I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

At Selena’s words, Iriel tilted her head in confusion.

“Swordsmanship talent? Hmm… You lost, didn’t you?”

“…Ugh.”

“And you didn’t just lose. You charged in screaming, couldn’t land a single hit, and ended up bawling your eyes out, didn’t you?”

“No! I didn’t cry!”

Selena shouted, her face flushing red.

Ignoring her outburst, Iriel continued,

“Yeah, yeah. But what swordsmanship talent are you talking about? I saw you got a bit stronger last time, but you still wouldn’t stand a chance against her.”

Iriel, now possessing the intuition to distinguish between killing intent and destructive intent, could roughly gauge the level of her opponent’s skills, even if not precisely.

If she were to fight Selena now, she would probably either tie or lose by a slight margin.

The flower-brained girl’s swordsmanship and agility weren’t that difficult to deal with, so if she planned her strategy well, she had a good chance of winning.

However, Yuri Gilbert…

When she saw the black-haired girl’s movements, the first thing she felt was a sense of absurdity.

Even if she dodged a sword a step ahead, Yuri would surely stab her with a clueless expression, as if wondering what she was even doing.

Even without facing her directly, Iriel was confident that she would lose a hundred out of a hundred fights against Yuri.

That’s why Iriel had no particular desire to duel Yuri Gilbert with swords.

“I know… that I’m not good enough for her yet…”

“Not yet? You should say never. Anyway, what are you going to do about it?”

Selena spoke with a serious expression.

“I’m going to request a duel and lose again. Of course, I’ll do my best.”

“…Aha.”

Iriel realized Selena’s intentions.

Currently, Yuri Gilbert was using pity as a weapon to approach Zeke and gradually take her place.

Of course, she might have genuinely gone through a tough time in the past.

But objectively speaking, Yuri wasn’t in such an unfortunate situation at present.

After all, those who bullied her were all gone thanks to Zeke, and she now had the Duke of Yohaiden as a strong backing.

On top of that, she had outstanding swordsmanship talent, so her future was bright.

Yes, she understood Selena’s goal of reawakening Yuri’s swordsmanship talent through a duel. She understood, but…

‘But… isn’t the plan too naive?’

Iriel had once burned with jealousy after hearing Selena’s plan for the Eustia banquet.

Compared to that, this plan was riddled with holes.

‘Hmm, aside from whether she’ll fall for it so easily… Doesn’t she think Zeke might like her even more if she shows her swordsmanship talent?’

Selena was quick-witted in urgent situations, but when it came to romance, she seemed to be just a flower-brained girl.

Iriel fell into deep thought.

Was there any way to supplement or modify Selena’s plan a little more?

As she continued her thoughts, she suddenly realized that there was no need for her to get involved here.

‘Oh, right? If Yuri Gilbert wins, I can enjoy watching the flower girl roll on the ground again. And if the flower girl wins, knowing her personality, she’ll probably tell Yuri to do it properly, and they’ll be at each other’s throats. In the meantime, I’ll stick close to Zeke and get ahead.’

Hehe, Iriel nodded, imagining that future.

She would pit Selena and Yuri against each other and enjoy a leisurely time with Zeke, using them as entertainment.

She had done something smart for once.

Having reached a conclusion, Iriel hardened her expression and spoke to Selena in a serious voice.

“Flower girl, do your best. This time, I’ll cheer for you too.”

***

‘It’s almost time.’

Zeke burned the letter secretly delivered by the Adventurers’ Guild Master with mana.

The content of the letter was that the pressure from the Lost Hope to prepare sacrifices had been intensifying lately.

However, he was too afraid of Zeke to prepare the sacrifices, but he couldn’t just stay still either, putting him in a dilemma.

The trembling handwriting clearly showed how anxious he was.

In fact, he didn’t have to worry about this matter.

As soon as the Lost Hope arrived at the mountain range, they would engage in battle with Eustia, who would be waiting for them, so they wouldn’t have the time to care about the sacrifices the Adventurers’ Guild Master was gathering.

However, because it had been out of his sight, he found a way to use it effectively.

Zeke picked up a quill and began to write a reply.

[Don’t worry, I’ll prepare the sacrifices.]

The sacrifices Zeke was referring to were none other than the knights of Yohaiden.

‘When they’re in the middle of the battle, I can disguise the Yohaiden troops as sacrifices, put the Adventurers’ Guild Master at the forefront, and take them to ambush the unsuspecting bastards.’

He had already discussed it with the Duke of Yohaiden, but Zeke still couldn’t completely relax.

‘I should go with them myself.’

The Lost Hope and the Eustia Family.

Both were groups that reeked of something fishy, so even if he pitted them against each other, there was a good chance that they would notice something similar midway through, talk it out, clear up misunderstandings, and shake hands.

The success of “using barbarians to control barbarians” depended on the details.

‘I should ask the Principal for some time off now that the midterm evaluations are over.’

***

“No.”

The Principal, buried under a mountain of paperwork, shook his head with dark circles under his eyes.

“No?”

“Didn’t I say no?”

“It’s a problem that can be solved by slightly adjusting the schedule.”

“No. I won’t change it. I don’t intend to. Go back.”

The Principal shook his head with a firm expression, refusing to grant leave no matter what.

Zeke wondered why he was being so adamant.

“Why not? I know that academy instructors can apply for up to 21 days of leave per year if needed.”

“…Are you asking because you don’t know?”

The Principal glared at Zeke with sharp eyes.

Then he let out a deep sigh.

“Do you see what this is?”

The Principal held a white piece of paper between his fingers and waved it back and forth.

“What is it?”

“It’s a resignation letter.”

“A resignation letter…?”

“Yes! Instructor Dios Redwood’s resignation letter!”

“Ah, so he finally left the academy.”

Zeke nodded, thinking it was understandable.

But the Principal opened his mouth, looking incredulous.

“Do you know how leave applications work?”

“You write a reason on the leave application form, submit it, and get it approved by the Principal, right?”

“No.”

“?”

“You write the leave application form, and then you ask another instructor of the same grade to cover your classes during your leave. And then comes the approval. But Dios Redwood has already left the academy! That means there’s no other instructor to take over your classes! We haven’t even decided on a candidate yet! And what!?”

The Principal’s anger grew gradually as he thought that all this was because of this guy in front of him.

He snorted, his face full of frustration.

“This is all your fault!”

“Hmm… I guess it’s my fault for teaching Selena well.”

Zeke Clayman said nonchalantly.

‘If you can’t even speak properly!’

The Principal glared at Zeke, but he didn’t seem to care.

The Principal buried his head in his desk with a tired face.

“Really… Please… I’m begging you… Let me live in peace… No, just kill me…”

The Principal pleaded in a weary voice.

“Ah, so since Instructor Dios is gone, I have to take over the swordsmanship classes until a new instructor is assigned?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

At those words, Zeke thought for a moment and then his eyes lit up as if a good idea had come to mind.

“Hmm… How about this? We hire my students as temporary instructors while I’m on leave.”

“…Are you out of your mind?”

The Principal raised his head at Zeke’s absurd suggestion.

“I’m perfectly sane. Selena has already defeated Dios Redwood, so she’s qualified, isn’t she? And my students have been thoroughly trained by me in practical combat, so you don’t have to worry about the teaching methods.”

“No, but there’s no such thing as an irresponsible class where a student becomes an instructor! And a first-year student at that!”

He yelled angrily, but Zeke’s lips curled into an ominous smile.

“Hmm… Principal.”

“What, what! What!!!!”

“Last time, the Illios incident… Didn’t I mention that I’d be collecting on that debt…?”

The Principal’s eyes widened.

“I’m not threatening the Principal of Ramielli Academy as a mere instructor, but it seems that Duke Yohaiden is quite upset about the Illios incident. He asked me how it happened… I’m doing my best to prevent the information from spreading… Hmm. If I can’t take my leave, my lips might become a little looser…”

‘That’s a threat, you bastard…’

If this wasn’t a threat, then what was?

The Principal wanted to cry.

“Alright! Fine! Do as you please!!!!! Just take your leave and go! No, get out of here!!!!!!!!!”

In the end, he had no choice but to bite his lip and surrender to Zeke’s threat, backed by Yohaiden.

Tears welled up in his eyes.