Chapter Index

    The day I miserably lost to Edan in our duel, leaving me feeling powerless, was during lunchtime.

    Whether it was because of the outcome of the class or not, Edan seemed to be subtly watching me throughout the entire lunch.

    “….”

    “….”

    Since entering the academy, I had been somewhat confident and he had been tolerating me fairly well, but why was he acting so off today, ruining the mood of our meal by being so overly cautious?

    To break the tense atmosphere caused by Edan’s unnecessary scrutiny, I naturally broke the silence first.

    “Edan-nim, are you so concerned that you don’t realize you’re making me feel self-conscious?”

    “…Sorry, Rilise.”

    “Or perhaps, you want me to forget about our mock duel during magic combat training by making me feel uncomfortable? If that’s the case, you’re quite the strategist.”

    “Oh, no, that wasn’t my intention…”

    …What’s with this reaction, as if I committed a crime just because I won against the chief maid in a duel.

    Since I had joined the ranks of the 1.5th year students, I knew I had to participate in a few more duels this semester, but if I kept being overly cautious during each duel, it would never end.

    “Just to clarify, I didn’t feel any emotional pain from losing to you, Edan-nim.”

    “I know. If it’s you, Rilise, of course.”

    “Do you really know?”

    “…But, are you really okay?”

    “Yes, I’m fine. And I will continue to be. In fact, I would appreciate it if you pretended to be upset so that Edan-nim can enjoy the feeling of victory.”

    “I won’t ask you to do that, so don’t worry…”

    Edan looked at me as if my statement was absurd, but he couldn’t hide a small smile, realizing that I was truly unaffected by the part that concerned him the most.

    “Yeah, I was worried for no reason. Rilise, you’re stronger than anyone I know.”

    “That’s not entirely true, but I won’t dwell on today’s duel as if it was a major loss.”

    “Well, that’s a relief.”

    “And actually, I’d like to talk to Edan-nim about today’s duel. What was the meaning behind it?”

    “…Huh?”

    Edan’s expression, which had slightly softened, hardened again as he didn’t expect any opposition from my side, while I continued to point out the flaws in our duel that had come to mind.

    “What was it, Edan-nim? Your sword never once aimed for my body today. Especially in a duel between swordsmen, isn’t it basic to target the wrists and waist first? Are you showing mercy to me?”

    “Oh, no, it’s just… I wasn’t able to control my strength properly…”

    “To address that issue, senior students from the Theology Department come to cast the Heavenly Shield during duels. Isn’t the duel designed to break the Heavenly Shield if you suffer damage equivalent to a fatal wound?”

    “But it’s dangerous. If you suffer more than just a fatal wound, you could really get hurt, and I don’t want to see you get hurt…”

    “To me, being known as the swordsman who lost despite showing mercy is even more disgraceful, Edan-nim.”

    “…Sorry, Rilise. I lacked consideration.”

    After speaking earnestly and with a serious expression, Edan finally understood and lowered his head in acknowledgment.

    He had been trying to find the safest way to subdue me while considering my well-being, and it was obvious to anyone that this process had prolonged our duel.

    Actually, when I faced Geumyeo, Natalie, and Kara in the previous sparring sessions, I had no mercy in my hands, so my celestial shield was shattered in an instant, and I had no choice but to be defeated. However, in the case of Edan, he started to suppress me with a noticeably gentle sword from the moment about half of my celestial shield was consumed.

    The fact that the sparring session dragged on unnecessarily was also because of that, and there was a moment when my swordsmanship briefly equaled Edan’s, which was also because of that.

    If I had fought with my original skill level, I wouldn’t have lasted even 2 minutes against Edan. That was the meaning of a close combat between a mage and a swordsman.

    There was no way that I, who used swordsmanship as a supplementary means of magic, could defeat someone who used magic as a supplementary means of swordsmanship.

    “Anyway, please make sure this doesn’t happen in the next sparring session, Master Edan. It will only be a bad case if my growth and your swordsmanship are affected by hesitation.”

    “…Yeah. I’m sorry, Relis.”

    “Even if my celestial shield is shattered and I am injured, I will not blame you. Nowadays, even if an arm is cut off, you can immediately reattach it at the church, right?”

    “…Even so, that seems like a bit of a risky idea.”

    “It’s a way of saying to approach with sincerity, Master Edan.”

    …Anyway, kids will be kids, then and now.

    ***

    “Listen well in the afternoon class, see you in the evening, Relis.”

    “I will see you in the evening, Master Edan.”

    After giving some advice to Edan for the first time in a long time during lunch break, Edan and I walked in opposite directions at the intersection to attend our afternoon classes.

    “I think I spoke a little harshly to Edan after a long time.”

    But Edan didn’t seem to be in a good state today to the point where I had to say this.

    As someone who has wielded a sword longer than me, Edan would know what it means to show mercy in a sparring session, and if one’s heart weakens in such a trivial matter, it could lead to a life-threatening decision later on.

    It’s better to receive advice from me now than to have my throat cut somewhere just because I felt conflicted.

    -Tap, tap, tap.

    “Is there still something left to talk about?”

    After parting ways with Edan, I felt someone’s footsteps following me from behind, so I quietly guessed that Edan might be walking back towards me, but unfortunately, the owner of the footsteps was someone else, someone I never wanted to meet inside the academy.

    “Master Edan? Do you have something to say…?”

    “It’s been a while, cheeky girl.”

    “Ah, you…!”

    I barely managed to hold back the curse that almost came out of my mouth, but I couldn’t hide the expression of discomfort, and instead, MacHeart smiled and pushed his head towards me.

    Realizing the danger of the situation, I tried to step back, but MacHeart’s grip on my hand was faster.

    By the time I realized the sense of danger, it was already too late.

    -Swish!

    At the same time, a dark curtain of magic enveloped me and MacHeart, coloring the surroundings with black magic.

    In an instant, I was sucked into a surreal space by his ability.

    -Crash!

    “Darn it, I let my guard down.”

    I belatedly shook off his grip and distanced myself, but MacHeart’s ‘inner darkness’ was not a space where I could easily escape.

    …What can I do? If I have to blame someone, it’s me for stupidly letting my guard down and allowing the attack.

    These days, I had been so caught up in the peaceful days that I momentarily forgot.

    『Luminor Academy』was an academy game that gathered a demon subjugation force to defeat demons and the Demon King, and in this genre of game, such obvious crises naturally arise.

    “I was worried that I might have misunderstood something, but it seems like I found it just fine.”

    “…There were many rude incidents at the banquet hall before, Prince MacHeart Paris Valtoria.”

    “You don’t have to hold back your true feelings and apologize. I already know that your apology isn’t sincere.”

    “No, I still think that the mistakes I made before were rude…”

    “If you truly thought that, you would have come to the guest building immediately. Finding my residence within the academy is as easy as finding the royal palace in the kingdom.”

    “… ”

    With a chilling smile, MacHeart took a step towards me.

    The surroundings were already shrouded in a black curtain representing MacHeart’s domain, with only certain areas around him shining like a circular halo, illuminating his body.

    …Since he deliberately pushed me into this space, hiding my true feelings and maintaining etiquette was now meaningless.

    “Ah, damn. You bastard.”

    MacHeart’s lips curled into a quiet smirk.

    Just locking eyes with him made me feel like I was going to throw up the lunch I just had, it was a disgustingly sinister laugh.

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