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Chapter 95. Am I the Only One Who's Weird?

"That's enough."

Just as we were both blown back to the edges of the arena, fully ramped up and in the heat of battle, it felt like someone poured cold water over us. Still feeling that way, I turned to the side and... there was an older man, looking exasperated.

"…Why did you stop us?"

"I've seen enough of your skills, Misla's son. If I hadn’t stepped in, you two would have destroyed the entire arena and still wouldn't have stopped."

Well... he’s not wrong. We were getting pretty heated, and maybe we wouldn’t have stopped unless someone stepped in... but even so, it kinda ticks me off to be interrupted. By the way, now that I think about it... this guy is the captain, right?

"Can I ask your name?"

"Oh... I hadn’t introduced myself yet, had I? These days, most people already know without me saying it... My name is Sergei Dragonheart."

Sergei Dragonheart... Dragonheart is a title given to those who’ve defeated higher-ranking dragons. So, he's not a member of the Dragonheart family, but rather a man named Sergei who took down a high-ranking dragon.

"Captain Sergei, then."

"Hmm... you don’t resemble young Misla much."

"My father, well... he’s always been like that."

I hope people don't think I’m like him now or in the past... I mean, the guy's a total workaholic.

"If the captain hadn't stepped in, we might have done something bad."

"You're already too late to realize that."

Liester-san-san, who had snuck up on us at some point, said that with a wry smile, and a vein bulged on the captain’s forehead. I guess... he’s always saying careless things like this, and that’s why the captain gets mad.

"For a division commander of the Knights to fight without considering the damage around her, that’s quite shameful."

"Uh... the 5th Division does way worse..."

"I’ve reprimanded them countless times. Are you trying to excuse yourself by saying it's okay because they do it too? Fine... you won’t write a report, but your workload will be doubled."

Oh no... Liester-san-san, that excuse isn’t going to work. Ignoring the teary-eyed Liester-san, Sergei turned his gaze back to me.

"Impressive. I've never seen a student hold their own like that against an active division commander. And... it seemed to me that you were holding back. If my suspicions are correct... you’re probably even stronger than Liester."

He said this in a low voice, so Liester-san couldn’t hear. Hmm... even Jeremiah has sharp instincts, but is it really that obvious to me? I’m trying my best to hide it, but a few people are starting to catch on to the existence of [Demiurge].

"I’ve heard from Misla... You’re not planning to become a magic knight, are you?"

"Well, yeah... I was thinking of weighing my options. It’d be boring if becoming a magic knight was the only choice."

"Hmm... it's rare for someone to say such a thing in this country, but I won’t deny it."

If your abilities are recognized, being a magic knight is an elite career with great pay, so it’s natural people would jump at the chance... But for me, I don’t even know if I’ll stay in this country for the rest of my life. The idea of becoming a knight tied too closely to the nation doesn’t sit well with me.

"As captain of the Knights, I'd love to recruit you as the next division commander, but... you’re still young... you have plenty of time."

"Thank you."

The knight captain... he’s a nicer guy than I expected.

"Honestly, I’d love to cross swords with you myself, but that wouldn’t be appropriate given my position. Besides... I only brought the younger knights to observe Liester’s battle today. I didn’t expect such a flashy fight against you... but I hope it was a good experience."

"Didn’t I just knock you down a peg?"

"Liester, be quiet."

Yeah... seems like even within the Knights, Liester-san’s treated like this.

The grueling promotion exam, which seemed especially hard for me, was finally over, and everyone in my faction gathered at the old library as usual. We’ve been using the library as a hangout so often lately that the librarian gave us a key.

"The promotion exam was easier than I expected."

"That wasn’t easy at all! It was really tough for me... Nina, what did you even do?"

"I’m telling you, it was easier than expected... I just swung my sword around."

For Nina, it was easy, but for Elixira, it was tough.

"Well... it was just sparring with a magic knight, so depending on who you fought, it could have been harder. The goal wasn’t to defeat them, just to show your skills."

"So, how did you do, Ash?"

"I just beat a magic knight like normal."

"Me too... they wouldn’t surrender, though."

When Ivy says it, it sounds like she tortured her opponent or something.

"Wait, am I the only one who didn’t beat the magic knight?"

"Wait, Theo didn’t beat his opponent...? You must’ve gone easy on them."

"Not again... Theodore, I told you to take the exam seriously."

"No, wait, hold on."

You guys fought magic knights. I fought a division commander. That’s a whole different level.

"Who did you fight, Nina?"

"Dunno!"

"Ash?"

"I don’t know their name. I could tell they were from the 3rd Division based on the crest on their armor."

"Elixira?"

"I fought the Stone Knight, Ariana, from the 3rd Division... She’s pretty famous, so I knew her."

See?

"Ivy?"

"Me? I fought Serina Celestial from the 3rd Division. She’s the second daughter of the Celestial Viscount family and graduated from the Chronos Magic Knight Academy seven years ago, ranked 24th. She’s an excellent magic swordsman who doesn’t use a grimoire but specializes in precise mana control, which enhances her swordsmanship—"

"Okay, that’s enough."

Why did I even ask her? It’s scary how she instantly pulls up all that personal info on people.

"So, who did you fight?"

"…Liester-san."

"What?"

"Liester-san, the division commander! I was just as confused as you are!"

"Well... maybe the Knights have taken an interest in you, Theodore. After all, your father is who he is."

If that’s the case, shouldn’t Elixira also be under the Knights' radar? She’s from the Bifrans family! Why is it just me... This isn’t fair.