Chapter 20: The beginning of the attack again

“Who did this…?”

At Marie’s question, I momentarily swallowed my breath.

Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed by the gazes of women more often than not.

Of course, the main culprit behind this is usually Chris.

Whenever I meet her sharp, cold eyes—especially yesterday, when I touched her sore spot—I’m gripped by a sense of dread and fear.

But…

“Hm? Answer me, Emil. Who did this…?”

Right now, facing Marie, I feel a vertigo-inducing fear far greater than the terror I felt with Chris.

What is this…?

Her empty eyes.

Those pupils, which until just a moment ago sparkled beautifully in pink, now seem to suck in all light, as if they’ve turned into an abyss.

Looking into them, I felt an instinctive, primal fear—as if I might be pulled into that void myself.

“N-No big deal. Just something I’ve been up to lately.”

Feeling that fear, I instinctively realized something.

Answering honestly would be dangerous.

So, I forced a natural smile and brushed it off casually.

“Liar.”

But Marie didn’t buy my words so easily.

Step.

Instead, she took a step closer to me and gently placed her hand on my chest.

“Who hit you?”

As she said that, Marie smiled sweetly.

“It’s okay, Emil. Tell me.”

“H…?”

…

“I’ll help you.”

Help me?

For a moment, I almost asked her what she meant.

But I couldn’t.

That gentle smile of hers looked so unnervingly eerie to me.

Help me? What does she even mean by that…?

The moment I started questioning her words, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

Now that I think about it… Malcolm…

It occurred to me that Malcolm hadn’t been showing up at the academy lately.

Why did he come to mind now, of all times?

Well, obviously—because Malcolm had hit me before.

Seeing Marie ask about who hurt me naturally brought him to mind.

“Hm? It’s okay, Emil. I’m always on your side.”

While I fell silent, lost in thought, Marie stepped even closer.

Now, it wasn’t just her hand—her arm, even her chest, brushed lightly against me.

I wished some other student would pass by and break this atmosphere, but we were at the end of the hallway.

No one came by, and Marie approached me even more freely.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

Then, she leaned in close and whispered softly.

“I’d do anything for you. I’ll take care of everything. So, tell me, okay?”

Her beautifully glistening lips let out a cold voice in a cute tone.

“Who hurt you…?”

Of course, there’s no way I’d answer her.

“Stop it, Marie.”

At my firm voice, Marie, who had been inching closer as if to seduce me, froze in place.

Her smiling expression stiffened slightly, and she stared at me blankly.

To her, I spoke in a cold tone I didn’t want to use.

“I told you. I just want to stay friends with you.”

“So… I don’t want you to do anything for me.”

Honestly, I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have.

The resentment I held toward her was fully resolved when I rejected her confession.

Having achieved that goal, our relationship is over.

There’s no lingering grudge, nor any affection.

That’s why her approaching me like this felt entirely unwelcome.

Swish…

I pushed Marie away with both hands, separating her from me.

Then, I looked straight into those eyes I’d been afraid to face.

“Don’t make me dislike you any more than this, Marie.”

“E…?”

I don’t want to hurt her, but in this situation, being firm seemed like the right thing to do.

At my words, meant to push her away, Marie’s face filled with shock.

And then…

“N-No, Emil, that’s not it…! I didn’t mean to make you hate me…!”

“I know. It’s fine… As long as you don’t do anything, I won’t hate you.”

“…”

Her dark eyes began to sparkle again at those words.

But it wasn’t the pure, bright sparkle of the old Marie.

It was a shimmer wet with sadness and tears.

“Sob… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… Ugh, don’t hate me… Please don’t hate me…”

“It’s okay. I told you before—you’re not a bad person. So I don’t hate you.”

“Sob… Ugh…”

I did my best to calm Marie, who was sobbing and shedding tears.

However, I carefully avoided unnecessary physical contact like patting her head or hugging her.

I couldn’t afford to give her any more room for misunderstanding.

“Well, I’ll get going then… See you later.”

After that, I left the still-sniffling Marie behind and walked down the hallway.

She didn’t follow me.

Seeing her just standing there motionless, I felt a sense of relief and quickened my pace toward the classroom.

No way…

As I walked, my mind wasn’t on Marie but filled with thoughts of someone else.

Malcolm not showing up…

It was almost like a delusional assumption.

But for some reason, my instincts kept insisting it was certain, and I couldn’t shake that thought from my head.

After the little commotion with Marie, I kept pondering why Malcolm had disappeared.

But no matter how much I thought about it, no answers came.

So, for the time being, I set those thoughts aside and focused solely on my current goal.

“Haaap!!”

Whoosh!

Crack!

“Guh…!”

The wooden sword I swung was narrowly blocked by Chris’s own.

A bet to land five hits on Chris.

It had already been three days since that wager began.

Pushing thoughts of Malcolm aside, I concentrated entirely on winning this bet with Chris.

However, I’d developed a habit of scanning my surroundings before sparring with her—just in case Marie might be nearby…

“Hup!”

While I was distracted, Chris seized the opening and thrust her sword at me.

Swish!

But I dodged it, the blade grazing my cheek.

Though I’d let my mind wander during the fight, it was the third day now.

I’d grown fairly accustomed to her movements.

That’s why I could narrowly evade even a sudden thrust like that.

And the moment I dodged her attack—

That moment became my opportunity.

“Haaap!!”

Boom!

As I ducked to avoid her thrust, I swung my wooden sword toward Chris’s now-exposed midsection.

The situation reversed, and Chris’s eyes widened in surprise as she’d been the one waiting for an opening.

She couldn’t dodge this.

Thwack!

“Gah…!”

She barely managed to extend her left arm to block the strike, but it was still a hit.

A strike was a strike.

Tap tap!

“Phew…”

Having allowed the third hit already, Chris stepped back a few paces and glared at me with a serious expression.

“Haha, only two more to go, right?”

“…It’s not over yet, so focus.”

Chris’s stern face contrasted with my grin.

Ironically, though, the one covered in dust was me, the one smiling.

Well, of course—countless exchanges had passed before I managed to land those three hits on Chris.

To get those three strikes in this sparring session, I’d been hit by her wooden sword over twenty times.

In a real duel, I’d have obviously lost.

In an actual fight, I’d have died with her first attack.

But since this was a bet, I was the one smiling, and Chris was the one growing anxious.

That’s why, despite the pain coursing through my body, I grinned and pressed her even harder with sharper movements.

Whoosh!!

Crack!!

“Guh, you undead freak!”

Over the three days of sparring, Chris had given me a nickname.

“Undead.”

On the first day, she’d fallen for my taunts and beaten me to a pulp in anger until I was a wreck.

But on the second day, and now the third day—today—she’d given me that nickname for charging at her without even recovering.

“…If you’d just teach me swordsmanship, we could end this.”

“Shut it! You think I’d let that slide now?!”

Whoosh!

In her growing frustration and anger, Chris swung her wooden sword wildly.

But when she got excited, her sword’s trajectory became simple and wide.

It was threatening, sure, but easier than anything to dodge.

Now…!

I didn’t miss my chance.

“Guh…!”

Thwack!

The thrust she’d nearly landed on me earlier—

This time, I used that same technique.

Caught off guard in her excitement, Chris took the surprise attack to her shoulder.

Though perhaps due to my lack of skill, the damage didn’t seem significant—her right arm was still fine.

But still…

“That leaves one more.”

My goal wasn’t to incapacitate her but simply to land five hits.

I can do this.

Feeling the possibility, I smiled and gripped my wooden sword even tighter.

“Ugh… I’m gonna die…”

…

Feeling the pain throughout my body, I collapsed onto the ground.

I didn’t care one bit that the dirt stuck to my sweat-drenched body.

I just lay there, relieved to finally rest.

For a moment, I steadied my ragged breathing and inhaled the refreshing air, then glanced at Chris.

“Tch…”

With a frustrated look, she clicked her tongue and rubbed her left wrist, which had just been hit.

“So… you’ll teach me swordsmanship now, right?”

Chris didn’t answer.

But she didn’t say no either.

In other words, she was agreeing to my request.

“I did it…!”

Laughing joyfully, I pressed my head back into the training ground’s dirt, savoring the sweet taste of victory.

Three days… I did it in just three days…!

A surge of exhilaration welled up in my chest.

If this were my fourth run, I wouldn’t have achieved this even with a whole month.

The only reason I managed this was thanks to the perk of my “Blossoming Talent.”

To think I’d steal Chris’s techniques through sparring.

This was arguably the first time I’d truly harnessed the power of this perk.

After all, something like studying for midterms relied on knowledge I’d already reviewed multiple times in past runs.

Even without the perk, the advantage of “easy mode” alone had been enough to secure the top spot.

But winning a bet against Chris in swordsmanship?

For someone like me, who had no talent for it, this was an almost unbelievable achievement.

And through that victory, I realized the cheat-like potential of this perk.

Just three days.

In those three days of sparring, I’d figured out Chris’s patterns and managed to mimic her attacks closely enough.

That was the key to landing five hits on her.

“Emil.”

While I was resting and savoring my victory with a smile, Chris, who—unlike me—was still standing perfectly fine, quietly called my name.

I propped myself up slightly and looked at her.

“I lost this time.”

With a somewhat aggrieved expression, she averted her gaze and spoke softly.

“…But this defeat is just because my skills were lacking. It doesn’t mean my master is incompetent or anything.”

“Oh…”

Her words made me realize why she looked so upset.

It wasn’t just about losing the bet.

The real reason was the provocation I’d thrown out right before the bet.

Three days ago, to goad her into this wager, I’d insulted the swordsmanship of her adoptive mother, who’d taught her, calling it mediocre.

Her darkened expression was likely because she felt she’d tarnished her adoptive mother’s honor.

“Sorry. Now that I think about it, I should’ve apologized first instead of celebrating.”

Realizing this, I immediately brushed off the dirt and stood up.

Wiping the smile from my face, I looked at Chris with utmost seriousness.

“That thing I said about the person who taught you swordsmanship being mediocre? I take it back.”

“I only said that to rile you up. I didn’t mean it. …I’m sorry.”

Then, bowing my head slightly, I looked at her again.

Chris’s eyes widened in surprise before she…

“Haha…”

…gave me a small smile.

“Looks like I totally fell for it, huh?”

“You’re a bit slow to catch on, aren’t you…?”

“Shut up. That woman’s honor means more to me than my life.”

Her reply was sharp, but the smile didn’t leave her face.

Probably a sense of relief.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere between us lightened considerably.

“So, I just need to come here after school from now on, right?”

Now that Chris’s mood had brightened, I casually asked about our future schedule.

She nodded readily and replied.

“Yeah. …But since we’re doing this, don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

“Yeah, I figured…”

Her chilling declaration brought back memories of my fourth run.

The recollection of swinging a wooden sword every day until I was battered and exhausted.

The physically toughest run out of all of them.

Still… I pulled it off somehow.

Now, I could finally start my攻略 (conquest) of Chris.

Focusing solely on that fact, I gave a small smile.

Just then—

“Wow, this feels like one of those heart-pounding moments, huh?”

“…Edric.”

A familiar voice came from behind me.

At that voice, Chris muttered the name of its owner with a surprised expression.

“Hey, Chris. I was just watching for a bit. You were so into it, you didn’t even notice me. Haha.”

I slowly turned my head to look at the source of the voice.

There, leaning against the fence, was a tall man with a friendly smile and short, sporty black hair.

Edric Balfour.

This was our first meeting in this run, but I knew him very well.

He was Chris’s fiancé and one of the male leads of Sierra.

And the loathsome guy who’d taken Chris from me.

***

As you all probably know, In the original story, Edric abandons his fiancée, Chris, and chooses Sierra.

So, with the mindset of “If he’s going to toss her aside anyway, I’ll take her,” our protagonist went for it! (Wink)

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