Sword Saint Story: Starting from Zero Attack Power ~After being abandoned by my childhood friend, the princess, I enrolls in a magic school and ends up making a contract with the Demon Lord~ Volume 1 Intrulde 1

Intrulde 1: From the Student Council Building

◇Theresia’s Perspective: Student Council General Affairs◇

In the grand hall of the Lykeion Magic Academy’s student council building, a massive magical monitor displayed various floors of the “Last Dungeon” via the Satellite System.

If a student was in danger and the dungeon staff couldn’t respond in time, members of the student council’s enforcement team would rush to assist.

But right now, it was peaceful. A relaxed atmosphere filled the student council room.

I brewed my own tea and worked on paperwork at a desk off to the side of the hall.

Then, I noticed a stir around me and looked up. On the screen was a scene of a certain student facing off against the tenth floor’s boss.

It seemed this student was rescuing explorers from the “Blue Water Federation.”

And that student was someone I knew.

(Eugene-kun?)

Just the other day, he’d come to the student council with Sumire, the otherworlder, to introduce her.

“Look at that—the backdoor barrier guy’s on the tenth floor,” someone sneered.

“Huh, he’s usually sneaking around the lower floors,” another added.

“Probably just showing off for that reincarnated girl,” a third mocked.

Jeering voices rose here and there.

Sigh…

What a shame. They were “advanced course” warriors—there was no need to harbor such hostility toward Eugene-kun, an “ordinary course” student.

Still, it was rare to see Eugene-kun heading into a floor boss’s territory.

This might’ve been the first time I’d witnessed it.

Curious, I paused my work and kept my eyes on the footage.

Eugene-kun acted as a decoy to let the less-capable Blue Water Federation explorers escape.

In the end, he single-handedly held off the massive “Man-Eating Troll.”

(Incredible…)

I wasn’t the only one who thought so—the student council members were buzzing too.

“Isn’t that amazing?”

“Floor bosses are usually tackled by teams of ten or more, right?”

“Look, he stopped the boss all by himself!”

Voices of astonishment filled the room.

“That Eugene finally got serious,” someone said.

At that moment, someone sat on the edge of my work desk, blocking my view of the screen.

(Seriously! Who—)

I looked up to see a blond, handsome male student gazing down at me.

“Hey, Theresia-chan. Got a minute to chat?” he asked.

“Oh, Claude-kun. Welcome. What’s up?” I replied.

This was Claude Percival from the “hero course.”

A well-known figure in my year, dubbed the “apprentice hero.”

“I forgot to submit the application for our last expedition,” he explained. “The captain chewed me out, so I brought the form.”

“Another post-facto application… How many times does this make?” I asked.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, winking and clasping his hands in apology.

Was he really sorry? I took the form from him.

Then I recalled what he’d said earlier.

“You and Eugene-kun seem close, Claude-kun,” I noted.

“Yeah, I’ve asked him to look after my partner, and he’s joined me on a few expeditions,” Claude replied. “He’s reliable.”

“Really?” That was unusual.

Eugene-kun from the ordinary course and Claude-kun from the hero course.

In a school of over ten thousand students, only a select few made it into the hero course. Claude-kun, one of those chosen, clearly thought highly of Eugene-kun.

Just then, the footage of the tenth floor shifted.

“Oh, Eugene’s back in action,” Claude said.

“Indeed. But is he planning to fight alone?” I wondered.

Eugene-kun stepped into the boss’s territory alone, holding a red magic sword.

“Hah! No way he can beat a floor boss!” one guy scoffed.

“His magic sword can’t even attack!” another jeered.

“We’ve taken down the tenth-floor boss ourselves!”

“Yeah, our team could do it easy!”

The martial students’ voices rang out.

…They really had it out for Eugene-kun.

“Hey, Theresia-chan,” Claude whispered in my ear. “Why do those guys hate Eugene so much?”

(…He’s awfully close.)

“It’s because Student Council President Sara favors Eugene-kun,” I explained. “They don’t like it.”

“Oh, Sara-chan, huh? She does seem to care about him,” Claude said.

“Speaking of which, Sara’s in the hero course too, right? Do you talk often?” I asked.

“Nah, Sara-chan’s always busy,” he replied. “No time for a proper chat. She’s juggling ‘saint candidate’ duties and being student council president. She’s a real monster.”

“Don’t say rude things like that,” I chided.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized.

I was a bit annoyed at him calling Sara, whom I admired, a “monster.”

I’m sure he didn’t mean it badly, though. Just then, a loud commotion erupted in the room. On the screen, Eugene-kun had severed the boss’s arm.

“What!? That’s insane!!” someone shouted.

“He might actually take it down!”

“N-No way…”

Everyone stared at the screen, transfixed. And then… Eugene-kun defeated the tenth floor’s boss—the large Man-Eating Troll—all by himself.

“H-He beat it…?”

“A floor boss… solo…?”

“No way…”

“When’s the last time someone soloed a floor boss?”

“Nobody’s dumb enough to try that…”

“…I’ve never seen it before.”

The room wouldn’t stop buzzing. Everyone looked incredulous.

Only Claude-kun, beside me, seemed unfazed, as if it were expected.

“Good job, Eugene,” he said.

“If he could do this, why’s he been hiding his strength all this time?” I wondered aloud.

“Well, he’s got his struggles,” Claude replied vaguely, clearly knowing more but not elaborating.

“By the way, Theresia-chan,” he added.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m a little hungry. Can I have this cookie?” he asked, pointing.

“Sure, but it’s gone stale,” I warned.

He was eyeing the cheap cookie I’d set out with my tea.

I’d left it out too long and lost interest in eating it.

Did Claude-kun like sweets?

As I tilted my head, he munched on it happily.

“Thanks, Theresia-chan. You’re a lifesaver,” he said. “As thanks, I’ll treat you to dinner sometime. When’re you free?”

“…” Sigh.

So this was his real goal. Rumor had it Claude-kun was the son of a noble from a major nation in the Blue Water Federation Republic.

A promising hero course student with the “hero” talent.

And good-looking to boot. A flawless guy.

…Except for his womanizing ways.

“Could be a restaurant in the dungeon city or a trip on a wyvern to a distant port town,” he continued. “I’ll escort you anywhere you like.”

He grinned, pushing the conversation forward with a bit of force. With his handsome face, even that assertiveness suited him. Plenty of girls probably fell for it.

“Speaking of which, you’re a dragon knight too, right, Claude-kun? Could I ride a wyvern?” I asked.

“Yeah, with me, it’s fine,” he said. “It might be scary at first, but once you get used to it, the view’s amazing. What do you say?”

He really came on strong. Well, maybe better than a passive guy…

“Claude-kun,” I said.

“What, Theresia-chan?” he replied, beaming confidently, as if rejection wasn’t an option.

“Recently, the student council’s gotten complaints about a certain ‘dragon knight,’” I said lightly. “He’s been hitting on girls from the swordsmanship and martial arts clubs, demotivating the guys in those groups. It’s a hassle for us, honestly.”

“…”

His smile faded, replaced by a blank stare. Then he spoke.

“Wow, that’s rough, Theresia-chan,” he said.

“It is,” I agreed. “If that dragon knight got serious, I might consider dinner with him.”

I glanced up at him, and his smile twitched slightly.

“I see, I see. You like serious guys, huh, Theresia-chan?” he said.

“No girl likes a guy who’s frivolous with women,” I replied.

“Got it. I’ll head out for now. See you later, Theresia-chan,” he said.

“Submit your applications in advance next time,” I called after him.

He waved casually as he left, and I gave a small wave back.

…What a handful.

The student council members were still buzzing about Eugene-kun soloing the floor boss.

Come to think of it, I never heard rumors about Eugene-kun and women.

The total opposite of Claude-kun. Maybe other girls held back because of the rumors with Sara.

As I pondered that—

“It’s noisy in here. Did something happen?” a voice asked.

It was Student Council President Sara, approaching me.

“President Sara! Eugene-kun just defeated the tenth floor’s boss,” I said.

“What? No way! Eugene!?” she exclaimed, her usual elegant tone breaking.

It was typical when Eugene-kun was involved.

“Theresia-san! Explain! What happened!?” she demanded, shaking my shoulders.

“C-Calm down, President Sara. So, um…” I began.

I quickly recounted what had happened.

“So, Eugene-kun defeated the boss as part of aiding the Blue Water Federation explorers,” I concluded. “It was impressive. The footage is probably saved with recording magic, so you can watch it later… President Sara?”

I noticed something odd mid-explanation. President Sara was staring at the screen, mouth agape.

Her gaze was fixed on… Sumire Sashiyogi, the “new student,” hugging Eugene-kun on-screen, her eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed.

Hmm, Eugene-kun’s not one to underestimate.

“They’ve gotten pretty close, Eugene-kun and Sumire-san…” I started.

I couldn’t finish.

“How dare… she… with my Eugene…” Sara muttered.

It was a voice I’d never heard from the usually composed President Sara—a tone laced with resentment.

(…T-Terrifying!)

“Uh… President Sara?” I said hesitantly.

She snapped out of it, her face returning to its usual calm.

“It’s nothing,” she said gracefully. “I’ll have to congratulate Eugene next time I see him.”

Her voice was back to its elegant norm. But I knew better.

President Sara acted aloof, but she was fiercely jealous.

(Oh boy, Eugene-kun. Good luck…)

I silently prayed he’d avoid trouble as I returned to my work, organizing the form Claude-kun had given me.

——.