I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

“Oh, this is….”

Soi’s face, having just dealt with Tullak and Julie, hardened.

She turned her head with trembling eyes.

Kuooooooooo!

The Lyos Mountain Range continued to crumble with a deafening roar.

And from its peak, she felt a very familiar energy.

“Instructor…?”

Soi’s intuition, now sharpened after becoming the master of her emotions, was sensitive enough to detect Zeke from afar.

‘It’s the Instructor’s energy. It is, it has to be….’

The Instructor always seemed like an unwavering pillar of support, with his perpetually impassive face.

She had assumed his emotions were as steadfast as steel.

“…But, Instructor is… suffering?”

A chilling bloodlust raged like a storm.

Longing and resentment.

Regret and remorse twisted into a monstrous form, unleashing a terrifying scream.

Could a single person truly contain such intense emotions?

Though she had gained a mind no longer dominated by emotions, the sheer density of it made her feel parched.

Her instincts screamed at her to turn back, to never go near that place.

But her feet moved in the opposite direction of her instincts,

One step. One step.

Towards the mountain.

Her slow steps gradually gained speed, until she was running.

Broken tree trunks and muddy debris tumbled down, threatening to swallow her small body whole, but her steps held no hesitation.

Because the emotions of everyone here were lending strength to her own.

Soi desperately pushed aside the falling trees and continued her ascent.

“Just a little… Please wait a little longer, Instructor!”

Soi finally understood.

How much Zeke had cared for her from behind the scenes.

How much he had sacrificed to watch over her.

Memories from their first encounter to this very moment flashed through her mind.

Zeke Clayman had been an enigma from the start.

She first saw him at the Ramielli Academy entrance ceremony.

She had been lucky enough to enter as the top student, but her excitement was short-lived.

The shabby ceremony and the staff’s warnings not to overstep her status made her almost resign herself to the insurmountable gap between their social standings.

Then he appeared.

The swordsmanship instructor with his deceptively young appearance, black hair, and black eyes. His cold gaze radiated an aloof aura that made him seem unapproachable.

─ I am Zeke Clayman, swordsmanship instructor for the Knight Department of Ramielli Academy.

Those first words still echoed vividly in Soi’s memory.

It was surprising enough that a noble like him would attend a commoner’s gathering, but his speech was even more astonishing.

He argued passionately that regardless of social status, the only power that could protect you until the very end was your own physical strength.

The man who declared there would be no discrimination in his class.

At that moment, Soi hadn’t even considered learning swordsmanship, but his words made her heart pound and a warmth spread through her chest.

─ Soi Spoon. No, you seem to prefer being called Elise. Very well, I shall address you as such.

And when he, a nobleman, personally came to buy bread, she was utterly shocked.

When he discovered her fabricated name at Ramielli Academy, she feared expulsion.

But he dismissed it as inconsequential, respecting the name ‘Elise’ that she had made up.

Of course, the name Soi Spoon no longer embarrassed her.

─ I am now going to save your mother.

When she was tricked by loan sharks and her family was in danger, Zeke Clayman stepped forward as if it were the most natural thing in the world, saving her and her family.

She couldn’t bring herself to say it then, but he had seemed incredibly cool.

─ I simply wished for it to be so.

His answer to her question about why she should take his swordsmanship class.

She couldn’t refuse him anything after he saved her family…

As if he had intended it all along, all he wanted was for her to attend his class.

At that moment, his eyes seemed so lonely and desolate that she wanted to embrace him.

The swordsmanship lessons under Zeke Clayman were challenging, pushing her to her limits every step of the way, but the rewards were immense.

Despite their different worlds, she made a friend in a nobleman who never made her feel their social divide.

And thanks to him consistently paying for bread with gold coins, her family, despite being fatherless commoners, could escape poverty.

‘Come to think of it, so much has happened…’

The demonstration class, the Eustia banquet, Iriel’s treatment, the sparring sessions, and now this expedition to the Lyos Mountains.

How could so much happen in such a short time?

She was no longer an ordinary commoner girl from a bakery.

Soi knew that all too well.

The special power emanating from her bread, her transformed body, her mastery over emotions.

While a part of her felt melancholic about not being able to return to her ordinary life, gratitude outweighed it all.

Because she now understood why Zeke Clayman had trained her, taught her the sword, and insisted she become strong.

She had seen the dark possessiveness in the eyes of the giant man she had just killed.

These villains were undoubtedly still searching for her.

If it hadn’t been for Zeke Clayman, she would have been kidnapped, or worse, dead.

‘You knew from the start, didn’t you, Instructor?’

He knew they were after her.

That’s why he taught her, empowered her, and protected her.

So that…

He could give her a push.

To sever the chains of her ill fate with her own strength.

To never cower in fear again.

And her first step was this.

To protect Zeke Clayman.

To embrace and comfort him in his moment of anguish.

Finally, the edge of the devastated area came into view.

She could feel Zeke’s sorrow intensifying.

Her heart ached, a suffocating pressure building in her chest.

Soi bit her lip, holding back the urge to cry.

‘This time, this time I’ll be the one to save you, Instructor.’

***

Kuoooooooooooooooo!

The mana Zeke poured into his sword continued to gather at its tip.

The azure blade had deepened past blue, now appearing almost black as the energy compressed.

He was channeling as much mana as possible, preparing to cut down the Demon King.

‘Right, I’ll exhaust all my mana first. That way, even if I lose control, I won’t cause as much damage.’

Zeke didn’t underestimate his own madness.

Something was bound to happen.

So he would annihilate this monster, leaving not a single soul fragment behind.

And then, he would disappear to a place devoid of people.

He would slay monsters endlessly, hoping to quench this insatiable thirst.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t say goodbye to Selena, Iriel, Yuri, and Soi…’

He felt like he was forgetting someone, but it couldn’t be anyone important.

They had filled the emptiness within him, warming his distrustful heart with their presence—his disciples.

All good, bright children.

‘I hope they’ll be alright without me.’

But wouldn’t it be a bit sad if they didn’t even spare him a thought?

“Until we meet again.”

As he raised his sword, ready to strike…

[Gyahahahahahahahaha! Incredible! The Priestess! The Priestess has come here!]

The Demon King roared with laughter.

Zeke felt a pang of unease at his words.

He had a feeling he would regret it if he didn’t finish this quickly.

His instincts never lied in situations like this.

However…

‘Huh?’

Crack, crack.

The hand that held the sword froze in place.

The overwhelming force that had been dormant within him, something he had almost forgotten about, now took hold.

It was as if an invisible force bound him, his body refusing to budge.

Crackle, pop.

Thick veins bulged on Zeke’s forehead, and blood trickled from between his clenched teeth.

He desperately tried to break free, drawing on every ounce of strength he possessed.

But as his power surged, so did the erosion of his sanity.

Zeke’s consciousness flickered like a dying flame.

“D-Damn it…”

But…

Crack.

The muscles and bones throughout his body locked up, as if time itself had stopped.

The mere attempt to move sent a searing pain through him, the sound of tearing muscles and grinding bones echoing in his ears.

In the end, Zeke could only watch helplessly as the Demon King continued.

[Hahahahahahaha! Gyahahahaha! My vessel! The Priestess! She has arrived here! This is your end!]

The tattered remnants of the Demon King’s physical form gathered, coalescing into a single sphere that floated in mid-air.

And then he sensed it—a presence approaching from behind.

Zeke’s eyes widened in horror.

“Soi…Spoon…?”

“Instructor!”

She was rushing towards him, her face etched with worry.

With a desperate rasp, Zeke cried out, his voice strained and fading,

“Soi Spoon! Don’t come any closer!”

But before his words could reach her, the Demon King’s soul shot out towards her.

The sphere, trailing a tail of crimson light, hurtled towards Soi.

*Fwoosh!*

“Eh?”

Focused entirely on Zeke, Soi didn’t notice the hazy form approaching her.

“Don’t come… What does… *Cough*!”

Soi suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed to her knees.

“Ins… Instructor…”

Thump.

Her hand stretched out towards Zeke as she fell, and he stared back, his face a mask of despair, an expression she had never seen before.