I Became a Tentacle Monster Blooming in the Academy Garden 20

## Chapter 20 – Swordsman (1)

“Anne!! Snap out of it!!”

“I’m sorry…!!”

Seeing Anne’s unusually frequent mistakes today, Professor Franklin approached her with a low groan and snatched the wooden sword from her hands.

“You almost took off Gade’s head just now.
And you didn’t even hear the whistle.
You should take the day off.”

“Ah… No, Professor!!
I can do it properly…!!”

“I don’t know what’s going on with you.
But your mind is clearly elsewhere.
So, let’s end today’s training here.
Don’t come back until you’ve properly resolved your issues.”

“Professor…!!”

Anne, disheartened, watched the professor’s cold back as he turned away, then listlessly turned and left the training grounds.

The feeling of the snatched sword’s handle still seemed to linger in her palm, and she clenched her fists tightly for no reason.

‘Pathetic…’

But nothing changed by doing so.

She had more than enough complex emotions.

The Monehen baronial family’s trading company, on the verge of bankruptcy.

Her sister, Marie, already facing predicted harassment.

And even her unrequited feelings for someone she liked.

“Nothing’s working out…”

When she entered Saint Flansina Academy with overflowing ambition, it felt like her world.

Her parents, who ran a modest trading company, enrolled her and her sister in the academy’s top-tier educational curriculum.

But as high as the educational standards were, Flansina Academy’s tuition was equally expensive, and as such, the family’s trading company, which wasn’t even that big to begin with, was becoming increasingly strained, even though their two daughters had only attended the academy for a combined total of three semesters.

But despite that, she only received encouragement from her parents to maintain her pride as the daughter of the Monehen baronial family and to keep striving, so she thought the situation wasn’t too bad yet.

Then, unfortunately, after a conflict with Vivian, the daughter of the Grenot margrave family, she began to harass her relentlessly.

At first, Anne thought she could endure Vivian’s torment, but it gradually went too far.

Vivian, seemingly quite upset, even investigated the Monehen family without her knowing, and was using her family’s influence to attack the family’s trading company.

The baronial family was still a noble family, but it couldn’t compare to the power of a margrave family.

Not only was there a difference in influence in social circles, but Vivian was also cowardly erasing evidence of her underhanded attacks on the family’s trading company, making it impossible to find a solution.

Suddenly, long-standing business relationships were cut off, and among the trading companies that would buy goods, only the Monehen trading company’s items were being discontinued.

Her parents, who were struggling to keep the trading company afloat, were just as frustrated by this incomprehensible situation.

However, if she confronted Vivian about this issue, it would appear as if she was insulting her without evidence, and she could even be charged with insult by the Noble Ethics Committee, making things even harder for the family.

Therefore, all she could do was endure calmly.

She believed that if she didn’t retaliate more than necessary and waited for Vivian to calm down, the problem would eventually be resolved.

Then one day, Marie came to her dormitory room and told her that she had received a letter from their parents telling her not to worry too much, and Anne was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

She nodded, comforted by her proud sister Marie, who was the top student in her second year in the Department of Magical Design, the culmination of magical theory, but she truly realized that something was wrong with the current situation after that.

In order to save even on meal expenses, she happened to go to a fancy restaurant at the recommendation of her classmates.

There, Anne discovered Marie working as a helper.

“Sister…!”

Marie, who had ended up revealing her secret of starting work to help with tuition and household expenses, had to turn her head to hide her trembling eyes from Anne’s pitiful gaze.

“Marie… *sniff*… You said… you were okay…!”

Anne knew that her sister’s top ranking came from her efforts to never stop studying, even while bleeding from her nose.

In fact, Anne couldn’t help but run to her sister and hug her, seeing her sister pushing herself to the limit, practically giving up even the minimum amount of sleep.

Tears welled up in her eyes, soaking her sister’s warm embrace.

“It’s okay, Anne… I’m really… okay… Ah…”

– Crash!!

“Marie collapsed!!”

Marie ended up collapsing from sleep deprivation and overwork while holding her sister, and was even fired from that menial job.

All that was left for them was a bill for the dishes she had broken while collapsing.

The money used to take Marie, who had been injured in the collapse, to the hospital was also considerable, so Anne, who couldn’t expect support from her family without even enough money for immediate living expenses, had to make a big decision.

“Can… can I sell this…?”

Her own cherished sword, which she always carried as a member of the swordsmanship club.

A swordsman should make it a habit to carry a sword and always know how to properly maintain their weapon, so she had received it as an entrance gift from her parents.

Anne couldn’t help but feel heavy-hearted as she ended up selling even the sword she had always cherished and cared for to a pawn shop.

‘A swordsman without a sword.’

If she ever graduated from the academy, she could at least work as a bodyguard for the trading company and reduce labor costs.

But from the moment the sword disappeared, the path to reaching that point became heavier for Anne.

But she comforted herself by saying that the sword had done its part just by helping her precious sister, and all that was left for her was the little money left over after paying for the expensive hospital bill and the unnecessarily expensive dishes.

In the end, after hearing her kind-hearted sister’s apology, she couldn’t help but burst into tears.

If she had bowed her head to Vivian from the beginning.

If she had flattered her and not offended her.

If she had, would she not have felt the same misery as she did now?

According to stories she heard while listlessly wandering around the academy for a few days, Vivian had disappeared as if she had evaporated.

But even if everyone else believed that, Anne didn’t believe it.

The attacks on the trading company were still continuing as if Vivian was still there, and even if Vivian had disappeared, it meant that the attacks would continue in the future.

Now, there was only one thing she could do.

Protect her sister, Vivian’s next target, as she had predicted.

She was determined to protect her sister, who had tried to shoulder so many burdens for her sake, with everything she had.

But life never goes as planned.

Anne herself didn’t know that completely unexpected variables would approach her.

“Hey!! Tell us now!!”

It was that very evening.

Vivian’s followers had appeared.

Whether it was to keep their loyalty or not, they came to Anne, the most likely person to hold a grudge against Vivian, and began to threaten her to tell the truth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know about Vivian-nim’s disappearance, don’t you!!
Tell us the truth right now!! Is it your doing?”

“I don’t know either. And even if I did, why would I tell you?”

“You bitch!! Beat her up!!”

But she didn’t even have a sword to carry around, so she couldn’t possibly beat the followers who were immediately drawing their swords from their waists.

One of them even had a crazy glint in their eyes, so Anne realized that she couldn’t guarantee her own safety if things continued like this.

Anne decided that it would be better to ask the guards at the academy entrance for help, and gritted her teeth at her own helplessness and turned around.

Comforting herself that she at least had a light body without any weapons, Anne started running forward quickly.

Running away was the most likely way to survive.

“Catch that bitch!!”

“I’m going to kill her!!”

But they were higher grade students than her, so they weren’t easily shaken off, and a chase situation was unfolding, with the distance between them remaining almost the same.

‘Wait… Two are missing…’

Anne inadvertently looked back while running for a while and realized that two of the original six or so followers were missing, and began to feel uneasy.

Of course, it was possible that they had fallen behind or given up due to exhaustion, but if they had the stamina to drop out after running this much, they wouldn’t even be able to enter this academy as members of the swordsmanship club.

‘What’s going on… Could it be…!’

“Got you, you bitch!!”

Anne desperately dodged the swords wielded by the followers who suddenly appeared from both sides through a shortcut.

But the moment she stopped running to dodge the swords, the distance that had been created was instantly closed, and the followers were now surrounding her in a semi-circle.

In the end, Anne bit her lip and realized that she was standing with her back to a flower bed, and lightly jumped over the flower bed’s fence and went inside.

If she fought with the flower bed fence, she might have a chance to counterattack.

‘But… I can’t win against this…’

In fact, it was almost impossible to fight those with swords empty-handed.

She had learned swordsmanship, not martial arts, and even those who had undergone high levels of martial arts training close to artistry could only barely face swords, and even that was difficult in reality.

The best she could do right now was to just back away and keep the followers who looked like they were about to attack at bay.

‘How… how should I…’

And at that moment, she bumped her back against the stem of a tall flower behind her and was startled, and just as she was about to reach behind her, something suddenly felt like it was being grasped in her hand from the air, and Anne’s pupils trembled slightly as she grabbed it and held it out in front of her.

‘This is…’

As she gripped the pure white rod in her hand again, Anne, her crimson hair fluttering in the wind, clenched it tightly with both hands as it rapidly and mechanically unfolded and lengthened.

‘It’s light. And sharp…’

A very expensive item that is difficult for ordinary people to use.

It boasts a quality that remains as good as new for decades without special maintenance.

A mechanized longsword made with the technology of the western kingdom of Barmhausen, which boasts the pinnacle of engineering technology, including smelting, alloy technology, and mechanical engineering, was scattering sharp light in her hands.