Fight against Bahram

We will now begin the match. Both sides, draw your training swords."

Prompted by the referee standing between them, Kyle and Bahram drew the

swords hanging by their waists. Bahram had a one-handed sword with a shield,

while Kyle simply wielded a longsword.

"A bastard sword, huh. It suits you,"Bahram said with a provoking grin.

The longsword was a weapon that could be wielded as both a one-handed

sword or a two-handed one — at the cost of being more difficult and tiring to

use. Kyle had opted for this sword because he didn't use shields and he had also mastered kendo in his previous life so this sword is perfect for him.

"The rules are exactly as they were explained to you before. Magic is

forbidden — make sure to only fight with your swordcraft abilities."

"I understand."

"Understood."

Once Kyle and Bahram had both nodded in agreement, the referee raised his

right hand high into the air.

Both sides, take your places."

Kyle and Bahram backed up until there was about 30 feet of space between

them, then readied their swords.

"Ready... begin!" The referee gave the signal and lowered his hand.

"Haaah!" Bahram immediately took off charging towards Kyle.

I guess he has no intention of sharing the glory. Fine by me. Kyle's lips curled

into a cold smile as he sensed Bahram' intensity, although Kyle wasn't exactly a

saint. He held the same amount of fury as anyone else would over the brutal

and unjust treatment he received from Bahram. Perhaps his fury would have

subsided with a proper apology, but their conversation just now proved that

wasn't happening. He hadn't had much enthusiasm for the tournament to begin

with, but now that he was here, Kyle decided to bring about as much humiliation

for the knight as he could.

At that point, Bahram had finished closing the distance between them,

whereas Kyle had yet to move a single step. It probably appeared as though he

had been overwhelmed by Bahram's intensity, causing him to react one step too

late. Perhaps Bahram had thought the same, as he smiled as though his victory

was assured.

He truly had no intention of holding back at all.

Bahram swung with all his might in a strike aimed to mow down Kyle's torso.

No matter how effective healing magic was, the force behind his attack

would've done some serious damage if it made contact.

With a small sigh, Kyle saw through the attack and took half a step back to just

barely evade Bahram' sword. It slashed through empty space, exactly as he had

calculated.

In the next instant, Kyle spotted an opening at Bahram' right side and stepped

forward to his left, jabbing out his sword.

"!"

The shock was evident on Bahram' face as he tried to use the momentum of

his first swing for a follow-up attack fueled by panic. He stomped his feet on the ground to balance himself and slashed his sword to attack Kyle's neck. Kyle simply lowered his head and dotched this attack too. In the next moment the point of the sword

in Kyle's left hand reached its destination first — Bahram' neck. The blunt blade

of the training sword stopped mere millimeters away from digging into his skin.

The match had been decided in a single counterattack.

A silence fell over the arena. Everyone was completely dumbfounded by the

result no one had expected.

"S-Stop there! The victor is the Academy representative, Kyle!" The referee

announced in a high-pitched voice.And yet—

"W-Wait! I wasn't ready just now! Let me do it in earnest!"

Unable to accept how easily his defeat had been decided, Bahram raised a

flustered objection. He was so shocked, he spoke without even considering

what he would look like demanding a rematch against a young student

opponent he'd lost to. While the observers could clearly see his humiliating

loss, the damage would have been lessened if he had assumed the position of

giving the student the glory.

"Hey, this is some kind of mistake. This isn't right!"

"S-Sorry, a loss is a loss..." The referee seemed troubled by Bahram's deranged

protests.

"You fool! A loss is a loss. An honorable Royal Knight would accept his loss

without dispute." Someone had suddenly stepped onto the field to scold

Bahram.

S-Sir Bard.. No, Commander Bard" Bahram gritted his teeth in a sour

expression at the sight of the voice's owner.

Bard Taylor.

The man who had assumed the Commander position that should have

belonged to Bahram through his connections, and Bahram' superior. He was also

Alice's older brother.

"Your pride may have made you complacent, but for you to actually be

defeated so easily is pathetic. If you can feel the eyes of the spectators right

now, accept your defeat graciously and step down," Bard said in a cold voice.

With a gasp, Bahram glanced around at his surroundings before flushing red.

He calmed down a bit as the shame of the situation rushed into him all at once.

"I-It's my loss," Bahram accepted his defeat in a squeaky voice and bowed his

head.

"Thank you very much," Kyle returned the gesture.

Once their exchange was over, Bahram turned on his heel and immediatelyrushed off the field. The matches proceeded smoothly after that, and the

tournament ended without incident.

In the end, the only one that achieved a win against the knights was Kyle.

The knights guided the students through the rhythm of their blade swings to

ensure that their matches were good and fair, but none of them were willing to

lose on purpose. While the number of wins and losses against the knights were

usually even every year, Bahram's disgraceful behavior seemed to have

influenced their conduct. As a result of being the only student to earn a victory

against the knights, attention inescapably gathered on Kyle.