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A group of students stood in neat rows on the training ground before Kaito. He surveyed the scene with a satisfied expression.
"Ahem. Well. Before we begin, let me say a few words."
The students had no idea what they were in for.
Half an hour later, they were staring at him with expressions of quiet horror as he continued.
"...and so, we must not neglect our physical health. Only with a sound body can one truly develop as a swordsman. Furthermore, the matter of cultivating the right mindset cannot be overstated..."
"Um. Haruki-sensei. Can we please start class now?"
A female student, having reached her limit, shot her hand into the air.
Kaito paused, checked the time, and had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.
"Ah. Yes. We will pick this up another time."
He shook his head at the assembled students.
"Young people these days. No patience at all."
Even Aura, who had arrived with nothing but goodwill toward Kaito, found this somewhat trying.
"Right then. Let us begin. Sakuya, a wooden sword please."
Sakuya took one from the nearby rack and handed it to him. Kaito gave it a loose, casual swing and looked out at the students.
"First, a question. Who can tell me what swordsmanship is?"
A female student raised her hand immediately.
"Swordsmanship is the method and technique of using a sword!"
Kaito nodded slightly. Then shook his head.
"Haruki-sensei?"
The students exchanged confused looks.
"What you said is both right and wrong. It depends entirely on who is doing the using."
"For someone standing here on a training ground, your answer is correct. For a warrior on a battlefield, it is not."
"A sword is a weapon. Swordsmanship is the art of killing. However beautifully you dress that up in language, the fact remains the same."
He had lifted the line from a principle he remembered, and he meant it. Though he also knew the other side of the argument well enough: against truly overwhelming strength, even perfect technique amounted to very little.
Aura had gone quiet, turning the words over with a focused expression.
"Though none of that matters much for now," Kaito added, his tone shifting. "With the level of swordsmanship on display here, you would all be cannon fodder on a real battlefield."
"Wahahahahaha!"
The shift from seriousness to mockery took about three seconds. The students stared at him.
Here we go, Kaito thought, catching the expression on one of the male students. The classic scene.
"Haruki-sensei! If you think so little of our swordsmanship, then fight me!"
"Sure." Kaito gave his wooden sword another lazy swing. "If you can make me move a single step, I lose."
News of the challenge spread faster than anyone's legs could carry it.
"Something is happening on the training ground!"
"Apparently the new third-year swordsmanship teacher is being challenged by a student."
"Let's go and see."
Mexiah heard about it in passing and followed the crowd out of curiosity. By the time she arrived, the training ground was packed.
She found Lashara in the crowd, who had also come running.
"Kenshi, why are you here? Don't you have work?"
Maria Nanadan, standing nearby, took the opportunity at once.
"So your servant has to earn his own wages. No surprise, I suppose, when his master is a kept woman."
"Maria, you little..."
"Your Highnesses, it is about to start!"
Chiaia stepped in quickly, directing their attention back to the centre of the ground.
"I am settling that with you later."
"That is my line."
"Hmph!" × 2
Both of them fell silent simultaneously and looked toward the field.
Kaito stood there completely unbothered by the crowd that had gathered around him.
"Come on then, young man. Don't hold back on my account just because I look fragile."
The male student's temper hit its ceiling. He charged forward with his wooden sword raised in both hands.
"Ahhh! Take this!"
Slap.
The two-handed overhead strike was caught with one hand. Kaito did not move his feet.
The student shifted immediately to a thrust. Kaito watched it come without changing his expression, raised his wooden sword slightly, and deflected it with a light touch. The student lost his footing and stumbled past him to the ground.
"Again! Ahhh!"
The student scrambled up, covered in dirt, and drove his sword at Kaito's back.
Kaito put his right hand behind him without turning around. The blade of his wooden sword slid perfectly in front of the incoming tip.
"That is extraordinary."
"It really is."
"Is this really the new swordsmanship teacher? He is incredible."
"I did not expect Haruki-sensei's technique to be at that level!"
Mexiah was watching with visible surprise. Aura's expression had shifted quietly into something closer to admiration.
"Hmph. I suppose that explains why the Headmaster agreed to take him on."
Lashara said it with badly disguised indignation. She had genuinely not expected this. Kaito's usual preference for lying down over sitting, and sitting over standing, did not paint the picture of a master swordsman.
Chiaia looked at the training ground with a serious expression and turned to Kenshi beside her.
"Between Kaito's swordsmanship and yours, who do you think is stronger?"
Kenshi watched Kaito for a moment before answering.
"Kaito is far beyond me. His technique feels stronger than my grandfather's, and I have never said that about anyone."
He had seen the movements. They looked casual. But underneath the ease, every single one of them was carrying something that only a swordsman of considerable experience could perceive.
The student launched attack after attack. More than a dozen in total.
Every one of them was deflected with one hand.
"Huff... huff... I surrender, Haruki-sensei. I apologise. I was wrong to underestimate you."
"I am sorry! Please forgive my disrespect!"
Kaito looked at the panting, bowing student and waved a hand.
"Apology accepted. You are young. A little heat is understandable. Back in line."
"Yes! Thank you!"
The student jogged back to his place.
Kaito let his grip go loose. The wooden sword dropped straight to the ground.
He looked out at everyone present and asked loudly:
"Is swordsmanship useful?"
"Of course it is!"
"Why else would we be learning it?"
Kaito let the responses settle, then smiled.
"Swordsmanship is useful when the gap in strength between two people is small enough for technique to matter."
"But if you were to face someone like me, do you believe swordsmanship would still save you?"
He brought his right index and middle fingers together and hooked them lightly toward the wooden sword lying on the ground.
It rose.
Slowly, to the disbelief of every person watching, it lifted from the ground and hung quietly in the air beside him.