The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

Creeeaaak—The bowstring, pulled beyond its tensile limit, began to vibrate madly.

Trembling as if it were about to snap, the bow miraculously held until the arrow was released.

Originally crafted for Aura Users, the bow possessed a stronger draw weight than those used by ordinary soldiers, and by infusing it with Aura, it was possible to exert force beyond its original capacity.

The arrow, thus launched, didn’t resemble a projectile fired by a single individual, but rather a massive bolt unleashed from a ballista, obliterating everything in its path.

“……Kyle Meyer, 100 points.”

“Thank you.”

Kyle offered a brief acknowledgment, lowered the bow, and returned to his seat.

The body of an Aura Master granted him decent skills even without proper archery training.

While he couldn’t quite hit a coin from hundreds of meters away, he could accurately hit a human-sized target without issue. That was enough.

Kyle was a Sword Saint, not a Bow Saint.

As he returned to his seat, Arthur stared at him in astonishment.

“Amazing, Kyle. When did you learn archery?”

“When I was young? I learned it once because they said a knight should be good at everything. I quit because it wasn’t for me.”

“That just now wasn’t for you?”

“Shooting from afar, bit by bit… it’s unmanly.”

“Unmanly…? What’s that?”

Looking at Arthur tilting her head, Kyle explained that such a thing existed and glossed over it.

As the two chatted, other students began to stealthily approach them.

“Um… Kyle?”

“Yeah, what?”

“Could you… teach me how to shoot a bow?”

The one who spoke was a female student with a large chest.

Her face was ordinary, but her figure wasn’t.

Her overly large breasts hindered her archery, so her skills weren’t particularly good.

Kyle nodded as he looked at her and rose from his seat.

“What don’t you understand?”

“Well… Actually, I don’t even know how to hold it.”

“Okay, the way to hold a bow is—”

Arthur let out a wry smile as she watched Kyle begin to teach the student with a proactive physical touch.

It looked like he was acting with ulterior motives, but he didn’t touch the student beyond what was necessary for instruction.

From Arthur’s perspective, Kyle was simply kind to women with large chests.

When she asked later, Kyle gave a somewhat crazy reason: he had to protect them because if there were more women with large chests, the world would eventually be filled with them.

‘Even though he flirts like that, he never actually goes all the way…’

Arthur knew that even though Kyle seemed obsessed with breasts, he never actually touched them.

After all, even though his large-chested fiancée was right next to him and would let him touch them anytime, he didn’t, did he?

He genuinely liked breasts in a pure sense. Yes, purely as if he had no other desires.

“Arthur, what are you doing?”

“Hmm?”

“You haven’t learned archery either, have you? I’ll teach you, so come here.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

That’s why Arthur couldn’t hate him even when he acted like this.

Arthur dusted off her bottom and headed towards Kyle.

* * *

“—There’s a midterm test next week.”

Professor Gawain’s words made the Knight Department students gulp.

The midterm test, which ranked the Academy students. They were nervous that it was already next week.

Looking at the stiff students, Gawain chuckled as if to reassure them.

“Don’t worry so much. It’s the first test you’ll take as first-years, so it won’t be that difficult.”

“—Professor, is it possible to know about the test content?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll explain. First of all, there’s no written exam for the Knight Department.”

“Oooh—”

The Knight Department students cheered at the news that there was no written exam.

Not just Kyle, but other Knight Department students also disliked studying for written tests.

Looking at the pleased students, Gawain told them there was no need to be so happy.

“The reason there’s no separate written exam is simple. The purpose of studying theory is to use it in practice.”

“Professor, what does that mean…?”

“It means we’ll directly check whether you’ve properly learned everything you’ve been taught—cartography, fortification, mercenary tactics, camouflage, and strategy—in a practical exam.”

At those words, the students, who had been happy about the absence of a written test, groaned.

It meant that a practical test incorporating all the items Gawain had mentioned was prepared.

As the students groaned, Gawain began to chuckle, saying he had prepared interesting content for the practical exam.

“Oh, and—the Magic Department students are creating the testing grounds where you’ll take the exam… This is, well, their test. So, every time something goes wrong, their scores are deducted. Keep that in mind.”

“—I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Alright, that’s all for the midterm explanation. Good work in today’s class. That’s all.”

The resounding salute of the class representative echoed behind Gawain as he left without acknowledging the greeting, and the Knight Department students began to leave the classroom one by one.

Among them were students who lazily headed straight to the dormitory and those who headed to the training grounds to prepare for the test.

Kyle was neither. He wasn’t particularly lazy, nor was he particularly enthusiastic.

‘Who am I fighting in this exam…?’

He was trying to recall the game’s content.

He’d fought so much in the game that he couldn’t remember who he fought, when, or where.

He could barely remember what he had for lunch the day before yesterday, let alone a game he played 15 years ago. There was no way he could remember.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that this test wouldn’t end normally.

‘What was it? There was definitely something…’

“Hey.”

‘Who was it? I think it was someone rather rude…’

“Are you ignoring me?”

Kyle tilted his head as he looked at someone who had physically blocked his path.

Turning his head belatedly, he saw Hundred standing there.

Not just a commoner, but a student from a mercenary background.

Thanks to that, he was the Knight Department’s number one problem child, ostracized by nobles and commoners alike.

Naturally, there had been no interaction between them, so Kyle shrugged at Hundred as if asking what he wanted.

“Oh, I was lost in thought. What’s up?”

“—You, stop hitting on girls.”

“What? Hitting on?”

“Stop flirting with the girls, it’s disgusting.”

Kyle tilted his head in confusion. Flirting with girls? Me? When?

After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, he concluded that he hadn’t done anything like that.

“I haven’t done that.”

“Ha, I saw you approaching girls today and touching them.”

“They approached me first.”

“Bullshit, you probably ordered them to come because you’re a noble. And they wouldn’t be able to say anything.”

“—Aha, do you like that girl?”

Teasing him with a bright smile as if he understood, Hundred hardened his expression and glared at Kyle.

It was a look that suggested a punch might fly at any moment.

However, even if the other party brandished a knife instead of a fist, Kyle had no intention of stopping his taunting.

“But what can you do? Just like you said, no one will go to you, a non-noble.”

“Y-You bastard—”

“Oh, why? Gonna hit me?”

As he provoked him as if saying, ‘You’ll never do that,’ Hundred immediately threw a punch.

This was the problem with those from mercenary backgrounds.

They took pride in their lack of patience.

He understood, considering the mercenary world was one where you’d be eaten alive if you showed weakness—but old habits die hard, and most couldn’t easily break them.

Whoosh—Lightly catching the incoming fist, Kyle twisted Hundred’s arm, easily subdued him, then tapped him on the bottom and kicked him away.

“Y-Youuu…”

“You can’t fight, you’re not a noble, and you’re ugly. Who would like you?”

“This fucking—!”

A step ahead of Hundred, who was cursing and trying to draw his sword, Kyle approached him, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and pushed it back into its sheath, whispering in his ear.

“Don’t draw it.”

“—Huh?”

Thud—Pushing Hundred away, Kyle grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

Hundred, staring blankly at Kyle, seemed to have belatedly realized who he had picked a fight with.

The second most important thing in the mercenary world was not being ignored—but the first was gauging the opponent’s strength.

You had to pick your fights wisely.

The instincts he had cultivated began to ring belatedly. ‘I would have died if I had drawn it.’

“If you want to fight that badly, see you at the exam.”

Looking at Hundred, frozen in fear, Kyle turned and left.

Then, he immediately pinched his nose and frowned.

‘Why would a guy piss himself over something like that…’

His nose felt like it was going to rot.

The body of an Aura Master was sensitive even in situations like this.