Chapter 182

"…The duel isn't over yet."

That's right, it's not over yet.

Although I had lost all three of my swords, I had not yet declared defeat to Harold.

For a mage, a sword was merely a supplementary tool, not the primary weapon.

Harold might have thought he had achieved a "complete victory" since he had disarmed me, but that logic only applies to a duel between swordsmen.

When a mage and a swordsman truly go all out against each other, the standard of what constitutes a complete victory changes.

-Bang!

“……!”

With the propulsion of the shockwave I used from beneath my feet, my body shot toward where Harold was standing.

Startled by my sudden charge following those final words, Harold hastily adjusted his grip on his sword.

Even so, true to his title as a Swordmaster, his reaction in regaining his stance after briefly lowering his guard was impressively quick.

However, no matter how much of a master one is, it's impossible to be perfectly prepared for a surprise attack.

Normally, he would be ready to counter both sword and magic attacks, but with little time to spare, Harold adopted a defensive stance to ward off the magic he assumed would be coming at him.

‘Yes, that's what most would do.’

I had already used all three of my swords.

Throughout this entire semester’s duels, I had only ever used three daggers against Harold, making sure to reinforce that impression.

For a mage to engage in close combat with a swordsman without a weapon was unthinkable.

I didn’t even pretend to reach into my uniform to draw a sword, so he would never have expected it.

He never could have guessed that my final trump card was a "sword-creating spell."

-Swoosh!

“……!”

I saw Harold's expression stiffen for a split second as he noticed the sword materializing in my hand coming straight at him.

Of course, he couldn't have predicted this. A spell that creates a sword out of thin air? Who could see that coming?

But if you’ve played even a little bit of Lillis in the game "Luminor Academy," you would naturally become familiar with this technique.

It’s odd, isn't it? Among Lillis’s dagger skills, one of them is “Dagger Throw.”

Anyone with half a brain would realize how risky it is to fight while expending your weapons in battle.

Fortunately, the developers weren't so foolish, and Lillis was able to learn a skill that could solve the dangerous situation caused by throwing daggers.

That skill is the “First Dagger Enhancement Skill,” Visionary Blade.

A blade crafted through magic appeared at my fingertips, ready to be conjured at any moment.

That gleaming blade clashed with Harold’s sword in midair.

-Sizzle!

“Guh…!”

Harold managed to block my Visionary Blade in midair, though the magically compressed blade slightly chipped, causing a small burst of energy.

Naturally, a magically created blade couldn't withstand a real sword for long.

But it didn’t matter.

…This Visionary Blade, my last resort, was designed from the start to be used with double casting.

“Hyaaah!”

With a slight delay, I created a second Visionary Blade in my other hand and swung it toward the unprotected area near Harold's waist.

It was the final surprise attack, striking at his most vulnerable point.

If this was blocked as well, then it would be fair to say that I had no other way to win a match against Harold.

With that thought in mind, my Visionary Blade nearly touched his body—

But then, a thin protective barrier of magic barely deflected my second blade.

-Sizzle!

“Hah, haah….”

Even in a situation where his hands were not free, Harold’s instinct to protect himself was at an almost animalistic level.

Though my attack didn’t land, this duel still counted as a victory for me.

The moment Harold broke the initial condition of not using mana or energy to maintain the handicap between a Swordmaster and a regular student, I won.

“You used magic, didn’t you?”

“…Yes, I had no choice.”

With those words, Harold slowly lowered his sword and acknowledged his defeat.

It was a somewhat underhanded victory, but it was still a definite win for me.

“I never declared defeat, Professor Harold. After all, a mage should fight with magic. My swordsmanship is merely a technique for inducing my opponent's overconfidence.”

“…Indeed, in that regard, you used it quite effectively.”

To think that I had induced overconfidence in Harold of all people.

Even though this was a trial duel for the semester’s exam, the fact that I had made him lower his guard remained unchanged.

“You’re becoming more like Ethan in certain ways.”

“…Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’ll admit this was my mistake. I should have anticipated that someone like you wouldn’t give up so easily.”

“Are you saying…”

“Yes, you’ve won this match, so you’ve earned an A+. Well done this semester, Lillis.”

“Y-yes…thank you, Professor Harold!”

This, this is victory.

Finally, finally, I managed to win a match against Harold.

I was the only student in the Magic Department who managed to score a victory against him, making this an extraordinary achievement.

‘Lillis, wasn’t that a bit underhanded?’

‘Master, that was a little… unseemly.’

Shut up, you two don’t understand anything.

As long as I beat Harold, it doesn’t matter how I did it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

A week had passed since the somewhat underhanded victory I secured against Harold.

The final semester event, the end-of-term Hunting Festival, had come to a close, and most of the lectures were winding down one by one, signaling that it was time to prepare to return to Blackwood Manor.

However, Ethan and I remained at the academy, even days after the end of all the lectures, spending rather busy days.

That’s because Seraphine’s “Student Council Duties,” which began this semester, were still ongoing.

The student council’s term lasts slightly longer than that of other students.

While most students would return to their hometowns after completing their last classes, the student council stays behind to perform their duties.@@novelbin@@

These duties include processing applications for students who plan to remain at the academy during the break for club activities or study sessions, and addressing student complaints or requests received during the semester to improve the academy during the vacation period.

As a result, the student council’s term ends slightly later than that of the general student body—though it’s only about a week’s difference.

‘The workload is much lighter compared to during the semester, so it’s more relaxed.’

As a player of "Luminor Academy," I sometimes found it annoying that the student council duties extended the term by a week.

Since it was a game with high freedom, there were many things to do in that week, like collecting items or exploring hidden opportunities.

But now, I wasn’t in a position to do those things, nor did I have any pressing reason to chase after hidden events or items.

I felt bad about defeating the Abyssal Kraken with Ethan and taking the sub-event from the Hero's party, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I did, however, help Agnes contract a fire spirit, so the Hero’s party had gained a stronger ally in the end.

Besides, I hadn’t touched any obvious hidden opportunities or items that others might have claimed.

‘I didn’t want to risk interfering with the Hero’s campaign against the Demon Lord. That would be a real hassle.’

The worst-case scenario would be if things went so wrong that Lillis had to join the Demon Lord subjugation team.

That would not only ruin my life but also make it seem like I was breaking my promise with Ethan.

While I was organizing the student council’s paperwork with these thoughts in mind, I noticed a mysterious document in the pile, which seemed to be a list of potential new students for the next year.

“President Seraphine, what is this document?”

“Oh, that? It’s a list of students who are likely to enroll in the academy next year. I thought it would be good for you all to familiarize yourselves with the names of those who might be attending the academy with you next year!”

“I took a look at it earlier, and I suspected as much. There are a few students on that list that the Auguste Trading Company is already keeping an eye on.”

“Hmmm, is that so? Do I really have to memorize this? I’m not good at remembering names unless I’ve seen the person’s face~”

“Oh, it’s alright. The materials I provided are just for reference. If you think it’s too much trouble, you don’t have to memorize them.”

Even though she was saying it casually, it would definitely be beneficial to memorize it.

This was practically an opportunity to build connections with potential first-year students, using Princess Seraphine’s name to do so.

Connections really are valuable. If you’re a princess, you even distribute information like this to your people for free.

Of course, for me, this information wasn’t particularly useful at the moment, and I already had a rough idea of the main characters, so it didn’t really matter.

Still, I decided to glance through the list to see if there were any key figures.

The "Barbarian Lyria" from the Spear Department.

The "Kind Alchemist Tralia" from the Pharmacology Department.

And the "Inventor Seldick" from the Engineering Department.

It seemed that the main first-year characters would be enrolling as usual without any significant changes, given that I hadn’t intervened.

If I had to add one more, it would be "Back-Alley Brawler Carniel" from the Martial Arts Department. Given their background, it seems they didn’t make it onto Seraphine’s list of candidates.

After briefly checking the list of incoming students and setting it aside, I thought I was done for the day when Seraphine suddenly made a suggestion.

“Tomorrow is the last day of this semester’s student council duties, right?”

“Yes, President Seraphine.”

“In that case, how about we all have a little get-together to celebrate the end of the semester?”

…A get-together? All of a sudden?

Was there such an event in the original game?