Chapter 48 - Talents and Aptitudes

The more Chiron accomplished, the more my reputation grew.

Before I say how convenient auto-hunting is, I hadn't handed my role over to Chiron without thinking it through.

Of course I'd considered the good publicity.

I'd been counting on it.

I knew what he was capable of. Naturally, if he went on a rampage wearing my face, I'd become famous without lifting a finger.

But the repercussions came from an unexpected direction.

"Master."

Rebecca knelt and clasped her hands.

"Please teach me swordsmanship."

Because I'd somehow become famous as an excellent swordsman...

"I'm begging you!"

... I'd ended up catching the attention of the academy's resident swordsmanship geek.

048

What a headache.

I'd drawn all that attention and spread all those rumors to help Amelia. Who knew I'd end up drawing Rebecca's aggro?

It was all because Chiron happened to be a swordsman who was far too strong.

"Master!"

Rebecca still had her head bowed.

Her sleek blonde hair was tied half up, with fluorescent hairpins crossed in the strands near the corners of her eyes.

Sparkle, sparkle.

I could almost hear the accompanying sound effect.

She could ask all she wanted, but I didn't know the first thing about handling a sword.

One of my combat methods did involve loading a spirit up with buffs and having it enter a suit of armor or a sword... but still.

The swords I carried were nothing more than sticks for housing spirits.

I generally stocked up on whatever was on sale at whatever weapon shop I happened to visit.

"Hmm."

But that didn't mean I could simply turn Rebecca away.

Leaving aside that suspended third-year, Rebecca was the only heroine I'd barely exchanged a few words with.

Now that a heroine had walked right into my hands, letting this opportunity slip by felt like a waste.

If I didn't snap her up now, she might start triggering events with Laward.

Recently, there had even been an unexpected development: one of Rebecca's endings had become locked for some reason.

I might be missing something. I couldn't afford to waste any more time.

So...

"Hmmm."

I spent a long while thinking as I looked down at the thick hair on the crown of Rebecca's head.

Uh...

But something about Rebecca's hair...

"Master?"

While I was thinking, Rebecca suddenly raised her head.

Her face was brimming with anticipation for my answer.

Should I just go for it?

But one lie always leads to another, doesn't it?

"Very well."

I'd made up my mind.

I already had far too many secrets anyway.

What difference would one more make?

"R-really...?"

"Of course. Am I not your sponsor? If anything, I'm delighted you've taken the initiative to ask me to teach you."

Once I'd decided, the lies flowed effortlessly.

As always.

"Yes!"

As if she'd never been kneeling there looking pitiful, she sprang to her feet and lunged at me.

I barely dodged her, but a pleasant fragrance washed over me instead.

"Though I don't understand why someone in the magic department is so obsessed with swordsmanship in the first place..."

"I'm looking forward to your lessons!"

Rebecca clasped her hands and bowed deeply.

"So, when do you intend to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Don't play dumb. I checked your school records on my very first day as an academy sponsor."

At the mention of her school records, Rebecca's relaxed expression vanished.

She looked like a college applicant who'd just realized her grades had ruined her chances of early admission.

"Your first-year grades. Your entrance scores from last year."

"W-well..."

This was different from Esther, who hadn't managed to turn her weakness into a strength, or Amelia, who was hiding her abilities.

"Why is there no record?"

It was completely blank.

There were no entrance scores from last year.

Wasn't this what you called a ghost student?

And then there was the "Talents/Aptitudes" section of her school record—the one that, in Esther's case, had said she was "having difficulty with mana control."

Even that...

"It was blank."

Empty.

Erased.

"Both you and the academy are deliberately hiding something."

"U-umm..."

She groaned, thinking it over.

Was she wrestling with the same dilemma I'd faced a moment ago?

To lie or not to lie.

Was that what she was thinking?

Was it Rebecca's turn now?

"Don't even think about lying."

"U-ugh... That's not it."

"I could get it directly out of the chairman, but I'm giving you a chance to speak. If you refuse, I can always..."

Those unnaturally erased blanks.

"...dig up your past."

"I-I'll tell you!"

"A wise choice."

"But in a month!"

"A month?"

"I promise. I'll tell you everything in a month."

Rebecca spoke hurriedly, holding out her pinky.

"Hmm."

It wasn't a particularly satisfying answer, but perhaps I could wait a little longer.

This was a good opportunity to build trust with a heroine.

It wasn't as though I was asking because I genuinely didn't know.

"I might not remember by then, so please bring it up yourself."

"... I will."

"Anyway!"

CLAP!

Rebecca clapped her hands loudly to change the mood.

"What should I start with?"

Oh, right.

I'd agreed to teach her swordsmanship.

"That can wait... for a month..."

"Huh...?"

Rebecca's face went solemn, her disappointment entirely genuine.

"I was serious about this."

What? Why?

You can do it, but I can't?

"I know all about it. Everyone's been talking about you lately, Master. Anyone who's in the know knows."

"I didn't realize you were interested in the throne."

"A little. Though it's the candidates' partners I'm interested in."

As if she'd brought it along for just such an occasion, Rebecca produced a notebook from her small handbag.

It was a scrapbook she'd made herself from newspaper clippings.

"Apparently, the succession candidates' partners... their knights, I mean, have always been powerful fighters gathered from all over the country. Though I'm sure you already know that, Master!"

Rebecca rapidly flipped through the pages.

"Do you have any idea how surprised I was when I saw this?"

It was a piece on my being Amelia's knight. A knight write-up, if you will.

... No pun intended.

In any case, now that Rebecca had clipped it out and pasted it in, I couldn't deny it anymore.

Nor could I possibly tell her that it wasn't me, but Chiron.

She flipped through the scrapbook again in a flurry of pages.

Most of it covered Chiron's exploits.

"When I saw this, I made up my mind! No matter what, I was going to become this man's disciple...! Your Hundred-Man Flash, Master! I absolutely have to learn it!"

My what?

The journalist who'd written the article seemed to be getting carried away.

I couldn't begin to picture the taciturn Chiron swinging his sword while shouting a technique name he'd come up with himself.

Though now that I tried, it might actually be pretty entertaining...?

"Oh, this is the last page. I'd been wondering why there hadn't been any news lately..."

Rebecca looked at my face with a contented smile.

"I guess it's because you've been here."

She sounded as if she'd figured everything out...

But she was wrong.

The reason there had been so few updates on Chiron's exploits lately was probably that the Death God's cult had started taking precautions.

They must have realized something wasn't going according to plan.

They were probably suspending their activities for now to see how things developed.

"Next time, please tell me the stories yourself."

Smiling, Rebecca put the notebook away.

Looking closer, I saw notebooks in other colors too.

"Oh, these are write-ups on the other knights."

"You've been collecting knight write-ups on all the succession candidates' knights?"

... I really wasn't trying to make a pun.

I'd have used different words if I could.

"Yes! Most of them are swordsmen, so they're really fun to research."

She seemed to have a habit of collecting and writing down everything she could find.

She hadn't struck me as the type.

I suspected she had plenty more scrapbooks like these besides the ones in her bag.

If only you put that much effort into studying.

"If only you put that much effort into studying."

Oh.

I hadn't been able to keep that to myself.

"Swordsmanship isn't studying! It's training!"

But the remark hadn't dealt any damage at all...

"So, what should I start with?"

I've got it.

I finally knew how I could teach Rebecca despite knowing absolutely nothing about swordsmanship.

"Sparring."

"Straight to sparring? With you, Master?"

"No."

I slowly extended a finger, pointing at someone who happened to be passing in front of me.

"Oh, esteemed mentor!"

In contrast to Laward's cheerful greeting, Rebecca's brows drew together in a frown.

"... With him?"

I gave a matter-of-fact nod.

Laward no longer had any worthy opponents at the academy.

The heroines were about the only ones left. If Rebecca kept sparring with him, he'd be able to raise his stats easily.

Normally—and certainly back in my first semester—I would never have considered putting Laward and Rebecca up against each other.

Forget sparring. I wouldn't even have let them exchange a few words.

But now that an ending had become locked without my knowing why, at the very least, Rebecca's affection for Laward couldn't be high.

Put the two of them together and observe.

I'd chosen sparring to find out why Rebecca's ending had become locked.

"What, you don't want to?"

"N-no! It's not that I don't want to..."

Rebecca hesitated briefly, then a determined look came into her eyes.

"He's just someone I'd rather not be around. But since it's your instruction, Master...!"

Until now, it had been Laward rejecting and pushing away the heroines.

["You'd best stay out of my sight."]

["I find you repulsive."]

["In that case, you're... a target for purification, senior."]

Or, as with Amelia, they'd had no contact at all.

But Rebecca fit none of those cases.

This was different.

At some point, things had changed.

"I'll do it. Not that I have any intention of losing to a piece of trash like him."

... Seriously, what was going on?

* * *

As if to prove her words, Rebecca pressed him hard.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!

Her footwork resembled a dance, and her sword traced mostly curved paths.

At first glance, her movements looked gentle, but the force carried in the tip of her blade was as powerful as a swing from a proper stance.

BANG!

With a flustered look, Laward knocked her sword aside.

That was all he'd been doing this whole time: knocking it aside.

A mage who loved swords, swordsmanship, and swordsmen.

Rebecca.

Apparently, she hadn't been joking when she said she aimed to become a Sword Saint.

She confidently extended her toe and the tip of her sword.

Laward steadied his breathing, taking care not to get caught up in her rhythm.

Watch closely. Block precisely.

It wasn't as though he'd decided to do nothing but defend.

He tried to counterattack time and again, but Rebecca anticipated and shut down even those attempts.

Her slashes were a move ahead of him—sometimes two.

Even a layman like me could tell how familiar she was with a sword.

Even so, she was still fundamentally a mage.

... Could she use magic on top of all that?

Watching the spar with the [Affection Scouter] activated let me see even more.

Rebecca was better at swordsmanship than I'd expected.

Even so, she was still better at magic.

And...

"Laward. What are you doing?"

I stepped in and stopped the spar.

"... I apologize for that disgraceful display, esteemed mentor."

Laward looked genuinely flustered.

His face said he'd never imagined someone this strong was hiding in the academy.

"A disgraceful display?"

"I-I'll try again."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

The Scouter made it even clearer.

"Why haven't you been using your divine power?"

Forget manifesting a halo—Laward hadn't even coated his blade in divine power.

According to the Scouter, his divine power was S-rank.

Even though it had already reached the highest rank.