Free Web Novel"This time, Your Royal Highness, please step forward."
The opponent Kaldrun called up after me was Fjodora.
She removed the cloak draped around her shoulders, rose from her seat, stored it in her Inventory, and stepped forward to face Kaldrun.
Then, once again, she spoke in her usual imperious tone.
"I am here as a student at present, so you may treat me the same as everyone else."
"If that is what Your Highness wishes."
The marquis gave a disbelieving snort at the princess's attitude, though his reply remained respectful.
Then he did as she had asked.
"Very well, Fjodora. Get ready."
Perhaps because he was a high-ranking noble himself, he seemed less burdened than the other professors by addressing the First Princess by name and speaking to her informally.
Despite finally getting what she wanted, Fjodora showed no sign of satisfaction.
Her expression remained composed as she took a quiver from her Inventory, equipped it, and raised her bow.
"Fjodora, by the next class, practice using your Inventory the way Karvaldr did when he drew his dagger instantly. A quiver can only hold so many arrows, and every time you reach for one, you leave yourself open."
"I was already planning to do so."
After answering Kaldrun, Fjodora slowly drew an arrow from the quiver and nocked it against the bowstring.
Teal Ether gathered around the arrow as her eyes carefully studied Kaldrun.
Tension stretched across Fjodora's face like a bowstring pulled taut, while Kaldrun looked completely at ease.
It would probably be better not to activate 【Character Analysis】 here, wouldn't it?
The morning lecture lasted from eight until eleven, a full three hours.
Even after Kaldrun finished examining the students' skills, there would still be plenty of time left, so we would naturally hold several more sparring matches.
I had used 【Character Analysis】 consistently throughout the vacation and had become accustomed to regulating the speed of my thoughts.
However, all I had managed to do was delay the onset of overload.
Regrettably, preventing it entirely was impossible.
If I wanted to make use of Thought Acceleration during my own sparring match, I had no choice but to block the flow of Sky Blue Ether while observing the others.
By the time I finished doing so, Fjodora was still staring fixedly at Kaldrun with her bowstring drawn.
Then, the instant Kaldrun blinked, she released the arrow.
Rather than waiting to see what effect the shot would have, she immediately drew another arrow, nocked it, and fired again.
Unlike her first shot, which had taken a considerable amount of time, the second truly came in the blink of an eye. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Her familiar, Lausa, did not remain idle either.
Using its Ether Attribute Ability, it formed a Wind Arrow and fired.
After reading the passage above, one might naturally wonder, Why does Fjodora use an actual bow and arrows?
And so, I would like to share with my dear readers the setting revealed by Author Senna.
If physical arrows are reinforced with the corresponding Ether, they become more powerful than arrows formed entirely from wind. Their penetration is greater, they fly much faster, and they consume less Ether. Was that how it went?
That was why Fjodora continued firing physical arrows in rapid succession.
Even without the Thought Acceleration granted by 【Character Analysis】, I could clearly see that her arrows flew much faster than those created by Lausa.
Despite that obvious difference, however, an arrow was still an arrow, whether Fjodora or Lausa had fired it.
Not a single one could stop Kaldrun's advance.
With effortless movements, he charged toward Fjodora, either knocking aside the arrows flying at him or evading them altogether.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
Even so, Kaldrun's sword never reached Fjodora.
The Imperial Family's Ether possessed two attributes: wind and space.
Fjodora and Lausa activated 【Spatial Leap】 simultaneously.
Their figures vanished from where they had been standing and reappeared at Kaldrun's three o'clock and nine o'clock positions.
Both had placed themselves directly against the walls, as though they had decided to create as much distance as possible.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kaldrun rushed toward Fjodora again.
Arrows flew at him from opposite directions.
Kaldrun dealt with them as follows.
He deflected the arrows coming from the front and dodged those coming from behind.
It was an extraordinarily simple sentence.
Actually doing it, however, was anything but simple.
"W-Wow...! He dodged the arrows coming from behind him...! That's incredible, sir!"
"Indeed. How did he do that?"
"Does Professor Kaldrun have eyes in the back of his head?"
As Ríolíkin and Vigdís reacted like supporting characters, Pret added a glib remark that sounded like a joke.
I could guarantee that Pret was merely pretending not to know the answer.
Following his example, I also remained silent instead of voicing the answer in my head.
"Perhaps he sensed the movement of the air as the Wind Arrow approached, or detected the Ether itself. Possibly both."
Explaining it and resolving Ríolíkin's and Vigdís's confusion fell to the original protagonist.
Reisir spoke as though he were merely speculating, but his answer was correct.
Whether one called it theory or simply part of the setting, sufficiently sharpened senses made it possible to detect even the faintest movements in the air and the flow of Ether.
I knew that, and I had tried my best to sense them myself, but I had not managed to grasp it at all.
If my senses were sharp enough for that, I would also be able to notice Fjodora eavesdropping with her Ether Attribute Ability...
In Episode 151, even Reisir had been uncertain whether Fjodora had overheard our conversation.
That meant dodging a Wind Arrow fired from directly behind was still beyond even the original protagonist.
Before I realized it, Kaldrun had closed the distance with Fjodora once more.
As though mocking him, Fjodora activated 【Spatial Leap】 again.
The instant her silhouette vanished, Kaldrun twisted around and launched a shard of ice toward a particular point.
Fjodora reappeared directly in its path.
"Ugh...!"
Before she could react, the ice shards struck her, leaving several scratches behind.
At the sight, disappointment crossed Kaldrun's face.
"There is still plenty of class time remaining, so I adjusted the attack to avoid causing a serious injury."
He could have fired ice arrows instead of those paltry shards.
In other words, he had gone easy on her because otherwise she would have needed immediate treatment.
Come to think of it, he never threw any ice shards at Yor or me...
The difference in our skill was so glaring that it was only natural for Kaldrun to hold back against me.
Still, realizing that he possessed a ranged attack and had never once needed to use it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
It was not that I felt insulted or dismissed.
I was simply disheartened by the realization that my abilities were still so lacking.
"How did you know I would appear there?"
"The moment you used spatial movement, I attacked in the direction you were looking."
"This is..."
【Spatial Leap】 only allowed its user to move to a destination clearly within their field of vision.
Even knowing the weakness would not allow Fjodora to correct it.
It was only natural that a troubled expression appeared on her face.
"Is there anything else you haven't shown me?"
"There is not."
"Then return to your seat."
Fjodora went back to her original place, gathered Lausa into her arms, and pulled her cloak around herself.
Kaldrun called for the next sparring partner.
"Ríolíkin. I heard you stopped the boss monster's attack by yourself on the day of the closing ceremony?"
"Yes...! Lord Karvaldr said he believed in me, so I tried it, and it worked... sir...!"
"......In any case, come forward."
Kaldrun appeared momentarily at a loss for words, but he did not choose someone else.
The skill assessment that followed did not require a lengthy explanation.
At first, Ríolíkin blocked Kaldrun's attacks fairly well.
However, once Kaldrun finished testing him and began attacking in earnest, Ríolíkin's movements quickly fell apart.
In the end, he slipped on the frozen ground and fell.
Kaldrun planted a foot on his chest, slipped the tip of his sword through a gap in 【Armor of Protection】, and held it against his neck, bringing the spar to an end.
"Your defensive power is decent, but you focus so completely on the attacks directly in front of you that you fail to observe your surroundings."
"Yes, sir."
"Correct that."
"How, sir?"
"Fight while watching both your opponent's gaze and your surroundings."
"So how do I do that, sir?"
"......You'll learn after falling down and getting hit a few times. Return to your seat for now."
"Yeees, sir."
Ríolíkin answered in a tone others might have mistaken for joking, though his expression was entirely serious, and returned to his seat.
And then—
"Ugh... Reisirrr... I'm so cold, sir."
—he abruptly began complaining to Reisir.
Naturally, Reisir looked at him with an expression that plainly asked what he expected him to do about it.
"Then hurry up and cover yourself with a blanket."
"I am cold, aren't I, sir?"
"So...?"
"You were going to give Lord Karvaldr the blanket you were using, weren't you, sir?"
He was asking why he had not received the same consideration.
Given the obvious difference in treatment, it was indeed understandable that he might feel dissatisfied.
The protagonist of someone else's novel, however, apparently disagreed. He stared up at Ríolíkin's much taller figure in disbelief.
"You're sturdy, unlike Karvaldr." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"Ah... So you took special care of Lord Karvaldr because he's frail, sir?"
"Yes. That's why. He looks like he'll catch a cold if he gets even slightly chilled, so I was worried."
"I accept that, sir."
Watching the two of them reach an understanding was utterly absurd.
Even so, I had no choice but to accept it too.
The complexion of this body had already been unnaturally pale, nearly pallid, and after taking it over, I had even added dark circles beneath its eyes.
It was hardly surprising that I appeared frail.
"Come to think of it, I heard one of the students primarily uses a sword. Who is it? Step forward."
While Reisir and Ríolíkin chatted, Kaldrun surveyed the students whose abilities he had yet to examine.
It was clear that he was ignoring both the seating arrangement and the order of names on the attendance register, calling students forward entirely at his own discretion.
No, before that, I was beginning to doubt whether he had looked at the attendance register at all.
"What is your name?"
"Vigdís Sjalfráði."
"Hmm... For a swordsman, you have almost no calluses on your hands. Have you been deliberately caring for them, or have you only recently begun using a sword?"
"The latter. I began learning swordsmanship after entering the Academy last year."
"In that case, I will take that into account when evaluating your current ability and potential."
Although Kaldrun had not remembered Vigdís's name, he seemed willing to pay her slightly more attention as a fellow swordsman.
I could tell from the way he carefully examined the calluses on the hand with which she drew her sword.
