CH 14

Second Match: Regress Olbrandt

“You did it, Sheila!”

“Congratulations. But you really were like a wild monkey!”

Cody and Bert came over with smiles on their faces, and with that, Clauschezade quietly left. Sheila bowed and saw him off because he wasn’t one to make light talk in a very public place.

“Congratulations. To tell you the truth, I didn’t think Sheila could beat Seiryu-senpai.”

“Eh. Cody is terrible.”

“Because he’s so strong, you know? It’s doubtful that even I, who have magic power, can win.”

“You flatter me. I still have a long way to go.”

Seiryu chuckled at Sheila and Cody’s conversation. Perhaps because Cody was an aristocrat, he used honorifics even though he was the most senior student.

“Seiryu-senpai, I told you not to use honorifics with me, didn’t I?”

“I can’t do that, especially now that we’re in a public place. Please forgive me.”

It was somewhat amusing to see Cody looking uncomfortably embarrassed by Seiryu’s respectful demeanor. They laughed together, but soon dispersed, as they had to prepare for the next game and referee.

Feeling that they would get upset if she chose between cheering for Cody or Bert, Sheila decided not to cheer for either of them, but to observe how Seiryu was refereeing.

In the end, she was so absorbed in watching the game that she didn’t even see how the referee worked.

It was a match with the dormitory leader, Axe, and he showed them all the power of his muscles, which weren’t just for show.

She met up with Zechs and went straight to the cafeteria after watching the fourth match. She had to eat quickly because she was scheduled for the sixth match.

“I heard you beat Seiryu-senpai?”

“Yeah, well, I did a lot of small tricks.”

“Even if that’s the case, it’s still amazing. Good luck with your next match with Regress-senpai, too. You must be hated considerably, so he might really want to try to kill you.”

“Is he going to kill me? Then I’ll do my best not to lose.”

“…. I’m impressed with your flexibility.”

While exchanging such conversations in between, she hurriedly ate the food. They finished eating much earlier than usual and left the cafeteria.

Sheila continued to do some light exercise after the fifth match began, just to keep her stomach pumping. She wanted to digest as quickly as possible in order to make use of her agility, which was one of her strengths.

With a lighter stomach, she headed to the training hall. It was almost time for the sixth game. Sheila went straight to her designated field.

There was a boy there who was plainly glaring at Sheila. The way he stared at her intently, without paying attention to the match, overlapped with the behavior of “Regress-senpai,” whom she had heard much about.

‘That person is Regress Olbrandt….’

He was a very beautiful-looking boy. Pinkish fluffy curly hair. His light blue eyes were large and almond-shaped. All in all, he gave the impression of a whimsical cat. Even though he was in the fifth grade, he was as slender and small as the female Sheila.

‘Cute.’

According to Zechs’ information, his magical powers weren’t that strong. As with Cody, the strategy would be to use small moves to distract the opponent and then use the sword to finish him off. She also had to always pay attention to see if there was anything unnatural in his movements.

When she stared at him for a while, his expression turned grim as if he was heating up. He seemed to think she was trying to pick a fight with him.

‘I just thought he was cute. I was admiring him.’

With a match coming up, it was better to avoid a fight breaking out in a place like this.

Fortunately, Sheila wasn’t so weak as to be intimidated by Regress’s gaze. It wasn’t as if she had been dealing with wild animals in a crazy way.

However, it seemed that her nonchalant attitude wasn’t good as Regress’s murderous intent increased.

“The sixth match is about to begin. Take your positions.”

With that, the battle was set to begin.

“――Start!”

At Claushezade’s signal, a number of ice pebbles flew in the air without delay. Sheila avoided it with ease.

A similar second attack came. Then, a third and a fourth.

No matter how much he wanted to, there was no way he would repeatedly repeat attacks that he knew won’t hit. It was about time he used a lure like Cody.

Sheila sharpened her nerves as she danced and fluttered across the room. Regress hadn’t made any noticeable movement. What would he do next?

“―― Wind!”

It was a different spell from the attack that had been repeated over and over. Sheila braced herself for the wind attack, but Regress scoffed at her.

‘No, that’s not it!’

Suddenly, the hairs on her neck stood on end. It was instinct that made her look back when she felt something glint at the corner of her eyes.

The ice, which she thought she had successfully intercepted, changed its trajectory and flew toward Sheila again. There were too many of them, and above all, they were too close to each other to avoid.

“Kugh…!”

The one that she couldn’t dodge had to be caught with a sword. If it had been as thin and sharp as an icicle, she could have smashed it, but a blade couldn’t stand up to a rock-like mass. The heavy feeling made both of her arms numb.

Although she was prepared without letting down her guard, she couldn’t read the plan to use wind magic to change the trajectory of the ice. It seemed that a lack of knowledge of magic could affect the outcome of a battle like this.

Sheila’s arm was numb and her stance was broken, but the next attack came immediately. Lightning strikes Sheila in several streaks, just like Cody’s. There were too many of them. Like Bert, she didn’t have time to dodge.

Sheila instantly made the decision to let go of her sword. She thrust it into the ground as hard as she could, then quickly moved away and lowered herself.

“Wha―?!”

Regress couldn’t hide his astonishment. The lightning that should have been aimed at Sheila fell on the sword with a cracking sound.

“I see, a lightning rod…!”

Gritting his teeth, Regress understood.

Metal has the ability to attract lightning. If you bent down further than the sword, you could avoid being struck by lightning.

But this was a gamble, even for Sheila. The sword, which was still smoking, was in no condition to be held. She would have to fight unarmed for a while.

There was no way Regress would let this opportunity pass him by, so he fired off a barrage of magic.

She would roll to avoid the ice pebbles and jump up when they rose up under her feet. All kinds of magic were being unleashed to bring Sheila to her knees.

When the fireball that was fueled by wind magic grew huge in front of her eyes, she indeed suffered burns on her arms. But it wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t move it. She could still fight. Sheila wiped the sweat from her face with her arms covered in soot.

Regress smiled with amusement as he looked at Sheila, who was covered in wounds and soot.

Still, Sheila looked up resolutely. She hadn’t lost her pride, no matter how misshapen and how ugly she looked. The sword in her heart wasn’t yet broken.

To triumph over any opponent. To become a knight. That was Sheila’s pride.

A bombing spell, enhanced by wind magic, was released.

With a tremendous roar, the area was filled with a cloud of dust.

The field, which had been obscured for a moment, suddenly cleared up.

Regress immediately looked for Sheila. The way she crouched on the ground convinced him of victory, but he noticed that she was flinching and clicked his tongue in an ungraceful manner. She was already in shambles. She didn’t have much energy left.

Sheila was caught in the blast and stood up straight. Her dignified appearance captivated Regress. Her yellow-light eyes shone like a flame that would never go out, and her rose-colored hair danced in the wind.

‘How beautiful.’

Regress came to himself and shook his head. It was crazy to admire your enemies.

Feeling like his pride was hurt, he set up another bombing spell.

An explosion occurred right next to Sheila. She didn’t avoid it, but it didn’t result in a direct hit.

It wasn’t that Regress wasn’t strong. But perhaps it was because his mind was in disarray.…

‘There’s still opportunities.’

Perhaps because he lost himself in anger, his two swords were still attached to his hips. He had became completely dependent on magic.

‘Because I’ve never used two swords before, I wanted to see what kind of fighting style he would use. What a thing to think about now…’

An attack method like Seiryu’s was also possible, so she had to be careful about the distance.

‘I can go for it now.’

The cloud of dust created by the blast served as a smoke screen for Sheila. The sword, which had missed opportunities to be picked up due to repeated attacks, was returned to her hand thanks to the smoke screen.

Sheila regained a firm grip on the hilt and leaped with all her might.