Chapter: 115
Yoon Si-woo was lost in thought, reminiscing about what had happened during lunch.
Honestly, he had only followed Captain Martina thinking it would be nice to catch a glimpse of Scarlet’s face.
But unexpected events unfolded thanks to Marin, who he decided to be friends with after they met at a matchmaking event not too long ago.
‘You’ve come all this way, so don’t just sit there, right? I’ll create an opportunity for you to talk to Scarlet alone, so hurry up and eat.’
His friend was giving him a chance to be alone with a girl he liked.
Feeling flattered by someone cheering him on was new, so even though he felt embarrassed, how could he turn down such a chance?
[Si-woo, what are you spacing out for? Aren’t you being called?]
When the two who had set the stage cleared out, leaving him alone with Scarlet, he didn’t really want much.
He just hoped they could sit together and talk—nothing more.
‘Not too long ago, I had a really tough class… and while I was enduring it, I was thinking of you.’
Was that why?
The moment he heard her say that, it felt like his heart stopped.
It raced so fast that it felt like it might just stop altogether.
‘Yoon Si-woo, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to keep going.’
She said it.
Thank you, thanks to you, I was able to keep going.
[Si-woo, can you not hear me? I’m calling you right now!]
He had always longed for this.
Wished for it.
He had tried so hard to be someone a girl could trust and rely on.
Yet, he had always said it was fine, that he did what he wanted, but honestly, there had been tough times too.
There were moments he struggled under the pressure of meeting people’s expectations and questioned if what he was doing was really the best choice.
‘So you need to hang in there too. Because I believe in you more than anyone else in this world.’
Her words acknowledging him were a reward in themselves.
With that smile she gave him, he was able to forget all his hardships till now.
Not even a drop of sweet nectar found in the desert could provide that level of dizzying happiness.
He had never imagined he would hear such words, momentarily wondering if he was dreaming.
But the voice of the Holy Sword of Truth continued to confirm that her words were true, allowing him to realize this was reality.
She really said that she believed in him more than anyone else in this world.
He was just so happy about that—
[Si-woo!!!!!]
Lucy’s shout startled him, snapping him back to reality.
Wondering what was happening, he quickly looked around to see the children staring at him with puzzled expressions, and he cautiously asked Lucy.
“Hey, Lucy? Did something happen?”
Lucy responded in a very condescending tone.
“……Hah, just a moment ago, your superior called for you. They want you to come forward.”
It seemed to be true as he spotted Martina with her arms crossed, waiting and looking in his direction.
Getting up before it was too late, as he walked forward, Martina muttered with a slightly displeased face.
“……Yoon Si-woo. Even though you’re just here to assist with the class, aren’t you a bit too lost in thought?”
“……I’m sorry, Captain.”
Yoon Si-woo apologized for Martina’s reprimand, feeling embarrassed as he grumbled to Lucy.
“If only you had called me a little sooner….”
[You didn’t hear me call for you even once. You’re so distracted by a girl… how pathetic.]
Of course, even without getting back what he had given, he only received ridicule.
Eventually, while acknowledging his mistake and apologizing to Lucy, he heard Martina’s voice again.
“Anyway, Yoon Si-woo. You’ll be sparring with this student here. Do adjust your strength, but let it be as much like a real battle as possible. Got it?”
Yoon Si-woo turned to look at the student standing next to Martina and blushed.
The girl with the red hair he’d been thinking about was staring at him intently.
Just making eye contact felt like his heart was about to burst, and they were going to spar?
Momentarily flustered, he ultimately realized there was no way out.
He couldn’t just say to his superior, “Uh, Captain, every time I look at her, my heart races, so I think sparring might be a bit difficult.”
So he nodded, but suddenly began to worry.
This was because he had a bad memory involving sparring with her.
He hesitated, recalling that once, during a sparring session, her hand had been covered in blood due to an accident, but just then, Martina smiled and said.
“Ms. Eve will help you, so there’s no need to worry about getting hurt for real, let’s have a good fight.”
Her words soothed his worries.
Unlike the last time they sparred while wearing protective gear, there shouldn’t be any accidents this time.
Even if it was an illusion, the pain would still be real, but as long as he controlled it well, ensuring she didn’t get hurt would be enough.
As he thought that while looking at Scarlet, she returned a playful smile and bowed her head slightly in his direction.
“Let’s have a good spar.”
“……Yeah.”
In fact, shouldn’t he be worrying if his heart would hold out rather than the spar itself? Yoon Si-woo thought.
*
Standing opposite Scarlet, Yoon Si-woo scanned the surroundings.
Since it was just the two of them in the magic space, the surroundings were quiet.
Even though others would be watching them on the screen outside, he felt like the two of them were in a world of their own, trying to calm his racing heart, when Scarlet took her stance and said.
“It’ll be different from when we sparred last time. I’ve been trying hard.”
He had never seen her speak with such confidence before, so it felt refreshing.
But what he needed to do right now wasn’t to revel in that but to engage in a spar.
Yoon Si-woo inwardly muttered for his heart to settle down as he drew his sword from the air.
Gripping the sword caused his racing heartbeat to calm and the trembling to subside.
And finally, he looked at her not as someone he liked but as a sparring partner, and opened his mouth.
“You can go all out; let it all out.”
It wasn’t a haughty remark.
Even if Scarlet had grown stronger, he was still relatively strong compared to other heroes.
She would know that too, so without saying anything, she raised her spirit.
Various pieces of information came to him through the enhanced senses granted by the Holy Sword whenever he faced a stronger opponent.
Usually, people would be nervous when confronted with someone stronger, but she was different.
Her eyes, her breathing, her spirit all communicated to him.
She was going to charge at him with everything she had from now on.
In response to that aura, he took a ready stance and pointed his sword at her.
Their gazes locked,
And in the next moment, as if by promise, they both lunged at each other simultaneously.
The initial strike, seeing her aim to deflect his sword with her fist, he withdrew the sword and pulled out another to target her opening.
If this had been before, this single strike would have decided the match.
However, she didn’t take her eyes off the sword and successfully evaded by slightly flinging her body backward.
She had definitely improved.
Seeing how aware she was, he couldn’t help but smile at her.
As a form of praise, when he swung his sword, she also evaded it with a thankful look.
After several exchanges of blows, he could certainly feel her skills had developed.
Though he was letting her, how many students could react like this to his attacks?
While he laughed, watching Scarlet narrowly but surely evade his strikes, she stepped forward and lunged at him.
He defended against her flaming right hand with the blade.
And the moment he blocked the attack, she dropped her sword and backed off to create distance.
He was using a sword while Scarlet used her bare hands.
If the distance widened even a little, it would overwhelmingly disadvantage her.
As he pondered how to handle that, she flashed a smile and extended her left arm.
From the gem embedded in the palm of her prosthetic hand, red light flickered.
The condensed flame burst forth, engulfing his field of vision.
“……You’ve really gotten strong.”
After the flames passed, Yoon Si-woo lowered his protective barrier made from the Holy Sword and stepped out.
As he marveled and murmured, he saw Scarlet over there smiling with a proud expression.
“I told you, I’ve been working hard. I want to fight beside you one day, and I want to be strong enough to help you.”
That was unexpected.
He never thought she would have such thoughts.
Imagining her fighting alongside him, he realized he didn’t want her to participate in dangerous battles.
But how could he dislike that she was trying to become strong enough to help him just because she wanted to fight by his side?
If that day really came, he would just have to ensure she wasn’t put in danger.
To be honest, having heard such words now, he was so happy he could barely contain it.
In the beginning, he had hesitated, but now he felt relieved that they were sparring.
While he was desperately suppressing the corners of his mouth that wanted to smile at his overflowing joy, he heard Scarlet’s voice.
“Still, I don’t think I’ll ever be as strong as you. That last attack was somewhat my trump card.”
She casually examined her body that had no scratches.
Realizing his blunder, he thought he should have praised her enough so she wouldn’t feel discouraged.
But just then, she muttered.
“I’m really glad. Even if I give it my all, you’re strong enough that I can’t defeat you.”
As she said that, she smiled with immense satisfaction.
She looked him directly in the eyes and nodded slowly, opening her mouth.
“From now on, you don’t have to hold back. Really, let’s go at it as if it were a real fight.”
As soon as those words ended, Scarlet rushed toward him.
Against her sudden advance, he swung the sword first to utilize the distance to attack like before.
An attack that required evading or defending.
But her response was different from earlier.
No defense, no evasion.
Without slowing down, she charged straight at the attack.
“Ugh…!”
At this rate, his arm would definitely be lost, so he canceled his attack and drew the Holy Sword to block her strike.
The collision of her flame-imbued fist and his barrier produced a tremendous sound.
Using the recoil, she flew while taking a reckless action, and he shouted at her.
“You, right now…!”
“I said I’m fighting like it’s real.”
Scarlet replied, her voice calm.
Then with an odd expression, she tilted her head and asked him.
“Is it true you’d hesitate or stop your attacks in a real fight because you were worried I’d get hurt?”
“What on earth are you talking about…?”
“You can’t do that.”
As she muttered that, she charged again.
When he blockaded her, she looked him straight in the face while swinging her fist.
“In a real fight, you can’t hesitate or pause.”
She swung her fist again, and her eyes, breath, and spirit all conveyed.
If he only defended, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“If you do, you won’t be able to stop.”
Scarlet charged again, closing the distance.
He couldn’t understand why she was acting so strangely.
While he was confused, Scarlet drew closer and whispered something just for him to hear.
“Do you remember our promise?”
That made his heart drop.
The promise he had made with her long ago flashed through his mind.
Then a loud bang echoed as shockwaves hit his barrier.
He defended again and again.
But she didn’t stop.
Charging forward, she kept demanding something from him.
He realized what she wanted from him.
But that kind of thing was…
As he pondered, she whispered in a mournful voice.
“I’m trying to keep our promise. You won’t?”
During lunch, he recalled the conversation they had.
Her words about trying her best to be happy to keep their promise.
At the same time, he heard Scarlet mumbling.
“I hate people who make promises they can’t keep.”
He bit down on his teeth at those words.
Then withdrawing the barrier, he swung the sword straight ahead.
Blood splattered from the hand that touched the blade.
But Scarlet, with a satisfied smile, laughed as if to say.
“That’s right, like that. But it’s not enough.”
Scarlet charged at him.
Swinging his sword to stop her.
Blood sprayed from his arm.
But he didn’t stop.
“More.”
He swung the sword.
His legs faltered as they were cut.
But still, he didn’t stop.
“More.”
The girl with the red hair approached him, drenched in crimson.
The sword shook.
No, it wasn’t the sword that was shaking.
It was himself.
She approached him step by step, speaking in a small voice.
“If it’s hard, let’s practice. I’ll show you how.”
One step.
Pointing to her chest, where the source of life resided.
“You stab here. If you stab here, you can stop me.”
One more step.
Grabbing his hand that held the sword, unable to move due to the trembling.
Aiming the sword at his own heart.
“You can do it, right?”
The last step.
The sword guided by her hand penetrated, accompanied by a whisper ringing in his ears.
Thud.
A sensation of piercing something and
the feeling of someone’s heartbeat slowly fading away,
and a warmth, as red as a girl,
flowed down his hand.
Yoon Si-woo stared blankly at his bloodied hand, then looked up at the girl.
Towards him, the girl whispered.
With a vibrant smile.
“Indeed, you are someone I can rely on.”
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