Episode 8: I Won’t Lose to a Racist

The training grounds of the Lapiel mansion.

I was facing a girl.

Her tied-back hair swayed slowly in the breeze.

Beneath her protruding horns, her indifferent eyes were revealed.

,What did you say?

,This is our mansion.

You’re an outsider.

Am I the outsider?

I hate those from another world.

They’re uncivilized, insignificant, and barbarians without any moral compass.

Especially if they don’t treat me favorably, they’re not worth treating well.

So, just because you’re pretty, you think you’re all that?

If you’re a little shit, I need to spank your ass to make you come to your senses.

,Our.

Then, Aransel’s mouth opened again.

She raised one eyebrow and stared at me silently.

It seems the word ‘our’ from what I said bothered her.

Because Sisiroka was no longer in that ‘our’.

And she probably doesn’t like that a transfer student has taken the place of someone from this world.

You fucking racist.

Sorry, but what I hate most in the world is racism.

Of course, second is people from another world.

,Okay.

Aransel didn’t give me any more attention.

She seemed like she didn’t want to have a long conversation.

,Do as you please.

She drew her sword.

I could feel the sharpness of the blade, indicating it was a sword of considerable quality.

She wielded such a sword with ease.

Each time the sword extended, a straight line followed.

That alone made me realize how much she had trained with the sword.

She’s skilled.

I also have some experience as a Pioneer.

But there weren’t many guys who could wield a sword so cleanly like that.

Glancing at her hands, I could see several traces of training.

There were scars and calluses that you wouldn’t expect on a woman’s hand.

How long has she been practicing the sword?

I don’t know for sure, but I can tell it’s longer than me.

Regardless, I casually sat down in a corner.

My top priority is to break the seed.

So, today too, I focused my magic to break the seed.

The applied magic gathered around the seed.

The method of breaking the seed isn’t a process of destroying it with magic.

To be precise, it’s about slowly carving it away.

Gradually scraping around it so that the inside of the seed isn’t damaged, completing its perfect form.

That’s the process of breaking the seed that mages talk about.

Once a seed is broken, it doesn’t return to its original state.

If you break the seed in the wrong way, the magic can backfire and destroy your body.

So, you must never rush when breaking the seed.

You have to take your time and break it slowly with care.

Of course, as someone whose seed is much thicker than others, it’s honestly a pain in the ass.

How long will it take to see the inside of the seed if I keep chipping away like this?

Lapiel told me never to rush, so I’ll listen, but I can’t help but feel frustrated.

The process of breaking the seed takes at least several hours once you start.

Since it’s not easy to stop halfway, I focused on breaking the seed for a long time.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

I took a breath and lifted my eyelids.

I broke as much as I could today.

It was when I lifted my head, thinking I should continue tomorrow.

Whoong!

I heard the sound of a sword being swung.

Turning my gaze, Aransel, whom I had seen earlier, was there.

To be exact, it was Aransel swinging her sword just as I had seen her the first time.

The only difference was that she was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat.

In addition, there were no large footprints around her.

Could she have been swinging her sword in that spot the whole time?

Checking the time, it had already been about 4 hours.

I also trained, but I just sat down and focused.

But that one had been swinging her sword the whole time.

That’s amazing.

At the same time, I felt a strange sense of rivalry.

I closed my eyes and focused again.

It’s not that I have a particularly competitive personality, but I don’t want to get up first for no reason.

So, I decided to focus a little more.

I closed my eyes and carved away at the seed once more.

Before I knew it, several hours had passed.

I thought she must have left by now, so I squinted.

She’s still there.

And she was sweating even more than before.

Her hands and feet were trembling, so it was clear she was at her physical limit.

But she didn’t move.

She just glanced at me and then went back to training.

As soon as I saw that, I realized.

That girl is conscious of me.

Just like I was conscious of Aransel, she was also conscious of me and didn’t think about leaving.

That fact irritated me.

Being pushed back in willpower by an uncivilized person from another world?

That was something I could never accept.

Especially, I can’t lose to a transfer student racist even more.

I’ll show you the horror of a transfer student’s tenacity and perseverance.

Close your eyes right now.

I’m going to beat this seed until I die today.

＊ ＊ ＊

What is time, really?

It’s been a long time since I trained enough to say useless things.

The sun had already set, and my stomach was complaining about being empty, tormenting me.

In that situation.

Aransel and I were still guarding the training grounds.

And neither of us still had any intention of leaving the training grounds first.

Now, it seems like we really won’t be able to leave until one of us collapses.

My butt is itching.

I really can’t do this anymore.

But I absolutely can’t lose to that racist, so I can’t get up.

Damn it, just kill me.

Ah, I’ll just come back to life even if I die.

Squinting, I could feel Aransel glancing at me too.

It seemed like she wanted to leave the training grounds just as much as I did.

A situation where both of us want to leave right away.

But a situation where neither of us can leave.

In a situation where we can’t do anything about each other.

Ttokak-

The sound of salvation footsteps that would save us both was heard.

,What is it? Are you two still training?

There was Lapiel wrapped in a blanket.

She looked tired, as if she had been talking with Soun until this hour.

The color of my and Aransel’s faces changed at once.

,It’s late. Stop there and go in. It’s getting cold.

As she said, the weather is very cold.

,I can’t help it. If Lapiel-nim says so.

,….

As I subtly lifted my butt, Aransel silently lowered the sword she was swinging.

Even so, her big eyes contained intense agreement.

As Aransel and I walked out of the training grounds, Lapiel looked at us for a moment.

Then she smiled brightly.

,Did you both train together until this hour and become a little closer?

My and Aransel’s eyes met.

The eyes she and I were looking at contained only wariness towards each other.

But Aransel soon gave the friendly smile she had shown at first.

,Yes, of course. Isn’t that right, Harua?

Wow, look at this bitch.

She’s really good at changing her face.

It’s amazing, but Lapiel wanted me to become friends with Soun’s disciples.

,Of course, Aransel.

As I accepted her words appropriately, Lapiel smiled brightly and patted my shoulder.

,Anyway, you’re good at making friends. Train hard together tomorrow too.

,Isn’t Lapiel-nim going to watch us?

,…Sorry, I’m going to be a little busy for a while. I have things to take care of separately with Soun too.

It must be about the Grace Magic Tower.

In addition, the terrorist group called Black Dawn seems to be a problem too.

,I understand. Don’t regret not seeing my growth process later when I become too strong.

,I wish you’d say that after you get a little stronger. You can’t even break your seed.

,My seed is a shy one. I guess it’s going to become a baobab tree later.

,I don’t know what kind of tree that is, but don’t make your master wait too long.

With that, Lapiel yawned and moved her steps.

Seeing that she’s heading towards the office, it seems like she’s going to work again.

She’s going to collapse like that.

She’s a workaholic. A workaholic.

When I turned my head, I met eyes with Aransel, who hadn’t left yet.

She was looking at me with strange eyes.

Why is this racist woman glaring at me like this?

As I glared back without thinking of avoiding her eyes, Aransel averted her gaze first.

She turned around and left.

I don’t know what kind of woman she is.

＊＊＊

The next day, I was having lunch with someone.

In front of me was an Outer Clan member with black hair tied back and a two-tone color with white on the inside.

It’s the transfer student racist, Aransel.

Why did the situation become like this?

The answer was simple.

Aransel and I had strangely overlapping behavior patterns.

I do light physical training in the morning, study in the morning, and then train after lunch.

Aransel does light physical training in the morning, studies swordsmanship textbooks, and then trains after lunch.

Yeah, it’s really almost the same pattern.

As a result, Aransel ran into me wherever I went.

For the first few days, I tried to avoid her, but in the end, the places to study and train are limited.

It was an inevitable fate that my and Aransel’s paths would overlap.

Aransel and I eat without any conversation.

Lapiel thinks Aransel and I have become friends.

There are many eyes in the mansion.

If we eat far apart from each other in the dining hall, it obviously won’t look like we’re friends.

That news will soon be conveyed to Lapiel.

Aransel wants to look good to her superiors.

I don’t want to worry Lapiel.

So, Aransel and I sat facing each other and ate, being mindful of the situation.

,Oh, you’re having lunch.

Just then, Sohan appeared.

He always woke up at this time.

It seemed like his lifestyle was far from being a morning person.

Then, a mark that looked like a mosquito bite was visible between Sohan’s collar.

I know what that mark is.

It’s a mark that my brother, who only has a good face, often had when he stayed out all night.

That bastard, he overslept because he was sleeping with a woman.

Sohan, who was said to have a strong libido, wasn’t overcoming it with mental strength.

He was just seducing women, making them like him, and then relieving himself.

I canceled my brief admiration for his mental strength.

Sohan looked at me and Aransel alternately and grinned.

,Have you two become a little closer?

,No.

At that moment, Aransel put down her utensils and got up from her seat.

,Not at all.

She glared at me for a moment and then left.

,She’s really sexy, you know.

Sohan must be blind.

He probably just likes any pretty woman.

,Aransel is a bit prickly, right?

,It doesn’t matter since she hates transfer students.

,From a transfer student’s perspective, it feels like discrimination. I apologize on her behalf.

He scratched his neck as if he felt a little sorry.

He’s lecherous but has a good personality.

No, is it because he’s like this that women never leave him alone?

,It’s okay. Sohan, as you said, it’ll be easier if we don’t pay attention to each other.

,It’s convenient if you think that way, but a little trouble has arisen.

,If it’s trouble?

,Do you know about the Star Sanctuary?

Before I knew it, the food was set, and Sohan flicked his fingers.

At that moment, the utensils floated around in his grasp.

As I watched it with surprised eyes, Sohan smiled briefly.

,My ability is to move blades freely. It’s a kind of telekinesis.

What, I’m so jealous of that.

,Thanks to this ability, I was able to enter under Master, the Lord of Swords. And maybe that’s why Aransel doesn’t see me in a good light.

,You’re being hated because of your ability?

,Aransel has no talent for the sword.

Sohan asserted.

,So, all she has is effort. Effort born out of revenge.

On the other hand, Sohan clearly has a useful ability.

I’ve only seen Sohan practice in the training grounds once.

That was a sight that truly deserved the title of a sword genius.

His swordsmanship was overwhelming to the point that it would be good to call Sohan when referring to a genius.

And it was a swordsmanship skill that was clearly different from Aransel’s.

Sohan, who had never even touched a sword in his life, was better than Aransel, who had been wielding a sword her whole life.

I could tell what that feeling would be like for Aransel without having to imagine it deeply.

,That’s why I don’t go to the training grounds often.

Aransel lives in the training grounds all day.

Showing her the sight of me practicing next to her would only earn her hatred.

But even so, Sohan’s swordsmanship skills continued to improve.

So greatly that Aransel couldn’t narrow the gap.

I know why she was close to Sisiroka.

Because Sisiroka has also been desperately trying to live.

And because she couldn’t escape the given talent.

I don’t know what Aransel’s revenge is.

I only vaguely know that it’s related to the transfer students.

,Okay.

And I didn’t pay much attention to it this time either.

,Ah, come to think of it.

Sohan lifted his head as if he had remembered something.

,Lapiel-nim told me to call you if I saw you earlier.

It’s Lapiel’s summons.