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Chapter 20
The atmosphere among the academy students was strangely excited when they looked at her.
“Erin, I heard you almost got seriously hurt?”
“They said if a Sword Master hadn’t suddenly appeared, the entire subjugation squad would’ve been wiped out. Is that even possible?”
“Are you okay? Why are you walking like that?”
“I heard a rumor that you dueled Sir Amon and actually won. Is that true?”
“As if that’s true! Do you know who Sir Amon is? There’s no way Erin could’ve beaten him.”
The moment Erin entered the training grounds, a barrage of questions flew at her.
Stories had already spread everywhere that Erin had fought against a horde of monsters during the subjugation.
And since the students of the Swordsmanship Department were already beginning to look at her more favorably, their eyes now sparkled even more.
But those shining eyes reminded her of the young lady who had looked at her the same way that morning. Erin shivered.
Where had all those people who hated her in the beginning gone? The way students now approached her so warmly felt almost alien.
Of course, not everyone welcomed her. Some still sneered.
“No matter how skilled she is with a sword, to like a murderer like that…”
“What happened to a knight’s honor? Tsk, tsk.”
“Just leave her be. Someone like her could never even reach the threshold of a high-ranking knight. Everyone knows, don’t they? To become a Sword Master, one must reach the pinnacle of mental discipline as well. Erin Rizers will never even make it to high knight.”
Such words might have hurt her in the past. But Erin ignored them.
She brushed off the other students’ questions with vague answers and moved toward the far corner of the training grounds. And then her expression hardened.
Why is he here?
Warming up in the arena was none other than Amon.
She noticed the way the students kept sneaking glances at him.
Of course—they admired him. Amon Hedorr, the one rumored to become a future Sword Master. For the younger students, it was only natural to look at him with shining eyes.
Most knights were fanatics about the sword. Their thoughts revolved entirely around it.
So, even if Amon was just a fellow student, his superior swordsmanship made him an object of envy and aspiration.
The moment Erin spotted him, she quickly tried to walk the other way.
She had decided her goal was to pass through the academy as a “moderately talented genius” who existed quietly without drawing too much attention. She had no intention of being entangled with him.
But Amon reached her before she could escape.
He had rushed over the moment he heard she had woken up, after finishing the academy knights’ meeting. He hadn’t expected her to appear in training so soon after regaining consciousness—yet here she was.
Displeasure flickered across his face.
“Lady Erin, are you sure you should be out here already? I heard you only regained your senses this morning.”
Erin froze. Did Amon Hedorr… just speak formally to me?
She looked up at the sky. Had the sun risen in the west?
No—the sun was where it should be. Then what on earth…?
After thinking for a moment, she came to a conclusion. Maybe Amon hit his head during the monster subjugation.
At the bizarre situation, Erin was at a loss for words. Could this also be a ripple of her altering the future? If so, how was she supposed to fix Amon’s head?
“You still look uncomfortable moving around. You could have rested longer before coming out.”
His tone was still sharp, but compared to before, it was remarkably different.
Erin stared at him, flustered. This, too, was a change from the future she knew.
Amon Hedorr was supposed to already be in the advanced class of the Swordsmanship Department.
There was no reason for him to attend Edward’s beginner class.
Except for the evaluation day on the first day, advanced and beginner students rarely ever met. Even her own fiancé, Ferdin, she hadn’t seen since that first day.
So if Amon was here… it meant he had transferred into the beginner class.
But why?
To move back up to the advanced class, one had to complete a task assigned by the Emperor himself—an old tradition of Atheus Academy.
Erin knew firsthand what hell Amon had endured in the past just to advance into the higher class. Why would he voluntarily step back down?
And the level difference between the beginner and advanced classes was enormous.
With Amon’s skills, the beginner students couldn’t possibly match him. Of course, even the advanced class could hardly keep up, but at least training with peers closer to his level made more sense.
“…Why are you here?” she asked.
Amon didn’t answer. His gaze dropped to the sword hanging at her waist.
“If you’re feeling better… would you spar with me?”
“What?”
“…Never mind.”
Realizing her condition, Amon stopped himself. His face flushed.
He felt ashamed at the discourteous request, knowing she had only just woken that morning. Yet he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her sword.
At his burning gaze, Erin sighed.
This is why knights are so troublesome. Perhaps she had gone too earnestly against him in their duel. Maybe she should’ve held back more, made it look like a narrow win.
But “holding back just right” was always difficult for her. And she was always weak to those who looked at her with such eyes—knights’ eyes, filled with the desire to grow stronger.
Once, she herself had longed to be a knight more than anything. So she understood that yearning better than anyone.
After their duel, Amon must have gained some kind of realization. And the clue he’d grasped through that fight had driven him here, desperate to quench his thirst.
Since he wants it that much, I should give it to him.
Erin raised her sword.
There was no need to wait until she was fully healed. She already knew what he wanted to see, and she intended to show him.
If I keep it moderate, I won’t stand out too much. Just fight him evenly—it shouldn’t be a problem as long as I don’t completely overwhelm him.
Even as she thought that, Erin knew.
If she sparred evenly with Amon, there was no chance of living a “normal” swordsmanship student’s life anymore.
But some things couldn’t be stopped, even if you knew better.
And truthfully, Erin didn’t dislike crossing swords with Amon. Guiding a talented genius had always been enjoyable.
“…I don’t mind sparring now, Sir Amon.”
With those words, Erin drew her blade.
Meanwhile…
Ronald Asilly.
More often than his name, he was known simply as the Duke of Asilly.
One of only three Sword Masters in the entire vast Reksia Empire. A man who had reached the pinnacle of the sword, revered by all knights.
Yet no title could truly encompass him.
The Duke’s strides were urgent, his massive frame followed by a host of knights—the Empire’s First Knight Order, which he commanded.
Most of its members were high-ranking knights, among the strongest in the entire empire. They guarded the southern mountains where monsters roamed rampant—known across the land as the elite of elites.
It was only natural that swordsmanship students at Atheus Academy longed to join their ranks.
The duke’s chief knight approached him, having just returned from an assignment the duke had given him. Bowing, the knight pressed his fist to his chest—a knight’s highest salute.
“Fortunately, my lord, the young lady came to no harm.”
“Have you learned how that was possible?”
“…Pardon?”
“Do you not recall? There were high-level monsters among that horde. The subjugation squad from Atheus Academy was nowhere near strong enough to face them.”
“They say it was a passing Sword Master who…”
The knight trailed off. The duke’s cold eyes fell on him.
He said nothing, but his very presence tightened the knight’s chest like a vice.
“Do not speak nonsense.”
That single phrase made the entire order stiffen.
Cold sweat slid down the chief knight’s back. At that moment, he feared the man before him far more than he had feared the high-class monsters.
“Do you understand what it means to become a Sword Master?”
“….”
“Never again speak so carelessly about a realm you have not even approached.”
The duke clenched his fist. A faint glow of mana gathered around his hand—visible even to the surrounding knights.
Even in their tension, some knights’ eyes shone with awe. The very state they longed for was right before them—enveloping not just the sword, but one’s own body with mana.
The realm of beings who could cleave mountains with a single strike, who could annihilate hordes of high-class monsters alone.
The knights swallowed dryly. The chief knight realized his blunder.
It might sound arrogant from anyone else, but from Duke Asilly, such words were undeniable.
“The realm of Sword Mastery is not reached so easily. One must cross the line of death dozens of times, cut down countless monsters. If such a person existed, their name would already be known across the empire.”
Indeed, as the duke said, every Sword Master in history had become famous whether they wanted to or not.
So if a new one had appeared, there was no way they would not know.
Yet recently, no Sword Master had passed through this region.
Then who was it that had defeated that monster horde?
The duke’s gaze shifted forward.
Atheus Academy.
He had originally planned to visit in a month’s time. But now, he was heading there immediately—to uncover the truth.
