I Became an Academy Counselor - Chapter 23

Ophelia’s POV

“Hey, did you hear? There’s going to be a duel today.”

“Who?”

“You know… The guy who eats a lot and the second son of the Miller family.”

“Really? Sounds interesting. When is it?”

“In a little while. It’s nearby, want to go watch?”

“Sure.”

The rumors have already spread.

Well, they did challenge each other to a duel openly in the classroom.

There’s even a saying that watching fights is the most entertaining spectacle.

Surely a crowd of spectators will gather to watch.

“T-Teacher…”

Leo looked at me.

Although I told him it was okay yesterday, he seemed a bit uneasy at the thought of people watching.

“Don’t worry, Leo. You just need to win, that’s all.”

“But…”

Guilt was etched on Leo’s face.

“It’s not like I’m completely innocent… Isn’t there a way to resolve this without fighting?”

“No, there isn’t.”

Well, there are many ways to avoid fighting.

But there were far more reasons to fight than reasons not to.

Even if Leo doesn’t want to fight, I’ll force him to.

That’s how he’ll grow.

“If you think it’s your fault, then just lose to Allen. Disgracefully. I mean, as soon as the duel starts, flip onto your back and assume a submissive position.”

“T-That’s…”

“But, do you think a proud noble would accept that?”

“…”

Did I scare him too much?

Leo hung his head low.

He might be regretting how things turned out.

…To be honest, I don’t think Leo is completely blameless either.

Even if there’s no problem according to the rules, there’s such a thing as etiquette.

Even the users argued about it. Debating who was more at fault.

I’m not sure who’s more at fault.

They could both be wrong, or Leo could be more at fault, or Allen could be more at fault.

From Allen’s perspective, Leo is an unwelcome guest.

He endured a swordsman suddenly coming to attend classes usually taken by magicians.

It would be unsightly to bully him over such things.

He probably intended to just ignore it.

But when Leo’s actions started to bother him, he couldn’t endure what he would have normally endured.

From his standpoint, it’s no exaggeration to say that Leo is the epitome of an annoying person.

From Leo’s perspective, you could say he had no choice.

First, he has no money for food. So he hunted wild animals in the academy’s backwoods and roughly cooked them to eat.

Of course, it wasn’t properly cooked, so it inevitably smelled, and Leo knew this, but…

According to academy regulations, eating outside is prohibited.

In a way, it’s natural. The academy is a place where nobles also attend.

Although the media has developed, the class system is still alive.

The perception of etiquette between commoners and nobles is as different as heaven and earth.

To bridge this gap, the academy completely banned eating outside.

While eating while walking might be fine for commoners, it’s an action that makes nobles frown.

In the end, the only places to eat are the classroom and cafeteria. But bringing outside food into the cafeteria is impossible. So Leo had no choice but to eat in the classroom.

Even though he knew it might be rude to others.

“Tch. What a pain.”

“Orca.”

“He picked a fight knowing that the other guy wasn’t really breaking any rules, right? It’s not like he’s completely innocent either.”

“…”

“Didn’t you say it only bothered the magicians? Then there’s only one answer.”

I’m not interested in who’s more at fault.

I’m only interested in one thing.

Through this incident, Leo will grow.

Did I mention it before? That there are things you won’t understand even if told.

There are things you can only understand by experiencing them directly.

…This is one of those times.

This is why I deliberately didn’t prevent this by giving Leo money when I could have.

Leo wants to become a knight.

Then, is there any need for me to prevent this incident?

No, there isn’t.

Because Leo will realize this incident.

He’ll understand, not just intellectually but emotionally, that there are actions that can bother people even if they don’t violate regulations.

He’s an orphan, so he has little experience mingling with people.

If I cover for him, he could easily become a knight.

But is that really the right thing to do?

Is it really a solution if he becomes a knight without realizing the problems that arise from living in a group?

I doubt it.

Leo’s dream is to become a knight.

It would be nice if he could become a knight and see the ending credits roll like in a game.

But this is reality. It’s very similar to a game, but it has become reality.

There are no ending credits. We had to think about what comes after becoming a knight.

“Fight, Leo.”

“And win.”

…Also, this is a good opportunity to spar with a magician.

It wouldn’t be bad to experience it this time.

Getting hit by a magician now might make it easier to beat them up later.

“Hmm, alright. But since it’s forced fighting… It won’t be motivating without a reward, right?”

“Reward…?”

“If you win, I’ll give you something nice.”

“?!”

“T-Teacher?! What’s this all of a sudden…!”

Huh?

Why are they reacting like this?

***

Leo’s POV

Here’s the text rewritten from Leo’s first-person perspective:

“Are you ready, Leo?”
“…”
“…Tch. Ignoring me, are you?”

I couldn’t concentrate at all.
By now, Allen and his gang were saying something in front of me, but my ears couldn’t quite process their voices.

Although I couldn’t help it, I had many worries because it was I who had acted in a way that could bother the students, but…
Something so shocking happened that I couldn’t even worry about such things.

“…”

I know it’s not like that.
Teacher Ophelia is a kind person. She helps Orca and listens well to my counseling.
The “nice thing” the teacher mentioned must surely be a snack or something of that sort.
It couldn’t have been what Orca and I were thinking.

After all, when Orca and I were shocked, the teacher didn’t seem to notice why we were surprised.
Surely that’s it. And yet…

“Aaaaaaahhhh…”
“Has he lost his mind?”

My head was in a whirl.
Come to think of it, Teacher Ophelia is an extremely beautiful person.
A beauty who seems like she would gently embrace you no matter what happens.
The more I tried not to think about it, the more I hated myself for making such far-fetched imaginations.

“…Well, fine. I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but I have no reason to care. You’re ready, right?”
“P-Please start…”
“Alright. Then, let’s start when that referee drops the coin.”

Ah, I can’t concentrate.
What could that “nice thing” be?
My head was completely filled with the image of the teacher’s face as she smiled and said she’d give me something nice.
…And the price for that was steep.

“?!”
“Distracted, are we? Are you that confident? Huh?!”

I noticed the ground suddenly rising beneath my feet too late and tried to dodge, but due to my slow reaction, I couldn’t avoid getting injured.

“A-Are you trying to kill me…!”
“Don’t worry. The medical facilities here are world-class. As long as you don’t die instantly, you’ll survive.”
“…”
“This is a duel, Leo.”

My mind instantly cooled down.
Looking around, I saw numerous students watching us.

…A duel.
I looked at my left hand, torn from not being able to dodge. …The wound was bigger than I thought.

For me, who uses a two-handed sword, an arm injury was quite dangerous.
If I fought normally like this, I would lose pathetically. I didn’t want that.
I didn’t like the idea of losing my first ever duel.

“I’m hungry.”
“…What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“I’m so hungry I can’t stand it.”

A rumbling sound echoed from my stomach.
Looking at Allen, who was staring at me with bewilderment at that sound, I declared:

“I’m sorry, but I want to end this quickly. I need to eat.”
“Th-That sword aura…”

The sword in my hand was rippling with pure energy.
…Allen seems to be mistaken, but this isn’t sword aura.
Sword aura is an advanced technique of coating a sword with purely refined mana.

It’s a technique that requires proficiency in both swordsmanship and magic.
I had neither the magical proficiency nor enough swordsmanship skill to produce sword aura.

However, I could imitate something similar.
Not mana, but pure energy itself is something I have used like my own limbs all my life.
To the extent that I didn’t grow much taller, looking like a child.
That’s why, although I couldn’t handle sword aura, I could imitate it.

“Y-You… You could use sword aura! Then why…!”
“…This isn’t sword aura. It’s a bit complicated to explain.”

The problem, if anything, is that unlike sword aura which can be used continuously once drawn out, this is single-use.
It’s no different from forcibly extracting fuel from the body instead of circulating it.
…I had to end it with a single attack.

“If you block this, it’s your victory. If you can’t, it’s my victory. How about it, simple, right?”
“Ha, haha… Yes. It’s simple.”

A magic circle appeared in front of Allen, and instantly a thick wall began to rise between him and me.
And in front of that, there was only one thing I had to do.
Without thinking of anything else, swing with all my might.