Chapter 26 : Elicia

Rumors spread quickly.

To the point where it seemed like there wasn’t a single person in the academy who hadn’t heard of it.

That Luen, who had received Ophelia’s recommendation, had taken down Leonhardt in a single strike.

Some might have thought the rumors were exaggerated, but since more than a few people had witnessed it, everyone had no choice but to believe it.

Some said, “As expected of someone recommended by Ophelia,” while others said it must’ve just been luck.

But regardless of the reason, one thing was clear:

The hottest topic in the academy right now was Luen Phil Kalbrandt.

Of course… that didn’t mean my daily life had changed.

“Guess I’ve got a lot of free time now.”

[Because of that duel yesterday?]

“Yeah. I mean, they weren’t even brave enough to challenge Leonhardt. No way they’d come after me now.”

There were still nearly two weeks left until the class placement matches were over, but I wasn’t too worried.

Leonhardt’s combat skills were far above the other cadets, so they hadn’t even dared to send him a duel request.

And now that they’d seen me completely overpower him, it was unlikely anyone would challenge me either.

[…Cowards.]

“I’d say they just know their place.”

I responded with a wry smile at Nia’s comment, though maybe she was right.

After all, they must’ve been too scared to challenge me after seeing my strength firsthand.

Still, even with all that free time, I didn’t plan on slacking off.

‘I should watch some of the other cadets’ duels.’

I wanted to observe their abilities and talents too…

With a quiet sigh and eyes half-lidded, I ran a hand through my hair and looked slowly into the mirror.

‘And maybe catch a glimpse of those little rats too.’

Might as well take the chance to send a warning to that guy while I was at it.

With that thought, I put on my academy uniform and finished getting ready.

[So, no duels for today?]

“Yeah, even if I had one, today’s off due to the regulations.”

[…Really? Got it.]

Nia’s green eyes sparkled with interest.

Something about her expression made me uneasy, and I clicked my tongue, glancing her way.

“…You sure this is okay?”

“What’s the big deal? If we get caught, I’ll just say I’m here for fun.”

I blinked slowly, looking down at Nia clinging to my arm.

She had taken on a human appearance and was now walking beside me in an academy uniform.

At her casual reply, I gave a half-hearted chuckle and shrugged, starting to walk with her.

Well, like she said, if we got caught, we could just make something up.

And if needed, Nia could always hide herself before that happened.

We strolled calmly across the academy grounds.

In truth, if it weren’t for the class placement matches, only second- and third-year students would be attending school at this time of year.

Which meant there were very few people around who would be able to tell whether Nia was a freshman or not.

Honestly, even the other freshmen probably wouldn’t know.

It wasn’t like they all had each other’s faces memorized yet.

Maybe that’s why Nia’s steps felt so light today—

…Or maybe she just wasn’t thinking that deeply about it.

Either way, it didn’t really matter.

Once the semester started, there wouldn’t be many chances for us to go out together anyway, so making the most of our freedom now didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

More than anything, Nia seemed to be in a good mood—and that was enough for me.

“Hm… The weather’s nice today.”

Nia hummed a little tune as she spoke.

“It’s spring.”

Today’s weather matched the season perfectly—a warm breeze gently swept through the academy grounds.

The soft spring wind and the faint scent in the air were some of Nia’s favorite things.

…Of course, I couldn’t really feel those things properly myself.

At my calm response, one of Nia’s eyebrows subtly twitched upward, then relaxed.

Apparently, she didn’t quite like my answer.

I averted my gaze from her sharp side glance and gently tugged her toward the dueling grounds.

Though she let out a quiet sigh, Nia reluctantly followed along.

“Luen, you really need to watch your mouth.”

“…Who am I supposed to be careful around?”

It’s not like I had anyone I was particularly close to—what was there to watch out for?

“Me.”

Nia’s eyes gleamed with a quiet menace.

I could only nod slightly in response.

I’d learned from experience that if Nia got really mad, it could get messy.

“Hmph.”

“We’re gonna be late.”

Of course, I didn’t really think she was truly angry.

We’d spent enough time together that something this small wouldn’t set her off for real.

Even so, as I urged her along, Nia snorted but picked up the pace to walk beside me.

The reason I wanted to watch today’s duel wasn’t anything complicated.

Today was Elicia’s first match.

She’d been overshadowed by Leonhardt, but Elicia was actually ranked second in the academy.

According to whispers I’d heard among the students, Elicia had been flooded with duel challenges, much like I had.

Even though she was known as the strongest among the mages, her loss to Leonhardt must have left a mark.

Other cadets probably thought they had a shot at beating her too.

Of course, Elicia could’ve chosen not to accept any of them.

If she’d dueled me, the rules would’ve allowed her to skip other matches.

But because I ended up fighting Leonhardt on the first day, she had no choice but to take at least one duel.

And I wanted to see it.

Elicia’s chosen opponent was another mage—the second strongest among the magic students, and currently ranked fourth overall in the academy.

A mage versus mage duel.

There would be plenty to learn from watching.

“…Magic is just a crude trick in the face of beings like us.”

“I know.”

Mages had historically oppressed spirits without mercy, so it was only natural that Nia didn’t like them.

Well, my parents were mages, so I didn’t exactly hate them.

But that didn’t mean I liked them either.

Even if I used to feel proud of being from a prestigious magical bloodline… that was all in the past now.

While calming the grumbling Nia, I stepped into the dueling grounds with her.

“…It’s Luen.”

The duel hadn’t started yet, so the cadets were still chatting amongst themselves.

One of the female cadets spotted me and murmured quietly.

I glanced in her direction briefly, then turned my attention back to the arena without a word.

“Let’s go over there.”

Nia, for some reason clearly displeased, pouted and tugged me toward a corner of the stands.

It didn’t really matter where we sat—any seat offered a good view of the match.

Squeeze.

The real problem was Nia clinging tighter to my arm than before.

With the academy’s thin uniform shirts, this was… problematic.

“…You should probably give me a little space.”

“No.”

Not even a “Why?”—just a straight-up No.

I blinked and looked at her, confused by the blunt refusal, but Nia refused to meet my gaze.

Instead, she kept staring intently in another direction, holding onto my arm even more tightly.

This wasn’t the first time she’d done something like this, but it didn’t make it any less awkward.

I didn’t know if it was appropriate to say this to a spirit, but… Nia’s ahem size made this especially difficult.

Still, I noticed that something about her behavior was off today.

Letting out a quiet sigh, I led her to the corner and settled into our seats.

‘…What’s up with her?’

Even after sitting down, Nia kept glaring off somewhere, her grip on my arm unrelenting.

It seemed odd, so I asked—but she just shook her head and waved it off like it was nothing.

‘I really don’t get it.’

Whether it was a woman or a spirit, trying to read what someone was thinking was a pain.

Especially someone like Nia, who was unpredictable at the best of times.

I sighed inwardly but kept a calm expression as I gazed toward the arena.

Ignoring the low growling noises from beside me, I focused on the match.

A girl with light blue hair was slowly making her way into the dueling grounds.

It was Elicia.

Wearing her usual blank expression, she stepped onto the field.

Her face looked no different than normal, but… I could tell.

She wasn’t happy about this duel.

Well, not surprising.

She hadn’t chosen this fight, after all.

“OO……!!”

…But seriously, who is Nia glaring at like that?