The One Who Gazed into the Abyss (2)

The Class D duels turned out to be surprisingly entertaining. Especially Alex, who showed up with a practice sword instead of Dainsleif and proceeded to beat his opponent like he was dusting off dirt. The opponent, to my surprise, was none other than Preston Crypsto—the same guy I'd roughed up earlier. The fact that Alex, who hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even done the tutorial, ended up matched against him sparked quite a bit of interest.

From what I could gather, after the entrance ceremony, the nobles Alex had beaten up belonged to families close to the Crypsto household. They'd apparently challenged him to a duel to defend their noble honor. The result spoke for itself.

"How dare you... Gurk!"

"Didn't your people tell you? If any noble bastard so much as looks at me funny while walking by, I'll gouge their eyes out and toss 'em!"

"Huk...! Huurk!"

Wasn't this going a bit too far? Since it was a practice sword, he couldn't cut, so he was just beating the crap out of him with the flat of the blade. Even while getting pummeled, Preston kept his pride intact, yelling things like "How dare you!" and "Do you know who I am?" and "Do you know who funds this academy?"

Of course, Alex was the kind of guy who didn't give a damn about stuff like that. Beyond having a strong heart—he just wanted to kill everyone. Eventually, the referee had to step in and pull Alex off the already-unconscious Preston, bringing the duel to a close.

"Dude, did you see that guy's eyes? He's insane, right?"

"That guy's that guy... The one who got disciplined for beating up nobles like dogs after the entrance ceremony..."

"Ah~ That Al... whatever? I heard he even started some violent circle called the Madman's Fists or something..."

Alex sure was popular~

Alex stared down at the unconscious Preston with a cold, detached expression before lifting his head and scanning the stands. Ignoring the referee's order to leave, he looked around until his eyes met mine. Then he grinned and gave his sword a little shake.

That fucking bastard.

"Hey, hey... Did you see him greet that guy? That's him, right? The one who burned the Vermillion gang."

"Ah~ So that's why those guys still have seizures whenever they see a big fire. I heard they even wet themselves."

"Birds of a feather, huh. Sheesh..."

Damn it. I was innocent. I'd only given a simple warning to the guys who approached me first, telling them not to mess with me. Besides, back then I'd collapsed with a serious injury myself. I even coughed up blood, remember? These days I could control the output, but long-term use was still impossible.

They didn't understand my frustration at all. It was truly lamentable.

"You've been causing nothing but trouble, haven't you?"

"No, I haven't."

I shot back with a completely straight face at Eve's teasing remark laced with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠laughter. Whether she cared or not, she just kept giggling. It had no effect.

"Come to think of it, your duel isn't in Class D—it's scheduled for Class A, right?"

"Ah."

Why had my match been pushed back? Was it because of Panzy Vlad's popularity? If it had ended quickly, I wouldn't have to suffer this humiliating misunderstanding.

While training with Panzy last night, she'd suddenly asked as if she'd just remembered.

"By the way, do you remember the order of our duel?"

"Isn't it at the very end of Class D? That's what I thought."

"Well... Professor Pione moved it to the later part of Class A. I assumed you knew..."

"?"

That sly old fox. She definitely held a grudge. After Dorothy humiliated her and I talked back, of course she would. No matter how much the academy claimed to be a pan-racial, international institution, as long as people gathered, factions and ideologies would form. Someday, to ensure this world survived, we'd have to weed out those who might rot it from within.

"..."

Well, that was just a thought. Not like I was actually planning to do it~

Or so I almost said~

"Haa..."

"The ground's gonna cave in."

"My image is already bad enough, and now I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to go up against Class A? That doesn't make any sense~"

I knew throwing a tantrum with all my might wouldn't change anything, but still, unfair was unfair. Besides, how could I show reluctance to Panzy, who was looking forward to it so much? In that case, I'd just have to give it my all. The annoyance and irritation were separate issues.

"Alright, next up we have the Class C duels."

Class D was already over? There were probably some kids worth watching. Aison, recommended as a cost-effective dealer useful in the mid-game, Kenneth, who could be brought in for effective crowd control with ice magic depending on preference, and so on. It was a shame to miss them, but I'd have to look forward to the finals. I clicked my tongue and stared blankly at the stands. There were a few guys in Class C who could make decent allies too. Flude, a one-trick assassin who could be useful paired with Dorothy. Murdoch, a cost-effective all-rounder tank usable through the mid-to-late game. I pulled out the notebook I'd brought and started jotting down the names of people I remembered.

"What are you writing, Cain?"

"Kids from each class who could rise up depending on their effort. I'm not just here to mess around either."

Up to Act 3, the invasion from the Otherworld would be the main focus, but from Act 4 onward, the chaos caused by Arpa's intervention would intensify. It would be good to have a few companions I could be somewhat open with.

"They're people I'd like to get to know. I can't keep hearing nothing but bad rumors about myself forever, you know."

"Rumors?"

"You're seriously asking because you don't know?"

Eve looked at me with pure, innocent eyes. Wow. I'd gotten the impression she was in her own little flower field in a weird way, but she really didn't care about what others thought at all. I pondered how to phrase it without being too blunt, then explained as indirectly as possible.

"You know I took care of that noble group, and you've heard the rumor that I keep switching between different girls, right?"

"Huh? Huhhh...?"

Eve blinked in surprise before looking shocked like a startled cat. Her face turning bright red suggested she'd heard something while passing by. Wait, hadn't she been right there when Panzy talked about the rumors?

"What did you think when Panzy was talking about it last time?"

"Huh? I just didn't know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who she was talking about, so I stayed quiet?"

"..."

Idiot.

"You were making fun of me just now, weren't you!? I know exactly what you were thinking!"

"Youuuu were making fun of meee~"

"Hmph! Hey, Cain!"

I lightly ignored Eve's angry voice and checked on the spirits one by one. Silph and Gnome seemed to get along surprisingly well, chattering away often. Undine was always the weird one, so that was whatever. The problem was Kasa. When I gave orders, she still responded energetically, but she didn't show the same lively demeanor as before. Was it because she was a lizard? Her firepower wasn't what it used to be either...

[Kasa. You doing okay these days?]

-...

[Kasa?]

-Cain... I'm in pain...

[???!!!!]

I was so shocked I jumped to my feet without thinking. One person suddenly standing up during the matches drew everyone's attention, and Eve, who had no idea what was going on, looked at me too. Kasa, who always ended her sentences with exclamation marks, saying she was in pain? No, a fire spirit getting sick in the first place didn't make sense. Wasn't she made of natural mana? Fire itself? The real issue was that there was no one I could discuss this with. I'd never even heard of a spirit getting sick, and the only possible solution—the book—was in a state where I couldn't read it.

"Eve, I'm gonna step out for a bit. Let's meet up after this ends. Ah, if you can, take a closer look at the kids I wrote down in the notebook."

"Huh? Cain?!"

I shoved my notebook into Eve's hands and hurried outside. Showing the book to Shub again was too risky. Since the text itself contained Word Magic infused with contaminated mana, I had no idea what would happen to her while she was still under the demonic sword's influence. In that case, the only option left was to duel Panzy without Kasa.

"Would that even work...?"

I'd needed all four spirits just to stop Alex. What about Panzy Vlad, who was evaluated as being at the quasi-knight level?

"Hmm..."

Looking at the groaning fire lizard made my chest ache terribly. I was desperate enough to have the pointless thought that maybe the veterinarians in this world would know something about Kasa. If a spirit got sick, did they eventually die? And if so, what happened to the contract? There were too many things to worry about.

"Hey, Kasa. If you really think you're gonna die, tell me. I'll find a way to save you no matter what."

-Dying... what's... that...?

A kid who didn't even know what dying was said she was in pain, and my chest hurt too. The other spirits, looking worried, gathered around Kasa and examined her condition.

-I've never seen anything like this... Hey, Silph. Have you ever had this happen?

-No. Never. A spirit. Getting sick?

-Spirits getting sick is a first for me too, and since we haven't been materialized for long, I don't really know! Now that I think about it, I feel like I might've heard something about it a long, long time ago, but I don't remember? Haha haha!

"..."

Undine seemed like she'd heard something even if she didn't know the details. Clinging to that straw, I asked her for the cause.

-A cold? I heard spirits sometimes catch colds like that, but I don't remember what comes after! It was something I heard a really long time ago! Haha haha! A spirit catching a cold, how weird is that!

A spirit catching a cold. I stuck out my tongue and carefully picked up the listless Kasa, stroking her a few times before tucking her into my clothes. I tried reverse summoning several times, but for some reason, Kasa wouldn't reverse summon. What the hell was going on? Just then, a status message window appeared before me.

Shit. This was a quest? Was it joking?