Phew~ That's quite the nice warmup~ It's been a while since I sweated a bit~

But as expected of Sir Roland's former instructor and a veteran ex Vice Commander of the royal guards, his training programme is extremely well thought out.

Running, sprints, shuttle runs, burpees, push up, bench press, squats, deadlift, by just having us do this little warm up session, he could measure our stamina, strength, and dexterity all at the same time. It's quite a nice way to familiarize himself with each of our limits.

Well... "Their" limits.

I'm totally fine. I mean... we didn't run or sprint with any weights on our arms and legs, or lifting weights double our body weight. We were even given some time to rest after all of that, while I'm immediately forced to spar with Sir Rolan or Luke.

But... they're all sprawled on the ground now.

Many couldn't even maintain their elegance anymore and were all panting heavily. Even Evelyn, Noir, Valerie-chan, Celine, Ellie, and the heroine were all visibly exhausted.

Though I guess it made sense. After all, most nobles focused their efforts for magical training. Most neglected their physical training completely or just did the bare minimum of exercise, like swinging some swords or jogging.

There's really only a few among them that could keep up. Most of them I recognize being from a family of knights.

Surprisingly, Illya was also fine with the training.

Well... At least she's standing.

But this is great! Compared to the others, who were thoroughly exhausted, she's still standing strong~!

Fufufu~ I guess it should be as expected of her~ I've heard about how talented she actually is with the sword from Sir Raeven. A lot of knights, who saw her training and sparred with her, had also praised her skills.

"Illya~ Good work on the training~"

"You as well, Alterisa-sama. But, I'm still far from you... I still need to work harder!"

Uhn... Well, you shouldn't compare yourself to me...

I've been trained by the instructor from hell himself and also that little devil since I was young. So this level of training isn't enough to make me lose my breath.

"Please don't push yourself too hard, Illya. Remember, repetition is better than pushing yourself too far in one session."

"Yes!"

Mm~! Good response~ Fufu~

"Hah... To think they'd already exhausted just from this..."

"Mm. I am quite surprised as well. This was already easier than the training I used to go through when I was young."

From a few distance away, I could hear Sir Andreas and Luke talking as they looked at the exhausted figures of the students before them.

And when he said that last part, Luke glanced at me and smiled when we met gazes.

Hah... Guys, you can't compare school kids to royal guards standards! And Luke, the training you went through wasn't normal at all! I mean, I went through it myself and even I can tell it's not something you should give for a kid or a teenager!

Though, I guess the standards of the "main characters" in this world are just on a different level...

Luke returned his gaze back at Sir Andreas as he nodded solemnly.

"If they can't even stand up, then there would be no point in starting with weapon training."

"I agree... But I have a suggestion. May I, sir?"

"Hm? Of course. Go on."

"Thank you very much."

Luke then glanced back towards our direction.

"Perhaps it would encourage the rest of the class if they were to see their classmates in a spar."

"Hm?"

Noticing the direction of his gaze, Sir Andreas looked towards us and I could immediately see a look of recognition in his eyes.

W-What? Does he know me? Did Sir Roland tell him about me? He better not be saying sh- I mean, bad things about me!

Sir Rolan, please!!! I have an image to uphold! I can't have you tell anyone how c-competitive I got during spars!!!

His face immediately brightened as a wide smile appeared on his face.

"I see. A fine idea, Luke. If they see how the monstrous prodigy Roland taught and the rising star fought, then it might serve as an encouragement for them."

W-What?!

I absolutely agree about Illya being called the rising star, but what's with that "monstrous" part?! I'm not monstrous! I'm a super elegant and graceful lady!

And don't just nod in agreement with him, Luke! And wipe that smile off your face! You don't normally smile at all, so don't go smiling now!

"Then, may I serve as their opponent, Sir Andreas?"

Eh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh? Are you sure? I'm sure Lady Alterisa would be fine, but you might be too much of an opponent for Lady Illya."

W-What? H-How does Sir Andreas know I can beat Luke?! No... Could it be... Did Sir Roland really tell him about me after all?!?!?! How much did he blabber!

"I shall hold back appropriately during my match with Lady Illya. I have seen her train previously, so I am sure I can adjust my strength appropriately."

"I see. Then go ahead."

"Thank you very much."

"Mm. Alterisa von Lorya and Illya von Luminum. Come."

Ah... Here we go.

"...Yes, Sir Andreas."

"Yes!"

Illya and I made our way towards them, and as we did, I could see Luke smiling silently in our direction. No one would've noticed that he was smiling because you could barely see it, but after all the time we spent together, I could see the slight curl of his lips. He's enjoying this...

"To serve as an encouragement for the rest of the class to improve, I would like the two of you to spar with Luke. Do you accept it?"

I shifted my gaze from Sir Andreas to look at Luke, and saw him still smiling.

Hah... Why are you so happy? Do you really want me to beat you in front of everyone? I won't hold back, you know?

"Yes! It would be an honor!"

Ah, Illya accepted... Well, I guess there's no other way.

"Yes, I accept."

"Good. Then, please get ready. Lady Illya, you shall be first. Go ahead and pick your weapon of choice from the shelf there. Luke, you may go ahead as well."

""Yes, Sir.""

Illya and Luke then made their way to the weapon shelves on the side of the training ground while Sir Andreas turned to the rest of the students.

"Since you have all exhausted your stamina, you will watch the spar between your assistant instructor, Luke, and two of your classmates, Alterisa and Illya. Watch and learn closely!"

His voice boomed throughout the entire training ground, shocking the rest of the class, who was still quite exhausted and dazed from the "warm up" training.

But after hearing what he said, they were shocked because of an entirely different reason. They didn't expect a spar to happen in their first ever class, much less against the famous young genius of the Raeven household!

Evelyn, Noir, Celine, Valerie, and Ellie quickly came to her and looked at her in shock.

"Risa-sama, is it true? Will you and Illya be sparing against Sir Luke?"

"Yes. But don't worry~ Illya and I will be okay!"

"I'm sure you will be okay even if it is against my onii-sama, Alterisa-sama. But even though Illya is skilled, onii-sama is..."

Fufu~ How cute~ She must be worried that Illya would feel depressed when she lost against her brother. She must've seen some knights losing their drive and become depressed after losing against someone as young as Luke and became worried for her close friend.

I smiled and rubbed Noir's head softly.

"Don't worry, Noir. Illya isn't the type of girl that would get depressed because she found a strong opponent. She's someone who will become more motivated when she sees someone above her. And I'm sure this experience would be a precious one for her growth."

"I see... Then, I will believe in Illya."

"Mm!"

Soon, both Luke and Illya returned with a wooden broadsword at hand. They stood a few distance away from us and the rest of the class, and around five meters away from each other, face to face.

"Ufufufu~ Noir, you don't mind if I were to cheer for Illya, do you~?"

Evelyn asked with a wide smile.

"Of course not, Evelyn~ I will be cheering for Illya as well~ Hehe~"

"Fufu~ I will be rooting for Illya as well~"

"Me too!"

"I-I as well."

"I-I'm rooting for Illya-sama as well!!!"

Fufufu~ Good good~ It's nice to see that everyone would root for their friend instead of an ikemen.

Do you hear this, Luke! Our friendship is stronger than your face!!!

Everyone watched silently, bated in anticipation as Sir Andreas walked towards the center. Although it was unexpected, a match between the young genius of the Raeven household and the Rising Star of the Luminum household still piqued their interest greatly.

They've heard of their achievements, but they've never seen them fight with their own eyes, much less against each other.

"Are you two ready?"

Luke and Illya nodded in unison to Sir Andreas' words.

"Then... Begin!"

"Haaaaaah!"

With shocking speed, Illya dashed towards Luke and slashed down powerfully, splitting the air before her.

But, without even batting an eye, Luke raised his broadsword and defended against her attack, completely stopping it, before parrying it.

Gasps filled with a mix of awe and shock resounded as Illya began her attack once again.

She was relentless, and each of her strikes was powerful and fast, and she still maintained a proper form, technique, and footwork that made it difficult for even Luke to find an opening in her attacks.

Like a wave that envelops and overwhelms, Illya continues to corner Luke into being defensive.

"Amazing... I didn't expect Illya to be capable of cornering onii-sama this much."

"Yes... I'm surprised as well."

Ufufufu~ My little Illya has grown so much~

Hah... I feel like a proud mom. I've watched her grow from being an absolutely adorable little girl who had a lack of self-esteemed, into such a wonderful and strong young lady~

I'm so proud~!

If it was against any other student, I'm sure Illya could've won.

But unfortunately... She still lacked experience...

And as I expected, Illya soon fell into a trap.

Luke purposefully created an opening for her to strike, and she struck it with everything she had.

But then, Luke simply dodged slightly to the side and slashed her opened torso.

"That's enough! The winner is Luke."

Illya panted heavily and looked down to her sword in disappointment. She seemed... frustrated.

But, the two still bowed to each other at the end of the match before Illya made her way back to our group.

And before she said anything, I patted her head softly, causing her to raise her head and looked at me in shock.

"You did amazing, Illya~ You managed to push Luke into being defensive for so long~ Don't worry about this loss, okay? You just need to accumulate more experience and you'll definitely be able to defeat him in the future!"

"A-Alterisa-sama..."

"Alterisa-sama is correct, Illya~! You did amazingly against Onii-sama! I'm sure you'll defeat him in the near future!"

One by one, Evelyn, Celine, Valerie-chan, and Ellie also began to encourage her and told her how amazing she was.

"Noir... Everyone... Thank you very much! I'll continue to do my best!"

Mm~ Good!

Now then... How shall I punish that siscon for hurting my little Illya~?









AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please vote and comment your thoughts~!