Sunday morning. Today, the group decided to do some singles practice.

“Ooohh!!”

“Deeyah!!”

As it appears, Sigulf get to spar with Alba.

“Rrgh…!”

Being almost evenly matched, they engaged in a deadlock.

“Seriously, how can a guy who prioritizes a date came this far?”

“Wha—!? What’s that— Whoa!”

If not for his agility, her sudden attack would have struck him clean.

“…was that on purpose?”

“Ah, so you noticed?”

“You… You know what, that’s actually a good distraction tactic.”

“I know, right?”

“Yeah, hehehe…”

“Wahahahahah!”

“…what are they doing?” Chelsea commented.

As if to answer her question, Sigulf and Alba bashed their blades against each other in the blink of an eye.

“Not fast enough.” She smirked.

“And you’re not strong enough.”

Celina, meanwhile, was content with observing their practice.

“Hmm, would her tactic work in an actual fight?” she wondered aloud.

“Eeehh… Maybe if the opponent is hotheaded enough…?”

———

The day passed peacefully, and Monday comes rolling in.

“Good morning.”

“Good m— …hmph!”

“…what?”

Upon realizing it was Sigulf, though, Yuu turned away in apparent annoyance.

“Let me guess, is it about Celina and me…?”

Yuu glanced at him and finally dropped the act.

“Well, of course. The news would make the rounds eventually.”

Sigulf can only sigh.

“Hey, hey, shouldn’t you be happier? You get to be close with the school’s top girl, you know?”

“Stop poking my arm… And what about you? Did you really lose your fans because of Smirnov?”

“Eh, well… Partially, it is.”

“Oh? Then there’s another?”

“Hmm… I guess I’m not telling you.”

“…huh? What’s that supposed to mean? Even though you know about my problems…”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry. Want to take a guess?”

“Uhh… You actually began training with Amakawa’s group? So you don’t have time with your fans anymore?”

“What, so you knew after all…”

“Eh, half guess, half deduction. I mean, if you rejected Celina’s offer— Come to think of it, I’m surprised you actually did.”

“Oh, that? I was being considerate, actually.” Yuu grinned.

“Wait, really!?”

“Well, kind of.”

“Uh, thank you, I guess…?”

“You’re welcome. That, and… Our skill is closer to each other than to Council’s top two. Slower but safer.”

“Oh, right. That actually made some sense.”

“It is. If anything, the fact you keep up with her training… I thought you get thrashed every time?”

“Initially, yeah. But hey, I do grow from the experience.”

“…Sig-kun, are you a masochist?”

“I’m not…”

———

Eliot entered the class after the bell rang. Addressing them, he introduced a few more newcomers, presumably from the special invitations, before getting into the main topic.

“I’m sure you all already know, but as a friendly reminder, take note that we will have our midterms at the end of the month.”

Predictably, most students began talking among themselves.

‘The whole mess with the nobles made me almost forgot…’ Sigulf thought. ‘Good thing Celina brought that up.’

“Sir.”

“Yes, Amakawa? Is it about the exams?”

“Um, yes. Would you mind sharing it with us? Not the written one, I mean.”

“Hmm, well, it’s not a confidential issue, so I don’t mind. Nothing special; just the standard, singles match among any two of you.”

Now the students gave him full attention.

“So, winning would contribute additional points?”

“Oh, obviously. But remember that it’s not the absolute everything. You might obtain higher grades from losing a well-fought duel than winning a lousy one. Try to do both.”

“I see…”

“That said, considering the recent interest in tag duels, I’ve been considering changing things up a bit. For starters, we’ll have tag lessons for today’s afternoon class. And maybe more in the future, without forgetting normal duels.”

Save for Sigulf and few others, the rest of the class were rather surprised.

“Ah, so that’s why he asked Celina about the event…”

“But, changing things up, huh? Does that mean we’ll have a tag duel for our exams instead?” Walter asked. “Or a battle royale, even!?”

“That seems more suitable for our finals, but interesting idea you have there, Armstrong.” Eliot responded.

“Wait, for real?”

“If the Principal approves, that is. Maybe some of you consider a battle royale doesn’t make sense for duelists, but think about it. All those running and continuous fighting is a good way to test and build your stamina, don’t you agree?”

‘…he’s not exactly wrong, but it doesn’t sound exciting when he put it like that.’

———

And so, during the day’s second half after lunch…

“Alright, everyone. Time to get paired and warm up. I give you 10 minutes before the mock duel. Good enough?”

At Eliot’s cue, everyone began to look for sparring partners.

“Guess I’ll just— Wait, where’s Yuu?”

Turns out the smaller boy had already gone to Minato’s group.

“…”

“Pfft, got abandoned by your bestie?”

“…and how about you?” Sigulf asked the approaching Alba.

“I could pair with anyone if I wanted to, but seeing you being so lonely, I guess I don’t mind lending a hand~”

“Okay, but what’s your actual reason?”

“…damn you. You do know well all three of us usually stick together.”

‘She didn’t even mention Arthfael? I kinda feel bad…’

“Well… It’s fine, isn’t it? Gallowglass hasn’t seen some action in a while, after all.”

“Heheh, damn right! So, any ideas who will we be facing?”

“Let’s see…”

“Mind if we volunteer?”

“Hm? Oh…”

Sigulf glanced towards the Siegward-Masaki pair.

“Ah, it’s you two.” Alba recognized. “Fukube and, umm… Heidi?”

“Wha—“

“…excuse me?”

Sigulf and Masaki tried to contain their laughter, while Siegward widened his eyes in disbelief.

“Hey, I can’t call you ‘Sieggy’, alright? One Siggy is enough.”

“Even so—“

“No need to be so upset, it’s just a rather cute nickname. Right, Heidi?” Masaki grinned.

“…I’ll get back to you one way or another.”

‘These two are good friends, yup.’ Sigulf noted.

———

After the 10 minute mark, everyone was very eager to fight. Eliot then chose random two pairs to demonstrate. However…

“Aw man, after all that and we didn’t get to fight…”

“It can’t be helped. Let’s just observe for now.”

Standing at the sidelines, Sigulf and Alba watched while Siegward and Masaki made their way.

“It’s our A-class debut, huh? Then let’s make it a memorable one. Don’t fall behind.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”

The two faced off against their would-be opponents, full of determination.

———

The match was closer than initially thought, but the combination of Masaki’s trickeries and Siegward’s brute strength carried them on.

“That’s enough! Winner, team Nightshade, Siegward Heidenreich and Masaki Fukube!” Eliot declared.

“Phew… We did it. And I’m surprised you actually thought of a name.”

“What, I thought that was more your thing? You know, your whole trying too hard to be cool.”

“…theatrics, Masaki. It’s important.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

The winners returned after their post-match handshake earned the others’ applause.

“They are not half bad.” Yuu commented.

“Oh, you’re back.”

“Hey, Sig-kun! …you aren’t mad, are you?”

“Eh, less mad, and more… Well, you seriously have some business with their bunch, huh?”

“Eheheh, something like that.”

“I see… Good luck with that.”

“Oh? Coming from you, that sounds surprisingly sincere.”

“…what did you expect me to say?”

Yuu merely laughed it off.

“Hrimgard.”

“Hm? Oh, yo.”

The Nightshade pair approached them.

“We’ll get stronger, so you better prepare yourself.”

Sigulf knew Siegward would say something along that line, but before he got any chance to respond…

“Interesting. But unfortunately, I am the one who will take him down.”

Arthfael interrupted and stepped in.

“You…”

“The latest Penndreic heir, a knight in training. And just like you—“

“Wields a sacred weapon instead of blessed by the spirit itself.”

“Ah, so you knew. Exactly; the Caledfwlch in my case.”

“Hmph…”

The two got into a staredown and attracted the class’ attention.

“Ooh, what is this, what is this?” Yuu wondered in slight amazement.

“That idiot is too belligerent for his own good…” Masaki sighed.

“Now hold on a sec!” Alba suddenly shouted. “How dare you taking me out of the equation!”

Arthfael blinked before wearing an apologetic expression.

“My bad, but that wasn’t my—“

“I’m not interested.”

Siegward’s curt answer was all she needed to shot him back a dangerous grin.

“You got guts.”

‘Ah, it’s been a while since she looks like that.’ Sigulf thought.

“My zweihander shall surpass your claymore.”

The tension rose even further, and another group’s dissatisfaction only added fuel.

“Um, hello? Excuse me?” called out. “Don’t you even try to forget that Minato and I are still here. Oh, and maybe these two too.”

“Don’t treat us like some extra!” Eurypha screeched.

Siegward glanced and gave them a dismissive look.

“Hmph, bourgeois.”

““Wha—“”

“…don’t put me on the same page as them.” Ilma growled.

All of them ended up busy arguing on who’s the stronger fighter.

“Don’t you have anything to say, Sig-kun?”

“Eh, I don’t feel like it. Besides, if they end up fighting, that’s another opportunity for me to study their styles.”

“Uwah, talk about sneaky. Bartram-senpai will be disappointed, you know?”

“…pretty sure she won’t.”

“And you!” Alba pointed back at Sigulf. “Don’t act like you aren’t involved!”

“Oops, I got found out.”