Since then, there have been several changes in my feelings, but the conclusion remained the same.
I must kill Ariel.
It wasn’t that I held any ill feelings towards him. I just wanted to go back.
I didn’t want to become a monster either.
If this world is a novel, and the protagonist is Ariel…
“…”
I had to become the villain blocking the protagonist’s path.
*
A day passed, and I went to the Academy as usual.
The atmosphere at the Academy was the same as ever. It was bustling with students rushing about, noisy in many ways.
However, the mood was slightly different this time.
It was common for the Academy to be lively, but most of the conversations revolved around me.
Wherever I went, my direction would be drawn by the gazes, and I could see groups of students whispering while looking at me.
It was probably about having defeated Sera. Similar reactions had happened when I dueled Lucia.
I decided to ignore it. In the usual lecture room, Rena was there to greet me.
“Iria! Were you okay yesterday?!”
“Didn’t you see the duel?”
“No, I did see it, but… I was worried because you looked like you were being taken somewhere afterward…”
“Sera said I could hold out with this much perseverance.”
Honestly, all I had were minor burns and bruises. If anything, it was Sera’s condition we should be worried about.
“You were really cool yesterday. I knew you were strong, but I didn’t expect you to be that strong.”
“Rena’s teachings helped a lot.”
It was true; her guidance had been quite beneficial. If I hadn’t learned from her, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the flames Sera unleashed.
I might have suffered worse burns. My clothes could have been burned more, too.
Now that I think about it, I owed Rena in many ways. After all, she was the one who first taught me magic.
If only I could do something to repay her, but I had nothing suitable to offer.
If there was someone I disliked, I could make them have nightmares for a week, but I had already done that to Wendy, so doing it again felt a bit off.
So I decided to express my gratitude instead.
“Thanks for everything.”
“Huh? It’s okay. We help each other, right?”
“I really like you, Rena.”
She was one of the few people who was kind to me.
I confessed my feelings as they were, and Rena’s face turned red. I didn’t know why.
“I-Iria? I, I mean…”
“…?”
“S-Sorry! Let’s talk later!”
Without being able to meet my eyes, Rena abruptly turned and left.
I thought she was the type who was weak to expressions of gratitude.
Since that day, Iria’s attendance in lectures became more frequent for her standards, as she had more important matters to attend to.
Iria enrolled in the Academy to find the protagonist of this novel from the beginning. Now that she suspected someone could be the protagonist, investigating him was far more important than attending lectures.
Honestly, grades didn’t matter much. If anything, getting docked attendance points might help me avoid unnecessary duels.
This was in front of the lecture room for the second-year Combat Magic Department. Normally, I would head towards the Swordsmanship Department where Ariel was, but today was a bit different.
I was here to meet Sera.
“Oh, it’s Iria!”
Sera greeted me warmly as soon as she saw me.
Her throwing an arm over my shoulder felt a bit excessive, but just that level of friendliness was nice.
Iria returned the greeting moderately.
“Are you feeling a bit better?”
“Of course! I’m completely healed.”
Even though I used three bottles of high-quality holy water, a wound wouldn’t heal that quickly.
Iria poked Sera’s body with a finger as a test.
“Eek?! D-Don’t!”
“…”
It seemed she hadn’t fully healed yet. To be honest, her being back in school was a bit hard to believe.
Since the doctor said she needed to stay in bed for about a week, I was again impressed by her mental strength and recovery ability.
Even so, she wouldn’t be able to practice dueling for a while.
Feeling a bit awkward after crying out moments ago, Sera cleared her throat a couple of times before speaking.
“Ahem, so what brings you here? Is it about Ariel?”
Iria nodded.
Aimlessly trailing behind Ariel wouldn’t yield much information, as there were limits to what I could gather from that.
It might be better to properly introduce myself through Sera and look for an opportunity.
“Alright, Ariel is probably in the Swordsmanship Training Ground right now. He usually spends all his free time there.”
I already knew that.
But it was my first time entering the interior of the Swordsmanship Training Ground.
Following Sera, we walked for a while. It wasn’t too far off. After all, the training ground was inside the Academy.
Eventually, when we reached our destination, Sera pushed open a large door with her hand and said,
“Here. It’s more atmospheric than I expected, right?”
“Yes.”
The inside of the Swordsmanship Training Ground was filled with students swinging swords.
Given the nature of a place like this, where people sweat a lot, the human scent was strong. So, with Iria’s heightened sense of smell, I had to scrunch my face.
Sera walked ahead, starting the conversation.
“I heard the Swordsmanship Department takes hours just to teach the basics of swinging a sword. They make sure you learn the basic stance as accurately as possible before adding the intricacies of sword styles.”
“…”
“Apparently, noble kids learn the sword styles passed down in their families, and if someone hasn’t mastered proper swordsmanship by the time they’re in their fourth year, they learn the Imperial Sword Style from the professors. Of course, I don’t know much about swords either.”
As I listened to Sera’s explanation while walking, I spotted Ariel over there.
As expected, he was here, swinging his sword in the empty air, honing his sword’s form.
He paused his movements upon noticing Sera’s presence.
Putting down his sword, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel he had on hand. It must have seemed rude to greet visitors all sweaty.
“It’s been a while, Sera. If you’re here to challenge me to a duel again, it’s not happening today.”
“Hmm… Well, should I say I didn’t come for that? There’s a guest here who wants to meet you.”
Sera lifted Iria up and presented her to Ariel. Being airborne made me feel like a doll.
Not feeling great about it, I poked Sera’s wound with my finger.
She let out a cute “eek!” and finally put me down. Only then I could face Ariel directly.
Though I had been following him for quite a while, this was only the second time I was facing him like this.
Iria gazed into Ariel’s eyes for a moment.
“…”
As expected, I couldn’t read his memories due to external stimuli.
It felt distinctly different from when I was with Sera or Albert. The two of them radiated a thick mana which posed strong resistance, but I felt no mana from Ariel.
The two mentioned earlier were not completely impossible to read,
but if they used mana or closed the distance, it was possible to manipulate memories like an ordinary person.
Yet for some reason, it felt like I could never read Ariel’s memories no matter the method.
If I tried to press further, I might even get attacked instead. Iria averted her gaze from Ariel’s eyes.
“Iria, right? We’ve been running into each other often lately.”
Iria nodded.
Not knowing what to say, I remained silent, but Sera, watching, spoke instead.
“She’s my close junior, and she wants to get to know you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, she’s also interested in swords like you, right?”
I nodded once more.
Honestly, I was more interested in him than swords. But I couldn’t just say that, so I let Sera speak for me.
“How about you practice dueling together? It’d be nice for you two sword enthusiasts to bond.”
“Uh…”
Ariel scratched his cheek, alternating his gaze between me and Sera. His black hair swayed as he moved.
Then he grabbed a wooden sword and asked me.
“Want to go?”
He seemed like he wanted to warm up too.
Those who walk the path of the sword don’t waste words. The sword itself is the conversation.
You can learn what kind of person your opponent is by crossing swords and the path they’ve walked until now.
At least that’s how Ariel seemed to think.
Thus, he asked if I wanted to fight while handing me the wooden sword.
Iria quietly accepted the wooden sword.
Ariel was recognized as the strongest student in the Academy. He was stronger than Sera, with whom I had dueled previously.
I couldn’t help but wonder just how strong he really was.
After receiving the wooden sword, Iria nodded slightly. It was a sign she was willing to duel.
Then, inside the Swordsmanship Training Ground, the two took their stances.
