Midterms (4): The Fallen Princess
Individual duel results from the midterms are tallied by round and announced the next day.
Now that all the duels were over, the sky had already darkened.
My score for the day came out just as planned: three wins, zero losses.
After dumping Pell Grain in the infirmary, I'd jumped right into two more duels.
"...Why are all these kids so damn mediocre?"
Pell Grain and the other two—they weren't as tough as I'd expected.
To put it bluntly, they had decent physical specs but no clue how to use them.
It felt like they lacked real combat sense.
I had no idea what kind of classes the students from the other sections were taking.
But these were all top performers from Class B, right below Class A.
Yet they seemed so lacking in actual battle prowess... it surprised me a little.
"...Or maybe the real standouts went up against someone else?"
Thinking about it, the truly skilled ones probably had no reason to fight me in the first place.
You need a fair match to show off your skills and get properly evaluated.
Facing me? They'd just end up looking mediocre without proving a thing.
...So maybe tomorrow would be different.
Personally, today hadn't been a cakewalk either, but...
Still, I wanted duels that pushed me harder than this.
The Academy was ultimately a place to forge warriors for war and battle.
They had to know how crucial real combat experience was.
Not that it was any different for me.
So far, I'd been relying purely on my instincts, experience, and ingrained habits.
But those habits and experiences were from my old body, transplanted into this one.
The reach of my attacks, the weapons I used, the strength of my frame—they were all different now.
Eventually, when I hit a wall I couldn't overcome...
When I had to draw on my authority and Heart, I'd need to fully adapt to this body.
...Though with my current condition, that felt like a distant dream.
"Hoo..."
I exhaled into the chilly night air and looked up at the sky.
Countless stars glittered above.
In a space this modern, seeing so many stars never failed to amaze me.
"...Even this feels kinda lacking somehow."
Like the duels falling short, the scenery left something to be desired.
Scenery was always better shared with someone...
"What's lacking?"
A familiar voice came from the right side of the bench I was sitting on.
White, flowing long hair.
Emerald eyes that seemed to glow even in the dark evening.
Porcelain skin.
It had been a while since I'd seen her face.
"...Sellin?"
"You know my name."
"Yeah, Aen Arbel told me."
"Tch..."
She clicked her tongue, clearly displeased.
Seemed like she didn't like that we'd talked about her behind her back.
Anyway, she didn't have that vibe from our first encounter today.
Back then, she'd radiated this negative energy that made it hard to even approach her.
Now, she felt... softer, somehow.
"Had a good day or something?"
"...Me?"
"Yeah."
"...Not really."
What was it, then?
Just a bad mood that day?
"...I just feel like I might finally get what I've been wanting soon. Maybe that's it."
"What you've been wanting?"
"...Did Arbel tell you my family name?"
She hadn't.
"Soladion."
Soladion...
Sun?
"...Doesn't ring a bell?"
Some noble house?
"The Soladion Empire."
Oh...
An empire?
So, a princess?
I'd been chilling with some serious royalty without realizing it.
"First princess I've met."
"You're calmer than I expected."
"Not really all that surprised."
"...Why?"
Just look at the elegance flowing through you.
Even in that disheveled state when we first met, every movement screamed grace.
Dressed properly like this? It was even more obvious.
"Just... figured you were someone like that."
"...Sharp eyes."
I didn't think I was particularly observant.
"...What do you think of the empire?"
"The empire... haven't really thought about it."
I didn't know much.
"...I see."
"I'm the type who lives easygoing."
Just drifting along with the flow.
"I tune out complicated stuff."
"...Must be nice."
Why envy that?
Didn't seem worth it.
"You might not think so, but forgetting can be a real blessing."
"...Yeah?"
Depends on the person, I figured.
For me right now, forgotten memories were more trouble than anything.
"Not so sure about that."
"Yeah, figured you'd say that."
Then why say it?
"Anyway, enough of that. Want to talk about cadet stuff?"
"...Sure."
Never thought I'd hear that from her.
First day, she came off like a total psycho.
This sudden shift was throwing me for a loop.
"How'd your duels go today?"
"Eh... decent enough. You?"
"I won 'em all easy."
Figured as much.
With the Saintess duking it out, no way the hero's reincarnator loses to random cadets.
Aen Arbel was probably the same.
The Saintess... honestly, hard to say.
Still couldn't picture her fighting.
But knowing her personality, she probably crushed it.
Such a weirdo, though...
Suited her more to swing a mace and smash skulls than heal.
Not sure if she actually used one.
"Didn't get hurt much today, huh?"
"Out of nowhere?"
"Your face looks pretty relaxed."
"True I didn't get hurt, but this is my deathbed face too."
Death didn't faze me much.
"...No attachment to life?"
"Not exactly."
Just... if you die, you die.
End of story. Nothing to say about it.
"Dead is dead. That's it."
"...You're confusing."
Sellin muttered softly.
"Who are you?"
"...Huh?"
What did she mean?
That question, asked with a slight smile.
What was the intent behind it?
Honestly, no clue.
It felt like she was peering right through me.
How to answer?
Why ask me that?
Or had she somehow realized I was a reincarnated someone else?
It sparked a whirlwind of thoughts.
But there was only one right response right now.
"Shin Iheon, your average parachute kid."
A casual self-intro.
That oughta deflect it nicely.