Hidden Potential And True Character

"Miss Joan, are you sure?"

A Red Knight personally requests a newcomer to join their house. This was only reserved for royalty.

"Don't you see it?"

Joan turned toward her apprentice.

"The shield fits his arm like a glove."

"Miss Joan, I have some questions for you."

She turned back towards him.

"Ask me anything."

"Why are there only two people in the House Chamber?"

"You-"

One red knight and one green knight. No other newcomers or second years.

Celia was about to scold him. Joan raised her hand to shut her up.

"There is only one red knight that practices the Perseus art of swordplay. As for the green knights, most of them are hateful towards the style due to their inability to progress further and compete with the members of the other houses. Instead of working hard, they chose to defile the name of our Lord, hoping that the other houses would accept them as their disciples."

A smile to pity herself.

"They must have scared the newcomers away."

The year before the last, she recruited 30 students. As the year ended, they left and joined the other houses.

Last year, she was able to bring in 20 recruits. Out of 20, 19 were ready to leave the house in about 9 days.

"Why don't you let them go?"

She nodded her head sideways.

"I brought them in. Whether they like it or not, they are registered at the house for a year."

Celia's eyes were red. Only she knew of Joan's suffering.

"In reality, our house has 2 students. If you join, you will be the third."

Joan was being honest with him. He appreciated that.

"Is there partiality by the academy towards the house?"

"Not at all."

The academy was fair to everyone.

"And you want me to join your house because?"

Ulysses and Perseus. His two options. All of it depends on her answer.

"Because you have potential. I can see that you can join any of the other houses and become a higher-tiered Red Knight within 4 years. But with me, I can guarantee you that you will achieve the same success in 2 to 3 years."

"On what basis?"

He was not going to make this easy for her.

"I can't see you mastering any other weapon combination as easily as a shield and a sword. The distance between your legs when you blocked her hit, the ideal middle form stance, and the body structure formed out of pure intuition. When you hold a shield, you do not look like a rookie."

He felt like she was exaggerating. Celia noticed his skeptical look and decided to take action.

"Block!"

A surprise attack. She swung her sword with adequate control.

His left leg moved backward. The shield was raised towards the point of impact.

Her blade collided with his shield. He absorbed the impact with the shield while balancing his upper body with the help of his feet.

"She was talking about this."

He was able to predict the blade's trajectory and raise his shield in time to block it. He could absorb the impact with his hands and prevent a loss of balance, all by himself.

The clash wasn't over yet. Celia was pushing forward with her sword.

Her efforts couldn't threaten his stance.

"You have never used a shield before this, right?"

He gritted his teeth while staring straight into her eyes.

"Do you think that blocking the attack of the 5th strongest second year is an easy task for a rookie like you?"

He tried to push her away, but the sword stuck to the shield-like glue.

"Why did you try to send me away when I first arrived?"

"Because I don't want anyone else to disrespect my house and my leader. You can only join if you have the guts to own up to your shortcomings. The leader is inviting you, but if you dare to blame her for your weaknesses like the others, then I will show you your place."

Loyalty and respect. Celia was always going to stand by her master. Gawain could respect that

"Stop."

Joan grabbed her hand and twisted her arm. The sword dropped.

"Leader?"

"You can return to your dorm. It is getting late."

Celia didn't resist Joan's attempt to restrain her. Gawain looked out of the window. It was still afternoon.

"Can I ask one more question before I leave?"

He had made his decision. This was just out of his selfishness.

"Make it the last one for today."

She let go of Celia's hand.

"Are you two related?"

Blonde, long and wavy hair. Joan's dark blue and Celia's light green colored irises were fixed inside their similar almond-shaped eyes. A pale, white skin tone. Similar

Roman-shaped noses. Thin, rose-colored lips and a slightly triangular head shape. Joan was taller than Celia in height, but the latter was particularly well endowed when compared to the red knight.

"She is my first cousin."

The Red Knight pressed her palm on her younger sister's head and rubbed it playfully. Celia closed her eyes with an expression of annoyance replacing her serious demeanor.

"Thank you."

He bowed once, just like in front of Arthur. Only this time, he had a grin on his face.

Joan stopped her antics. This gave Celia some room to breathe.

He turned around to leave the room. They both looked at his back as he walked towards the door.

'What a shame.'

A potential successor to the style was on his way to a different family, just like the others. Considering their current situation, they could do nothing but silently lament his departure.

Right when he opened the door, Gawain turned back to say something,

"By the way, how do I register with the house? Do I have to submit a written form?"

Celia thought she didn't hear him properly. Joan broke out into a charming smile.

"I'll take care of that. Report to the chamber as soon as your theory lectures are over."

He closed his eyes and nodded his head with a smile.

"I'll see you two then."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I am sorry, sir. But I won't be able to join your house."

His upper body and his lower body worked together to apologize in a 90-degree bow.

Arthur raised his eyebrows. He was genuinely surprised.

"Which house are you joining? Did the Hephaestus house lure you in with their benefits?"

"I have joined the Perseus house."

"Why? Don't you know that they have almost no students left?"

"I know. The Ulysses sword style is very good art, but the Perseus art suits me."

"Then why are you here."

Uh oh. The same question that the arrogant glasses leader asked.

"To apologize and inform you."

"You have apologized, you have informed me. Now, you should be on your way."

Arrogance and disgust.

Arthur was behaving differently, now that there was no one else in the room except for his fellow Red Knight.

"I'll take my leave then."

He bowed once and left the room.

"I thought that he could be a good fighter in the future. Turns out, he is just a lecher."

There was no way that he was joining the Perseus house for their sword art. Just like the fools last year, he was there to waste his time.

"You are the fool."

Gwen made a snarky comment to get Arthur out of his rambling trance.

"A degenerate as your student. It almost screwed up your year."

He poured himself a glass of water from the porcelain jug on the table and gulped it down in one go.

'Calm down.'

There was no point in getting angry at a useless newbie.

------------------------------------

When Gawain arrived at the dorm, all of the roommates were there.

He quietly made his way towards his bed. When he reached his destination, he climbed up and laid down, facing his head towards the ceiling.

The rest of them were busy memorizing the rules or procrastinating like himself. After a few minutes, the shameless girl got up and walked in his direction. After getting close enough to him, she said,

"Andria."

She extended her hand for a handshake. He blinked in response.

Ever since she had stepped into the academy, there had been barely any talk among the recruits. The noble girls were pompous and had already created a group. She was sure that they would bully her if she tried to join them. The noble boys were all eyeing her with bad intentions. Talking to them would lead to infinite attempts at flirting, all of which would make her uncomfortable.

As a shy girl, she had to become familiar with at least one person. Talking to strangers is already hard, and the more she felt alone, the more that would torture her. Fortunately, there were only 3 commoners around. But unfortunately, two of them had already refused to have anything to do with her.

"Nobles are all the same. We don't want you around, so please leave us alone."

So that leaves one person. He was a commoner too, and after being rejected by the other two, she was afraid to speak to him. But after he displayed confidence in front of Sir Arthur, she willed herself to give it a chance.

After an unpleasant moment of awkward silence, Gawain sat up, grabbed her hand, and shook it twice.

"Gawain."

Her eyes started to water up. Gawain noticed them and asked,

"Are you alright?"

He let go of her hand.

"I-I am fine..."

Her voice barely left her mouth. Understanding the severity of the situation, Gawain chose to control the pace himself.

"Do you want anything?"

She nodded her head sideways at a very high rate.

"Then why are you here?"

Breathe in, breathe out.

"You are my acquaintance now, right?"

"I guess."

"Can I ask for your help if I need it?"

"Depends. If I am busy, then probably no. If I am free, then maybe."

"T-Thank you."

Her face blushed to match the color of her hair.

"Your welcome."

Her exit was just as awkward as the conversation. After standing around silently for two minutes, she turned around and slowly walked away from him.

He lied back down.

"To talk to a man whose pedigree is non-existent. A simpleton with no class."

His neighbor took a silent jab at him and Andria.

"Mr. Classy Noble, is it honorable to talk shit about someone behind their back?"

"I'll say it to her face if you want. I am not afraid of idiots like you."

"Really? Then use your so-called nobility to teach me a lesson for the words I am about to speak."

"What do you-"

"Garbage on a golden plate is still garbage. A giant piece of pig shit adorned with diamonds is still something that comes from a pig's intestines. To be noble is to have higher moral principles. If your rank decides your nobility, then enjoy your life as an attractive piece of excrement."

The entire room was staring at him. Andria was slack-jawed.

He didn't care, though.

"Go ahead. Teach me a lesson."

The neighbor was fuming. Gawain's cheeky smile made him scream out his response.

"You lowly insect!"

"Still better than pig shit."

His face had turned even redder.

"I WILL KILL YOU."

He turned his face towards the two other commoners and gave them a signal. They both smiled.

'Understood.'

The arrogant noble threw his left fist at Gawain's face.

Andria screamed.

"Stop!"

The noble didn't listen. Gawain was punched in his right cheek, and a small cut appeared below his right eye.

"Nice hit. Guess you do have something to boast about."

He was still smiling. This added oil to the flame.

"Aaaaah!"

Another punch was aimed at his nose.

'Bang!'

The crowd was shocked.

"I gave you the first hit out of courtesy."

The noble kid's jaw had been dislocated. Before he could fall to the ground, Gawain grabbed him by his hair.

"Everything looks blurry. Your face feels numb. Your arms feel weak, and your head feels light."

He had dodged the second punch and let out a perfect uppercut to his lower jaw.

"I might not be noble, but I know how to fight."

He pulled the noble's hair and brought it closer to his face.

"Enjoy your journey back home."

He stared straight into his eyes.

"Sir, they are here."

The commoners had made it a point to bring Arthur specifically. This was going to be good.

Arthur walked in.

"What are you two doing?"

Gawain let go of his hair, and he crashed to the ground.

"Section 11, rule 13. If someone initiates a physical attack, you are free to protect yourself in self-defense."

He referred to the rulebook. Arthur turned towards the other students in the room and asked,

"Who initiated the attack?"

Everyone remained silent.

"Speak!"

He was not going to tolerate their silence.

"H-He did."

Andria pointed towards the fallen noble.

"Are you sure?"

Arthur recognized the girl. She had joined his house.

"Y-Yes. He threw a strong punch to Gawain's face first."

She wasn't lying.

"This also happens sometimes."

He was the disciplinarian of the academy. This would not go unpunished.

He walked to the unconscious boy and checked his condition.

"What did you do to him?"

"He threw the first punch and took me by surprise. Then. when he repeated his action, I dodged and gave him a punch to the Jaw. Unfortunately, I used too much force."

All the nobles were trembling with rage.

A straight-faced lie with confidence. Except it wasn't a lie. This was a partial truth.

In an instant, Arthur grabbed the boy's face and readjusted his jaw. Picking up the boy in his arms, he said,

"He will be expelled after questioning. I'll take him back with me. You should get your wounds checked at the infirmary."

"Yes, Sir!"

Arthur left first, and Gawain followed behind with the two commoners. Before leaving though, he turned around and winked at the crowd that had been left speechless.

Andria was questioning her decision, while the others were keeping a note of this incident. No one was going to mess with him in the future.