Chapter 27 : Warning

A sparring match with Elicia—although it wouldn’t draw out her full power, it was bound to be thrilling.

In fact, it might even serve as a great source of inspiration for me.

There’s always something to learn in a duel between mages of equal standing.

I gazed calmly at the sparring arena.

“…Grrr.”

Nia, standing next to me, seemed to be growing increasingly agitated, but I deliberately ignored it and kept my eyes fixed on the arena.

In this world, mages typically specialize in elemental magic. Of course, there are exceptions—mages like

Ophelia, who can use all types of elemental magic, even non-elemental ones.

But since that requires an extremely high level of skill, it’s safe to say most mages of similar level use elemental magic.

Elemental magic simply has much stronger firepower at lower levels compared to non-elemental magic.

Non-elemental magic has a very low floor and a very high ceiling, while elemental magic has a high floor but a much lower ceiling.

Moreover, very few people study non-elemental magic, making it a difficult discipline to master.

As far as I know, Elicia specializes in ice-element magic.

And naturally, since she uses ice magic, she’s also capable of using water-element magic.

‘If she uses water magic, I can easily counter it with Slimey.’

Of course, even if it’s not water magic, I can counter any elemental magic with the spirits I command.

The only ones I can’t counter are light and dark attributes…

‘Maybe I should make a contract with Sparkle too.’

That, too, was just a matter of time.

Besides, with overwhelming firepower on my side, it wasn’t like I’d automatically lose to light or dark magic.

In the end, when it comes to those attributes, it’s all about individual skill.

As I let my mind drift through various thoughts, it seemed the sparring match was about to begin.

The winner would obviously be Elicia.

But still, what mattered was how she would win.

So I kept my gaze on the arena with cool, assessing eyes.

The strategy games of mages—what they think about during battle, how they fight, how they wield their powers and apply them in combat, how they compensate for weaknesses.

At this academy, I intended to learn all of it.

And Elicia’s duel would be the beginning.

“…Luen.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Ah, sure. Go ahead.”

From Nia’s perspective, a mage’s duel held no interest at all.

To her, mages were beneath her—and honestly, she gave off that vibe in general.

I turned slightly to glance at Nia as she stood up, then turned my eyes back to the arena.

[We will now begin!]

With the host’s voice, both Elicia and the boy she was facing let out long breaths.

At the same time, they began drawing mana and casting spells.

I watched their battle without blinking.

Step, step.

For Nia, this place—a human academy—meant absolutely nothing.

In fact, if it weren’t for Luen, she never would’ve set foot here.

She would never wear such uncomfortable clothes either, if not for him.

That’s how much he meant to her.

To endure such discomfort and displeasure, it meant that to Nia, Luen was the most important thing in the world.

From the brief time they had spent together in the past, to the moment she saved his life and the time she had stayed within him—

Nia had lived her entire life thinking only of Luen.

For someone like Nia, who had lived a very long time, it was a completely new feeling.

She had never looked after someone like this before…
especially not a human.

But of course, Luen wasn’t like other humans.

From the innate affinity for spirits he possessed at birth, to his personality, his appearance—everything about him.

That’s why Nia had no intention of letting anyone who might hurt her precious Luen off the hook.

For now, she was holding herself back—because Luen wished it, and because he was still alive.

But if something were to happen to him…

She had no intention of letting them—or this world—off the hook.

And that was exactly why Nia couldn’t feel at ease in the current situation.

“…You,”

Nia’s cold voice echoed through the empty hallway.

The sparring had started, so no one was around.

She leaned against the corridor wall, her eyes icy and fixed on the other end.

“Don’t you think you’re way too shameless?”

Except when dealing with Luen, Nia held absolutely no respect for humans.

They were never deserving of such a thing to begin with.

The only reason she had even shown the slightest respect to Ophelia was because that woman helped

Luen—and wanted to help him.

That was it.

In that sense, the woman standing before her now didn’t deserve even a speck of Nia’s respect.

Emil met Nia’s gaze with a slightly flinching expression.

Or rather, she pretended to flinch, all while scanning Nia from head to toe.

An average human might not have noticed the act, but such a feeble trick didn’t work on Nia.

Picking up on Emil’s deceit purely through emotion, Nia scoffed and tilted her head mockingly.

Emil exhaled softly and hardened her expression.

“And who do you think you are, saying things like that?”

Disgusting.

As Emil dropped the act and revealed her true colors, Nia muttered under her breath and slowly began to speak.

“I know exactly what you did.”

“What did I do, huh?”

Grit.

Since yesterday, it wasn’t the jealous stares directed at Luen, nor the fake concern from the other students that irritated Nia the most.

No—the thing that truly grated on her nerves was Emil’s shamelessness, standing in front of Luen like she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“You abandoned Luen when he was going through the worst time of his life.”

Nia wanted to expose the truth—that Emil’s family had betrayed Luen’s.

But that wasn’t what Luen wanted.

So she swallowed the words burning at her throat and curled her lips into a mocking smile.

Emil, staring back at her, hardened her expression even more.

“So what? You used that chance to slip in and take your place next to him?”

Just like Nia, Emil was deeply annoyed.

She had expected Luen to still long for her, to not have moved on.

But then he had shown up—with another woman by his side.

And to make things worse, it didn’t seem like he was paying her much attention at all.

Meanwhile, the woman beside him looked at him like honey was dripping from her eyes.

Emil was skilled at using people— and just as skilled at reading their emotions.

So it was easy for her to understand what that gaze truly meant.

And on top of that…

‘She’s pretty.’

She really was.

With a beauty that easily outshone her peers and a strikingly voluptuous figure, Emil couldn’t help but clench her teeth.

“You speak like you were always meant to be by his side.”

It was true that Emil had known Luen for a long time.

But she had never truly loved him—never genuinely cared for him.

To her, Luen was nothing more than someone to use. That was all.

So Emil had no right to stand by his side now.

Nia calmed her thoughts and said so quietly.

Ironically, it was Emil who felt more offended by Nia’s composed demeanor.

“Do you even know how much Luen cared for me? You’re only saying that because you don’t understand, aren’t you?”

“…I do understand. You received far more affection than you ever deserved.”

Of course she knew.

Nia had watched, always at Luen’s side, and seen with her own eyes how deeply he had cared for Emil—how precious she had been to him.

That was exactly why Nia could never, ever forgive her.

Even after receiving all that affection, all that tenderness, that girl had still abandoned Luen.

And at the very moment he needed someone the most—when he was at his lowest and in pain.

“If you know that, then how can you say something like this?”

When Nia answered her so plainly, Emil instead smirked and raised the corner of her lips.

As if she had regained control of the conversation.

Nia let out a dry chuckle and met Emil’s eyes coldly.

“It’s because I know that I can say this.”

“After doing something like that, and now trying to crawl back to his side… your shamelessness is what really disgusts me.”

Let Luen go? Not a chance.

Not to Emil, not to anyone.

Even if the imperial princess offered up the entire empire for him, Nia wouldn’t back down.

If the one asking was Emil? All the more reason to never step aside.

Of course, Nia was aware that Luen no longer held any feelings for Emil.

She knew, too, that he was enduring her presence out of pity—and to deliver a deeper sense of despair.

Still, even so—

“So don’t come near him again. If you cross that line one more time…”

Nia had no intention of watching Luen get hurt again.

“…I might just kill you.”

Because she could stay by his side—especially now.