episode_0029

“… ”

“… ”

She and I stared at each other in silence while the commentators introduced the players.

I was warned not to talk, so I just stayed quiet.

“… Sigh.”

After more than a month of silence, it was finally Lucica who spoke first.

She glared at me with dark circles and haggard-looking eyes.

“… You’re quite the person. You came all the way here.”

“I tried. Didn’t I tell you not to talk to me?”

“Before you get beaten up, I can tolerate that much.”

“Yeah? Anyway, how have you been?”

As I smiled lightly and asked how things were going, a red electric current flashed from the twintails that were slightly curled at the ends.

“Don’t act friendly. I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

She ground her teeth as she pulled out real, not wooden, twin swords from her waistband.

“I see… That’s too bad. I was hoping you’d calm down a little.”

With a bitter smile, I also took out the longsword from the scabbard at my waist.

Lucica looked around the noisy auditorium and stared at my face.

“I have a question. It may be a stroke of luck like others say, but if you really got here through skill, what on earth are you thinking?”

“I told you, I just tried hard.”

“Ha.”

Anger and sadness mixed in her pink eyes.

“Why are you trying to pretend to be something now? You’re a cowardly fugitive.”

Those eyes were screaming that what I was doing was meaningless.

It was filled with disappointment and contempt for the idiot who had already neglected the most important thing and was now floundering around.

I nodded, swallowing a bitter smile.

“Lucica I won’t force you to understand my circumstances without saying anything. But I want you to believe this. I’m not a coward or a runaway. I’ve never stopped wanting to be a good person.”

And he calmly expressed his will while pointing his longsword at her.

“So check it out for yourself. What kind of person I am.”

“Oh, I see.”

She also took a ready stance and raised her twin swords, crossing them.

“Then I’ll tell you properly this time. You’re just a slacker.”

A brief silence passed between the two―

The moment the audience became quiet,

phut!

Fireworks exploded above the stage to mark the start of the match.

“Haaah!”

Parts! Parts! Parts!

Red lightning shot out from Lucica, who bowed down and roared.

Unlike the mock battle where magical power is only used to strengthen the body, the Yeonmu Festival allows all magic and techniques as long as they do not cause fatal harm to the opponent.

Lucica unleashed her full power as soon as she started, as if she wouldn’t spare me an inch.

Red Lightning Man. Lucica’s signature magic that allows her to shoot lightning from her body and move at high speeds along its path.

“If what you say is true, how can you handle it!”

Tukan!

With a roar of anger, red lightning shot out from the dagger Lucica brandished.

The path is simply a straight line.

It was an expression of confidence that someone like me didn’t need psychological warfare through various channels.

An easy victory if you strike first before they can react.

That was her gamble.

Thud!

Lucica leaped in front of me like a bolt of lightning and swung her dagger―

-Kaang!

Red electricity burst out in all directions with a loud cracking sound.

“Huh?”

The next moment, Lucica realized she was lying on her butt in the grass.

Tuttuk!

A beat later, two daggers landed behind her.

―――

The inside of the podium became as cold as if cold water had been poured on it.

“Time, match over!”

After hearing the judgment, I withdrew the longsword that was pointed under Lucica’s chin.

He exhaled lightly, put the sword back into its hilt, and extended his hand towards Lucica, who was sitting with a blank expression.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh… Huh?”

Lucica looked at my face with bewildered eyes, as if she still couldn’t understand what had happened to her.

“They told me to handle it, so I did it.”

“… Huh?”

Waaaa …

Only then did mixed cheers burst out from the audience.

“What? What happened?”

“It seemed like Miss Lapis attacked, but it suddenly bounced off!”

“What the hell did that commoner do? I couldn’t see it clearly. ”

“No, wait! Are you saying that you really got there through skill?”

Groan, groan.

The podium was filled with the sound of loud talking.

Some felt surprised, while others still felt suspicious.

However, a few people who knew me seemed to be smiling happily.

The important thing was this.

“I won, Lucica.”

The fact that he won a head-on match against the 27th ranked Academy player who had opened up his power.

“Who’s being sloppy now?”

“What the…! Get out of my way!”

match!

Lucica had an expression full of shock on her face, but she slapped the palm of my hand that was holding out to help her up and got up on her own.

“I can’t admit it! With something like this… !”

“Lucica… I… ”

“Shut up! Do you think doing something like this will change the fact that you ran away from Tirisia?!”

“No… I don’t think so.”

As I nodded and affirmed, Lucica poked my chest with her finger and shouted.

“The reason I’m disappointed in you hasn’t changed at all! Even if you suddenly become stronger, nothing will change!”

“Yeah, I guess there’s nothing I can do. I understand how you feel too.”

“Try as hard as you can! In the end, you’ll realize that it was all in vain!”

To Lucica, who turned her back and left after yelling at her like that, I said this one last time.

“I hope that one day you will understand me too.”

“… !”

She clenched her fists and left the stadium.

“The winner, Erto!”

Although I defeated Lucica, who always felt like a high wall, I felt more empty than happy.

After all, unless I expose Tirisia’s corruption, she will never understand me.

To Lucica, Erto was just a worthless man who couldn’t overcome the burden and ran away.

What was more frustrating than being branded as such was the fact that I had hurt the feelings of Lucica, who cared for us more than anyone else.

“I’m sorry… ”

I apologized to the back of his head as he was already moving away, and left the stadium.

*

Victory, and victory again.

A martial arts festival held once every three days.

In that fierce battlefield where stronger opponents await those who survive, I finally succeeded in making it into the final eight.

By this time, any doubt had long since disappeared from the students’ gazes at me.

However, it seemed that opinions were still divided among the students as to whether I was the right person to be by Tirisia’s side.

As I walked around the academy, I could hear the commotion around me even though I didn’t want to hear it.

They seemed confused and had different thoughts in their minds.

“Look over there… It’s that commoner.”

“You suddenly became strangely strong. What happened?”

“Aren’t you after Miss Brewery’s boyfriend position again?”

“That person has gotten stronger, but he still doesn’t suit them to that extent.”

“Well, it’s worth seeing that you’re working hard.”

Some people gave me a little bit of recognition, while others still thought I was not even keeping up with Tirisia’s footsteps.

But it was okay. I didn’t expect to be recognized by everyone right away.

It was from this moment on that I really started challenging myself to achieve results that I was satisfied with.

The 8th round of the Yeonmu Festival.

Defeating today’s opponent would be a great culmination of all the training I’ve done so far.

If I could beat her, I would be able to give myself unabashed praise for a remarkable achievement.

So I headed to the podium for what might be my last fight in this tournament.

*

As I entered the stage after hearing the commentary’s signal to prepare, I saw my opponent walking from the opposite end.

She stopped about ten meters away from me and said hello.

“Oh-hohohoho! This is really unexpected! I never thought I’d meet you in a place like this!”

A girl with golden bun hair, supporting her chin with a black fur fan, placing her hands on her waist, and laughing in a truly noble manner.

Celdiane Elconza.

She, ranked 3rd in the official Academy rankings, was the opponent in this quarterfinal match.

“It’s all thanks to you, Seldianne.”

It was an obvious fact, so I smiled and thanked her.

“Hohoho! Of course! The lady has brought out all your new potential! After receiving this Elkonja’s teachings, there is no way you can remain in a daze!”

“Yes, thank you in many ways.”

Seldianne swung her arm and pointed the end of her fan at my face.

“But! Even your lady could not have predicted that a commoner would become strong enough to rise to this position! Even though the teacher was overwhelmingly competent, it is clear that you also tried hard! I will praise that determination alone, oh―hohohoho!”

“I’m embarrassed to hear praise from a great noble.”

I smiled and pulled my longsword from its scabbard.

Celdianne also shifted her fan to her left hand and drew her rapier from her waistband with her right.

Her crimson eyes glared at me with a look of arrogance.

“Player Yang, get ready!”

Seldianne, her smile brightening, shouted so that everyone on stage could hear.

“Your efforts are admirable, but this is all for now! As I said before! Since I met you here, I will destroy you with all my might! Oh-hohohoho! ”

“That’s what I was hoping for! Let’s compete without holding back!”

phut!

Firecrackers exploded in the sky to signal the start of the event.