Arc 3 Chapter 2 : Brian's Challenge

[Brian PoV]

Days kept passing, bringing us closer to the field practicum schedule.

Right now, in front of me stood the first-year students who'd just joined the Swordmaster club. This was the scheduled time to teach them some basic swordsmanship knowledge, following their earlier lessons with the instructor.

"Three of you, try attacking me all at once." I instructed them.

Three new members stepped forward, wooden swords in hand.

Judging by their stances, all of them were still complete beginners. Wrong footwork, imperfect shoulder positioning, and unfocused breathing.

"Ready, Senior!"

The three of them began their attack.

Every strike came far too slow — I could dodge them all with ease. On top of that, their teamwork was terrible, attacking however they pleased without any clear coordination.

—Bam!

I struck all three of their hands with my wooden sword. They winced in pain, each clutching their own hand.

I rested my wooden sword against my shoulder and said, "Keep practicing, especially your footwork."

"Yes, sir!"

They all responded to my words with full enthusiasm.

"Senior Brian's so cool, isn't he?"

"Not just strong, he's handsome too!"

I overheard some of the girls here praising me. Being a club leader really wasn't so bad after all.

Once training at the Swordmaster club ended, I headed back to the regular men's dormitory.

Arriving there, I saw third-year students gathered in the common room, several of them reading papers in their hands.

"Hey, what's everyone doing?" I asked one of the students nearby.

"The field practicum assignment letters for the third-years just came out," he answered. "You can find yours on that table, Brian."

There was a large table in this room, with a stack of papers piled on top.

I walked over and searched for my assignment letter. I hoped I'd end up in the same group as Ariel for this activity. If not, I wouldn't see her for several months!

After searching for a few minutes, I finally found my assignment letter.

It stated that I'd be leading a group of students stationed at Alcantara Fortress, one of the Inquisitor bases of the Temple of Goddess Diana, located in the Duchy of Grenaut.

"I wonder if Ariel's been placed at the same location as me," I murmured hopefully. "I need to go find her right now."

Leaving the men's dormitory, I hurried toward the women's dormitory.

Evening had settled in, and students were out walking around, relaxing in the gardens or training in the open fields. I could hardly believe I'd already been living here for two years.

I still remembered meeting Master Erina for the first time, in a street dueling ring back then. She'd seen the talent I had and gotten me into this academy through her recommendation as a teacher.

Before entering this academy, I had no purpose in life whatsoever, no family, no friends. But everything changed once I started living here.

Making new friends so I wasn't lonely anymore, developing my fighting talent so I could help fight against evil. But the thing I was most grateful for, coming to this academy, was meeting her — Ariel.

She was the one who always brought color into my days here, who always comforted me during my lowest, most depressing moments, who became the source of my motivation to chase my dream.

Ariel... she was everything to me...

Her smile, her kindness, her gentle voice that always calmed my heart...

I wanted everything about her to belong to me alone...

I wanted to always be by her side, chasing our shared dream together...

And after graduation, I wanted to propose to her, to become my life partner until death parted us.

Arriving at the women's dormitory, I asked the guard to call Ariel out for me. But she told me Ariel wasn't in her room at all.

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One of her friends mentioned Ariel was currently at the temple, spending time alone.

At the temple? Was she praying? But hadn't she already done that during lunch break earlier?

Not wanting to dwell on it further, I made my way toward the temple.

The Temple of Goddess Diana within the academy grounds was where Priestess students like Ariel gathered. There, she'd be taught healing magic, exorcism magic, and sealing magic.

Unlike Knight-track or Mage-track students, Priest or Priestess students were far fewer in number. That's why their curriculum differed from those two student types.

Arriving at the academy's temple, I stepped inside and found the place completely quiet. Ariel was nowhere in sight, as far as I could see.

I then walked toward the ceremonial hall. This time, I found Ariel sitting on one of the rows of benches here.

Her eyes were closed, fingers interlaced, head bowed, as though praying. It was just the two of us in this place.

I walked over and sat beside Ariel.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she turned to notice my presence.

"Brian... what are you doing here?" Ariel asked, her voice as gentle as always.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, you know. It's unusual for you to still be praying this late in the evening, Ariel," I asked her. "What exactly are you praying for?"

Ariel gave a soft smile at my question.

"Sorry I didn't come find you right away, Brian," Ariel answered, her tone melancholic. "I've been praying that my field practicum goes safely and smoothly."

Where exactly had Ariel been placed, to make her look this uneasy? Had she been assigned somewhere dangerous?

"Ariel, could I see your placement letter?" I asked her.

Ariel then reached into her uniform's chest pocket and handed me a sheet of paper.

I took it and read through the contents of Ariel's assignment letter.

It stated she'd be stationed at Cataluna Fortress City.

"Cataluna Fortress City is Marquis Fran de Cataluna's territory," Ariel said, looking at the letter in my hand. "It's located in the Empire's northeastern region, the most dangerous region in this entire country."

If I remembered correctly, four of the six students who died last year during this program had also been stationed there, hadn't they? Which meant Ariel's life could be seriously at risk carrying out this activity there.

If I were with her, I could still protect her there. But we were assigned to different locations — I had no confidence the other students could protect Ariel!

"I'll speak with the Student Council to have you transferred out of that location," I told her.

But Ariel shook her head at my words. "I don't want someone else to take my place in a dangerous location while I comfortably serve somewhere safe, Brian. Wouldn't that make me a terrible person?"

I'd forgotten Ariel had a heart this kind. Of course she wouldn't want to trade her dangerous assignment for someone else's safety.

"In that case, I'll ask the Student Council to place me at the same location as you, Ariel," I said, gripping the platinum-haired woman's shoulders with both hands. "With this, you won't need to worry, because I'll protect you from any threat that comes our way!"

I then stood up, ready to hurry to the Student Council building to get them to swap my placement with a student assigned to the same location as Ariel.

Surely they wouldn't want to carry out this activity in such a dangerous place either, right? That student should be more than willing to trade with me.

"Brian, don't cause a scene there."

But I ignored her and quickened my pace to get there as fast as possible.

The temple building wasn't far from the Student Council building, so I arrived there within just a few minutes on foot.

Entering the building, I saw council members busy either preparing documents or discussing something.

"Can I see President Elena?" I asked one of them.

"The President's in her office. I'd suggest not disturbing her — she's quite busy today," she answered.

I ignored her words and headed straight for the Student Council President's office.

The door was open, and I could see President Elena sitting inside, reading through some documents.

She turned toward me, noticing I'd entered her office. Her expression looked somewhat displeased at my presence here.

"Brian? What brings you here?" President Elena asked me.

"It's about the field practicum placements happening in a few days," I answered her.

Hearing my words, President Elena furrowed her brow. "So, what's the issue with that?"

"I want you to transfer me to the same location as Ariel — Cataluna Fortress City — for this field practicum," I answered directly.

Hearing my request, President Elena set down the document she was reading and said, "That's not possible. Everything's already filled by the disciplinary committee members. If you want to do something about it, talk to Raul, their leader."

The disciplinary committee? Don't tell me that bastard's going to be there with Ariel too? Is he planning this on purpose? Is he still after Ariel, even after I beat him in a duel!?

I couldn't let that man do whatever he wanted.

"So, if I can convince him, I could swap into the same location as Ariel?" I asked her.

"Yes... he actually said himself that if you came to challenge this decision, you should go see him directly."

After hearing President Elena's words, I immediately left the Student Council building to go find that bastard.

[Raul PoV]

Night had fallen, and right now I was standing in the academy's main arena, waiting for someone. I was completely alone here — no student would come to this place at this hour.

Bringing Ariel to a dangerous location with me would surely infuriate that man.

Bringing Ariel to the most dangerous region in the Empire was absolutely necessary, to awaken the Codex she possessed, so that once she completed the Trial I intended to orchestrate for her, she'd have a real chance of being chosen as Saint.

Every part of this scenario needed to be arranged with precision, if I wanted the outcome to match what I was hoping for.

With Ariel chosen as Saint, this world's future would be far more secure.

"Raul de Garciaaa!"

My train of thought broke at the sound of a loud shout echoing through this place.

I saw Brian sprinting toward me at full speed.

"I've searched this entire academy for you, and here you are!" Brian shouted, pointing his finger at me.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, pretending to be clueless.

"You're the one who placed Ariel in the same location as you, aren't you!?" Brian said, his voice rising. "She already rejected you, yet you still keep chasing after her, bothering Ariel!"

"So, if it's true I wanted Ariel placed with me, what exactly are you going to do about it?" I said, provoking him further.

"Let's settle this like men," Brian said, his gaze deadly serious. "If I defeat you, I'll take your place as leader of the student group stationed at Cataluna Fortress City!"

"And if you lose?"

Brian looked startled at my question. It seemed he hadn't even considered the possibility of losing when he decided to challenge me this time.

"I'll do whatever you want if I lose! For Ariel's sake, I'll sacrifice anything!"

Oh, seems like I need to teach you to be more careful with your words, Brian.

"Alright, I accept your challenge," I told him, giving him a wicked smile. "We'll duel right now, in this arena."