Chapter 8: Beyond Weakness- A Duel for Justice

“Why can’t it be done?”

After school, the place I headed to in order to resolve Yuri’s situation was the faculty building.

I didn’t particularly like the idea, as it felt like telling tales, but it was one of the most conventional solutions.

Of course, it might make things worse depending on the circumstances.

However, I must have thought wrong from the start. Yuri’s professor, who I expected to at least show some semblance of concern, showed no willingness to resolve Yuri’s situation at all.

“The academy is an educational institution, not a daycare. Do you think we have any reason to listen to you just because you come running and whining like that? You know well that the academy is not mandatory, right? If you don’t want to be here, you can just leave. Weak? Don’t underestimate the academy. It’s a place to nurture the best talents on the continent. If you’re weak, that’s also that person’s fault. At least in my class.”

“But…!”

“Enough. I recommend you not overstep your bounds any further. I think it’s sufficient for me to tell you this much when you’re neither the involved party nor the student in my care. If you want to talk more, why not go find your supervising professor?”

It wouldn’t change anything anyway—

After saying that, he turned back to his desk and began looking through the documents laid out before him.

A wall of rejection.

I figured that saying anything further would only be met with indifference, so I redirected my focus toward Pelches, our class’s supervising professor.

“Then at least help us transfer Yuri to our class. That way, the bullying will naturally disappear, and if it persists, I can care for her myself.”

Pelches, who had been listening silently, paused for a moment before speaking.

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. Elysia, I understand your feelings, but Professor Selene’s words are the truth. The affairs of Class 2 fall under the authority of Professor Selene, their supervising professor. Even I, and certainly not the Dean, can encroach upon the authority of the supervising professor.”

The academy is the best educational institution, and each professor is a respected authority in their field.

Consequently, they hold a strong sense of pride in their values. Given their high egos, it’s natural for them to resist any encroachment.

“Do you think that what Professor Selene said about being weak is a crime? Do you think it’s right to be looked down upon simply for being weak?”

“Are you testing the knightly conduct of the commander of the Imperial Knights? If it was a provocation, it was quite good.”

Pelches stroked his short beard and smiled slyly.

“Regardless of my opinion, it is impossible. If you really want to help that child, bring a justification that can convince Professor Selene.”

“A justification? Alright. I’ll make sure to bring you the justification you desire.”

I bowed my head and opened the door to the professor’s office, and his voice came from behind me.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

***

March 31. It’s already been a month since I enrolled in the academy.

Before heading to class, I stood in front of the full-length mirror placed in the corner of the room, slowly looking at my reflection.

I’m still not used to drying my hair, but the silvery hair, which is worth the time I spend on it, catches my eye first.

Next, I check the condition of my face. As the now-dead TS sorcerer, Sem Mogura, said, my appearance is quite convenient, requiring no makeup at all.

I lightly put on my uniform jacket over the sports outfit I’ll be wearing for today’s sparring session.

Normally, this would be a look that would invite criticism, but today, there’s no need to worry about that.

Naturally, I’m wearing sports pants. I don’t want to wear a skirt today.

I pull out a pair of socks from the drawer. Today’s socks are white, matching my gloves.

No matter how you look at it, it’s undeniably a woman’s appearance.

Normally, I would just let it go, but today, having made up my mind, feels different.

“Elysia Frentz.”

It was a borrowed identity for a brief moment, intended for an assassination request.

Originally, it would have been just a name that passed by, but that is no longer the case.

The name of a girl who died at a young age. The name I must live on as.

To be honest, I don’t need to care about what she was like. However, perhaps because I inherited her identity, I find myself caring about her to an extent that I can’t even comprehend.

There are hardly any who remember her now, not as the head of a family but simply as a young lady.

Still, I believe I can remember her more than anyone else.

The true ‘Elysia Frentz,’ whose face I don’t even know.

I haven’t asked for permission, but I will take your name.

Instead, you must pay the price for its use.

So don’t feel too unfair about it. Isn’t this worth it for you?

“Ely~ if you’re late, we’ll leave you behind!”

Just as I was gathering my resolve, Anne’s voice rang out from outside the door, completely oblivious to my feelings.

Of course, I know that despite her words, she wouldn’t actually leave me behind.

“One, two, three! We’re leaving~”

As she counted down on her own, her voice grew distant. No, wait! Are you really going to leave me behind?

Crash!

I hurriedly finished putting on my gloves, narrowly avoiding a fall, and opened the door, but Anne was already standing right in front of me, not moving away.

Celian, standing next to Anne, waved lightly in my direction.

“You came out quickly. Then let’s go!”

Seeing Anne leading the way, completely unaware that I almost stumbled, I couldn’t help but laugh.

So, I poked her in the side, but she retaliated with a fist.

As the Griffin Academy is a large institution, there are various events.

One of them is the class competition held by the swordsmanship department every month.

It’s the only event unique to the swordsmanship department, which is not found in the administrative and theological departments, where students are too busy studying throughout the semester.

Top students from each class are selected to engage in sparring matches.

Though it doesn’t significantly affect grades, such events are like a refreshing rain for students who repeat their studies and training every day.

The rules of the competition are simple. Each class sends out 5 students.

The winners continue to face the next opponent in a knockout style.

However, the top student of each class must always be kept for last, as having the captain sweep everything away at the beginning would defeat the purpose of the event.

The participating students from our class are me, Celian, Anne, Ian, and the class president, with whom I’ve talked a few times. Naturally, Celian is the captain.

The first competitors from Class 2 are four male students and one female student. I already knew that the leader of the group bullying Yuri is among them as their captain.

“If it’s alright with you guys, can I take the lead?”

I expressed my opinion to the others. The order of participation is a strategy of sorts, so I can’t decide it entirely on my own. However, today marks the first step of ‘Elysia Frentz.’ To create the picture I desire, it’s best to take the lead.

“Is there really a need for you to go first? Wouldn’t it be better for the weakest here, which is me, to go out and scout?”

The class president pushed up his glasses as he spoke. While that isn’t an incorrect statement and is a reasonable suggestion—

“Well, whatever. If you want to go, then go ahead.”

I had already aligned my thoughts with Anne, Ian, and Celian, who are close to me.

I felt a bit sorry for the class president, but it couldn’t be helped.

“If that’s the case.”

Instead, the order for the following participants was decided with the class president’s opinions being reflected as much as possible.

“Then, the first participant from each class, please step forward.”

Thus began the competition.

I stood up at Ferrent’s words and climbed onto the dueling platform.

The opponent approaching me was the only female student from Class 2 to be named among the five.

She was the girl I had asked Yuri to buy chocolate bread for the other day.

To be honest, I hadn’t thought I would meet her here, so it was a pleasant surprise.

We stood facing each other.

With a simple greeting, the duel commenced.

However, I had no intention of dragging this out.

I dashed forward as soon as the match began.

The female student, being a top student in her class, skillfully stepped back to block my extended sword.

Yet, what I would show her was overwhelming strength.

While using aura in duels is prohibited, enhancing one’s physical abilities does not break the rules.

Even though my strength may have weakened since becoming a woman, my aura has not diminished.

Unless she is extraordinary like Anne or Celian, there’s no reason for me to be overpowered by another girl.

Clang!

With a single clash, her wooden sword flew far away.

Holding a sword as a swordsman is a fundamental aspect of combat.

It’s common to get pushed back with the sword in hand, but losing one’s sword is nearly unheard of.

Unless there is an overwhelming difference in strength.

Thus, she made the mistake of staring in shock at her own hand.

Since the match was not yet over, she should have acted immediately, whether to roll on the ground or use some simple combat technique to evade my attack and regain her weapon.

Her failure to do so is proof that she is still an inexperienced student and likely felt the gap between us.

That was enough, so I stopped the wooden sword above her shoulder.

The referee, Ferrent, seemed to know I would stop and ended the match without any special intervention.

I lightly grazed her neck with the wooden sword resting on her shoulder as I retrieved it.

With a smile on my face, I turned to Ferrent and said, “Shall we move on to the next?”

To put it simply, I sent the next three students from Class 2 back down the dueling area one after another.

I shouldn’t be at a level where I could be defeated by these students in the first place.

It’s only because I have a monster like Celian in my class; I once aimed to be the youngest sword master.

The last student, the captain of Class 2, stepped up.

He didn’t seem to care that I had taken down four opponents in a row; instead, he approached with a smirk.

Yeah. Keep smiling like that.

“I was wondering what gave you the confidence to act so boldly last time, but it seems you had some faith in your abilities after all.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Well, it’s just a commoner wielding a sword.”

“Oh, it seems you really can swing a sword well? Considering you can’t even remember the simple rule that there’s no distinction between commoners and nobles within the academy, I suppose your written scores must be pretty poor for you to be a captain.”

A light provocation.

“Ha. Do you really believe in those meaningless rules? You girls like you will just end up spreading your legs at the bottom later.”

His retort was quite fierce.

Ferrent seemed unable to watch any further and was about to intervene, but I was faster.

I took off the gloves I had bought with the little money I had saved for today and threw them at his face.

I don’t usually wear gloves anyway.

Whap!

Filled with emotion, my sudden throw hit his face and fell to the ground.

Clop, clop, I slowly walked out of the dueling area to retrieve my sword that I had left with Anne.

Swish.

The sharp blade slid out of its sheath. Unlike the wooden sword, it felt cold.

And the tip of that sword pointed at the opponent before me.

Surprisingly, he responded well to my provocation.

Lacking a justifiable reason? Then, I’ll forcefully give him one.

“‘Elysia Frentz.’ As the representative of the Frentz family, I challenge you to a duel for your insult.”

His face flushed with anger.

It’s only natural for him to be furious after receiving an unexpected slap in the face.

So—

“Then come at me if you dare, you piece of trash.”