episode_0037

“….Ropel Teufel, is that you…?”

“Ah, I just happened to be passing by… but when I saw it, I absolutely couldn’t just walk away.”

“How long have you been watching?”

“Actually, I should say I saw it from the beginning… Sorry, there were a lot of people, so it took too long to push my way through.

Sorry for not coming sooner”

Saying that, he walked towards Mark and my father.

I grabbed his hand and stopped him.

“Wait! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but don’t!

I’m saying this considering your skills and position.

You don’t need to worry about this matter!”

“I know that much too.

I definitely don’t need to interfere.

Maybe it’s even useless meddling.

But…”

His face, which had been answering me with a warm smile while looking at me, turned endlessly cold.

“..This situation, where they’re just cornering and tormenting one person, is just too disgusting, and unforgivable.”

Had he perhaps gone through something similar in the past?

His eyes felt more wistful and poignant than ever before.

“Who are you? Who dares to interfere in this matter?”

My father asked, expressing displeasure.

“Pleasure to meet you for the first time. Captain of the Serionz Knight Order and Head of the Serion Family, Lord Regulus Serion.

I am Ropel Teufel, just a mere friend of Seraphina Serion here.”

“A friend… If so, I ask why this mere friend has interfered.”

“I also request a duel.

To be more precise, I wish to request a sparring match.”

“Sparring match..? Did you say sparring match?”

“Yes. In the sparring examination a month from now, the opponent for the first match can be chosen by oneself, if the opponent agrees.

There, I will name Mark Visus as my opponent.

Surely, if someone designated by Lord Regulus Serion were to lose to me, wouldn’t that mean he is not yet capable enough?

Therefore, through the result of that sparring match, regarding not only Mark but also Seraphina, I would appreciate it if you would reconsider your decision on who to designate as the next head of the family.”

“…How utterly absurd.

Not only did you, a third party, suddenly appear during the duel, but you’re also making a ridiculous proposal from which we gain nothing.

And by someone who isn’t even a student of the Knight Faculty.

There’s nothing more to hear, Mark.

Ignore him and finish your duel with Seraphina Serion, my daughter.”

“That’s right, Master…?”

Mark, who confirmed the face of the man before him and reacted to the name Ropel he had just heard, subtly furrowed his brows and continued speaking.

…Had he remembered that incident from before, involving Lilith Tistina?

“…No, I will accept this duel.”

“Can you explain what that means?”

“There is nothing to gain, but at the same time, there is nothing to lose.

Since it’s a rare request, wouldn’t it be good to accept it magnanimously?

I can’t even imagine that I would lose anyway.

And frankly speaking, personally, I definitely want to have a sparring match with that person.”

“…If that is your will, then I also have no need to stop you further.”

My father showed a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Ropel, did you say Ropel Teufel? I shall accept that match.

Especially, even if you lose, I won’t demand any specific compensation.

However, I’d like you to promise me this one thing…”

Mark approached Ropel and spoke in a low voice that couldn’t be heard by others.

However, I, whose hearing was good, could hear it.

“Will you promise that you will not hold me responsible for any ‘accident’ that occurs during the sparring match?”

“Alright, I accept.”

At Ropel’s magnanimous reply, Mark also smiled faintly.

“Alright, then let’s meet again in the sparring examination a month from now.

I’ll be looking forward to it?”

After that, the training ground became even more chaotic due to the occurrence of another major incident that arose after the dungeon stampede.

Having finished the conversation, Ropel supported me, who was slumped over, and left the noisy training ground behind, moving his steps.

…

“First, I’ve brought some tea, but I’m not sure if it will suit your taste.”

The place he had brought me to was none other than his dormitory building.

A dormitory with one room per person, which only lower-class nobles could barely enter.

There, I was being served tea by him.

Having my injuries from Mark tended to was a bonus.

“Normally, I would have wanted to talk slowly at a place like a cafe… but I thought it would be better to talk somewhere quiet with no people after all.

First, try some tea. I bought it at quite a high price, you know.”

I wondered what he was doing bringing me to the dormitory so suddenly, but if that was the reason, I could understand.

Just then, I myself had been hearing unwanted conversations due to this hearing, so I wanted to avoid a cafe in a situation like this.

Thinking that, I took a sip of the tea placed before my eyes.

As if his words about buying it expensively weren’t a lie, its aroma was quite sweet and pleasing.

“…It’s good tea”

“Yes, as expected, I knew you’d like it.

I don’t know why, but I just felt like I knew.”

While drinking the tea, my mind, which had been chaotic earlier, was also able to calm down.

And at the same time, the seriousness of what the man in front of me had done struck me as if I had been hit on the head.

“You, it’s not too late even now.

It would be best to withdraw the duel request you made just now.”

Not only is there no chance of victory between Mark and him.

Even after the sparring examination is over, Ropel will suffer all sorts of humiliation, being called a mere brat who challenged without knowing his place.

I am grateful that he extended a hand for me, but it is an unreasonably heavy burden for him.

“What were you thinking when you did such a thing in the first place?”

“I asked earlier, but…”

“It’s not a matter on the level of simply ‘it didn’t sit well with you’!

Not only did you interfere with a Serion Family duel, but you also issued a challenge to the Dandelion Academy’s promising student, Mark Visus!

Do you truly not know the seriousness of this situation?

Perhaps you wanted to create a connection with the Serion Family through me?

Did you want to advance in that way?

If so, think again right now.

My father has practically abandoned me already.

On the other hand, that man, Mark, is not only favored by the academy’s dean, Lium Kitokal, but is also practically backed by my father, Regulus Serion, meaning the entire Serion Family!

You are saying you have made an enemy of someone you absolutely cannot oppose!”

“I know that much too.”

“Then why did you do it?!

You didn’t have to!

Why a reckless fight where there is absolutely nothing to gain and no sign of victory…!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Ropel Teufel grabbed both of my hands tightly.

Even though he was a man not particularly close to me suddenly grabbing my hands, I absolutely could not pull his hands away.

To be more precise, the thought of wanting to pull away did not arise.

Because the touch he offered was so warm and comforting.

“..Actually, this… it’s all my fault from the beginning… because I am weak… because I lack talent compared to Mark…

It is something that happened because my skill is inferior…

You didn’t need to interfere…”

“Seraphina…”

He looked at me with a wistful yet bitter smile.

However, it was not a look of pity, as if seeing someone unfortunate.

Eyes that only felt pure kindness, worrying about the existence of Seraphina Serion as an individual.

“I know well.

Maybe I just made the situation worse.

Maybe we haven’t known each other for that long either.

Still, I don’t regret interfering in that situation.

Wasn’t it you, of all people, who was in difficulty?

Who would shy away from hardship for a close friend.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he lightly pulled me into a hug.

When was the last time I felt warmth conveyed by another person?

Just as I didn’t want to pull his hand away, I didn’t want to pull away from his hug either.

Rather, in response to his embrace, I also placed my hands on his back.

“…You are truly foolish…”

“For a friend, for you, I can be as foolish as necessary.”

“You… I…”

I opened my mouth but couldn’t speak.

I couldn’t even remember what I had been trying to say in the first place.

Still, I seemed to know that I had to utter just one word, this one word…

“…Thank you.”

Bang bang bang!

I thought it was noisy outside the dormitory, and soon the dormitory door burst open violently.

“Wait, Ropel! What is that noise? You’re scheduled to duel with Mark! Because of that news, the Academy is in an uproar!

And who is this woman next to me? Who on earth is she, knowing your dormitory location and loitering outside the door!”

“Ro… Ropel..! I… I heard the rumor..! That… that you’re… you’re having the sparring examination… with… with Mark Visus….! A… A big commotion has… has arisen to the point that it… it’s being heard even in the Alchemy Faculty which has… has nothing to do with it…!

Ack… Wait, don’t push..! I… I’m Ropel’s fr… friend too…!”

Miss Tistina, whom I already knew, and a woman with bushy black hair with glimpses of yellowish color, pushing each other, burst through the dormitory door.

Perhaps they had already had an argument outside, as their relationship seemed hostile and not good.

But upon seeing Ropel and me hugging each other, they opened their mouths simultaneously in a terrifyingly cold tone of voice.

“…What are you two doing right now?”