A Chance to Atone (1)

“Amazing! The last player who earned a ticket to the round of 16 with a fantastic combination of swordsmanship and aura is named Baroo~!! Harub Ho~Phen!!!”

-Wow⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!

The audience shouted for the arena to collapse, and Harb Hoppen politely raised his sword surrounded by a blue aura as if responding to their voices… He was rolling his thoughts without paying attention to the fact that he had defeated the formidable enemy before him or to the voices of the audience.

‘It’s not coming out… The ‘red’ aura from that day, isn’t coming out at all.’

The last evening when we held the survival match to select the ranked players.

I tried to recall the swordsmanship and aura I had used against the slime that day, over and over again, but all I got in return was a regular blue aura.

As you reach Aura Level 3, your Aura usage increases, and you can even use it on your sword for a limited amount of time, or even on your body.

However, the sword he swung that day was completely different from the sword he wielded now.

If I had to explain it, it was like the sword that my brother swung that day when he said he would give me strength. The day Rudis used the magic called [Gabul] on me… It was very similar to the aura. No.

‘Sensually, it was just the same sword.’

It’s been a very long time… It’s strange to say that. In any case, after three months, he had swung a sword of a similar level, and at that time, he had only swung it for a moment, but that incredible level, he had maintained for almost a few minutes that day and cut down a slime with it.

But I can’t understand why it worked then and why it doesn’t work now.

Harv, deep in thought, walked down the arena where the crowd had begun to dwindle and headed to the waiting room.

He started to lose himself in his own world for a while, but there was someone who stopped his feet and thoughts.

“Again… Are you thinking about that day?”

“Oh, Loretta.”

His fiancée, Loretta Rohrich.

Because she was waiting for me, with towels, first aid supplies, and light magic ready to use on me, who was injured and sweaty from the ranking match.

“The opponent was strong. Level 3 magic and level 3 spearmanship. You said that this wasn’t an opponent that could be easily defeated while thinking of other things? Look at this. The fire spear that grazed my cheek earlier… I got a slight burn because of it.”

“Yeah… Sorry, I understand that it can’t be helped. But once I touch it, I keep wanting to reach out.”

He bent one knee to help his fiancée, who was jumping around trying to treat his small cheek, and after making that excuse, he thought quietly.

That day, his sword and body were surrounded by a red aura, and even now, he continued to perform sword strikes that were unbelievable. Wasn’t it none other than the ‘crisis’ of that day?

Wasn’t it that his talents blossomed in order to overcome that crisis? Because of that thought, he absentmindedly took on attacks that he wouldn’t have taken if he had focused, and he even tried to create a crisis by deliberately facing the opponent’s power, but the result was always the same.

The crisis that could be known was merely an ‘artificial crisis’, and was not enough to know anything.

“Ouch. If you’re going to get hurt like this, you should go see that person instead.”

“Huh? Loretta told me not to see you for a while, so I wasn’t going, right? “

“That’s it… !”

After finishing Harve’s treatment, Loretta glared at her fiancé with eyes as bright as an animal’s and shouted with a hint of resentment.

“Survival is over! I was down for 3 days! After getting involved with that guy! Harve keeps getting seriously hurt! “

“Haha.”

Although she shouted loudly, her screams, which were small to begin with, could not even be heard in the waiting room hallway.

But from Harb’s perspective, who knew her well, it was a shout that made him realize how angry she was, so he couldn’t help but laugh.

“But I still don’t think it’s my brother’s fault that I’m getting hurt. It’s just… my greed to become stronger.”

“Hey…! Do whatever you want! If you keep doing this in the next round of 16, you’ll be eliminated! Ah! I’d rather go see your face! “

“Huh? My round of 16 opponent is out already?”

“Are you stupid?! Harve’s opponent came out yesterday!”

The last match of the round of 32 was against Harve, and it was frustrating to see my fiancé not knowing the bracket for the previous tournament.

He was so worried that he would get hurt while fighting a strong opponent, but he was only focused on the level he had reached in survival.

Loretta begins to think that this and that, everything, is Rudis’ fault for making him stronger.

“Uh… Sorry. But who is my opponent?”

“Wow! Crown Prince Albert! The swordsman of the Kingdom of Frisia! I told you yesterday that there was a rumor that you reached Auror Level 3 in the last 32 rounds!!”

“Ugh… Sorry!”

When I gently stroked the top of my head with apology to my fiancee who was giving me a full-force massage of her thighs, she puffed out her cheeks and furrowed her eyebrows like an angry animal.

Harve thinks, smiling awkwardly at her cute appearance.

‘Albert… He was the guy I met at the survival show that day, the one with whom my brother had a bad relationship.’

-Because of you, Nora is almost dropping out of the academy. Because of that, her hatred for black magicians is growing stronger again. Even Ellis was seriously injured in her right hand by a third-year named Violet, so she couldn’t even participate in the rankings. Don’t you feel responsible for that?

A man who only spoke authoritatively and selfishly, reminding her of herself and her older brother Galve.

I remember him as a person who literally painted a picture of homophobia and tried to annoy me.

“Harbuu! Another thought?!”

“No, no! This time, I thought about the next game, and don’t worry too much. I think I’ll be able to focus properly in the next game. Oh, but I guess getting hurt a little can’t be helped… “

“That’s why! Don’t get hurt and focus every game… !”

Harb thought to himself that he could never lose to Rudis in the next match, even though he didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with her or what grudge she had against her, and he took the punch that was full of worry from his fiancée.

*

“That’s a mess.”

Looking at the round of 16 bracket, I can’t help but sigh.

Raoul Edmont vs Nora

.

.

.

.

Albert vs Harb Hoffen.

Coty Royal Labyrinth vs Thomas

Rudis vs Amira Jenna

What the heck is this?

Originally, the round of 16 was supposed to be between Princess Jenna of the Amira Kingdom and Nora, who would gain the starting point for her growth to advance to the next stage, but Nora’s opponent ended up being Raoul.

And Raul’s opponent was originally Harb, but Harb ended up playing against Albert…

The princess ended up dealing with Toma, the so-called next swordsman, who was in his early twenties and whom Ellis had to deal with out of the blue.

Hahaha! This is crazy. This is a mess.

First of all, I have no problem. I know the opponent’s weaknesses through information from my past life, and she doesn’t know me.

I finished all the matches from the round of 64 onwards in less than a minute combined.

So they’re going to be in the round of 16 with very little information about me.

The biggest problem is that Nora and Albert, the sub-heroine and the main character, are facing off in the round of 16. Where on earth did this kind of genealogy come from?

It would have been nice if Raul and Thomas or Harve had gotten together to give them some momentum for growth, but it seems like the picture will turn out to be one where one of the two won’t be able to build a foundation for growth.

Is this okay? I think I can hear the sound of the main characters’ growth plates closing!!

And finally…

‘The princess is Tomarani, so this is just abstention…’

He is a truly skilled person who has come this far through personal skills alone, without enrolling in an academy, and through adventures and training at a young age. He was originally Ellis’s opponent.

But since my opponent didn’t even show up, I expected him to get tangled up. But even so, the fact that my opponent was the princess was a bit…

‘Should I just text him and tell him to abstain? But I think he’ll get upset if I do that.’

In the encounter with the Empress a few days ago, I clearly sensed the high-density magical power control that would normally not have been noticeable.

Clearly, the princess has also completely departed from the story since meeting me and is becoming a complete irregular.

And, funny enough, I don’t feel that bad about it.

‘… Ugh, in times like this, just… .’

-Tiring.

-Your Majesty, your opponent is a man named Toma. He is incredibly strong.

-Tiring.

-Oooh! But the girl will win! I want to meet a commoner in the final!

-Tiring.

-Yes? Me?

-Tiring.

-Net! Girl, if you win the finals, you have a wish!

-Tiring.

-Uh… If I just tell the Emperor, Father, wouldn’t he make it happen right away? In the first place, you said you would defeat me…

-Tiring

-Whoa!! Did you just call me father?! The progress is so fast! But the girl is a good student so she can keep up!!

-Tiring

-… This is not a joke, the opponent is seriously dangerous.

-Tiring.

-The girl is not joking! Look forward to it!

‘… Ah, it’s really cute.’

I tried to push the flow by saying that it would be better to just abstain, but it seems like this cute person is determined to flirt with me openly.

Well, I’m already dealing with it in that way, so I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now.

But, really, what should I do? I have my teacher’s work to do… No, right now I have to focus on the person texting me.

-Tiring.

-Don’t get hurt and stay strong. I won’t expect much.

-Tiring.

-Look forward to it!!

I giggled at the text that sounded like the princess’s roar.

I don’t really care about the development of the already distorted ranking battle.

*

-Tiring.

-I sent it by mail. It’s for the families of the finalists. Since our family won’t be coming, I hope you can come.

-Thank you. And… I’m really sorry.

-No. We’re… close classmates from the Academy, right?

-Yeah… Thank you very much.

-Um. So, when do you plan on coming to the Empire? If you come early, I’ll pick you up…

Imperial Airfield.

After a more rigorous immigration check than expected, she emerged from the airport and gazed at the city shining brightly even in the darkness with slightly clouded golden eyes.

“Rudis is here. And… “

Mom too.

A half-human, half-beast with one hand still wrapped in a bandage.

She, who had been absent from the story, arrived in the empire.