Chapter 297 (Patreon)

Ryle Greece had carried out many assignments in service of the empire, each one precise, calculated, and often buried beneath layers of secrecy. He had spent months studying the academy’s structure, memorizing routines, observing professors from a distance, even attempting to uncover flaws in the principal himself. Those tasks had required a lot of patience, and above all, discipline. But all of them, every single one, had been quietly discarded.

Now, there was only one mission left for him and that was to observe Kana. Report everything about her.

The change had not been explained, but it didn’t need to be. The empire did not act without reason. For them to abandon multiple operations in favor of a single target meant only one thing. Somewhere, deep within their ranks, an [Oracle] had seen something. A glimpse of a future thread that placed Kana at its center.

Ryle did not like relying on things he could not verify. But he needed to do his job. The reason for his existence.

Now in his third year, he had positioned himself carefully. It had taken effort to adjust his class schedule at the last moment, bending rules just enough to make it seem natural. Dungeon Exploration I became his window, a calculated choice. It was one of Kana’s advanced classes, a place where he could observe her without drawing attention.

Or at least, that had been the plan.

On the second day, she hadn’t appeared.

Rumors spread quickly, as they always did. Some said she was sick. Others claimed she had overtrained, pushing herself too far. A few even suggested she had simply lost interest.

Ryle dismissed all of it. People like Kana did not vanish for trivial reasons. If anything, her absence suggested something else entirely. Training in isolation. Refining something new. Preparing.

That made her more dangerous than before.

There had been a time when his name carried weight in the academy. When being called the strongest was not a rumor, but a quiet understanding shared among students. Now, that title belonged to someone else. Passed along in hushed conversations, spoken with a mix of awe and uncertainty.

Kana.

And sometimes, Suri.

It did not matter to him, Ryle did not care for titles. He stood now at the edge of the training field, his posture relaxed but his attention sharp. The crowd had thinned compared to earlier, though a number of students still lingered, drawn by curiosity or stubborn expectation. At the center, Joan Clarke remained.

Unmoving.

Even now.

Her greatsword rested, pointed against the ground, her stance unchanged, as if she had rooted herself there hours ago and refused to yield to time itself. Ryle studied her briefly, noting the control it must take to remain so still for so long. Most would have left by now. She hadn’t.

So the rumors were true.

A duel had been planned. Ryle exhaled quietly and began to turn away. There was nothing more to gain here. No Kana. No duel. Just a girl waiting for something that clearly wasn’t coming.

He had a report to file. Then the atmosphere changed.

It was faint at first. A murmur, a ripple through the remaining crowd, like wind brushing across tall grass. Ryle’s eyes narrowed as his focus snapped back to the field.

Kana had arrived. She stepped forward without ceremony, without the presence one might expect from someone who had become the center of so many conversations. No armor. No elaborate preparation. Just simple clothing and a single dagger resting at her hip.

The reaction around her was immediate. Voices rose, some sharp with surprise, others bursting with excitement. A few students laughed loudly, clutching coins as if they had just been handed victory itself. Others groaned, their disappointment poorly hidden.

“Oh, Ryle. You’re still here?”

The voice came from beside him, casual, familiar. One of his classmates, noticing his unusual decision to stay.

Ryle gave a slight nod, his gaze never leaving the field. “Might as well watch this before leaving.”

His classmate grinned, clearly entertained by the unfolding scene. “Wanna bet how long Kana ends it?”

Ryle let out a quiet snort. “I don’t gamble.”

To most of the academy, the outcome was already decided. Kana would win. There was a certainty surrounding her now, something intangible yet undeniable. Not just skill. Not just reputation. Something quieter, heavier. Like standing near a blade you couldn’t see but could still feel. An aura of invisibility surrounding Kana as if she would never lose.

His classmate shrugged, still smiling. “Still stiff as ever. Oh—look. They’re starting.”

Ryle didn’t respond. Instead, his attention shifted, scanning the edges of the field.

There.

Cloaked figures.

Professors, hiding in plain sight. Their presence was muted, carefully concealed, but not enough to escape someone who knew how to look. This duel was not officially permitted. That much was clear.

And yet, none of them stepped forward to stop it.

That, more than anything, told Ryle what he needed to know.

They were curious. Just like everyone else. His gaze returned to Kana, sharpening as his focus settled completely. This was no longer just a duel between two students.

This was part of his observation report and everything must be accounted for.

Ryle had fought enough battles to recognize danger even when it stood perfectly still. He had crossed blades with soldiers from the Empire, tested himself against hardened fighters from the Kingdom, and learned the subtle differences between confidence and arrogance. From that alone, he could tell that defeating the girl from the Holy Kingdom would not come easily. Joan Clarke was the kind of opponent who did not fall when she should. Even if he managed to push her back, her ability to endure and recover would slowly turn the fight against him. It would not be a clean victory. It would be a war of patience, and he wasn’t certain he would win in the end.

So when the duel began, Ryle paid attention.

He couldn’t hear what they said to each other, but he didn’t need to. The change in their stance said enough. Joan moved first.

She launched forward with explosive force, her greatsword cutting through the air with a weight that felt almost excessive for her frame. A faint golden glow wrapped around her body, faint but unmistakable, and the ground beneath her boots cracked as she accelerated. It wasn’t just strength driving her forward. It was discipline, sharpened and honed through countless hours of training and probably prayer.

Ryle frowned slightly.

If Kana really had been sick, as the rumors claimed, that opening strike could have ended everything.

But Kana moved.

There was no urgency in it. No visible strain. She simply stepped aside.

The motion was so light it felt out of place, like it belonged to a different kind of fight entirely. Joan’s blade struck empty air, and Kana was already repositioning, her body flowing into the next movement without pause. She ducked beneath the follow-up swing, rose into a leap as another strike came, and twisted midair with a control that made it look effortless. It didn’t feel like she was reacting. It felt like she had already been there before the attack even began.

Ryle’s expression hardened.

That wasn’t normal.

Joan pressed on, adjusting quickly. Her strikes became sharper, layered with feints, her timing shifting as she tried to corner Kana. Each swing carried intent, each step calculated. Yet Kana avoided everything. Not by speed alone, but by presence, as if she understood exactly where the strike would be before it arrived.

Ryle felt a quiet tension settle in his chest.

It looked less like dodging and more like knowing everything beforehand.

He filed the thought away immediately. If Kana could read intent—or something close to it—then every fight against her would already be tilted in her favor before it began. It wasn’t something to take lightly.

Then the duel changed.

Kana’s movements slowed, just slightly. Not in speed, but in intent. She stopped purely evading and began positioning herself more purposely. At first glance, it seemed insignificant. But to Ryle, it was obvious. She was guiding the fight.

Joan noticed it too.

There was a flicker of irritation in her expression, and her attacks grew heavier, more forceful, as if she wanted to break through whatever invisible wall Kana had placed between them. But that frustration didn’t last. Slowly, her strikes began to change. The rough edges smoothed out, her movements becoming more fluid, more controlled.

Kana was forcing her to improve.

Ryle narrowed his eyes.

That realization unsettled him more than anything else. This wasn’t a duel fought to win. It was a duel being used to teach.

Joan adapted, her greatsword moving with greater precision now, her timing sharper. For the first time, Kana stopped avoiding everything. Steel met steel. A block. A deflection. A controlled exchange. The rhythm of the fight changed, becoming tighter, more grounded.

But even then, Kana held the center.

The golden glow around Joan flickered, then faded entirely.

The moment stretched.

Joan’s shoulders rose and fell as she finally lowered herself to one knee, her greatsword dipping until its tip rested against the ground. She stayed there for a second, catching her breath, before speaking.

“I lost.”

Ryle didn’t hear it but he could understand her words the way Joan moved her mouth.

Around them, the crowd reacted with confusion. Some seemed disappointed, others unimpressed. To most, it had looked like Kana spent the entire fight avoiding until Joan simply ran out of energy.

They hadn’t seen what actually happened.

Ryle had.

He remained still, eyes fixed on Kana as she stood there, calm and composed, as if the duel had been nothing more than a simple exercise.

He let out a slow breath. He had once believed he stood near the top of the academy. Now he understood the truth. Kana wasn’t just stronger. She was now operating on an entirely different level.

And if he ever had to face her—

Winning would not be the goal.

Surviving would.

Post note:

Hope you still remember Ryle 😂

This chap is more on the other students' perspective to our mcs.Fifth chap of the week.Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

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