...In reality, Yi Han didn't have to accept that duel.
Why?
'Because there's no benefit in doing it.'
There was nothing to gain from accepting that proposal.
Above all.
'Why would I do something with things that aren't even human yet?'
Young masters, sprouts, and chicks.
To him, the cadets were nothing but endlessly feeble small animals, and they still had a long way to go.
'Though there are guys better than average knights.'
A barbarian, the descendant of a sword-master family, the disciple of the Mercenary King.
And even our regressor.
They are on a different level.
But that's only true for them; the others are endlessly lacking.
If compared a bit extremely, as much as an eagle and a mouse.
'Are those weaker than an assistant instructor even worthy of being called human?'
Funnily enough, excluding those four, the strongest was Damian Pollet.
Yi Han's 3-year assistant instructor (slave).
Funnily enough, if the other guys are mice, that guy would at least be a cat.
As befitting a descendant of a prestigious knight family, his basics are solid, and his aura technique is quite excellent.
He is also consistently showing results in the wire-jumping training that Yi Han is currently putting them through.
Ridiculously, if the aforementioned four's talents are in the highest tier, that guy Damian would probably be in the upper tier.
His personality is warped so it's a problem, but it means he's outstanding in everything else.
Anyway, because of this situation, Yi Han didn't have the slightest intention to make them play a game like a proxy war.
If he brought them out now, he would only see a miserable sight.
...However.
"Instructor! I will do it, the proxy war."
"Why would we shrink back in fear of mere magicians?"
"How dare those spell-casters act up, ha! This is an act that insults knights!"
"I will bring back their heads."
"Send me. I'll make them wet themselves just hearing the name of the Swordsmanship Department."
"......Little bastards."
As expected, though they are cadets, one should say they are fitting of knight candidates.
'That's right, a knight can't just stand still when spell-casters come picking a fight.'
They know a thing or two.
'These guys are growing up well.'
Yi Han wiped his tickling nose bridge and hid his emotion.
He came to understand the heart of a master who feels a sense of reward in the growth of their disciples.
* * *
Perhaps because he felt the intense will of his disciples, Yi Han put some weight on accepting that guy's proposal, but decided to listen to what kind of bullshit he would spout first.
As expected.
"'The winner of this proxy war must unconditionally follow the opponent's orders for the rest of their teaching career.' ...Did I read that right?"
"That is correct."
"Funny guy. What kind of childish condition is this?"
As expected, he proposed a condition so dirty it was beyond just a spectacle.
"Hah, just decide whether you'll do it or not!"
Perhaps he himself knew it was a reckless condition.
Such a crude condition.
This part definitely showed his childishness.
'I misunderstood him for no reason because of his looks and way of speaking.'
Because talents like magicians are so rare, it was a reality that the department had few magicians to begin with.
Thus, he must have been able to hold a professorship at such a young age.
...Though the probability that he got it because of his appearance couldn't be ignored.
Anyway, aside from the fact that he was a magician and looked prematurely old enough to appear 82 instead of 28, he was full of clumsiness.
Besides having short-sighted thoughts, he couldn't suppress his fiery temper.
When he reaches a certain age of maturity, even those aspects would improve...
'No, a guy like that becomes sinister instead.'
Even now in his youth he's that hot-tempered; what if that guy grows old with the power and strength to back it up?
Such people become sinister.
A truly unpleasant type to deal with.
But right now, he is laughably easy to deal with.
"I refuse. This is not a beneficial deal for me at all; why would I follow the orders of a mere spell-caster?"
"Benefit! O-on the contrary, if I...!"
"You?"
"...I meant I would follow your orders, do you not know how valuable an opportunity this is!"
Odwal hastily changed his words, perhaps not wanting to be educated by a fist, but he was confident.
It was understandable, as it was a chance to give orders to a magician.
It was self-evident that this was an opportunity more precious than a thousand pieces of gold.
From this guy's perspective, he proposed this condition clearly knowing its value, and it was a condition he had deliberated enough on.
"...I'm asking out of curiosity, but what exactly do you want to order me to do that you'd propose such a condition?"
"Hmph, I must first rescue Lady Irin from your clutches, you bas—no, from your grasp."
"And?"
"Make you kneel!"
"...And?"
"After that, naturally.... Cough, there's nothing else in particular."
"...."
...What a spectacular moron?
Is he volunteering for a slave contract just for that?
When this absurdity was revealed, the guy bristled and shouted.
"For the honor of a magician, I would do anything!"
"...Good grief."
He's a bad guy, his personality is a disaster, and he's a discriminator, but strangely, it's all clumsy.
This is a Magic Department professor?
What a majestically childish display.
'I thought he'd ask me to introduce him to my backer or something, but just that?'
It's not even human experimentation, just wanting to give a few orders.
'Frankly, even if he makes such a vow, he just has to not keep it, seriously...'
It's a promise made by staking each other's honor, but Yi Han had no honor to uphold in the first place.
It meant the same for an oath staking on the name of a knight order.
What was important to him was only his life and his muscles, anxiously fretting that they might shrink.
"Alright, but don't break your promise."
"I swear on the honor of a magician!"
"Then I swear on the name of Baltar Grace."
"...You stake that name, good! That is trustworthy."
Click!
And so the sucker magician rejoiced as if his plan had already succeeded.
Unaware that there was a knight who considered Baltar's name less valuable than dog food.
* * *
"-Some cadets may have already heard, but you will be having a duel with the magician cadets in a month."
"What will be the format of the duel?"
"[War Game]."
"...The magicians used their heads."
"Kunta, do you not know what that is?"
"To explain simply, it's a virtual war."
"?"
"In other words...."
War Game.
It refers to a game where you roll dice, devise strategies, and move pieces on an enlarged map to fight a virtual war.
However, in the present day, its meaning had changed somewhat.
As nobles sought greater stimulation, it transformed so that War Games could be enjoyed in a 'real war environment'.
Gacha, no...
It had transformed into a pay-to-win game.
Purchasing a forest or an abandoned plain, hiring mercenaries or retired soldiers to fight the war on their own, and the nobles spectating.
It was an auto-hunting mobile game that Yi Han had played a few times in his past life, but built even more maliciously by the nobles through pay-to-win.
Just watching and enjoying others fighting a war.
There is no greater scum than this.
"...It feels like they're playing with people."
Kunta's sincere sentiment.
Arno nodded in understanding.
However.
"There are such aspects, certainly. But this game doesn't only have negative elements."
"?"
"For those who live by the sword, like knights, soldiers, and mercenaries, it's quite beneficial."
"Why?"
"Because it's easy to accumulate real combat experience, and you can indirectly experience war. Yet, the risk of death is extremely low."
"Is that possible?"
"It's a rule set by the kingdom. Not following it means making an enemy of the royal family, and there are few fools who would ignore that."
"Ah...."
Kunta finally understood.
Certainly, being able to experience both combat and war simultaneously through a proxy war with significantly less risk to life would be an invaluable experience.
Especially for a barbarian, where five out of ten always die in a struggle.
"Because of this, there are even specialists among mercenaries who exclusively take on War Game missions. Isn't that right, mercenary?"
"That's right. It's quite lucrative. In our industry, there are a lot of fights over who gets to do it, hehe."
Though they didn't like becoming playthings for nobles, it was a lucrative source of income for the mercenary industry where jobs were already decreasing.
The low risk of death or losing limbs made it even better.
With Garand's testimony, even the sprout cadets who didn't know much about War Games breathed a sigh of relief.
......However.
"Kunta has another question. Arno said earlier. Spell-casters used their heads. What does that mean?"
"Ah, that? It's simple. The ones with the highest win rate in War Games are magicians."
"...Huh?"
...Everyone was dumbfounded by his following remark.
"In war, what matters ultimately is firepower. Rather than individual strength, a destructive strike is more efficient and quickly subdues the opponent. In that sense, magic is overwhelming in War Games. ...Though for a knight like the Instructor, overwhelming firepower might be useless."
Everyone's gaze subtly turned to Yi Han.
Certainly, if it were that man, even in a siege, he would be more than capable of destroying the castle alone.
But saying it the other way around meant.
"...Does that mean we are at an overwhelming disadvantage?"
"T-that can't be...!"
"I-is this okay?"
A bewildered atmosphere spread.
The sprouts felt it particularly strongly, and even the chick young ladies had gloomy expressions.
At least the young masters didn't show signs of panic, but even they had visibly troubled expressions, saying they didn't expect the duel format to be a War Game.
Having watched War Games since childhood, they knew just how incredible a magician's firepower was.
However, while they were tense, they had the resolve not to lose.
Ultimately, the main players on the battlefield were knights.
No matter how much immense firepower they had, it couldn't match a knight's breakthrough power and spirit.
And although they were cadets, they were people who lived aiming to become knights.
So even in a disadvantageous War Game, they had the confidence to win...,
"-Ah, by the way, I'm telling you this now, but you young masters won't be stepping forward in this War Game. Only you sprouts will be going out."
-!!!?
This time, along with silent gasps of horror, all the cadets looked at their instructor and thought the same thing.
......Crazy bastard.
Whatever they said, Yi Han was serious.
"You chose this."
They said they would fight the spell-casters.
They declared they could win.
Then you must keep those words.
"You say it's unfair? You say you haven't learned aura techniques? Don't worry, you still have a month."
One month, it might seem short, but it's quite a long time.
Some people succeed in losing 20kg in a month, and others train for a month to run a 42.195km full marathon.
Like this, one month is enough time for a person to change, no, to undergo a drastic transformation.
"If you just listen well to what I say."
The cadets didn't see it, but sticking out of Yi Han's back pocket was a hat, asserting its presence proudly.
A black octagonal hat.
It was merely an unremarkable black octagonal hat, but somehow it gave off an ominous vibe.