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Ethan stepped forward, stepping on the fainted knight. Now there were three left. It was three against one, but as long as they kept fighting in this narrow alley, the knights couldnt take advantage of their numerical superiority.

At the same time, they couldnt run away either.

One person made five knights collapse?

This was something their pride would not allow.

It wasnt a worn-out top mercenary they lost to, nor another knight. Losing to a mere teacher from an academy was unacceptable.

Above all, this was a task the Garnet Merchant Guild master had specifically ordered them to take care of. To bring Yuna Garnet in a very respectful manner.

If they couldnt keep that, their lives were as good as gone.

One knight stepped forward.

He had just seen how the other two knights were handled. It seemed the opponent had no intention of killing them.

But it was different for him.

He had orders that killing was fine.

If he charged recklessly with the determination to kill, that Ivecar Academy teacher wouldnt be able to judge properly for sure.

Kwaaak-!

Stepping heavily on the ground, the knight charged forward. Unlike the knights from earlier, it was a decisive blow focused solely on attacking, completely giving up defense.

The knight thought it was his trump card.

This attack could not be blocked. To stop it, one would have to give up defense and attack the charging knight with his body wide open. With a half-hearted attack, one absolutely could not stop a heavily armed knight.

With the determination to kill.

One had to be resolved to inflict a major wound in order to win.

But he wont do that!

The knight swung his sword straight down. Seeing Ethan remain still as if at a loss, he thought he had won.

Yes, thats how you should come at me.

At that moment, Ethan grinned

Seeing that smile, the knight realized it.

Could it be

That this whole thing was a trap?

Earlier, he appealed that he had no intention of killing the two people he handled.

And he used that appeal to induce their strategy. And now he had forced this kind of movement.

He was completely defeated in psychological warfare.

And the price was too high.

Swish-!

Ethans sword sliced through the knights armor and all. Blood sprayed out from the huge diagonal gash from his shoulder to his side.

Dont worry. Im an academy teacher. Im only swinging my sword to protect my student. I wont kill you. Not like you thought.

Ethan pointed his sword at the remaining two.

You wont die.

Three knights were taken down in an instant. Not even a full minute had passed. If they had fought noisily, onlookers would have gathered around hearing the commotion.

But there was no sign of that at all.

.

The two knights looked at each other. They had no choice. More than blindly charging in and losing like moths to a flame, it was better to retreat for now.

Pak-!

Suddenly, the knights fled in opposite directions.

But that was already within Ethans expectations as well. From the moment they first made eye contact with these five knights, everything had been in Ethans hands.

Yuna.

As Yuna hurriedly approached from behind, she swung at the back of the knights head as he tried to run away. Ethan smashed the crown of the knight trying to escape in the opposite direction.

Bang-!

Huu Huu!

Swinging the sword hilt with all her might at full speed according to Ethans signal, Yuna panted roughly.

Did you know from the beginning that the fight would turn out like this?

At those words, Ethan simply smiled slyly. Then he dragged the collapsed knights further into the alley.

At first, it seemed he was trying to hide them, but Ethan slightly smashed the knights armor and started taking them off one by one.

Teacher?

Ethan grabbed the knights wrist.

-Taking a pulse.

-The opponents condition flows in through mana.

-He has a fracture.

Normally it was a symptom that could not be cured with acupuncture. However, with increased proficiency of Heos Acupuncture, Ethan was able to alleviate various symptoms.

Swish swish swish-.

Ethan stabbed needles here and there. Then the knight who had fainted and couldnt get a grip on himself, woke up.

-Heos Acupuncture 1 / 1000

My body is overflowing with strength!

The bewildered knight looked at Ethan. In his shaking pupils was reflected Ethan holding a sword.

Ethan did a pulse diagnosis like that for about 15 minutes there.

By taking pulses, treating, knocking down, and repeating, Ethan was able to use Heos Acupuncture a whopping fifteen times.

The five knights had completely fainted, no longer having a grasp on their minds.

After using the knights to his fill, Ethan gathered them in a pile like luggage and planted their swords in front like trophies.

.

Yuna didnt know exactly what Ethan was doing, but one thing she strongly felt was that those knights would be traumatized by this moment, probably suffering for the rest of their lives.

She never imagined there was a way to completely finish someone without killing them like this.

After tidying up the situation, Ethan looked at Yuna.

Lets go. Take the shortcut.

Yes!

Had anyones back ever been such a relief before?

Following behind Ethan, Yuna headed toward the academy.

Yuna was not one to be intimidated.

Ill quickly go take care of everything and come back. Dont worry. Ill definitely handle it properly this time and come back.

Her mentality had been shaken due to complicated feelings and various shocking things. That was why she ended up like this.

But she was originally composed and calm.

And she was not the type to just powerlessly get hit like this either.

If she got hit, she had to pay it back tenfold.

One week will do it.

Will you be back before the midterm exam?

Yes, of course.

Yuna spoke.

You said you needed me, Teacher.

Then Ill give you homework. While you quickly go and come back, be sure to properly carry out the homework as well.

With a completely softened expression, Yuna replied. Then she immediately turned around.

Yes, Teacher. Ill be back soon.

Despite that earlier soft expression, the expression she made now was frightening enough to render it meaningless.

The atrocities of the Garnet Merchant Guild master.

The atrocities of the Garnet Merchant Guild master, stepmothers, and brothers that she had endured, were not because they shared blood ties.

I was just waiting for the timing.

She had already been building up her power from long ago.

There were a few reasons she entered the academy, like wanting to find someone reliable as she said in the beginning, but at the same time, it was also an excuse to make it seem like she had stepped down from the front lines.

While she was on the front lines, Garnet Merchant Guild Master had supervised Yuna so strictly that she couldnt properly grow.

Thats why she used the excuse of attending the academy to step back from the front lines, and afterward, Yuna was able to escape Cromwells gaze.

After that, she had slowly increased her influence within the Merchant Guild under the surface.

She had also scattered bait to gradually make the power and stakes the Garnet Merchant Guild Master had held become blurred.

Simple methods, since he has outstanding business insight.

The Garnet Merchant Guild Master had very keen eyes.

Thats why he could instantly grasp any business opportunity to make money and even finish calculating profits and margins in his head.

She took advantage of that and set up traps for the businesses, causing the Garnet Merchant Guild Masters businesses to fail.

After all, countless businesses failed by nature, and if just one succeeded among those, it would offset all the failures up till now.

But what if failures repeat?

In addition, if she simultaneously burst the businesses she herself had saved up, the influence within the Merchant Guild could inevitably shake.

That was how Yuna had been swallowing up the Garnet Merchant Guild under the surface while attending the academy.

There were currently five executives in the current Garnet Merchant Guild. They were merchant guild masters of mid-sized merchant guilds who greatly assisted when the Garnet Merchant Guild swallowed up the Horei Merchant Guild.

Strictly speaking, it was no different from the Garnet Merchant Guild having six owners.

For now, Cromwell Garnet was firmly holding his position so he couldnt properly put on the air of an owner.

Since they each wanted to be the head, there were bound to be fierce collisions within the Merchant Guild.

Yuna took advantage of that greed as well. The total number of executives who had currently agreed to join Yuna was three.

While Cromwell Garnet was suppressing his daughter Yuna and not properly utilizing her, the other executives wanted to make good use of Yuna as a merchant, unlike Cromwell.

Yuna agreed with those executives opinions and gathered them in one place, right before raising the anti-Cromwell flag.

Theres no need to hesitate now.

As she was about to leave, Yuna secretly glanced back at Ethan. Seemingly believing Yuna would come back, Ethan headed elsewhere without hesitation.

Watching Ethans back, Yuna murmured.

Ill be right back.

Then she smiled slightly.

At the same time, Ethan heard an alert sound.

-Survival rate increases!

After Mason, he had made Yuna firmly his student as well. Now, these twos trust in him probably wouldnt waver easily.

Additionally, he had shattered the conflicts and walls they held, leaving only explosive growth remaining.

Preparations are complete now.

He would rearrange the board of the academy centered around these three.

The midterm exam is coming up soon, and after finishing that, there are plans to conduct the inter-department exchange battle as scheduled.

In the academys conference room.

The teachers focused on the Principals words. The inter-department exchange battle that could be considered the finale of the semester was an event as important as the classes observed by parents.

The winning department of the inter-department exchange battle earns the right to represent the academy as the representative in the inter-academy exchange battle.

Thats why this inter-department exchange battle was actually a venue for selecting the academys representative.

Based on grades, the Swordsmanship Department will represent the Knight Department as the representative, and the Magic Department will have the Magic Department represent them in the inter-department exchange battle. The rules are the same as last year. Even if they dont have the grades, if there are any students you want to specially recommend, please recommend them along with participation. (+)[1]TLN: The first Magic Department is , and the second one is , which if the two of them are translated itll be Magic Department (roughly). However, if there are some suggestions on what to call those two, Id appreciate it.

At the Principals words, it momentarily became quiet. The new teachers glanced around at the atmosphere, while the teachers with seniority simply observed the situation.

It went without saying, but among the new teachers, not one person raised their hand.

And it was understandable. The inter-department exchange battle was the venue for selecting the academys representative.

If something went even a little awry, it could end up damaging the academys dignity.

One could have to hear tremendous criticism, as well as the parents complaints, and even receive the Principals glare. It was a position with heavy responsibility.

The career they had built up so well until now could come crashing down in an instant.

That was why only two people raised their hands. It was the same as last year.

Teacher Claudie Hyde.

The Principal called on Claudie who had his hand raised.

And next, he pointed to the only other man who had raised his hand from the Magic Department.

A large build, bright gold hair, and dispirited eyes behind glasses.

Professor Duty Von Niedern.

Hahaha, is it still just us two again? As expected, representing the department isnt an easy matter.

Teacher Duty smiled gently.

Despite just looking kind and benevolent, his nickname within the academy was Whip Duty.

The reason was simple. There were no carrots in his classes, only whips.

He whipped students like crazy, but because getting hit with that whip made distracted minds disappear, it brought tremendous acclaim for some students.

It doesnt look like anyone else. Then the representatives for this inter-department exchange battle will be Teacher Claudie from the Swordsmanship Department and

Before the Principal could finish speaking, someone raised their hand.

Someone raised their hand despite there clearly being no one who should. The teachers gazes turned toward the teacher who had their hand raised.

Huh?

Teacher Ethan?

Ethan had his hand raised high.

I would also like to participate in the grand battle in preparation for this inter-department exchange, Principal.

The Principals eyebrows twitched.

Author's Thoughts

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