TGSA 65

Chapter 65

Now It’s a Preemptive Strike (2)

Yols’ one-on-one instruction continued.

I trained Kallesius spearthunder swordsmanship together with Yols, and Heinrich also received private lessons from him.

During that time we resolved several tasks, and as a reward we received blue elixirs.

I had already absorbed the aura of the black shadow grass and secured a mid-level Graduate amount of mana, but by absorbing the blue elixir’s magic I was able to stabilize my mana heart even more.

“It looks like we’ll be able to issue your certificates soon.”

“I think so, too.”

Claude and Mateus, assistant professors of Yols’ class, inspected our assignments as they spoke.

“In the end, we didn’t really teach you much, did we?”

“Wasn’t it the other way around? I feel like we were the ones who learned more.”

Claude laughed and glanced at Heinrich and me.

“When you get your certificates you’ll have to train in a new class. Do you have anywhere in mind?”

“Not decided yet.”

“Anywhere that isn’t his class will do.”

Hearing Heinrich say that coldly, Mateus gave a wry smile.

“You two trained together so much, yet your relationship hasn’t improved at all.”

“There’s not really any reason for it to improve.”

Heinrich answered like that and gave me a sharp look.

“Ernas, don’t follow me next time.”

“Don’t worry. Even if I ask you to come with me, you’ll refuse.”

“This guy…!”

Heinrich glared at me, but I ignored him.

“Speaking of which, the day to retake the second exam is coming soon. From the next class you’ll be able to go around with the others.”

“That doesn’t interest me much.”

“Is that so? There were students in Blue Class 2 who followed you, weren’t there?”

As Mateus spoke, I realized the others in Black Class 6 were also nearing promotion time.

‘Those guys should be able to get promoted without trouble.’

Among the heirs of swordsmanship families, Gort—who was the only one who hadn’t been promoted—and Camillo, who had followed Heinrich in Blue Class 2, were likely to pass the second exam this time.

If that happened… we’d need to move on to the next stage.

That night.

I met Serine in the dormitory and we talked.

“Who in Black Class 6 do you think will pass the exam?”

“Schmitz, Chloe, and Viola… that should be about it.”

Thinking about the novel’s events, those three were the ones most likely to pass at this point.

“Ernas, if it’s okay with you, how about we act together from now on?”

Serine suggested cautiously.

“We’ve already gotten promoted and have experience, so we can help Schmitz, Chloe, and Viola.”

“Not a bad idea.”

I had been thinking along similar lines.

We needed to move with others to respond to future events.

Those characters play major roles in the novel; they could become substantial assets.

“I also reached the lower Graduate level with my training in the Valentiano class, so I think I can advise the others.”

Serine had reached lower Graduate through training in the Valentiano class. Valentiano, which emphasizes structured education, seemed to suit her well.

“Ah, but… if we all move together, we won’t be able to go to the Valentiano class next. I’m about to complete the Valentiano class, after all.”

You can’t go back to a class where you already received a certificate to get another certificate from the same class. To qualify for the third exam you must collect certificates from several different classes.

“Well, there’s no helping it. I guess I’ll have to go to a different class.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I don’t plan to go back to the Valentiano class for a while.”

“Huh?”

Serine looked surprised.

“Um… actually, Professor Valentiano showed a lot of interest in you, Ernas. He even asked me if you’d come to the Valentiano class next time.”

“Well, there’s no helping it.”

“So you already have someplace in mind.”

Serine nodded as if she’d had a hunch.

“Alright. We’ll follow Ernas’ lead.”

“I’m no longer the representative of Black Class 6, so it’s okay to do as you wish.”

“No.”

Serine gave a small smile.

“I’ve learned that whatever Ernas decides tends to be the correct choice.”

“…….”

“Schmitz, Chloe, and Viola will probably feel the same.”

I was grateful for that trust.

“Okay, Serine.”

I nodded slowly.

“I’ll repay your trust as much as I can.”

My goal was to reach the pinnacle of the Academy.

When I reached that goal… you all would be by my side.

On the day we finished training in Yols’ class.

I finished a sparring match with Yols in the indoor training hall.

“This should be enough.”

Catching his breath, Yols sheathed his blue sword energy.

“Ernas, I think this is about the limit of what we can reach at this point.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“From here, it’s better for us to ponder things slowly. If there’s a chance later, it’d be good to meet again and exchange ideas.”

During the time I trained with Yols I had practiced the Kallesius spearthunder swordsmanship. Maybe because I hadn’t tested it in real combat yet, it hadn’t grown to an A rank… but I had made a lot of progress.

“Thank you for everything, Professor.”

“No, that’s my line. I learned a lot thanks to you.”

Yols smiled.

“Ernas, you’ll be able to accomplish great things even in other classes. I’ll be watching how much you grow as a Graduate.”

“Thank you, Professor Yols.”

I expressed my genuine thanks.

Being taught one-on-one by a top-grade Graduate had been a special experience; I gained insights in many areas beyond just the spearthunder technique.

“Then, see you next time.”

“Yes, I’ll see you again.”

Yols didn’t ask which class I planned to attend next.

He didn’t suggest I might come back to his class after passing the third exam.

He simply smiled and let me go.

I felt grateful for that and left Yols’ class behind.

‘Now that I’ve got the certificate… shall I go to the dormitory?’

I returned to the trainee dormitory.

Because so few people had passed the second exam—only five so far—the area around the trainee dormitory was usually quiet.

But now the front of the dormitory was bustling.

‘About twenty people, maybe.’

Among them, three students wore black neckties.

Schmitz, Chloe, Viola… as I’d expected, the three in Black Class 6 had been promoted.

“Ernas!”

Schmitz spotted me first and ran over, followed by Chloe and Viola.

“We finally passed the exam and got promoted! Praise us!”

“Now we can finally stay by Ernas’ side.”

“Ugh, that was close for me.”

Watching the three of them, I smiled.

“Well done, everyone. You worked hard. Now we can move together again.”

“……!”

They all lit up when they heard me.

They must have been worried I’d pretend not to notice.

“We already talked with Ernas about training together, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, Serine!”

At that moment Serine approached and stood beside me.

With that, the five central members of Black Class 6 had reconvened.

‘Now the others will form their own factions.’

I looked around: students from Red Class 1 bowed to Rufus in greeting.

Nearby, Verislyze was surrounded by girls from Green Class 4.

And then…

“…….”

My eyes met Gort’s — Gort, who was surrounded by students wearing yellow neckties.

Gort had apparently been promoted with followers from Yellow Class 3.

“Hmph……”

But Gort looked away first.

Even though our eyes had met, he didn’t say anything and averted his gaze.

“Gort Waldfeld won’t be able to defy Ernas anymore, I suppose.”

Chloe whispered in my ear.

“There are rumors that he lost morale after hearing that Theodora Waldfeld died.”

“I see.”

That was to be expected.

Gort had probably been counting on Theodora to remove me.

“There’s nothing to be done about it.”

I muttered, and Chloe smiled while looking at my face.

Had she noticed that I’d killed Theodora?

‘Quick-witted.’

In the novel, Chloe was the only student who could oppose Ernas’ schemes. Now that Chloe was on my side… the others would be at a real disadvantage.

“Ernas Landstein.”

Just then, a bespectacled male student approached me.

It was Camillo, a follower of Heinrich wearing Blue Class 2’s blue necktie.

“So we meet again. I’ve been waiting for this day.”

“Have you? I certainly wasn’t waiting.”

“Ugh……”

Students wearing blue neckties gathered around Camillo.

After Heinrich was promoted, Blue Class 2 must have come under Camillo’s leadership.

But in addition to blue neckties I also saw white neckties.

‘White neckties… that’s White Class 5.’

White Class 5 had once been led by the prodigy Lester Lancaster. After Lester was expelled, the class lost its center and was weakened.

Some of them had attached themselves to Camillo in Blue Class 2.

‘Strictly speaking, they’re attached to Heinrich, who’s above Camillo.’

Most students entered the Academy carrying their family’s future on their shoulders. Even if they didn’t get great grades at the Academy, being close to a prestigious family could yield benefits later.

‘Even now, there are students poking around for that reason.’

There were students besides those from Black Class 6 who looked for opportunities to speak to me.

They wanted to gain favor now for later advantage.

If Camillo hadn’t approached first, those students would have flocked to me and kowtowed.

In that sense, I might owe Camillo a bit of thanks.

“Hey, Ernas.”

Unaware of my thoughts, Camillo glared.

“Don’t ever act arrogantly toward Heinrich again. I won’t tolerate it.”

“Arrogant?”

“Yes, now that I’ve been promoted, you can’t just—”

At that very moment the dormitory window opened and Heinrich stuck his face out.

“He, Heinrich—!”

Camillo was ecstatic to see his lord after a long time.

“Heinrich! It’s me! I finally got promoted—”

“Ernas.”

Camillo raised his voice, but Heinrich didn’t answer him and instead looked at me.

“Why didn’t you put out the laundry? The pile was starting to invade my area.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Tsk, if left like that it would stink, so I sent it to the laundry. Go pick it up later.”

“Thanks.”

Without another word, Heinrich slammed the window shut.

Chloe tilted her head at that.

“You two get along well, I guess?”

“Not really.”

Heinrich was just obsessive about cleanliness.

“Grr, Heinrich, why are you with someone like Ernas—”

Meanwhile Camillo trembled with rage, his body shaking.

I’d apparently hurt Camillo unintentionally.

“Everyone, let’s go inside for now. Unpack your things and I’ll give you a guide to trainee life.”

“Yes, understood!”

Leaving Camillo behind, we went into the trainee dormitory.

“But, Ernas.”

Schmitz approached cautiously.

“I heard that as a trainee you pick a class to train in. Which class should we start with?”

“I told you. We’ll move together.”

“Oh, then—”

“We already decided which class to go to.”

I said this as we climbed the stairs.

“We’ll go to Ferdinand’s class.”

“Ferdinand’s class? Really?”

“Isn’t that class… said to have a lot of problems?”

Chloe asked in a cautious voice.

“They’re not very enthusiastic about student education, and they even pass external requests onto students.”

“That’s exactly why we should go.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll be able to move more freely there, right?”

“……!”

I had already obtained mid-level Graduate mana and trained in the Kallesius spearthunder technique.

Serine had reached lower Graduate, and the others had been promoted and were powerful enough.

Everything was ready.

“It’s about time we started moving first from this side.”

Waiting for the opponent to attack and then countering would end now.

Now it was time for me to strike first.

The first target would be the Lancaster family, who were preparing to attack me.