Chapter: 63
Frey looked at me with an indifferent gaze, gripping her sword in one hand.
[You’re imagining what it would be like to fight me, aren’t you?]
‘How do you know that?’
[Your body’s twitching. You can guess that from just looking at her.]
So, she’s shadow boxing before the fight?
Old man can predict it just from my body twitching.
Just how amazing was he in his past life?
Must have been some epic hero to earn that title, but I can’t even begin to imagine it now.
Thinking of that, I lifted my shield and mace.
Sure, I can make a shield with Divine power, but it’s still reassuring to hold a physical one.
“Both sides. Are you ready?”
‘Yes.’
“Alright. You’re the ‘loser’ professor.”
“Yeah. Same here.”
Using such rude language toward a professor was quite disrespectful, but Anton just smiled.
“Then let’s begin.”
As Anton announced it, Frey moved her feet.
The first thought that struck me was how fast she was.
There was definitely some space between us, yet as soon as Frey took a step forward, the distance closed in.
Anyone normal would’ve been completely caught off guard at that speed!
But not me!
I could definitely respond to this speed.
Sure, she’s hailed as a future Sword Saint, but she’s still just a first-year at the academy!
Having trained with Possell and Karl in real fights, this was nothing!
I moved my shield to deflect her blade, but it wasn’t time to swing my mace yet.
The movements of prey in the water were too vigorous to show my teeth just yet.
“Pfft♡ Loser knight♡ Do you think your pathetic attack could even scratch my shield?♡”
As soon as I taunted her, Frey smiled slyly.
Why’s she grinning?
Is she emotionally challenged, or just not a masochist?
At that moment, the thrill from my Mesugaki skill clued me in.
She was just pretending to smile on the outside, while secretly, she was raging inside.
What the heck? Now I’m shocked.
Watching her ramp up the intensity of her attacks, I grinned and raised my shield again.
Come on! Step closer. The moment you look down into the water out of curiosity is the moment you’ll get devoured by my teeth.
*
Deep inside, Frey felt something stirring in her chest.
What on earth is this?
She’d never felt anything like it before.
So she didn’t even realize she was already mad.
She didn’t even notice that her lips were curling up.
She just thought the heating sensation was fascinating.
“Loser knight♡ You seem so laid-back?♡”
Frey hurriedly parried the mace that was flying at her and took a step back.
“Hey.”
“What? You declaring defeat, loser knight?♡”
“Every time I hear you, my chest burns—what’s going on?”
As Frey tilted her head and asked, Lucy’s eyes widened for a moment before she sighed and wiped her face.
Then she chuckled and answered Frey’s question.
“You’re angry, loser knight.”
“Angry?”
“Yep.”
I’m angry?
Frey blinked, then closed her eyes, focusing on the whirlwind of emotions within her.
Blood was rushing to her head.
Her heart was pounding.
A hot sensation surged up her spine.
So this is what anger feels like.
Frey, who had never felt any emotions since birth, couldn’t understand why her brother smiled at her.
She didn’t get why her younger sibling cried when their hamster died.
And she couldn’t comprehend why her parents raised their voices at her either.
Even after they raised their voices, hugging her and apologizing with tears, their reasons eluded her.
To her, the world was gray.
All she could do was gaze at it blankly.
The first time Frey felt feelings was at the age of five.
She was attacked by a monster while walking down the street.
Fortunately, the guards stopped the monster before it harmed her, but had they been a moment late, Frey would have lost her life to the creature’s fangs.
In that moment.
Facing imminent death.
Frey felt it.
The world turning completely black.
Feeling like her heart stopped.
The chilling sensation coursing down her spine, making it feel like she was gasping for air.
As that blackened world regained its original color and her heart raced again, Frey grasped the essence of life.
She didn’t realize it was fear.
She simply thought it was an emotion that arose because she faced a monster.
So she asked her parents how to fight monsters.
They tried to dissuade her, but they couldn’t overturn Frey’s decision once she resolved to fight.
That’s how Frey became a swordswoman.
Believing that getting stronger would allow her to face even stronger foes based on her father’s words, she swung her sword relentlessly.
But from that moment on, she never experienced a similar feeling again.
No matter which monster or person she fought.
Her world remained washed in colorless tones.
Because the skill she possessed was so overwhelming.
She hadn’t encountered anyone who could bring the threat of death to her so far.
The reason Frey picked a fight with Lucy in the first place was because Lucy seemed strong compared to others her age.
Maybe if she fought her, she could gain sensations similar to the ones she encountered before.
Frey was convinced her choice was correct.
Every word Lucy spoke painted her world in shades of red.
If she could push Lucy, would the red deepen?
Let’s test that.
Frey hesitated not at all.
She didn’t even know what hesitation was.
Once her eyes opened again, she grasped her sword with both hands and glared at Lucy.
The overwhelming talent Frey possessed showed her a few paths.
If it turns into a battle of strength, she’d be overpowered.
Any clumsy tricks would be easily seen through.
She wouldn’t break her shield with that sword.
Lucy’s too tricky.
What would her father say in a situation like this?
“Loser knight♡ Are you so scared you can’t even move?♡ Coward♡”
The moment she heard those words, Frey saw the world turning fiery red.
Yeah. Don’t think. Just attack.
Break Lucy’s smile.
That’s a flawless plan.
Frey swung her sword recklessly, following her instincts.
An aggressive assault that didn’t even consider defense.
But the turtle’s shell was hard.
Even amidst the flurry of strikes, Lucy didn’t show even the slightest opening.
She can’t break my shield.
“Is that all?♡ I could use some yawning here!♡ Are you trying to put me to sleep?♡”
Break it.
I can do this.
Frey raised her sword high.
Among all the sword techniques she had shown, this was the largest move.
The finishing blow passed down through the Kent lineage.
The larger the preparation, the more powerful the technique.
Just as Frey began to prepare, Lucy moved her feet.
As her annoying gaze peered past the shield, Frey realized she had made a mistake.
Lucy didn’t swing her mace.
She didn’t shove with her shield.
Instead, she grabbed Frey’s waist, lifted her up, and threw her down hard.
Bam!
Just hearing the sound made me cringe at the scenario, and Lucy immediately pinned Frey down, trying to slam her shield onto Frey’s small face.
The shield stopped just short of the mark, yet the outcome remained clear to anyone.
Lucy won.
A complete comeback victory.
A silence spread among the students as they witnessed an outcome nobody expected.
“Thank you both for showing us a wonderful fight! Everyone, applause!”
Just as Anton shouted, shattering the silence, one person remained stuck in disbelief.
“No way. This is a scam.”
It was Harry. He had his head buried in his desk, muttering “no way” repeatedly.
One student fell into despair, but that was not something Anton needed to concern himself with.
He couldn’t help but chuckle, enjoying the high-level fight from earlier.
“Alright! Everyone, how did that last fight look?!”
“An epic turnaround!”
One of the students answered.
However, Anton shook his head.
“While it may appear that way, it’s different. It was a perfectly orchestrated victory!”
Anton shouted, explaining how it was all planned out.
Since Lucy was slow, making a hasty attack could turn disadvantageous.
Thus, she tightened her defense and baited Frey into making a mistake.
When Frey made a poor judgement call, Lucy snatched her up.
Hearing Anton’s explanation, Jacob couldn’t help but be amazed.
As expected from Lady Alrn. The performance she displayed in that dungeon wasn’t fake after all.
Jacob gazed at Lucy, listening to Anton’s words, with admiring eyes.
*
Even after losing once, Frey didn’t seem deflated and sought me out the moment class ended, asking to spar again.
I firmly refused.
While sparring with you would help hone my skills, I have something else to do.
I promised to spar later, and Frey walked away with a stoic expression.
Alright. I’ve shaken off the annoying bits, and since today’s lessons are done, let’s head out on that quest with Karl!
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