Top Instructor of a Third-Rate Academy

014

"Sai—no, Yuria!"

I had almost called Yuria 'Saintess.'

I rushed to Yuria.

Yuria, her face noticeably pale, seemed to be grasping the situation.

"Ah..."

It seemed she had finally figured something out.

She wiped the nosebleed with her white clothes as if to say she was fine.

"Do you have a chronic illness?"

"No."

"Then..."

At my question, Yuria stared at me.

And then at the students behind me.

I roughly understood what Yuria was going to say.

'She knows the answer, but she can't say it in front of those students.'

"By any chance, will it be a problem if I swing the sword more?"

Yuria nodded.

It seemed to be related to the divine power that had entered me when my body was in pain.

If that's the case, the answer was simple.

I just shouldn't swing the sword.

'Normally, I would have thought it was a problem, but.'

I seated Yuria in a shady corner of the training ground and returned to the students.

The students' eyes, unlike usual, were sparkling.

It seemed the Rozalin's swordsmanship I showed at the end had an effect.

"Really Senior Rozalin's swordsmanship... can we learn the secret arts of the Vürhelm ducal family?"

"No way, it's an advanced swordsmanship!"

It was to be expected.

Rozalin's family, the Marquisate of Vürhelm, was a renowned noble family in the empire that had produced numerous administrators and knights.

A family like this creates, refines, and preserves their own swordsmanship, different from external styles.

That was the Vürhelm Swordsmanship that had elevated Rozalin to her current position.

It was an advanced swordsmanship on a different level from the common sword manuals circulating in the market.

A swordsmanship said to give enlightenment to third-rate swordsmen just by moving along its principles.

And Rozalin had generously released it.

It was only natural that the students were so enthusiastic.

"It even made that clumsy, oafish instructor look like he was good at swordsmanship!"

"What are you talking about! How can a clumsy person use an advanced swordsmanship?

Maybe the instructor is hiding his skills and has been living a carefree life all along!"

"Ooh, Rozalin, ooh!"

"Ooh, Cassian, ooh-ooh!"

...There seemed to be other reasons as well.

For some reason, I had a bitter taste in my mouth, but I had to accept it since the class was going well.

"Then we'll take a stance one by one. I'll teach you one by one... first, one person. Right. Bridget. You, come out."

"...Me? Really?"

The one I called was Bridget, the leader of the delinquents who had bullied Pan.

Bridget had an expression of disbelief at being singled out.

She looked at me with distrustful eyes, and from those pupils, I could crudely read the message, 'Is that instructor trying to screw me over using this as an excuse?'

No way.

"Come and stand here. You'll be the demonstration instructor."

"...Really, me? Why me?"

"Because you have a good body."

The reason Bridget could take the lead in bullying Pan.

It was because Bridget, though from the frontiers of the empire, was the fourth son of a viscount family and had high lineage.

And also because Bridget had a larger physique than others and used her body well.

"Your flexibility is a bit lacking, but you have innate bone structure and strength to exert great power. The basic sword form of Vürhelm can be changed in any way once you learn the basic flow."

I take up a sword and assume a basic stance.

I hold the sword in a middle guard, look straight at the opponent, and stand with my feet shoulder-width apart.

"Follow me."

Bridget, while keeping an eye on me, followed my words and took the stance.

"From your shoulders to your wrists, you have too much tension. Tensing your muscles to be ready to move at any time is different from exerting force. More to the front. And distribute the force evenly in both feet."

Though clumsy due to his lack of flexibility, Bridget still managed a decent stance.

I pointed out every part of Bridget, from his gaze to his elbows, arms, feet, and legs.

To my surprise, Bridget didn't resist and slowly followed my instructions.

"Your gaze. A little lower. It has to be very subtle. But as you lower your gaze, tuck your chin.

Think of it as pulling your entire face towards your neck, not just lowering your eyes."

"The balance in your shoulders is off. Your right shoulder is open and your left shoulder is narrowed. Did you originally use a shield? Forget that memory for a moment."

"The tip of your right foot is too open. To be able to move in any direction you want to go, step lightly and put force on your big toe."

I could feel the students focusing on Bridget's movements.

Some students even moved their bodies as if they were holding a sword, imitating Bridget's movements.

But the one who was focusing the most was not others, but Bridget.

"From that state, you shoot forward."

His breathing gradually slows down.

All the skin and muscles of his body began to tighten as if they knew their place.

Only his eyes sparkled in his hardened expression.

This.

He got the hang of it.

His breathing, stops.

"The axis is your left foot. Push. Shoot!"

From now on, the direction the sword goes is the direction the will goes.

Swooosh—Pang!

A swordsmanship completely different from Rozalin's, but still full of the color of Vürhelm.

"Ah."

It split the ground.

The wind followed behind it and swirled once.

"The way you applied force at the end was very clumsy, but you did well."

Bridget's swordsmanship was much lower than Rozalin's, as he lowered his body as if grazing the floor and thrust his sword.

It was a trajectory like a hawk soaring after snatching its prey.

A dirt path was left in the training ground along the trajectory his sword had passed.

And at the end of that thrust, his wooden sword was trembling.

His arm spasmed, as if the unused muscles were strained by the unfamiliar movement.

But there was something that was trembling even more severely.

His eyes.

His bewildered eyes wavered, not knowing what to do, and then turned to me.

"What are you doing? I said you did well."

"Ah."

Only then did Bridget, who had composed his posture, slowly return to his place with a dazed expression.

No, he tried to return.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh?"

"I told you, you're the demonstration instructor. You have to teach your friends what you just learned, right?"

"Ah! Ah... Ah?"

Bridget, who had been going back and forth between enlightenment, contemplation, and enlightenment in a short time, pointed at himself with his finger.

"Me?"

"Then who's going to teach? You just learned it."

I taught you so I wouldn't have to move my body, so you have to do it yourself.

"Now, then, let's take that stance again. The other students should spread out widely and imitate the stance Bridget took. Go!"

At my shout, the students quickly scattered.

Everyone seemed excited, perhaps because they were learning a new swordsmanship.

Only one person.

Only Pan glanced around and then stealthily approached me.

"Why?"

"I'm a bit... I like the swordsmanship you taught me better."

At those pure words, I felt my heart swell.

Right, Pan, you're the best.

Even the others from the future all said you were the best.

Maybe your talent isn't in swordsmanship, but in your heart.

"Alright. You and I will have a little more class."

Yuria, who had been watching this whole training process from behind, started to become gloomy again, muttering "Is that Pan?", but I ignored her.

"Arms, a little higher!"

"You have too much tension. You won't get any elasticity in that state!"

90% of the students seemed to not understand my words properly.

But thanks to the model named Bridget, they roughly imitated the swordsmanship and followed the class.

"We're not yet skilled enough to absorb the teacher's teachings...!"

"If I practice the sword a little more like Bridget...!"

It seemed like they were misunderstanding something, but the educational effect was good, so I decided to leave it be.

The one who was most engrossed in the class was Bridget.

Given his personality, I had expected him to reject the class and give up quickly, but he practiced his swordsmanship silently and concentrated without a word.

It seems it was a good idea to use him as a demonstration assistant.

"Uh, I haven't seen the left arm posture properly yet..."

He was so focused that he didn't even answer when students who couldn't keep up asked him to take the stance again, and just replayed the thrusting posture.

Since he was a strong student, no one expressed any complaints.

It might be because Bridget moved his sword continuously without a single break.

"Now. The key to your swordsmanship was your feet. This time, let's break the rhythm down to a quarter tempo to deceive the opponent. The important thing is that your opponent is deceived by your steps, not you. What do you have to do for that?"

"Uh... I have to know and control every movement, down to the small beats."

"Right. Now that you know, let's do it."

"Yes... huh?"

I continued the lesson with Pan for the remaining time.

Pan's lesson also consisted of me watching him move with my arms crossed, giving feedback, and suggesting improvements.

Pan diligently followed my teachings.

'Hmm?'

I thought I felt a gaze from somewhere just now.

I looked at the training ground.

The students were glancing at us even while they were practicing.

I guess someone was slacking off and staring at us.

"That tempo just now was too slow. It's because you haven't thought about what you can do in your head. More naturally."

"Yes!"

* * *

After class, two friends gathered around Bridget.

They were the delinquents who usually hung out together.

"Bridget. Are you okay?"

The delinquents looked disgusted by the steam coming off Bridget's body.

"He didn't even teach his own class and just tormented you all day like this. Isn't he doing this because we touched his precious son?"

"So Rozalin is on his side now. But he's not Rozalin, and he's teaching Rozalin's swordsmanship? Isn't he crazy?"

"You saw him swing his sword earlier, right? He just imitated it plausibly once and didn't lift a finger! I can do that too!"

"On the contrary, your swordsmanship was more amazing earlier, Bridget. Didn't he get scared after seeing you swing your sword after just talking big? That's why he ran away like that!"

As if they had been waiting, they began to badmouth Cassian.

Bridget ignored their words and went to a corner of the training ground.

Next to the rack where the wooden swords were stored, there was an old cloth.

"Bridget?"

Bridget picked up the cloth, wiped the sweat from his forehead a few times, and then placed it on top of his head.

The heat didn't subside.

"Well, Bridget did have a hard time this time. It's been a really long time since you swung a sword that hard. Only at the beginning of the school year..."

"Hey."

A faint anger was mixed in Bridget's voice.

The two students watched Bridget's mood.

Though they had influential backing in the kingdom, it was no match for the prestige of Bridget, who was from an imperial viscount family.

Bridget quietly looked up at the sky.

No, with his pupils directed at the sky, he replayed Cassian's movements from earlier.

'I can't see it.'

He stood in front of Cassian.

And he tried to simulate various scenarios to block Cassian's sword.

He couldn't dodge Cassian's sword even once.

'Those oafs have eyes but...'

What, just an imitation?

Ridiculous.

Right now, there was a high probability that even Rozalin herself couldn't block that swordsmanship.

It was also creepy how he knew his own body better than he did and gave instructions for micro-adjustments.

It felt like he was controlling how he applied force, where he tensed, and how he would spring out.

Throughout the process of following that stance, I felt my knowledge and path of the sword opening up in real time.

A voice that forcibly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled up his skills.

'A monster.'

The goosebumps on his skin didn't subside.

'That instructor, what kind of swordsmanship is he hiding?'

That swordsmanship.

He wanted to see it.

* * *

Yuria, after confirming that no one else was around, spoke with a serious expression.

"The Great Master will die if he wields a sword."

"What does that mean..."

"It means exactly what it says. Your swordsmanship consumes your lifespan. Therefore, you must quit the sword."