Just like the one word “speedy resolution” I wrote without thinking turned into a ridiculously fast, accurate, and powerful swordsmanship, it seems that the phrase “straightforward personality” I casually mentioned also had an enormous impact on a person named Lynn.
Being straightforward means having a righteous heart. A righteous heart also means not overlooking wrongdoings right in front of you.
And that “wrongdoing” isn’t simply limited to defined misbehavior.
It’s not just about mechanically following the rules someone has set but acting for the justice you believe in, regardless of the potential disadvantage you may face during that process.
That was Lynn’s “straightforwardness.”
Clearly, Kihmuhir’s actions didn’t stray far from the rules. As long as there wasn’t any brawling in the hallway, verbal fights were allowed, and it was impossible for a teacher to catch every little quarrel and mediate. Especially since the first years’ numbers had doubled due to joint classes.
Kihmuhir himself wasn’t the type to listen if someone tried to stop him.
If he were a character bound strictly by “rules,” he would have reacted to this situation by saying, “There’s nothing I can do.” You know, those characters that pop up in shonen manga. Typically, these characters end up realizing something crucial at a key moment and willingly sacrifice themselves—
But Lynn wasn’t that kind of character.
Well, she’s one of the main heroines. She can’t just die, right? Of course, I didn’t set that up on purpose!
“I really want to win!”
Lynn said this with a smile, and vitality radiated from her. No matter how soaked her clothes were with blood, or how her face was torn and bruised, her resolute spirit shone through. She thought that if something was wrong, she could fix it and if something was lacking, she could just fill it. Such extraordinary mental strength.
…Now that I think about it, this side is a bit abnormal too.
Is this character realistic in any way? Compared to the other students at the Academy, who naturally formed their stories without any setting on my part, or the other cadets who, even if negatively, had some human jealousy, she differs too much.
Let’s consider.
Thinking about the somewhat human characters among the main ones, such as Satsuki, Selena, Linea, Aurora, and Rina:
Satsuki, Selena, and Rina are characters that came from my novel. Since they appeared directly in the novel, their backstories and personalities were all detailed.
So it makes sense that the Satsuki, Selena, and Rina living here would have similar traits. This world was just like that novel.
The issue was that I had never written about the witch of doubt, who is the first witch I’m facing.
Thanks to that, there are some aspects that would be blatantly called a setting error when viewed from the outside based on the novel’s backstory.
For instance, Lee Ji-An’s ridiculous swordsmanship— or rather, his ability to wield that sword.
According to the setting, he is written as the “strongest in the world,” so that’s why he ended up like that. But within the part I initially wrote, Jian didn’t come across as strong. What I intended was that he becomes the strongest by the end, not that he could overpower everything from the start.
However, because of that one setting I wrote down, he might end up just devouring all demons and whatnot.
In the cases of Linea and Aurora, Linea didn’t have any solid setting. She was clearly a character created with just the setting of being a follower next to Andrea. So, despite having a rather stiff tone, she turned out surprisingly normal.
Of course, due to her military-like life, she may act like a soldier, but that’s not the main issue right now.
Aurora had only a shallow setting. She was one of the “candidate heroines” from the church side that I planned to introduce someday. Since she was merely a character that existed in the setting, she only had a backdrop stating “she doesn’t like the Inquisition much due to something that happened in the past,” and just her name.
Thanks to that, apart from her overly innocent speech, Aurora also fell into the pretty ordinary category.
But there’s also the opposite example.
The heroines that exist solely in setting, especially those whose personalities are built around just a few key phrases, like Erica, Kihmuhir, and Lynn, turned out to be a bit exaggerated.
Erica was supposed to be very mature with Jian in the past, but now she became so timid that she hardly spoke. This oddly turned into “her taste in underwear is adult, but she’s timid.” Since I hadn’t written any detailed settings, how they were close when they were younger would have been made up just as this world flows according to its own standards.
Still, Erica was fairly detailed compared to other heroines who hadn’t appeared.
Kihmuhir, outside of being a pure-blood elf and ranking among the top in school, had no particular setting. As a result, he became a textbook example of an elf, and he’s currently causing problems.
However, he hasn’t completely turned villainous because of the overarching setting for heroines, which states “all heroines basically have righteous personalities and have no… um, well, no experience with guys.”
For now, beating up the cadets also seemed to stem from a sense of justice. To those who knew him, it was utterly off the mark.
And finally, the esteemed Lynn Mayer, aside from her age and looks, had her straightforward personality as her entire setting for this stubborn student council president—
“Well then, let’s do our best today!”
Yep, as you can see, Lynn’s outfit was a mess again today. Just like yesterday, she was thoroughly beaten by Kihmuhir. The only slight difference may be that she lasted a bit longer than yesterday.
Without overwhelming talent or a unique ability that others don’t possess, Kihmuhir still held a ranking in a school crowded with such individuals, and remarkably, she could face him in even just a few exchanges.
She even managed to deflect the first two attacks in their initial duel. It was likely possible because she constantly trained. Other cadets probably couldn’t even do that and got overwhelmed instead. She was inching closer, step by step, to catching up to the wall of talent through effort.
Is she truly a heroine after all?
“You did much better than last time. It seems I was of some help.”
Satsuki said this while smiling slightly, to which Lynn replied, “Yes, it really did help. Thank you.”
Lynn’s bright smile was filled with earnestness. Pride in her improved skills. A sense of accomplishment for having slightly caught up.
Today, Kihmuhir once again looked down at Lynn after defeating her. His expression was emotionless like yesterday, but I felt I understood Kihmuhir’s mind a bit. It felt like seeing an incomprehensible opponent.
One of the competitors he thought was lowly might possess a mindset slightly different from his own. The feeling that his faith in his own judgment, thought to be quite accurate, was slowly wavering.
Of course, it was only the second day, but he couldn’t ignore the feeling at all. Kihmuhir was a pure-blood elf, and his perception and judgment were far superior to those of ordinary humans. However, it was likely that with an elf’s super strict mindset, he wouldn’t change his thoughts overnight.
“I’m relieved. The level itself is different, but what I learned was indeed proper elf swordsmanship.”
Satsuki stated, looking somewhat reassured.
Watching Satsuki move after observing Kihmuhir made it feel like the playback speed of the same video was merely slowed down. Satsuki’s skills were surely among the top in the Academy, but that showed just how exceptional Kihmuhir was.
“I think if the other cadets hear you saying that, they might get angry…”
Lynn chuckled dryly.
Satsuki was undoubtedly the most helpful during training. Kihmuhir, who bled pure elf blood, of course learned the swordsmanship that elves use most frequently.
Even if Satsuki was mixed, her father was also a pure elf. Thus, it was inevitable that Satsuki’s swordsmanship would be similar to Kihmuhir’s.
“Today’s your downfall was not noticing Kihmuhir’s feint. The power elves generate in an instant exceeds that of humans. You need to be careful about them suddenly darting to the side.”
Of course, Kihmuhir’s skills were at a level far above that of regular elves, but only Satsuki could explain those techniques.
Emphasizing the difference wasn’t particularly helpful.
“If you react only after seeing it with your eyes, it’ll already be too late. No matter how fast they are, there will be preparation time before elves can run. Use that to prepare in advance. Instead of trying to evade, it’s better to just spin your weapon fast enough to block the movement. Additionally, while running fast, they will naturally be slower to change direction.”
While Satsuki was the most helpful, it didn’t mean the others were just sitting by.
“It’s better to hold the sword like this. Rather than blocking directly, it’s far better to deflect. I think it’ll be much easier to deal with at a diagonal than a right angle.”
Our strongest swordsman, Jian, also helped out.
“It might be tough to use offensive magic, but you should be able to use at least weak hindrance magic, right? Everyone has at least a minimal amount of magical power.”
Selena suggested a new idea.
“I don’t think it would be a bad idea to wield a shorter sword while holding a shield in one hand.”
“But if you suddenly try to change the swordsmanship you’ve been using until now, it might feel awkward. Rather, I think it’s better to gradually develop from your current skills.”
Linea and Aurora also offered their opinions in their own way.
“……”
“……”
The ones with the least to do were Rina and me.
As for me, I wasn’t exactly an expert on combat, so it felt a bit off to throw out various opinions. The most actively involved I’d been in combat was when I dashed in barehanded after throwing my shield and weapon. I felt like I was gaining both stamina and skill by training daily with Rina, but still, I was fundamentally a healer.
To the extent that I could protect myself. Thus, the duel with Rina still hadn’t reached a conclusion. It was akin to a fight between a spear and a shield… or more accurately, it was just that neither side could overpower the other.
Thus, I became the healing tool. Playing the role of healing Lynn as she came down from the stage heavily injured.
“Aren’t you the one who gathered them? You called them here, right?”
Rina, leaning against a corner of the auditorium with a sullen expression, spoke. Her gaze was fixed on her fidgeting hands. When I glanced over, she was inspecting her nails. The tip of her middle finger’s nail was slightly uneven, which seemed to bother her.
Rina’s nails were neatly trimmed. This was true even when she was dressed in what looked like delinquent clothes; since she needed to handle swords, any embellishments she put on her nails would easily chip or break off. Rina, along with most others, usually kept their nails short or lightly colored.
“I can’t help even if I go. I’m not particularly great at swordsmanship.”
Although I had decent physical abilities, there was no value in my advice like “Just dodge like this! Give it a try!” The problem was that this was the only kind of advice I could provide. Rather than dodging with knowledge, my main dodging method relied on physical prowess.
That said, teaching how to handle Holy Power was also impossible. Regardless of someone’s faith or ability, the Holy Power I used was just something that worked. Unlike other saints who had seen gods due to their deep faith, I lacked such insights, so I could only say “It just works for me.”
Ah, this must be the loneliness of a genius—
But if I say that, people might get angry.
I had nothing obtained justly with my own abilities. It would be impossible for me to convey anything meaningful to Lynn.
Honestly speaking, Lynn was dazzling.
Not only now when she has no reason not to be, but I had never lived with such enthusiasm even back in the original world. I just lived, and it worked out for me. So I lived—giving up on dreams and everything else while being tied to a job out of concern for others’ opinions, I was just an average guy.
Perhaps I was chosen just for the fact that I created this world.
While I was lost in this long-lost melancholic contemplation, I heard a deep sigh next to me.
Before I could even respond, Rina suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Huh?”
Before I could even say anything, she pulled me away toward where the other kids were gathered and tossed me.
“Ugh!”
I let out a strange sound as my face slammed against someone’s back. Wow, it’s really solid. Is my nose broken now?
Carefully touching my aching nose, I looked up to see Jian looking back at me, perplexed. Ah, it was him. It must have been solid. From behind, he seemed quite broad too. Jealousy.
“What’s going on?”
“Um, uh, well…”
I had no proper response to Jian’s question. I didn’t want to lose face, saying that I was just sulking over there and got caught by Rina.
Looking towards Rina, she had a natural expression as she shrugged her shoulders.
…Next time I have a duel, I’ll go at it for real. I absolutely will.
“You shouldn’t take this guy’s swordsmanship literally. He’s the type who can slice through incoming cannonballs with his sword; do you really think ordinary humans could follow that?”
Rina seamlessly integrated herself into the group and gave that piece of advice to Lynn. Then, as if prompting to imitate, she glanced my way with an extremely confident smile.
Huh, what’s this?
Why does that make me angry?
Ah, right. That smile. The one saying, “You can’t do this, can you?” It was so confident.
But even while pretending to be uninterested, she clearly had been listening the entire time. At this rate, I wonder if that tsundere trait overlaps with Selena’s. Though it seems Selena’s ratio of tsundere to dere has plummeted to about 2:8 due to some incident I’m unaware of.
…Thinking back, Rina was originally supposed to die in this scenario. Only she and the goddess knew that.
“If you swing the sword down like that, it might actually throw you off balance due to the force of the strike. Rather, try raising the angle a bit. After all, it’ll end up falling down anyway no matter how hard you try to hold it.”
And indeed, Rina’s words were helpful. Not merely teaching positions but offering insight from experience facing stronger opponents.
Though Rina’s still learning from Jian, she knows Jian’s swordsmanship best within this group, and she understands the most efficient way to absorb Jian’s teachings.
So, she was the one most capable of translating Jian’s advice into something “usable even for average people.”
Rina glanced my way once more.
It felt like “Aren’t you going to do anything?” which was rather infuriating.
“If you need,”
I finally opened my mouth with a mindset of whatever.
“I can teach you how to use a shield.”
I couldn’t instruct on weapon usage in general. After all, I wield a morningstar, which is classified as a blunt weapon rather than a sword. With swords, the edge typically points in only one or two directions, requiring precise handling when swinging. However, with a morningstar, thanks to its basic weight, effective damage could be dealt even by striking without the blade or spikes.
Objectively, swordsmanship was superior. In terms of weapon handling, Rina’s stance could likely still be better than mine.
But when it comes to shields, the narrative changes.
If there’s anyone here who could actively wield a shield, it would be me. Linea might know how to handle a shield, but she primarily used her sword during duels. Originally, a morningstar was also designed to be wielded with both hands, not just one.
The very notion of me, with a physique no different from an average 15-year-old girl, engaging in medieval infantry combat was inherently flawed.
Of course, I overcame that with the physical prowess granted by the goddess!
“But learning shield techniques in just one day is…”
“I’m not talking about a heavy shield. Holding a small buckler in the right direction should suffice for defense.”
Granted, I knew my way around the huge round shield I used and the buckler’s handling differed—
But I had been using this heavy shield with one hand, swinging it.
This way of swinging was based on the basic defensive techniques I had learned back then with a rolling shield. Plus, out of the need to not lose to Rina, I had been creatively developing my combat style.
While I wouldn’t match the seasoned knights who had trained with weapons for decades, I could certainly execute basic techniques better than anyone else here.
It was a great opportunity to prove I gained something by training daily with Rina.
Hey, look! I’ve gained something too!
This time it was my turn to flash a confident smile at Rina—
But Rina, who was already done messing with me, returned to a bored expression as she looked at her nails.
Ah, I’m mad.
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