episode_0306

To check the confession lines, I brought Liria back to the training ground at the academy.

Clad in full plate mail armor, the appearance of a female knight… No, she looked so much like a male knight just from the armor alone.

As she walked around the academy, some female students became interested and shifted their gaze. With her hair covering her face, Liria’s androgynous appearance made her look like a male knight.

“If I were born a man, I would have made many women cry.”

Thinking such thoughts in my head, I moved to the training ground and handed Liria a spear while holding a dagger in each hand.

“Take this, Liria.”

“Senior Relise?”

“Take that, and let’s spar from now on.”

“What? But you said you were going to teach me confession lines…”

“Even this ‘spar’ is part of the confession lines. Come at me with all your might, Liria.”

“…”

Liria, holding the spear tightly in both hands, hesitated to charge at me easily. Perhaps she couldn’t easily charge at me because she knew I was a magician.

Usually, as a magician, I couldn’t engage in close combat with a sword or spear.

“It’s okay, just do it.”

“Yes?”

“Relise, you’re much stronger than you think. If you don’t go all out, you’ll end up falling flat.”

“Understood.”

After hearing Agnes encouraging her from the side, Liria made a determined expression. With the spear in her hands, she rushed towards me with determination.

-Clang!

“Ahhhh…!!”

After that, a light skirmish ensued between me, wielding a dagger in each hand, and Liria, wielding a spear.

When Liria thrust the spear, I dodged it, and when she swung it, I blocked with my dagger, aiming to counterattack. Similarly, Liria also avoided my dagger and continued the skirmish.

Although it was a spar using only auxiliary magic to avoid getting too serious, the difference between a second-year and a first-year student was clear.

-Clang!

“Hah, hah, hah…”

“Phew, phew, phew…”

Liria fell to the ground, and I stood over her with a dagger at her throat. Both of us were panting, but it was clear that I had won.

She may have been a fairly strong heroine of the Luminaire Academy, but she wasn’t skilled enough to defeat me.

Even though we fought in close combat, I had to win. After all, I was the main heroine of Lumiac, and Liria was the sub-heroine.

Considering the basic difference in abilities and my personal training, the result was natural.

“You… you’re strong, Senior Relise…”

“Liria, you were sharp too. I just happened to be your opponent, that’s all.”

“I see…”

With a slightly bitter expression of regret, Liria avoided eye contact. To comfort her and give her a special confession line for the next time, I said:

“Liria.”

“Yes?”

“If you were to challenge that ‘friendly senior’ to a spar out of the blue, how do you think it would turn out?”

“Um, it probably wouldn’t be much different from now. That senior specializes in swordsmanship, so they’re probably even stronger than you, Senior Relise.”

Right. That’s probably true. I’ve never won against that hero guy in a sword duel.

“That’s right. In that case, that ‘friendly senior’ would probably defeat you and ask, ‘Why did you suddenly do that?’ or ‘What’s the reason for attacking out of the blue?’”

“I see.”

“Then, Liria confidently replied to him with these words, ‘I couldn’t control my passionate feelings towards you, so it was inevitable!’”

“Oh, oh…!”

“…What?”

Liria looked surprised, as if she had realized something after hearing my confession. Agnes seemed slightly taken aback, but I didn’t pay much attention to her expression.

“Then, the senior would probably be flustered, right? They might be surprised and embarrassed by the sudden confession.”

“Y-yes.”

“So, at that moment, Liria pours out everything. Gathering the attention of those around her, she creates witnesses to her confession and delivers a very passionate confession that everyone watching would have to acknowledge. They won’t be able to run away without responding.”

“Not being able to run away… I understand now.”

“Finally… how about saying something like this? ‘I want to compete with you for the rest of my life and live passionately until the last moment! Please accept my heart!’ Something along those lines.”

“Wow, wow, wow…”

“What kind of confession is that…”

Agnes muttered in disbelief, but what mattered was Liria’s reaction.

And Liria, true to her character, didn’t find anything strange about the confession and instead responded with a blush, so there was no need to worry.

“Wow, you’re truly amazing, Senior Lirias! I’ve never heard such a passionate and touching confession in my life!”

“…”

“How about it, Liria? This should be enough to capture their heart, right? And if even after all this, the person doesn’t respond to your confession…”

“Y-yes, definitely… If someone rejects such a heartfelt confession, there must be something wrong with them. For example, they might have a dysfunction in their male reproductive organs…”

“That’s right. You understand well. As the illegitimate daughter of the Barbaracus tribe’s chief, Liria cannot accept someone with a dysfunction in their reproductive organs as a partner, right?”

“You’re absolutely right! Senior Lirias always speaks the truth!”

“…I don’t know anymore.”

…As someone who already knew the outcome of this confession, I felt a twinge of guilt, but ultimately, this was the best way to help Liria.

After making her express her deepest desires to the other person, even if she were to be rejected, this confession method would leave no regrets.

It was a much better future for her than suffering for a love that would never come to fruition.

‘Plus, I can give that hero a good beating.’

It wasn’t the main point, but still. I got up from her body with a satisfied expression, having given her the perfect confession.

“…Do men really like this kind of confession, Lirias? Are you serious?”

“Men naturally like women who affirm their hobbies. If Liria is into a man to the point of falling for him, he must be a martial arts fanatic, and confessing that she wants to spar with him for the rest of her life is appealing, right?”

“Hmm… is that so…?”

“If Prince Antonio were to gift Agnes a pass to the Red Tower’s magical library, filled with rare books that even money can’t buy easily, and then promise to sponsor her magical research expenses once she becomes the Red Tower Lord. It’s a similar feeling, Agnes.”

“Oh, I completely understand… but why use him as an example again…?”

“Just because.”

I was preparing for Liria’s ‘confession failure operation’ while also creating a strategy for Agnes to capture Prince Antonio.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Liria’s confession with the predetermined confession line happened quite early.

From the start, Liria’s personality was not one to drag things out. Once she decided to confess, she quickly took care of it, which suited her personality well.

So, on the first weekday after the weekend, during lunch break and free time, the central fountain garden of the academy was bustling with a crowd.

– Clang! Clang! Kkaang!

“What’s going on? Are they fighting?”

“I heard that barbarian kid started it.”

“Shouldn’t we call a professor?”

In this world, when fights broke out, professors occasionally intervened to mediate. The professors at the ‘Luminor Academy’ had the ability to control student fights to some extent.

Of course, there was no need to worry about the current duel. It wasn’t a serious duel, and after a few minutes of fighting, Liria would be subdued first, so the problem would be resolved.

“It seems like a fight.”

“It appears so, Lord Ethan.”

“….”

Ethan muttered as he looked towards the direction where the sound of swords clashing was coming from, while Agnes, who casually replied as if she didn’t know, looked at me with an incredulous expression.

Perhaps in the crowd, Liria and Gethmjoshegi were engaged in a ‘surprise duel’ with swords and spears. It wasn’t visible due to the people, but the clanging sound of the full plate mail Liria was wearing could be heard clearly, allowing us to identify the person inside the crowd.

“Maybe someone is having a lover’s quarrel? The Luminor Academy is a place where students from all over the world gather, so it’s not unusual for men and women with different values to fight.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“If you’re concerned, shall we go take a look? If it seems to be getting dangerous, we can bring Professor Harold or…”

As I thought about the hero who would be struggling to subdue Liria in the middle of the crowd without getting hurt, my words naturally stopped when I saw someone in front of me.

Because, at that moment, I saw someone who should never be there among the crowd watching Liria’s duel-cum-confession.

“…Rilis?”

“…Uh, um….”

“Rilis? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?”

“Uh, no…. Wh-why on earth….”

A man standing in the middle of the crowd, flanked by Serista and Sirena, watching Liria’s duel.

The face of the guy who should have been receiving Liria’s confession right now entered my eyes.