NTR School: S Rank Student

As Cecilia Evergarden, the Sword Queen, stepped through the crowd of students, her pink eyes gazed at Ivan, who was bleeding onto the school grounds.

Not once did she look at Raphael.

The students of the sword school seemed to let out sighs of relief as their eyes spotted their queen. Raphael didn't know why but assumed she must have some way to heal him.

That's good. I'm sure a death on the school grounds would not be good.

Everybody watched as the queen made her way over Ivan and knelt down on the ground. Her blonde hair was so long that Raphael was surprised it didn't get in the way.

As the woman's soft hands hovered over the wound where Ivan had been cut, they began to glow a vibrant green colour. A humming sound moved through the air, which seemed to fill everyone with peace and tranquillity. Even Raphael felt its effects.

Once the woman moved her hand away, to no one's surprise, the wound was gone.

Ivan had fallen unconscious at this point due to the loss of blood, but his chest rose and fell, signalling that he was still alive.

Not only was this woman supposedly strong, but she could heal.

Raphael stared at the Question. There was something about her. Her demeanour, the way she dressed, her hair...

I don't want this woman, I need her...

However, the Sword Queen's next actions took him by surprise.

After her healing was done, she rose to her feet and began walking away.

What the?

Students had begun to rush over to Ivan's unconscious body, carrying him to a place where he would be able to rest until he woke up.

But Raphael didn't care about them, or the man he had just nearly killed.

His eyes were on Cecilia, who was walking away from him, without acknowledging him at all.

Raphael stepped forward.

"Aren't you going to reprimand me for almost killing a student of your school?"

The school hallways were noisy, but he made sure to speak loud enough for the woman to hear.

For a moment, she paused, though her head never turned around to look at him.

"No," she said quietly, before continuing her steps away from him. "Not for beating somebody so weak."

The Sword Queen's voice was so soft that he struggled to hear her words. She hardly sounded like an imposing figure, yet she carried an air to her that suggested she was above everybody.

Not in an arrogant way. That was simply the way things were.

She refuses to acknowledge me after all I've done. I've had and won so many duels in less than a month.

...

What else does she want from me?

Raphael followed after the Sword Queen. He still had more he wished to say to her.

---

Raphael caught up to the woman just before she was about to enter her office. He had to call her name for her to notice him. It seemed she was unaware that he was even behind her.

"Lady Cecilia," he said, making sure to speak respectfully.

I'll make sure this woman pays attention to me.

The Sword Queen paused by her door, finally turning to face him. However, as she did, her eyes remained on the floor.

She wouldn't look at him.

Raphael felt frustration growing inside of him. He had never experienced something like it before.

"Why do you refuse to look me in the eye?" He asked, trying to keep his emotions from his voice. "Are you trying to say that I'm not worthy?"

Cecilia remained silent for a few moments. Her green eyes gazed at anything that wasn't him.

Then, she spoke. Her tone soft once again, just about able to be heard.

"Correct. You're not worthy."

Raphael's fists began to clench.

"And why not? I've won many duels in my short time in the Five Schools. If that doesn't make me worthy, then what does?"

Cecilia's expression remained unchanged. It was as though she had heard these exact words from many people before.

"And have you killed any of them?"

"..."

Raphael was caught off guard by the question.

"What do you mean? I had no reason to take their lives."

"Incorrect," Cecilia responded. "I know about your battle against Lord Charles. He fought you intending to kill. So why didn't you kill him?"

Raphael wanted to answer, but for the first time in a while, he realised that he couldn't. The only responses that came to his head would make him sound weak.

Before he could come up with some sort of excuse, the Sword Queen continued.

"It's because you're afraid. No student that is afraid to take a life deserves to meet my eye."

Her hand reached for the office door, done with the conversation.

Is that it? Is this woman unconquerable?

...

No. There isn't a single woman in this world that is out of my grasp.

"Of course, I'm capable of killing," Raphael said with all the confidence he could muster. "If I am facing off against someone evil, then I would not hesitate for a second."

That was his reasoning. No man that Raphael had faced off against was a villain. A man with purely evil intentions.

If he were to come to blows with such a person, he would do what needed to be done.

His words seemed to catch Cecilia's attention as she paused again and spoke over her shoulder.

"If that's the case, then kill Christopher Reynold. A student enrolling into the Three Academies'. I know that you plan to travel there soon."

She gave the request with her tone unchanging, as though she had asked him to complete a mundane task.

Raphael ignored the fact that she had somehow known he was due to travel to the Three Divine Academies and asked the question burning in his mind.

"What has he done?" He responded, wondering why she would want a random student dead.

"The question is, what hasn't he done. Kill him and come back to me, and perhaps then I will look you in the eye."

And without any more pauses, Cecilia left and entered into her office.