Practical Sparring (7)
The practical sparring match. Think of it as a mid-term evaluation held in place of actual midterms. Both the midterms and finals wrap up with sparring matches, though there are subtle differences. The finals involve subject-specific exams plus a tournament-style sparring bracket for evaluation.
That said, given the academy's purpose, a huge chunk of the score rides on the sparring itself. I figured it made sense since the place was built with real combat in mind, but something about it still felt off. Shouldn't we be fighting monsters differently than we fight humans? I'd wondered the same thing back in the game, but the dissonance lingered anyway. Maybe it was just a management issue, or the academy's obsessive fear of students dying forced them into this half-measure.
"Before we begin the match, I'll go over a few rules," Professor Friede, in charge of Class E, announced while raising her right arm to draw everyone's attention.
The rules she laid out were roughly as follows:
1. Surrender is only permitted after three minutes have passed since the start of the match. This prevents anyone from giving up without even trying.
2. The match may be halted at the referee's discretion.
3. Any act that threatens life, such as attempted murder, is strictly forbidden.
4. Matches will be spread across several days depending on the number of participants.
They were all reasonable rules, so everyone nodded without question.
The first match was between students from Class E.
Everyone except the participants and referees climbed into the stands to watch. The match had clearly been arranged with Eve Abraham in mind as a bit of a spectacle. Eve herself possessed absurdly high raw stats, so she handled her opponent without any fuss and accepted their surrender.
"Wait, so she has that kind of skill and still ended up in Class E?"
The blockhead saintess. Eve, completely unaware of my thoughts, spotted me in the crowd, flashed a bright grin, and waved her hand enthusiastically. The guys who had their eyes on her all glared daggers at me, but I just smiled and waved back without a care.
Kids, she's a saintess. She's not someone you can just claim for yourselves. And what exactly are you gonna do about it anyway?
I kept waving until the referee finally snapped at Eve to get off the field. Normally I would've stopped sooner, but the way some of them were staring really rubbed me the wrong way. A couple of them were Vermillion and Whats-his-name Stone, the same idiots I'd clashed with before. It was honestly surprising they hadn't joined Alex's violence circle. Usually guys who only relied on their noble status were complete trash, but at least they hadn't gotten dragged into Alex's mess. That alone earned them a second look.
"Cain~ I did good, right??"
Eve plopped down beside me the moment the match was cleaned up, beaming like a puppy begging for praise. The stares from the crowd were starting to get on my nerves, so I sighed and reached out to pat her head.
"No wagging your tail on the sparring grounds~"
"Senior?"
Dorothy Gale smacked the back of my hand with her staff, her face expressionless as ever.
Hey, she was the one wagging her tail. Why am I the one getting hit?
"That look on your face says 'I didn't do anything wrong, why are you hitting me?' Pathetic. Right?"
"Ahem... Senior, what brings you here?"
"Obviously to see how many of you juniors are rotten to the core~"
This woman really had a sharp tongue when she wanted to. I watched Dorothy silently stare down the person sitting next to me until they got the hint and moved, then turned my attention back to the arena.
"D-Dorothy Gale, Senior? W-Why are you here...?"
"Our business partner is so unreliable~ Keeps flirting with girls, you know?"
"I-I didn't flirt with anyone..."
"Then maybe the girls are the ones flirting with him?"
Dorothy casually leaned forward and glanced at Eve. Eve flinched, her ears turning slightly red, before suddenly switching into jealous-cat mode and glaring at Dorothy like she'd just seen a stranger.
What's her problem now?
"Shouldn't you be working at the student council or attending lectures, Senior?"
"Ah. I ditched."
"I-Is that allowed?"
"Yup~ The disciplinary chairman gets to do that~"
"..."
Eve's ears drooped like a deflated cat. I decided to act like I had nothing to do with the tension between the two girls and focused on the arena instead. The next match was already about to start. Still Class E students. Was I really supposed to sit through every single one of these? The game had skipped all the unimportant matches, so I'd never realized how mind-numbingly boring this would be. I let out a long yawn, and Dorothy poked me in the side with her staff.
"Gah! What was that for?"
"Panzy Vlad. Have you met her?"
"Yeah. She seemed fine, all things considered."
She'd been hiding something, though. Dorothy tilted her head at my casual answer, then nodded.
"I've already taken her statement. If she didn't want to say anything, I wasn't planning to bring it up either."
"She's not the type to get ambushed from behind. Alex probably cut her with his sword."
"..."
Dorothy's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at me. It wasn't that strange. There were plenty of ways to draw blood with a sword without killing someone. The stronger the blood, the more satisfied the demonic sword would be, and Alex wouldn't miss an opportunity like that.
"You knew?"
"No, I didn't. But I'm pretty smart, you see."
Lie.
"It was the most likely conclusion based on the situation."
"Alex? That tasteless bastard? Hah! That's it. This time I'm—!"
Eve, who had been listening, flared up like an angry cat again. I felt the same way. I wanted nothing more than to get rid of him. But he was the protagonist of Spirit Savior. Unfortunately, the story revolved around him. I already knew roughly what the future held, so I was hijacking the main events through loopholes, but in the end, the things I had to do were the same as what Alex was supposed to do. I had no idea what would happen if he disappeared.
"I guess you could call him a necessary evil."
"Huh?"
"Ah, never mind. What do you think people would say if the saintess declared she removed someone using her personal authority? Hm?"
"W-Well, they'd say she did a good job! Hmph!"
"Not a saintess, just a brat who doesn't listen~"
Dorothy playfully tapped Eve on the head with her staff. Eve let out a sharp hiss and clutched her head.
Class E, aside from Eve, was honestly just a showcase of the gap between those who tried and those who didn't. Most matches ended within three minutes and offered nothing worth watching, so after about an hour, it was finally Class D's turn.
"Come to think of it, Cain. When's your match?"
"Me? Well, since the top student of the martial arts department personally requested it... they pushed me back considering the attention it would draw."
"Hmm~ They actually accepted it?"
"Uh... I didn't know how to refuse."
"For someone with such a scary reputation, you're surprisingly soft-hearted, partner."
No, I really didn't know how to refuse.
Dorothy interpreted it however she wanted and muttered something about how I was unexpectedly easy to push around before nodding to herself.
I can hear you, you know.
While I was blankly watching the arena, I spotted Shub in the stands. She was staring at the match with a vacant expression. Eve noticed where I was looking and grabbed my arm worriedly.
"Is Shub going to be okay?"
"..."
I needed to check on her. Even if she kept telling herself she was fine, that wouldn't actually solve anything. I told Eve I'd be right back and headed over to Shub.
She was frantically scribbling something in her notebook. When I approached, she jumped in surprise, quickly closed the notebook, and looked up at me.
"C-Cain..."
"Are you really okay?"
"O-Of course... I mean, it's just..."
Shub glanced at me nervously, let out a long sigh, and carefully took my hand with her trembling fingers. Sensing her unease, I waited quietly for her to speak.
"C-Cain... I... I mean..."
"It's been hard, hasn't it?"
"Yeah..."
It was exactly what I'd expected. Sealing the demonic sword had been a good start, but it had apparently continued whispering knowledge from the Otherworld, piercing through the silence magic.
"The demonic sword... keeps whispering knowledge from the Otherworld. No matter how many layers of seals I put on it, the knowledge keeps flowing into my head... so..."
"Want to move somewhere else? Our turn is still a long way off."
"...Okay."
We left the stands and stood in the hallway. Shub's voice was shaky as she continued, though she seemed calmer than before. She fiddled with her notebook, avoiding eye contact as she mumbled.
"There was a lot of fascinating knowledge from the Otherworld. Things like the ecology of monsters and how they absorb energy."
"The demonic sword..."
"Ah, no... you don't have to apologize! I-I mean... it was my choice... Actually, I already knew it was a demonic sword..."
"No. I'm sorry."
I bowed my head sincerely. Shub stared at me in shock, but soon smiled—a smile I'd never seen from her before—and nodded.
"I see. So you already knew everything, Cain."
"..."
"The demonic sword came from the Otherworld. I don't know whose ego it is, but it's incredibly knowledgeable about that place. So, um..."
Shub's expression crumpled again as she grabbed my arms with both hands. Her fingers were trembling.
"The demonic sword knows so much about the Otherworld. It's knowledge I absolutely need... And I don't know what will happen in the process, but..."
"Shub."
"Cain, you... knew too, right? That this sword... was a demonic sword. But you still left the choice to me. There must be a reason for that."
Seeing characters I'd once thought of as nothing more than game NPCs moving with real emotions made me finally grasp what I'd done. Shub, oblivious to my regret, took a few deep breaths with her head lowered before looking back up at me.
"Shub. I... I mean..."
The sudden wave of guilt left me speechless. What was I supposed to say here?
Don't worry?
I'll save you?
It was all part of the plan?
I didn't know. I felt like I couldn't breathe.
To me, they might have been just game characters, but they were living, breathing people in this world. They laughed, got angry, loved, and struggled to survive. Just because I knew the future, did that give me the right to toy with their lives like this?
Have I lost my mind?
Cain. Are you seriously out of your mind, you piece of trash? Treating living people like this just to achieve your goals? Damn it. Apologize. You need to apologize for this.
"I'm sorry... I mean... I..."
"It's my choice, Cain. It was my greed too, but the most important reason is just one thing..."
Shub suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. The closer we got, the warmer her body felt, and the more my chest ached.
"I trust you. Even though it's only been a short time, I believe in you, Cain."
"Shub..."
"Phew... I'm starting to feel a little better now. This was my decision. My life is mine to regret."
"..."
"And... I..."
She didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she simply hugged me tighter.
Shub held me for a long while before finally letting go with a relieved expression and returning to her seat. I watched her go, then slowly made my way back to my own spot, my steps heavy.
The people living in this world were carving out their own paths. Not because of someone else's intervention or some predetermined fate, but through their own choices.
I'd been overlooking that.
Maybe I'd still been treating this world like it was just a game.
"I trust you," huh...
The thought of living up to her trust spread through me like wildfire.
Yeah. Screw it... Who cares about the game's main scenario or whatever.
The Act 1 boss and all that crap can go to hell.
Let's write a scenario that doesn't exist in the game.