The lecture proceeded with active cooperation.
The Swordsmanship Department, in particular, showed the greatest interest.
But in the end, this too was a field that dealt with the flow of mana. That's why even the students of the Magic Department showed interest in the lecture.
The rest of the students, who studied general academics, simply enjoyed the spectacle.
"Like this, like this—you need to spin it like this!"
Yuri taught using his voice while pointing to the artifact.
Before anyone knew it, the students sitting in the auditorium had drawn their swords and were manipulating mana.
"When spins and spins repeat, what do you get? A bigger spin. Small spins form a large spin, and a large spin becomes a grand spin. When grand spins gather, it becomes a super-grand spin!"
But in truth, Yuri had no intention of teaching properly.
Without deep realization, no matter how much he taught, it would be meaningless.
Telling someone without the skill level to use the Whirling Vortex Sword would only cause them to develop bad habits.
But so what?
To Yuri, the Empire was the enemy.
He was poisoning the well.
"Hehehe..."
Outwardly, however, he pretended to teach with great enthusiasm.
"Oh, it's working, it's working!"
One student unintentionally grasped the essence of the Whirling Vortex Sword with his sword.
But he couldn't sustain it for long.
The rotational force swirled around his sword, but since he couldn't construct the fractal structure like Yuri, it fell apart.
Yuri pounded his chest in frustration, putting on a noisy act.
To the students of the Academium, it was the most annoying response imaginable.
"Seriously? Why can't I do it? This is ridiculous."
Yuri shook his head.
"We're progressing slower than I thought. Is this really the best the Academium can do?"
Yuri stepped down from the platform and began instructing the students.
And in doing so, he gradually approached the target he had in mind.
The target's face turned pale.
"Let's see, this guy's name was Edran, wasn't it?"
Thanks to Dale's testimony, he already knew about him and recognized his face.
Yuri walked up to where Edran was sitting. Edran trembled with a pale face, gripping his sword.
"You didn't expect me to come all the way here, did you?"
"Uh, um..."
Yuri patted his shoulder and said,
"Come on, do as I say. If you master the Whirling Vortex Sword, you can become strong too."
Edran tried to stir his mana, but perhaps due to Yuri standing right next to him, he couldn't think straight and kept disrupting the mana flow.
Yuri gripped his shoulder tightly.
"You can't even do this?"
"I-It's difficult."
"This won't do. Edran, I'll give you private tutoring."
With that, Yuri brushed off Edran's shoulder.
"Let's meet separately later."
Edran's face turned not just pale, but ashen.
Yuri returned to the platform.
The Swordsmanship Department students were straining to master the Whirling Vortex Sword, while the Magic Department students were trying to generate rotational force with mana, studying how to control it.
Yuri was in a great mood.
The talents who would become the Empire's future military strength were wasting their time obsessed with the Whirling Vortex Sword.
Yuri fueled his own deception even further.
"That's a vortex? That's your Whirling Vortex? Ah, no. The Whirling Vortex, you see—look. Now, create two streams of mana. And spin them. Like snakes, you know?
Snake. Have them meet like this, naturally. Mix them together. One by one. And rub them. Rub them hard. Keep rubbing. Spin one this way, the other that way, forward and backward, keep spinning them. That's a vortex. Just keep doing that."
But no one understood what he meant.
As time passed, a few students managed to replicate some semblance of spinning. But from Yuri's perspective, it was far from satisfactory.
Yuri called the three students who had shown at least some results up onto the stage.
"You there, you there, and you—come up here."
One male and two females.
"Each of you, show us the Whirling Vortex you've managed to achieve. It's okay if it's incomplete. That will help everyone learn better."
Each of them drew their swords and began spinning.
They couldn't control the vortex as freely as Yuri, but at least spiral winds swirled around their blades.
However, it was no more than an imitation of form.
"Your Highness."
One of the girls spoke to Yuri.
"You're truly amazing. How can you handle mana so well..."
Her eyes radiated pure admiration.
Yuri, pleased by the genuine praise, examined her blade and gave advice.
"Don't force the mana. Just try to float it lightly."
"Like this?"
"More power isn't always better. Try to make the mana feel lighter."
"That's hard..."
Eventually, her vortex became a little faster and stronger.
She smiled and shook her sword in delight.
"Oh, it's working. Look at this."
"Well done. You've got talent."
"Wow..."
She seemed deeply impressed by Yuri.
"Your Highness, will you come back to the Academium again?"
"If I have time before I leave the capital, perhaps."
"Please teach us again next time."
"I'll consider it."
As the two chatted, the male student who had come up with them murmured,
"But this doesn't seem very practical, does it?"
Yuri looked at him. The male student tried generating sword energy a few times before lowering his sword and saying,
"Isn't this too cumbersome to use in real combat? I'm doubtful whether you've actually used this on the battlefield."
Yuri was disheartened. He had once swung his sword across the plains, dismembering orcs, and this student was questioning that memory.
Yuri scanned him.
His energy was refined, and the density of his mana was quite substantial.
He seemed to be a rather notable student in the Academium.
Yuri asked the girl next to him,
"How's that guy ranked in the Swordsmanship Department?"
"He's probably the strongest..."
"So, he's number one. Who's second?"
"Me."
"And that guy is third?"
"Something like that..."
Yuri nodded. If he was the strongest in the Academium, it was understandable that he had that level of confidence.
Even Yuri, in his past life, had lived recklessly relying on nothing but talent.
In contrast, that guy had at least achieved the top rank in the Academium.
Of course, if his talent had been truly exceptional, he would've been recruited into a noble family or trained in a knight order, but even being the best in the Academium was quite impressive.
"What's your name?"
"Capri."
"Capri. I'll show you personally just how powerful the Whirling Vortex Sword is in real combat. Draw your sword."
"It's a bit too cramped here..."
"It's fine."
Yuri smiled gently.
"It won't be the kind of fight that needs much space."
At that, Capri's expression hardened. He seemed to have a certain pride in his skill.
"Very well. I won't be responsible for what happens next."
Capri raised his sword.
As Yuri and Capri crossed blades, the auditorium erupted.
The strongest student of the Swordsmanship Department, and the third prince of Briol whose reputation had soared with his feats in the Allied Army, were about to duel.
It was a spectacle no one could see anywhere else.
The Swordsmanship Department students leaned forward, focusing on the match.
Capri gave a warning.
"You might regret this today."
At Capri's words, Yuri smiled.
"Are you the talkative type too?"
"Of course not."
Capri focused his mind. A sharp sword aura rose.
"I'm saying, don't underestimate a student of the Academium."
He advanced. His footwork was light, his movements free of waste.
The arc traced by his sword as he swung was clean, as if drawn.
But that was all.
It wasn't vicious like an orc that could tear a man apart barehanded, nor was it as precise as Laurent's, nor as brilliant as Jared's.
Not even worth comparing to Bernard or Jose.
Yuri was a little disappointed.
Had he been meeting only extraordinary people lately?
Dodging a single slash, Yuri asked,
"Does your family have money?"
"...What?"
"Are you broke?"
"Uh..."
The sudden question flustered Capri.
"Not entirely broke, but..."
"Then that's fine."
Yuri pointed Guilty toward Capri's moderately fast, moderately strong sword.
Then he condensed the Whirling Vortex Sword into a 'Miniature Vortex.'
A sudden swirl of wind sucked in Capri's sword.
It was a single contact.
Capri's sword twisted, then shattered into multiple pieces.
Metal shards flew, leaving a thin scratch on Capri's cheek.
"N-No way..."
The bout was short, and the difference was overwhelming.
When Yuri retrieved his mana, the vortex pattern hovering over Guilty's blade slowly faded.
Capri, clutching his throbbing wrist, stared blankly at Yuri.
"Oh, sorry. Someone from the Magic Department, come up and heal him."
"How did you..."
"This is the Whirling Vortex Sword. If this had been real combat, you know what that means, right?"
Had Yuri used the Whirling Vortex Sword properly, the thing shattered into pieces wouldn't have been the sword—it would've been Capri himself.
"How did you use it so quickly..."
From Capri's perspective, it was unbelievable.
He had to swirl his mana for a long time just to produce something resembling a spin, yet Yuri overlapped vortexes instantly.
It was like a sudden storm crashing in, a literal lightning strike.
"How did you do it?"
"You just have to work hard."
"No, I mean..."
A student from the Magic Department came up and cast a healing spell on Capri's cheek. Even then, Capri still looked dazed.
Soon after, the students applauded Yuri.
Even Capri, the strongest in the Academium, had been defeated in a single move.
He had proven that his skills were no lie.
"Hmm..."
Yuri decided to end his lesson on the Whirling Vortex Sword here. He felt he'd poisoned the well enough.
After sending the three students down, he returned to the platform.
[That will conclude the lesson on the Whirling Vortex Sword.]
The students, unaware of Yuri's true intent, looked satisfied.
The Whirling Vortex Sword had been difficult but fascinating, and Yuri had stepped down from the platform to interact directly with the students. In the end, he even sparred with an Academium student.
The satisfaction was higher than that of most classes.
[Now I'll take questions. Isn't there anything you're curious about?]
Then, hands went up all over the place.
Yuri was a bit surprised by how many students were participating.
He pointed to the first student who raised their hand.
The student stood up and asked,
"Your Highness. There are rumors that the story about you dating the princess of the Holy Kingdom was a lie. Is that true?"
A question about his private life came out of nowhere.
Yuri remained silent for a moment.
"Hmm..."
Everyone already knew, and there was nothing to hide now.
Yuri nodded.
[It's true.]
"Why would you do that?"
[Only one question per person.]
He immediately moved to another student.
[You there, with your hand up.]
"Yes. My question is the same. I'm curious too. Why did you lie about that?"
The questioning was like that of a reporter.
Wondering what was going on, Yuri noticed that some students were holding thin magazines.
The title was Night of the Imperial Capital.
That magazine was notorious for dealing in sensational gossip.
It was essentially the rival of Monthly Empire, the one that had interviewed Yuri.
Apparently, they were directly asking about the suspicions raised in that issue.
Yuri sighed.
He had volunteered to take questions, so he couldn't back out now.
It seemed like a good time to finally reveal the relationship with Sibylla was fake.
So he answered plainly.
[I was annoyed because people kept trying to set me up.]
"Whoa..."
"No way..."
The questions kept coming.
"Is it true you had a duel with Prince Georg in the Great Battle Hall in the past..."
"There are rumors you ate with regular soldiers in the Allied Army, the reason being..."
"Then, is there someone you're currently interested in..."
***
Yuri was exhausted after the long lecture. He had expected minor questions, not probing into his private life.
So this was the capital.
Why didn't students ask constructive questions instead of digging into gossip?
"Why are they like this?"
"Mmm, mmm..."
At Yuri's words, a muffled groan came from the man tied to a chair, a sack over his head.
Laurent removed the sack, revealing Edran's pale face, a gag in his mouth.
Every time he struggled, the chair legs screeched across the floor.
"Be quiet. Quiet."
Yuri approached Edran.
"We've got some things to settle between us, don't we?"