I Absolutely Cannot Lose to You.

“By the way, Teacher Lloyd, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

When things had calmed down a bit.

I sat down next to Teacher Lloyd again and looked around as I asked.

“Why are there so many people gathered here?”

“Ah well, I only know from what I’ve heard… but they say a duel between the top and second-ranked students is almost like an annual event at this academy.”

“…An annual event?”

“It’s something that happens every year, though no one decided it. The fight between the second-ranked who can’t accept being second, and the top-ranked trying to maintain their position.”

Indeed, unlike the regular class where graduation is guaranteed as long as you can afford the tuition, the students in the advanced class are all prideful to the extreme.

Among them, it’s inevitable that the top and second-ranked would develop a sense of rivalry towards each other.

So I understand why it’s treated as an annual event, but that’s not the only thing that bothers me.

“But for something that’s drawn such common interest… they’re sitting quite separated.”

I don’t know if it was intentional, but where Teacher Lloyd sat was in the ‘regular seats’, which had the most space allocated among the spectator seats.

It’s comfortable to sit in, but that’s about it, and the students and faculty seated here were mostly commoners or lower nobility.

On the opposite side, the seats were filled with sophisticated and elegant decorations at a glance.

Just by seeing servants walking around and attending to people, you could immediately tell that those seated there were of special origin.

Commoners with commoners, nobles with nobles…

In this vast space, even though no one decided it, the seats ended up divided like this.

“I guess the gap hasn’t been filled even after the long war.”

Teacher Lloyd brought the cup of cola to his mouth as he looked at the scene.

The sweet aroma filling his mouth and the characteristic fizzy feeling of carbonation.

Yet his face as he stared at the opposite side was very stiff.

As if he found the situation, where people were clearly divided by their origins, distasteful.

“…Teacher Lloyd.”

And I too sympathize with Teacher Lloyd to some extent.

That’s why I couldn’t help but feel one concern as well.

“You said that the top and second-ranked students facing off is almost like an annual event every year, but has there ever been a case where a commoner and a noble directly faced each other?”

“…There hasn’t been.”

A society where class distinctions still exist even though national borders have been demolished.

In such a place, how will the result of this fight be received?

Moreover, if the one who gains the upper hand is a commoner, not a noble?

“Are you worried about that child?”

Teacher Lloyd carefully asked me as I thought about him.

Even his usual eye-smile had slightly drooped corners now.

I answered with a bitter smile at his words.

“I am worried. After all, he’s the first child I can call my student.”

Yes. Regardless of win or lose, it seems the time he would have to face this someday has come now.

Such thoughts vaguely arose as I looked down at the training ground.

---

“So, you two are the ones having a duel from this year’s class.”

Dale and Binz stood on the training ground.

Standing between the two facing each other side by side was a long-haired man with a bushy beard on his chin.

His hair looked unkempt.

But Binz knew how great the man in front of her was.

“I’m sorry for the unreasonable request during your busy time, Sir Harsion.”

Gale Harsion.

He was a hero from the Allied Forces that opposed the Empire, counted as one of the most outstanding generals who turned the tide of war the most on the front lines at that time.

Of course, for Binz, who is from the Empire, an officer of the Allied Forces could be considered ‘someone who was an enemy’, but she doesn’t mind that much as it’s now an era of peace.

Above all, after leaving the battlefield due to injury issues, hasn’t he been working hard for the era of peace since becoming a teacher at this academy?

Even if their factions were different, his strength and popularity as an individual were worthy of respect.

“Ho ho, that’s quite a nostalgic title. I haven’t heard that name since coming to this academy.”

Harsion laughed good-naturedly at Binz’s respect.

Hearing this conversation, Dale looked at him and started to express admiration.

“Teacher, were you a hero?”

“Everyone who goes to the battlefield is a hero. I was just lucky, that’s all.”

“Uh… You became a hero because you were lucky? Like drawing a holy sword in a lottery?”

“Haha, that’s an interesting idea, but I’ve never drawn anything like a holy sword. I’ve never beheaded a dragon or single-handedly founded a country either.”

Such titles just come naturally if you survive.

The front lines of war were such a place.

“And whatever my past may have been, I’m retired now, so in this school, just call me Teacher Gale.”

“Hmm, okay, I got it. Teacher Gale!”

Dale Enberton called out to him with a bright smile.

Gale looked at him with satisfaction, then immediately took out what was hidden behind his back and handed it to the two of them.

“Now then, I’ll explain the rules needed for the duel, so both of you put these bracelets on your arms first.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a magic tool. When the fight starts, the functions of this training ground will activate, and from that moment, mana responding to the vein will dwell in the bracelet, creating a thin magical barrier on your bodies.”

A bracelet engraved with complex patterns.

Dale’s gaze, while holding it and examining it from various angles, soon turned to the glass dome covering the ceiling of the training ground.

“Like that window up there?”

“Yes, just like the window, it naturally accepts mana and activates its functions.”

“Hmm, come to think of it, that’s strange. Mana exerts physical force through will, so how does it function without a mage?”

“I don’t know much about that since I’m not in charge of managing it, but I hear the mana vein existing under this academy is quite unique. At least within this academy, it’s possible to use magic tools without people as long as they follow a special manufacturing method.”

“A special manufacturing method?”

“That’s…”

“Sir Harsion.”

A sharp voice interrupted just as he was about to answer.

It was Binz, still glaring at Dale.

“No, Teacher Gale. If I may say so, it might be better not to speak too much about that part. Above all, now is the time for a duel, not a lesson, so please finish explaining the rules.”

“Ah, that’s right. Sorry, Dale. Look into what you’re curious about later when you have the chance.”

“Ah, yes.”

Dale reluctantly complied with Gale’s request.

Even so, he didn’t feel particularly disappointed.

With just these words, he could at least form a hypothesis about why his bracelet or the windows covering the ceiling of the training ground function.

‘Perhaps the mana vein existing underground here has will of its own?’

Will is energy.

Dale, who had come to this conclusion through his own reasoning, felt strongly convinced of this idea.

If that vein, for whatever reason, has its own will, it might be possible to naturally inject mana into the magic tools existing above it.

“The rules are extremely simple. When the signal starts, all functions of this training ground will be activated, and you can do anything you can as long as it doesn’t interfere with these functions. You can use magic, throw tools, or physically approach even if it’s not magic.”

“Does that mean we can use martial arts or weapon techniques if the distance is close?”

“Even if strikes are made, the barrier will block them, so you don’t have to worry about getting hurt. Just be careful that if you use tools, you can only use ones that have been permitted in advance.”

Of course, both of them came to this venue empty-handed, so they wouldn’t have to consider that.

Gale continued his explanation while looking at both of their bracelets.

“Victory in the duel is determined when a signal comes that the durability of the magical barrier created by this bracelet has reached its limit, or when one side declares defeat. And when I personally judge that further fighting is meaningless. Other than that, there are no rules to follow, so you don’t have to think too complicatedly.”

The means and methods are free. Other than that, just focus on wearing down the opponent’s resources.

Simple, but because of that, it’s enough of a condition for the fight to be fierce as all aspects need to be considered.

-Click.

Binz, who put on the bracelet while acknowledging this point, quietly gazed forward.

At Dale, who was likewise putting on his bracelet.

“…Ring.”

While staring at that bracelet, Binz noticed the ring on Dale’s finger.

“Is that ring a magic tool?”

“Huh, this? No. I just wear it.”

Dale answered nonchalantly.

Then, as he looked down at the ring, a sense of contentment could be felt on his face.

As if he considered that ring a precious item.

‘What a careless thought.’

If it’s such a precious item, he shouldn’t have brought it to a duel.

While feeling indignant at such thoughts, Gale’s gaze, who was watching the two, gradually turned to the surroundings of the training ground.

‘I’d like to advise them to do their best while keeping their minds at ease, but… with so many spectators gathered, that’s difficult too.’

Although the top and second-ranked students’ duel is said to be an annual event, in the five years Gale has been the judge, he’s never seen so many spectators gather.

It’s probably because this fight has many different aspects compared to those until now.

“Is that girl the young lady of the Jogret family?”

“The Jogret family is a place that has produced many outstanding talents. Even historically, their status is said to be comparable to that of a duke’s family.”

“Then how did she end up losing to a commoner?”

“Surely the talent of this year’s class couldn’t be that poor…”

“Shh, watch your words. There’s no way the heir of the Jogrets could be like that, right?”

Voices coming from the seats where nobles were mainly gathered.

Their words were all full of praise for Binz, along with sneers at the boy who was her opponent.

Not only did a mere commoner stand above the nobles.

They felt his intention to defeat the heir of a promising family even in a duel was malicious.

“…That boy is the top student?”

On the contrary, those sitting on the opposite side were looking at them with distaste.

The commoner class who don’t hold power.

Despite the culture of dueling being unfamiliar, the reason their numbers overwhelmingly outnumber the nobles is because one of the participants in this duel is an unprecedented commoner.

“They say he’s a commoner like us.”

“I heard he came from a place called Lenin’s Sleeve?”

“Isn’t that a lawless area? They say there’s no government like a monarchy, so no criminal record remains no matter what you do…”

“But he’s the same age as us, surely he couldn’t have done anything dangerous?”

“Besides, if it’s a lawless area, it’s a place with nothing, right? Isn’t it amazing that he achieved top rank from there?”

Yes, an unprecedented genius has appeared from an environment even harsher than their own.

This fact would have raised great expectations among the commoner class who have been oppressed until now.

“…Now then, you two, spread out immediately.”

Of course, such an atmosphere is not something for the judge to consider.

He’s just here to watch over the duel and prevent either side from getting hurt.

‘Dale Enberton, I absolutely cannot lose to you.’

As everyone’s attention focused, Binz, who had turned her back at her position, bit her lip and clenched her fist tightly.

Despite having abilities that surpass her own.

To rebuke the foolishness of the boy who still doesn’t realize the weight of the position he stands in.

“Now then, stand in your positions facing each other.”

Finally, when the distance had widened sufficiently, the two took their positions.

As they faced each other with contrasting emotions, Gale, reading the atmosphere, raised his hand.

-Woong.

The vibrating sound coming from his hand at that moment was to signal the devices installed throughout this space.

The moment this mana is received, the mana rising from the underground vein will immediately react with the devices and exert physical force.

“Begin!”

As his hand swung down, the declaration was made.

-Bang!!

Following that, Binz’s hand, surrounded by a barrier of physical force, swung and a breaking sound rang out.

Magic Missile.

A light attack that merely concentrates and shoots physical force flew towards Dale as soon as it started.