I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

"Whichever it is, a fight can be broadly divided into two types.

Aggressive and defensive.
This has been the case since ancient times, with games like Go, chess, and shogi, which are now more like folk games. The same trend is even clearer in PC games like space wars, which have become a cultural norm. Especially in swordsmanship, where lives are at stake, the nature of aggression or defense becomes even more distinct.
And as for the losing sword, it was a very aggressive style of swordsmanship."

"That's because it's easier to lose that way."
I nodded at the captain's words. The advantages of aggression are numerous. First of all, the best part is that you can keep beating someone mercilessly until the end. The fact that you can make your opponent frustrated while you're enjoying yourself is reason enough to not need an explanation. There are other advantages, such as the higher likelihood of striking first and the fact that aggression tends to look flashy, which, if seen in a positive light, can also be considered an advantage. But, the drawback that ruins all these advantages is the lack of stability.
"You could look stylish while launching an attack, but end up losing with one mistake. That’s the ideal outcome for a losing sword."

At an unskilled level, being aggressive is good. If both offense and defense are unrefined, the side that strikes first will have the advantage. But when you reach the level of a master, defense becomes more important than offense. In a world like that of swordsmanship, where one mistake could cost you your life, the tendency for defense naturally becomes more prominent.
That's why the losing sword was an aggressive swordsmanship. Aggressively pushing the opponent, creating a sense of crisis, and ultimately losing due to the gaps created by that very pressure. As the captain said, that was the ideal outcome.
"But you can’t do that."

However, having perfectly mastered the losing sword, which the captain recognized, I couldn’t do that. Was it my fault? No.
"The fundamental problem with the losing sword is this. Do you know what it is?"
"...You have to be stronger than your opponent."

"Exactly. The losing sword only works if you're stronger than the opponent."
The essence of the losing sword is to intentionally lose. Not just losing, but losing by a hair's breadth. By drawing out the opponent’s sense of victory to the maximum, while quietly making them feel like they could catch up tomorrow or that today's win was only because they got lucky, you constantly give them the sense of impending danger. This was the purpose of the sword.
"If you lose, it's just a loss."

Therefore, if the opponent is stronger than the user, the losing sword becomes useless. The true way to use the losing sword is in the careful analysis by the royal family and instructors, where the victories and defeats of royalty could be adjusted accordingly.
Based on that, depending on the royal family's tendencies, recent actions, and psyche, if their ambition was too high, you would hold them back. On the other hand, if they lacked motivation, you would boost their spirits. That was the goal.
That's why, because Prince Ellen was too strong, I couldn’t adjust him and failed to fulfill my role as an instructor. Even so, the reason I wasn’t dismissed was...

"The problem is, Adam, you’re doing better than we expected."
Because of that, even the royal family, who should have been reprimanding me, couldn't say a word.
"Natural disasters are beyond human control, after all."
It was simply because Ellen was a natural disaster-level monster.

So,
"I’ve decided to change the sword a bit."
The day Ellen experienced his first real defeat, I had to relearn the losing sword from scratch. It was called the defensive losing sword. A sword technique specifically modified for me.

"By the way, the royal swordsmanship is slightly incorporated, so if it leaks outside, it’s a death sentence."
"Can’t we just not learn it?"
Although the name was ridiculous, it was a technique with a bit of the Leon royal family’s swordsmanship mixed in.

The most important thing in the losing sword was knowing the opponent's sword. In that sense, the royal instructors were all people who could be said to counter the royal swordsmanship. They had to live near the capital after retirement, under constant surveillance from the royal family. There were restrictions on their movement to other countries, which wasn’t for no reason.
Of course, they were well compensated and treated well.
But it wasn’t easy to get a mansion or building near the capital, even if I had money at this age. In that sense, the sword test was easier for me.

The test was about completing your own sword, the founding sword of a master swordsman. Opportunities to see that sword personally were rare in this era. So it would be normal not to know about his sword, but...
The person I had spent the most time with in the academy was learning that sword the most perfectly, the small sword test. Recently, I had been getting sandbag practice from the sword master every three days.
So, gradually, I began to get used to the sword master’s sword.

"Hah."
"Good."
Of course, getting used to it didn’t mean winning. But at least I could endure it by gritting my teeth.

This was possible because the sword master’s sword, like Leon’s sword, was based on defense. People looked at the flashy sword of the small sword test and thought the sword master’s family sword was offensive, but that was because Aslan didn’t complete the Aren-ryu style.
The sword of the master, Aren, might look flashy, but the movements were more static than expected. It moved quickly, but every action targeted the opponent’s weaknesses and gaps in their sword technique. As a result, the opponent would slowly die, unable to achieve their goal. From a third-party’s view, it might seem like the sword master was attacking, but from the opponent's perspective, every move felt like one counter for each action.
"Oh no."

"No, thank you."
So the countermeasure was simple. Don’t move first. Just that alone could buy a decent amount of time.
"This is a test. Go ahead and use your sword freely while I go easy on you."

It was true and a lie. If the sword master didn’t go easy, the test wouldn’t be proper, so the statement that he was going easy was technically correct, but that old man would get excited and gradually increase his power if I held my sword up a little longer.
"I’m not new to this."
After taking several hits as a sandbag, how could I not know? And,

"And the sword I learned is the guardian sword."
The first principle of the guardian: Endure. Saying that, the sword master slightly frowned but nodded.
"Well, you’re a disciple of Carrix."

Of course, that wasn’t true. If someone asked me what sword I learned, I couldn’t say the losing sword, right? In public, the instructors were seen as royal advisors, so I couldn’t give such a ridiculous answer. So, I said I learned the guardian sword, a sword that sounded impressive. That was the internal process, and I was a bit relieved by it at moments like this.
"Then there’s no helping it."
Three minutes had passed since the test started. I thought I’d endured enough by now, but the unfair thing about this test was that the earlier testers didn’t have any basis for judging their scores.

If I lasted three minutes, and others also lasted three minutes, there might be a supplementary exam.
The theory test was all about the same except for the celestial realm. The practical exam’s importance was much greater in swordsmanship. A small difference in the practical score could immediately send you down to a lower rank. Of course, this was rare.
"Be careful."

During the break, I had to return to my homeland. Not because of homesickness, but because a diplomatic disaster might happen if the queen invaded the academy. Also, if I stayed behind, I would be dragged into the Sacred Kingdom expedition party, and I’d be rolling like a dog with Boradori.
I had to endure, and the next semester was already planned for a terror attack, so rolling was an inevitable future.
Let’s take a break during vacation. With that in mind, I did my best to block the sword master’s sword.

"Oh."
A pleasant snort echoed. It was a familiar signal that we were moving to the next phase.
"...Hah."

I blocked the increasingly accelerating sword master’s sword, barely breathing out. With each breath, it felt like I had to ask permission.
No matter how much the Aren-ryu sword was based on defense, the opponent was the sword master, a legendary figure in swordsmanship. When there’s this much of a difference in skill, it didn’t matter whether the opponent was offensive or defensive. Thirty seconds passed, feeling longer than the previous three minutes. I started reaching my limit and had no choice but to think.
"Hah."

The thought was brief, but my actions were quick. I seized the moment, pouring magic into my sword.
"Good."
That was the signal. My sword energy met the sword master’s sword energy, causing a ripple in his blade. The amount of accumulated magic was much less than mine, but the quality was overwhelmingly superior. It was like he was teaching me how to handle this level of magic.

"Like a professor."
"That’s because I am a professor."
Ah, that’s right. I had thought he was just a member of our gym, but he was really the professor.

"Then, as a professor, please spare my dignity."
"You should have taken care of that in the teacher’s stage. Professors are supposed to be stricter with students."
As a first-year professor, he acted as though he’d been teaching for ten years.

The clash of blades and magic began to take its toll on my mana. But I didn’t worry about it. Once you use magic, it’s all about speed.
Even though I boasted superior physical size, that was only when comparing myself to my peers. A master like the sword master had already passed beyond that stage. Even if he used less magic than me, he overwhelmed me with optimization and precision.
So I started pushing forward. Keeping one step ahead, struggling to win.

Simply put, it looked like the path to defeat, but the sword master would terminate the test if he saw no progress in my abilities.
"It’s over."
It was as if, right now, he lightly pricked me with his sword, and I fell back.

"Hah. Hah."
Having used most of my magic, I collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. How long had I lasted? After four minutes, I stopped counting and waited for the examiner to announce the result.
"Adam Smith. 5 minutes, 21 seconds."

I thought I’d lasted longer than I expected. It was just then that I thought.
"Hmm..."
A short, somewhat dissatisfied sigh came from the examiner.

I slowly raised my upper body with whatever strength I had left.
"You played too much."
I saw the examiner’s face, looking somewhat displeased.

"Shit."
I realized something was wrong, but it wasn’t me who was going to pay the price.
"Ugh!"

Aslan, who had fallen off faster than me, was called.
"2 minutes, 11 seconds!"
Unlike me, Aslan had dropped quickly, but the other students just watched me silently, murmuring "losing sword" and "small sword" as usual.

"Adam… the difficulty of the test went up…"
At Prince Ellen's frustrated words, I raised my hand to silence the others. If you’re upset, go take the test first.
"Ah."

…Now that I think about it, that’s exactly what I was supposed to do.
What a shame.