- The partner, who understands this without bothering with Ugeo's explanation, clicks his hair as black as his uniform, and says weakly, "Yogeo-kun, I'm going to sharpen my gun with all my might until the lights go out, if you want to, go to the cafeteria and bring me a meal, okay?" ”

"Got it. Obviously, it's good to do it a little bit. ”

"Even if you're right, there are people who can't do that......"

After leaving behind the strange words, Yi Yan slammed through the living room and disappeared into his room behind the north door.

The dormitory for the senior sword cultivator was different from the dormitory for the junior trainer who lived there a month and a half ago, and it was in the shape of a circle. The three-story dormitory is left empty in the middle, surrounded by a circular inner corridor, while the rooms where the twelve swordsmen live are arranged on the south side of the outer perimeter.

The cafeteria and large communal bath are on the first floor, and the student living rooms are six rooms on the second and third floors. Every two rooms share a living room, and the rooms of Eugeo and Yi Yan are on the third floor.

The allocation of rooms is automatically determined according to the order of the last comprehensive examination of the first grade, with the first place in room 301 on the easternmost part of the third floor and the second place in room 302...... The twelfth is in room 206 on the second floor. The room number of the Eugeo is 305 and the room number of Yi Yan is 306, which means that among the one hundred and twenty junior practitioners, the score of the Eugeo is ranked fifth, and the score of Yi Yan is ranked sixth.

The two were able to be divided into two rooms in the shared living room, half of which they had been eyed beforehand, and the other half had an element of luck. Although it was originally intended to monopolize the top two - if you can't spare your men and live in the next room, you can only do this - but in the test exam with the instructor as the opponent, Yi Yan and Yugeo only won the fourth and fifth places, which caused a sense of anxiety caused by the room being separated, and finally Yi Yan lost points in the martial arts and divine arts exams, and finally fell to sixth place.

Although the goal of obtaining the adjacent room was achieved, this left another suspense.

If you want to say the reason, the two of them in a year...... No, it was ten months later, and you had to graduate from the academy with the top two grades in order to get the right to appear in the Imperial Sword Martial Arts Conference. Although compared to Yi Yan's seventh place when he entered the school, the eighth place of Yougeo is also an improvement, but when I think of the four people above, this goal is not optimistic.

However, Yi Yan was very calm, as if he could defeat his opponent even if he was a high-level sword cultivator. This self-confidence is certainly not unfounded, as the term swordsman is not ranked according to the overall score obtained in the previous exams, but is determined by the examination competition held four times a year. And it's not an instructor as an opponent, it's a competition between students, so you can ignore the scoring benchmark and just beat your opponent.

And the partner, who exceeded the specifications in every sense, won beautifully in the first battle between the senior swordsman who was the chairman at the time two and a half months ago when he was still a junior practitioner. Although the actual decision was handled as a tie, it was undoubtedly a victory for Yi Yan. And the one who fought against him was the eldest son of the second-class knight family, who had served as the swordsmanship instructor of the Imperial Knights for generations, and he was also a great swordsman.

It was precisely because Yi Yan had taught him the Aingrun Stream Sword Technique, which only he knew, in the past two years, that Yugeo would not lack confidence in his sword. However, striding forward like a partner is another issue. Even the day before the written exam, he didn't want to skip his daily workout.

His partner, who had been practicing with him, locked himself in his room in order to sharpen his spear, and Yugeo had to walk out of the dormitory with his wooden sword.

On the other side of the inner corridor that traces the circular shape is a hollow structure that runs from the first floor to the third floor, and through the circular skylight above, you can see the red dusk sky. Such a wasteful building has never been seen in the village of Lulid or the town of Zakaria. The floor underfoot is polished of fine wood, and the curved walls are covered with paintings depicting the history of the empire.

"I live in such a gorgeous building, and I have a dedicated attendant who takes care of the cleaning. Even if you tell your brothers back home, they won't believe it at all. Along the long hallway, Yugeo thought to himself as he walked.

Although he is said to be a high-level sword cultivator, he can only have such preferential treatment as a student. What kind of luxurious life did the integrated knights of the Congregational Church, who were re-elected to the throne of the Unification Assembly, or even more so, literally at the apex of the world, in a sense have the power to surpass the four emperors?

“…… Uh, gaffe. Yugeo slammed his head with the wooden sword he slung over his shoulder.

A year has passed since I entered the school, and perhaps because I have become accustomed to life here, the thoughts I had when I first left the village sometimes seem to be suddenly forgotten. Now that he is standing here, he is definitely not trying to absorb fame and fortune for the sake of carrying the name of a swordsman.

"Alice......" Yugeo muttered the important name as if talking to himself.

Whether it's living here, winning in the test exam, or even running for the Knights, it's not an end in itself, it's just a means. In order to recapture the blonde childhood friend who should be somewhere in the central cathedral of the Congregational Church that people are free from-

Go through the staircase on the north side of the dormitory on the first floor of the Yugeo and walk towards the dedicated training ground adjacent to the dormitory. This is also one of the privileges of a high-level sword cultivator. When I was a beginner, I was still wielding a wooden sword in a large mixed training ground or a field practice field without a roof, but in this bright and spacious room, no matter how long it takes, it is not a problem to practice.

Eugeo opened the door in front of the short hallway, and he smelled the scent of the flooring, which was changed every spring. Although he stopped to take a big breath of the aroma, he stopped halfway through. In the air, there is also a slight sticky spice smell.

When he walked through the small room used to change clothes and into the training ground, the bad premonition became a reality.

The duo, who were in the middle of the wide floor, turned their heads when they noticed Eugeo's presence, and had a revealing look of displeasure on their faces. I don't know if they were doing the type practice, one of them just kept his sword swinging posture and stopped there, and the other was adjusting the angle of his limbs, but both of them hung down their arms in unnatural movements.

Even if you were so vigilant, I wouldn't steal your skills—Yugeo thought as he nodded lightly and walked to the corner of the training ground. Originally, I thought that the two of them would ignore themselves as usual, but tonight for some reason, one of the two who arrived first stepped forward and said, "Hey, Yugeo...... Swordsman, is it alone tonight? ”

It was the boy who had just swung his sword up. The tall body is dressed in a red uniform, and the wavy blonde hair hangs down long. With a smile on his well-groomed face, he seemed to deliberately pause between "Eugeo" and "Swordsman" to show that Eugeo was a farmer without a surname.

If you react to this practice in disgust, you won't even have time to practice. Giorgio greeted with a poker face, "Good evening, Swordsman of Antinos." Well, the roommate is not too coincidental......"

However, his words were interrupted by another boy in a loud voice, "How rude! When calling His Highness Leios, add the title of His Highness the Chair Swordsman! ”

Yugeo turned his head to face the gray-haired boy in the pale yellow uniform, and lowered his head a little in annoyance, "I'm sorry about that, Jizek Swordsman. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy was furious, stepped forward and shouted, "This is another rude act!" When you call me, add the title of second seat to me! And you've done such a thing that has no honorable historical tradition of the Sword Academy......"

"Well, that's nothing, Wimbell." At this time, the boy was tapped on the shoulder from behind, and immediately closed his mouth and stepped back.

As he had just said, the gray-haired Wimbel Gizek was the second-highest ranking swordsman among the twelve students living in this dormitory. And the blonde man, Leios Antinos, is the number one chairman of the senior swordsman. In other words, Leios has inherited the position of the former acting chairman of the battle with Yi Yan last month, Uro Libantin.

Compared to Uro, who has a calm martial arts atmosphere, it can be said that Laios is a man with a sense of magnificence commensurate with a superior nobleman, and his swordsmanship is also very close to this. Although it is natural that the genre is also a high-level Norgia stream, it is always a little difficult to accept that Leos, who has an elegant character at best and a dark personality at worst, is as good as Uro is good at swordsmanship that will knock down with one blow.

When he mentioned this matter to Yi Yan before, he once said that half of the power of the sword displayed by students from high nobility came from the strong self-esteem that had been cultivated since childhood. Although Reyos's enthusiasm for swordsmanship and the intensity of his cultivation were far inferior to Uro, his self-esteem was far superior to him. Therefore, Lyos's sword skills are mixed with an unpleasant sticky feeling.

- But isn't self-esteem the same as pride? If we have enough pride, why do those guys always show such a boring dislike for us anyway?

- Pride is something that requires constant self-provenance. However, self-esteem doesn't need to be like this. Leios: They must have developed that kind of self-esteem in the process of comparing themselves to others. That's why those guys have to belittle us who are neither nobles nor from the central capital. Conversely, if they don't, they won't be able to maintain their important self-esteem.

Although Yi Yan's words were a bit difficult for Yugeo to understand, maybe it was because Yugeo satisfied the self-esteem of Leios, who was always on top, that made their swords more powerful. However, even if he didn't think about responding with provocation or insult, Ugeo didn't have the skills to play the side of the academy rules like a partner, nor did he like to spread useless arguments.

Therefore, Yugeo was a little embarrassed by his submissive personality, but he bowed his head and bowed in apology, and then walked to the corner of the training ground again. After stepping onto the white wooden floor, which had been mined from the forest near Yangdu and was still quite heavenly, the unpleasant feeling disappeared little by little. In the central capital, where almost all of the buildings are made of stone, the place where you can enjoy the scent of fresh trees is quite valuable.

- Even though Leos had been learning swordsmanship from private tutors since childhood, I had struck Kigasida two thousand times a day during my seven years in the village of Lulid. Even if the self-esteem is not as good as theirs, the pride must be about the same. Although he wielded not a sword but an axe.

With that in mind, Yugeo stopped in front of the solo practice logs that lined the west wall. The logs were replaced along with the floor, and there are hardly any dents on the sides. Hold the sword made of platinum oak in both hands, assume a basic mid-section position, and breathe evenly.

"Hey!" With a brief shout, Yugeo swung down the sword he held above his head. With a heavy thump, the thirty cen diameter log that had been hit on the right side vibrated even the center.

With a decent feel, he stepped back and swung his sword down from his left side this time. Then right, then left. After ten blows, the only thing in his consciousness was his body and his sword, and the log in front of him.

Eugeo's nightly practice is just 400 slashes from the left and right. Like what Leios had practiced before, the complicated and gorgeous moves taught by those instructors were not practiced at all. Because his partner, Yi Yan, who was also the master who taught him swordsmanship, said that these moves were not necessary.

- In this world, what matters is whether or not to inject something into the sword. When he was teaching Eugeo swordsmanship, he used to say something like that.

- Norgia and Valtio, as well as our Ayn Grant Stream's Mysteries, are very powerful. Because as long as the timing is right, the sword will move semi-automatically. However, the question comes after that. From now on, there will be more battles between the mysteries and the mysteries like the one I did when I duel with Uro. At that point, it's the weight of the sword that determines the outcome of the battle.

The weight of the sword. Ugeo also understands that this is not simply the weight of the sword itself.

Uro Libantin, who fought against Yi Yan, poured into his sword his family's pride and sense of responsibility as a sword instructor of the Knights. And the senior Grugueroso Barruto, who had served as a close attendant the year before, was confident that he had developed from his steel body. Leos and Wembell, on the other hand, turned their pride as superior nobles into the weight of a sword.

So, what should I inject into my sword?

Hearing Ugeo's question, Yi Yan replied with the same flirtatious smile that he had always had, "It's up to you to find it yourself." Although Yugeo thought that this was worthy of the too laissez-faire answer he would make, Yi Yan also added, "You can't find it by practicing alone." ”

That's why Yugeo just repeated this striking practice every day during his journey to Santoria and after he obtained his scholarship at the Sword Academy. Neither a nobleman nor a swordsman, Eugeo, and only had the experience of stubbornly wielding an axe for several years in the forest south of Lurid.

No, there is actually another one.

That is the feeling of wanting to reclaim Alice, who was taken away by the Congregational Church. Therefore, whenever the wooden sword is wielded, only the figure of the blonde childhood friend cannot disappear from his heart. It was the same when the forests of his homeland were cutting down Kigascida.

It was eight years ago.

Eugeo could only watch Alice being killed by Desorubart. Synthesis· Seven take it away. At that time, he was holding a keel axe that was strong enough to cut through steel, but he couldn't swing it. Who's there...... It seemed to be a teenager about the same age as himself, and he was desperately shouting to himself by his side, "Is this really good!" ”

That's right...... Who is that man? To call Eugeo's friend like that, it should be only Alice who is right. However, that childish cry still reverberates faintly in the depths of my ears. Somewhere in his brain automatically counting the number of hits, Eugeo's consciousness dived into the depths of memory. At this time—

"Ah, every time I watch His Highness Eugeo's practice, it feels incredible." A laughing voice sounded behind him, making Yugeo's consciousness unable to concentrate. The sword was slightly off course, and the unpleasant rebound of the axe like the wrong axe in the time of the tree chopping made his hands tingle.

In the corner of the spacious training ground, there should be a considerable distance between them and Leios in the center, but their voices can be heard clearly here, probably because they deliberately spoke loudly to make him hear. Although I have long been tired of hearing their derogatories, it is not appropriate in any way if I am emotionally unstable right now.

Ignoring it, Eugeo muttered to himself, intending to swing his sword again—

"His Royal Highness Eugeo only practices that every night, what's the point of swinging a stick like that with no shape and no skill, Wimbell, do you have any ideas you want to know?"

"No, not at all, Your Highness Lyos." Again, there was an unnatural conversation, and there was a cooing laugh behind it. Yugeo's body didn't react, but he was already refuting it in his heart.

- It seems that you are always so energetic only when Yi Yan is away, Leios-kun.

Since last month, Leios and the others have stopped openly provoking them when Yugeo and Yi Yan are together. Although they had a double sense of disgust compared to when they were alone with Yugeo, it was not so much because of someone like Yugeo who was not to be feared, but more like because they were unhappy with Lin Yiyan.

It was as if something had happened between Yi Yan and Leios at the end of the junior training period, but when Yugeo went to ask Yi Yan, he only said that "there was a little dispute", and of course Yugeo couldn't directly question Leios.