William stared at Princess Kaela Aurelius for five seconds, trying to wrap his head around the fact that a royal had just kicked down his practice room door like an action movie villain. The princess stood there with her arms crossed, as if she owned the whole academy and was just waiting for someone to tell her otherwise so she could prove them wrong.
Kaela said again, "You're going to teach me right away," as if saying it again would make William more willing to help. "I don't have time to waste on appointments or formalities."
William said carefully, "Uh, with all due respect, Your Highness," still trying to figure out what was going on, "I'm kind of in the middle of something here."
"Also, you just broke something at the academy, then that means you just break the rules."
"Maybe start following the rules before asking me to train you?" William said it in a sarcastic way.
Kaela looked at the door that was hanging off its hinges behind her and shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. "The academy can charge my family."
"They constantly do it. Now stop stalling and train me, or I'll tear down this whole practice room until there's nothing left but rubble."
William said in his mind. "Okay, I get it, system. It's called the Harem Training System because I have all these girls with their own unique personalities. The prideful one, the shy one, and now the stubborn one, or maybe violent because she's craving an ass-kicking by that cold face."
Ellie took a nervous step back, clearly scared by the princess's aggressive energy. And it was also clear that Lia was a little worried, which was unusual for her because she usually acted very sure of herself.
"Why do you want me to train you?" William asked, now genuinely interested in her personality. "You're a princess. Shouldn't you already have the best instructors in the whole kingdom?"
"Why would someone from Zero-class like me, who gets all the insults?"
"You would rather not damage your princess's name, right?"
Kaela's ice-blue eyes narrowed in a scary way. "In the past two years, I've had seventeen different combat instructors."
"Every one of them either quit, asked to be transferred, or got sick and had to leave right away. They're all cowards who can't handle the way I train."
"Or maybe you just don't follow their directions, I doubt you even respected them," Lia said quietly from the side, loud enough to be heard but quiet enough to not be heard.
The princess's eyes went to Lia, and for a moment William thought there might be a real fight in his small practice room. But Kaela didn't get mad but just smiled. It was the kind of smile that made William's fight-or-flight instincts scream danger.
Kaela said, "Who would've thought that the sword prodigy who's never been beaten, Lia Valestria, is here." Her voice changed to something that might have been respect if it weren't for all the competitive aggression. "I've wanted to fight you for months, but you always avoid my challenges."
"Because fighting you would be pointless," Lia shot back, her earlier caution giving way to her natural stubbornness. "You don't use a sword other than to just punch things until they break. There's no technique to learn."
"Punching things until they break is a perfectly valid technique!" Kaela said in a defensive tone. "Just because you sword users are all picky about form and accuracy doesn't mean that raw power doesn't work!"
Before things got worse, William put both hands up. "Okay, both of you calm down before someone gets hurt."
Willian sighed and looked at Kaela. "Princess Kaela, if you want me to train you, that's fine, but we have to do it my way. That means you have to do what I say without arguing."
Kaela turned back to him, and her face made it clear that she had no plans to follow anyone's orders. "After I see what you can do, I'll decide if your instructions are worth following."
"Everyone keeps saying you're special after you beat Instructor Reinhardt, but for all I know, he just had a bad day."
"An off day when he fell face-first into the dirt?" William raised an eyebrow. "That's a terrible day off."
"Prove you're worth my time," Kaela said, cracking her knuckles so loudly that the joints popped.
The noise echoed in the small room, and William saw that both Ellie and Lia had taken another step back. "Fight me. Right now. If you can land one clean hit, I'll let you teach me."
William asked, "And if I don't?" but he already knew the answer.
"Then I destroy this room like I promised, and you admit you're just another fraud riding on a lucky victory." Kaela's smile got bigger. "What do you think, Instructor Wade? Are you brave enough to fight a princess?"
"This fucking bitch really needs an ass-whooping with how she talks..." William almost wanted to say it out loud, but his self-control was already perfected in his last life.
"I bet I can make her cry and beg right away after I teach her a lesson."
"Calm down... fuhhh... calm down, William. Let's just give her something that can put her in her place." William tapped his chest lightly.
William looked around the small practice room and thought about how much damage a royal-class brawler could do in a small space. Then he turned to Ellie and Lia, who were both watching this like it was the most interesting thing they'd seen all week.
William said, "You know what, fuck it." He was surprised at how little he cared about what might happen next. "Let's go outside to the main training grounds. I'd rather not get buried under rubble if things get messy."
Kaela's eyes lit up with real excitement, the kind of happiness that comes from someone who really, really loves to fight. "Now we're talking! Go ahead, Instructor."
They left the practice room, and along the way, they picked up a small group of students who were curious about what had happened with the door and wanted to see what would happen next. At least thirty people were following them, whispering and betting, by the time they got to the main training grounds.
"This is becoming a pattern," Lia said dryly as they walked into the big open space. "You've only been at this academy for less than a day, but you've already fought more duels than most instructors do in a year."
William muttered back, "I'm starting to think this world just really likes watching people beat each other up."
"And those people are the cause of other people losing their aura when they lost."
"What's an aura?" Ellie asked Lia with a curious look.
Lia answered, "If he starts talking nonsense, it's better not to listen or question it."
Kaela walked to the middle of the training grounds and rolled her shoulders, like a pro boxer getting ready for a fight. Even though she was aggressive, her movements were smooth, showing years of combat training and natural talent. William could understand why instructors had trouble with her.
"The raw physical strength coming from her stance was truly amazing... I smell a good fistfight here!"
"Rules are easy," Kaela said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Whoever gets the first clean hit wins. No weapons, just fighting with your hands."
"I'll even give you the first shot for free since you're a instructor and I should show you some respect."
"Are you sure about that?"