Ciel woke up from his long memory when he heard the academy bell ring. Without realizing it, the sky was already colored with a reddish hue and the other students were running down the street to the training arena with excited faces. It was none other than today's exciting duel between a noble and a commoner.
Ciel let out a long breath and stood up. The students in the same building with him widened their eyes as soon as they saw the figure of today's main star walking. Ciel had expected this even since last night. Ever since his argument with Eron's group, his name was instantly famous. In the morning, the students who used to ignore him now looked at Ciel like a star-in a negative sense.
"Are you really sure about this?" Ash's voice made Ciel turn his head. Since last night, his twin brother had always looked at Ciel worriedly. It wasn't that Ash didn't believe in Ciel's abilities.
Since leaving Junon City, they had been practicing swordplay with the human who had the Holy Task as a traveler. However, no matter how much Ash trained himself, Ciel's ability was always above him. Ciel's comprehension of theory was slow, but Ash was the opposite.
"Yeah, don't worry anyway. I'll definitely get that recommendation letter without getting hurt." While smiling broadly, Ciel patted Ash's shoulder. He took the tightly tied cloth sack brought by Ash. "You just sit back and watch me fight."
Ash sighed. " Okay. I'll beat you up if you get hurt. Especially since you're fighting in the main training area. There must be many people who want to knock you down later."
"Yes, I know."
A crowd greeted them as soon as they entered the training arena. At first glance, the place looked like a small colosseum made up of a five-tiered circle of spectators. A sudden feeling of nervousness ran through Ciel. This was his first time-fighting in the midst of this many people. Moreover, there were some seniors who were also watching the match.
Ciel sighed a few times, trying to calm down before approaching Eron's group that had been waiting at the edge of the arena. Just like yesterday, those people were still looking down on Ciel. To them, this duel was the pride of a noble was something absolute and could not be matched with a commoner. However, this duel was Ciel's life goal all these years.
Ciel closed his eyes for a second, remembering the figure of the white-haired girl he hadn't seen in a long time. Whenever Ciel felt nervous, scared, or desperate, he always did that to keep himself from giving up. Because Ciel knew, Ivy was always waiting for him at the peak of this world.
Even now, Ciel felt that Ivy was here. Around him, in one of the spectator seats he kept calling out his name with a big smile. Ever since entering the academy, Ciel had always thought 'what if Ivy was still with him? Would they have entered the academy together?
Probably not. If Ivy was still around, they would have stayed in Junon City and performed the Holy Task until death. Because Ivy's departure was the only reason why Ash and Ciel arrived in this city.
Ciel's fists tightened and the look in his eyes became determined, trying to get rid of the nervousness. No matter what happened, he couldn't let others affect his goals, could he? If he couldn't handle this challenge, how could he meet Ivy?
Every time he thought of that, his fear of enemies felt like nothing. How could he forget the fact that as long as he held the sword, all the emotions, thoughts, desires, and goals that he had never imagined before were instantly gathered.
"Are you trembling right now?"
That derisive voice of course came from Ciel's opponent. The man was standing in front of him with his arms folded in front of his chest and his gaze raised. While the other students sat in the front row, showing Ciel a derisive smile. It seemed like they were very confident that Ciel would lose the duel this time.
Although Ciel felt like punching that face, he had to restrain his emotions as much as possible at the moment. If he did, this duel would be considered invalid and automatically, the duel would be won by Eron. This was a sneaky trick that was often done when two people were about to duel each other.
Ciel smiled widely. She exchanged glances with Ash who seemed to be leaning against the seat railing.
"Absolutely not."
The noise that had been buzzing began to calm down when a high-ranking noble, as well as Sword Master Ent, appeared. Sword Master Ent, who received the Holy Task to become a sword master. She had been practicing since childhood, becoming the youngest student at the academy in her time. Unfortunately, Sword Master Ent could not become a Holy Knight because of her Holy Task.
Although she was in her early thirties, everyone and the other masters in the academy had great respect for Ent. In addition, since last year, Ent had become an elite Sword Master who rarely showed up at the academy and only came when tests or official duels were held. In a way, other than watching the duel, people here would want to see Sword Master Ent.
Ciel was surprised. He thought that the Sword Master that many people knew was a bold figure with a scary and serious face. But in fact, Ent was a beautiful, soft woman with straight black hair. If Ciel had not known her name when they first met, he would not have believed that the beautiful woman was the youngest Sword Master.
"Are you ready, First Year Student, Ciel?"
Ciel pulled a dark blue colored sword from the left waist, while Eron took his silver sword from the back. At the same time, the surrounding students let out shouts of admiration. It wasn't that both of them took out swords, but the reaction was directed at Eron's sword that many students in this academy were familiar with.
Children of nobles that entered the academy would indeed be given an inherited family sword. Unlike Eron, Ciel was just an commoner who didn't even receive the Holy Task as a knight or swordsman. Because of that, Ciel did not have a family sword inheritance and could only make his own sword.
When he and Ash arrived at the academy, they felt ashamed of that. However, Rune who was Ciel's swordsmanship teacher said that one's ability was not valued by what kind of sword one had, but by how strong one's determination was.
Ciel's gaze fell on Sword Master Ent who raised his hand, then answered confidently. "Yes."
Ciel stood in Ent's designated northern arena, while Eron was in the southern one. Then, Ciel and Eron gave a simple knight's greeting. Sword Master Ent, who was the arbiter and judge of this duel, stepped back to the edge of the arena and raised her hand.
"This duel officially begins!"