The Rival I Never Wanted
“What is this, exactly?”
Well, it’s a cheating paper. But of all people, it had to end up in Rie’s hands. Hahaha!
…Shit. Lock, why the hell did you let that land in Rie’s grip?
This is infuriating. Not anyone else—just Rie, of all people. I really didn’t expect it to bite me so directly.
Lock’s not stupid like a pig, even if his brain is more “grunt and swing steel” than “think.” He knew full well this paper would be a headache for me if it reached Rie.
Yet here it is in her hands. So either she had no clue it even existed, or someone forced it on her—or worse, took it by force.
Lock’s a simpleton, sure, but the second option carries far more weight. Forcing something on someone usually means they hit back hard.
“Lucian. Tell me again—what is this?”
I could see the ice in Rie’s eyes from here. A cold sweat trickled down my spine.
A short while ago she’d been the one throwing the gauntlet. Now she was holding the very weakness she’d just confessed to someone else. If she’d actually lost because of it, I’d be furious too.
And right now our relationship was already at a dead standstill. The worst possible scenario had played out, and my head was splitting from the headache.
“No answer? Then I’ll go first. Look at this drawing—no matter how you slice it, it’s unmistakably you.”
…
“It’s you, Lucian, and this is the man who calls himself your friend—Lock Bückenmeier. Am I right?”
Not even close. I’m not blind. If that’s what you think, then your conscience is nonexistent.
Any half-witted excuse like that wouldn’t even scratch the surface.
Even a five-year-old would see that this sketch is too detailed to be anything but your own face staring back. The woman in it is you. And Rie is right there in the foreground.
“This scene is the two of us sparring. I’m attacking from below, and right at that moment this note appears beside you: ‘Always watch the hand shape and dodge it.’ Then I swing at your head. Normally you’d block, but here it says ‘Don’t block—collide with it.’”
What the hell? When did Lock scribble that nonsense?
“I should warn you—Lock and I have trained together. I won last with an overwhelming margin. But something felt off. You weren’t that strong, yet you somehow read every single one of my moves and countered perfectly. That level of skill shouldn’t be possible without something extra.”
It was my fault. I told him only to dodge the low kick, then let the follow-up land. By trying to spare my friend from pain, I overdid it and ruined everything.
Lock’s no genius at keeping secrets. How did he even get this information?
While grumbling to myself, I decided Rie’s anger mattered more right now.
“Sorry, Rie. Your guess was spot on.”
“My guess was spot on?”
“Yeah. I told Lock how you fight—dodge like this, counter like that. He begged so desperately I had no choice. But I shouldn’t have done it. It disrespected the pride of every Martial Division student.”
“Right now…”
“I’m truly sorry. I was careless. When a friend’s in trouble, I… I did it without thinking.”
Some people would say, “You can tell someone their weakness once. No need to apologize for that.”
But I have a better answer. If you’re going to do something that stings, don’t get caught. If you do get caught, you’re screwed either way—better to avoid the sting altogether.
Lock and I had just been exposed. There was nothing good that could come from it.
That’s why I was apologizing. That’s why I was asking for forgiveness.
Fortunately, Rie didn’t bite back with something sharp.
Her usual cool gaze was just a little unsettled, but she didn’t call me out for revealing her weakness.
“It was because my friend was pitiful. So I gave that decisive hint.”
“Sounds like an excuse, but that really was the reason.”
“…Then what about me?”
“What?”
“Me? Me? Did I not even count?”
For a second I thought I’d misheard.
Why was this woman suddenly saying something like that? I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
Confused, I just blinked while Rie stared at me with a face full of pain, fists clenched tight and teeth grinding.
“You’re the only one who ever beat me. My one and only loss—and it was to you alone. Yet you planned to hand that out to anyone else? How dare you—”
The fury in her voice was so sharp I couldn’t even open my mouth.
I stood there staring blankly until I noticed she was clenching her fists so hard her knuckles were white and biting her lip.
I still didn’t know why she was reacting this way, but calming her down had to come first.
I apologized again and again, telling her I’d really been shortsighted.
“…”
After repeating it several times, she finally started to calm down.
Her face still looked displeased, but at least she was returning to her usual self. That was enough.
“Lucian, you being a Literature Division student means you don’t understand Martial Division customs. This was a huge blunder. Be more careful from now on. And because we’re classmates, this didn’t turn into a bigger issue. If we’d been in different grades, it would have been a real problem.”
“I understand. I really didn’t know. I was worried about Lock, so I—”
The moment the word “Lock” left my mouth, Rie’s expression sharpened again.
One more word and I’d probably end up in real trouble, so I shut up.
When you don’t know what you did wrong, the best advice is to keep your mouth shut and watch people’s faces.
“Haa…”
Rie let out a sigh heavy with meaning. Then, as if it were the most casual thing in the world, she tilted her head and asked.
“…But, Lucian.”
“First, I’m sorry. If there’s anything else you don’t like, just say so and I’ll apologize immediately.”
“No. It’s not that. I mean… this drawing. It’s really… well done, isn’t it?”
“Sounds weird to say, but I put real effort into it.”
To make sure Lock understood, I needed something simple and clear. Pictures were better than words, and detailed ones even better.
“You… really… put effort into it?”
Rie’s tone when answering felt strangely distant. She looked like she was thinking hard, then shook her head vigorously, only to stare blankly again and mutter “no” several more times.
I watched her in silence, unable to understand what was going on.
After repeating the motion several times, she suddenly asked in a strange voice, “How long has it been since we last met like this?”
I answered that it had been ten years.
We’d lived in our separate estates—close enough that we could have visited whenever, but the gap between our families’ power and influence made it impossible to be casual.
My family was a viscount, hers a marquess. The difference in rank was obvious. My father handled diplomacy, while her father—Marquess Hanniel—was a commander who held military authority.
I followed in my father’s footsteps and became a Literature Division student. Rie became a Martial Division one. Our interests and paths naturally drifted apart.
“Ten years already…”
“Whenever I suggested grabbing a drink, you always said you were too busy. I figured you were buried in sword training and stopped reaching out. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Hah… hah… So it really has been that long? We haven’t seen each other in ages.”
“Right.”
“Yet with this drawing, you… painted it so beautifully. So realistically.”
It had been ten years. Seeing each other’s grown-up selves for the first time, and you could still draw this well?
She sounded like she was fishing for the same kind of question.
I gave a vague “Well, it just happened…” and left it at that.
It was the day of the academy entrance ceremony—and the day of the entrance exam. I’d seen Rie from a distance. Thanks to my ability, turning her movements and real attacks into a drawing on paper was easy. Reading the gap between her feints and actual strikes from the professors’ reactions during the exam made it possible.
“‘It just happened…’”
Did she notice I was answering half-heartedly?
Rie’s sharp eyes kept staring at me. After a few minutes she finally looked away, turned her body, and said, “Anyway, I hope you stay careful, Lucian.”
“I’ll remember.”
“And… sometimes think of me too.”
Looking after your friends is one thing. But she was telling me to look after people I wasn’t close with as well?
I nodded in agreement to her advice.
When Rie said “That’s enough for now,” she claimed her business was finished.
She started walking away, saying she was heading back. Just then she called out one last time.
“Ah, Lucian.”
“What now?”
“This drawing… can I take it?”
“…Sure. Take it, burn it, whatever. There’s no benefit to letting your attack methods spread to other students.”
“Whether I keep it or not is my choice. Don’t worry. I’ll consider it permission granted.”
It wasn’t a valuable item. Definitely not important.
I just stood there blankly as Rie walked away with the drawing until she disappeared from sight.
I wasn’t sad about it. I didn’t even feel it.
Many things had happened today. I’d heard things I never expected. My head was spinning, and it would take time to sort it all out.
“Hey! Lucian! You really weren’t kidding! I actually blocked Rie’s attack!”
Lock was still walking around perfectly fine. The sight twisted my stomach.
This idiot didn’t even realize how much trouble he’d caused himself and was grinning like an idiot.
I was annoyed, but since I was the one who drew the picture in the first place, I had no complaints to make.
I just watched Lock laugh hysterically in a pitiful sort of way.
“…Why? What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Showing the respect my head deserved for not figuring out the reason yet.
I gave his head a firm smack.
Thud!
“Ouch! My hand!!”
Of course the pain was in my hand, not his head.
Lock was jumping around like he’d been hit by a boulder, eyes blinking as he stared at me, then tilted his head and asked, “What’s the matter? Why suddenly hit my head?”
“Hey, Lock. What happened to the drawing I gave you?”
“That? I kept looking at it before the match and practiced the counters. I put it in my chest pocket, but…”
Rustle… rustle…
“Oh, it’s gone?”
“…Gone? What do you mean, gone?! Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through because of you?”
“No. I don’t remember dropping it… Huh? Strange. Where did it go?”
Where did it go? It went straight to the girl who now owns the drawing, you useless moron!