I'm out.

With that, I walked out of the bleachers and down to the stage.
　The game I'm playing in is the last group of the day.
　The attention of the students is high.
　The reason for this is simple: the last two players are the top two in the score so far.
　To put it bluntly, this will be a battle for the top spot.

Dia earned points in magic, but she is only above par in physical arts.
　Tart is the opposite, the brave one is too much of a drag in writing, and in overall points, me and Neusch are head and shoulders above the rest.
　Me and Neusch line up and head to our respective rings.

'Roug, like I said before, don't even think about giving up the top spot I want to win on merit.
I promise to give it my all.

Neusch's eyes were looking straight at me.
　As if he could see through everything we were seeing.
　If I slipped up, I would be found out.
　We can't afford to displease the dukes.
　We then reached our respective rings in silence.

There were already opponents in the ring that we would challenge.
　I didn't expect that we were dealing with two deputy commanders.
　It's like a special service.

''Good luck, Roug-sama!
If you lose, I'll make a big pile of croppalas for breakfast tomorrow!

Tart and Dia's cheers come through.
　I'm happy for the feeling, but a little embarrassed.
　The Vice Commander in front of me laughs.

''You're very fertile. I envy you.''
I've shown you how embarrassing it is for my people.
It's fine. I'm motivated. I'm not going to let those pretty girls see the best in you, ever. Die, harem man!

It's a hell of a killing spirit.
　........This person seems to have already forgotten about exams with students.

''Isn't that a bit too mature?''
Haha. Maybe so. But you'll have no problem taking yourself seriously.

I'm not surprised.
　When you become a certain level of expert, you can tell the skill of your opponent just by the way he breathes and walks.
　It's just that the opponent in front of you is that kind of opponent too.
　We both put our hands on the hilt of our swords.

We dare to use our swords.
　They are good at knives, body arts and guns, but swords are not impossible to use, and swords can hide Touahade's assassination skills because there is no room for assassination techniques.
　I nodded as the judge checked to see if I was ready.

''Begin!''

The game begins.
　That's when we stopped moving.
　I could feel a tremendous amount of magic coming from the next ring.
　It's Neusch.
　Noish holds his sword in his right eye and releases his full force of magic power to strengthen his body.

An even more advanced technique in body strengthening that fuses chi and magic power to strengthen the entire body.
　Powerful and flowing. More than that, it is full of spirit.

No tricks, let's give it our all.
　From the magic power that is released, such a will is put in, and it feels good.

At first, I thought about slowing down my pace to see how things went, but I decided against it.

''Haaaaaaahhhh!

I'll follow Neusch's lead and go all out from the beginning.
　It would be a shame not to get on board.
　As an assassin, I wouldn't do something this stupid. But now I'm here as a swordsman.
　I can already see the amount of magic power of the Deputy Commander in front of me with Touahade's eyes.
　The exact same amount as his full strength. He releases and wears a magic power that is far higher than that of an ordinary person.

........The amount of magic power is the same. It's the same amount of magical power. If that's the case, the game is decided by swordsmanship, physical ability enhancement techniques, reading each other, those techniques and mental strength.
　The deputy commander grimaces.

''Interesting. This year's newcomers are very lively. Then we won't be shy about it either.
Yeah. That's funny. But we can't afford to lose. We're carrying the name of the Order.

The deputy commander in front of me, and the deputy commander facing Noish, also wore their full strength of magic power.
　All four of them release an enormous amount of magical power.

The audience gasped at the magnificent sight.
　And then all four of them started to move.

◇

I'm going to turn my entire attention to the man in front of me.
　...I was and still am an assassin in my previous life. I train for a frontal encounter, but that's only an insurance policy in case I miss an assassination, not my real job.
　And Touahade's assassination techniques. The technique for striking the enemy by surprise is sealed.

How far can you go with orthodox sword techniques........
　He swings his sword at the same time as the enemy. However, the opponent's sword speed is faster and heavier than yours, albeit slightly. They are also losing in sharpness.
　The amount of strengthening by magic power was made to be even. I'm a little better at strengthening physical abilities.
　However, my bare physical abilities are inferior.

Although I'm using 【Super Recovery】 to train my body efficiently, I'm still 14 years old and my body is still incomplete.
　On top of that, the other side seems to be a swordsmanship expert [Specialist]. They are clearly at a disadvantage.

If you clash with them properly, you will be pushed back.
　Therefore, I laid my sword down slightly and relaxed my strength.
　At the moment of impact, while pulling, I let it slide and flow. This technique is only possible because of Touahade's eyes, which boast superhuman dynamic vision.
　Even after being swept away, the opponent quickly grasps the current situation and tries to swiftly swing the sword in pursuit. Good use of the body.

You can't shed the next blow, if you receive it, your stance will be broken and you'll be in a bit of a mess, and you won't be able to attack with your sword in time.
　If he continues to fight with orthodox swordsmanship, he'll be stuck in seven or eight moves later.
　No matter how you do it, your suspicions that you can't win with orthodox swordsmanship will change to confidence.
　So, you move straight to the backward kick. If it's a foot, you can reach it before your opponent's sword.
　My opponent didn't seem to anticipate the kick either, and I successfully kick him in the gut.

It's a kick enhanced by magic power. It has the power to kill in one blow.

''Tch.''

It was light in hand. You jumped backwards by yourself and was swept away.
　You reacted in that split second.
　A chase. Because he was blown backwards, his melee attack couldn't reach him.
　So I throw my sword.

"Well student, that's not very knightly. But that's not bad.

The sword you throw will be flicked.
　That's to be expected.
　While keeping your attention on the sword you threw, you approach from the blind spot created by your opponent doing so and stab him.

Naturally, the sword was thrown and non-existent. So I used a scabbard.
　The tip of the scabbard is metal. If you strike your temple with it, you can prune your consciousness with a single shot.

"Abuna.
Can't we do this one too?

The fact that he released a stab from the opposite side of his dominant arm from his blind spot, which is also difficult to receive, and yet he was able to receive it with his basket hand.
　It seems that the deputy commander is indeed not an expert.

The second thrust, the opponent strikes away with his sword.
　The scabbard spins around and flies in the air.
　That is also natural. Unlike a sword, the sheath is difficult to hold. This is what happens when they are swept away with equal muscle power.
　You lose your weapon, and you are at a disadvantage. That's why you go further forward.
　By getting close enough to the point where you can't swing your sword, you prevent the slash that the opponent fired in a follow-up attack.

........And this evasive stepping in is also for the sake of the attack.
　While carrying the kinetic energy of the stepping in, he twists his body into a spiral shape, concentrating the power of his entire body and releasing the bottom of his palm.
　Even at zero distance, this can be a powerful attack.

''Ha!''

The sound of an explosion.
　Not just a palm bottom.
　A blow that explodes the magic and qi concocted inside the opponent.
　The Vice Commander's body flew into the air and spun five times outside the ring before stopping.
　The referees rushed over.
　And..........

'Winner, freshman. Roug Touahade.

I pronounced the winner.

'You managed to win,'

It looks like a one-sided match, but he only did so because he would have lost if he hadn't always made the first move.
　In fact, twice he was met with a move that was meant to be a kill shot, and the third time it was finally decided.
　The crowd reacted in three ways: "Yes, I did it!

'Yes, I did it. Master Rouges, that's great!　I've beaten the Vice Commander.
'Hmmm, I believed it all along. Because I'm a rogue. I'll kiss you when I get back!

Some of them turn to applause and enthusiasm as grandly as Dear and Tart, others are stunned in disbelief that their deputy commander has been defeated by the new recruits, and others are abhorred that the Baron's children are active.

A few people run up to the fallen Vice Commander and begin to treat him.

Then, in about a minute, the deputy commander woke up.
　At the moment of impact, the deputy commander had focused all of his magic power in his stomach. He succeeded in sputtering out of consciousness, but he couldn't do that much serious damage. It was truly a paper-thin fight.

'It's frustrating. I've become the highlight of the harem bastard. Jeez, to come in with a stunt swordsmanship instead of an elegant aristocratic swordsmanship. If I'd known that, I could have done it.
"I was going to fight with orthodox swordsmanship, but after seeing the first swing, I gave up. I realized that I couldn't win if I struck each other properly, and I feel defeated even though I won.

We chuckled at each other, shook hands, and then helped him up.
　Yes, until the match started, I was only going to win as a legitimate swordsman.
　However, seeing his opponent's abilities, he was convinced that he would lose with that.
　The difference in physical ability, and even more than that, there was an overwhelming difference in swordsmanship.
　That's why he continued to use his evil hands, unless he used the Touahade assassination technique, to continue thrusting at them by surprise and never let go of the initiative.

He was also right that he didn't expect the student to throw the knight's proud sword, kick, hit him with the scabbard, and then only attack him with his bare hands at zero range, which was also a reason for the victory.

It's a total loss. I'm looking forward to seeing your future. I hope you'll join our Order.
I'll think about it.

I say, and I thank him.
　Well, I won anyway.
　But I know that this kind of win will be hard to grade, because the scorer's preference will be to overwhelm you in pure sword.
　The scorer's preference would be to overwhelm you in pure sword.

Look next door.
　The battle was still going on over there.
　Unlike this one, it was a proper swordfight.
　The swordsmanship that Neusch wields is royal swordsmanship.
　It is the most legitimate swordsmanship in this country, a collective knowledge that has been refined by successive instructors.

It's too neat, but it's a powerful sword technique.
　Neusch is flawless.
　There aren't many swordsmen in the fourteenth grade who have perfected their skills to this point.
　The battle situation is almost evenly matched.
　No, they are leaning more and more towards Noish.
　That's because of the difference in the amount of magic power. Their opponents are finding it difficult to maintain their maximum output. But it seems that Neusch still has room to spare.

And then the time to settle the matter has come.
　The deputy commander's magical power enhancement is disrupted, and it becomes a sword disruption as it is.
　Noish is not naive enough to miss that.

With a twirl, the flicked sword dances, and Noish skids the sword down his opponent's throat.

''I win.''
'I give up. Good grief, this year's newcomers are not pretty. It's not only the Commander, but also us two deputy commanders got beaten up..........It's frustrating that we lost. Gah, the future of this country is bright.

And a big cheer.
　Unlike my time, everyone does.
　Well, he's a duke's thoroughbred, so it's no wonder he's a winner. And if it's against a duke, there's no jealousy or bullshit.
　I don't find that regrettable. As long as I have the support of Dia and Tart, that's all that matters.
　In fact, Dia and Tart cheered louder than anyone else, so that made me more than happy.
　Neusch smiles at me.

'Now I guess we don't know the final outcome,'
The rest is up to the judges to decide.

That said, it's probably Noish out of ten.
　The instructors prefer this kind of orthodoxy.
　Besides, it's better for the duke to be the head of the family, so it won't cause a lot of stir.
　If there is no overwhelming difference and it is decided by discretion, then Neusch will always be chosen.

◇

After a break, they gathered again at the square they had visited at the start of the exam.
　As the gates opened, the relatives of the students rushed in en masse.
　My child's rank. They seem to want to quickly confirm the excellence of their own house.
　First of all, the classes, excluding the S-ranked ones, are put up together.
　Shouts and screams echo out.
　........Some students start crying, some faint, and to top it all off, some are strangled by their parents or even sentenced to isolation.
　The vainglory characteristic of the aristocracy can't be helped.
　And here's the thing.
　The top eight will be called out individually.
　An elderly gentleman appears on the stage.
　He is the headmaster of the school.

''Now, let me introduce those who have been chosen for the S class. Let's start with the servant quota. These are Beryl Hartmer, Kranta Serrard and Tart Touahade. In particular, Tart Touahade, even if he is an ordinary student, has done well enough to make it into the S-class.

Applause.
　With this, my entry into the S class is practically confirmed.
　As I thought, there are not many servants with magical powers?

Now, here's the real deal.
　The students selected for the eight S classes are announced.

Then, in the eighth seat, Berluk Krutarissa.

One by one, their names are called out and they walk up to the stage.
　Every one of them has a proud face.
　That's what it means to be chosen here.
　The brave Epona had already been called out as well. It seems to be the fourth seat. It seems that the negative of the written test was a big deal.
　And.........

''From here, the top three will be the ones who will lead this generation. Claudia Touahade. Congratulations on your third seat.

Dear was called.

'I'll go ahead,'

After saying that, Dia ran to the podium.
　The eyes of the students, and their relatives, were focused on me and Noosh.
　We were the only ones who hadn't been called anymore, and one of us would be the head of the class.
　The headmaster coughed and made a pause.
　Then he slowly opened his mouth.

'Lug Toahade.'

They called me first. That means it's the second seat.
　I'm not discouraged because I knew it was coming.
　Besides, it was more convenient for me to be in the second seat without being too obvious.

'And Neusch Gefis. The two of you shall be admitted to the top of the class at the same rate.

A smiling Noish taps me on the shoulder and we both head to the podium.

'What a draw. It's a shame we didn't win but well, I'm more than welcome to have a good man who's going to be mine.
I never said it would be yours.
No, they will. It's my decision.

It's a mess.
　We go up to the stage to the applause and envy of the students.
　What on earth did Neusch like so much about me?
　But it's not all bad.
　He's a good windbreaker when he's around. He's a bit cocky for a baron. He'll have to get rid of all those nasty little...

Well, you're in the lead now.
　More trouble.
　Still, I don't feel bad when I see Dia and Tart looking as proud as I am.
　At any rate, the goal of being in the same class as the heroes has been accomplished.
　All that's left is to become friends.
　This will not be so difficult.