Survival Night. (1)

Outside the peaceful fantasy dome, different from the fierce battlefield where the ranking matches are held.

“Tsk! That disciple is like a fool. What are you going to do by pushing him away like that?”

After finishing the boring hospitality and the fantasy dome explanation session, Piana, who had been watching Rudis since last night, watched the whole scene, including the scene where the disciple and disciple met.

“I wondered why you asked me to call you, but it turned out you wanted to distance yourself from me instead? Oh my. You really are a frustrating guy.”

With her magical powers completely restored and she completely returned to the 20s she had always wanted to be, she nervously crossed her legs and clicked her tongue several times, not caring if others could see her healthy thighs through the deep slit.

Of course, he was the only one there.

“Why on earth can’t you maintain that stupid concept whenever you get involved with the disciple guy and the kingdom guy? Is there some reason?”

He’s always been a secretive guy, but since we’ve been together for over 10 years, I think it’s time for him to start telling us.

There’s no way to know that that stupid disciple is gritting his teeth and trying to build a wall on this side.

That’s why Piana wanted to know why he was acting that way, so she kept all the scenes he was in to herself, without showing Rudis to anyone else.

“Tsk. If you keep watching, you’ll probably find out something, so just watch for now. And… “

I think about the scene of the disciple running away from his disciple, wondering if he thought he had pushed the opponent away coolly and thoroughly, or if he had already reached his limit with that kind of behavior.

The guy, the disciple, is an idiot.

“This part is definitely better on your side. Find out for yourself. Then I, the master, can figure out what’s going on.”

And the disciple guy is said to be much more sensitive to these things than the disciple himself.

Nora, who was following Rudis’s back with her eyes wide open and clutching her chest despite being abandoned so absurdly, seemed to have completely seen through his awkward actions.

*

“… Are you stupid?”

Rudis, who has moved away and is now invisible.

However, having sensed his completely changed magic up close once, I was now confident that I could find him with tracking magic wherever he went.

Of course, his magical ability level seemed to have risen to a level higher than mine, but it would be impossible to just catch each other and dive into this world.

So, obviously… I can chase him again after I recover.

‘What on earth is it? Why are you acting like that? What on earth is it?’

Nora was dragging her injured body, hiding between the roots of a large tree, just like yesterday’s silver woman, the princess called Koti had hidden.

Since everyone who had come near here had been taken care of, the priority was to recover by night and somehow survive this ranking match.

And Nora, who had regained her composure, was already noticing the ‘foolish and inconsistent words and actions’ of Rudis whom she had just met.

No, I didn’t know why I didn’t know that until now. Rather, that was something I couldn’t understand.

‘You called me to protect the princess? Then, you should have come to see me and given me instructions before the ranking match started. And you said you protected me well? I don’t know where you started, but she and I have been ‘cooperating’ since last night. And…’

If you really didn’t need me, there would be no reason for you to show up here to rescue me.

If what he said is true, he saw me escaping from this battlefield, so he should have gone after the princess instead of me.

But his actions were different. He probably felt the magic that the princess and I were fighting here.

And in an instant, he came running like crazy, worried about the two of us who had become weak, and in my crisis, he magically threw the red-light district inspector who had been cooperating with him earlier, using [Black Hand], to save me.

I sometimes wonder if I’m being too positive. This is something I can understand just by calmly thinking about the magic he used.

I’m sure he’s reached level 4 in black magic, but I know for sure that he lived half a year ago without even learning level 2 magic.

That is, while he was exiled and came to the empire, he quickly improved his magic skills, and he defeated his enemies in one blow with magic that was probably the best or near the best among the magic he could use.

Thanks to that, I, who couldn’t even use detection magic, felt the activation of his magic, even though he was called a genius who could control his magical power at the level of a master. This was the absolute truth.

‘… You bad kid. Let me at least apologize.’

I couldn’t help but notice that he was deliberately acting as if he wanted me to resent him, as if he was refusing to talk to me, and as if he didn’t want me to feel guilty about myself.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t help but realize that it was a third-rate script hastily thrown together on the spot.

‘… Okay. If you come out like that, I’ll go along with it. But it won’t bring about the results you want.’

He’s already been swayed once just as he wanted.

Even at the Royal Academy, he ignored me, distanced himself from me, and acted deliberately hostile toward me, just as he does now. I believed only the lies I saw and distanced myself from him.

But now, things are different.

I know the truth about what he’s done so far, and I can really feel the awkwardness of him running away from me a little while ago.

Maybe he just moved in a hurry because he had to find someone called the princess, but if that’s the case…

‘You wanted me to protect her, right? Fine. I don’t know how far you plan to test me, but I won’t be fooled anymore. Apologize properly… and I won’t give up until I hear the truth from you.’

I will pursue him in the way he wants. And in the way he absolutely does not want.

If you try to push me away, I will come closer to you, and if you say that you used me for someone else, I will throw myself into helping that other person.

If you act like that and try to distance yourself from me,

‘… I wonder if that would be an atonement in its own right.’

I still haven’t repaid you for saving me 10 years ago. So I’m going to be used by you and roll around on the ground.

I looked at the sky of the fantasy world that was turning black and thought of his face. Without realizing it, I smiled slightly, the corners of my lips tugging at them.

*

“Brother. I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with that person earlier, but… Are you okay?”

“… … “

Harb asked softly as he saw Rudis with a not-so-good expression, but Rudis turned her head at his question and nodded with a smile on her face as usual.

“Yes, it’s okay.”

“If you say it’s okay, I don’t know anything so I have nothing else to say, but if you really need help, please let me know. Well, all I have is money and a sword that I’ve learned to swing a little bit.”

“Pfft… That alone would be helpful. Oh, and you have a cute fiancee, don’t you? “

“I can’t help you with your fiancee. Loretta is already removed.”

“Oh~ It’s hot.”

I felt grateful for his consideration, as if he was trying to lighten my mood on purpose, and this time I smiled sincerely. He must have noticed my feelings, because his tense expression relaxed and he started to move forward again.

“Brother.”

“It’s in the forest.”

And as I was moving in the direction where the princess’s magical power that I had sensed had disappeared, Harb finally began to sense people at a level where he could sense their presence.

No, to be exact, I should say it’s the sound of battle.

“The princess’s magic power is… “

“I don’t feel it. Maybe I’ve already been eliminated.”

Now, honestly, it didn’t seem like the princess would remain.

I have no idea how she ended up moving with Nora, but if she was protected by her and then forcibly escaped, and was mixed in with the battlefield in that forest, I don’t think she would be able to hold out in any way.

In addition, her magical power was almost undetectable at all times. Perhaps it was because she had used up almost all of her magical power the moment she entered here, and her recovery itself was slower than others.

With that in mind, I’m watching the area around the battlefield with the mindset that this is the last day.

“Okay! There it is! Stab it, stab it!!”

-Kaang!!

“Over there!! Please be quiet…!!”

“But there’s nothing a girl can do. I have to cheer her on.”

“Your Majesty!”

-Kaaaang!!

“Wow. The Crown Prince is also a bit angry.”

“What you’re doing now is not cheering, it’s trolling!! Please stay still… Show!!”

“Girl, you haven’t even moved from this spot? You don’t even have the strength to move!”

“Brother. Are you alive?”

“… What the. I can’t feel the magic even though it’s this close?”

And how on earth did you end up drawing a situation where you’re clinging to Albert and Raoul?

Clearly, she was with Nora. That was clearly proven by the magical power she had felt during the battle earlier.

But Nora was still there, and the princess was probably the one who had taken refuge there. I just can’t understand why she joined those two and did what she did in that short amount of time.

‘I’m really dizzy. But wait, no way…’

While Albert and Raoul fought the other players while protecting the princess who had collapsed and was unable to move, I observed her magical powers as closely as I could. And then I found out.

‘You control your magic like me…? How on earth?’

In the novel, there was never any setting that she had such a talent for controlling magical power.

But now, no matter how much I think about it, she can’t feel anything even though her magic power has almost recovered.

Because of that, other players who heard her voice around them are targeting her even more.

“Cheer up, cheer up! Cheer up, cheer up~!”

“Chairman! Is this correct?!”

“Hold on for now…!! The number of people approaching is gradually decreasing. If we enter a lull like this, we will withdraw from the front line… “

“[Black Magic] [Lv. 1] [Black Hand]”

“Ouch! Again?!!”

“”Huh?””

Perhaps if the princess were to leave those two people’s side, they would be able to hold out on their own.

Anyway, the girl I wanted to retrieve was alive and well, so those two probably wouldn’t mind if I retrieved her here.

Just by looking at them, it was clear that the princess was ‘intentionally’ trolling them.

“Ah! You, Rudis?!”

“What is this kid going to do with the princess…!!”

“Eugyak…? Hey, you’re a commoner!”

“You two are working hard, I’ll take the princess?”

After I finished retrieving the princess, I quickly escaped from the front lines with Harb.