Peace Hunter

After Irene's daily match against Elaina, we immediately left the first-year building. My friends and I decided to go to the shopping area to buy food, while senior Vanina, senior Nadine, and Princess Amelia didn't join us and went in another direction. Enzo also didn't join us, choosing to go with Princess Amelia and the others.

-

In the academy forest.

Princess Amelia and Enzo were seen talking alone in the forest. Senior Vanina and senior Nadine were nowhere to be seen, indicating that Princess Amelia and Enzo had separated.

"In the end, Irene easily won against the Sword Princess. If the Sword Princess had won against Irene, the Duke's third goal of separating Rid and Irene would have been achieved," said Princess Amelia.

"From the start, I didn't have much hope for the Sword Princess. I was sure she would lose to Irene," said Enzo.

"But I didn't expect the Sword Princess to make such a bet. Is the Stabile family also involved in the Duke's third plan?" asked Princess Amelia.

"I don't think so. The Sword Princess probably made that bet for her own reasons. As we know, Rid is incredibly powerful, so perhaps the Sword Princess made that bet out of her own desire to make him her mate. Or perhaps it was on the orders of her father, the Sword King, to steal him from Irene. Well, a woman as powerful as the Sword Princess naturally deserves a partner stronger than herself. Rid is a perfect match for her, especially since his popularity is already well-known throughout the San Fulgen Kingdom thanks to his contributions in fighting off the attackers who attacked the academy previously. I hate to admit it, but that's the truth," Enzo said.

"I see. It's a shame that the Stabile family isn't involved in the three Dukes' plan. Their entire family is incredibly powerful and could be useful as the three Dukes' fighting force," Princess Amelia said.

"They're a family loyal to the royal family, just like the San Lucia family. So there's no way they could be involved in the three Dukes' plan. Besides, even without them, I'm confident our plan would have succeeded. Especially since we, as 'subjects', have been given a major role in this plan," Enzo said.

"Even so, there are still obstacles standing in the way of the three Dukes' plans," said Princess Amelia.

"Rid, huh? Let's just wait and see what plan Senior Florian will implement. He said he will trap and kill Rid. Therefore, he deliberately appointed Rid as Elevrad's vice chairman so that his plan to trap Rid will be smoother. If this plan succeeds, there will be no more obstacles standing in the way of the three Dukes' plans," said Enzo.

-

The next day, after the academy lessons were over.

We, the members of Elevrad, gathered in the Elevrad room. When we were all gathered in the Elevrad room, suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Please come in," said Senior Florian.

After Senior Florian said that, the door to the Elevrad room opened and someone entered. It was Elaina.

"I apologize for interrupting your time. I came here because I want to join Elevrad," said Elaina.

Senior Florian approached Elaina.

"Welcome, Sword Princess. You don't need to apologize for that. After all, we're very pleased to see a student as strong as you wish to join Elevrad. Let me introduce myself. My name is Florian Randall San Minerva, and I'm the current chairman of Elevrad," said Senior Florian.

"I've heard about you for a while, Senior. You're the son of Duke San Minerva," said Elaina.

"Yes, that's right. By the way, you don't need to speak so formally. At Elevrad, we don't discriminate based on strength, social status, or senior-junior relationships. We speak casually without any distinctions. So there's no need for formalities," said Senior Florian.

"Ok, Senior, I'll try," said Elaina.

"Ok, you said you wanted to join Elevrad, right?" asked Senior Florian.

"Yes, Senior," said Elaina.

"I'll allow you to join Elevrad, but you must first introduce yourself to all the Elevrad members here," said Senior Florian.

"Ok, Senior," said Elaina.

Senior Florian then stepped away slightly from Elaina, while Elaina took a deep breath. A moment later, she exhaled. Then she looked at all the Elevrad members in front of her.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Elaina Stabile. I'm here to join Elevrad. I may still be the most junior student here and inexperienced. But I will do my best to contribute to Elevrad. Therefore, I ask for your guidance, seniors," Elaina said with a bow.

Those of us who heard her applauded.

"Elaina self-introduction is excellent. As expected of a noble family," I thought.

Then senior Florian approached Elaina again.

"A good introduction. Sword Princess, no, Elaina, from now on you are officially a member of Elevrad. I look forward to your contributions to Elevrad," said Senior Florian.

Senior Florian extended his hand to shake Elaina's.

"Yes, Senior," said Elaina.

Elaina took his hand, and they both shook hands. With this, Elaina officially became a member of Elevrad. Although, she became a member after losing a bet during a match against Irene.

Initially, Elaina was the only first-year student invited to join Elevrad. However, over time, other first-year students began to join. The five first-year students invited to join Elevrad officially joined.

-

Two months later, 4 a.m. in the academy garden.

I was currently sparring with Miss Violetta again.

~Flower Sword Art: Sword Dance In The Flower Garden~

Miss Violetta continued to attack me with her rapid successive slashes. But I managed to perfectly block and dodge all of her attacks.

"When I first attacked him using this technique, he couldn't perfectly block or dodge each of these slashes. But this time, he managed both perfectly. He's progressing so fast," thought Miss Violetta.

At one point when Miss Violetta attacked me with her slash, I used most of my strength to block it, causing Miss Violetta's sword to rise. An opening appeared in her defense, and I immediately attempted to attack her with my technique.

~Sword Art: Half Moon Slash~

I aimed my slash at Miss Violetta's stomach, but Miss Violetta swiftly blocked my attack with her previously raised sword. Miss Violetta successfully blocked my attack. However, despite being blocked, Miss Violetta was pushed back several meters.

"We'll end our sparring here," said Miss Violetta, putting her sword back at her waist.

"Yes, Miss," I said.

Miss Violetta then approached me.

"That was a very good attack, Rid. It seems you've improved a lot since our first sparring session," Miss Violetta said.

"This is all thanks to Miss Violetta," I said.

"Thanks to me? I didn't teach you anything in this sparring session," Miss Violetta said.

"But it's thanks to my sparring sessions with Miss Violetta. Sparring with someone as strong as Miss Violetta will certainly make me improve and become stronger too. If Miss Violetta hadn't kept me engaged in sparring, I probably wouldn't have improved," I said.

"You're overreacting. I'm sure you'll continue to improve even if you don't spar with me," said Miss Violetta.

"I don't know, I'm not sure," I said.

Since I've known Miss Violetta for two months, I no longer speak to her as formally as before. Besides, a few weeks ago, Miss Violetta herself told me not to speak formally with her.

"Hmm, but looking at your current progress, it seems I'll lose if we compete seriously," Miss Violetta said.

"Miss Violetta overestimates me. If we both compete seriously, I'll definitely lose. Furthermore, I don't know what magical powers Miss Violetta possesses, as our sparring sessions have only been purely using swords and physical strength," I said.

"Likewise, I don't know what magical powers you possess either," said Miss Violetta.

"Even so, I'm certain I'll lose against Miss Violetta. Furthermore, it seems Miss Violetta has completely recovered from the trauma you experienced previously. I haven't seen you're hands shaking since that incident. Even Miss Violetta seemed more at ease when sparring against me, unlike when we first sparred," I said.

"Ah, about that, I decided to slowly forget about my trauma and past. I told you before that I couldn't continue like this because it would interfere with my duties as commander of the soldiers guarding this academy. So I decided to slowly forget about that trauma, and it seems like I've fully recovered this time," Miss Violetta said.

"I see. Congratulations on your recovery from that trauma, Miss Violetta," I said.

"Thank you, Rid," said Miss Violetta.

"It seems Rid doesn't know that he was actually the one who healed my trauma with his healing magic. Also, it seems he doesn't know that the healing magic he used earlier had such a powerful healing effect. Or maybe he actually does know, but he's acting like he doesn't know so I won't ask him too many questions about it. Well, whatever the case, I won't ask him about it. He healed me, after all," Miss Violetta thought, leaving her speechless for a moment.

I, confused as to why Miss Violetta had suddenly gone silent, immediately asked her.

"What's wrong, Miss?" I asked.

"Ah, nothing. Oh yeah Rid, I wanted to ask about the assault on this academy a while ago. Was there really a Fairy in the assault group?" Miss Violetta asked.

"That's right, Miss. I managed to block some of her attacks as she attempted to attack the academy principal. I didn't fight her directly, but I heard that Mr. Alan, Miss Nora, and my friend, Noa, fought the Fairy. But they couldn't do much against her because she was very powerful in using magic," I said.

"I see. As expected of the Fairy race, they are indeed very powerful in using magic," said Miss Violetta.

"That group attacked this academy because they intended to kill Charles, Chloe, and Caroline, the children of Her Majesty the Queen. Was there a similar incident in the kingdom where Miss Violetta used to work?" I asked.

"If it's about attacking a kingdom leader or someone related to the kingdom leader where I used to work, there were no such incidents. But several cities within my kingdom were attacked by unknown individuals," said Miss Violetta.

"Hmm, I see," I said.

"You seem to think that the events at this academy and the kingdom where I used to work are related, but I think the possibility of that is very slim. The kingdom of San Fulgen and the kingdom where I used to work are very far apart, so the possibility of their occurrence is very slim," said Miss Violetta.

"Although the possibility is very slim, it doesn't mean it's impossible. I'm still worried that the group might come back to attack this academy to kill Charles and Chloe. The Demi-Humans who attacked this academy claimed they were from the Sedona Kingdom and that their goal in killing Her Majesty the Queen's children was to declare war on the San Fulgen Kingdom,"

"But seeing as there were several humans and a fairy in the group of attackers, I doubt they were from the Sedona Kingdom. It seems they were from another organization who wanted to incite war between the San Fulgen Kingdom and Sedona," I said.

"You don't need to worry, Rid. Besides, the academy's security has been tightened. They won't be able to attack this academy again easily. I will also fight with all my might if the academy is attacked by them again," said Miss Violetta.

"So will I, Miss. If they attack the academy again, I will seriously defeat them all right away. I can't let them continue trying to kill my friend. But well, I hope that doesn't happen in the future. I'd prefer the academy to be peaceful like this, without any commotion," I said.

"That's right, I like that too," said Miss Violetta.

The situation at the academy is currently peaceful without the slightest commotion. However, in the next few months, there will be an uproar that will shake the academy. Not only this academy, but the entire kingdom of San Fulgen. The entire kingdom will be in an uproar because of the news circulating about the murder of an academy student who is also the son of a Duke.

But that incident will not occur until a few months from now. And right now, the students at the academy are busy preparing for their first exam, which will be held soon.

-To be continued