The Weight of Victory
The outcome of the duel turned the entire Academy upside down. Even if it had simply been a match between two of the most recognizable figures in the Academy—people whose names alone could stir up a storm—it would have been enough to set the campus buzzing. But this event went far beyond that. The result was something no one had expected.
Everyone had predicted Sebastian’s victory. Yet the one who won was Kyle. And not just barely—he had dominated the match completely. Sebastian had been wearing an artifact reserved exclusively for the head of the Ebenros family, an item whose performance was unmatched among students. Against that, Kyle had swung his sword only twice to secure victory.
The entire Academy was stunned. Shocked. The mere fact that Sebastian had lost was surprising enough, but what drew even greater attention was Kyle’s skill. Of course, everyone already knew that Kyle was no longer the same person he had been before. Setting aside the fact that he had defeated Victor, Jerim was not an opponent one could beat by sheer luck. That alone had been astonishing. The Kyle who, during his first year, hadn’t even reached the average level of the Academy had grown strong enough to defeat Jerim. That was already shocking.
But what Kyle showed this time was on a completely different level. Simply winning against Sebastian would have been shocking enough. Instead, he had overwhelmed him. The abilities Sebastian displayed while supported by the family head’s exclusive artifact clearly surpassed the student level. Even most professors would have struggled to subdue him. Yet Kyle had taken down such an opponent with just two swings of his sword.
There was only one thing that could mean: Kyle’s strength had far exceeded the student level. It was only natural that everyone went beyond mere surprise and fell into utter astonishment. How could they not be shocked? The same Kyle who, just a year ago, had fallen short of the Academy average had reached a level that surpassed all students in such a short time. In simple terms, it was an impossible rate of growth.
Because of that, people began to question the source of Kyle’s sudden, explosive increase in power. Whispers spread. Rumors sprouted without any evidence—that Kyle had been hiding his true strength all along, that he must have touched some unclean power, that his ordinary-looking sword was actually a legendary weapon. These baseless stories began to circulate and grow.
“……!”
The young man, Sebastian, opened his eyes. The moment he did, he frantically looked around.
“You’re awake.”
The one who greeted him was Jis, his close friend and loyal subordinate. With his usual heavy voice, Jis addressed the now-conscious Sebastian.
“The… the duel…?”
The first question out of Sebastian’s mouth after waking was that. It seemed he still hadn’t grasped the situation, perhaps because he had lost consciousness.
To that question—
“…….”
Jis gave no answer. He simply lowered his gaze with a face slightly darker than usual.
There were no clear words, yet Sebastian understood the silent meaning.
“…What…”
Naturally, Sebastian could not accept the truth. That he had been defeated. But he could not deny it either. If he hadn’t lost, he wouldn’t have lost consciousness, and Jis wouldn’t be reacting this way. Above all, now that the fog had cleared from his mind, the memory resurfaced vividly.
The sight of Kyle easily shattering the barrier he had cast and swinging his sword straight at him. The memory was far too clear to be a dream. Combined with the current situation, even a child could guess that he had lost.
But—
“…That can’t be.”
Even though his reason had already reached the correct conclusion, his heart refused to accept it.
“There’s no way… There’s no way that could happen……”
Sebastian denied it. He wanted to deny it. While preparing for the duel, he had been certain of his own victory. He had confidence in his pure skill. His magic had improved greatly in recent times, after all. But Sebastian had not grown complacent. He had made every possible preparation. He had even gone so far as to bring out the family head’s artifact, despite the strain it caused. The reason was clear. He wanted to win. He needed to win and drive Kyle out of the Academy.
That was why he had prepared as much as humanly possible and had been convinced of victory. Yet he had lost. He had been defeated. Even after doing all that.
Moreover, the match itself had been utterly one-sided. Two times. That was how many times Kyle had swung his sword. Kyle had swung his sword only twice, and Sebastian had been helplessly defeated. It was a result that could only be described as being beaten without even being able to lift a hand.
If Kyle had come with comparable preparations, it might have been easier to accept. But Kyle had been dressed exactly as he always was. He wore no artifacts at all. The only thing he carried was a single ordinary sword. And yet Sebastian had lost to him.
There was no way Sebastian could easily accept such a result.
“That can’t be……”
Sebastian muttered.
“There… there must be some mistake…. That wasn’t student-level skill…. Yes, he must have prepared some ridiculous artifact. Or maybe he used some kind of trick. Otherwise……”
Muttering endlessly in a small voice, denying his own defeat—Sebastian’s current appearance was quite far from his usual self. The gap was almost jarring. That was how certain he had been of victory, and how much he had staked on this duel.
Sebastian had wanted to separate Kyle from the Saintess Lana. And to do that, he had tried to drive Kyle out of the Academy. But every attempt had failed. This duel had been his last chance. He had approached Kyle with the desperation of a drowning man clutching at straws and requested a duel. He had hoped Kyle would accept, but he had known the chances were slim. Yet his prediction had been wrong. Kyle had accepted the duel. He had even agreed to conditions that placed no restrictions on equipment—conditions that were clearly advantageous to Sebastian.
Sebastian didn’t know what Kyle had been thinking when he accepted, but he hadn’t considered it important. He had simply focused on not missing this final opportunity and had prepared for the duel with everything he had. But in the end, he had lost. He had missed his last chance.
There was now effectively no way left to drive Kyle out. That alone was painful enough, but what he had lost wasn’t limited to that. By losing the duel, he was now obligated to grant Kyle’s wish. On top of that, he had to take responsibility for using the family head’s exclusive artifact and still suffering an overwhelming defeat. It was obvious, without even thinking deeply about it, that his reputation would be damaged and his influence would shrink.
Material wealth, reputation, and purpose—he had lost everything. And all of it had been taken by the person he hated most in the world. It would have been strange if he had managed to maintain his cold reason.
Of course, if this had been Sebastian from a few months ago, things might have been different. He might not have lost his composure in this situation. But the Sebastian here was no longer the Sebastian of the past. The cold rationality that had never wavered no matter the circumstances was nowhere to be found. No—in fact, if he had been the Sebastian of the past, he would never have let things reach this point in the first place.
“…….”
Jis, Sebastian’s subordinate, looked at his lord’s changed appearance with eyes filled with bitter sorrow.
After the duel ended.
Inside an Academy thrown into chaos for various reasons—
“…Hm. This should be enough.”
I was moving my body this way and that inside my dormitory room. Several days had passed since the duel. During that time, I had stayed inside the dormitory as much as possible and focused on recovering. It was because I had pushed myself too hard during the match.
Although I had completely controlled and handled the effects of Dragon’s Blood, that didn’t mean there had been no strain. My body, which had barely endured the sudden surge of mana and physical strength, had continued to creak and groan long after the potion’s effects had worn off. That was why, immediately after the duel, I had shut myself inside the dormitory and devoted myself entirely to recovery.
Of course, these were minor injuries that would heal in an instant if I received Lana’s treatment. Since I would need her healing to erase the Traces anyway, I could have simply asked her to treat me while she was at it. But I didn’t.
The situation was what it was. In a duel that had drawn the attention of the entire Academy, I had gone against all expectations and overwhelmingly defeated Sebastian. Because of that, it was no exaggeration to say that every eye in the Academy was currently focused on me. In such a situation, it felt a bit too conspicuous to be seen closely with Lana.
Of course, since rumors that Lana and I were close had already spread, one might wonder why I needed to be so cautious. Still, there was nothing wrong with being careful.
‘There are probably negative rumors circulating as well.’
Simply beating Sebastian would have been a reversal, but I had gone beyond that and completely overwhelmed him. I had displayed strength that clearly surpassed the student level, so it was only natural that suspicion would follow me. No doubt all kinds of negative speculations were now attached to my name.
If I stayed close to Lana in this situation, there was a chance she would get caught up in those unpleasant rumors. Of course, anyone with a sound mind wouldn’t dare speak negatively about the Saintess… but people are people. They curse even kings when no one is watching. I thought it would be best to be cautious for a while.
So for the past few days, I had lived as quietly as a dead mouse and focused on recovering my body. Now that some time had passed, I judged that it would be fine to go see Lana again. After secretly contacting her, I went to meet her—
“……?”
For some reason, Anne was there as well.