Anger
“Eline.”
“…”
“Eline.”
There was no answer.
By the time we reached the Alpha class dormitory and I tried to wake her, Eline remained completely still, doing nothing but breathe.
Is she sleeping?
If she were, her hands wouldn’t be wrapped so tightly around my arm, and I wouldn’t feel any looseness in her body.
I ended up shaking her gently.
“…Mmm.”
Eline suddenly flinched and trembled.
“Eline, we’re here.”
“Ah.”
I felt her previously quiet heartbeat quicken just a little.
She really was asleep.
“Were you tired?”
“No, I’m fine.”
When Eline hurriedly slid off my back, the warmth vanished, leaving a chill along my spine. She tried to casually fix her messy hair, but I caught her stealing a glance at me.
“…Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. Go inside and get some proper rest.”
Eline nodded and walked toward the dormitory. Just before turning the corner, she looked back at me.
“You should head back too.”
“Got it.”
Only after she reluctantly disappeared inside did I turn and make my way to my own dormitory.
When I get back…
There was still some time left, so I could read a few more chapters. I thought about the sections I hadn’t been able to touch yesterday or today because of the practical training with Eline—the parts I’d been purely curious about, the ones that had sparked real interest.
The thought of returning to those pages brought a mix of reluctance and, strangely enough, excitement.
Excitement, huh.
It had been a long time since I’d felt that.
When exactly had I lost interest in magic? Was it after entering the academy and studying it as an academic subject? Or when I witnessed overwhelmingly superior talents firsthand? Maybe it was the first time my father showed interest—not in me, but in magic itself.
I wasn’t sure.
There had been a time when my heart raced as I taught myself from books, when it had been more fun than anything else in the world. But at some point, that excitement vanished.
Once interest faded, I naturally stopped studying. And once I stopped, even small details I didn’t understand made me pull away completely.
All I’d cared about was avoiding academic probation so I could graduate.
That was how it had been.
Yet somewhere along the way, learning had started to become fun again.
The weekend passed, and a supposedly refreshing Monday arrived.
Of course, that was sarcasm.
Why did the weekend only get two days while the weekdays got five? It remained a mystery, but as an ordinary student, there was nothing I could do about it. I simply swallowed my irritation and sat through the lecture.
“That concludes this morning’s lecture.”
As usual, the professor’s closing remark ended the class.
“Oh, right—I almost forgot. We made an announcement last week, didn’t we?”
The students who had begun to rise all turned their heads at once. The professor cleared his throat.
“Next week, most of the faculty—including myself—will be away on business trips to the northern and western regions. As a result, the practical training originally scheduled for next week has been moved up to this week.”
A schedule change due to faculty travel. It wasn’t common, but I’d experienced it a couple of times before, so there was no big reaction.
“I’ll repost the notice on the dormitory boards and academy bulletin boards, so please check it carefully and avoid any confusion.”
With Professor Luila’s final words, the students poured out of the classroom.
As the professor had said, the afternoon session had been changed to practical training. I headed toward the West Dueling Grounds.
This was already the third day.
The day before yesterday, yesterday, and now today. Seeing the same familiar scenery three days in a row didn’t exactly put me in a good mood.
Would it be a joint session or individual practice? Practical classes varied so widely that it was entirely up to the professor’s discretion.
Please let it be something normal.
“Lutes!”
A voice called from a distance. I stopped and turned to see two students standing there—faces and names I barely remembered. Bender and… Cael, was it?
“Hey, you on your way to class?”
The first to approach was Bender, wearing a friendly smile.
“Yeah.”
“I see. Well, I have something to talk to you about. Got a minute?”
“Is it urgent?”
“Not really, but it’s pretty important.”
“It’s not a confession, is it?”
When I grimaced, Bender let out a chuckle. “No way. Cael, hand it over.”
The boy behind him stepped forward and offered me a box.
“What’s this?”
“Cookies. You know the brand, right? Seinbringham…”
Seinbringham was a luxury confectionery famous for its high-quality baked goods. It felt odd receiving a neatly wrapped box from another guy, but curiosity won out and I took it.
As I opened the lid, a soft click was followed by a rich, deep aroma of chocolate and butter.
“Oh.”
“Want to talk while you eat?”
I still had no idea what this was about, but if it got weird, I could always leave.
“Sure.”
“Great. Let’s head over there. It’s awkward to talk standing around.”
Bender spoke as if the entire situation had been calculated in advance and smoothly led me along. We ended up in a small alley between the many arenas in the western section—a quiet spot where almost no one passed through.
“Go on, try one.”
Crunch.
The moment I bit into the cookie, an indescribably sweet flavor spread across my tongue, living up to Seinbringham’s reputation. It had been so long since I’d tasted anything this luxurious that my whole body seemed to rejoice, as if saying, Wow, our master is being spoiled today.
“It’s good.”
“Eat them all.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I bought them for you.”
Grateful for Bender’s kindness, I reached for a second cookie.
I wonder if Eline would like these.
I’d never seen her crave sweets in particular, but nothing beat a snack after studying. I’d have to give her some later.
While I ate, Bender casually sat down beside me.
“Alright, I’ll get straight to the point.”
“What is it?”
“Want to team up with us for the Sacred Fire Festival?”
Crunch.
“The Sacred Fire Festival?”
“Yeah. You heard, right? The Second Prince is coming to observe in person this time. We really want to participate.”
Bender threw a friendly arm around my shoulder.
“If we can make an impression on the imperial family… who knows? Maybe the prince will call us after graduation.”
“That seems like a huge stretch.”
I chewed the cookie indifferently. The idea that doing well in a mere festival event would lead to an invitation after graduation was ridiculous. Besides, I had little interest in the Sacred Fire Festival to begin with, so I was only half-listening.
“It’s not a stretch at all. You know how the magic army was recently expanded? That was all because the Second Prince demanded it. And…”
Bender continued his earnest pitch.
“I see.”
It was information I couldn’t care less about. Yet his speech kept going, showing no signs of stopping, so I cut him off.
“Bender.”
“Yeah?”
“If what you’re saying is true, you’ll be trying to impress the imperial family in a lot of events. But if it’s only Betas, won’t that make things difficult?”
I stated the obvious.
The Beta class had many students, and even among them, the differences were stark. Some aimed for Alpha, while others had completely given up on studying. Bender and Cael were firmly in the latter group.
From what I remembered, these two weren’t particularly good at academics, and their behavior was far from exemplary. They drank, got disciplined—typical slackers with zero real prospects.
With that insane woman Serean and even Tirion participating, their team wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Aw, why would it be difficult?”
Bender still didn’t seem to grasp the situation. He smiled and leaned even closer.
“We have Eline, don’t we?”
My hand froze mid-bite.
I slowly turned my head. The sweet taste in my mouth had turned to ash.
“Eline?”
“Yeah.”
“Did Eline agree to join you?”
“Not exactly, but if you participate, she’ll come too, right?”
I set the cookie down.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? You’re her lover, so naturally you’d—”
…
I stood up. The cookies I’d eaten began to churn violently in my stomach.
“You plan to ride on her back?”
Bender’s eyebrows twitched, but he quickly recovered with a smooth smile.
“Ride on her back? That’s a weird way to put it, don’t you think?”
He patted my shoulder with brazen familiarity.
“We need to do our part too. The Sacred Fire Festival is a team game, after all.”
A team game.
Yes, the Sacred Fire Festival was a team-based battle royale with five-person teams. That fact made my mind grow even colder.
“If Eline takes the lead, we’ll support her from the sides and—”
Bender began reciting his prepared speech, but I wasn’t listening anymore. In a battle royale, strong teams always drew heavy fire. If Eline joined, she’d become a target. Objectively, these two didn’t have the skill to support her.
No.
It had never been about that. They were just idiots trying to ride on her name value.
“Bender.”
“Yeah?”
The cookie in my hand crumbled with a soft thud.
“I think that’s enough. I’m not participating anyway.”
“…What?”
When Bender let out a hollow laugh, Cael behind him stood up as well.
“So that’s what this is. A couple of nobodies trying to freeload off Eline from the shadows.”
“Freeload?”
The smile on Bender’s face slowly vanished.
“Hey, Lutes, do you even realize what you’re saying right now—”
“I know exactly what I’m saying. The only things you two are good at are sleeping through lectures and drinking. Yet here you are, crawling to me with cookies and acting cute because you suddenly want to enter the competition.”
“…”
Cael’s face twisted at the same time.
I didn’t care. The fact that they were so casually trying to use Eline made rage boil up inside me.
“Lutes.”
“What.”
“Just because you’re dating Eline, you think you’re hot shit now?”
The mask finally dropped. Bender revealed his true colors, and Cael rose to his feet as well.
“Wake up, you idiot. You’re nothing. Why do you think we approached you? It was obviously because of Eline.”
“So?”
I stared at them calmly.
“Don’t get cocky, Lutes. You could get hurt pretty badly.”
“Try it.”
“…”
Bender let out a short sigh and looked up at the sky.
“Fine. Looks like you need to get hit before you understand.”
A heavy, binding sensation wrapped around my body.
Binding magic.
“You know this is the West Dueling Grounds, right?”
A place where magic use was permitted. When I turned my head, Cael was already casting with both hands.
“Hah.”
A disbelieving sigh escaped me.
So now it was violence.
“Lutes. We can keep this friendly, can’t we?”
Bender stood up as if he had no choice, dusting himself off and loosening his hands.
“Just hold hands with your girlfriend, enter together, enjoy a nice date…”
“Bender.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t toy with something that’s open so carelessly.”
Bender smiled, then shook his head as though there was nothing left to say.
“Yeah, what’s the point of talking to someone who doesn’t know his place?”
He approached with a grin and tapped my cheek.
“After you get beaten, you’ll go crying to Eline, right? ‘Huueng, they hit me~’”
With the binding in place, it would be a one-sided beating from here. Bender casually clenched his fist.
Grab.
“Huh…?”
I caught his right hand naturally. Bender looked back and forth between me and his hand in confusion.
“What the…?”
His eyes were filled with shock—how could I move when the binding was clearly active?
It didn’t matter.
Crack!
“…Aaaargh!!!”
Bender’s hand bent at a horrible angle. He collapsed to the ground, clutching it and screaming.
“Fuck! What the hell, Cael! The binding… the binding’s supposed to be on…!”
Bender writhed in agony and looked toward Cael, but the other boy was equally stunned, staring at me in disbelief.
“I… I cast it…?”
“Bullshit! Then how the fuck is he moving…?!”
I calmly brushed off my shoulder, ignoring Bender’s pathetic screams.
“Some crazy bitch pulled this on me once before. I’m not the type to fall for the same thing twice.”
“Huu… huuu…”
In truth, Cael’s binding magic had been crude and easy to break. Bender, still panicking, began crawling away while clutching his broken hand. The sight was so pathetic that the anger surging inside me cooled in an instant.
“From now on, don’t even show your face around me. Don’t greet me, don’t talk to me.”
“You… you crazy… bastard…”
I ignored him and turned to leave. My foot stepped on something that crunched.
The cookies they had given me lay scattered on the ground, spilled from the box.
‘…’
I casually stuck my hand into my mouth and scratched the back of my throat. Tears pricked at my eyes as an unpleasant sensation rose from my stomach.
The things I had just eaten came back up, scattering across the dirt.
After spitting out every last remnant, I finally felt clean inside. Without looking back, I walked out of the alley.
“…I just wasted my time.”
After leaving the alley and clearing my mind, I slowly made my way toward the dueling grounds.