WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel ◈
Chapter 25: The Academy Is Shutting Down (3)
──────
For some possessors, a terrorist attack at an academy might have been common sense.
For ordinary students, though, an academy attack was a major incident they had never even imagined.
The attack had been swiftly suppressed, but that did not change the fact that it deeply shocked many students.
What was the Imperial Academy?
It was an educational institution run by the imperial family, gathering talented people from across the Empire.
A sudden wind of change had blown through that year, bringing in many more students from abroad.
Still, ordinary students saw the Imperial Academy as the Empire's future and another heart.
That was what the Emperor who founded the academy had said long ago.
And the current imperial family still upheld that will.
Such an academy had been attacked. It was practically a declaration of war against the Empire.
The students who understood that worried about what might happen next.
Even those who did not understand could not help noticing that something had begun, with academy personnel steadily increasing in number.
Tension began to hang over the academy.
Naturally, the students grew intimidated, and most outside activities came to a halt.
Even clubs that operated off campus took a brief break or began holding their activities within the academy.
As the students shrank back, activities disappeared.
And with fewer activities, they shrank back even further.
There was a reason academy classes had increased outside activities under the guise of practical training.
It had been the academy's effort to change this very atmosphere.
Yet no matter how hard the academy tried, it was difficult to ease the students' anxiety.
“This actually worked?”
One of the Swordsmanship Department professors exclaimed.
A single student had succeeded in changing the academy's atmosphere, which had not budged despite all their efforts.
His name was Asran.
He was the man who had cast aside even his noble family name and declared that he would become a great swordsman like his grandfather.
He had been renowned across the continent as the Little Sword Emperor even before entering the academy.
And now...
“The Doomed Sword Emperor issued another challenge!”
From Little Sword Emperor (小劍制) to Doomed Sword Emperor (敗劍制).
In other words, he had become an icon of defeat.
* * *
It had already been two weeks since Asran challenged Prince Ellen.
Asran had challenged Prince Ellen every day, just as I intended, and suffered defeat every day.
What was more...
“It ended even faster today.”
“Yeah.”
Violet and I chewed on popcorn from the academy store every day as we commentated on their sparring matches.
I discussed their swordsmanship. Violet discussed how far things had drifted from the original story.
And as a result...
“Is this really right?”
Violet narrowed her eyes at me.
It seemed this had changed a lot from the original story too.
“What changed?”
“Everything. I mean, I know the original story got completely wrecked ages ago.”
Since she had also contributed to wrecking the original story, she looked resigned.
“But I never thought I’d watch it get wrecked in real time.”
“Is it that bad?”
“It is.”
Unless it was an actual battle, weaker people had no choice but to gain a great deal from fighting someone stronger.
Someone stronger than you would have plenty for you to learn from.
Just making good use of those lessons could improve your skills.
That was why getting the opportunity to fight someone strong was so difficult.
Even in the esports scene, which I watched almost as often as web novels in my previous life, weaker teams often said in interviews that it was hard to arrange even practice matches.
It was only natural.
The stronger side had no reason to spar with someone who offered them no benefit and might even become an enemy someday.
“Asran’s definitely growing faster than he did in the original story.”
Fortunately, Prince Ellen gladly accepted Asran’s requests to spar.
They were friends, but Asran was also the only person besides me who could properly exchange blows with Prince Ellen.
As the days passed, Asran grew quickly.
But...
“The speed at which Prince Ellen beats Asran up is increasing even faster!”
That was right.
Asran’s rate of growth had increased.
But Prince Ellen’s rate of beating Asran up had increased even more.
To anyone who did not know better, Asran would look like he was regressing instead of improving.
Every day, he was getting crushed even more miserably!
“They’re openly calling him the Doomed Sword Emperor now...”
The master of the little sword had become the master of the defeated sword.
Even I, who had perfectly mastered the Doomed Sword recognized by the Commander, had not earned that title. Yet Asran had.
“But he says he’s happy.”
“...He wasn’t like this before.”
Violet looked at me as if to say, You ruined everything.
Leaving her behind, Asran, having failed in his twentieth campaign to conquer Ellen, trudged away.
Then...
“Are you okay?”
Daisy approached Asran with a wet towel in hand.
Asran avoided her gaze with a dejected expression.
“Sorry. I lost again.”
“No, you did well. Even Ellen looked flustered earlier.”
It was true.
After taking a fairly powerful blow and rolling across the ground, Asran had charged back in amid a cloud of dust, as if to say he had rolled across the ground to gain momentum.
Compared to the Asran who had fought with dignity and integrity at the beginning of the academy year, he looked like an entirely different person.
“Ugh, look at all that dirt. The servants doing the laundry are going to have a hard time.”
“Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing to me? Apologize to the servants later.”
“Okay.”
As Daisy wiped the dirt from his face and clothes, she scolded him.
Asran only nodded, his face turning slightly red.
“...”
Not far away, Prince Ellen watched them wistfully.
He looked truly pitiful, but he had won so overwhelmingly that he did not even have a speck of dust or a drop of sweat on him. There was no way Daisy would fuss over him.
Sorry, Ellen. That does not mean I plan to change anything.
When we return to the kingdom, I’ll arrange a meeting with some nice young lady through the royal family, so just forget about Daisy.
Please.
“Damn it, he’s using Daisy’s maternal instincts...”
Violet, who was rooting for the prince, let out a quiet groan, but that was their problem. I could ignore it.
After parting ways with Daisy, Asran was smiling brightly as if he had never been depressed. I headed toward the corner of the training grounds where we always met.
“Have you arrived?”
But waiting there was not Asran, the Little Sword Emperor, or rather, the Doomed Sword Emperor.
“...Sword Emperor?”
The actual Sword Emperor was waiting for me.
* * *
Aren, the Swordsmanship Department’s Head Professor and the Sword Emperor.
Honestly, I could not bring myself to like the man.
On a smaller scale, he had once given some instruction to our king and the Commander.
That had made our king admire the Sword Emperor, making him the main culprit behind naming all his sons something similar to the Sword Emperor and confusing everyone.
On a larger scale, the reason I had come to study in a distant foreign land and ended up working in the heart of a romance fantasy novel was because the Sword Emperor had become the Imperial Academy’s Head Professor.
Still, I simply could not like him.
That did not mean I disliked him.
The Sword Emperor was the idol of all swordsmen and the model of a knight in the public imagination.
Of course, if you looked deeper into it, the Sword Emperor had never belonged to a knight order or even become a knight.
Yet most of the stories people associated with knights were based on the Sword Emperor’s exploits.
Those exploits were so heroic that the public naturally viewed knights favorably.
Leon, known as the kingdom of knights, had benefited greatly from that indirect effect.
So whatever the case, I did not have any particular feelings about the Sword Emperor.
The last time he suddenly called me over and tried to drag me into the romance-fantasy club, no, the Flower Arrangement Club, he had let it go when I refused.
Professor and student. That much distance was enough.
So why...
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Why were you suddenly forcing a one-on-one meeting on me?
I could not help feeling that way.
“I’ve heard much about you from my grandson.”
Fuck, Asran. You were the culprit?
I’m seriously disappointed.
I’d done my best to help you with your love life.
You had been flirting with Daisy just a moment ago because of that, and this was how you repaid me?
“Is that the magic sword?”
It seemed he had even told him about the magic sword.
“It is.”
“May I try using it once?”
The magic sword?
The words nearly slipped out, but then I would become the bastard who let his grandson use such a dangerous object.
So I confidently handed the magic sword to the Sword Emperor as though it were completely harmless.
“Hmm.”
The Sword Emperor took out the magic sword, examined it from several angles, swung it once, then gave a quiet laugh and returned it to me.
“What an interesting object.”
“Right?”
“It is of no use to me, though.”
He meant that he could already freely control all of his power.
It might have sounded arrogant, but since the one saying it was the Sword Emperor, he was probably just stating a fact.
“With a few more adjustments, it seems it could be used in Swordsmanship Department classes.”
“I believe the Empire has recovered them and is researching them. Why don’t you ask?”
“Is that so?”
“Would you like me to connect you with the person in charge?”
I was ready to throw Uncle Aryn under the bus immediately.
He had betrayed my fragile heart twice already, so it was only fair for me to betray him a few times too.
“That’s all right. As a professor, I should handle that much work myself.”
It felt as though next year’s academy course had just been decided.
The course title would probably be something like Understanding Your Limits with Magic Swords. That actually sounded fun.
“We’ve strayed too far from the point. The reason I came here was to make you an offer.”
“I absolutely will not join the Flower Arrangement Club.”
I meant it.
I was even more certain of that than when the Sword Emperor had first invited me.
“No, not that.”
Apparently, I had jumped the gun.
“I have seen how much my grandson has changed thanks to you.”
“Uh, um...”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
This man had blindsided me last time too, and now he was doing it again.
“Right?”
Asran himself was happy because he spent more time with Daisy.
But from a third party’s perspective, he only looked like someone who lost every day while his reputation fell.
He had been praised as the Little Sword Emperor, expected to become the next Sword Emperor after his grandfather.
Recently, though, he had become a laughingstock as the Doomed Sword Emperor.
As Asran’s grandfather and the reason behind his Little Sword Emperor title, the Sword Emperor might have thought I had ruined his grandson.
“That is good.”
“What?”
But the Sword Emperor’s next response was completely different from what I expected.
What was this? Did they have family troubles?
There had been rumors that the Sword Emperor had clashed with Asran’s father when he received an imperial title.
Still, the Sword Emperor did not seem like the sort of person who would act that way because of it.
“It is natural for a swordsman to lose. I also suffered many defeats in my youth.”
What came back was a pleased smile.
Seeing the nostalgic look in his eyes, if this were a novel, there would probably have been half a chapter of flashback right about now.
“The more familiar you become with defeat, the better. Some may point fingers at it, but if you never challenge anyone, you will never be defeated.”
Put differently, he had lost because he had challenged someone.
“My grandson experienced defeat and was shaken by it. But he rose again. That is enough.”
He was not a Swordsmanship Department professor praising a student who was growing.
He was a grandfather smiling fondly as he watched his grandson.
With a warm smile, the old man made an offer to his grandson’s friend.
“Would you like to learn the sword from me?”
It was a lucky encounter.
This was one, right?
...This was not the graduate student route, was it?
Author’s Note
I clearly said from the beginning that I did not know when the service would end...
I even wrote it in the announcement...
Why are there so many people saying they did not know...
I even said I wasn’t leaving anymore, but they’re still trying to hold me back...
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
