The Terror of the Unseen
"Lucian, what other lectures are you taking?"
"Small Swordsmanship is non-negotiable, obviously... As for the rest, I'll pick them one at a time as I see how my schedule shakes out. You're taking Great Swordsmanship, right?"
"...Yeah."
Celia swallowed a bitter taste as she answered his question.
So we're splitting up after all...
Right up until enrollment, she had assumed that since they both wielded swords, they'd end up attending the same classes.
Staying together with the first friend she'd ever made at the Academy... just imagining it had made her heart flutter with excitement.
But then...
-I'm thinking of switching to a new weapon.
-Oh, a small sword?
-Yeah.
Of all things...
He had gone and changed his primary weapon.
...Granted, considering his combat style, it probably was the right call.
The Kingdom's greatest swordsman herself had recommended it, and by Celia's own judgment, it was the correct choice too.
But it still stung a little that the Academy life she'd been looking forward to had been thrown off course.
None of the other classes line up either...
Celia thought as she stared down at her registration form.
Accounting for Lucian's 'Etiquette' and 'Dagger & Small Swordsmanship' lecture times, there was almost nothing she could share with him.
Of course, if she rearranged her own timetable, she could force some overlap...
...But that would be too much.
Truthfully, she was tempted to do exactly that, but as Lucian himself had said, throwing off her own growth wasn't a good thing.
She had no intention of disregarding his consideration for her either, and so in the end, not a single class on their schedules matched.
Why does something like this taste so bitter...
The following afternoon, staring at the registration form she had finally completed, Celia had no choice but to swallow that bitterness.
"Nia, what did you register for?"
"...Dagger & Small Swordsmanship."
"Oh, figured."
She had expected Nia to choose it, of course, but hearing it confirmed felt different all the same.
We're not exactly close yet, but...
Still, it was nice to know someone she at least recognized would be in the same lectures.
Her reputation wasn't the best to begin with, and the loneliness of being separated from Celia had eased a little.
"Come to think of it, you two will be in the same class then?"
Lumia, who had been listening to their conversation, chimed in as if she'd just remembered something.
"...Oh, right, you switched weapons, Lucian?"
"Yeah. The instructor recommended it, and honestly it seemed like the right move to me too."
"I see. Oh, wait — Lucian, are you taking 'Etiquette' too?"
"Obviously. That one's mandatory."
"We're taking it too! Perfect timing!"
Lumia bounced on her heels, practically vibrating with delight.
From the looks of it, not just Nia but she as well had registered for the 'Etiquette' lecture.
Her striking looks had kept it from registering before, but come to think of it, both of them were commoners too.
"Well, that works out nicely."
The other commoners were busy doing foolish things, but these two had clearly been blessed with good sense.
The Etiquette lecture would have been a lonely affair on its own — another stroke of luck.
"Well, what's done is done. And it seems like the warm-ups are about finished, so shall we begin?"
"...Yeah."
After a few more words were exchanged, I decided it was enough and asked.
Nia gave a small nod in reply.
I could see her small hand, wrapped around the dagger, clench tight.
Nervous, maybe.
"Lumia can be the referee."
"Got it! Both of you, get ready!"
"Right."
Watching her made me strangely nervous, so I hurried and made the request to Lumia.
The place where we now stood was the training ground —
We had gathered to settle the sparring match with Nia that I'd been putting off for a while.
They really have gotten close, huh.
The promise had been made with Nia alone, yet somehow Lumia had tagged along as a set.
Well, being alone with just the two of us might have been awkward anyway, so maybe this was for the best.
Having a referee on hand was convenient too, so it all worked out in one way or another.
"Three..."
Lumia's count rang out while I was lost in thought.
In response, I slowly drew up my mana and began circulating it.
At the same time, I snapped my eyes wide open and fixed my gaze on Nia.
To activate Illusion, I first needed to perceive my target, after all.
I could cast it before the match began, but that would be cheating, and my conscience wouldn't allow it.
For her part, Nia wasn't using Stealth before the match started either.
With her right in front of me like this, it shouldn't come to that... but if I somehow lost track of her, things would get ugly.
"Two... one..."
With my focus sharpened, Lumia's count seemed to drag.
I could even feel Nia drawing up her mana, preparing to unleash her ability.
Is this because my stats went up?
It felt as though my senses had grown keener.
"...Begin!"
Before I knew it, Lumia called the start of the match.
Fwip!
In the same instant, Nia vanished.
Not even a whisper of presence remained — a truly perfect Stealth — but I felt no worry at all.
Illusion
Because I had kept her form locked in my sight until the very last moment, I succeeded in casting my Illusion on her.
I won.
Unable to hide the grin spreading across my face, I drifted a few steps from where I stood.
Now then — shall we sit back and enjoy the show?
Stealth
Fwip!
Nia used her ability the instant the match began and lunged toward where the top student stood.
How am I going to fight him?
A bout against the top student — someone she'd never faced even once.
She had wanted to see it at least once, and how bitter she'd been to miss his last match.
...No, but still.
Thanks to that, she'd ended up sparring with him like this — a blessing in disguise, you could call it.
Feeling her heart pound for no good reason, Nia swept her dagger in a wide arc the moment she arrived before the top student.
Even with her Stealth dispelled and the dagger flying at his face, he — for some reason — didn't so much as flinch.
...What is this? What's he playing at?
Don't tell me this is how it ends?
No, surely not?
Questions bloomed in her mind, but she did not stop the swing of her dagger —
Wheeish—!
...Huh?
The blade carved through empty air, meeting not the slightest resistance.
Startled, Nia lifted her head.
And where her gaze landed, there was no trace of Lucian, who had been standing there mere moments ago.
...Illusion.
His ability, wasn't it?
Having quickly grasped the situation, Nia promptly slipped back into Stealth.
At the same time, she darted from her position and swept her surroundings.
...Nothing?
But all that greeted her eyes was the empty training ground, and Lumia far away, watching as the referee.
The gray-haired boy she was searching for was nowhere to be seen.
...He's tricky.
No — this went beyond tricky. She didn't even know how to fight him.
Was this what others felt whenever they faced her?
She shut her eyes and concentrated, straining for any sensation that might betray him — and felt nothing at all, as if he simply wasn't moving.
...How am I supposed to
fight this?
Crack!
The instant the complaint left her heart, something solid slammed into the back of her head.
"Kyaah—?!"
Nia let out a shrill cry at the unexpected jolt of pain.
What was that?
She rolled forward in a hurry and whipped her head around, but of course, nothing was there.
First, my position—
She couldn't expose her location while the enemy's was unknown.
Having made her judgment, Nia cast Stealth once more and quickly circled the area.
This much should—
Smack!
"Ugh!?"
Just as she stopped to catch her breath, thinking he surely couldn't have found her now, the back of her head took another blow.
She whipped her head around in a panic, but as before, there was nothing — only confusion piling upon confusion.
What is this...?
Had he struck her himself while remaining hidden?
Or was even this pain merely part of his 'Illusion'?
There was nothing she could know.
And so, nothing she could do.
A helplessness like being cast alone into the open sea.
This feeling, utterly new to her, planted a tiny seed of fear in Nia's chest.
Rare for someone who practiced constant restraint of her emotions.
But given the circumstances, it was hardly strange at all —
or so she thought, in that very moment.
...?!
The fear that had been quietly sprouting began to grow, thick and fast, as though it had been fed an elixir.
Wh-what is this?
Without even a moment to think it through, moisture welled up in her vision.
For no reason she could name, her hands and body trembled; cold sweat poured down her.
The sight of the empty training ground, so unremarkable mere moments ago, now felt inexplicably desolate...
Empty?
In that instant, doubting her own eyes, Nia whipped her gaze around.
But once again, all she could see was the vacant training ground.
...Where's Lumia?
Not only had the hidden top student vanished — the blue-haired girl who should have been standing right there was gone too.
Wh-what the hell is going on...
Her legs suddenly gave out, and she nearly crumpled where she stood.
She barely prevented that, but the fear swelling ever larger showed no sign of stopping the waterfall of cold sweat coursing down her.
Under ordinary circumstances she would have calmly assessed the situation and realized that all of this was Lucian's Illusion — but fear had devoured her reason, leaving Nia to flounder in the dark.
"Lu-Lumia? Lumia, where are you?!"
Finally broken by a dread deeper than anything she had ever felt, Nia forgot even to maintain her Stealth and screamed into empty air that held nothing at all.
"Lumia!!"
And then —
Whoosh—
"...!!"
Like a lie, the vanished gray-haired boy appeared right before her eyes.
Her senses snapped back at the sight; Nia forced strength into her buckling legs and readied her stance again —
Smack!
"Ughh...!!"
A fist, thrown without a heartbeat's warning, smashed into her face.
A pain she had never once felt in her life — being struck in the face.
Even as consciousness wavered, Nia clung desperately to it, straining not to lose sight of the boy —
...He's gone?
Despite never taking her eyes off him, his form had vanished in a blink.
Crack!
"Kyaaah!"
Simultaneously, pain bloomed near the small of her back.
Another blow landing from somewhere she never expected — and at last, Nia's stance shattered.
Immediately after.
Wham!
Smack! Bam!
Familiar pain assailed every corner of her body without giving her a moment's rest.
She couldn't see anything at all, but having already been hit the same way several times, she knew what it was.
A fist.
Despite carrying not a trace of mana she could sense, the blows carried monstrous force — their power was anything but ordinary.
However she twisted her body to block them —
Thud—
WHAM—!
She could do nothing against attacks she couldn't see, and the accumulating pain made it hard to move at all.
"Aaaaagh! St-Stop...!"
Whoosh—!
And so, in the very moment that Nia, who had endured and endured, finally collapsed with a scream —
Wooosh—
As if by magic, the darkness swallowing her vision receded, and there, far away, the blue-haired girl appeared, gazing at her with a face full of worry.
The fear and dread and every other dark thing that had been consuming Nia's mind — which had merely faded for a moment — came flooding back out, and the throbbing pain across her whole body vanished as if washed away.
And then.
...Huh?
Her bowed head soon came to fill her vision with the floor of the training ground, rushing closer and closer.
In that instant, Nia understood.
She was falling face-first, right now.
I-I need to break my fall, break my fall—!
Stay like this and her face would meet the dirt first.
Nia hurriedly tried to twist her body —
Throb—
Whether it was the sudden scrambled senses, or the relief surging over her like a tide, her strength drained away and her body simply wouldn't obey.
"Ah."
Having finally resigned herself, Nia closed her eyes and braced for the impact that was moments away —
Thump—
Suddenly, she felt something warm wrap around her upper body.
Her plunging view stopped dead, right where it was.
"...Eh?"
Uncharacteristically of her, a clumsy sound slipped out at the sudden turn —
and along with a warm breeze, a gentle voice flowed into Nia's ears.
"You okay?"
At the same time, her body floated upward, and her view shifted.
Reflected clearly in that new field of vision was the face of a boy with gray hair and violet eyes.
"Ah..."
Her scattered reason returned in full, and at last grasping the situation, Nia let out a sigh.
Th-this is...
She was, at this very moment, held snugly in Lucian's arms.
The instant she realized it —
Fwooosh—
Nia's face, white as fresh snow, flushed red as a boiled beet.