“This time, I would like the Imperial Princess to step forward.”
The person Caldrun pointed to after me was Fjodra.
She stood up, removed the cloak she was wearing, and placed it into her [Inventory] before facing Caldrun.
Then, as expected, she spoke in her usual overbearing tone.
“Since I am currently here as a student, you may treat me the same as the others.”
“If that is what Your Highness wishes.”
The Marquis let out a small, incredulous laugh at the princess’s attitude and replied formally before doing exactly as she requested.
“Then, Fjodra? Get ready.”
Unlike the other professors, he was a high-ranking noble himself, so perhaps he felt less burdened calling the First Imperial Princess by her name and speaking casually.
Even though she had finally gotten what she wanted, Fjodra showed no sign of joy.
Maintaining a calm expression, she simply took a quiver out of her [Inventory], equipped it, and picked up her bow.
“Fjodra, you should practice using your [Inventory] more effectively before the next class, just like how Karbaldr immediately pulled out a dagger. The number of arrows a quiver can hold is clearly limited, and gaps are inevitably created while performing the motion of drawing an arrow.”
“I was already thinking of doing exactly that.”
Fjodra replied to Caldrun’s advice while drawing an arrow from her quiver with a somewhat slow movement and nocking it.
As teal Aether gathered on the arrow, her gaze closely scrutinized Caldrun’s every move.
While tension hung around Fjodra like a taut bowstring, Caldrun’s expression was full of composure.
‘It would be better to keep the [Character Analysis] skill from activating, right?’
The morning lecture ran for four hours, from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
Since Caldrun had to check the students’ skills, there was a lot of lecture time left, and naturally, there would be several more duels.
During the break, I had consistently used [Character Analysis] and had become accustomed to controlling my thought speed, but I had only managed to slightly delay the point where overload occurred.
Regrettably, it was impossible to prevent it entirely.
To utilize the Mental Acceleration effect during a duel, I had to block the flow of sky-blue Aether while watching others fight.
By the time I finished making those arrangements, Fjodra was still quietly glaring at Caldrun with her bow drawn.
Then, the moment Caldrun blinked, the arrow left the string.
Immediately after, instead of watching the result of her shot, Fjodra quickly pulled out a new arrow, nocked it, and fired again.
Unlike the time it took to fire the first shot, she moved with a blinding speed that truly fit the expression ‘in the blink of an eye.’
Her familiar, Lausa, did not stay still either.
Utilizing its Aether Characteristic Ability, it created and fired arrows of wind.
Reading this, one might naturally wonder, ‘Why does Fjodra use a physical bow and arrows?’
I decided to share the setting revealed by the author, Senna, with my readers.
‘I believe it was said that if you overlay the power of that Aether onto a physical arrow, it has higher durability and better piercing power than an arrow made solely of wind. Also, the flight speed is much faster, and the Aether consumption is lower.’
For those reasons, Fjodra fired arrow after arrow.
Even without the Mental Acceleration correction from the [Character Analysis] skill, I could tell that the arrows she shot flew much faster than the ones Lausa created.
Despite such a clear difference, as if the arrows fired by Fjodra and Lausa were all the same to him, none of the arrows could pin Caldrun down.
He ran toward Fjodra, deflecting or dodging the incoming arrows with light movements.
The distance closed in an instant.
However, Caldrun’s sword did not reach Fjodra.
The Imperial Family’s Aether possessed a dual attribute of wind and space.
Fjodra and Lausa activated the [Space Leap] skill simultaneously.
Suddenly, they vanished from their original positions and reappeared at the three o’clock and nine o’clock positions relative to Caldrun.
Both of them were pressed against the walls, seemingly having decided that they needed to maximize the distance.
Caldrun lunged toward Fjodra without a moment’s hesitation, and arrows flew at him from different directions.
Caldrun’s countermeasure could be described as follows:
He parries the arrows flying from the front and dodges those from behind.
It was an incredibly simple and easy sentence to write.
However, performing it in reality would be anything but simple and would be extremely difficult.
“W-Wow…! An arrow from behind…! That’s amazing!”
“Indeed. How on earth did he do that?”
“Does Professor Caldrun have eyes in the back of his head?”
As Liolikin and Vigdis offered reactions typical of supporting characters, Pret chimed in with a sly, joke-like remark.
I could guarantee that Pret was pretending not to know even though he did.
Following his lead, I remained silent instead of voicing the answer in my head.
“Perhaps he felt the flow of air created when the wind arrow flew, or he sensed the Aether itself? Or maybe it was both.”
It fell to the original protagonist to answer the questions of Liolikin and Vigdis.
Reysir spoke as if he were guessing, but that was the correct answer.
Whether in theory or in the setting, it becomes possible to sense minute air currents and Aether if one sharpens their senses enough.
Knowing this fact, I had also put a lot of effort into trying to feel it, but I couldn’t get the hang of it at all.
‘If my senses became sharp enough for that to be possible, I would be able to notice when Fjodra uses her Aether attribute ability to eavesdrop…’
In chapter 151, Reysir was not certain whether Fjodra had overheard our conversation or not.
This meant that dodging a wind arrow from behind was a feat that even the original protagonist was not yet capable of.
Before I knew it, Caldrun had closed the distance with Fjodra again.
In response, Fjodra used [Space Leap] once more as if to taunt him.
The moment her silhouette vanished, Caldrun spun around and launched ice shards toward a specific spot.
Fjodra reappeared in that exact direction.
“…!”
Before Fjodra could react, the ice shards struck her, leaving minor scratches.
A look of disappointment appeared on Caldrun’s face.
“There is still a lot of lecture time left, so I adjusted it to avoid causing serious injury.”
He meant that he could have launched ice arrows instead of small ice shards, but since she would have had to go for treatment immediately if he had, he went easy on her.
‘Now that I think about it, he didn’t throw ice shards at me or Yor at all.’
Since the difference in skill was so stark, it was only natural for Caldrun to go easy on me, but the thought that he didn’t even use ranged attacks when he could have didn’t feel very good.
It wasn’t that I felt insulted or ignored.
It was closer to feeling dejected, realizing that my skills were still very much lacking.
“How did you know I would appear here?”
“I simply attacked the direction your gaze was fixed upon the moment you used space movement.”
“Oh…”
Since [Space Leap] required the destination to be within one’s line of sight, this was a problem that couldn’t be fixed even if one knew about it.
Therefore, it was perfectly natural for Fjodra’s expression to turn troubled.
“Is there anything left you have not shown me?”
“No.”
“Then go back.”
Fjodra returned to her original seat, hugged Lausa, and threw her cloak back on.
Caldrun called out the next opponent.
“Liolikin. I heard you blocked an attack from a boss monster alone on the day of the graduation ceremony?”
“Yes! Master Karbaldr said he believed in me, so I tried it and it worked…!”
“……At any rate, come out.”
Caldrun looked lost for words at Liolikin’s answer for a moment, but he didn’t call someone else.
The skill test that followed did not require a long description.
At first, Liolikin seemed to block Caldrun’s attacks well, but once Caldrun finished his probing and began to push his offensive in earnest, Liolikin’s movements quickly became frantic.
Eventually, Liolikin slipped on the ice and fell.
Caldrun declared the end of the duel by stepping on his chest and pointing the tip of his sword at his throat through a gap in the [Armor of Protection].
“Your defense isn’t bad, but you’re too busy defending against the attack in front of you to notice your surroundings.”
“Yes.”
“Fix it.”
“How, exactly?”
“Watch your opponent’s gaze and your surroundings while you fight.”
“I mean, how exactly?”
“……You’ll figure it out after you fall and get beaten up a few more times. For now, go back.”
“Yes, sir.”
Liolikin responded in a serious manner—though it might have sounded playful to others—and returned to his seat.
And then—
“Ugh, Reysir… I’m so cold.”
Out of nowhere, he complained about the cold to Reysir.
Naturally, Reysir looked at Liolikin with an expression that asked what he was supposed to do about it.
“Then hurry up and cover yourself with a blanket.”
“But this one is cold, isn’t it?”
“And…?”
“You were going to give the blanket you were using to Master Karbaldr, weren’t you?”
He was asking why he wasn’t receiving the same kind of consideration.
Indeed, it was a matter one could feel discriminated against and complain about.
However, the protagonist of another novel did not seem to think so, as he looked up at the much taller Liolikin with a flabbergasted expression.
“You’re sturdy, unlike Karbaldr.”
“Ah… Since Master Karbaldr is frail, you gave him special care?”
“Yeah. That’s why. It looks like he’ll catch a cold even if it’s just a little bit chilly, so I’m worried.”
“I understand now.”
Watching the two of them reach a compromise was absolutely absurd, but I had no choice but to accept it as well.
Originally, the complexion of this vessel was so pale it looked white, and since I had taken over this body, dark circles had been added to it.
It wasn’t unreasonable for me to look sickly.
“By the way, I heard there is a student who uses a sword as their main weapon. Who is it? Step forward.”
While Reysir and Liolikin were chatting, Caldrun scanned the faces of the students whose skills he hadn’t yet checked and spoke.
It seemed he was calling students whenever he felt like it, completely ignoring the seating or attendance order.
No, I wondered if he had even checked the names on the [Attendance Book] in the first place.
“What is your name?”
“I am Vigdis Shalbrady.”
“Hmm, for a swordsman, you have almost no callouses on your hands. Did you take care of them on purpose? Or have you not been handling a sword for long?”
“The latter. I began learning the sword after entering the Academy last year.”
“In that case, I will take that into account when evaluating your skill and potential.”
Although Caldrun hadn’t memorized Vigdis’s name, it seemed he wanted to pay more attention to her as a fellow swordsman, considering how he carefully examined the callouses on the hand she used to draw her sword.