“Here we are, Sir Feyt,” Eliza said, taking a subtle step back. “I wish you the best.”

If I hadn’t already known what was waiting for Feyt beyond this door, I would’ve suspected Eliza’s behavior as mighty suspicious. She gave me a gentle smile, one that looked like it was made out of pity.

When she turned the corner and disappeared from my sight, I could still hear her breathing there, as if waiting for me out of view.

Look, if you’re really worried about Feyt, you could at least warn me to prepare myself before I open the door…

I sighed. Well, at least she cared.

If they were going to ambush me, the least I could do was to fight back. This was a good chance to impress not just Father, but also Mother.

Taking a breath, I placed my hands on the door handles.

I braced myself, both of me.

Carine had a perfect view from inside the room of the upcoming “ambush”.

Four students were chosen by Father to surprise Feyt. They were all juniors, and that fortunately meant that I wouldn’t be ambushing myself.

Two were lurking just behind the doors, blades raised for a synchronized attack. Their nervous breathing was so loud I could’ve pinpointed their location blindfolded.

Another was tucked behind the weapon rack, crouched like he thought he would be invisible if he just held still. That might work for aliens, but you’re not one, are you?

And then… there was the weird one.

Poised above the doorway on the beam, he held his wooden blade forward like he was playing charade with the word “guillotine”.

How did he even get there? Seriously. Normally you would put a bucket there, but I guess a human with a stick works too.

I took another deep breath and threw open the door.

The ambush began with a swoosh of two wooden blades slicing from both my left side and right side. I was already ducking before they even committed to the swing.

Their weapons flew harmlessly through the air as I shot forward into the room, leaving them to bonk each other on their heads.

Then, there was the boy who thought he was invisible. He bolted out from behind the rack with his sword raised up high, like a dog holding a stick in its mouth. I sidestepped, letting him stumble over a floor mat with a yelp.

Then, there was the final one. The beam kid.

Through Carine’s view, I saw him leap, aiming straight for the back of Feyt’s head.

Hey! Ain’t that a bit too far?!

I wasn’t going for a repeat of what happened to Carine. A quick step back and he missed me, allowing him to land face-first into the mat with a muffled thump, right in front of me.

I think I heard a crack, hopefully, it was just his nose.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I straightened, glancing up at Father’s usual cheerful grin, expecting his booming laugh to follow.

But it didn’t.

His face froze, the excitement draining as his brow furrowed. He looked… serious. His gaze flicked to Carine, then back to Feyt, narrowing slightly.

Mother, who was standing near the edge of the room, also reacted. Her normally cold, detached demeanor fell as her mouth and eyes widened slightly. It wasn’t shock, exactly, a bit closer to intrigue.

I intended to impress them so that I would be more welcome here, but did I perhaps overdo it? Thinking back, someone with apparently no formal training wouldn’t have avoided all those attacks flawlessly…

Then, they started whispering.

With Feyt’s enhanced hearing, it wasn’t hard to catch their conversation.

“Kyrat, that movement... it’s far too precise for someone untrained. Are you sure he hasn’t been practicing?”

Father shook his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Unlikely. I could tell he was telling the truth about no formal training. But even I can’t deny, that reflex was unnatural. Especially dodging Raymond’s attack.”

I knew it. I was too much of a tryhard.

Mother nodded slowly. “The timing... it was like he could tell where everything is. That isn’t something a novice should be capable of.”

Father’s lips curled into a grin again. “Could it be? [Spatial Awareness]?”

[Spatial Awareness], could that really be the true form of my super hearing? Nah, definitely not. But it is similar in terms of usage, though I couldn’t detect anything that doesn’t produce sound. No matter how sharp my ears were, they couldn’t do echolocation, unfortunately.

Mother blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “Kyrat, don’t you start with that again.”

Father’s grin widened. “But the way he moved… it’s exactly how it started for me. And you remember what my mother said about the early signs.”

“You know how rare that Talent is, even amongst the Royal Knights.”

“Reina, let me have this. If I’m right…” He took a quick glance at me, a smirk visible. “...it’ll be like training a younger version of myself. Oh, how long have I waited for this chance…”

I guessed that meant Father would like to train me personally. I wondered if that would be a good thing or not, but then they continued.

“Kyrat, do not jump to conclusions. You remember how badly things ended with the last student. He was in the clinic for a week. It was nearly a scandal.”

Wait… what?

“Wait,” Mother said, her expression shifting suddenly. Her eyes lit up with something that felt an awful lot like… realization. “Actually, forget what I just said. I believe he will do splendidly under your discretion.”

Agh! She wants me to die!

Suddenly, Feyt’s future flashed before my eyes, and it was filled with grueling drills, relentless sparring sessions, and near-death experiences.

No, anything but that!

I started forward, but Father clapped his hands loudly, snapping the room to attention and cutting off any chance I had to protest.

“Alright, students! This is Feyt, our new member!” His booming voice filled the hall, silencing all chatter. “Although he is not of noble birth, you’ve all seen his skill just now, haven’t you?”

The room grew heavy with whispers.

“A commoner? Is the instructor serious?”

“They’re letting that train with us?”

“This has to be some kind of joke. No commoner could have moved like that. He must have some special Talent or something.”

“Well… He did dodge every ambush. I mean, look at Raymond.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards the beam kid who was still kissing the floor mat. He didn’t move a budge ever since the ambush.

He is okay, right?

“I guess he is worthy to be here.”

“Yeah, I should apologize for calling him that…”

Oh, what is this? They’re all… tolerant of me?

I took a step back in shock. Could this really happen? A bunch of snotty brats tolerating a commoner?

Father’s grin widened as he surveyed the room, his booming voice drowning out the remaining mutterings. “I see you’ve all got opinions, but let me remind you, noble or not, skill speaks louder than blood.”

Some students nodded, and the silence that followed was deafening.

“And to prove it,” Father continued, his grin now sly, “I’ve decided that Feyt will be paired with none other than Carine for today’s session.”

The room practically exploded.

“What?!”

“That’s not fair!”

“Why does that get to train with Carine?!”

“That’s ridiculous! I wanted to be Carine's first partner!”

And there goes their tolerance for me.

I knew I hoped for too much.

As soon as I was paired with Carine as a sparring partner too…

…Wait what?

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image [https://i.imgur.com/RdC5Gde.png]