Chapter 54
Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Another Variable
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The thick dust cloud gradually cleared, revealing a human silhouette.
It was one person.
No, precisely three.
Amid the sprawl of fallen bodies─.
Three silhouettes stood out at the center of the ruined sparring arena.
Two of them faced each other, swords locked side by side.
And beside them, someone staggered to their feet, barely managing to stand.
The two were faces I recognized.
Ruena and Marian Lavelin.
I had expected those two to last until the end.
But─.
'Who's that...?'
My eyes narrowed instinctively.
It wasn't Marian locking swords with Ruena.
Marian was─.
Simply using her sword as a crutch, gasping for breath as she tried to stand.
The one clashing blades with Ruena was a stranger.
A sturdy build.
Unusually tall for a woman.
Brown hair neatly tied back in a single ponytail.
And... animal ears perched atop her head.
A beastkin.
Judging by the shape, probably... a bear beastkin.
'Who is she? From House Lumentia? Or from another country?'
As I racked my brain for the names of the freshmen, a familiar voice brushed my ear.
"Ugh..."
"......"
It was Ruena's voice.
Sweat beaded on her forehead; her opponent must have been a tough match.
Her foe, on the other hand─.
Was she just that skilled?
Or was she the type who never showed strain, no matter how hard it got?
Even with swords locked against Ruena,
she held perfectly still, matching Ruena's movements without a single ragged breath.
'This is no joke...'
Observing their tense standoff, I glanced at Marian.
She looked as if she'd taken a major shock.
At first, I thought it was because Ruena was stronger than expected.
But─.
Her gaze was fixed entirely on the newcomer.
I quickly peeked into Marian's inner thoughts.
「Who the hell is that? Never seen her before. She definitely wasn't in the previous playthrough. No character like that in the strategy guides either.... Is she a native? Or possessed? Or maybe.... Aaaah, I don't know. Gotta ask Sis about her too.」
Still a string of cryptic remarks.
On top of the incomprehensible chatter,
she spouted increasingly absurd speculations, so I stopped reading.
She's utterly useless, as always.
Unless it's the "sister" she keeps mentioning.
'The moment the exam ends, I need to track down this "sister" she talks about.'
One thing was clear─.
This bear beastkin was a stranger to Marian too.
'If that's true...'
At that instant,
something flashed through my mind.
「Celen Noir.... Never heard the name before, no matter how I think about it. A new variable in this playthrough? Or an extra I don't know about?」
Marian's inner thoughts about me from before.
She'd called unknown information a "variable" or "extra."
So was this one a variable too?
An unknown entity Marian Lavelin had never encountered or dealt with.
'What is it? Just some ordinary person with no connection? Or...'
As various guesses swirled in my head─.
A deafening roar shook my ears again, kicking up a whirlwind of dust.
A far more powerful explosion than before.
And one laced with palpable killing intent.
"Ruena!"
Her name burst from my lips unbidden.
My body shot toward the arena's center, the explosion's epicenter.
My heart plummeted.
This was a duel, sure,
but that strike clearly exceeded entrance exam levels, brimming with murderous intent.
'Is that bear insane?!'
I pulled out a magic stone and cast a wind spell to clear my view.
The examiners must have sensed the gravity too.
Dust cleared rapidly in spots all around, visible to the eye.
Moments later─.
The dust fully settled, vision clear.
What I saw was the two even closer, blades crossed.
Ruena's sword tip hovered at her opponent's shoulder,
the bear beastkin's at Ruena's nape.
Any shift in balance, and both would suffer fatal wounds.
Then─.
The examiners' urgent voices rang out.
"Stop─! Cease the duel! Both of you, lower your weapons immediately─!"
"Failure to comply means disqualification for both!"
"Ruena Eliad, Aren Brendina! Obey the command!"
But,
neither budged.
If anything, the tension between them ratcheted up.
Ruena's eyes were icy cold.
The signature Eliad glare.
I'd joked earlier that the examiner professor resembled Kasian,
but... a daughter was still her father's child.
This Ruena was unmistakably Kasian Eliad's blood.
Her opponent, meanwhile─.
Stood expressionless, facing Ruena.
The same impassive look as before.
Unshakable as ancient oak.
Yet sweat beaded far more heavily on her forehead now.
Ruena must have pushed her hard.
Ruena's eyes flashed red; she was using her unique ability...
'...Wait. She's using her unique ability?!'
Not fully unleashed, but definitely employing it.
Unique ability.
A power granted solely to the bloodlines of the Founding Houses.
Using it in the entrance exam violated rules for fairness.
The fact Ruena knew and did it anyway meant─.
She judged her opponent that dangerous.
Not a mere duel, but a fight for survival.
In the end, the examiners climbed into the arena and intervened directly, ending it.
"Ruena Eliad, disqualified for disobeying orders and using a unique ability."
"......Understood."
"Aren Brendina, you're disqualified too. Disobeying orders and excessive aggression against the spirit of the event. Both parties disqualified."
Aren Brendina.
Without retort, she descended the arena.
She merely glanced this way with inscrutable eyes.
"With Ruena Eliad and Aren Brendina disqualified... First place in Group 1 goes to Marian Lavelin."
"Ah, uh, wha─?! Th-thank you─?!"
The announcement stirred the crowd.
Some cheered, others grumbled.
I gave a wry smile at Marian flailing her arms in stunned delight.
'...So this is what they mean by the bear doing the tricks and the human pocketing the money.'
A thoroughly unsatisfying swordsmanship duel.
Though Marian taking first in Group 1—and thus the exam—boosted our chances of the same class.
Ruena soon descended the arena.
I hurried to her side.
She maintained the unflinching poise of an Eliad heir, but exhaustion showed.
At least to me.
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped her sweat.
"You okay?"
"...Yeah."
So much I wanted to say, but too many ears around.
Supporting Ruena, I left the arena as quickly as possible.
As the surrounding clamor faded, Ruena finally leaned into me.
Her hands trembled.
Each step heavy and slow.
She'd desperately feigned calm, but Ruena was shocked too.
No one had ever attacked her with such raw killing intent.
Least of all in an academy sword duel.
I gently straightened her bangs.
"Asking again. You really okay?"
"Uuu, Celeeen..."
"Yeah, yeah. You got scared, huh? ...Thank god you're safe."
Ruena flung herself into my arms like she'd been waiting.
Worried someone might see, but comforting her came first.
No matter that I was Eliad's aide─.
Ruena was Ruena, not just Eliad's Ruena.
At least to me.
Ruena's shoulders shook faintly in my embrace.
Then she burrowed deeper.
I held her tight, stroking her back slowly.
Cautiously.
Very carefully.
In the rhythm my body remembered.
Like cradling fragile spun sugar.
"No matter how I think about it, that bear beastkin pisses me off. First, lodge a protest with the academy... And what was the family again? Brendina? Them too..."
"Ehehe, Celeeen─."
"Hey, easy now. This is the academy. Not just us here."
Did she even hear me?
Ruena, forgetting she was Eliad's heir, was busy acting spoiled.
"No way. I wanna stay like this right nowww─."
"......You, seriously."
"Ehehe."
Ruena giggled playfully, hugging me tighter.
But...
I felt her body quiver slightly.
Every time this happened, I realized
just how weak I was to Ruena Eliad.
'Whatever. It'll work out somehow.'
I wrapped my arms around her more firmly.
Our closeness let me feel her heartbeat directly.
From the shock of the duel?
Her heart raced... so fast.
Impossible to ignore.
Making my own heart race too, somehow.
Just my imagination, surely.
Yeah.
Imagination.
I patted her back a bit harder and spoke.
"Ruena."
"Yeah?"
"Sorry. Next time, I'll be more careful so this doesn't happen."
"Pfft─, why're you sorry, Celen? I'm fine. But... I feel better now."
"Good to hear."
The future I'd seen since childhood.
Maybe...
far more complex and dangerous than I'd imagined.
But─.
I had to protect this girl wriggling happily in my arms, no matter what.
For my peaceful future and stable job.
With that thought, I clenched my fist tight.