Ch.50Chapter 50: The Evaluation Begins (2)

#

Fortunately, I hadn’t completely turned my steps toward the training grounds.

Waaah-!

I could claim some share of the thunderous applause directed at Shizu for passing the test.

Waaah-!!

The thunderous applause from the crowd filling the center of the training ground showed no signs of stopping, even considering that I had claimed a decent portion of it as Shizu passed the test.

It was quite different from the reaction my fellow students had shown when I was the first to pass the test.

Right after I passed, there had been some murmuring with slight surprise and positive reactions, but it hadn’t stirred up such an enthusiastic response.

Of course, I didn’t need to be sensitive about this difference in how my fellow students reacted.

If anything, it was natural since the difference between me and Shizu during Big Sister’s evaluation was obvious to anyone watching.

There was no need to think about it too deeply.

Iriana Ranos.

Despite being female, she was the legitimate heir to the thousand-year-old noble house of Ranos, with skills and character that even the old imperial nobles who didn’t follow the absolute primogeniture couldn’t dispute.

She was also an exceptional powerhouse as the vice-captain of the Imperial Knights. Unlike me, who merely endured the fighting spirit she emitted, Shizu not only resisted that fighting spirit but even countered with her own.

When it came to the question of who could elicit a more passionate response from the audience, the answer was obviously Shizu.

“As expected, Lily is amazing. To engage in equal combat with Vice-Captain Iriana using only fighting spirit without even drawing her holy sword. We’d be gritting our teeth just to endure it.”

“It makes me wonder if she’s really around our age.”

Even while applauding, my fellow students lavished praise on Shizu, evidence that they found her performance during the evaluation more impressive than mine.

“I’m losing confidence in passing the evaluation.”

“Like I said earlier, even if I have to stand while unconscious, I’m going to take the evaluation.”

Yet amid all this, the voices tinged with vague fear from those who hadn’t yet taken the evaluation made their presence clearly known.

‘They seem worried.’

When I heard the voices filled with vague fear from those who hadn’t yet received Big Sister’s evaluation—looking at the fellow students sprawled on the ground, all having failed to withstand Big Sister’s fighting spirit except for me and Shizu—I had to stifle a small laugh that almost escaped my lips.

The reason was that even though I felt relieved after passing, I didn’t think I had the right to twist the mindset of those about to take the test.

‘It’s almost like cheating, in a way.’

I was gradually realizing that my ability to withstand Big Sister’s fighting spirit was based more on my experiences from before the regression than on the special privileges I gained after regressing or the training results I’d built up in this short period.

‘Big Sister’s current fighting spirit is impressive, but compared to what she emitted in her prime, the density is still somewhat lacking.’

With this realization, I found myself mentally comparing the fighting spirit emitted by the current Big Sister with that of her in her prime as the captain of the Imperial Knights in the time before my regression.

The dark age that arrived when the Demon God Desire, whom I had forcibly awakened on the day of my first death in the time before regression and who had made me his agent, resumed his activities in earnest.

In the midst of that era, among the heroes who fought on the front lines protecting humanity suffering from malice, Big Sister, along with Shizu, served as humanity’s strongest bulwark, fighting valiantly until the very end. The fighting spirit she emitted then was itself a mark of a powerful being and an excellent weapon.

Big Sister’s fighting spirit alone could harm beings tainted by demonic energy in various ways just by being released.

Lower-ranked demons would melt and burst apart the moment Big Sister’s fighting spirit—infused with sun-like heat due to her intensely refined Pricasa—touched their bodies. Even high-ranking demons bearing the blood-red pentagram as proof of the Demon God’s favor, or great demons who were fixtures in the demonic realm, couldn’t avoid struggling against Big Sister’s fighting spirit.

‘What was I like… back then?’

From my faint memories of helplessly watching my body’s actions as if trapped in a frame, I vaguely recalled how this monster that raged to burn the whole world down was overwhelmed by the brilliant fighting spirit emitted by Big Sister and Shizu when facing them.

‘I barely managed to keep up the exchange while enduring.’

When I fought Shizu, the monster in my form exploited her hesitation—her sword wavering because of my appearance—trying to gain the upper hand, but ultimately retreated repeatedly under the pressure of her sword and fighting spirit once she steeled her resolve.

Big Sister, who didn’t see the monster before her as her brother but as an evil that needed to be punished, had no such weaknesses. Despite being objectively slightly weaker than Shizu, she was an opponent the monster possessing my body desperately tried to avoid facing.

‘That’s a relief. A real relief.’

And confirming this fact brought me a strangely profound sense of relief.

It was relief that even in my second life, where I had committed unforgivable sins, that monster had been unable to harm the people precious to me.

“Sigh…”

But separate from the relief, there was also regret for my past weakness that couldn’t be easily dismissed, so I quietly sighed where no one could hear and made a small promise to myself.

“I need to become stronger.”

I needed to become stronger in many ways.

Not just physical strength like swordsmanship and the use of fighting spirit.

I also needed to further hone my mental fortitude, which in the past had been weak enough to burn with needless inferiority complexes while watching stars that were far ahead of me.

It was simple to say but not easy to execute. The various tasks before me seemed somewhat overwhelming, but I didn’t feel the slightest desire to give up.

Because the thought of wanting to protect the star who would illuminate this era—calmly receiving thunderous applause not far from me—swept away any negative emotions that might have lingered in my heart.

I clapped my hands more vigorously, adding to the intensity of the applause showered on Shizu.

‘Congratulations, Shizu.’

That was my only thought right now.

#

The applause for Shizu still showed no signs of diminishing.

Most ordinary people would probably be overwhelmed by such applause directed at them, unable to hold their heads high due to the atmosphere it created, but that didn’t seem to apply to Shizu.

Without showing any signs of embarrassment, she surveyed her surroundings with a gentle smile on her face—a demeanor that could be defined as dignified without the slightest deficiency.

Seeing this, I naturally felt pleased, but at the same time, a small question arose in my mind like ripples from a stone thrown into a lake.

‘Why did I act that way back then?’

Why did the me who lived through this time before regression burn with such misplaced inferiority when looking at Shizu? That was the question.

It was a small question that arose for just a fleeting moment, but once it emerged, it grew larger, one thought leading to another.

It was strange.

Even when I first met her as a child, I didn’t feel only warmth like I do now, but eventually, as time passed and we went through various ups and downs, the warm and pure feelings I had for her blossomed. Why did those feelings reverse so drastically into something dark and cold, as if flipping a hand?

I was gradually realizing that the reversal of my feelings toward you was too violent to be attributed simply to inferiority complexes.

Having experienced the miracle of surviving after two deaths and traveling back in time, my rationality had become more detached, allowing me to analyze situations objectively, and it seemed to whisper to me:

‘Could it be…’

That the darkness in my heart before the regression arose independently of my will?

The ripple-like question grew larger as time passed, but only briefly.

*Snap*

As Big Sister Iriana snapped her fingers in the center of the training ground, the seemingly endless applause finally stopped, and my thoughts halted as well.

“Applause is nice, but we need to continue with the evaluations, so let’s stop here for now!”

Only then did the slightly excited atmosphere in the training ground gradually find its composure.

Shizu paid her respects to Big Sister who was conducting the evaluation, then quickly stepped away from the center of the training ground.

Judging by the direction of her steps, she seemed to be heading straight to her designated space in the corner, but Shizu soon stopped and began looking around.

‘What is it?’

I was about to wonder who she was looking for, but that thought was brief.

“…Ah!”

Having found where I was, Shizu’s eyes sparkled as she instantly moved toward me, who was positioned slightly away from the crowd.

Even though I observed her from not too far away, I couldn’t help but admire how she approached with movements too quick for my eyesight to follow, despite being enhanced by body strengthening techniques.

But before I could feel pure admiration, Shizu’s movement ended, and what entered my field of vision was her golden hair swaying without any impurity.

“I… did well, right?”

Her voice carried something like an enormous expectation.

…What’s this? Could it be?

I think it’s what I’m thinking.

I carefully extended my right hand toward Shizu’s crown.

Though I extended it carefully, my gesture was so direct that Shizu must have noticed it, yet her head didn’t move at all, showing no signs of avoidance.

As if she welcomed my hand approaching her crown.

‘As I thought….’

Only then could I be certain.

Shizu was waiting for something right now.

And that something was what I should have done for her at dawn today but couldn’t properly do because of the incident with the Nibelung Ring.

It was head patting.

As these various thoughts and certainties intertwined, my extended hand touched Shizu’s crown.

“Hehe…”

At that moment, Shizu’s body didn’t move at all as she accepted my touch, softly letting out a laugh that revealed her contentment.

*Stroke stroke*

My right hand continued to gently caress her crown from top to bottom in a steady rhythm without pause.

‘Fortunately, we’re not in everyone’s line of sight.’

I was about to shrink back at the thought that if we were doing this in the middle of the training ground, we would have received the diverse gazes of all the students present, but…

“Huu…”

A soft sigh came from the center of the training ground, causing me to turn my head in that direction.

“Hmm…”

Big Sister was looking at me and Shizu while letting out a subtle groan.

I was about to question her expression, which somehow showed envy mixed with emotions that couldn’t be easily defined, but…

*Creeeeak-!!*

The sound of the training ground entrance being roughly opened interrupted my curiosity once again.

If it had been just the sound of the door opening, I would have ignored it and tried to speak to Big Sister, but…

*Thump thump thump*

The lightning energy that squeezed through the gap of the opened entrance prevented my mouth from opening.

It was a very familiar energy that I knew well.

“Haaa…”

As she recognized the lightning energy entering the training ground when the entrance opened, Big Sister placed one hand on her forehead and let out a quiet sigh—in some ways, she knew this energy even better than I did.

“That idiot is showing off his strength again without reading the atmosphere.”

The person Big Sister referred to as an idiot was only one person in my memory, and that hadn’t changed even after my regression.

The identity of that idiot was…

“Big Sister!”

It was Excel, who burst through the entrance door calling out to Big Sister with a voice full of vitality as if he owned the world.