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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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When it comes to sparring, not only is it unhelpful if there is too big of a skill gap, but it can also lead to developing strange habits, so I had no choice but to think and think again.
In the end, the important thing in preparing the two was finding sparring partners.
“That’s why I brought today’s guests.”
The male student who was called early in the morning seemed dissatisfied as he deliberately yawned loudly with his mouth wide open, and next to him was May, scratching the back of her head with half-sleepy eyes.
“Berman. A friend from Class D who’s quite the fist-fighter. And you know her without an introduction, right? It’s May.”
“Haa, if only it wasn’t May’s request.”
“I prefer to move a lot in the morning, so it’s hard to move now.”
“Both of them are really bad delinquents who are used to fighting, so you can fight without any burden.”
Then I handed wooden swords to the two delinquents.
“Since the opponent uses swords, you should use swords too.”
May basically preferred to fight in the backstreet style after enhancing her physical abilities with mana.
In a word, a ruleless dogfight was her specialty.
Berman, May’s right-hand man, seemed to be the same, as he made a displeased expression upon receiving the sword.
“C-Cheer up! Let’s give it a try!”
Since Tana thought she was causing trouble for others, she was quite down, unlike her usual self, so Eve encouraged her instead.
It was the opposite of their usual positions.
Encouraged by Eve’s support, Tana gripped the sword and prepared for the spar.
“Come here.”
I was standing between the four to give the signal to start the spar, and I gestured for May to come over.
Perhaps because she wasn’t eating candy in the morning, she grumbled as she approached.
“What now?”
“Fight as long as possible. But you can fight in the way you like.”
“……Are you serious? Those Mayas kids won’t fight dirty like me.”
May, who questioned whether it was right to spar with the opposite fighting style, and I told her not to worry.
“What about Berman then? It’s a bit awkward to say this, but he’s quite good at fighting too.”
“I just called him to boost Tana and Eve’s confidence while adjusting the numbers.”
“Hm? I don’t think you should underestimate him that much.”
As May said, I knew that Berman was quite skilled with his fists.
But his strength came from a kind of momentum that came from his guts and fierceness.
Once he started fighting with a sword, he wouldn’t be able to exert his strength properly as expected.
I knew it well since I had sparred with him directly in the previous practical exam.
“Our side shouldn’t be underestimated either.”
Just considering the time they had exercised with me, the two of them could beat someone like Berman together.
“Our? Am I not included?”
“……Go.”
May returned to her position, and I signaled the start of the spar.
“Let’s finish quickly and go back to sleep!”
Berman charged in, while May watched from behind with a blank expression.
He naturally thought May would follow him, so he was a bit flustered at first, but conversely, he immediately took the initiative, saying he would show off his cool side.
‘It won’t look very cool to beat two girls, though.’
Anyway, Berman ended up facing Eve and Tana at the same time.
The two of them knew their practical exam scores were barely above the bottom, so he thought he could handle them easily, but…
“I’ll strike first!”
“I’ll follow right behind.”
Faced with the continuous attacks of the two, Berman helplessly started retreating.
In the end, he was hit on the forehead and waist simultaneously and crawled on the floor.
“Wow, you two have definitely become great.”
May honestly acknowledged it while tapping her shoulder with the wooden sword and stepped forward.
Tana and Eve naturally thought they would fight 2:2, but they didn’t let their guard down.
Because it was May who had subdued numerous delinquents at this academy with her small fist.
However, since mana usage itself was prohibited in this spar, May was no different from an ordinary female student anyway.
If she got hit, it would hurt, and tears would well up from the pain.
It meant that May’s specialty, physical enhancement, couldn’t be used.
“Hap!”
This time, Eve took the lead again.
She knew exactly that her role in this spar was to make Tana stand out, so she stepped up first, and…
Clack!
Eve and May’s wooden swords clashed.
May naturally had the upper hand in strength, so Eve started to be pushed back, but it was the opportunity she had been waiting for.
Tana charged forward and thrust her wooden sword at May’s abdomen.
It was a perfect hit.
It was a blow that wouldn’t have been strange if her waist had immediately bent and staggered, but…
“Kuh!”
May endured it while clenching her teeth.
Then she pushed Eve down with force and immediately rushed at Tana.
Tenacity.
Moving solely with the desire for victory, fighting dirty and unfairly, but surviving until the end and being the last one standing.
It wasn’t that May chose that method because she was tough.
She didn’t know how to fight, but she had evolved to win somehow.
The nickname “Queen of the Backstreets” wasn’t given for nothing.
“But is that really helpful?”
“The opponent’s personality seems completely opposite to theirs.”
Hayun and Sen, who had finished their own spar, approached from the side and watched the spar between the three.
Hayun and Sen were unsuitable as sparring partners because the skill gap with the two was too severe.
It was a reasonable question that May had also asked me earlier.
I crossed my arms and continued to follow Tana and May’s movements with my eyes as I answered.
“First of all, they need to know how to fight. Both of them only spar briefly during practical exams.”
It doesn’t matter if the enemy is a knight, a magician, a backstreet gangster, or a magical beast.
First of all, don’t they need to get used to fighting itself?
In that sense, I planned to make them spar with various people, not just May, for this week.
Preferably at a similar level.
‘I’ll teach them the knack of dealing with those twin brats, so it’ll be fine.’
Of course, to do that, I would have to invest quite a bit of time.
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“Here, Daniel. Eat this.”
“……We just had lunch earlier.”
“You exercise a lot, so you need to keep eating.”
Recently, my childhood friend’s consideration was too excessive, making me uncomfortable.
Even now, she was right next to me, handing me a sandwich she had made herself.
I’ll eat it since she gave it to me, but…
Since Rin’s appearance was so outstanding, she naturally stood out.
Especially to the 2nd-years, whom we couldn’t see often.
“Wow, that senior is crazy.”
“3rd-year Class A’s Senior Rin? Last time, she picked up the handkerchief I dropped. Aren’t you jealous?”
“What? If it were me, I wouldn’t wash that.”
“Huh? Isn’t that obvious? I carry it in my pocket every day.”
What, I heard some dangerous things.
Of course, Rin must have heard it too, but she had no reaction as if it was just a bug buzzing.
In a word, no reaction at all.
“How is it? Is it delicious?”
Rin asked as soon as I took a bite of the sandwich.
I chewed it a few times and nodded slightly without exaggerating too much.
“It’s delicious.”
In the first place, it was hard for a sandwich to not be delicious, but it was a sandwich filled with Rin’s sincerity.
“Hehe.”
She immediately smiled brightly and looked happy, and that appearance contained a rural girl-like innocence.
Like a scout observing to scout promising athletic prospects, I intently watched Ben Mayas practicing “battle soccer” for the competition in the sports field.
Valtory Mayas was also practicing a different event, but there seemed to be a short break time, so she headed towards me.
“Shouldn’t you run away?”
“Why should I? If they don’t want to see me, they can go somewhere else.”
Although I was spying on the enemy, to put it bluntly, I was just sitting on the bleachers in the sports field and watching.
It was a natural right for Aios Academy students.
Valtory Mayas, who approached, also didn’t seem angry or have an atmosphere that it was a big problem for me to spy on them.
“You’re staring so intently that my friends are saying I’ve become the Night King’s next target.”
“……”
“Sorry, but could you please look at Ben’s side if possible?”
Then Valtory turned her body again.
After thinking for a moment, I asked her back.
“But aren’t you guys preparing?”
Tana and Eve were diligently exercising from early in the morning, so I asked because I was a bit envious that these guys were just preparing for the competition, but Valtory answered incredulously instead.
“Do we have to spend our time just for Tana’s sake? We’ll just go and swing a sword a few times, and it’ll be over.”
They were really looking down on her.
“You might get badly bitten if you do that.”
It was a warning mixed with my own mercy, but Valtory snorted and answered instead.
“Why don’t you try observing and teaching diligently for once? Doing everything you can and losing like that will make Tana give up too.”
Valtory smiled and returned to her original spot.
I silently watched her back, but then Rin suddenly poked her face from the side.
“Night King? Next target? What does that mean?”
“……Ares is called the Night King. The rumor got distorted and they’re mistaking me for him.”
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Elise had never liked the room with an overall pinkish hue since a long time ago.
From the light pink wallpaper to the dark pink curtains with frills, and the pink canopy covering the entire bed.
Even the thick blanket and the three pillows were all pink.
It was to the point where she wondered if it was her sisters’ scheme to make her go insane, but there was nothing Elise could touch.
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
A feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Whether it was people or things, regardless of intention, if she reached out without permission, everything would break and shatter.
Later on, she even hesitated to reach out her hand.
And as those feelings intensified, Elise eventually hid her identity and fled to Aios Academy.
There, everything was a fresh and new experience because they didn’t know she was a princess.
Especially when she faced Daniel McLean, who got angry and swung his sword at her, it was probably one of the few moments when Elise was excited in her life.
“I wonder if he noticed.”
Although it didn’t suit her like this room, Elise still prayed inwardly.
Because there was nothing else she could do.
At that moment, the door opened.
She thought it was her exclusive maid Bertia who had entered, but it wasn’t.
“Big brother.”
“How does it feel to be in your room? Do you feel good to have found your place?”
The 1st Prince Oliver de Frisia.
And behind him was Heaven Len, the head of the Len family with an impressive thick belly.
And lastly…
“It’s a truly princess-like room.”
A woman who didn’t look ordinary at first glance, with priestly clothes steeped in accumulated virtue and hardship, a clock hand-shaped earring piercing her ear, and silvery hair like the Milky Way, entered the room.
It was a face she had never seen before, but Elise immediately realized that she was a being she had often heard rumors about.
If they were renowned nobles, they would have sought her advice and consultation at least once, but without carelessly revealing her appearance, even the nobles hid her as if protecting her.
Numerous aliases referring to her naturally surfaced in her mind.
The Earliest Walker.
The Lone Observer Ahead.
The Epithet “???”.
But rather than these aliases, she could be referred to very simply.
“The Priestess of Time.”
As her identity was accurately guessed, the priestess’ mouth drew a generous arc.
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Time- Regressor