

Much like the gentle senior how had first asked my for my name, at his words, Lady Aris’s face crumpled up like a demon’s.

And at the same time, a spear embued in the signature move of a swordsmaster, spear aura, smashed into the wall beside me.

What had I ever done wrong for all of you to be like this to me!

“Change it.”

“Eh, eh?”

As I shivered in fear and took in the sight of the spear embedded in the wall, unable to even wipe my tears away.

Lady Aris said in an extremely chilling voice.

“Your name, change it.”

“M, my name?”

At my words, everyone around me nodded.

No wait, what was the problem with my name!

“Change it. If you want to stay in this academy, you’ll have to change that cursed name.”

“C, cursed?”

“That name is.. kghhh....”

For a moment, Lady Aris’s face twisted as she stepped backwards, and another senior supported her up.

Even I could recognise the fear on Lady Aris’s face.

‘Just what..’

Just what kind of cursed name was it that a swordsmaster was this scared?

And why did it have to be my name!

“But, but I can’t change the name my parents gave me!”

I was scared but I bravely said what I had to.

Although of course I turned my head away at the looks I got back in return, but even so, I couldn’t give up my name.

“Alright.. that’s fair enough....”

“But to all the second years and above, your name inspires a fear that is greater than anything else.”

“Indeed. If you can’t change your name.. use a fake one.”

“Huh?”

“A fake name. Or another childhood nickname or pet name is fine. Just never use the name Ar.. kghghh.. cardia.. or Aru.. Ever.”

Making a face as if she’d been cursed by some malicious black mage, Lady Aris banned me from using my own name.

“I.. I really.. can’t, can I.”

As my seniors radiated enough bloodthirst to scare all the blood away from my face, on the very first day of school, I lost my name.

#7 Their story: A certain student council president’s story.

“Alright, think positive, positive.”

As the bell went off for the end of the final lesson of the day, I brought myself out of the dream that was last year’s second semester.

After the imperial festival ended.. the happy times where Professor Nicerwin, the silver devil, and the night study were all absent.

But starting from today.

One of Yugrasia’s three almighty evils reared its head once again.

“That’s right. We need to train up the new first years as well.”

After the end of last year’s imperial festival, many idiots called ‘talented people’ applied and enrolled into Yugrasia.

Foolish children who did not know that there was a price to pay as great as the power we wielded.

But they were lucky.

They were experiencing a halved night study without the apostle of the Evil God, Professor Nicerwin and his faithful familiar, the silver devil. No, the night study they got wouldn’t even be half, but half of half of what we had.

“I suppose they have to at least experience the night study in order to get stronger.”

No matter how talented other people praised them, to the existing Yugrasia students, they were all but unpolished children.

The remnants of Professor Nicerwin’s teachings remained, so only 100 students were accepted this year as well.

Because of that, the first and second years combined only made for a total of 200 students.

There were over a hundred fewer students compared to the Yugrasia of last year.

“At least we have Ria in our first years, if that’s any consolation....”

The Nermia family’s Ria, the only genuine opposition from Marcis we faced last year, enrolled into our academy this year.

High society was in an uproar over the news that she had dropped out, and of course plunged the Magic Tower and the Empire’s mages, who both had their eyes on her, into chaos in turn. When she then enrolled into Yugrasia as a first year, she shocked them yet again.

“With this much firepower, we’ll have enough to fill in the gaps left by the departure of last year’s President and vice-presidents.”

It was doable.

The first years would go up against Professors Maroon and Aruhan in order to get some experience, and the older students would face off against Professors Muam and Harian.

If everything went to plan, as long as the silver devil wasn’t here, then we could defeat the regular teachers with no problems and handily finish the night study!

“And so, today’s student council meeting is to discuss the combat formations for tonight’s night study!”

Bang!

I slapped the desk and stood up, faced the new student council that had been formed around myself and the vice-presidents as the core and shouted.

“For our victory!”

Each and every one of the people gathered here were veteran warriors of the hell that was last year’s night study.

As they began to outline and explain their ideas and tactics for escape, I listened to them all and compiled an overarching plan.

And the plan that came from those discussions were spread throughout the entire school to unify everyone into a single army.

And when war broke out.

“Hah?”

I faced off against the teacher in my way and tilted my head in puzzlement.

“You are one of the new teachers.. right?”

“Indeed, Miss Aris.”

As the teacher swung his sword at me with a wide smile on his face, I, too struck back with my sword aura-covered spear.

My spear covered in sword aura which could even cut through sword ki danced through the air and struck at the teacher, but nothing happened to his sword.

Because.

“Why, how? How is the new teacher a swordsmaster?!”

The teacher’s sword was also covered in sword aura!

“It is Her Imperial Highness’s command.”

“Well, I know about that as well but....!”

I definitely heard the news that twelve teachers were coming to Yugrasia to replace Professor Nicerwin.

But why the heck was a swordsmaster among them!

“But.. a single swordsmaster can be defeated as long as I have reinforcements! All I have to do here is to buy time....”

Bam!

“Whew, these kids are stronger than I thought?”

Right now, behind me there were 99 second years, including god-class summoners, dealing with the teachers. So I trusted them to.

But the voice I heard behind me was not one I was familiar with.

It carried the airs of far too many years to be a student’s voice.

“You’re late.”

“Ahah, there were nearly a hundred powerful summoners with four god-class summoners among them too, you know?”

“He’s right, if we’re having it this hard, the upper floors might have a pretty hard time?”

And not just one of them.

There were three voices conversing with the swordsmaster in front of me.

-..Something’s wrong, Aris.

Just like the goddess said, I, too, could feel something in the air.

Something was wrong.

Something was horribly wrong.

“It can’t.. be?”

The teacher noticed my horror, shrugged his shoulders and gestured that it was alright for me to turn around.

“Ah....”

And I saw.

That the three teachers behind my back all had their swords unsheathed.

And that all three of their blades glowed identically to my spear, that of sword aura, the hallmark of a swordsmaster.

“Ha, haha.. hahaha....”

As I beheld the sight before me I couldn’t help but laugh pathetically.

In return for taking away Professor Nicerwin and the silver devil, she sent over at least four swordsmasters.

Despite never having seen Professor Nicerwin or the silver devil, she knew their worth far too well!

“I have no choice.”

I twirled my spear and focused on the teacher in front of me.

“Here I go.”

“The skills of the youngest ever swordsmaster that I’d only heard the rumours of, I wanted to see them for myself.”

At my serious words, the teacher too, gripped his sword with a steadfast look in his eye.

“Yugrasia-style, ultimate move.”

“Come!”

As I saw my opponent’s spear blaze brightly blue, I used he ultimate I’d honed and perfected since coming to Yugrasia.

“Run away.”

“Huh?”

At the same time I threw my weapon at him, I lowered my body and ran away as fast as I could.

When he hesitated at my unexpected movements, I took that opening and ran straight through his guard and ran down the stairs airs as fast as I can!

“And, and you call yourself a knight!”

-Do you take me for a madman to take on four swordmasters at once!

-A wise choice, Aris!

I ignored the shouts from behind me and ran down one floor and another as I ran downwards.

“Ria!”

And when I finally met my trustworthy ally I called out her name and approached her.

“Huh?”

“Ah, ahhhh....”

Her face resembled that of someone who had lost the world and everything in it, and she was crying as she faced directly forward.

“Hm? There’s another?”

My eyes turned naturally towards the source of the voice.

The owner of that voice was a very handsome man, one who you could arguably call beautiful. He was one of the new teachers, holding a wooden stick in his hand.

“Professor Rein?”

His bright smile and gentle manner in the way he approached his students had captured many a heart of the female students already.

But as if all that had been a lie, he was now wearing an oddly familiar evil smirk.

“Weren’t you in charge of teaching elective courses, Professor Rein?”

“Yes, I am.”

His smile just now looked similar to normal, but it felt different.

And as if to prove it, the majority of the first years surrounding him were lying like corpses.. and in a way I felt I’d seen many times before.

“P, President.. that, that’s....”

In Ria’s hands was Laevateinn, which could even hold up against sword aura, but I couldn’t find any will to fight in her eyes.

And at her following words.

“He is.. Naru.. I mean, Professor Nicerwin’s direct disciple.... and he even holds the wooden bat, the original version of the metal bat, what you call the silver devil, President!”

I too, could feel the will to fight drain out of me.

“W, wooden bat?”

What is that horrifying name that scared me even though it was my first time hearing it?!

“I heard that it is weaker compared to what you were hit by, Pres.. but as someone with firsthand experience of getting hit by that. If you get hit by that.. you’d rather die.

As Ria looked at the weapon in Professor Rein’s hands with pure terror, I too could feel myself swallow dryly and a cold sweat run down my back.

“Damn it, what kind of stairs are these even!”

And behind me were the sounds of explosions and voices, undoubtedly from the swordsmaster teachers I’d left behind.

“Excuse me, Professor Rein?”

“Yes, Student Council President.”

“If I may ask you something. By any chance, are all the teachers that came to Yugrasia after Professor Nicerwin left....”

All monsters?

But before I could even finish asking my question.

“Yes, all of them except for myself are swordsmasters, Miss Aris. One needs that much ability to replicate the instructor, I mean Professor Nicerwin’s education style, after all.”

With a gentle smile, Professor Rein handed down our death sentences.

“So you’ll have to defeat me as fast as possible, won’t you?”

The appearance of Professor Rein lifting up the wooden stick with a charming wink made something boil up from deep inside me.

And so our new night study.

“Why.. why.. can’t I be hapyyyyyyyyyyaaahhh!”

Together with my screams and eleven swordsmasters,

“Hwaahhhh! It, it hurts! D, don’t come any closer! N, noooo!”

Returned to us once again with the brown nightmare, the wooden bat.