I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

“Hmm, so this is how you’re going to play it.”

A shower of flaming arrows rained down, painting the sky crimson, but Zeke’s expression remained unchanged.

Currently, the Yohaiden Knights and Zeke were positioned at the very rear.

A safe place, out of reach of the fiery projectiles.

As the silent signal flare, heralding the ambush, shot up from the middle slopes of the Lyos Mountains,

Zeke flicked his finger towards Julie, sending a signal.

Flick.

A breadcrumb launched from his fingertip, landing perfectly in Julie’s open mouth.

In response to the signal, she used her hand, coated in magic stone dust, to pierce the heart of the unsuspecting old woman.

A bishop of Lost Hope met a swift and unexpected end.

“Three down for now!”

Julie exclaimed in delight, savoring the breadcrumb in her mouth.

Ssst

Her master’s body, already prepared to relinquish the Shadow, served as a wide-open channel.

Her master’s arrangements flowed into her own being.

“Haaaaah, mmm. It’s not quite as good as bread… but this is quite something.”

Julie smacked her lips in satisfaction.

Thud.

The old woman collapsed, eyes wide open and mouth agape, making a sound like a falling log.

Lost Hope, belatedly realizing what had happened, found themselves in a dilemma – whether to prioritize the flaming arrows or Julie.

In that fleeting moment of hesitation,

Julie swiftly disengaged from the Lost Hope members surrounding her.

“You…!!!! You damn bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The hulking figure, who had expressed disapproval from the start about Julie receiving the Shadow, charged like a wild boar, seemingly oblivious to the rain of fire arrows.

Julie swiftly summoned a Shadow, swapping places with it.

Swish-

Julie’s form dissolved into the shadows, replaced by a translucent skeletal knight.

The Lost Hope brute, charging like a runaway train, crashed straight through the skeleton and into the sacrifices standing behind.

*Crash!*

“Kghhhhaaaack!!!”

They were flung into the air as if struck by a massive carriage.

Those who weren’t sent flying were crushed beneath his feet, literally ground into the dirt.

“As of this moment, Julie de Lost Hope is expelled from the position of Battle Bishop of Lost Hope!! Find that traitorous bitch and kill her immediately!!!!!!”

The massive man roared.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

It was at that moment that the flaming arrows launched by Eustia arrived.

They rained down indiscriminately, striking the ground and people alike.

Clang.

Small oil-filled vials attached to the arrowheads shattered.

Whoosh-

The oil ignited, setting the ground ablaze.

And so began the true chaos.

* * *

“Kyaaaaaack!!!”

“S-save me!!!”

“Hgyaaaaack!!!! Mom!!! Mommy!!!!”

“H-hot! Kyaaaaaaaaack!!!”

Screams mingled with flames, a scene of carnage where it was impossible to distinguish blood from fire.

Those struck by arrows collapsed.

Those splashed with oil caught fire and, in their desperate struggle for survival, clung to others, only to perish together in the flames.

In the heart of this chaos, those desperately trying to escape and survive

were entangled by their bound wrists, stumbling and trampling over each other, killing each other in a frantic bid for life.

All this death was occurring not among Lost Hope members, but among the sacrifices.

‘Well, the Lost Hope bastards will step in now, right? They can’t let all the sacrifices die.’

Zeke had witnessed such scenes countless times in his previous life.

His jaded senses didn’t react with any particular emotion, even when faced with this chaos.

‘Still, I can’t just stand by and do nothing, considering my hero status… I guess I’ll save those I can.’

Zeke was driven solely by a sense of duty, ingrained over the past 10 years of relentlessly pushing himself towards his goal of returning home.

Just as Zeke was about to take action,

“Zeke Clayman…”

It was Duke Yohaiden’s voice that stopped him.

“Yes.”

Zeke paused and turned to face the Duke.

“…According to your words… we should remain still for now, shouldn’t we?”

“Yes. Eustia and the Lost Hope lot haven’t engaged in a full-fledged battle yet. If you intervene now, Yohaiden will suffer heavy losses. It’s in our best interest to wait until they clash properly.”

Zeke explained the situation in a cold voice.

Duke Yohaiden’s clenched fists trembled.

“…Can you truly say that… even after witnessing this?”

“Yes. We must accept some sacrifices to minimize further losses. The death of one knight is equivalent to the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians.”

Duke Yohaiden bit his lip hard.

Yes, he knew it himself.

Zeke Clayman’s words were undeniably true, and any competent commander would make the same judgment.

But…

Duke Yohaiden averted his gaze and looked around.

Innocent people were dying like ants in this uncontrollable disaster.

If this were a battle between knights, Duke Yohaiden would readily follow Zeke’s advice and make a cold-hearted decision.

However, the people dying before his eyes were untrained civilians.

He couldn’t bear to stand by and watch them perish.

“…Then, what about you…? Will you remain here as well?”

“…No, I won’t.”

“Then?”

“I’m going to save as many people as I can.”

“And you tell us to stay put?!”

Zeke nodded.

“Yes, because you’re weak. The weak should stay put. I have the power to save them, but the knights don’t.”

“…”

Duke Yohaiden silently stared into Zeke’s impassive face.

He wanted to refute Zeke’s words, but there was no fault in his logic.

After a brief silence, he spoke.

“…No. I can’t do that. Even if your words are all correct. The Yohaiden family has never lived that way…! I was the one who taught the Yohaiden Knights to prioritize the heart of Yohaiden above all else! How can I, the head of the family, make a decision that would bring shame upon us, Zeke Clayman?”

“…”

“I will intervene.”

Zeke remained silent, observing the Duke.

Truly, he was unlike any other high-ranking noble.

‘A benevolent king with power, a foolish king without it. Compared to Lost Hope, he lacks power, so he’s a foolish king, then.’

However, Zeke didn’t find Duke Yohaiden’s actions particularly disagreeable.

Because a certain child came to his mind.

His student, who, despite his unsuitability for the sword, always dreamed of becoming a noble knight who knew kindness and righteousness, his blue eyes shining with determination.

He saw an overlap between that image and Selena Yohaiden.

Zeke let out a faint chuckle.

“Don’t expect me to watch your back.”

Duke Yohaiden’s face brightened at those words.

He then responded to Zeke with a boastful tone.

“Hmph! I may look like this, but I’m a noble of the Duke’s family, revered as a hero by the Yohaiden Knights. I can certainly hold my own, even without your help.”

He had gone from expressing concern about facing Lost Hope to boldly bragging with a confident expression.

This, too, was a mirror image of Selena.

“Don’t joke with that face, Your Grace. It doesn’t sound like a joke.”

Zeke wrapped his arm around Soi’s waist, who was standing beside him with a vacant expression, and lifted her up.

Her limbs dangled like seaweed, but her eyes remained fixed on the scene of bloodshed, unmoving.

“Then, conceal yourselves as best as you can and save the people. There’s a hole I had Julie dig behind you. If you push the rescued people into it, they’ll be able to survive.”

“Understood.”

Duke Yohaiden nodded heavily.

Zeke kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.

Thud.

“Soi.”

“…”

Zeke tried to talk to Soi, who was dangling from his waist, but

she didn’t respond, her eyes devoid of light.

A torrent of intense emotions swirled within her mind.

[S-save me!! Kyaaaaaack!!!!!!!]

[Die!!!!!]

[Please help me… Please help me…]

[You damn bastards, die!!!]

[Move! Get out of the way!! I don’t want to die!!!]

[Die! Die! Die! You’re interfering with the plan!!]

[Please save my son at least…!!]

Anger, sadness, sorrow, grief, panic, terror, fear, rage, dread, despair, resignation, hatred, regret, anxiety, anguish.

[Please…]

Desperation.

*Whoosh-*

A chilling breath escaped Soi’s lips,

and a red aura began to emanate from her darkened eyes.

“I’ll… I’ll kill them all… Everyone… Everyone…”

She muttered in a low voice.

“Who are you referring to?”

Zeke responded to Soi’s words.

“The… the ones who are hurting them… All the bad people… I’ll kill them all…”

“Yes, Soi, watch carefully. You mustn’t mistake your enemy. The ones responsible for all this are those bastards.”

Zeke gently turned Soi’s head, fixing her gaze on the backs of the black-clad figures charging towards Eustia.

Drool-

Soi’s saliva dripped down, soaking Zeke’s forearm.

Zeke placed Soi on the ground.

Then, holding her shoulders, he looked into her eyes and said,

“Soi, your judgment wasn’t wrong.”

Soi gave a small nod.

“I respect your will. No matter what happens. No matter what, I will be on your side. So do as you wish.”

As Zeke stroked her head,

a blue aura enveloped her eyes, which had been filled only with red.