Picking a Fight (2)
Serean Lugvida.
One of the next-generation prospects entangled with Eline, Tyrion Altaran, and the rest.
With her radiant appearance and bright, cheerful voice, she drew attention like a flower in bloom. But at the same time…
“…”
She was the kind of student famous for countless bizarre acts. In her first year, she beat a third-year senior who picked a fight with her until he lost consciousness. In her second year, she argued with a lecturing professor for an entire hour for no reason at all.
The one thing they all had in common was that she acted purely on her own whims.
In cruder terms, she was completely out of her mind.
“…I’m just speechless because I heard you say you’d break my arm.”
I continued calmly.
Serean said, shaking her head so her hair swayed.
Serean started bouncing around and pointed straight at me.
That was something I was curious about too.
But it definitely wasn’t something I wanted to hear from this lunatic.
She really was insane.
Serean stepped even closer.
I’d heard the stories before. About running into the top three prospects in the hallway.
They said if you saw Eline, you just had to step aside. With Tyrion, you just had to avoid eye contact. But with Serean… you were supposed to pray she wouldn’t mess with you.
I’d gotten caught by the worst one.
Well, this wasn’t a place an Alpha Class student would normally come anyway. She must have come looking for me on purpose.
“…I have to go to class right now.”
Serean clenched and unclenched her fist.
“It does.”
A short answer.
At my response, her golden eyes scanned me up and down with open curiosity.
“What is?”
That was true.
Not because I was scared. Because I was disgusted.
The first time I saw her face, she reminded me of my little sister back home.
Her personality was similar too.
If I had to point out the difference, it would be her hair color. And a few minor details.
If Serean expressed herself without any filter, that kid was the type whose outside and inside were completely different.
Utterly filthy…
An unpleasant memory I didn’t want to recall suddenly resurfaced.
“It’s in the past, so I don’t care anymore. Can you move aside?”
Serean playfully blocked my path again.
Her bright smile while grabbing people out of nowhere and rambling on about whatever she wanted started to make something rise up inside me.
Yes, this feeling was…
I want to beat her up.
It had been a long time since I genuinely, purely wanted to beat someone senseless.
Even though I could still feel the instinctive goosebumps from people who feared her, seeing this kind of behavior made me really want to knock her down.
But pointless violence would get me disciplined.
I gathered my composure and spoke slowly.
“Why do you keep blocking me?”
Serean scratched her head and tilted it in confusion, as if she couldn’t understand why I didn’t get it even though she’d repeated the same thing.
“…Is that your goal?”
Talked to her a lot, huh.
Imagining someone with that voice and behavior constantly pestering Eline made it easy to see just how annoyed she must have been.
Her expression was pure, but every word that came out of her mouth was terrifying.
When she stepped closer, I wanted to back away.
But my body wouldn’t move.
More precisely, it felt like my body was slowly being bound by invisible threads.
It wasn’t just my imagination.
Binding…
The moment I first saw her, the way my breath caught and my throat tightened—it must have all been magic she cast the instant she laid eyes on me.
So she came here with clear intent.
“Serean.”
When I called her name, Serean stopped talking.
It might have been a small act of defiance, but I recalled a memory of provoking someone with a similar personality.
“Yeah?”
“Isn’t the one without emotions you?”
I’d said something similar to my sister once before.
Disgusted by how different her outside and inside were, I’d told her exactly what I thought.
Do you even have any real emotions?
The moment those words left my mouth, the little girl who always smiled had rushed at me with blood draining from her face. The image was still vivid.
In the end, I was the one who got scolded.
But what about you, Serean?
“…Hmm.”
Serean’s words stopped.
Rather, she grew calm. The smile began to drain from her face.
Little by little, like water receding, the smile disappeared.
Eventually, it turned into a completely blank, indifferent expression.
A different kind of expressionlessness than Eline’s.
Step. Step.
Grab—
She took hold of my left arm and lifted it.
Her hand looked delicate, but my bones started to throb.
I couldn’t figure it out.
…As expected.
The binding magic was one thing, but what was this spell?
The natural way it restrained me, trapped me, and was about to shatter my arm flowed so smoothly that I couldn’t respond.
She’s fast.
I tried to move my fingers, but there was no strength in them.
Crack—
My arm gradually began to hurt. The throbbing limb let out a faint creak.
She’s serious about this.
Suddenly.
Serean’s hand began to sparkle as crystals formed.
Crystals?
They were ice crystals that glittered like jewels.
This was…
Not Serean’s magic.
When I lifted my head, the smile that had vanished from Serean’s face bloomed once more.
It was a genuinely bright, clear smile—as if the one she’d shown me earlier had been fake.
Serean turned her head, and I followed her gaze.
…
And there she stood.
Eline.
When did she…
I had no idea when she’d arrived, but there she was.
“…”
Her expression was the most alien one I had seen from her so far.
Her eyes were empty.
There wasn’t a single emotion in Eline’s eyes, which had always shimmered with a vibrant blue light.
The moment Serean waved cheerfully, cold air swirled once again.
Crack—
Serean’s right arm began to freeze completely.
“…Hee.”
Serean removed the hand she’d placed on my arm and took a step back.
When Serean exerted her strength, a shattering sound rang out as the ice crystals on her frozen hand fell away.
Serean smiled as she looked at Eline.
But Eline remained completely still, simply standing there.
Drop.
Serean was still smiling, but she glanced at me and drew an arc with her eyes.
She brushed off her hands and skipped lightly down the hallway in the opposite direction.
She turned her head one last time, waved, then disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
After Serean had completely vanished, silence fell over the hallway.
Once the situation seemed settled, Eline walked over.
“Eli…”
Her steps, which had been slow at first, soon turned into a run until she stopped right in front of me.
She grabbed my hand.
The warmth in her hand was completely different from the cold air she had radiated moments ago.
The emptiness in her eyes was gone. Once again, a blue light shimmered as she looked at me.
The magic that had bound my body unraveled. My contracted muscles began to relax, and as my body regained its freedom, I felt refreshed.
I slowly drew in a breath and tried my best to keep a calm expression.
“…”
She squeezed my hand tightly.
I could feel a faint tremble.
“Yeah. Really.”
My head felt a little dizzy and my neck was stiff from the aftereffects of the magic, but I hadn’t suffered any real damage.
Eline studied my face and gripped my hand even tighter.
…
It was the first time.
The first time she had ever apologized.
At the same time, emotions surged within me.
Why are you the one apologizing?
She thought I’d gotten dragged into this because of her.
I cut off Eline’s words.
This was absolutely not her fault.
Eline’s eyes widened slightly.
Maybe because of my rather violent language.
“If that isn’t a crazy bitch, what is?”
She suddenly shows up, binds someone with magic, and immediately threatens to break their arm. What else would you call that?
When I comforted her, Eline looked at me and nodded as if she had calmed down.
“…Okay.”
The bell signaling the start of class rang.
“Let’s go. We’ll be late.”
Eline looked up at me.
“…”
“Eline?”
“Lutes.”
“Yeah?”
She gripped my hand tightly.
“What about class?”
It was just a general education lecture, but still…
It was a strange situation.
The academy’s top student suggesting we skip class while the Beta Class student insisted we go to class.
It was so ridiculous that a dry laugh escaped me.
“Yes.”
She carefully tugged at my sleeve.
Then she looked up and murmured in a small voice.
…
I lost.
If she made that face and spoke in that voice, how could I possibly refuse her, Eline?
I quickly turned my head and led her away.
We walked.
Even though the scenery outside during class hours was always the same, it somehow felt different.
A quiet, empty path.
We walked in silence, talking to each other.
Even though we took the same general education classes, the bell hadn’t even rung yet, but Eline had left the classroom and found me instantly.
Considering the size of the academy… it shouldn’t have been easy to find me that quickly.
Eline answered indifferently.
I see.
After all, Eline and Serean were in the same field. They must have clashed constantly during sparring and practical training.
Of course, knowing mana and sensing it were two different things.
But if it was Eline… it probably wasn’t impossible.
As if to blow away such useless thoughts, a cool breeze tickled my cheek.
“Nice weather.”
Spring.
Perhaps the last spring I would spend at the academy.
Flowers budding, new leaves sprouting on branches.
The cool breeze and the spring scenery were a delight to the eyes no matter how many times I saw them.
The last one, huh.
The three years that had once felt so long now had only about a year left.
These sensations, these feelings…
They would all become stories of the past someday.
Whatever.
I shook my head.
I didn’t want to think about the future right now.
I just wanted to look at the present.
“It’s this way.”
The place I led her to was the forest between the north and west sides of the academy.
Known as Chirping Forest, it wasn’t a restricted area, but students rarely visited it on their own.
“First time?”
Eline nodded as if it really was her first time.
Even after walking only a few minutes, the dense forest untouched by human hands was already bursting with life as if spring had fully arrived.
The chirping of birds echoed like a chorus.
Not a single human voice could be heard.
“Back in first year, I was wandering around with a friend and happened to discover it.”
Ross and I had skipped class once and explored the vast academy.
This was one of the places we’d found back then.
And among them, I brought her to the one that had left the deepest impression.
“Here it is.”
Shaaaa—
The water flowed gently downward. Tall trees opened up to the sky, letting sunlight pour through.
It was a small stream hidden within the forest.
“…”
Eline seemed momentarily enchanted by the sight. She slowly stepped forward and looked up at the sky.
“Eline.”
“Yes.”
“The water here is really clear.”
When Eline walked over to the stream, her face was reflected in the crystal-clear water. Small fish swam about, creating faint ripples.
I quietly moved to her side.
“Want to dip your feet in?”
She looked at me and gave a small nod.
We took off our shoes, sat down together by the stream, and dipped our feet in.
Splash—
A refreshing chill that cooled me to the bone rose from my toes, giving me goosebumps.
Hmm.
It’s colder than I thought?
I’d expected it to be cool since it was spring, but the water temperature was lower than anticipated. I glanced at Eline.
She had her eyes gently closed, as if savoring the moment.
“…”
Was it that nice?
With both hands neatly folded in her lap and a peaceful expression as she felt the sensation, I didn’t say anything more.
The quiet sound of flowing water and the occasional chirping of birds.
We sat like that for a long time, soaking our feet.
I’d been worried she might not like it since it was such an unfamiliar and remote place.
Seeing her reaction, I thought I’d made a pretty good choice.
A breeze blew past.
“Lutes.”
“Yeah?”
Eline slowly opened her eyes and turned her head.
Though faint, a smile had crept onto her lips.
She must have said something before that.
But I couldn’t hear it over the chirping of the birds.
Still, I had a rough idea of what it was, so I turned my head and looked down at my feet submerged in the water.
The sound of the stream and the birds rang out peacefully.
I took a deep breath.
I didn’t specify whether I meant the sensation felt good or that I liked the current moment.
I simply murmured it into the air, into the water.
While looking at my own reflection.
Even saying it like this still made my heart ache.
But it felt like my emotions were finally becoming clear.
The subject I had left out. The subject of hers that had been drowned out by the birdsong.
Were they the same word?
Eline.
I like you too…
…
I swallowed it.
Not yet.
After I rose up in the evaluation in a month, I would tell her everything.
And if she still allowed it,
That was when I wanted to convey my true feelings.