episode_0069

It was the day of the duel between Seria and her second-year senior.

The place where the duel was held was the training hall, and although there was still a lot of time left until the duel, quite a lot of people were occupying the audience seats.

I am one of them.

“Haaam… … . I’m tired… … .”

And Hermel is sitting next to me. Perhaps because they had woken him up while he was sleeping and brought him in, he seemed very uncomfortable.

“Hey Charles, the results are obvious without looking at them, but you have to come and see them… … ? You can bring Sera or something… … . Hmm… … .”

“Sera said she couldn’t come because she had personal matters to attend to. And, doesn’t Hermel like events like this?”

“What… … . That said, he’s an ordinary first year student everywhere. A commoner too.”

Hermel said that and leaned against the railing, looking irritated rather than annoyed.

“If I was a normal first grader, I wouldn’t have asked to come see you.”

“Ah? Those three… … . What are you talking about, that commoner? When I took the entrance exam, there was nothing special… … .”

“If you think about it by Hermel’s standards, that’s right. Hermel is the one who can win even if he fights a graduate of the Knight Academy right now.”

Hermel seemed to think it wasn’t so bad to hear a compliment, and he relaxed his expression a little and said, “Hmm.” … . He made a sound and pouted his mouth.

“So? What’s so special about him?”

“I trained him. This past month has been pretty intense.”

“What!?”

Hermel blinked at my words and stared at me.

Hermel puffed out his cheeks as he smiled brightly, as if there was something wrong with his eyes filled with various emotions.

“This is lethal! Why don’t I do it!”

“Hermel doesn’t need me to train him, right?”

“Having trained you means sparring with you! Spar with me too!”

A crazy dog runs wild even if you hold it on a leash. okay. Well, at least it’s quiet when I get back to the room, so it’s okay.

He smiled brightly and patted my thigh.

“Would you like to lie down?”

“No, don’t change your mind!”

“Are you not going to lie down?”

Hermel, who was glaring at me like a growling puppy, quietly approached me, pressed my thigh, and spoke quietly.

“… … I want to lie down.”

Hermel, who was lying on my thighs as a pillow, seemed embarrassed for giving in to a pillow on my lap in frustration, so he kept his mouth shut.

As I was gently stroking Hermel’s head, my gaze focused in this direction for a moment, but then quickly dispersed again.

“I will spar with Hermel later.”

“You said that last time, but you haven’t done anything until now. When are you going to do it… … .”

Hermel whined while playing with my thigh.

“Next Next week, the weather will gradually clear up and we will be able to practice various things… … . How about next week?”

“Really!?”

He got up, patted Hermel’s head, his eyes sparkling, and nodded.

As we were talking like that, the murmur around us got louder.

“It looks like the main character has arrived.”

“What… … . Since you said you trained it, it might be worth watching.”

Hermel folded his arms and looked down at the gymnasium, and I also looked down at the gymnasium, covering my mouth with my fan.

In the center of the training hall, there were Seria and Tyrbak’s second son facing each other, and a professor standing between them.

The professor looked back and forth between the two and said something, then cleared his throat and shouted.

“Then, since the mutual agreement has been confirmed, the duel will take place here!!”

As soon as the professor finished speaking, the bell announcing the start of the duel rang in the training hall.

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.

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El Vandel Tyr, the second son of Count Tyr, thought.

The opponent was at best a commoner, a freshman who had only been in school for a little over a month. There is no reason for me, a second-year student, to lose.

“Did you say Seria? If you honestly admit your cruelty and ask for forgiveness even now, I will let you go a little more comfortably.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t plan on doing that. To give up and let go now would be to insult the people who helped me.”

“Ha. You’re talking about honor when you’re a commoner. You’re cocky.”

Bandel, who laughed at Seria, took out his sword and pointed it at Seria.

“Let’s see how long that cockiness can continue.”

Vandel, who said that, quickly got in front of Seria.

“Huh!!”

The Zweihander was pulled as if it were going to be swung at any moment, but instead of being swung, it shot out like a bullet, with the tip of the Zweihander aiming for Seria’s neck.

Thrust, not swing.

Seria paused for a moment, but immediately came to her senses and dodged Bandel’s stab by turning to the right.

“Where!”

But Bandel’s attack did not end there, and he took a step forward and tried to swing his sword to the right.

Seria, who had been sparring with an opponent two or three numbers ahead of her for a month, read Vandel’s attack, immediately raised her shield, crossed her arms, distributed as much power as possible, and blocked Vandel’s sword swing.

“Qu… … !”

“You seem to have a knack for blocking!!”

Seria was pushed away with a thudding sound, but fortunately her posture did not collapse. This was because it was a swing that followed a stab, so it did not contain a relatively large amount of force.

Seria quickly retreated, but Vandel’s pursuit was a little faster.

‘It’s faster than I expected… … !’

The distance narrowed in an instant, Vandel raised his arm and slashed his sword with the intention of striking Seria.

It’s a split second, it can’t be avoided. After making that decision, Seria raised the sword, supported the blade with one hand, and blocked Vandel’s sword with the sword.

With a heavy thud sound, an enormous force crushed Seria, and Seria, who was holding on with gritted teeth, ended up falling to one knee.

“Queu!”

“Are you attacking with force? That’s ignorance like a commoner!!”

Vandel seemed to be planning on pressing down, so he took a step forward and grabbed the blade with one hand and started pressing down.

‘now… … !’

Ceria, with her eyes wide open, gritted her teeth and threw down the hand that was supporting the blade, turning the sword at an angle.

It was natural for Vandel to lose his balance as he was pressing down with all his weight, and Seria aimed for this by violently raising her lowered arm and hitting Vandel in the face with her shield.

“Mmm!!”

With a thud sound, the shield hit Vandel’s face squarely, and Vandel rolled to the side, widening the distance between him and Seria.

Vandel covered his mouth with one hand and glared at Seria, gritting his teeth at the wetness he felt between his thumb and index finger.

‘dare… … . Hit the nobleman’s face… … ?’

Seria seemed to be planning to keep the momentum going as she ran toward Vandel, who had widened the distance. After thinking for a short time, Vandel roughly wiped away the nosebleeds with the back of his hand and held his sword.

“I’ll kill you!!”

“Haaaa!!”

Just like before, Vandel made a vertical cut from top to bottom, and just like before, Seria tried to cut off Vandel’s sword with the blade.

The moment the two swords met, Seria noticed that Vandel’s sword was strangely light and her eyes widened.

‘One hand… … !?’

Vandel was holding the Zweihander with one hand.

‘Then where is your other hand—!?’

“Huh!!”

Before Seria could finish her thoughts, Vandel’s fist landed on Seria’s cheek.

Blink–!!

With a sound, Seria’s body flew across the training ground, rolling a couple of times.

“Just commoners… … . I was so upset because I thought I had beaten him to the punch… … !!”

Before Seria stood up, Vandel, who was gritting his teeth and spitting out malice, ran towards Seria who was trying to stand up. He kicked Seria in the stomach.

puck!! With a dull sound, Seria rolled on the floor again, and the nobles sitting in the training hall began to laugh.

“Kahak… … ! Ugh… … . Wow… … !”

Vandel, who heard the laughter of the nobles around him, laughed and looked at Seria who was writhing in pain.

“What do you think will change once you enter the academy? No matter how long you fly, you are just a commoner everywhere. But, what? duel? Know the topic, don’t worry!!”

Once again, Bandel kicked Seria. It was a harsh treatment no matter who saw it, but no one came forward. Even professors.

“Can you hear me? The voices of those who laugh at you?”

“Ugh… … .”

Bandel grabbed Seria’s hair and forced her to raise her head.

“Look over there. Look at the commoners you wanted to protect. No one can make eye contact with you. Are you challenging me to a duel because you want to protect those things?”

Bandel, who was laughing at Seria, let go of Seria’s hair and pushed her down with his foot.

“There is no such thing as your side here. There is no one who would stand up for just one commoner. That’s the position of you, a commoner.”

Seria was out of breath and trembling, and Vandel, who saw her, grinned and turned his back.

“I think I won. If you become my maid, I will make you realize your place.”

Bandel nodded at the professor, and only then did the professor try to open his mouth.

“The winner is――”

Just before the declaration of victory was announced, the professor opened his eyes and closed his mouth.

Bandel, who felt strange at that sight, frowned and looked back.

“Not yet… … . It’s not over… … !!”

There was Seria, trembling, but slowly getting up.

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.

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it hurts. My ears are buzzing and I can’t hear very well.

“Just a commoner――!!”

Jump!!

“Ugh!?”

I feel like my stomach is going to explode. Aren’t you really going to die like this? scared.

I can’t breathe. it hurts.

“What do you think will change once you enter the academy? No matter how long you fly, you are just a commoner everywhere. But, what? duel? Know the topic, don’t worry!!”

Why was I doing this… … ? Why does it have to hurt like this… … ?

-Hehehe, look at that commoner. Doesn’t the rolling figure look like a bug?

―I thought it would end up like this ever since you said you were going to duel with a commoner.

-Well, at least there is a topic to talk about. ha ha ha.

“Can you hear me? The voices of those who laugh at you?”

“Ugh… … .”

I was forced to look because of the pain that felt like my scalp was being torn off and the vicious hand that grabbed my hair. It looked like my friends were trembling in fear.

Chii and I had lunch together while laughing. Bay, who I took class with. Ael was chatting. Everyone was bowing their heads in one place.

“Look over there. Look at the commoners you wanted to protect. No one can make eye contact with you. Are you challenging me to a duel because you want to protect those things?”

The hand holding my hair disappeared, and the other person pushed my body with his foot, causing my body to fall to the side.

“There is no such thing as your side here. There is no one who will stand up for just one commoner――”

In my eyes, I was getting infinitely closer to the floor, underneath the audience seats. A person standing on the side of the passage leading into the training hall caught my eye.

The clouds blocking the sunlight passed by, revealing a figure hidden in shadow.

Warm brown hair with a red undertone. Soft orange eyes like the sky where the sun rises.

“Ah… … .”

Sarah was looking at me with her hands clasped together.

okay… … . You said you would make everyone laugh. What are you doing lying here alone?

You gritted your teeth and worked hard for a month. All I got was a punch and a kick.

“Not yet… … .”

it hurts? It hurts less than when I lay in a hospital room and received chemotherapy. Don’t be a pamper. You can do it.

Alone? okay. I know. You noticed it when he said hello to everyone at the end before he died. No matter how many people are around you, you will be alone when you die.

And, you got through it. After accepting it, you stood up again like this.

It’s not over yet. stand up. You promised to give a happy ending where everyone can smile. Just like back then, like I promised myself I would die smiling and I achieved it. Clench your teeth and get up!

“Not yet… … . It’s not over… … !!”

My legs are shaking. Every time I took a breath, my side hurt as if I had been stabbed by a knife, and my vision was blurry, as if one side of my face had been crushed.

But I stood up.

“Tsk, persistent.”

The other person clicks his tongue and approaches me.

“This is why commoners are a problem. No matter how much you step on it, it gets tired and grows like a rat. I’m annoyed.”

The other person took the same posture as when he first saw him.

Not a cut, but a stab.

“You have a smooth face, so I will aim at you without covering your face. Don’t move.”

Running forward. My vision is blurry, so I have trouble seeing the distance. I closed my eyes tightly and opened them, only then did I see a little bit.

Richie remembers. Concentrate. you can do it.

“Huh!!”

A stab aiming for between the breasts. He raised his trembling left arm and put his shield in front of him.

little bit more.

The arm I was holding lost strength and the shield started to go down little by little.

a little bit… … . more!!

Tap――

“Aaaaa!!!!!”

I mustered up all the strength I had, and pushed my left arm outward with all my might.

With a thud sound, the opponent’s sword was pushed aside.

“What!?”

I gritted my teeth, stood up, and swung the sword in my right hand.

The opponent, whose posture had completely collapsed, was unable to retrieve the sword.

“s, winner.”

My sword touched the opponent’s neck.

“Seria!!”

He smiled brightly as cheers erupted, and then he fell unconscious.