On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 360

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed — Episode 360
Practical Training Results (3)
The moment the Intensive Week began, the first Results Sharing Meeting convened.
The attendees were extraordinarily distinguished.
Amil Renfield, Amos Kundel, and Daren Rihart — heads of the Empire’s ultra-great families, along with lords of the Great Families themselves.
Joining them was the Department Head Berhal, a former Imperial Knight Commander whose past renown surpassed even those present.
The Sword School Professors, all of them Great Knights, though not quite Berhal’s caliber.
And one man whose strength was difficult to measure.
“The Renfield Family curriculum shows the highest efficiency.”
It was Ziel who stood evaluating the very results of these Family Heads.
“As expected!”
Amil’s delight at that assessment was plain.
The other Family Heads, however, visibly deflated.
“No matter how I look at it, this isn’t a normal sight, is it?”
“Sir Allix, you’ll be overheard.”
Even as Elcanto spoke those words, he himself was quietly shaking his head in disbelief.
Who in this world would dare evaluate such Family Heads to their faces?
“Next is the Rihart Family, and after that comes the Kundel Family.”
“Oh!”
“Ugh!”
Two starkly opposite reactions.
One burned with the thought of widening the gap; the other seethes with the need to overtake them.
The remaining three Family Heads……
‘How do we recover? How do we pull ahead?’
‘Damn it, we’re in last place!’
‘Hell, why did those three families have to squeeze in ahead……’
Such were their thoughts.
Yet Ziel had not merely ranked them and offered praise.
“The Schneider Family’s sparring method proved quite impressive. Though overall averages remain low, several students have used this approach to develop their swordsmanship approximately thirty percent more effectively compared to other practical training modules.”
“Oho!”
“Accordingly, I present these recommendations.”
The Schneider Family Head, receiving the materials Ziel handed over, widened his eyes in surprise.
‘I submitted the organized data yesterday……’
And from that, he’d produced such a detailed and flawless report in less than a day?
The Schneider Family was not alone.
“The Rihart Family’s demonstration and basic training in Swift Swordsmanship achieved considerable results, particularly benefiting students inclined toward rapid blade work. However, students pursuing the opposite stylistic approach show slower growth.”
“Delev’s student growth rate is respectable, though.”
“Delev Kundel’s talent is significantly superior to other students. Since his growth skews the averages upward excessively, he must be excluded from the assessment.”
Daren fell silent before such airtight rebuttal, while Amos labored to compose his expression at the unexpected praise of his son.
‘Is that so……?’
Of course, the reverse also held true.
“None of the six families have devised countermeasures for students achieving thirty percent or lower in results.”
“……”
A ruthless observation.
And justified.
The Family Heads had concentrated their efforts on generating results.
More precisely, they had focused solely on the students showing promise early on.
Students with lower or less impressive results were taught as they had always been taught, with no special measures taken.
“It is impossible for all students to show equal results in this practical training, but at minimum there must be measures in place for students falling behind.”
What followed was rather ominous.
“If many students remain in the lower tier for growth rates, the overall practical training results naturally suffer.”
Though he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, simply stating foreseeable consequences, the Family Heads found his words more terrifying than any reproach.
They had already invested enormous sums at the family level into this practical training.
Not merely money.
Despite its fundamental nature, they had disclosed Family Secret Sword Techniques.
Those very techniques revealed only to those who joined the Knight Order at minimum!
True, the genuine Family Secret Sword Techniques passed down to direct lineage existed separately, but this disclosure was undeniably unprecedented.
They had to win.
No matter what.
Amil thought precisely the same.
‘Lower tier student,’ he murmured to himself.
As Amil scanned the roster, a particular name suddenly caught his eye.
‘The one who’s always attached to Yurio. That friend.’
Karen Aswan.
The student recording the slowest growth rate in this practical training.
‘I’ll need to raise her baseline first.’

* * *
A time to rebuild one’s swordsmanship.
During the intensive week of practical training, some students flourished while others, like Karen, carried their doubts.
‘My swordsmanship… what meaning does it even have?’
The Renfield Family’s knights were merciless.
Their feedback was no gentler than their swordsmanship.
Karen brooded over it constantly.
Compared to other top-tier students, Karen’s family lineage and breathing technique were unremarkable.
One’s innate background.
The breathing technique that stemmed from it.
These two things were the keys to success, without exaggeration.
Yet Ziel had shown her a different path.
He’d taught her to handle mana more effectively despite her mediocre breathing technique, and refined her swordsmanship through meticulous feedback.
Karen had been confident.
She’d thought the Northern Sword Technique was new to her, but that she would still earn a decent evaluation—
“What is the foundation of your swordsmanship, Karen?”
“The… foundation?”
“Yes. The bedrock that underlies your technique. What does the Aswan Family pursue?”
There was no such thing.
The Aswan Family had no distinct swordsmanship passed down through generations.
When her father learned she had talent in swordsmanship, he’d scraped together money they didn’t have to hire her a tutor, then emptied what was left and went into debt to get her into the Academy.
Karen had to succeed because of that.
“How do you expect to develop your swordsmanship in the future when you don’t even know the roots of it?”
“I… well…”
“Even if you were an unparalleled genius, creating an entirely new swordsmanship from scratch would be impossible. A technique only becomes complete when countless practitioners stack their experience and knowledge into it. That’s why your swordsmanship has no clear path forward.”
It was a devastating blow to Karen.
Precisely because his words were cold but undeniably true.
‘So… I really can’t do this?’
This was why one’s origin—prestigious house or not—mattered so much.
In early years, the gap between talented and less talented students wasn’t severe.
Everyone was still growing.
And with Ziel’s careful instruction added to the mix, it looked even less pronounced.
Second Years differed in individual ability, but their average was stronger than any other year.
But later on, that would change.
The distance slowly widened between those who possessed established, proven swordsmanship and breathing techniques and those who didn’t.
Exceptions existed, of course.
Like Maris, from an absurdly wealthy house.
But the Aswan Family had no such wealth.
“…”
After that day’s training ended, Karen trudged out of the auditorium, shoulders heavy.
“Karen! You hungry? Let’s grab something to eat before we head back.”
“No. I’m just going home.”
“Come on, my treat.”
Karen stopped dead, her hands trembling as she suddenly snapped out.
“Is it because I don’t have money?!”
Yurio was startled, then answered carefully.
“Well… you don’t, though…”
“…”
Unable to argue back, Karen let out a long sigh.
“Okay, fine. It’s true I don’t…”
“What’s going on with you?”
“Let’s… let’s talk about it while we eat.”
A moment later.
The two of them bought the last few remaining chicken skewers and sat down on a bench in the plaza.
“Who in the world bought fifty chicken skewers in one go?”
“Who else would it be.”
“Right. Of course.”
Karen set down the burden that had been weighing on her.
“……You heard him say things like that? Isn’t that too harsh?”
“I only ever praised you, didn’t I?”
“Mmm…….”
“See? This is what they call the difference in genius.” She sighed heavily.
Yurio’s situation was far from good as well.
But the Harmatan Family had once been renowned, and their swordsmanship at least had a solid foundation.
Though the breathing technique had been lost and he’d learned it differently, it was Yurio’s overwhelming talent that had created his current growth rate.
“I don’t have swordsmanship, or a breathing technique, or money. So I have no foundation.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re completely without foundation…….”
“I thought all Northern people were like you, but they’re not. They don’t mince words. They just say what’s on their minds. And maybe that’s better, actually…….”
Deep sighs flowed from her in succession.
“What should I do?”
“What can you do.”
“Just be content with something mediocre? Get into some decent knight order, work until my bones break for a few years of salary, pay off the family debt, and then…….”
“There she goes digging holes again. Hey, Ziel’s right here. What are you worried about?”
“He doesn’t have to take responsibility for my entire future, though…….”
Karen’s self-esteem had plummeted to the floor and was about to break through it.
Yurio knew her far too well.
“At least he could help you solve the problem, couldn’t he? Are you going to keep hearing the same thing in practical training?”
…….
“I don’t think he was mocking you or criticizing you. I think he meant it as in telling you to find your own path.”
“But how do I find it? My breathing technique is something my father bought from somewhere, and I learned swordsmanship from someone whose life and death I don’t even know.”
Sometimes her origins weighed heavily on her.
She tried not to let it show, but there were moments when she envied Delev or Celia.
There were times she felt that same emotion coming from Yurio too.
She made every effort never to let it show, since he was her closest friend.
‘Is there no way?’
Yurio had no ready answer either.
Karen finally resolved to try no matter what.
“Whether it works or not, I’ll give it a shot. If I push hard enough, something’s got to give.”
It was half desperation, but her will was still alive.
“I’ll help too. If my family’s swordsmanship would be useful…….”
“Never mind. This time I’ll try to build my own swordsmanship. Should we head to the library? We might find something there, right?”
It was as she spoke in the manner of clutching at straws.
“That won’t be necessary, Karen.”
Someone appeared.
The two of them froze for a moment before hurriedly standing up.
“Family Head!”
It was Amil Renfield.
Seasoning dripped from the chicken skewers in their hands.
“So it was you two who bought the last of them.”
“……Would you like some?”
At their reflexive answer, Amil let out an amused snort.
“Do I look like someone who steals from students?”
The chicken skewers did look appetizing.
Since he couldn’t buy any, he wanted them even more.
But Amil restrained himself and moved to the main point.
“Karen, I overheard something quite interesting.”
“You……heard?”
“The plaza was nearly shaking from your complaints in the dead of night—how could I not hear?”
Amil was a Master Grade powerhouse.
Though not quite at Ziel’s level—where he could hear an ant crawling and know what it looked like—he could certainly hear a person’s voice from a distance.
“As it happens, I just received pointed criticism from Ziel Steelheart.”
“Pointed……criticism?”
“Yes. Criticism. Very sharp criticism at that. That we’re not providing enough support to lower-tier students.”
“Ah…….”
Karen lowered her head in embarrassment.
If anyone was a lower-tier student, it was her.
“Don’t worry about it, Student Karen Aswan.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve already spoken with Teacher Ziel about this.”
“I’m sorry, but what do you mean by that?”
“After analyzing your swordsmanship, I’ve reached a conclusion.”
A conclusion?
‘Will they let me train with another family?’
She thought she’d heard something like that whispered among her friends before.
She’d assumed it was just a rumor, but it was actually true?
But Karen had no intention of doing that.
“Forgive me, Family Head, but I have no plans to participate in training with another family. Since it’s come to this, I’d like to see it through to the end.”
“I don’t follow you, Student Karen. Who said anything about permitting that? Well, your attitude is commendable, at least.”
“Pardon? Then what were you trying to say……?”
“The conclusion is this.”
Words that Karen couldn’t believe tumbled from Amil’s lips.
“From now on, Student Karen and the other lower-tier students will receive direct instruction in the Renfield Family’s swordsmanship.”
And he added this:
“Directly from me.”
That was it.
Amil, too, had wanted to surpass the other families.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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