"Professor Rauffen, I've told you already that I have no intention of taking the knight course, I'm too weak for that."

"You can become stronger if you just train hard enough!"

"My grandfather has been training me for over one year and I haven't gotten the least one bit stronger. And he's at least as enthusiastic as you about training, Ditter and everything even remotely knightly."

"Then you aren't taking your training seriously, Lady Rozemyne. An archduke candidate of your reputation can't possibly be so thoughtless. Danger lies in wait at every corner, you need to always be prepared. Tell her, Lady Hannelore!"

"Ah?! But..." Hannelore fretted at the sudden involvement. "You can't force her like this, professor Rauffen..."

"Nonsense! Don't you train everyday, Lady Hannelore?"

"I do, but..."

"Exactly! An Archduke Candidate has a duty to train and be an example for all the nobles in her duchy! Train and use that talent of yours to bring back a golden age of Ditter!"

"Your real intentions are showing, Professor..." said Hannelore as a matter of fact.

"I see... So, in the end it's all about the Ditter?" Rozemyne interceded.

"You can say it out loud!"

"Then, Professor Rauffen, what if I challenge you to a one-on-one treasure Ditter? If you win, I'll take the knight course. If I win, you will never ask me again."

"What student in his righteous mind would not take the knight course after beating a teacher in a Ditter?"

"No student in his righteous mind would challenge a teacher in the first place, Professor Rauffen. Now, I promise to go all out, but you have to swear on your honor as a Ditter player that you won't ask me ever again to take the knight course, if I win!"

Rauffen was torn. The prospect of an all-out Ditter was too tempting, but if she won, he'd have to give up on the most promising Ditter strategist currently enrolled in the Royal Academy. He thought about it, ultimately reaching the conclusion that the only way not to lose said strategist was to go all-out as well. And the idea was too exciting to pass.

He straightened his back and tapped his fist on his chest, shouting "I swear on my honor as a Ditter player!"

"Good! Can we use two of the example weapons as treasures?"

"Eh? Are you going to do it now?" Hannelore showed her concern for the impulsiveness of her classmate.

"Nothing better than playing a Ditter when the blood is hot!" Rauffen said enthusiastically. He moved to where they stored the example weapons.

"I'm thinking more about the number of witnesses." Rozemyne told her friend in a low voice, making Hannelore look around at their classmates.

Rauffen came back with two suitable weapons and handed one to Rozemyne. They moved to the training ground, and all the students followed them out of curiosity. Once they all were seated to the bleachers and Hannelore had been successfully recruited (forced) as referee, the two challengers reached two opposite corners of the training ground and prepared their base and their feybeasts.

They both started gathering their magical power, waiting for the signal to start.

"Go!" Said Hannelore.

Rauffen and Rozemyne kept their eyes on each other, trying to gauge the other's intentions. Their tension was so high their feybeasts looked like they were breathing together with their masters, ready to spring into action and strike firsts. Sparks started flying in the air.

"Lady Hannelore, I think they didn't hear you..." said Wilfried, who had moved closer to her.

"So it would seem..." she said, dejectedly. She sighed heavily, then closed her eyes and gathered as much power as she could, reinforcing her voice with magic. "GO!"

Rauffen started running toward Rozemyne at neck-breaking speed. Rozemyne didn't move, only pointing her Schtappe at him.

"Schlaftraum's blessing to Professor Rauffen!" she screamed, pouring an insane amount of mana in the blessing. The teacher fought it bravely, but after a moment he fell down, sleeping blissfully.

Hannelore looked back and forth between him and Rozemyne. She was sporting a satisfied grin, leisurely driving her feybeast to Rauffen's base. Without rushing for even a moment, she produced a God of Darkness cape, got rid of the barrier Rauffen had put around his treasure, and collected it. In the meantime, an eerie silence had fallen upon the training ground. Everybody was too flabbergasted to say anything.

Rozemyne turned to Hannelore, waving the short dagger and smiling brightly. "You can declare me the winner!"

"Y-yeah... Rozemyne of Ehrenfest is the winner!" she said, low enough that nobody would have heard her, had anybody so much as sighed at the same time.

She turned to the side as she noticed Wilfried trying to stand, holding his ear painfully and looking at her with a hint of fear.

~ ~ ~

"Ferdinand, what did that gremlin do this time to have a dorm supervisor from another duchy send you a message through Hirschur's report?"

Sylvester handed him a wooden tag. It read "I acknowledge my loss and will not ask Lady Rozemyne to take the knight course anymore. Her victory was overwhelming, but, as her mentor and a fellow Ditter estimator, please tell her to refrain from using the same strategy again. The world of Ditter is in danger of turning into a very dull one. Professor Rauffen."

Ferdinand stared at the message with admiration. Winning while making the Ditter dull for her adversary. He'd have to ask her for details later, as she had barely mentioned the Ditter in her reports, saying it was where Wilfried hurt his eardrum. Whatever she had done, it might be the ultimate strategy to drive away those obnoxious Ditter maniacs. He wished he had thought about it.

Sylvester and Karstedt exchanged a worried glance. Ferdinand was sporting a very creepy grin.