Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Duel (2)
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"So, you're asking me to guarantee the duel?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
The Student Council President, Agnes, tapped her fingers on the desk at regular intervals as she gazed at Ferris approaching her.
It was a habit of hers that surfaced whenever she was deep in thought.
Soon, Agnes's cold eyes turned toward Ferris.
"For reference, who is your duel opponent?"
"The arrogant... no, the top student."
For a moment, her eyes gleamed.
'The top student?'
It couldn't refer to any other year... it had to be that commoner from the first-years.
"You mean Aren, the top student?"
"...Yes."
Grind.
"Ho ho."
She hadn't expected it to actually be true.
This was going to make things interesting.
A commoner named Aren who had suddenly burst onto the scene, defying everyone's expectations, versus Ferris of the Golden Generation, who had always been praised.
Agnes knew Ferris was a man with strong pride.
'Arrogant.'
Fitting for a friend of her younger brother, the Crown Prince—truly an arrogant man.
Ah, but calling him a friend might make her brother mad? The two often growled at each other.
...Anyway.
'So it's a duel, then.'
Ferris clearly couldn't accept that someone above him—using the exact same magic—had taken the top spot.
That must be why he wanted the duel.
Well, it was common for nobles with pride and some skill. Back when Agnes had just entered the Academy, they threw duel gauntlets left and right, causing all sorts of chaos.
Dueling over overlapping crushes, dueling over who would feed the stray furball first...
Duels broke out for every ridiculous reason.
And not even officially approved ones—just street brawls that annoyed everyone.
That was probably three years ago...
'Things have definitely improved now.'
Coming to the student council for a guarantee and all.
For the record, Agnes didn't think duels were bad. She actually encouraged them.
She just hoped they'd follow proper procedures if they were going to do it. Without bothering others.
"Understood. I'll guarantee the duel. For reference, when is it scheduled?"
"In two days."
"Two days... I'll reserve one of the Grand Training Grounds for then."
"Yes."
Afterward, as Ferris turned to leave the student council office, Agnes stared at him for a moment before calling him back.
"Nothing else you need?"
"...No."
"...Hmm."
There was.
Her intuition told her so.
Ferris was hiding something related to the duel right now.
...
But she didn't dwell on it. They weren't kids anymore; they were adults who could handle themselves, she thought.
"Then go on."
"...Yes."
Left alone in the office, Agnes stood up.
Through the window, she looked down at the bustling students moving energetically since the start of the semester.
Among them... a particularly handsome black-haired boy.
'Aren, huh.'
The man who had set an unprecedented record in the entrance exam and declared war on the nobles in his speech.
Rumor had it that during sparring, he even proposed to a lady of that Adel Adler Duke's family...
He was an interesting guy in many ways.
And now he was already providing entertainment with this duel.
"...I hope it turns out fun."
With so little free Academy life left, shouldn't she enjoy it to the end?
The day of the duel arrived quickly.
In the nearly two days leading up to it, had Aren prepared for the duel?
'Of course not.'
He hadn't.
'No need for special preparation.'
He just needed to train as usual every day; there was nothing extra to do. Even if the opponent was one of the empire's top prodigies, the Magic Tower Lord's Disciple.
Others might call it arrogance, but this wasn't arrogance—it was simply a given.
To reiterate, Aren hadn't entered the Academy to learn.
He had come to find an excellent, wonderful wife.
In that sense, this duel was... practically a great event to make his existence known to his future wives.
"Aren... are you really okay?"
Lydia, walking with him to the Grand Training Grounds, asked cautiously from beside him.
"Don't worry, Lydia. I won't lose."
"Still..."
She timidly took his hand.
"What am I supposed to do if I'm worried? If you lose, you might really have to drop out..."
"That won't happen, so relax. Why would I leave my first friend behind?"
"R-Really? You'll win, right Aren? You won't leave your friend, right?"
"Of course."
"Haaah... that's a relief..."
Aren chuckled lightly and gripped her hand firmly. Her hand was... incredibly soft and squishy.
The kind he'd love to knead every morning if possible.
"And Lydia. Do you know what the rumors say about you?"
"Huh? Suddenly?"
"Do you?"
"No...? Well, thinking about it... just a commoner... right?"
Just a commoner... that was technically true, but not the answer to his question.
Thanks to her uniquely beautiful appearance, every time she entered a classroom, she drew endless whispers. A beauty that matched or even surpassed noble ladies.
The Academy uniform made her indistinguishable from noble ladies anyway.
So it was natural for all sorts of rumors, especially romantic scandals, to stick to Lydia.
And those scandals were...
"They say you're my girlfriend."
"Whaaat...?"
"It's been going around since the entrance exam because we were always together."
Her face flushed bright red.
If this were a manga world, steam would be rising from her head.
Aren gently stroked her flustered hair.
"Wh-What's that all of a sudden... Eek!"
"Just the rumors. Anyway, if I disappeared from the Academy, what do you think would happen to Lydia, who's rumored to be my 'girlfriend'?"
It would definitely be trouble.
People would mock her and come after her body.
The shield named Aren—the top student with untouchable power—would be gone from Lydia.
So.
"To keep Lydia out of trouble, your 'boyfriend' has to do well. Right?"
"...! B-Boyfriend... H-Hauu..."
Lydia bowed her head deeply and fidgeted with her fingers.
For some reason, her heart tickled.
It was just words Aren said to reassure her... but for a pure country girl like Lydia, talk of boyfriends and girlfriends was plenty stimulating.
"Y-Yes..."
Someday, she too would date, marry, and have kids.
Lydia just lacked experience, but she shared the same values as everyone else.
So, what kind of man would her future husband be?
'...'
Lydia blankly stared at Aren's gently smiling face.
If possible, someone handsome and reliable like Aren.
Sure, he had his quirky side that made him unpredictable... but even that felt charming from such a wonderful guy.
She quietly followed Aren toward the Grand Training Grounds.
And Veronica, watching them from behind, glanced over and turned away.
The Grand Training Grounds were already packed with countless people.
Academy students who had heard the rumors and flocked there—not just freshmen, but second-, third-, and fourth-years too, all mixed together.
'That pink-haired one is Lydia.'
Waving back at Lydia waving from the spectator seats, Ferris approached from the opposite side.
"Quite the crowd. The perfect stage for a fake like you to come crashing down."
"Fake?"
"That's right. Fake."
Ferris's eyes fixed on Aren.
"I can't fathom how you snagged top spot, so you're a fake."
"Or maybe you're just jealous because you couldn't do it?"
"...Ha. Jealous? Me? Of a nobody like you? Don't make me laugh."
At least Ferris believed he wasn't the jealous type.
"This is your last mercy. Forfeit and step down now, and I'll spare you expulsion. But you'll have to stay out of my sight and live quietly like you're dead."
—Aren't you scared of falling in front of so many people?
That was Ferris's way of saying: surrender now and beg pathetically for mercy.
"Mercy..."
...
Suddenly, laughter bubbled up.
"...?"
"How ridiculous."
Mercy, of all things.
That was a right granted by the strong to the weak.
"If anything, as the top student, I should be the one offering mercy to an ordinary guy like you."
"...What?"
Then, Aren declared in a loud voice that reached the spectator seats.
"I'll yield the first 10 moves to you."
The superior always accommodates the inferior.
"Knock me down within those. If not..."
you'll be the one defeated
...
For an instant, silence enveloped the arena.
Everyone belatedly grasped the meaning of Aren's words and gasped in shock.