Battle Royale (2)

A few students, drawn by the boy's shout, began heading toward us instead of the volcano. Guess people are the same everywhere—always eager to watch a fight.

Anyway.

The boy who'd called me a fraud strode straight toward me.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

He's carrying a sword at his waist. Must be a swordsman.

The boy drew his blade and pointed it at me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"This is a one-on-one duel, Kiren Montella. If I win, you'll have to honestly admit that you're a fraud."

"What a load of bullshit."

I tried to ignore him and keep walking. The best way to deal with nonsense is to give it no reaction at all. At this point, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only a tiny handful of students were even listening to him. I'd already put on quite the show during the entrance exam and the opening ceremony. I'd even taken over a professor's lecture once. All I had to do was walk away. Using any strength here would only put me at a disadvantage.

Yeah. I should just ignore him and—

Why did this guy have to pop up right now?

A message appeared, blocking my path.

Guess I have to respond after all.

If I ran away now, all my stats would drop for an entire day. Normally I would've ignored it, but this was during the Battle Royale. A stat penalty meant a drop in the rankings. In other words, I only had one real choice.

Well, a thousand Arrogance Points is nothing to sneeze at.

Fine. Let's do this.

"You fraud!! Are you seriously running away like a coward?! Hey, everyone saw that, right?! Look at this pathetic loser trying to escape before his true colors are revealed!"

"Now that I think about it, we've never actually seen him do anything like what he showed during the entrance exam, have we?"

"But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during class he..."

"He probably just got lucky. Or maybe he set it up with the professor beforehand."

"So that guy's telling the truth?"

Just before the murmurs could grow any louder, I turned around.

"Looks like all you trash can do is badmouth people from the shadows."

I deliberately lowered my voice, and the students fell silent at once. Yeah, it was about time I tightened the reins a bit. If anything, I should thank this extra for picking a fight with me.

I pulled my hand out of my pocket and lightly touched the ring. From it, I drew the well-forged sword that Lilith had thrown in as a bonus when she gave me the ring.

"A sword? You're not using magic?"

"Magic? Against a pathetic worm like you?"

"You son of a—!!"

I could see the boy gripping his sword even tighter. Just look at that expression. You'd think he was the protagonist of some shonen manga.

"Fine! A sword is fine with me. Take your stance."

He didn't seem willing to give up on the duel, so he turned to find a suitable spot.

At that exact moment—

A sharp, tingling pain shot through the back of my head. Even though I was turned away, my instincts screamed at me.

Something's coming!

I spun left while adjusting my grip on the sword. Halfway through the turn, I saw the boy leaping toward me with his blade raised.

Wow, a fucking sneak attack?

You're done.

His face was faintly visible. He was smiling, convinced he was about to win. Tsk.

"To think I have to waste my time on trash like this."

Right before his sword could sink into my waist, I raised my right hand over my shoulder and brought it down in a savage arc.

-Clang!

His sword was sliced clean in two without any resistance whatsoever. I grabbed the stunned boy's face, then drove my blade straight into his stomach.

The sword sank in smoothly, like cutting through tender meat.

Does it even have a sharpness enchantment? Note taken.

The ring's performance was better than I'd expected.

"Guh... Y-you...!"

"What?"

I pulled the sword out and stabbed him in the stomach once more. The boy staggered for a moment before dropping to both knees.

"Th-this doesn't count!! You never said the duel had started!"

Is this guy actually insane?

He launches a sneak attack and then tries to play the victim?

"I've heard enough of your nonsense."

I grabbed the fallen boy by the scruff of his neck and dragged him slowly into the middle of the crowd. Then I tossed him onto the ground where everyone could see him clearly.

"You pathetic insect. Consider yourself lucky the rules won't let me chop off one of your arms."

"Damn it! Y-yeah! This has to be some kind of trick, right?! How could you even notice a surprise attack from behind?! This is invalid! Invalid!!"

"You still don't know your place. Listen well."

I grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him up. Then I spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

As I spoke, I manipulated the magic tool attached to his left arm. No matter how much of a piece of trash he was, I couldn't let him die from excessive bleeding here.

Still, I don't get it.

Why did he suddenly pick a fight with me? We didn't even have any prior conflict.

At that moment—

Aha.

Something very interesting caught my eye. Right before being summoned to the academy, the boy's gaze had been fixed on Elena, who was looking at him.

So that's how it is.

"Here's some advice for you, insect."

"...What?"

"If you're going to act tough in front of the girl you like, at least pick an opponent you can actually beat."

"Ugh...!"

Nice reaction.

Soon the area around the boy began turning white—the precursor to a teleportation spell. Right before he vanished, I deliberately walked over to Elena's side.

"Mind playing along for a moment?"

"What? W-wait—hyup!"

I whispered so only she could hear, then grabbed her waist and pulled her toward me. She ended up in an awkward, half-embraced position. The boy wore an expression of utter despair as he was teleported away.

Who told you to touch what's mine?

I'd already marked Elena as mine. After all, there was a limit to how much of a solo performance I could put on as the story progressed into the later stages. That's why I'd been claiming promising talents in advance, and Elena was one of them.

Anyway.

"Thanks for playing along, even if it was just for a moment, Elena."

"Ah, um, th-that, uh..."

Elena's face turned bright red as she kept trying and failing to speak. Her ears had gone as red as ripe plums. This thing's broken.

Luckily, I had the perfect remedy.

"Very well. Since you played along, I shall permit you to follow me."

"Ah, um, th... What? Really?!"

Fixed in one shot.

"However, if you prove useless, I'll discard you without hesitation. The same goes if you drag me down."

"I have no intention of dragging you down."

Elena tied her hair into a ponytail. This was the Elena I knew—the one who entered her serious combat state. In other words, she was going all out.

Alright. A few ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people have probably been eliminated inside the mountain by now. Time to head in.

But first, I had to land the finishing blow.

When I looked back, quite a few students were still gathered here.

"Wasn't that... kind of cowardly?"

"Requesting a one-on-one duel against a mage as a swordsman in the first place was—"

"And like that kid said, if he was really that strong he would've dodged on his own. Oh, right, right! Did you see his speed earlier?!"

"He didn't even seem to use much magic, but he was insanely fast."

"Kiren was holding a sword earlier, wasn't he? So does that mean he can use swords too?"

"Wait, so he uses both swords and magic? No way, is that even possible?"

As expected, they were busy whispering among themselves.

Guess this body's specs really are ridiculous.

I never expected D-rank agility to produce that kind of speed. It was on par with a decent apprentice knight.

Anyway.

I cleared my throat and shouted loudly.

"Does anyone here have a problem with the duel that just took place? If so, speak up. I'll gladly duel any of you anytime."

"Me! Duel me!"

I lightly ignored Priya, who was waving her hand enthusiastically. Unlike before, no one seemed to doubt me anymore.

And then—

Seeing that Contempt for the Weak had triggered properly, it seemed everyone had accepted the outcome.

"No problems, then. Let's go, Elena."

"Ah, y-yes!"

I naturally placed my hand on Elena's shoulder as we headed into the mountain together.

"Duel me tooooo!!"

Priya's voice echoed from far behind us, but I ignored it easily. I really didn't have the confidence to beat her yet.

Not yet, anyway.

Nice.

**

How long had they been climbing the mountain?

I'm exhausted...

Elena felt a dull ache in her knees. Even though she was a mage who never neglected physical training, the steep mountain terrain made it difficult to exert her full stamina.

But when she looked up, she saw Kiren's back steadily climbing at the exact same pace as when they'd started.

His back is really broad. He doesn't look like a mage at all.

Mages were usually frail in build. They didn't need physical strength, after all. Need to lift something? Just use telekinesis magic. Need speed? Just cast Haste.

But Kiren was different. His entire body was perfectly balanced.

Now that I think about it, during that duel earlier...

Kiren had faced the duel with a sword in hand. Not his main specialty of magic, but a sword. There was a saying that mages lose to swordsmen in close combat, but to willingly abandon magic like that...

Is he reckless, or does he actually know how to use a sword?

Lost in thought, she suddenly realized the distance between them had grown quite large.

Oh no! If I don't hurry...!

Kiren's words about discarding her if she got in his way flashed through her mind. She tried to pick up the pace, but the gap only widened.

I can't get left behind...

If she was late—

Elena squeezed her eyes shut.

At that moment—

"What are you doing?"

Hearing Kiren's voice, Elena opened her eyes. He was holding out his right hand.

"Here. Take my hand."

"Huh? But..."

"Hurry."

After a moment of hesitation, Elena placed her hand in his. It was much larger than hers.

Now that I think about it, earlier too...

She remembered when Kiren had wrapped his hand around her waist. The sensation of his large, warm body was still vivid.

Aaah! What am I even thinking right now?!

It had been strange for a while now. Whenever she thought about Kiren, this happened. Her body grew hot, her face turned red all the way to her ears. She found herself acting more prim and proper without realizing it, and she kept checking herself in the mirror more often in the bathroom.

And...

My heart... it's pounding like crazy.

Elena clutched her chest tightly, as if trying to hide the sound of her heartbeat from someone.