CH 5

My weekday mornings are early. I wake up before five o’clock, and start by doing some slow stretching in my room. This is because if I don’t wake my body up like this, it will interfere with my sword training later on. The human body takes more than an hour before being able to do heavy work after wake up. It is not advisable to do strenuous exercise right after waking up.

At about 5:40, I headed for the cafeteria. The school cafeteria, Rotasti, opens at six o’clock, but they open it about ten minutes before that. I try to eat there and stay in my seat until about 6:30. If the digestion hasn’t started yet, it will be difficult to exercise, so it’s better to let the stomach digest food for a while.

After relaxing in the school cafeteria, I went for a light run on the field and entered the empty training ground barefoot just before seven o’clock. The rest of the day was spent using a heavy branch of a tree called “distylium” as a wooden sword, hitting the standing distylium on both sides. This is the training method of merchant swordsmanship as described in “Merchant’s Secret Art Compendium”.

Keep a little distance from the standing tree, hold the branch straight above the shoulders, put your left foot in front of you and swing down to the left and right of the tree with a shout. Hit right to left, hit left to right. I make a strange voice rather than a shout, and keep hitting with my his might.

The number of times I’ve swung is about 3,000 to 4,000. I’m a routine worker who doesn’t mind doing the same thing, and I used to swing 12,000 to 15,000 times every day before I went to the academy, but now I only swing this many times because I don’t have time.

According to the “Merchant’s Secret Art Compendium,” in which this training method was written, it is supposed to be difficult to raise the level of a sword without hitting the target about 10,000 times. However, I’ve developed other methods to raise my level, so I’m only training now to raise my sword skill level. Also, it seems that this training method is meaningless except for those who have the merchant attribute, and there is no one else in this school who uses this training method.

Because of this, there were only a few people, or rather, only one person, who approached me at the training ground. That’s not surprising, since no one wants to get involved with a guy who’s waving a tree branch around like a crazy person while making loud, strange noises in the morning. No one wants to get involved with a crazy person. Even I think so.

However, as a merchant who can’t get any higher than others, I have no choice but to use this kind of training method to acquire sword skills. I’ve gotten used to the cold stares of others.

After nine o’clock, I finished my training and headed for the bathhouse to go to class. The school’s education policy and the content of the classes are as shitty as can be, but the best part is the various facilities, and the bathhouse is no exception. The bathrooms, including the bathtub, are as spacious as a super public bath, of course, but they also have electric baths, water baths, and even a sauna. The fact that the baths are open from 6:00 to 23:00 is also quite impressive.

In addition, the baths are designed so that they can be accessed from both indoor and outdoor areas, making them easily accessible from the dormitories and indoor facilities as well as from the grounds and training grounds. Of course, the baths are separated for men and women, but the clever design of the baths so that both can be used without inconvenience is also highly evaluated.

The bathing facilities are absolutely wonderful, but I only take my time at night. I had a class in the morning, so I quickly left the bathroom and went into the dryer room. In this room, warm air comes out from the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the room to blow away the remaining water on my body. Thanks to this, my body was dry within a minute of exposure. My hair also dried in three minutes, which was enough for me. All that was left was to change my clothes.

At this time, if I use the merchant special skill [Putting on], I can instantly wear a uniform that is closed in a different space with the merchant special skill [Storage]. To do this, simply make eye contact with the stored clothes, select them, and drop my eyes down. That’s it.

It’s like a special effects hero putting on a body suit in an instant. It’s one of the few moments I’m glad I came to this world. It only takes a few minutes to come to the bathhouse, get dressed and leave. The experience of being free from all the hassle was enough to make me hooked. I headed for the classroom as usual.

Year 1, epsilon class. That’s my class. I don’t know why it’s called Epsilon, the Greek letters. In the Japanese way, it would be class 1-5, but this is also a setting that never appeared in the game. As I walked into class Epsilon, I was met with a series of stares. Curiosity, pity, contempt. I’m sure that the idea of a duel between me and a Dobberwin has already spread throughout the school.

This is a world of status quo. It goes without saying that an unrelated person would take sides in a confrontation between a count’s son and a merchant’s son. The nobleman’s side, of course. This is a nobleman’s school, and no matter how stupid Dobberwin is, as long as he is the son of a nobleman, school public opinion will unconditionally side with Dobberwin. This is the common sense of the Eleonore world.

“Hey, Glen. You’re in a lot of trouble.”

As I took my seat, Freddie, who was sitting next to me, looked at me with a serious face.

“Are you okay with that?”

Lydia, who was seated in front of me, also turned to me with concern.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

There’s no point in hiding it. I told Freddy and Lydia about my duel with Dobberwin.

“What’s that? That’s terrible.”

“That’s just an accusation!”

When they found out what had happened, they shouted in condemnation. But there was nothing they could do about it. Both of them are mob characters whose names don’t even appear in the game. They have no influence on this story. In fact, Dobberwin himself is just a mob character, and a duel between a mob character and me, a lesser mob character, is not even a side story to the story.

“This is a noble academy. If the top says it’s black, even white things become black. Even if you don’t want to take it, you will be made to take it. That’s the ‘common sense’ of this world.”

That’s right. It’s the same with the seating arrangement in this classroom. Nobles in the front and commoners in the back. Hallway side is up, window side is down. My seat is in the back, by the window. In other words, I’m the lowest rank in this classroom.

The girl in front of me, Lydia, with her short, striking red hair, is the daughter of Sir Gabel, a knight in the service of the court. The thin-faced Freddy sitting next to her is the son of the Davidson family, a local priest for generations. Both of these families are local merchants, and their family status is many ranks above that of the Alford family, which has recently grown in power.

Since they are sitting in a position close to the last seating order, it is obvious what kind of class people who attend this school in the kingdom. The royalty is at the top, and the nobility. Those who don’t are knights of the realm, officials, landowners, priests, and knights, a status that is far from the commoners that most people imagine. This is a noble academy where they are treated as “commoners”. That is the Sarun Afia Academy.

I’m just a person from another world. I have no feelings for this Eleanore world, and I have no regrets. It’s not a place I want to live in in the first place. The only thing I want to do is find a gate to the real world and get rid of this ridiculous world as soon as possible.

This strict class society is not depicted at all in the game “Eleanore! But even if it is not, this setting is deeply engraved in the Eleanore world. The absurd society of the status quo must have been determined from the beginning by the producers as an element of the game world’s story. Those of you who are thinking about such stupid things should actually try living in such a society once.

As Lydia and Freddy were talking about this matter, I heard a sudden murmur from the seat to my right.

“It said he has the Sword of Electra.”

The girl who mumbled to me turned her head to the front and didn’t even look at me. The owner of the voice is Sharon Cloral. She is the long black-haired vassal at the side of the villainess, Duke’s daughter of Nord-Claudis. If you’ve ever played “Eleanore! This is a character that anyone who has played Eleanore has seen. I always called her by name when I was playing the game.

The daughter of Duke of Nord-Claudis has a knight named Thomas Frayn by her side, along with Sharon, Thomas and Sharon always follow behind her with a smile when she appears.

Furthermore, these two are loyal vassals to the daughter of Duke of Nord-Claudis, who were together when the duke’s daughter lost her position due to the promised “impeachment event” in an otome game, and continued to serve their master even when she was failing. Whenever I saw that picture at the end of the game, I thought to myself that these two should definitely become a couple.

“So it’s a magic sword….”

I muttered back to Sharon as I looked over at the two of them, who were horrified by my muttering. Cloral wasn’t muttering to herself. She was definitely muttering at the behest of her master.

I don’t know what the intention of duke’s daughter, Christina Seira Melusine Nord-Claudis, the girl who sits at the front of the classroom on the opposite side of the room from me, was in passing on the information to me about Dobberwin’s possession of Electra’s sword, but at least I understood that it was not malicious.

The Duke’s family, the House of Nord-Claudis, is one of the most prominent families in the Kingdom of Norden, and is also a relative of the royal family of Alubio-Norden. The daughter’s father, Charles, Duke of Nord-Claudis, is the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norden, and is a key figure in the country.

Ever since I entered the school, I’ve had no contact with the daughter of Duke of Nord-Claudis other than being in the same class as her. She’s a familiar character that I’ve seen every time I’ve played the game, but since I’ve arrived in this world, I’ve only seen her from afar and never exchanged a word with her, or even made eye contact.

Just long flaxen hair, crisp amber eyes, and a neat face like a doll. Perhaps it was the setting of the game, but even from a distance, I felt a dazzling aura of beauty. The pretty Iris, the vivacious Leticia, and the beautiful Christina.

“The Sword of Electra is a ‘fire sword’. I don’t know how he got it.”

“Why would he bring that into a duel? What the hell was he thinking?

I can’t really say in front of Lydia that he’s bringing it up because he’s weak. I can only imagine how she would curse at me if I told the truth to Lydia, who is small but lively and says what she thinks bluntly.

“But with the Fire Sword, even one swing will send a flare wave. There is no defensive magic that can completely prevent this flare wave…..”

Freddy looks serious and thoughtful. A flare wave is like a fireball that is emitted when a fire sword is wielded. Freddy is a priest, and he knows a lot about magic, especially defensive magic.

“Freddy. Don’t worry, I’m a merchant so I can’t use defensive magic, so it’s no problem.”

“Huh? Now that you mention it….. isn’t the merchant attribute unable to use magic?

In fact, it is incorrect to say that merchants cannot use magic. The book I got, “Merchant’s Secret Art Compendium,” has a clear description of merchant magic. There’s another reason why merchants be said can’t use magic.

“Glen, I’m sorry for being sarcastic. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”

Freddy nodded apologetically. No, no, no. I’m just glad you thought of it, I am.

“Nah, it’s just the truth. Don’t worry about it, thanks.”

I smiled and tapped Freddy on the shoulder. It was obvious that he didn’t mean any harm, but I didn’t want him to be afraid. Just then, the instructor came into the classroom. I muttered to the woman in front of me so that she could hear me.

“Tell the daughter of Duke that Glen Alford was grateful.”

Sharon Cloral’s shoulders twitched slightly as she turned her back to me.