Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Student Council (3)
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Elena, her hair neatly tied back with a black hair tie.
And Lucia, whose hair was tied a bit more loosely in comparison.
The moment the moderator's starting call rang out, Elena fired off a single black magic bullet at her right from the beginning, unlike the somewhat hesitant Lucia.
"Kyaaak?!"
It was a magic bullet that seemed not particularly aimed to hit, passing right by Lucia's face.
"Get it together, Lucia! I'll be disappointed if you don't do it properly!"
"...Ah, yes, Lady Elena!"
Only after hearing Elena's words did Lucia finally snap to attention, firing a sharp beam of light from her fingertips.
Shadows rose from the ground like a shadow itself, swallowing Lucia's light beam whole.
"Light!"
Even though her attack had been blocked, Lucia didn't panic and promptly began chanting her next spell.
It was Elena's turn to attack now, so Lucia blocked the black blade-like projectiles Elena unleashed with a shield of light.
I recalled hearing that those were called "hand spears" back when I'd dueled Elena with magic before.
Lucia was a little flustered by the unfamiliar weapon form, but she didn't seem to have much trouble blocking them—probably thanks to her sheer abundance of mana.
"This time it's my turn, Lady Elena!"
With those words, Lucia unleashed dozens of light beams from her fingertips into the air.
The beams spreading from her hands turned into light crystals midair, and as they rained back down onto the arena, they burst one by one, blanketing the stage in sparkling brilliance.
"……!!"
"Oh, Lucia fights pretty well."
"Definitely the skill level to get into the Academy, even as a commoner."
It was just a spell close to vision obstruction against other attributes, but light magic and dark magic were natural counters to each other by their very existence.
I figured that even Elena wouldn't be able to properly cast dark magic amid that scattering halo of light.
-Paaak!!
"Kyaaaak?!"
Through the gaps in that halo of light, Elena crafted an exceedingly slender Shadow Spear and hurled it straight at Lucia.
Thanks to that, as Lucia lost her focus and her control weakened, Elena absorbed the light orbs that had spread across the arena with her own mana.
It had been a while since I'd seen Elena in a magic duel, but she was still Elena, through and through.
"...Huu."
"Wow, Lady Rozier fights well too. They say she was on par with Cedric before entering the Academy."
"Lucia's impressive for controlling hundreds of those light orbs, but Lady Rozier's no slouch either—spotting the one uncontrolled gap amid them all and manifesting a Shadow Spear."
Their skills were plain to see not just for the returning students, but for the freshmen as well.
'Maybe Elena deliberately scheduled this duel with Lucia.'
There were still groups picking on her and harassing her solely for being a commoner lady.
On top of being in the Student Council, the fact that she stuck close to an influential noble like Elena probably rubbed other girls the wrong way.
But putting her skills on full display like this would force even those suspecting or slandering Lucia to back off a little. Especially the ladies from viscount families and below, with their middling status.
'Lucia's combat style feels heavily reliant on instinct and natural talent.'
In several ways, it was the polar opposite of Elena's. Elena's dueling style was thoroughly grounded in calculations and deductions.
Lucia might have a higher peak by cutting down on computation time, but Elena was probably the more consistent one in any situation.
"...Heart of Light."
As those thoughts crossed my mind, the duel between Elena and Lucia had reached its latter stages.
Starting with Lucia's chant, a massive magic circle large enough to fill the entire arena took form, radiating a blinding glow.
"Oath of Darkness."
-Gooo...
And at the same time, clouds of dark mana blanketed the sky over the arena.
One glance was enough to tell it was the most powerful spell Elena could wield. At least before I enrolled in the Academy, she hadn't handled anything like it.
'Isn't that dangerous?'
Both of them were visibly at their mana limits.
If their mana clashed here, at least one would take serious injury. Maybe even both.
"I'll step out for a bit."
"Cedric?! You're not even watching Lady Rozier's duel?!"
Sensing an ominous vibe, I hurriedly moved to re-enter the arena...
"...Stop, both of you. That's enough."
My steps halted at the dean's voice echoing from the center of the arena.
-Whoosh.
"There's no rule against going all-out in a friendly duel... but you should still control your power to some degree, shouldn't you, Lucia? And Elena."
"Haa, haaa..."
"Huuu, hu..."
Perhaps from the aftermath of nearly depleting their internal mana, the moment the dean dispelled their spells, the two collapsed right there in the arena.
Good to know I wasn't the only one who'd sensed the bad vibes.
I rushed over to Elena, who was sprawled out rather sloppily for a duke's daughter, and scooped her up into my arms.
"Elena, you okay?"
"...Huu, hey. Worry about Lucia over there, not me..."
"Lucia's being protected by the dean, so no need to worry."
"Y-You could just carry her yourself... I can walk on my own..."
"If you can get down from my arms under your own power, I'll seriously believe you."
-Thud.
"Ugh, ughhh...!!"
Hearing my words, Elena actually tried to rise from my arms, gripping my shoulder and straining her body upward.
Of course, I felt no strength in it at all. The repercussions of scraping every last drop of mana were still in full effect.
"Your love for your fiancée is truly special, Your Highness."
"Sorry, Dean. Elena seems to be showing signs of mana exhaustion. May I take her now?"
"...Judging by her mana flow, she'll need to rest soundly for about three days. You're sharing a dorm with her, aren't you, Your Highness?"
"Yes."
"Then you'll have to take good care of her, hehe. Go on ahead."
"Thank you, Dean."
With the dean watching us—me and Elena—with a strangely pleased smile, we headed back to the dorm.
"Cedric, water."
"Got it."
Elena's voice called from where she was half-propped up on the dorm bed, beckoning me over with a mere gesture.
She still couldn't walk properly from the mana exhaustion aftermath, so there was no helping it. Until her mana recovered, I'd have to tend to her like this.
"Open your mouth. I'll feed you."
"Creepy. Just hand it over. I can move my hands now at least."
"...Fine."
"Thanks~."
A few hours after the duel ended, she'd been completely bedridden and only able to sleep. But now she could move her upper body somewhat.
Her legs still wouldn't budge, though, leaving her half-reclined on the bed, intently studying a magic tome. She had some kind of new cushion propped behind her back.
"Was there bedding like that in the dorm room?"
"Oh, this? Had it custom-made at a fabric shop last weekend. It's a triangular cushion from my previous life—didn't exist here, so I had to order one."
She said this while reclining against the large triangular pillow.
'That design would sell like hotcakes if commercialized.'
Humans are creatures that basically want to lie down once they sit. Though if they fully reclined, all they'd do is sleep.
With that, they could at least read books semi-reclined, so it definitely seemed useful. Orpheus would especially love it as a gift.
Technically, since she needed rest until her mana recovered, I could have taken her to the recovery ward. In fact, Lucia was currently there, being waited on by Academy maids.
...But I hadn't told Elena. If anything, it was because I wanted to spend a little more time alone with her.
'Chances to be alone with Elena like this don't come often.'
On weekends, she'd often head out alone without warning, or hole up in the library all day before coming back.
Honestly, even if it meant a bit more work for me, I preferred spending time with her while she stayed in the dorm.
"Hey, Cedric. Come to think of it, you never use light magic in duels. Still not unlocked?"
"No, I handle it just fine."
"Then why?"
"If I use light magic too, opponents get too easy. Not every Academy student can counter it like you, Elena."
"Yeah, fair. Even I think summoning that Shadow Spear there was pretty slick, kekeke."
"...Stop using vulgar slang, Elena."
...What the hell did "slick" even mean, anyway.
If she only did it around me, it was fine, but if she slipped up and said something like that in front of others, it'd be a problem for her.
"...Ah."
"Need something else, Elena?"
"Carry me to the bathroom. Talking about it made me have to pee."
"......"
No matter how I thought about it, she didn't seem to have any self-awareness as the opposite sex. Forcing calm, I turned my back to the bed where she lay.
"Hop on."
"You're the best~."
-Squeeze.
"...Sigh."
I did my best to ignore the soft sensation pressing against my back, or the feel of her thighs against my sides.
Even compared to a few years ago, despite her grown body, Elena had zero wariness toward men. Truly troublesome.
-Plop.
"This good, Elena?"
"Hey, gotta take off my panties—lift me up a bit."
"W-Wait. Even so, that's too far..."
"Why're you reacting so seriously? Kekeke. Obviously a joke. I can handle my underwear myself, so shut the door and get out."
"E-Even as a joke, don't say stuff like that so casually. No matter that you don't mean it, people could misunderstand..."
"Out now, or I'll really strip? 3, 2, 1..."
-Bang!
"Heok, heok, heook..."
Elena really was impossible to predict even one step ahead.
No matter how careful I tried to be, she kept pulling stuff like this...
"Hey, you aren't perving out there listening at the door, are you?"
"I'll be far away—call me when you're done!"
...She kept doing stuff like this, always leaving me flustered.