Chapter 7

Seria Yurdina was a coward.

It has been that way since childhood. Fear was akin to a survival skill for her, who was ignored since her birth because of her origins. Fear and the longing to escape from this type of life.

In order not to return to such a miserable life, and to break free from her shameful past, she devoted herself to the way of the sword.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for her hard work to bear fruit.

On the day she arrived at Yurdina’s castle, she felt a strange pleasure when she saw the restlessness of the servants of the lord’s castle, the same ones who used to look down at her.

Yes, this is the view reserved only for the strong.

Only the weak remain vigilant around the strong. Every time they meet the eyes of a strong, they freeze, tremble, and hesitate, trying to understand the other person’s intentions.

Since she held the sword, she could no longer feel that tension.

The only exceptions were those two, her father and her step-sister. Even then, her father was now ill and had barely any strength left.

So, when she stood in front of Ian again after the duel, she felt once again that long forgotten sensation.

Every time she saw Ian her body trembled, her muscles stiffened, her heart rate increased, and her breathing became rough at the memory of the violent brutality she went through.

Scared. The helplessness she felt last time, the pain imprinted in every nook and cranny of her entire body, even his ruthless sword attacks.

She could stand none of that. She felt as if she had returned to the despondent condition she lived in during her childhood, so Seria clenched her teeth and grabbed her wooden sword.

I will overcome it.

By overcoming this, she will prove her worth once again.

Her enemy, Ian, seems a little uneasy, but he nonetheless accepted her request for a revenge match. He was the same opponent who overwhelmed her completely last week.

It was funny to ask for a rematch after only a week, but for Seria, this was a matter more important than anything else.

This time I’ll win. Last time I mistakenly underestimated my adversary’s skills. This time I will fight with all my strength while being in the most perfect condition possible.

Thus, Seria immediately rushed to him even before Derek finished saying ‘Let’s start!’.

Her sword didn’t take a straight course. A little slant, but enough to make contact between her sword and her opponent’s body.

Her body was stiff from tension, but her long training did not betray her. Her sword made contact with her opponent’s body.

And ‘Bang,’ a ringing noise resounded.

With the sound of leather being hit with a club, the man’s body flew through the air. Seria’s movement stopped. She was clearly perplexed.

There was no way this was possible., She had already meticulously calculated her following moves in her mind. However, among the numerous possibilities she thought of, there was no hint of the man flying into the air after the first blow.

After all, wasn’t he supposed to be an opponent I could not defeat no matter what I did?

Even if she were to strike, she thought it would be possible only after exchanging several blows while relying on her superior physical ability and magical power. But now Ian was rolling on the ground with just one blow.

Maybe it’s a trap? Suspicion began to grow in Seria’s deep blue eyes.

Either way, the man just staggered and got up with a groan.

“Cough... go easy on me... would you?”

Seeing how he staggered up, the blow did connect, but he didn’t seem to be heavily injured. The part she hit with her wooden sword that wasn’t even a vital spot in the first place, so it was natural.

The man groaned and returned to his stance. Seria continued, observing him with wary eyes.Expplôre uptodate stories at no/vel//bin(.)com

It can’t end like this. My opponent is the same man who made me suffer a disastrous defeat last time.

Seria rushed at him once again.

From Seria’s arms, who curled down, a sword attack burst out. A neat diagonal line from the lower left to the upper right. Ian tried to defend himself, but the result was the same as a little while ago.

‘Bang,’ a sound that resembled an explosion rang out, and the man’s posture collapsed. Seria bit her lip.

Should I aim for the opening? It was a tempting opportunity, but she quickly gave up. The reason was that he could aim for a counterattack with his mysterious footwork.

Instead, she decided to rush at him. And the moment she entered Ian’s blind corner, she struck his sternum with the hilt of her sword.

A clean blow that made a ‘clanking’ noise. Ian couldn’t even groan properly. His back, unable to withstand the shock, curled in as he was sent flying. He was left rolling on the ground several times.

The man couldn’t even breathe properly. It took a long time for the sound of his erratic breath to come out.

Weird. At that moment, Seria had this feeling.

The course of events was the same as last time, but the result was the exact opposite. Actually, this should be normal. Even though she was his junior of a year, she was still at the top of her faculty, while her opponent was only in the middle-lower ranks.

It was obvious for Seria to win. Even so, she still couldn’t shake off her fear.

Because the man got up again. Ian raised his body once more and staggered back into his position.

It was like watching the replay of Seria’s figure during the last duel. That’s why Seria stared at Ian with even more cold eyes.

She knew, as long as one doesn’t surrender, they are not defeated.

And if he doesn’t admit defeat, she won’t win either. Because at any given time, he might beat her once again.

Seria wanted a flawless victory. A look of impatience entered her eyes.

She rushed in. She ran so fast that space itself seemed to have been shortened in an instant, her blade flew to his side, Ian managed to block it by raising his sword.

His body flew diagonally because of the shock wave. Seria did not miss that opportunity.

Seria’s sword aggressively struck the man’s blade, like an ax chopping a firewood. It was possible only because of her overwhelming physical abilities and magical powers.

Ian didn’t last long. His posture, which he painstakingly tried to maintain, collapsed once again, and Seria struck the man’s flank with her sword.

With a thud, the man rolled on the floor again. All of a sudden, both she and the audience, who were earlier looking at her with devious expression, showed signs of disappointment.

Then, a mocking laugh was heard. Seria found it ironic. They, who don’t even have the courage to come up to this arena, are laughing at him.

But that marked the end of her interest in the audience. Rather, a desire for the audience to boo him a little more surged up inside of her.

The earlier the man’s heart is broken, the sooner Seria’s victory will come.

But the man stood up once more. He stood, despite the pain evident in his face.

Serias frowned. Even for her, beating someone unilaterally couldn’t possibly feel good.

“...... Is this all you can do?”

“Oh, you said that last week, too.”

That’s what he said. It was a rude line for a senior to say to a junior.

Seria finally made up her mind once again. That cold hostility rekindled in her eyes again. She had no choice but to do as she wanted.

I don’t know why, but now Ian was significantly weaker compared to last week. If she didn’t win now, she might not have a chance in the future.

That made Seria impatient.

She strikes him; the guy tries to defend himself, but then she strikes him again, then eventually the man rolls on the ground, thus forming a never-ending cycle of repetition.

It was the repetitive cycle of last week. Just with roles reversed.

The decisive moment was when she hit my temple.

The moment I was beaten, a light popped out in my eyes. It wasn’t an exaggeration or a joke. Literally, my vision went dark and something flashed.

When I woke up, I heard the sound of Celine cursing at Seria. I had a headache. While having a blurry vision, I looked at Seria’s face.

She had a bewildered face. More than ever.

So I forced my weak body to stand up. Since I wouldn’t be able to defeat her using magic anyway, he spent his saved magic and made his body condition as normal as possible.

A screeching noise could be heard in every corner of his bones. His muscles screamed, his hands were shaking and his whole body was begging him to stop.

However, the moment Seria regained her stance and turned her sword towards me.

I barely managed to hold back the laughter that erupted out of me.

I see it. From the direction the sword will come, to where the sword will stop.

Eyes quivering with nervousness, muscles hardened with tension, and judgment clouded by her hesitation.

Everything was flowing in one direction.

It was a ‘feel,’ a kind of feeling I could sense. I finally understood what Professor Derek was saying.

They were habits that you would have never noticed if you just dealt with an enemy who lacked skills, even if they had intelligence.

Her muscles were always honest. It was not only the muscles that moved the arms and legs, but the eyes, breathing, organs, and everything else as well.

So when Seria stepped on the ground again and pierced like a lightning with her sword.

Grab, my hand gripped her sword. It felt like my hand was about to break. I made a decision, but my body responded late. Still, it was enough to stop Seria’s sword.

Seria looked at me blankly. Eyes filled with disbelief.

So, I answered.

“...... I caught you.”

Next, there was chaos. Before she could come to her senses, I put strength in my grip and threw away the sword from her hand.

With a thud, her sword was thrown, and anxiousness emerged in Seria’s eyes. While feeling pity that she now had no means to fight me.

If I strike her now, I’m done. Even if I couldn’t make up for the accumulated damage, I had to inflict as much critical damage as possible. Only then could I achieve victory.

A chilly emotion dwelled in my eyes. It was an unexpected expression that even I didn’t notice.

And when I raised my wooden sword to the sky.

“...... Kyaa!”

Seria let out a pitiful whimper and wrapped her arms around her head. Her body trembling as if remembering the violence inflicted upon her last week.

At that moment, I suddenly came to my senses.

What am I doing now?

I was thinking of slashing with a sword and inflicting a ‘critical blow’ on a junior who can’t even pose resistance.

Seria trembled with her eyes closed. The violence that she expected to unfold was that frightening to her, considering that she had even covered her ears.

Well, that’s understandable. From what I heard from Celine, there were enough reasons for her to react like this.

So, I relaxed the arm holding the sword.

Instead, I patted Seria’s trembling head with my hands. Seria stiffened, thinking that the ruthless assault was about to begin.

“Ah, eh...... ?”

But the only thing that came back was a slight feeling of someone stroking her hair.

While Seria let out a cute scream, she opened her eyes surprised and looked at me, not knowing what to do.

I met her gaze and smiled as if it was ridiculous.

“What are you looking at? So, did you think that I would relentlessly beat my junior, who doesn’t even have a sword in her hand?”

“...... Ah, but.”

With bewilderment lingering in her eyes, Seria pursed her lips as if she wanted to say something.

Last week, didn’t you beat me?

And today, didn’t I beat you as well?

Then why?

Perhaps that was her question. It was a reasonable question. But I had no intention of answering it.

Last week, I wasn’t me, and I was too lazy to repeat that I wasn’t the type of person who would beat up his juniors like that.

So, I just advised her.

“When you are nervous, you get very impatient. In particular, your movements stiffen, so it’s clear where you are aiming. And practice masking your gaze.”

And with a thud, I threw my wooden sword. It was the expression of my will of not wanting to continue this duel any longer.

It was then that the spectators, who had their mouth agape after watching what I did, came to their senses. Some of them looked in admiration, some were puzzled, and some were dissatisfied.

It didn’t matter. How many of them had the courage to challenge her? I looked at Professor Derek without uttering a word.

Professor Derek nodded with a cheerful smile.

“...... Alright, the duel is over. The result is a draw.”

In the end, I didn’t win, but just not losing was enough of an achievement.

As I staggered out of the ring, something came to my mind and I looked back.

There, Seria sat blankly, staring at me.

“And, yes.”

As I met Seria’s stupid gaze, I smiled softly.

“From now on, when you see me, don’t hesitate to greet me.”

Well, this is the dignity of a senior after all.

I was satisfied that I had saved my face as a senior, and moved on.

I pretended to be okay, but in reality, I felt like I was going to collapse at any moment. Whether or not she knew my thoughts, Celine ran up to me and patted me on the back while making a fuss.

It was the best start after a week of having lost my memories. Above all, the biggest gain was that I was able to settle the grudge with the silver-haired girl called Yurdina’s bastard.

Now, thinking that I would never get involved with the daughter of a powerful family again, I entered the intensive care room of the temple.

And the next day.

Seria began following me in secret.