During the ten-minute break after second period, Luna walks with Ro toward the training grounds where third period will be held, filling her in on the ‘Potion Incident’ from earlier.
“——So that’s what happened, it was quite something.”
“My goodness……. By any chance, do you know the names of the students who tried to set you up?”
“Hmm, I don’t……but why?”
“Oh, I simply thought I’d deal with them.”
“Deal with them how……?”
“Why, naturally——I’ll dispose of them.”
Ro says this with a completely composed expression and draws her thumb across her throat.
She has absolutely no awareness of it herself, but there is a certain ‘oblivious earnestness’ to her, and she just might actually follow through——Luna thinks this and tells her “absolutely not!”, heading off any reckless action.
“Besides, we got into the Saint Academy, so let’s talk about something fun instead!”
“Well……if that is what you prefer, Luna-sama.”
Ro sheathes her proverbial sword with evident reluctance.
“By the way, what is third period even——”
Just as Luna brings up the next subject and turns a corner, she collides with a man coming from directly the opposite direction at exactly the same moment.
“I-I’m sorry……!”
“Tch……watch where you’re going.”
The black-haired man glares at Luna with open hostility, making no effort to hide his irritation, and strides off down the corridor.
Right after that, a man with bright brown hair comes jogging up.
“Sorry about that, really……! Raios has been really on edge lately for some reason. He’s not a bad guy at heart, so please let it go……!”
“O-oh……alright.”
“Thanks, appreciate it. ——Oh, here, this is a note with the room number of the dorm room Boku lives in——come hang out whenever you feel like it!”
“What?”
“Then let’s get tea somewhere one of these days!”
The brown-haired man says this and runs off after Raios.
“……Why did he give me his room number?”
“What a frivolous man. Luna-sama, you mustn’t get tangled up with people like that.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Luna says this and gives an obedient nod.
“But hey, the Saint Academy is all girls, isn’t it? Those two boys were both wearing something that looked like uniforms……what’s that about?”
To Luna’s question, Ro answers in her usual matter-of-fact tone.
“Those two are students of the Holy Knight Academy. They most likely came over to the Saint Academy to participate in the joint class.”
“Holy Knight Academy……?”
“Yes. ……Could this perhaps be that ‘amnesia’ again?”
“Yeah, it might be. Sorry as always, but could you explain?”
“Of course.”
Ro clears her throat and begins.
“Holy Knights are knights who protect the Saint, honing their blades in readiness for the day the Saint is said to reincarnate. The school that trains these Holy Knights is the Holy Knight Academy, located right next door to the Saint Academy. The Saint who fights for humanity’s salvation, and the Holy Knights who serve as her shield——the two are intimately connected.”
“I see, so that’s how it is. (‘Holy Knights who serve as the Saint’s shield’……. Three hundred years ago, I was basically always alone on the front lines……)”
Luna produces a somewhat rueful smile.
“From what I’ve heard, this year’s students at the Holy Knight Academy are quite a distinguished cohort. Even that rude man who bumped into you just now is quite a well-known figure.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. His name is Raios Reinhardt——eldest son of the Reinhardt family, which has produced Swordmasters for generations. Raios showed talent from an early age, becoming a Holy Knight at ten and a platoon leader at thirteen. He is one of the most promising students at the Holy Knight Academy, expected to one day claim the Swordmaster seat.”
“Hm, I see. (Speaking of Swordmasters……I wonder if Owl-san has been discharged from the hospital yet)”
While they are talking, they arrive at the training grounds behind the main school building, where a large number of students from both the Saint Academy and the Holy Knight Academy have already gathered.
“Wow……all the Holy Knight Academy students are so big. They don’t look like they’re the same age.”
“Well, passing the Holy Knight Academy’s entrance examination is grueling. I don’t know the full details myself since I’m a woman, but apparently only those with a rigorously trained physique, excellence in swordsmanship and magic, and a spirit of strict self-discipline are accepted.”
“That brown-haired person we just met didn’t seem to fit any of those……”
“Every world has its exceptions.”
While Luna and Ro are busy chatting, the chime rings and Class 1-C’s homeroom teacher, Jurall Serpent, appears.
As a rule, classes attended by both the Saint Division and the Support Division together are handled by that class’s homeroom teacher.
“We will now conduct the joint class between the Saint Academy and the Holy Knight Academy——a mock battle. Intelligent as you all are, I trust you understand the great significance of this class, but allow me to explain properly for the sake of thoroughness.”
Jurall clears his throat and draws the students’ attention.
“By the laws of the Kingdom of Elgia, both academies are required to engage in one bout on the first day of enrollment. This battle is a noble offering to the great Saint, and students must face it fully and in good faith, using no underhanded means.”
Having concluded the explanation, he gives the next instruction.
“Now, students from both academies, please form your pairs for the mock battle.”
One minute later——
“……Huh?”
——Luna is the only student from the Saint Academy left without a partner.
She glances sideways and sees that Ro has already paired up with the brown-haired man from earlier.
“Ahh, I’m so glad! Getting to fight such a lovely black-haired girl, I really am the luckiest!”
“Ahaha, you really do talk a lot, don’t you.”
As soon as the pairing began, the brown-haired man had approached Ro, who thought “he looks weak enough, fine” and accepted.
As a side note——while at the Saint Academy, Ro speaks without formal honorifics and in a bright, casual manner in all situations except when talking one-on-one with Luna.
And so——the Saint whom all humanity has been desperately awaiting stands alone among the leftovers, looking around in bewilderment.
(Is there anyone else without a partner……!?)
She soon locates the Holy Knight Academy’s leftover.
And that person is——Raios Reinhardt, the man she had collided with at the corner just moments ago.
Raios Reinhardt, fifteen years old.
Height one hundred and seventy centimeters. Slender in appearance, but the body beneath carries thoroughly trained muscle.
Jet-black hair at medium length. Sharp violet-indigo eyes that seem to be glaring at whoever he looks at. A strikingly well-formed face. Dressed in the white-themed uniform of the Holy Knight Academy.
He is not the type to approach women himself, and since he always wears an expression of displeasure, he had spoken to no one and no one had spoken to him——and as a result, he had been left behind, alone.
The Saint Academy’s leftover and the Holy Knight Academy’s leftover are inevitably paired together.
“U-um……it’s nice to meet you.”
“……”
Luna makes the effort to greet him, but……no response.
An impressive level of being ignored, a reaction that says as clearly as words “you are beneath my notice.”
“Hmm, Luna Spedio and Raios Reinhardt as a pair……”
Jurall makes a complicated expression and thinks for a moment.
On one side, a Support Division student deemed to have no saint potential whatsoever; on the other, one of the most capable students the Holy Knight Academy has to offer——this pairing has simply too great a ‘gap’ to be comfortable with.
“Is there anyone among you who would be willing to pair with either Luna Spedio or Raios Reinhardt……?”
Jurall suggests reorganizing the pairs, but the students’ response is lukewarm at best.
Which is understandable enough.
No one with an existing pair is going to break that up just to pair with the attention-drawing Luna or the perpetually sour Raios.
“Hmm……it cannot be helped.”
Jurall lets out a small sigh and offers Raios a word of caution.
“Raios Reinhardt——as you can tell from her uniform, Luna Spedio is a Support Division student. Naturally, excessive attacks or overuse of magic are undesirable. This battle is a noble offering to the Saint, and she who loved equality and fairness would not wish for a one-sided punishment——you understand?”
“I understand that without being told.”
Raios cuts his words short and closes his mouth.
Meanwhile, Luna has slipped over to Ro’s side to gather information.
“Hey Ro, there’s something I want to ask……”
“Yes, what is it?”
“How strong is Raios-san?”
This was a very significant question for Luna.
“How strong……that is a difficult question. Judging from objective facts, that man holds a platoon leader position among the Holy Knights, so conservatively speaking he would have at least ‘ten times’ the ability of a general Holy Knight.”
“Hmm, um……”
Having only recently been reincarnated and not knowing what a general Holy Knight’s ability looks like, the comparison is a little hard for Luna to gauge.
“Sorry, I can’t quite visualize that……. How does he compare to a Swordmaster?”
“Oh, there the Swordmaster is overwhelmingly superior. Even ten Raioses combined would almost certainly not be able to defeat a Swordmaster. A Swordmaster is a Holy Knight above Holy Knights, a being in a class of their own.”
“Wait, really……!?”
At that instant, a powerful shock runs through Luna.
(Raios-san is only a tenth of Owl-san……!?)
The strange man who had put on a ‘strong character display’ during the adventurer registration test only to get embedded in a wall by a single light punch from Luna——Owl Rastia.
The Holy Knight she is about to fight was a far, far weaker existence than that ‘wall anemone.’
(This is bad, bad, bad……)
In Luna’s mind, Raios shifts from ‘rude male student’ to ‘maximum protection priority target.’
(If he’s weaker than Owl-san……a punch would be overkill, even lightly poking him with a finger might blow him up and kill him……)
As she freezes up with a horrifying mental image, Jurall clears his throat.
“As time is running short, let us begin the first bout. ——Luna Spedio and Raios Reinhardt, please come forward.”
Called out unexpectedly, Luna can hardly pretend she didn’t hear it, and she follows the instruction and steps forward apprehensively.
At which point——Raios makes a conspicuously pained expression and lets out a loud sigh.
“Hahhh……. Why must I of all people fight someone like this ‘Saint Imitation’……”
“……Saint Imitation?”
“People like you who attend the Saint Academy while being nothing of the sort——no saints, no anything. I’ll say it plainly since the occasion calls for it: there is no reincarnation of the Saint among this lot. My eyes are not riddled with holes like those of the common rabble. If I saw the ‘real thing,’ I would know immediately: this is the Saint.”
“O-oh, I see……”
Luna wanted very much to say “the Saint is right in front of you, you know——your eyes are definitely riddled with holes!”——but she managed to swallow it down.
“Still……Raios-san, you really are very devoted to the Saint, aren’t you.”
“Naturally. The Saint is the one and absolute, flawless and complete. When she smiles, flowers bloom; when she grieves, the heavens weep; when she rages, the very earth rises in fury. In all of humanity’s long history, there has been no woman as noble and lovely as the Saint.”
“Ehehe……is that so?”
Praised lavishly in a way she never expected, Luna scratches her cheek in embarrassed delight——
“……Why are you looking so pleased……? What a thoroughly unsettling woman.”
——at which Raios is, with some sincerity, put off.
(Oops, now is not the time to be flattered)
The mock battle with Raios is about to begin.
In the very limited time remaining, she needs to come up with some kind of plan.
(I’m bad at holding back, so if I fight him as-is, Raios-san will almost certainly die physically. Even if he somehow survives by a miracle, losing to a Support Division student would kill him socially. Well, the worst case that might actually be fine with me, but……the moment I beat him, the chance of my being exposed as the Saint rises dramatically……)
Not killing Raios, and preventing Saint Exposure——what is needed right now is an absolutely brilliant plan for achieving both.
(Something, something, something……)
As Luna’s saint brain races desperately——
(……Oh!)
——a wonderful idea pops into her head.
(Th-this could work! Both Raios-san and I get through this safely! I might actually be a genius……)
She suppresses her excitement and raises her right hand calmly.
“——Jurall-sensei, could I have a word before we start the mock battle?”
“What is it, Luna Spedio.”
“I don’t have a weapon to fight with. So would it be possible to lend me that rapier over there?”
Luna points to a rapier displayed in one corner of the weapon rack set up in the training grounds.
“Luna Spedio……are you serious?”
Jurall’s already intimidating face tightens further.
“The sword Raios Reinhardt carries is the Demon-Slaying Sword Rogrea, an heirloom of the Reinhardt family passed down through generations. A mass-produced rapier like that is no match for something like that.”
“That won’t be a problem. I have a ‘plan.'”
Luna says this, and her eyes hold the light of firm resolve.
——Facing the Demon-Slaying Sword Rogrea with a mass-produced rapier.
Under normal circumstances this would end in a swift “don’t talk nonsense”——but.
(Going by that potion earlier, Luna Spedio is cut from a different cloth than the other students……. I have no idea what kind of plan she’s devised, but……I find myself quite curious)
Jurall’s assessment of Luna is already very high, and he finds himself wanting to see with his own eyes what she is going to show him this time.
“——Very well. Permission granted to use the rapier.”
“Thank you.”
Luna expresses her thanks, borrows the rapier from the weapon rack, and grips it tightly in her right hand.
Raios, seeing this, gives a light snort.
“What, do you have some training in swordsmanship?”
“Just an ordinary amount.”
The brief exchange ends, and a taut silence settles in.
“Now then——begin.”
The moment Jurall gives the signal, both of them raise their swords to center guard simultaneously.
“……”
“……”
With five meters between them, their eyes meet——and Raios, certain of victory, notices that Luna’s body is trembling slightly.
“What’s the matter, you’re shaking? Are you afraid of me? Honestly……what a pathetic sight. This is what happens when someone with no resolve to fight comes to the Saint Academy with half-hearted feelings.”
Receiving this diagnosis that couldn’t be more wrong, Luna thinks——
(On the contrary, Raios-san, why are you so confident!? You realize you could die depending on how I calibrate this!?)
——and struggles desperately to contain the storm of feelings inside her.
She is indeed trembling, but of course it has nothing to do with fear of Raios. It is anxiety over whether her plan will go without a hitch, given how poor she is at holding back.
“Well then, shall we begin. Or rather, shall we end it.”
Raios smiles with cool confidence and drives powerfully off the ground.
A single step brings the distance to zero, bringing Luna within range of the Demon-Slaying Sword Rogrea.
“——This ends here!”
The blow is a diagonal downward slash.
Against Raios’s strike advancing slo-o-o-owly as if frame by frame, Luna carefully reads the timing——and meets it head-on with her rapier.
(Now——here it is……!)
(This girl——she reacted to my sword speed!?)
The next instant, the two blades clash violently, and red sparks scatter through the air.
The result——
“Oh, oh n-o-o-o-o……”
Luna lets out an exaggerated cry and flies back dramatically——then collapses and stays down.
(Heh heh heh, a perfect plan if I do say so myself! Academy Award-worthy performance!)
She clenches her fist in her heart.
Luna’s devised plan is extremely simple.
Draw on her outstanding acting ability and lose to Raios without letting anyone realize she is doing it on purpose.
This mock battle is a noble offering to the Saint, and voluntarily choosing to lose is utterly inexcusable——but for Luna, the genuine article, none of that particularly matters. What matters to her right now is getting through this predicament safely. That is all.
(Good, good. With this, nobody gets hurt and everything wraps up neatly……hm?)
And then, at last, she notices the strange atmosphere around her.
The mock battle should have concluded with Raios’s victory, but there’s no signal to end it, not even a single cheer.
The silence is uncanny.
(……What on earth……?)
Something feels off. Luna cleverly cracks one eye open and checks the surroundings.
And there——
“Th-this can’t be……!?”
——is Raios Reinhardt, shaking with tiny trembles like a newborn fawn.
In his line of sight: the Demon-Slaying Sword Rogrea, cleanly snapped in two.
(……Why is it broken……?)
That was Luna’s question, and it came from the very bottom of her heart.
She simply didn’t know.
Whether it is a mass-produced rapier, a battered wooden sword, or a worn-out broom——once gripped by a saint, it is a ‘Holy Sword.’
The demon-slaying sword passed down through the Reinhardt lineage had, the instant it touched the Holy Sword unconsciously created by Luna, been cut clean as tofu.
The ones most shaken by this are the Holy Knight Academy students who know Raios’s ability well.
“Hey, look at that——Raios’s demon-slaying sword is in two pieces……!?”
“And Luna-san’s sword doesn’t have a single chip in the blade……. She has incredible swordsmanship.”
“Hmm, but doesn’t something seem off? Raios’s sword is destroyed and Luna-san’s is unscratched……. So why did she get sent flying that far……?”
Suspicious, their gazes stab into Luna from all sides.
“R-Raios-san’s slash had such incredible force……I couldn’t help but get blown away……”
Luna tries desperately to put out the fire with a wooden delivery and an unconvincing tone——but having sliced the demon-slaying sword in plain sight of everyone, it probably won’t do much good.
“Hmm……there are a number of things that give me pause, but for now——victor: Raios Reinhardt.”
Jurall announces the result, then delivers a brief assessment.
“This pair was almost certainly the one with the greatest gap in ability. And yet, Luna Spedio shone brilliantly. Not only did she react to Raios Reinhardt’s blade, but the skill with which she used her rapier to break the demon-slaying sword……it is worthy of high praise. Though she suffered defeat, she fought magnificently.”
He says this and offers unstinting commendation.
In this mock battle, it was Raios who remained standing at the end and Luna who lay fallen.
In other words Raios is the victor and Luna the defeated——but that is apparently not how things appeared to those watching, and Holy Knight Academy students converge on Luna.
“That was honestly amazing, Luna-chan! What are you, Support Division and still that strong!?”
“To think she actually reacted to Raios’s sword speed——genuinely shocked me!”
“Hey hey, how did you cut that demon-slaying sword? And who taught you swordsmanship? Oh, wait, is it self-taught? Could you tell me, just for reference!?”
Questions pour from their mouths like a summer squall.
“Uh, um, I’m not strong at all, and what happened just now was a complete accident, and I’ve never actually studied swordsmanship, so……”
As Luna struggles to correct everyone’s ‘misunderstanding’——
“Tch……I will not forget this humiliation. ……Remember this name, Luna Spedio……!”
——Raios, his pride shredded to pieces, shoots Luna a look of pure hatred——and despite the class not yet being over, walks off the training grounds.
And on top of that……
“The nerve of a dropout in the ‘Support Division’——someone who couldn’t even get into the ‘Saint Division’——getting doted on by the young men of the Holy Knight Academy……I won’t stand for it……!”
“The Demon-Slaying Sword Rogrea breaking was simply because Raios-sama had neglected to maintain his weapon……!”
“Just look at that face, thinking she’s so special……honestly, it’s infuriating……!”
Strong jealous stares from the Saint Academy’s students——primarily the Saint Division classmates——bore into her.
(Ughhh……I haven’t done anything wrong, so why does this always happen to me……)
Luna lets her shoulders droop at yet another in the string of disasters that have been befalling her lately.