Lizbette thought she was the strongest among the students of the knight department.
It was not arrogance.
After all, she had not shed a single drop of sweat in the duels that brought her to the finals.
However, she had not particularly wanted to become class representative either.
If her opponent wanted it, she had even been willing to yield victory in the final match.
But after watching that commoner fight until now, she had changed her mind.
'He might be stronger than me.'
She had noticed long ago that he had devoted himself to the sword.
His skillful movements and the harsh calluses on his hands were proof of that.
Above all, she felt a sense of kinship with him as someone who had also devoted herself to the sword.
But he could not hold a sword because he had injured his hand?
That was an obvious lie no matter who looked at it.
'If he's going to dodge it that badly, I'll drag his skill out of him by force.'
That was why, even though she knew it was rather underhanded, she had provoked him, but...
"Come at me."
At that low word from Trine, she swallowed dryly without realizing it.
That commoner, who had looked listless and indifferent all this time, was now radiating an unusual spirit.
'Looks like I touched a dragon's reverse scale.'
For some reason, rather than regret or fear, she felt joy.
To think she could fight such a strong opponent. Coming to the Academy really had been the right choice.
That was why Lizbette lifted her greatsword with a delighted smile.
"Now then, shall we have a proper fight as fellow walkers of the sword's path?"
Trine charged with his magic sword in hand.
Soon, their swords collided.
"I thought you couldn't hold a sword?!"
"A magic sword has no weight!"
"What a feeble excuse!"
And so the battle between the two swordfighters began.
As sword clashed against sword and danced through a dizzying exchange, the surrounding students could not tear their eyes away, their faces blank with shock.
"W-What the hell is that? I can't even see their swords..."
"Doesn't it look like they're swinging five times a second?"
"Are they both even human?"
Lizbette was just as bewildered.
In the rain of sword strikes pouring down without end, even the slightest opening would be enough to get her.
But Lizbette soon realized Trine's weakness.
"You can only use that magic sword for about a minute, can't you?!"
"With my mana, ten seconds!"
"Then I'll end this within ten seconds!"
"That's my line!"
Suddenly, Trine pulled his body far back and hurled the magic sword.
"That won't work!"
Lizbette calmly knocked the magic sword away.
Then she pressed close into Trine's space and tried to swing her greatsword, certain of her victory, but-
Someone among the spectators shouted,
"Watch your back!"
Even without being told, she had already sensed it.
The magic sword that had flown away had changed direction on its own in midair.
It was flying toward Lizbette's back.
"Sloppy!"
Lizbette spun her body sharply and knocked away the sword behind her with all her might once again.
A magic sword was a sword controlled by mental strength, not grip strength.
That was why she had naturally expected him to use it this way.
This time, she had sent it flying far away for certain, so it would take time to return.
"It's over once a swordsman loses his sword!"
Lizbette turned back again to cut down Trine, but for some reason, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Where-"
By the time she realized where he had hidden, it was too late.
Trine had thrown himself flat on his back on the ground.
Then he kicked upward and struck Lizbette's wrist.
"Ugh!"
At the unexpected surprise attack, Lizbette nearly dropped her sword.
But she immediately corrected her stance.
However, it was already over.
In that brief moment, the magic sword had returned to Trine's hand.
And the tip of that sword was aimed at Lizbette's neck.
...Lizbette raised both hands and opened her mouth.
"I lo-"
"I lost."
Trine cut Lizbette off and declared his own defeat first.
"I ran out of mana."
Then, the magic sword evaporated from his hand.
Lizbette protested to Trine, looking dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about? You clearly won."
"My mana ran out before I stabbed you."
"Didn't you release it on purpose?"
"I'm telling you, I really ran out of mana."
"Don't be ridiculous. You lied about the ten seconds too, just to make me drop my guard, didn't you?"
"I said it wasn't a lie!"
"Shut up! Anyway, if I lost, then I lost!"
"I surrendered first!"
"Instructor! Please determine which side won!"
In the end, Instructor Eloy put an end to their childish argument.
"Trine won."
In the end, Trine sank down to the ground, and Lizbette cried out in triumph.
"Yes!"
Then she soon cleared her throat and said to Trine,
"It was a good match."
Trine glared at Lizbette for a moment while still sitting there.
Then he let out a long sigh and stood up.
"I was just lucky."
At that, several of the surrounding students shouted.
"That's right! It was just luck!"
"As if Lady Lizbette could lose to some commoner through skill?"
"Honestly, that commoner only won because he did something cowardly!"
Without letting go of Trine's hand, Lizbette spoke in a loud voice as if to show them all.
"Is that really so? A magic sword is a high-level spell that's quite difficult to learn, isn't it?"
Trine frowned and replied,
"No, even after five years of practice, that one spell is all I can-"
"On top of that, using physical techniques while controlling a magic sword is quite impressive."
"That was only because you let your guard down-"
"And he even had the boldness to lie completely flat on the ground to escape my field of vision."
In the end, Trine said with a slightly fed-up expression,
"You really hate losing, don't you?"
Lizbette smiled playfully and answered,
"That just means it's impressive that you beat me, someone who hates losing that much."
Lizbette offered Trine her hand for a handshake.
"I acknowledge you."
Trine reluctantly smiled bitterly and took her hand.
At that, Instructor Eloy clapped with a satisfied expression.
One by one, the students began clapping as they watched the mood.
Amid the thunderous applause, Lizbette said,
"I look forward to working with you, class representative."
***
"Then we will now hold the class representative appointment ceremony!"
In the classroom, Instructor Eloy shouted to the knight department students.
As Trine stepped forward with a long, weary sigh, the instructor pinned a small medal to the front of his clothes and said,
"You don't look very happy. The knight department's class representative is an honorable position that not just anyone can hold."
"If there's anyone who wants to be class representative in my place, I'll hand over the position anytime."
"Really? Then that means you don't need this book, right?"
When Instructor Eloy pulled a palm-sized book from inside her clothes and showed it to him, Trine's eyes suddenly widened.
"A grimoire?!"
"I was going to give it as a gift to the student who became class representative."
Trine tried to snatch the grimoire, but Instructor Eloy teasingly dodged his hand.
"If you want it, swear that you will fulfill your responsibilities as class representative."
"...Was this your plan from the beginning?"
"I only prepared it just in case after seeing the reason you wrote for applying on your entrance exam application."
Trine glared fiercely at Instructor Eloy for a moment.
Soon, she smiled playfully and handed the grimoire to Trine.
"So tell everyone your aspirations in your own words."
"I don't really want to say them."
At that, Instructor Eloy suddenly shouted toward the students.
"All right! If Trine doesn't speak, I'm giving you a brutal load of homework!"
Boos erupted from every direction.
"That's not fair!"
"Hey, Trine! Speak right now!"
"Class representative! Please!"
As Trine stood there flustered for a moment, Instructor Eloy smiled gently and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"They're friends who'll spend the next three years with you. At least let them know what kind of person you are."
Trine resigned himself, slowly turned around, and shouted to everyone.
"I have no interest whatsoever in the honor or aspirations of being class representative!"
The students began booing, but Trine ignored them and continued.
"I only came here for the sake of marrying one woman!"
...At that firm answer, the students all fell silent at once.
"She's currently under a curse. I came here to study grimoires in order to break it."
He stared down at his injured palm and murmured,
"Right now, I'm a washout who can't even hold a sword, but I'll definitely find a way and save her."
In truth, Trine had not left Yuril's side because he had given up on her.
Rather, he had left because he did not want to give up on her.
If he stayed by her side, her kindness might break his resolve.
...Trine glared at the students again and said,
"So please take care of me for the next three years!"
In other words, it was no different from a declaration that they should stop paying attention to him.
At that, Prince Sirean, who had remained still until then, picked a fight with him.
"For a commoner who became class representative over royalty and nobles, you are quite bold."
"If you don't like it, Your Highness can become class representative."
At those words, Prince Sirean suddenly began clapping.
"No, I actually like you."
Then Lizbette soon followed and began clapping as well.
"I, too, support your pure passion and aspirations."
At that, the other students began clapping after the two of them one by one.
"You're amazing, class representative!"
"Looking forward to working with you!"
"I'll support your love too!"
Soon, the classroom filled with thunderous applause.
As Trine looked around in confusion, Instructor Eloy placed a hand on his shoulder from behind and said,
"Not bad. You acted deliberately rude and got everyone to acknowledge you."
"No, I, uh, meant that as a way of telling them to leave me alone."
"Give up. Now that royalty and a duke's daughter have acknowledged you, you're the true class representative in both name and reality."
In the end, Trine resigned himself and let out a short sigh.
And so, his eventful Academy life began in spectacular fashion.
***
A few days later, at a small manor on the frontier.
After knocking, the butler carefully opened the door.
"My lady, I have brought breakfast."
Without answering, Yuril sat at her desk, copying something down from a thick book.
Around her, all kinds of books, medicinal herbs, and experimental equipment lay in a chaotic mess.
The butler quietly set breakfast on the table and said,
"What time did you wake up today?"
"...Huh? Is it already morning?"
"It is good to work hard, but you must sleep properly."
"I suppose so."
"More importantly, there is an article in today's newspaper that you may find interesting, my lady."
Yuril accepted the newspaper and looked it over.
On the front page, the headline 'A Commoner Becomes Knight Department Class Representative!' was emblazoned.
Yuril had been reading the article with sleepy eyes, but soon she snapped fully awake.
"Trine?!"
It was a story about Trine defeating his knight department classmates in duels and winning the class representative position.
All kinds of emotions crossed Yuril's heart at the same time.
But relief was the greatest among them.
"...I'm glad he seems to be doing well."
Yuril smiled without realizing it.
But as she continued reading, her expression gradually stiffened.
In the end, her eyes narrowed sharply at one line written near the end of the article.
'Trine proudly declared that no matter what hardship he faced, he would not give up and would save that girl.'
"Wait. Didn't Trine leave for the Academy because he gave up on me?"
Only then did Yuril understand the true meaning of what Trine had said just before he left.
'I've started wanting to give up on saving you.'
That had not meant he was giving up on Yuril and leaving for the Academy.
Rather, it meant he was leaving because he did not want to give up on Yuril.
"That idiot. Did he deliberately say it vaguely?"
The butler answered,
"He must have lied on purpose because it was obvious you would stop him if he told you honestly."
"Of course."
"What will you do?"
Yuril irritably set down the newspaper and replied,
"Nothing changes. He'll give up on me in the end."
"Why are you so certain of that?"
"Because he's been poisoned by this."
Yuril held out the book she had opened to the butler.
The book contained detailed information about the poison afflicting Trine.
"'Due to the loss of confidence and passion, there is a possibility of suicide. Caution is required...'"
"Just watch. Once he spends time at the Academy, he'll eventually fall for some other girl and forget all about me."
At those words, the butler started to say something, then stopped and changed the subject.
"By the way, have you found any clues for detoxification?"
"It's a poison known as one of the three great unsolved problems of the world. Of course it won't be easy to solve."
"I am certain you will find a way, my lady."
"Spare me the empty flattery."
Yuril tilted her head back, looking somewhat exhausted, and murmured,
"His hand was injured because of me, so I'll definitely heal it."
Then she looked out at the garden beyond the window.
The garden where the boy had always smiled brightly and waved.
The empty garden where no one came now.
"And after that, I'll make sure to tell him what I couldn't say back then... to give up on me."
***
At that moment, in the Academy faculty office, Trine was shouting.
"How could you publish this as an article without saying a word to me?!"
When he abruptly held out the newspaper to Instructor Eloy, she scratched her head as if she found it annoying and replied,
"Don't complain to me. We announce it every year."
"Back then, I only said it because I couldn't help it in that atmosphere, but I wanted to keep it hidden if possible."
"Why? Because you're afraid that girl might read the newspaper?"
As Trine let out an obvious sigh, Instructor Eloy patted him on the shoulder.
"Give up. As long as you're the knight department's class representative, your name is going to appear in the newspapers a lot from now on."
"Then I'll resign as class representative."
"If you're going to resign, give back the grimoire."
"It didn't have much content anyway, so I'll do that."
At that, Instructor Eloy asked with a somewhat surprised expression,
"You already read it all?"
"It looked like nothing but a fairy-tale book to me."
It was said that a grimoire's contents changed depending on the reader.
Ordinarily, its contents seemed to be determined by the reader's capabilities and desires.
But when Trine read it, for some reason, it had turned into a mere twenty-page fairy-tale book.
And the story was even the obvious one, 'The Frog Prince.'
A prince who had been turned into a frog by a curse received a kiss from a princess and was freed from the curse.
That was all.
"I guess I don't even have talent for reading grimoires."
At his grumbling, Instructor Eloy murmured with an oddly serious expression.
"It's probably the opposite. Deciphering an entire grimoire in less than a week is world-record level."
"Anyway, if you want it back, I'll just return the grimoire."
At that, Instructor Eloy smiled gently and said,
"No. I am sure it will be helpful someday, so keep it with you."
In the end, Trine murmured as if resigned.
"...Next time, at least tell me in advance when something like this happens."
Trine irritably tossed the newspaper onto Instructor Eloy's desk and left the faculty office.
Just then, some noble female students passing by spoke to Trine.
"You're Trine, the one who became class representative of the knight department, right?"
"What? Ah, yes. That's me."
"I read the article. It was quite an excellent speech."
"Thank you."
"I'm Servia of a marquis family. I'm a second-year student in the magic department."
"I'm Trine, a commoner."
"I would like to invite you to a tea party after school tomorrow. Would that be all right?"
"What? No, I'm a commoner."
"If you're the knight department's class representative, you'll become a noble soon enough."
Trine looked bewildered.
He did not particularly want to accept the invitation.
But if he refused, it would surely cause trouble later.
"Yes... Then I will gratefully accept your invitation."
"Thank you. Then I will see you tomorrow."
Servia smiled and left with the other girls.
Trine scratched his head and was about to enter the classroom when, this time, some male students he had never seen before spoke to him.
"Are you Trine?"
"Ah, yes. What is it?"
"Don't get cocky just because a commoner like you became class representative of the knight department."
After saying that, they deliberately bumped shoulders with Trine and left.
Trine let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground beneath him and returned to the classroom.
But even his knight department classmates did not seem to intend to leave Trine alone.
"Class representative! I saw the newspaper article!"
"At this rate, won't you get a love letter from the girl you have a crush on?"
"I support your love!"
For some reason, after his "class representative speech," none of the students looked down on Trine anymore.
However, from Trine's point of view, either way, it was nothing but a nuisance.
He sank heavily into his seat and replied irritably,
"You're all noisy."
Just then, a yellow-haired boy with a delinquent air approached Trine and sneered.
"Hmph. You lucky bastard. Even I almost never make the front page of the newspaper."
Prince Sirean.
He was the student who had sat out during the previous duel under the excuse that his stomach hurt.
Without even looking at his face, Trine replied,
"Then you be class representative instead of me."
"Don't be ridiculous. The class representative was always a seat for a clown, not royalty."
...For some reason, the student who had become closest to Trine was Prince Sirean.
After Trine became class representative, Sirean had somehow begun pestering him all the time.
In any case, Trine was sick and tired of talking about being class representative, so he changed the subject.
"I got invited to a tea party by another noble."
At that, Prince Sirean snorted and replied,
"They've already marked you? Be careful. Their goal is definitely a marriage proposal."
"Come on, it can't be as far as a marriage proposal."
"I hear some people put sleeping drugs in tea and create a fait accompli."
"...Seriously?"
When Trine looked dumbfounded, Prince Sirean thought for a moment before speaking again.
"I will go to that tea party with you."
"What? Why?"
"Because if I leave you alone, you really might end up forcibly engaged to some other noble."
"I appreciate that, but there isn't really anything in it for you, is there?"
"Why would there not be? Making sure you don't cheat is part of my role too."
Why did this prince keep trying to interfere with Trine?
Trine even felt as though he had become the subject of some tremendous misunderstanding.
Just then, another male student in their class casually slung an arm over Trine's shoulder.
"Class Representative Trine! Prince Sirean! Can I come to that tea party too?"
It was Jize, a male student from a viscount family in their class.
He was the mixed-blood demonkin Trine had faced in the first round of the duel.
At a glance, he only looked like a human with slightly reddish skin.
Trine looked at Jize as if he found him bothersome and asked,
"Why you too?"
"Obviously, to leech off your fame and pick up some girls!"
After a very brief moment of thought, Trine answered,
"Fine. Then let's go together after school tomorrow."