Raphne hummed a tune as she walked down the hallway.
On the day she was challenged to a duel by Ken, she stormed straight into the Epiris Academy office to explain the situation to the second-year professor.
“What? M-Miss Martinez, a duel wager…?”
Writing a contract using magic stones at the academy can only be executed after the professor’s approval.
Partiel, the second-year professor, initially refused Raphne’s request.
The nature of the request was too impure.
“Professor, do you want to only attend the academy for this year?”
“…Eek!”
However, ultimately, after being cheerfully threatened by his bright-eyed student, Partiel had no choice but to agree to witness the contract and duel.
Thus, the duel challenge between Ken and Raphne proceeded smoothly under her leadership.
“Hmm~, heehee~.”
Raphne was in a good mood.
She had been feeling confused and frustrated over the past few days, but now she felt her mind clearing up.
“Ken will be right there… heehee, always by my side… uheehee.”
Laughing uncontrollably, she lowered her head to hide her smile and snickered privately.
If she can just hold on for one more day, his ownership will come to her.
Raphne had no thoughts of losing, not even a pinch,
because, after all, she was the strongest in the academy.
Others may claim to be the top second-year, but in her judgment, there was no one who could defeat her in strength.
Therefore, with the wager in place, Ken was already practically hers.
It was merely a matter of waiting for the contract to be signed.
Sitting at her desk in her dorm room, Raphne began to think about what she would do once Ken became hers.
“Hmm… First, I’ll need a house, right? Since the dorms are separated by gender…”
The Raphne who had been saying she wouldn’t look at Ken, or ignore him, and repeating to herself that he was insignificant was no longer there.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of Ken, driven by surging desire.
With excitement in her heart, Raphne spent the night at the dormitory.
And the next day.
Waking up earlier than usual, Raphne hurriedly began getting ready, her heart racing from the morning.
Though getting to the academy early doesn’t mean the duel starts early,
she was still eager to begin the fight and left the dorm sooner than usual.
Maybe that’s why there was a quietness and emptiness in front of the Girls’ Dorm.
However, someone was there.
Leaning against the quiet dormitory’s main gate, a figure stood with crossed arms.
“Oh, up early. Hi, Raphne.”
It was Ken Feinstein.
He greeted her naturally as if he had been waiting for her.
“…K-Ken.”
Just a moment ago, she had been smiling brightly at the thought of owning him, but now, seeing him unexpectedly, she panicked.
‘Was he waiting for me…?’
A joyful feeling surged up from deep within her heart.
The fact that the person she wanted to see had come looking for her made her emotions bubble up, but Raphne calmed herself.
Not so much calmed as she forcefully suppressed it.
After all, it was before her duel with him.
Even though her instincts were wagging their tails excitedly, her rational mind instructed her to treat him coldly.
“Hmph, what’s going on so early? You’re not here to back out of the duel, are you?”
With her arms crossed, she cast a sidelong glance at him as if dismissing him.
“No way, that wager means a lot to me.”
But upon seeing his smiling approach, the cold expression she wore melted away.
“Then, what’s the matter?”
“I have something I want to give you.”
Then Ken rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out.
“……A spear?”
In his hand was a spear glowing with golden light.
However, it was so short that it was hard to see as a spear.
Still, Raphne recognized it as a spear.
For some reason, it looked all too familiar to her.
As she stared blankly at the spear, Ken extended it towards her.
“Here, it’s for you.”
Caught off guard, she received the spear he offered.
“W-Why are you giving me this?”
The spear glittering golden in her hand.
There was a magic stone embedded underneath the spearhead. Somehow, it seemed like she could change the form of the spear as she directed magic into it.
That’s why Raphne was puzzled.
“Do you want me to use this in the duel?”
“You can use it, and if you don’t like it, it’s fine not to use it.”
“Then why give it to me?”
If it was okay to use it or not, she was curious why he would go out of his way to give her such a gift.
Ken stared at Raphne silently for a moment.
Then he smiled and spoke.
“Because I like you, Raphne.”
“……Huh?”
Because I like you, Raphne.
She clearly heard his words.
Yet, the moment she heard it, she couldn’t believe what she had just heard and stared at him blankly.
And once she fully understood his words…
“Y-Y-You like me…?!”
She found herself stuttering and her face turning red.
Overwhelmed by his sudden confession, Raphne’s head spun as if it broke down.
“I’ll go ahead then. See you later.”
Without waiting for Raphne’s response, Ken waved his hand and left.
As Raphne stood there blankly in front of the dorm with the spear in hand,
Raphne was swept away by his confession which still lingered in her mind since arriving at the academy.
‘…He likes me? Me…?’
Flushing red, Raphne buried her face on the desk, swirling in confusion over his words.
‘But why all of a sudden…?’
It was such a strange timing.
Just yesterday, he had been so provocative, even challenging her to a duel.
Now, this morning, he had confessed to her with a gentle smile.
And overlapping memories.
That time Raphne had gone to the Boys’ Dorm with Ken not long ago.
‘I have someone I like.’
That day, he had also blurted out those words so suddenly, right in front of her.
‘Well then, the person he mentioned liking…’
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Raphne flushed even more.
Just a while ago, she had been filled with thoughts of Ken’s ownership, but now, she couldn’t calm down because of his confusing declaration.
‘What’s this, does that mean the duel he suggested was…’
Ken, who said he liked her, challenged her to a duel with his ownership at stake.
He was willing to let her own him.
Then, in that case, was it all a deliberate provocation to ask her out?
If Ken lost, he would give his ownership to Raphne.
If he won, then…
“I’ll ask you for one wish…”
She remembered the duel conditions he presented.
It felt like the puzzle pieces were finally coming together.
The things she brushed off, due to his ownership, now made sense with Ken’s confession.
‘So that wish would be…’
No matter how she thought about it, there was only one thing.
‘Go out with me, Raphne.’
Raphne let out a silent scream and kicked her legs in a frenzy.
Wanting to scream out loud, but in the classroom, she buried her face on her desk and tried to calm her heart, which felt like it was about to explode.
Raphne firmly reached her conclusion.
That Ken’s challenge to a duel was all a pretext to ask her out.
And time went by, and soon the class ended.
The time for the promised duel arrived.
The venue was the gymnasium for training.
Three people were gathered there.
Partiel, the second-year professor, Raphne, and Ken.
“Are you two sure about the contract based on what I just explained?”
“Yes.”
“……Yes.”
Ken answered confidently while Raphne replied hesitantly with a flushed face.
She couldn’t take her eyes off Ken’s face, which seemed to be gleefully shining.
The conditions of the wager explained by Partiel were clear.
If Ken loses, he will give his ownership to Raphne.
If Raphne loses, she must grant Ken one request.
Confirming their mutual agreement, Partiel summoned a piece of parchment that floated in the air.
The parchment, imbued with magic, unfolded and split into two, floating toward Ken and Raphne.
The two reached out towards the parchment.
As their magic flowed out, it absorbed into the parchment, bringing it back to a single sheet.
“Now, the preparations are complete, please take your positions.”
Following Partiel’s command, Raphne and Ken stood facing each other at a suitable distance.
Next to Partiel were two magical dolls representing the simplified contract.
They’re the very same dolls that Siegfried had used during the swordsmanship tournament.
Once both were ready, Partiel extended her hand forward.
“Begin!”
With her signal, the duel between the two started.
‘After all, Miss Martinez will win.’
Partiel thought as she nervously watched them.
As the second-year professor, she knew Raphne’s strength well.
And Raphne’s unique skill, Neural Acceleration,
gives her a significant advantage in combat.
And Raphne was just as aware of this.
‘…What will he do?’
Raphne closely observed Ken.
She held the spear Ken had given her that morning.
A golden spear that had grown to her desired length.
Ken in front of her was holding a sword made of bone.
‘Surely if he applied for the duel, he must have some confidence…’
Raphne was unusually cautious.
Normally, she would have already charged in to knock him down by now.
But for some reason, Ken remained still in front of her.
‘Fine, if you’re not going to move…!’
No matter what he did, Raphne was confident.
So she took the initiative.
Raphne dashed forward intending to defeat Ken and claim his ownership.
Swish!
With a light whoosh she surged toward Ken in an instant.
“Haah—!”
The spear sliced the air, aiming for Ken’s vital points.
A single hit to a critical area would break the magical doll and end the duel.
Just in case Ken might pull something, she kept her eyes on him, activating Neural Acceleration to slow her perception of time as she observed his movements.
And there, she saw Ken’s smile.
He looked at Raphne with a familiar warm smile.
‘Because I like Raphne.’
Suddenly, Ken’s words from the morning came rushing back to her.
In an instant, Raphne was startled, flushing red, and her confidence faltered, causing her spear to waver.
‘Oh…! I missed…!’
Ken easily dodged her spear with just a slight turning of his head.
Crash!
Then everything happened in an instant.
As Raphne failed her attack, Ken threw aside his sword and seized her with both hands.
One hand pinned down her arm while the other wrapped around her neck from behind, bringing her down to the floor.
He restrained her movements carefully so as not to hurt her.
“How about it? Do you want to surrender?”
And Ken whispered softly in her ear.
“D-Do you really think you can hold me like this?!”
Such a restriction was easy to break free from.
Raphne was certain Ken wouldn’t be strong enough to hold her down.
“Oh, what?”
Crack.
But no matter how much strength she put into it, Ken’s hands refused to budge.
It wasn’t painful, but she couldn’t shake off Ken as he pinned her down with his whole body.
‘Why…?!’
Ken surely wasn’t this strong before.
“Can’t move, can you?”
“Uuuhh…!”
Raphne struggled and flushed as Ken restrained her.
She had no intention to surrender and lose Ken’s ownership.
But she couldn’t move.
Moreover.
‘…Ah, Ken’s scent.’
Being held from behind, Ken’s warmth and smell enveloped her.
Because of that, she felt heat rising in her face and her heart raced violently.
In that moment, she thought that it wouldn’t be so bad to stay like this a little longer.
‘Because I like Raphne.’
Ken’s words from the morning echoed again.
“Uuuhhh…!!”
Amidst the confusion, Raphne’s struggles grew weaker.
Then Ken leaned closer and whispered in her ear.
“Raphne…”
“Uuuh! W-What is it?!”
His soft voice asked sweetly.
“Please… surrender.”
His voice seemed to wish for something desperately.
As if wanting her to give in, Raphne momentarily went silent.
‘Now that I think about it, the reason he proposed this duel…’
After spending all day thinking about his confession, Raphne reached a conclusion.
The reason Ken challenged her to a duel.
It was undoubtedly to ask her to date him.
He confessed he liked her first, and then intended to win in the duel to wish for her to be his girlfriend.
As she came to that conclusion, a fleeting thought struck her: ‘Maybe it’s okay to lose.’
But, the ownership was still too precious to give up, so Raphne genuinely dove back into the duel.
But now, being firmly captured by him, she couldn’t move.
Even as she tried to use her strength to free herself, Ken’s grip felt overwhelmingly stronger than before.
‘……If it were Ken….’
If he wanted to ask her out, then
perhaps it was okay to lose.
“Please… surrender, Raphne.”
His gentle yet firm touch made her feel his kindness.
Raphne, her face flushed, lowered her head and nodded quietly.
“……I surrender.”
Her quiet voice echoed softly.
Yet in the small gym filled with only three people, her voice rang clear.
“Then, with Raphne’s surrender, the duel shall be concluded.”
Partiel announced in shock as the unexpected result unfolded before her.
Then the parchment floating in the air began to glow with golden light.
“The winner, Ken Feinstein…!”
The wagered duel ended in Ken’s victory.
As the outcome was announced, Ken cautiously released his hold on Raphne as she awkwardly rose to her feet.
Raphne brushed herself off, fixing her hair and clothing.
Then she turned to face Ken.
Feeling inexplicably shy, she couldn’t look him in the eye and blushed as she asked him.
“So? What wish do you have for me, Ken?”
She already guessed what he would ask, but feigned ignorance.
Her heart raced at the thought of his upcoming confession.
Glancing over at Ken’s face, he stared at her seriously.
His handsome expression surprised Raphne, causing her to quickly avert her gaze.
“Raphne.”
Then Ken opened his mouth to address her.
Clenching her arms nervously, Raphne held her breath.
Her heart raced like it was about to burst.
With his heated presence, her face felt flushed.
Now, if she simply replied ‘yes’ to his confession, they would begin their romantic relationship.
After a moment’s pause, Ken spoke up to deliver his wish.
“As a price for bothering me, Raphne. You shall be confined in the tower.”
And with that completely unexpected response, Raphne gaped at him.
“……Huh?”
