After the Battle
Once the fight was over, and after I’d moved Agha back out of the way, I rushed straight inside again and dragged out the collapsed Im Changwon along with the pile of hostages.
Leonel got the same treatment too—just a few casual kicks to the side, and he was rolled and shoved outside.
Yustitia wore a bitter smile, but she still praised us and declared our victory.
“Go see Maria, Blanca student, in case you were injured. And as for the rest… we’ll discuss it during feedback time.”
She left that little hint hanging there, a subtle reminder that she expected to see me again later.
…Well, yeah. The way I’d fought definitely wasn’t very heroic. It made sense that Yustitia wouldn’t like it.
But what was I supposed to do? My brain only comes up with things like that.
I shrugged, said I understood, and headed over to Maria.
There, Morgan was clutching his head like he’d just woken up from catnip, pounding his skull with his fist and muttering about how humiliating it was. Im Changwon sat quietly with his head bowed, while Agha had only just come to, rubbing her eyes and managing to sit up to her waist.
“Please don’t overdo it. Even if you woke up quickly, you lost consciousness from lack of oxygen, so no running around. Rest properly.”
“Ugh… i-is that so? More importantly, did we… did we win…?”
Even while being told to rest, she was still grabbing onto Maria and asking whether they’d won. That was one thing she really did deserve credit for: her competitive spirit.
“You won, Agha.”
I said it had been a victory, then crouched down and gave her shoulder a light pat.
“We won… Thank goodness…”
At that, Agha collapsed back down onto the floor in a limp sprawl, letting out a relieved sigh as if the whole thing had finally left her body.
“I’m sorry. I made all those grand promises, and then I ended up being dead weight. It was obvious I’d only get in the way, but I got stubborn because of my pride for no reason… If I hadn’t been there, you might have won even faster on your own…”
And with that, she apologized to me.
Looks like she was half-admitting I’d been right all along. Seeing how dejected she looked, apologizing for coming along, she must’ve really been shaken.
As I’d expected, she’d been completely helpless against Im Changwon, so I figured this was only natural.
“You weren’t dead weight. If you hadn’t been there, Leonel would’ve been a hell of a lot more annoying.”
“...It’s fine, you don’t have to comfort me like that. It won’t make me any better at this.”
“Take the compliment as a compliment for once. I mean it. Without you, I probably would’ve broken a bone or two.”
Even if I could’ve handled Morgan without much trouble, I still would’ve had to deal with Im Changwon’s full attention while filling an unsealed room with nitrogen.
That would’ve been a seriously painful fight.
She’d said she’d only been flung around, but the reason I’d come out of it without a single broken bone was because Agha had been there to draw his attention away.
“R-really…?”
“The cat’s right, you know. I have no idea what trick you pulled, but to think you could send that state of ecstasy drifting through the wind…”
“See? Morgan admits it too. And what kind of cat calls another cat a cat, anyway?”
“Because you’re a cat. Would I call a human a cat?”
…Hm.
It was irritating, but why couldn’t I think of a comeback?
Morgan flashed a bright grin and said we should have a proper match later.
“Pfft, it’ll be the same as now.”
“We’ll see about that when we fight!”
Fine by me. I’m the type who doesn’t dodge a fight that comes walking to my door.
Agha, apparently realizing that she really had helped, flushed red and recovered her lost confidence with a radiant smile.
“Y-yeah! There’s no way my skills didn’t help! Hah, hahah! You should be grateful, Blanca!”
“Yep, yep.”
When I gave her a half-hearted answer, she bristled and asked if I couldn’t at least sound a little more sincere.
But she didn’t seem truly angry; before long, her smile returned, and then she looked at me seriously and made what was practically a rival’s declaration.
“And… that means I’ve repaid the humiliation from that day! Someday, I’ll become such an outstanding hero that even you’ll truly be impressed. So you’d better brace yourself!”
I told her to do her best and cheered her on.
Honestly, even if she twisted herself in knots for the rest of her life, she still wouldn’t even reach my toes.
But that pointless struggle? I didn’t hate watching it.
“...I’ll learn everything I can from you, and then I’ll definitely surpass you.”
After hearing Agha, Im Changwon, who’d been silent all this time, seemed to get riled up too. He glared at me and made his own declaration.
“I don’t really feel like teaching students with that sort of attitude.”
Changwon only burned me with his eyes.
It didn’t look like I’d get anything amusing out of provoking him now, so I let Maria heal me up properly and then headed back to the stands.
The fight after that, honestly, wasn’t all that exciting.
Of course, watching the main characters on the game board split into opposing sides and clash was fun enough, but only fun enough.
It was flashy, sure. How could ice and fire colliding and exploding against each other be boring?
But the result felt a little deflating, if I’m being honest.
It wasn’t exactly a bloodbath, and since the two sides ended up canceling each other out completely, both of them got knocked out at the same time. Not exactly memorable.
In practice, it was more like a one-on-one battle of wits between Fukkin and Lucia.
Lucia hid in the shadows, throwing needles and spears to keep him pinned down while occasionally sneaking off to quietly snatch a hostage away, and Fukkin’s fight against her—taking everything head-on in a brutally straightforward way—was actually more entertaining to watch.
At the end, when she wrapped his whole body in shadows and rendered his value down to zero before taking him out, I even felt like clapping a little.
The rest of the match only left the kind of impression you get from a short video while waiting for the monorail.
“Group Seven, victory for the villain side!”
As soon as the last match ended and the healing was finished, Yustitia gathered the students and, after praising them for their hard work, declared that she’d begin feedback.
“First, let’s evaluate the battle of Group One. If anyone noticed anything disappointing or anything that needs improvement, speak up freely. It’ll all be reflected in your attitude score, so I recommend at least one person gives a presentation.”
At that, one of the background students shot a hand into the air and said, “The hero side’s pincer attack was flawless. However, if the enemy had responded even a little, it could have been dangerous—a blitz with no fallback if it failed. If the villain side had reacted just a bit faster, the heroes could’ve been the ones in danger instead.”
“Exactly. That’s the chronic weakness of a rapid strike. If you hesitate even for a moment, or even one part goes wrong, the entire plan starts to fall apart.”
Yustitia used that as her opening and proceeded to evaluate Group One’s tactics.
She said the villain side’s formation had been unavoidable because of Katian’s ability, but the heroes’ tactics were too final, too lacking in any kind of escape route. If this had been a real battle instead of a mock one, the moment they were delayed for even an instant, they would’ve ended up surrounded in the middle of enemy lines, she told Minho and Lapis as feedback.
“No more presenters? Good. Then let’s move on to Group Two.”
And after that, there wasn’t much else to say.
They’d done their best for students at their level, so of course. It was the protagonist’s plan, after all.
Group Two got a slightly longer round of feedback than Group One, and Group Three was the same. There weren’t any major players there, so I didn’t pay much attention.
And then, at last, our turn came.
“Group Four… it’s your turn. I have quite a few things to say about this one myself, but let’s hear the students’ evaluations first. Any presenters?”
Im Changwon was the one who raised his hand.
Yustitia looked at him with mild surprise, then, as though there was no reason not to, called on him and told him to go ahead and speak.
So self-evaluation was allowed too, huh.
“The villain side’s tactics were far too arrogant. If Morgan and I had focused entirely on defense, we never would have been taken down so absurdly. And I was conceited. I should have crushed the opportunity the moment it appeared, but I let my personal emotions get in the way and gave them a chance.”
“Very self-aware, Im Changwon student. Just as you said. If you had fought seriously, then no matter how capable Blanca student is, you wouldn’t have given her even that much of a chance.”
But she said there was nothing wrong with the positioning. In fact, if they’d stayed clustered together, both of them would have been wiped out all at once. That was Yustitia’s assessment.
The next to speak was Yeonhwa.
“W-well, I think there was a problem with the hostage rescue process. I know they’d wake up quickly, but suffocating the hostages together with the villain side…”
“That’s correct. A hero is someone who protects and reassures civilians. In that sense, Miss Blanca was not very heroic. Of course, given her ability and her opponent, there may have been no choice. But was that really the only method?”
There wouldn’t be any lasting damage or aftereffects for the hostages, so the result was fine—but morally speaking, there was an issue. That was her lecture.
After speaking, Yeonhwa apologized from the back, looking embarrassed.
...Tch. If it had been anyone but Yeonhwa, I’d have stared them down once. But I couldn’t even do that.
The presentations kept going after that. Most of them focused on the villain side’s carelessness and the heroes’ excessive force.
“Forcing down an already neutralized opponent by resorting to violence is not heroic behavior, Blanca student. Please keep that in mind.”
“...Understood.”
Seriously, why was it only me getting harassed like this? I couldn’t help wondering if I’d somehow become the class’s favorite target without even realizing it.
“Agha student.”
“Y-yes. I think… I think I had problems with my actions. If I’d focused on supporting from the rear, the result might have been better.”
Agha, apparently still thinking it over, reflected on her own actions.
“That’s not wrong, Agha student. But at the same time, it is wrong. Even if the rear is the place where you can make full use of your power, you can’t always fight from the position that lets you perform at your best.”
Of course, fighting near allies whose friend-or-foe identification can’t be trusted is something you absolutely should reflect on.
After giving Agha her own share of scolding, Yustitia finally turned to me and delivered her last piece of feedback.
“Blanca student. Just because the outcome turned out well does not mean every problem has vanished. Please pay attention to the process as well.”
Somehow, even after winning, I felt utterly wrung out.