Was That Too Much?
Was that too much? Honestly, there was no way I could have any feelings for this girl. Unlike her sister, she hadn't written my name on the petition, hadn't ignored me, and… 'I feel really bad now for pretending not to know her and ignoring her at first….' In any world, Aine Blair was a kind-hearted character.
“It’s true that everyone here has been rude to you, Rain. As a fellow noble, this maiden offers her deepest apologies.”
Aine placed a hand over her heart and bowed with refined grace. Among those present, only Sien and Roselia ranked higher than her. So it wasn’t really a problem for the marquis’s daughter to speak as a representative of the nobility, but… the person she was bowing to was me—the ‘commoner’ who had earned the nobles’ resentment. And she was doing it in front of everyone.
Even someone as bold as me felt a chill at the potential fallout, so I quickly waved my hands in protest.
“I don’t believe Lady Aine needs to bow her head at all.”
“That isn’t true. Even if this maiden took no part in it, the matter is not entirely unrelated.”
“Saying that simply because we’re fellow nobles seems like you’re shouldering too much respons———”
“Before being nobles, this maiden’s sister is involved.”
“……”
“Taking responsibility for one’s older sister’s mistakes is only natural for a younger sibling and member of the family. Therefore, it is not strange for this maiden to bow her head.”
It was an incredibly upright and righteous declaration. The sight of her demonstrating the ideal noble’s mindset and conduct that everyone always praised left all the onlookers speechless. It was as if she were telling them, You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Her clear-cut apology became an example for them and even carried a faint sense of holiness.
“I will gratefully accept Lady Aine’s apology. So please raise your head. Otherwise, how can I refrain from offering one of my own?”
“Thank you for accepting it, Rain.”
Aine carefully lifted her head and smiled brightly. The innocent, noisy tomboy from earlier had vanished; her smile felt positively noble.
It was healing. Her pure, untainted smile was melting something inside my chest.
“I apologize for my careless remarks. I offer my sincere regret to Lady Aine and every noble who chose not to sign the petition bearing my name.”
I bowed politely toward her in return. While I had only issued a warning to those who had written my name, the killing intent I released had been indiscriminate, and it was true that I had essentially disrespected every noble present.
“At the same time, I would like to express my special gratitude to Lady Aine for giving me this opportunity.”
“No need. This maiden merely did what was right. So please raise your head.”
“Before that, there is something I must say.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“As I said, the ones I wish to apologize to are only the 120 nobles who did not write my name on the petition.”
—Are you listening, you 80 who ruined your own lives?
Those who chose me as their enemy, just wait and see. If you don’t want every future encounter to ruin your day, keep your eyes lowered and stay out of my way.
With a bright smile, I lifted my head. Unlike before, I didn’t release any killing intent this time, but…
“Irmele Layer.”
“———”
“Did you understand what I said?”
I stared fixedly at the woman whose name I had called. She clearly hadn’t expected her name to leave my lips, nor had she imagined I would pin her with a gaze intense enough to make her want to flee on the spot. That was why her dark eyes trembled violently and her body went completely rigid.
“When someone speaks to you, you should at least nod. Otherwise the person asking feels awkward, doesn’t she?”
I drove her further into a corner so she couldn’t even consider running.
“Do you understand?”
“…Y-yes.”
“How strange. Then why aren’t you looking down?”
“———”
“Good.”
I turned away from her with a soft chuckle as she hung her head. Aine stood there wearing a sad smile and a slightly regretful expression.
“Did you really need to go that far?”
“Getting beaten down isn’t really my style.”
“…I see.”
“It may be uncomfortable, but it can’t be helped. I need to secure my own path to survival.”
I shrugged lightly, trying to convey that it was fine. Honestly, with my current ability, I could probably live without threatening them at all, but… the fundamental reason I had thrown out such provocative bait was that the attention needed to stay fixed on me. Only then would they be unable to touch me, and that would become the strongest shield to protect Sien.
…But wait a second.
Come to think of it, Sien is rank one, right? And I’m just a pathetic body that can only handle fourth-circle magic?
———Huh? Looking back now, what the hell did I just do?
…I’m screwed, aren’t I?
‘Aaaah, fucking mistake.’
Like getting so hungry that I overlooked the luxurious cream bread I could have calmly waited for and settled for a plain baguette instead. Now, in a situation where I couldn’t turn back time, I had committed exactly that kind of blunder.
Just as I was about to rack my brains wondering why I had done something so stupid—as Aine had said—I heard her speak again.
“I’m not criticizing you. It’s just… hearing you call this your ‘path to survival’ makes my heart ache a little…”
Aine scratched her cheek and smiled awkwardly. Her words, coming from someone with a more genuine and pure heart than anyone I had met so far, blew away the pile of worries I had been carrying once again.
‘I like this kind of personality.’
The thought I had kept inside bloomed into words thanks to Aine’s smile that warmed my heart.
“You’re more innocent than I expected. Much more.”
“…Is that meant to be a compliment?”
“Doesn’t it depend on who you’re saying it to? If you take it as an insult, then it is one. But I meant it as praise.”
“Then I’ll take it as a compliment. Hehe, thank you.”
“Shall we head into the arena now? We do have a match to fight.”
“That’s right! This maiden, Aine, has been dying to cross blades with a strong opponent like you…!”
The dignified demeanor from earlier had completely vanished. Aine was back to her lively tomboy tone. She planted both hands on her hips in a clear challenge, and I couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“I’m honored you think of me as strong.”
“Humility is admirable, but it feels wrong coming from someone who set a record with no precedent!”
“Still, I can’t exactly brag in front of the marquis’s daughter.”
“Status doesn’t matter here! So please speak and act more comfortably with me!”
“I have a personality that doesn’t back down once I say something twice. Are you sure it’s all right to give me permission?”
“Permission granted!”
Her confident, adorable gesture of thumping her own chest made a smile slip out before I could stop it.
“That’s right. Honestly, I am strong. Strong enough to be confident I can defeat Lady Aine in under a minute.”
“Ooh! That’s incredibly damaging to my pride, but…! That’s exactly why this maiden Aine wants to face you with everything she has!”
“If I go all out, it won’t even take thirty seconds.”
“…No matter what, this is starting to make me angry. This maiden lasting only thirty seconds?”
Aine narrowed her eyes at me in clear displeasure. It was only natural for her to feel upset. She was a direct descendant of the Blair family, famous for reaching the pinnacle of twin-dagger mastery, a recognized expert even in my previous life… and now she was an elite among elites on the verge of confirmed rank one.
Yet despite the weight of the Blair name, her petite frame, adorable face, and tomboyish behavior made her displeased expression look more cute than intimidating.
“Huu… Very well, Rain. Since it’s come to this, this maiden will gladly take your provocation. Face me with your full strength.”
“You mean it?”
“Yes. This maiden will also face you with everything she has. If you don’t want to get hurt, you had better show your true power.”
With a confident expression, Aine drew her twin daggers from behind her back and spun them skillfully between her fingers. The flashy display drew an involuntary sound of admiration from me. She struck a beautiful stance and taunted me.
“Aah, but since you are a truly outstanding talent, I’ll finish this within three minutes.”
“What will you do if you lose in a pathetic instant?”
“Ha! As if that would happen! This maiden has considerable confidence in her own skill!”
“Then I really will go all out? I won’t hold back, understand?”
“This maiden will see exactly how long you can keep spouting such arrogance…!”
With a half-tearful expression that said she could no longer endure the provocation, Aine stormed into the arena first, unable to contain her frustration.
‘She’s sulking.’
In technical terms, she had entered a state of being ‘pissed off.’ A helpless laugh escaped me at the sight of her face.
After a light deep breath, I stepped into the arena as well. Once both of us were ready, countdown timers appeared before us to signal the start of the match.
Rank 1 — Match 43
Aine Blair — 40pt / Rain — 0pt
Map — Ruined Colosseum
“Hehe, unfortunately for you, this map favors me.”
Aine openly displayed her delight. The girl who had been puffing her cheeks in anger moments ago was now grinning ear to ear, already savoring victory.
“Seeing you so happy makes me feel both glad and a little sorry. I can already picture Lady Aine failing to last even a minute in such favorable conditions.”
“…Those provocations no longer work on this maiden.”
Even as she said it, Aine’s brow furrowed in clear irritation.
“I shall crush that arrogance of yours.”
“Please go easy on this handsome face I was born with.”
“The world of combat is a cold one!”
“Then ten seconds. I’ll knock Lady Aine down in ten seconds, pride or no pride.”
“…I told you those provocations don’t work anymore?”
Even as she said that, Aine gripped her daggers so tightly her hands turned white.
———Swish!
Almost simultaneously with the signal, Aine closed the distance with terrifying speed. Her movement was faster than I expected, and my face betrayed my surprise. She caught it and smiled.
“This maiden Aine Blair commends the courage of Rain, who dared provoke her without fear! But now you will pay the full price!!”
Her dagger streaked toward my throat without hesitation. At this rate, I would be hit before I could even counter.
“Hehe! This maiden shall end your legen———!”
But that only applied to other people.
“———Thank you for your hard work, Lady Aine.”
Before her blade could reach me, I instantly cast two separate time-distortion spells on myself and on her, then stepped sideways and easily evaded the strike.
“———Hweh?”
Aine’s face went slack with disbelief.
“Unfortunately, that was a five-second cut~?”
Using fifth-circle space-time magic—Domain Expansion: Gravity Manipulation | Triple—I drove a powerful elbow into her back as a form of consideration.
BOOM—!!
An impact that should never come from a human body slammed her brutally into the ground.
Winner — Rain
Match Time: 4.311 seconds
New record for the shortest match in history.
No matter how proficient Aine was in physical techniques, she couldn’t withstand an elbow strike accelerated to two hundred kilometers per hour under triple gravity. The match ended just like that.
Meanwhile…
“…Rain smiled? At another woman… not at me…?”
From far away, a pair of violet eyes that had witnessed the entire scene sparkled with a chilling light.