An Unforeseen Opponent
Who would’ve thought I’d be matched up right from the first round? It was so unexpected. Then again, that’s just like an extra like me. With no notable achievements and average grades, of course they’d slot me in like this.
“Kyaaaa! He’s so handsome!”
“Win for us! Please, you have to win!”
A chorus of cheers erupted from the stands. I couldn’t make out the words, but it was clear they wanted me to fight and win.
I have no intention of winning…
If I stood out too much in front of the entire student body, my true identity might get exposed. So I figured I’d just clash swords a few times and then forfeit. That was the plan—until I saw who my opponent was.
“…Why are you here?”
“……?”
When I stepped onto the raised stone platform in the center of the coliseum, a familiar figure was already waiting. Purple hair. Purple eyes. A small, pretty face paired with a sturdy lower body.
“So you were after the first-place prize too?”
The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.
It was Hedy Marigold. And unlike usual, she’d put on makeup and even tied her hair up neatly.
*
Why does everything keep catching me off guard today…?
The match was about to begin. Hedy stood at the far end, gripping her tournament wooden sword and settling into her stance. She never cared much about self-care, so why the sudden makeup? Maybe because the crowd and high-ranking nobles were watching, she decided to mind her manners.
Seeing her here made me feel strangely awkward. I never dreamed I’d end up fighting her.
“And now, the first match of the round of sixteen begins!”
Before I could even think, the announcer’s voice, amplified by magic, rang out. The moment the fight started, Hedy dashed forward.
—Thwack!
Whoa!
I reflexively blocked the sword swinging toward me. The dull impact echoed across the arena.
“Got time to space out?!”
She closed the distance again and launched another fierce attack. From her footwork, I could tell she was about to use the Thunder Sword Style—probably the first form, the spinning thrust.
She rotated to the left.
—Whoosh!
—Wham!
I barely dodged her rapid thrust at the last second.
“What the—why are you only dodging?!”
She pulled back and shouted at the top of her lungs.
…No matter who my opponent was, I’d planned to exchange a few blows and then flop down. But things had gone sideways. At this rate, I couldn’t even forfeit. In the worst case, she’d think I was looking down on her. That could hurt her pride.
“If you keep ignoring me…!”
While I was still flustered, she charged again.
“I’ll make sure you can’t ignore me!”
Her words were as fierce as her actions. She leapt into the air, clearly aiming to cave my skull in. The arc of her sword dropped all the way to the ground—it looked like the Water Sword Style’s waterwheel technique. Coming from above, each strike would be even heavier than usual.
Getting hit by that would kill me. Even blocking it would tear the skin off my hands.
I poured every ounce of strength into leaping sideways and rolling out of the way.
—Thud!
Her attack slammed into the stone floor.
“What the heck! You could’ve attacked just now! Why aren’t you fighting properly?!”
Her voice was loud enough to cut through the roaring crowd, filled with genuine anger.
This was getting really complicated. If I collapsed here, she’d definitely get mad. Just like with the sandwich incident—if I messed up with her again, there’d be no going back.
…I guess I have no choice but to take this seriously. I’d planned to throw the first match, but I’ll just lose the second one instead. I can always say I got lucky in the first round. Then in the second match, I’ll pull the classic “Ta-da! The first round was just a fluke!”
“……”
Having made up my mind, I steadied myself.
“…Finally decided to get serious? Your eyes changed.”
Hedy grinned and dropped back into her stance before rushing at me again.
As she closed the distance, I closed my eyes and opened my danjeon. Mana flowed through my bloodstream, pushing my physical abilities to their limit. I only needed one strike—no point dragging this out or drawing unnecessary attention. I couldn’t afford to let people start expecting things from me.
…Even now, the cheers were growing louder. Mixed in were voices calling me an idiot for just dodging without fighting back.
Fine. I’ll give you what you want.
Hedy wanted me to go all out too.
The moment she raised her sword, I moved. By the time people realized I’d even taken a step, the match would already be over. The difference in perception between those who could use mana and those who couldn’t was that vast.
Just as she began to bring her sword down, I appeared behind her in a gust of wind.
—Thud!
“Huh…?”
Her neatly tied hair swayed from the sudden breeze. She lost her grip on the sword. Of course she did—I’d struck the hilt with all my strength before she could even swing.
I hadn’t used any special technique. I didn’t want to hurt her.
—Clatter. Clack.
The sound of her wooden sword hitting the stone floor rang out at the same time I pressed my own blade to her throat.
Hedy and the entire audience still hadn’t processed what had just happened. The announcer, however, had sharp eyes.
“Th-the match is over…! The winner of the round of sixteen is… Student Cian!”
The moment the announcer declared the end of the match, the crowd erupted into confused murmurs. They couldn’t even see what had happened—one exchange and it was over.
That was exactly what I’d wanted. The audience had come for thrilling, heart-pounding fights. If I ended the match like this and then lost spectacularly in the next round, I’d be forgotten in no time.
While I was thinking that and glancing toward the stands—
Hm…?
I felt a piercing gaze. It was coming from the nearby spectator seats. Our eyes met naturally.
“……”
“……”
The moment I saw who it was, I froze. A familiar face. After everything that had happened, I’d completely forgotten she was also attending the academy.
Red hair. Blue eyes. A mature figure that made it clear she was older than me. Her slender limbs contrasted with her curvaceous figure, naturally drawing the eye.
…Rosaria di Violet. The Fourth Princess was looking down at me, surrounded by her escort knights.
***
“As expected… I can’t beat you.”
On the way back to the waiting room after the match, Hedy, who had followed me, spoke up. I wasn’t really listening.
Why had I forgotten about this? The grade-level tournament drew a lot of attention—there was a high chance she’d come to watch…
Ever since I’d gotten used to this world and met Hedy, so many things had happened that it had slipped my mind.
“…Cian?”
At the sound of her voice, I snapped back to reality. I should probably keep this to myself for now… There were still things I needed to sort out with her.
“Ah… No. If it’s you, you’ll reach that level in no time. I just got lucky.”
“How annoying. Why does the winner have to be so humble?”
“……”
It was the truth. Even during the Twilight Queen incident, if I hadn’t stepped in, she would’ve awakened on her own with her burning desire to become a Sword Master. She would’ve broken through a realm and learned to handle mana. That was clearly how the story was supposed to go. If I hadn’t found the mana stone first and met her, it would’ve happened without a doubt.
I’ll take responsibility and help her reach enlightenment later. Though, even without me, she’d eventually attain the third-star realization.
“Since you beat me, you have to take first place. Got it?”
She smiled brightly and placed a hand on my shoulder. For some reason, her reaction felt unusually warm.
“Yeah, sure…”
“What’s with that dumb response?”
“……”
What was going on? Just yesterday she’d been as cold as ice. I’d thought she was mad because I’d done something wrong.
“Uh… Are you okay now?”
“…? What do you mean?”
“You weren’t mad at me for messing up or something?”
“…Mess up? Pfft!”
She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and throwing her head back.
“Mess up! Yeah, you did mess up! Puhaha!”
“……”
She laughed at me for a long time. When I gave her a puzzled look, she continued.
“But it’s fine now. My original plan got derailed anyway.”
“Plan…?”
“Yeah. More importantly, how do I look?”
“……?”
She leaned in close, bringing her face right up to mine. My heart skipped a beat at the sudden proximity. I caught a faint, sweet scent—maybe her natural fragrance mixed with something else.
What was she asking about? She looked pretty. Her usually loose hair was neatly tied back, which suited her. The makeup made her already milky-white skin stand out even more, highlighting her sharp, cat-like features.
Who was she trying to look good for? Maybe Cain…? She might’ve already met him while we were distant. Was she asking me as a fellow swordsman?
I answered honestly with what I felt.
“You look pretty.”
“Really?”
Her cheeks flushed shyly. Then she added,
“That comment just now cancels out the mistake you made earlier.”
“…What mistake?”
“It’s a secret, dummy. Do you really think a girl would tell you something like that?”
“……?”
I was about to get more curious when—
“The next round of sixteen match will begin shortly!”
The announcer’s magically amplified voice boomed through the arena. Hedy and I both turned toward the fighting grounds.
A single participant was stepping onto the stone platform. A muscular student with an ordinary face. As he climbed up to the cheers of the crowd, he raised a fist high in a flashy performance.
“Round of sixteen, match two! This participant is one of the strongest first-year swordsmen—widely known as Deus!”
Deus. I’d heard the name before. He came up often in student rumors. Despite his boulder-like muscles, he was surprisingly agile with a sword and had been drawing attention.
Whoever his opponent was, facing him in the first round must be rough. I felt a bit sorry for them.
Just then, the announcer introduced the next participant.
“And the student who will face him is the hidden dark horse of the swordsmanship department! Someone who’s only recently started showing great results and is riding an upward trend…”
As the announcer spoke, the next participant stepped onto the platform. A lean, wiry build for a swordsman. His eyes were sharp but clear, neither fierce nor soft. White, messy hair and golden eyes that shone with intelligence—eyes just like mine.
But he looks… familiar somehow.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the announcer finished the introduction and called out the name.
“…The dark horse of the swordsmanship department! His name—Cain!”