Academy’s Genius Swordsman

17. Morningstar of the Empire

#17

[Secondary Seat in Martial Arts / Ronan]

The cigarette that was in Ronan’s mouth fell. In an instant, time elongated.

The noise of the square had subsided, and only the writings blazing in silver remained, occupying a corner of the narrowed field of vision.

second seat.

The flashing letters in front of his name must have been written that way.

car seat? What does cha-seok mean? I guess it wasn’t bad. Was it the name of the fruit?

At that moment, I heard Asher’s voice from somewhere.

“Lo, Ronan! Car, car, car seat!”

“yes?”

“Second from the top! You did it!”

Right, that’s what I meant.

Time began to flow again. Ronan, who woke up late, lowered his head.

Asher’s face, almost crying, came into view. Marya, who ran after a month, was hung around Ronan’s neck.

“Did I say I would be? yes?”

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marya hugged Ronan’s neck and did not let go. Ronan patted her on the back and looked at the small print next to his name.

[Secondary in Martial Arts / Ronan: 1st in practical skills, 5712 in writing]

“her.”

It was ridiculous and I laughed. It was 5712, so it was not a good number to be ranked. I wondered if it was possible to get such a result because of how many points were spread on the actual paper.

“I only know how to see people.”

But I didn’t really know. The important thing was that he was second from the top. There must have been various privileges, including scholarships.

[Head of Martial Arts / Schlieffen Sinivan de Grancia: 2nd place in practical skills, 1st place in writing (3)]

But if there is one thing that bothers me, is it that I plucked Schlieffen’s ass from the actual skill?

Ronan clicked his tongue as he recalled the memories of his previous life.

‘If you do this wrong, it will be troublesome again.’

There was no doubt about Schlieffen’s ability, but his unique sympathy struck me.

He was at the apex of a human being who couldn’t stand the fact that someone was on top of him.

“Well then… shall we go now?”

It was the moment Ronan turned around with his friends. Suddenly, an unidentified chill ran down his spine.

“Well···!”

It was an unpleasant yet familiar sensation, as if the cool winter wind blew through my body. The sound of the wind blowing seemed to ring in my ears.

“Ah, maybe…”

Ronan swallowed his saliva and looked around slowly. His gaze was soon fixed on one place.

A boy in a blue uniform was striding towards him. Ronan closed his eyes and sighed.

“Shit.”

It was a familiar face. Even though it was more than ten meters away, it was clearly recognizable.

Those who recognized the boy’s face split to the sides.

“Wow, look at that person. What kind of face… huh?!”

“I, the morning star of the empire.”

“It is an honor to meet you!”

Then the boy stopped in front of Ronan. Among the three, Marya was the first to respond. She looked up at the boy’s face and widened her eyes.

“Shu, Schlieffen?!”

He was tall and had a beautiful appearance. Her dark blue hair was as thick as the deep sea.

There was a certain feeling of being young because of the years, but the cold impression as if it had been cut from a glacier did not change.

He was a boy who later became the strongest swordsman on the continent beyond the Empire. Schlieffen whispered lowly.

“You are Ronan.”

“yes? not really?”

Ronan whistled and avoided his gaze. Asher and Marya’s faces hardened. There was a slight wrinkle on Schlieffen’s forehead.

“Why are you lying?”

“I’m lying, man, do you have any proof that I’m Ronan? And when did you say you saw it? ok?”

“…the evidence.”

Schlieffen shut his mouth. He was able to present two pieces of evidence.

The first was that he happened to hear their conversation, and the second was that he felt an unusual aura from Ronan.

Aurora blooms. It was visible to him who had reached the state of open eyes. The ring that wraps around Asher’s heart and the mass that grows from Marya’s dandan. An incomprehensible mana pulsing in Ronan’s chest.

But Schlieffen did not explain either of them.

“Hey Nimmy!”

Suddenly, Ronan spit out a swear word and grabbed the hilt. For a moment, Schlieffen’s hand seemed to disappear, and then an embers came out of the air.

Kang! A belated metallic sound rang out.

“Ahhhhh!”

“It’s cheap, it’s a fight!”

“Ronan!!”

Screams erupted all around. It happened so quickly that people did not see the progress until Ronan and Schlieffen were facing each other.

Black Iron and Mithril. Two swordsmen facing each other were growling in the air. Schlieffen whispered lowly.

“This is proof.”

“What?”

“I wouldn’t have accepted it if you weren’t the chief of practical skills. I want to know what skill you showed.”

“I’m not crazy, this!”

Ronan raised his blood and shouted. The obsession has gone too far.

Even when we met on the battlefield in the past, I thought we weren’t normal humans, but that must have gotten better as we got older.

“Come on, show me!”

In any case, if you stood still even after being provoked like this, you were either crippled or sick. Ronan grabbed the hilt.

As the secret blade was removed, three sword strikes were fired towards Schlieffen. For the first time, embarrassment flashed in Schlieffen’s eyes, which had been quiet all along.

“Ugh!”

Can-can-can! Three flames rose in the air without gaps. Ronan spit on the floor as if he had shaved off a blade.

“Are you okay now?”

“.

If it was a normal sword, it would have been too strong to break, but Schliefen’s blade made of mithril stubbornly endured the shock. Ronan continued.

“Yeah, kid. If you only get 1st place every day, you should be satisfied with 2nd place. is not it?”

Schlieffen nodded as he saw his collar cut off. It was a formidable quick sword that could have been hit.

It was the moment when Ronan, who breathed a sigh of relief, was about to lead.

“But it doesn’t make sense that you beat me.”

“What?”

“Show me what you are hiding.”

Suddenly, the sultry Schlieffen swung his sword. Ronan hurriedly raised his sword and struck back. A sharp sound of iron ripped through the air.

“Be in moderation, you bastard! What the hell is wrong with you!”

Schlieffen did not answer. In a matter of seconds, more than ten workshops went back and forth. The slash that was struck ignited sparks, and the pierced stab brushed against his cheek.

Ronan blamed himself for not leaving sooner. This noble psychiatrist would undoubtedly wreak havoc until his doubts were resolved.

Suddenly, an ominous feeling crossed Ronan’s mind.

‘Isn’t this little auror also activated?’

Ronan ignored most Auror users. This is because there were many cases where it was uselessly flashy and was not very helpful in practice.

But Schlieffen was different. His Auror, called the Storm Sword, was a rare fraud technique that was treated as a strategic weapon.

Of course, since he had returned to the past, he would not have reached the power of that time for a long time, and he could not be sure if he would trigger an auror in the middle of a crowd without going crazy. I had to hurry up and get out of the situation.

While I was thinking about what could be better, a handful of flashes flashed in my head.

‘This was it.’

Ronan looked at Schlieffen’s sword shining bluish. It was undoubtedly a mithril with mana. A round lump came out of Ronan’s right hand, who was quickly rummaging through his inner pocket.

He turned his left hand behind his back and made a V with his index and middle fingers. Asher, who had been holding her heart all the time from behind, opened her eyes wide. It was the hand signal between him and Ronan that was decided after the Luna Goblin incident.

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Meaning [spout]

“No, Marya. let’s go.”

“uh? huh? Where?!”

Asher took Marya’s hand and disappeared into the crowd. It was the moment when Schlieffen’s sword was fired again.

As Ronan lowered his sword, he quickly raised his right arm.

“stop!”

“what···!”

Schlieffen hurriedly gave strength to his arm and tried to stop the sword, but the sword god was already close to Ronan’s eyes. A blade made of mithril pierced Ronan’s palm.

-Chaaaaaa-!!!

A bizarre metallic sound resounded throughout the plaza.

“Ugh huh?!”

The crowd covered their ears at a scream they had never heard before. It was a resonance sound that was unique to Mithril.

The shock reminiscent of an earthquake wave spread beyond the hands and throughout the body. Schlieffen lost the hilt.

Ronan, who caught the gap, slammed a headbutt into his face. Kwajik! Schlieffen curled up, clutching his nose.

“Ugh!”

“It’s also a fantasy species. They do filial piety even before they are born.”

Ronan smiled contentedly and looked at Marpez’s egg in his hand. As expected, there was no scratch on the eggshell.

It was possible because Schliefen’s sword was a mithril. Ronan put the egg back into his pocket.

And shouted at Schlieffen, who staggered and was about to stand up.

“Cool your head until the day of the entrance hall, kid! If you are a man, you have to know how to accept the consequences!”

“Ugh… stop there…!”

Ronan turned his back and disappeared as if being sucked into the crowd. Shortly after he left, the guards in heavy armor came running.

The guards who recognized Schlieffen urgently supported him.

“Shu, Schliefen-sama! Are you okay? Did you just hear that?!”

Schlieffen stood up, clutching his bleeding nose. I tried to expand the mana to track the mana of Ronan’s party, but I couldn’t detect if the distance had already increased.

“···Yes. it’s okay.”

“Who dared to do this? If you tell me how you feel about it…!”

“Right now, I am clearly a test taker.”

The guards, who could not understand the meaning of the words at once, tilted their heads. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that they realized that it meant not to speak up.

“hot···! yes! I see… No, I get it.”

“And it was nothing. I asked for a light match, and the author only agreed. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“That, though….”

“I will guarantee it under the name of the Grancia family.”

When the heir of the Duke of Grancia had said that, the guards had nothing more to say. They gave a polite greeting and then left.

Schlieffen picked up the sword that had fallen on the floor. His eyes widened as he looked at the sword.

Although very subtle, there was incontinence on the blade.

‘What the hell…?’

There were only a couple of things that were strange.

The sphere that made the mithril blade go out was also a problem, but the biggest problem was that incomprehensible mana, which he had always thought to belong to Ronan, was actually flowing out of the sphere.

‘I didn’t feel mana from myself.’

Schlieffen recalled the workshop he had shared with Ronan. It didn’t even activate the Auror, but he went into battle with a considerable amount of mana on his sword.

I was sure Ronan thought so too…

‘No, I can’t.’

Schlieffen thought for a moment about the possibility that Ronan would have gone into battle without using mana. But then he shook his head. It was impossible.

Rather, secret mana that appears extremely rare. The hypothesis that he was born with the so-called shadow mana was more plausible. Then everything was explained.

“······shit.”

The coffee stopped. When reason returned, the wind felt cold.

Ronan’s words that he should be able to understand the results also lingered in his mind. I had to admit that I was overly excited by the shock of taking the second seat in the actual performance.

Schlieffen shook his head. The names of the successful candidates still embroidered the sky with the stars.

He fixed his gaze on the two burning letters beneath his name.

“Ronan.”

Strength entered the hand holding the hilt. Phileon Academy. I thought it was just a process I went through until I became a swordsman, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.

Schlieffen walked towards the writing street. I felt my heart beating at a different rate than usual. The young genius did not know that the name of the emotion was expectation.