episode_0059

“..I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll clean it up for now, so please wait─”

The moment I was about to magically remove the blood and flesh that covered my and Cosette’s bodies, something rose from the remains of Patrick and Girne.

As it vibrated once, making a strange, buzzing sound, surprisingly, the flesh and blood that had been spread out in all directions were absorbed. Of course, everything that had been stuck to my body and clothes, including Cosette, was also sucked cleanly.

As I was momentarily lost in thought over the incomprehensible phenomenon, Yugram quickly approached me and grabbed something that looked like a small piece of metal, putting it in his arms. The fact that Yugram, who usually doesn’t get involved in anything, reacted like that meant that it was a pretty dangerous object.

“..Yugram, that?”

“This is not the place to talk about it.”

Yugram answered sharply. I nodded. I don’t know what it is, but if Yugram says so, then it must be so.

“First, Cosette, run straight back to the dormitory. The dormitory will probably be safe. I’ll go find Ayla and Mathias.”

“..Ugh, sorry.”

It was obvious that Cosette had given up on saying that she would go along. Given her personality, it must have occurred to her that she couldn’t send me alone on such a dangerous mission, but she must have been disappointed when she realized that her skills would only get in the way.

I gently stroked Cosette’s head.

“The best thing would be if nothing happened, but… I’m sure there will be another chance to help you someday. Please help me again then.”

“..Yeah.”

Cosette nodded with a slightly tearful face and quickly ran towards the dormitory. After confirming this, I headed towards the forest where Ayla usually trained.

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─Cheong! Cheong!

The sound of metal clashing with metal echoed through the forest. In addition, the sound of kicking the ground and heavy breathing.

Since Mathias often makes defensive choices, he doesn’t synergize well with Ayla, who is all about attack.

Because Ayla was still excited and kept attacking, and was not skilled enough to exploit the natural weaknesses that arose, there were many cases where she would just block and lose because she lost strength.

Ayla didn’t care about such things, and she just enjoyed swinging her sword. No matter how accustomed she was to the weight, swinging the iron club nonstop would cause intense pain in her arms, as if they were on fire, and it was also common for her to have difficulty breathing.

That pain was the most basic wall that the inspector had to overcome, and it was also proof that he was becoming stronger. Ayla smiled and attacked Matias. It was the move that Ayla liked the most.

Mathias was waiting for just that in the suffocating onslaught of Ayla’s attacks. He had prepared to destroy just that one attack, the one he had seen hundreds of times during his sparring with Ayla.

Mathias’s body moved strangely. It was full of weak points and inefficient movements, but it was enough. Mathias dodged Ayla’s twin swords and aimed for Ayla’s neck with the same momentum he used to move his body.

Ayla’s eyes widened. She knew that he was aiming for something, but she never dreamed that it would come out like this. However, if she had the skills to just take it, she wouldn’t be in the intermediate class as a commoner. Although she couldn’t do the skill of returning the swung sword, Ayla responded in a different way.

Instead of dodging the sword of Matias that was piercing her neck, Ayla took a step closer. With the gap broken and the sword’s path twisted, Ayla dodged the sword by just nodding her head. She kicked Matias’ foot and sent him flying as if she was falling over.

Ayla and Mathias’ bodies were entangled and fell down. Of course, Mathias was on the bottom and Ayla was on top. Ayla’s hair, which had come loose at some point, poured down like a waterfall and covered their faces. Ayla gently pressed Mathias’ neck with her left forearm, and with her right hand, she hit Mathias’ head with her sword-holding fist.

“..I thought we would win today.”

“Honestly, I thought I lost too.”

Mathias had a gloomy expression, but Ayla was quite sincere. That last counterattack by Mathias… If it had been a little sharper, the outcome would have been reversed. Ayla asked.

“The last one.. you were waiting for it, right?”

“Yeah. I thought that was the only way to take advantage of Ayla’s weakness. I thought that was something Ayla, who I’ve always seen, would do at least once. ”

“..always?”

“I always watch Ayla swing her sword properly..”

Ayla felt the corners of her lips rising, and tried to hold it back, but she couldn’t. It must have simply meant that she was observing for the sake of sword training, but for some reason, it was a remark that made her feel incredibly good.

‘Yeah, you’re always watching me, right?’ Ayla, who was thinking that, suddenly came to her senses. The two were still tangled up on the ground. Their faces were touching, with only a couple of finger joints between them.

A face that was incomparably cute compared to other girls, blonde hair soaked in sweat, cheeks flushed with intense movement, and rough breathing… Ayla’s eyes were spinning. She suddenly felt hot in her head.

‘..What is this sweet smell? Is it Mathias’s sweat? Sweat smells so sweet? Wait, if I can smell Mathias’ sweat, does that mean Mathias can smell me too? What if the smell is too strong? Should I get up right now? Wouldn’t that look a little weird? Why am I worrying about this?’

“Um… Aila? It’s time to wake up…”

“Uh.. Huh? Uh, uh.. I, I have to get up. Yeah.”

Ayla couldn’t take her eyes off the small movements of Mathias’ lips. Gulp, for some reason, Ayla swallowed. Ayla didn’t even know exactly what she was thinking right now.

There’s no one here.

once and for all..?

It looks delicious.

Is this okay?

Why am I like this?

A strange heat rose through Ayla’s entire body. Only Mathias remained in Ayla’s vision and thoughts, and Ayla slowly lowered her head─

“What are you two doing?”

“Kihiieeek!”

Couldn’t.

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I came to check on Ayla and Mathias, wondering if they had been attacked by an unknown group, and all I saw was them clinging to each other, looking like they were about to start doing something unhealthy.

Mathias, sitting at the table, seemed unfazed, but Ayla’s face turned bright red and she avoided my gaze, suggesting that it was not a mutually agreed-upon act.

“..The city is very chaotic right now, but this place seems safe.”

“Yes. After class, I continued to spar with Ayla, but during that time, no one came to see me except the princess.”

“Oh.. That was a duel, that one just now.”

“That’s right! I don’t know what the princess was thinking, but since it was hard for Mathias to block my attack that took advantage of my weakness, she had no choice but to fight back with a physical fight! Huh? There’s the physical difference, and I have better skills! ”

I stared at Ayla, who was flustered and spouting off words. I said I would ask her this question later when there were only women present… But now I had to start with something I couldn’t ignore.

“Are you saying that Mathias successfully counterattacked Ayla?”

“Yeah.. Maybe he was just preparing for one specific move of mine.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s practical, but… that’s a great attitude. Good job, Mathias.”

Mathias nodded in response to my compliment. In the past, he would have responded quite cutely, but at some point, the teasing had diminished and it was no longer fun.

“Well.. If no one has come so far, it will probably be the same in the future, but I’ll say it anyway. If someone comes this way, don’t even talk to them and run away immediately.”

“..I’m curious about what’s going on, but for now, I’ll do whatever the princess says.”

I nodded and got up from the table.

“Aila, remember that we haven’t finished our coming of age ceremony yet.”

“..Be quiet!”

I left the vacant lot after teasing Ayla, who was screaming with a bright red face. After getting a little further away, I spoke to Yugram.

“Yugram, I think you have something to say.”

“..Yes, I would like to tell you that I will leave the young lady’s side for a moment.”

“The reason is probably to resolve the chaos in this academy, and since you can guess how I will react, you are probably hesitant to talk. But I will still say it. Let’s go together.”

Yugram’s face distorted as he glanced at her. It must mean that all of her answers were correct.

“The things about Ki-Run and Patrick just now. And the group that controls the Academy members, or rather, the person hiding in that group. I’m very curious about this. If I were to accompany Yu-Gram, do you think there would be someone strong enough that I wouldn’t be able to handle with my skills, or would it be so dangerous that Yu-Gram wouldn’t be able to protect me?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then, it’s okay for me to follow you, right?”

“..Yes.”

Yugram sighed softly. I smiled inwardly. Yugram is somewhat weak towards me, so he can’t do anything if I force him to do something.

I felt quite excited at the thought of finding out the truth and the dark secrets of the incident.