Protecting Abigail
"Raikang, shouldn't I fight her?"
"I can still fight. I've been chasing her all this time. I'll fight. Just lend me a sword."
When Zeroa was chosen, Diana and Aslan shouted that they wanted to be the one chosen instead.
However, Philia silently watched Abigail and Zeroa alternately and agreed with Rai's choice.
"You guys, isn't Zeroa reliable enough?"
Rai asked, and the two who were making a ruckus fell silent and looked at each other.
"No, it's not that Zeroa isn't reliable... I just want to fight too..."
Aslan's voice trailed off as he spoke, and Diana took over.
"Zeroa isn't weak, I know that too, but here, Philia or I are better than him, right?"
"I don't object."
Philia said while looking at Zeroa.
"I think it's the right choice."
When she said that, Diana had nothing to say.
When the two were preparing for the duel and Rai approached Zeroa, Diana looked at Philia with discontent mixed in.
"Are you really okay? I don't ignore Zeroa, but he's a bit weak compared to Abigail."
"You haven't participated in training for long, so you don't know much about Zeroa."
"I don't know much, but I've sparred with him a few times."
Diana grumbled.
She didn't ignore Zeroa either.
He sticks to his plain swordsmanship and established battle methods, but the standard is a law built over long time.
He doesn't have a brilliant counter or sense to lead the fight advantageously due to talent, but he fights calmly maintaining the standard no matter the situation.
Diana also knows how annoying it is to face that from experience.
However, the opponent is bad.
Abigail, who has a lot of real combat experience and looks seasoned like a veteran, often uses unexpected moves.
Diana was also brutally beaten by Abigail in the first spar.
The skill gap was a problem, but Abigail was a bad matchup for Zeroa.
"Do you think we've sparred several times before you came?"
"Since the second semester last year? I've been learning from Raikang, right? About 3 or 4 times a day, so if you ignore the rest periods, it's about a thousand times?"
"Similar. Against Abigail, Zeroa's win rate is 10%."
When one person keeps sparring with multiple people in succession, sometimes the order is lucky and Zeroa could win against Abigail.
Conversely, excluding those cases, the 10% figure means it's close to zero.
Diana, hearing the unsettling words, looked at Philia, but she pointed to the tip of Zeroa's chin.
"See for yourself. How terrifying Zeroa is as an opponent."
"Ah, I agree with that. Honestly, I don't want to face Zeroa when I'm tired either."
When Aslan also admitted it, Diana blinked and looked at Zeroa.
"If I lose... will Baron Filburt kill Abigail?"
"Exactly. One person's life and future are in your hands."
"The mission is heavy... Can I beat Abigail?"
Zeroa looked up at Rai with uncertain eyes while being shoulder-patted.
"Of course. This is a good opportunity. Win once and never fight again, and I can tease you with 'You lose if you fight me, you idiot.'"
"Hahaha... Anyway, we'll spar again after returning."
Zeroa's words that subtly hit the core made Rai roll his eyes for a moment and shrug his shoulders.
"In a real fight, if you lose, I'll call you 'you bastard' and tease you."
"Absolutely not."
"Well, considering that guy's personality, it's fine."
Rai and Zeroa looked at Abigail who was warming up from afar.
"What weapon did Abigail say she uses?"
"... ... Calmness."
"Got the correct answer for the first time in a while. I'll praise you."
Rai ruffled Zeroa's hair messily and continued.
"Right now, that guy has lost his calm. Before you came, he was exploding and about to cry, right?"
"Is that so..."
Zeroa, who couldn't imagine her crying, listened without much interest.
"Aslan and you guys kept chasing her without rest, and she came all the way here. For nearly two weeks, she couldn't rest properly, so her head won't be in the game. Plus, she's obsessed with revenge and her emotions are unstable."
"The biggest weapon is gone, huh."
Zeroa understood Rai's meaning and nodded.
Rai stared at Zeroa's side profile with serious eyes as he looked at Abigail.
The kid who was tense just from doing a mana control match with Philia back then was now showing a sturdy figure while bearing heavy responsibility.
Rai, who was satisfied with Zeroa's growth as a teacher, watched him fondly and patted his head again.
"You said you wanted to protect from the side, right?"
"Yes, everyone next to me, people I like."
"Go protect Abigail. Crush her with all your might and protect her life."
After saying the last words, Rai patted Zeroa's back and stepped back.
When Rai sat back at the table, Dake Filburt said in a quiet voice.
"I made a contract with Rai, but honestly, I was a bit uneasy when choosing that boy."
The contract with Rai.
After explaining everything about Abigail burning with revenge, Rai suggested temporarily entrusting his life.
The intention to save the life of a girl related to his father was good, but asking him to bet his life was too much.
If a stranger suddenly came and said that, it would be treated as crazy, but seeing Rai, the knight captain's words were suppressed by his aura, so he had to change his mind.
Rai promised it would end well, but Dake was uneasy and wanted to talk to Abigail before that.
He wanted to hear everything she wanted and end it peacefully if possible, but talking to her with her heart full of revenge was impossible.
"Are you not uneasy now?"
"I don't know what magic you used, but your eyes are full of confidence and resolve now. There aren't many knights in our Bell Federation with eyes like that."
Dake became more relaxed than before seeing Zeroa staring at Abigail with unwavering eyes.
"Don't think you'll win just because she can't use Rushasso."
"... ..."
Rai thought of her body and banned Joue en Lucette.
It was a significant penalty, but Abigail believed she could handle Zeroa without that technique.
Zeroa, silent, held his shield forward and let his sword tip hang down.
"You coward, hiding behind the shield like a turtle again."
Abigail rushed at Zeroa who didn't answer.
She used the shield he held to get close in a low stance and disappeared from view, then fiercely kicked the shield.
Zeroa's stance broke, and he retreated a few steps. Before Abigail came close again, he fixed his stance and lightly thrust his sword from behind the shield.
Abigail, who came close by parrying the weak sword of mere harassment, grabbed the top of the shield and pulled it.
As he was pulled, Zeroa lowered the shield and pressed her sword with his own to block the attack, but Abigail ignored it, leaned her face forward and headbutted.
- Bang!
A loud sound was heard, but Zeroa, who had been headbutted dozens of times, pressed his forehead against Abigail's and blocked her headbutt.
With a big impact, both their heads tilted back and they retreated a few steps.
The distance was briefly opened, but Abigail's reaction was faster with her forehead reddened, and Zeroa, who hadn't properly fixed his stance, barely blocked her attack and retreated.
Zeroa was on the defensive, but as he received repeated attacks, his defense became more solid, and Abigail's attacks weakened in front of his firmly extended shield.
"Wow - recovering the initiative that fast is amazing."
Diana said while sparkling her eyes and looking at Zeroa again.
Unlike Aslan's strength or Philia and Abigail's reinforcement, his attack power was lower so he couldn't steal the initiative, but he had clearly been on the defensive and calmly adjusted his stance.
"Sozeta also got annoyed at Zeroa's defense and took out the hidden technique."
"Right, there you showed it and lost to Violet after her technique was seen through."
Philia recalled the martial tournament and answered brightly.
"Zeroa's defense is hard to break through with tricks, so it needs to be crushed with definite power beyond defense."
"You mean you can't break it without using it?"
"Frankly, Zeroa's body and mana are inferior to others. If his condition was good, he would have broken through without using Rushasso."
Philia calmly looked at Zeroa who was escaping crisis using the shield.
This was the reason Rai had agreed to choose Zeroa.
Although Zeroa had low stats, he showed overwhelming defensive ability in similar stats.
Of course, since his attack power was low, there was no guarantee of winning, but the enormous defense that made the opponent feel like a wall shone when they had similar body conditions.
If they fought when both were exhausted and couldn't exert their abilities, even Aslan, the stamina monster, would be blocked by Zeroa's defense and collapse.
Most of Zeroa's 10% win rate came from victories when they had sparred repeatedly and both were tired.
But Abigail knew this, yet she couldn't think of clever moves now and was forcing attacks to break the defense.
Attacks consumed much more stamina than defense.
Watching Abigail's breathing get rough, Philia frowned her eyebrows.
'That fool... she's at a level where she can't even look back at herself...?'
Philia was sad to see Abigail, who had been competing, being sucked helplessly into an ant hell.
If it was at this level, she would lose even against everyone here.
"Gah..."
Abigail, who had been attacking continuously, was hit by Zeroa's tough shield bash and retreated while frowning.
Thinking she was sufficiently tired, Zeroa who had only blocked repeatedly started counterattacking to press her, and Abigail's body didn't follow her visible attacks, and her wounds increased.
Abigail's sword was simple and close to basics, but with her legs loose, she was fixed in place and barely defended while enduring.
When the advantage completely shifted to Zeroa, Abigail who had been enduring stubbornly tried to escape but her legs gave out and she sat down.
Zeroa, aiming at the lowered Abigail, swung his sword when she smiled.
"I finally got you."
Abigail, who had been waiting for the defense to break until now, hugged the shield with a fierce smile and swung her sword at Zeroa.
- Swoosh
With the sound of cutting the air, Abigail fell back awkwardly.
Abigail was momentarily stunned, looked at the shield she was holding on her body, and looked at Zeroa.
Zeroa, who immediately let go after Abigail grabbed the shield, approached her with a flat expression.
Abigail, who jumped up, started fighting with the shield in front like Zeroa, and Zeroa held the shield with both hands and focused on defense again.
"Oh... Zeroa looks cool today."
When Diana said that, the other two agreed.
Although she lost the shield, his defense wasn't limited to just the shield.
Zeroa showed that he could do that much defense with just the sword, and he silently blocked Abigail's attacks.
Rather, Abigail, who found using the shield awkward, gritted her teeth and threw it far away because the shield was obstructing her.
- Clang!
Zeroa, who had pushed away and strongly attacked after clashing swords, ran to where the shield was discarded.
Abigail tried to grab it, but Zeroa pushed her back with strong counter from behind her defense each time and slowly approached the shield.
The strange fight between Abigail, who attacked as if it was tenacious, and Zeroa, who approached with the shield as if stubbornly, continued, and eventually the shield ended up in his hands.
"Wow... I really hate this..."
Seeing Zeroa, who was hardening his defense in the exact same stance as the beginning and approaching, Diana sighed.
Abigail's face was no different from Diana's.
Although it was a shield that covered her body, when held by Zeroa, it looked like a wall.
Abigail, who had been dazed for a moment, quickly changed to a terrifying expression as if she couldn't accept it, and started attacking Zeroa indiscriminately.
She pulled the shield forcefully, pounded him with fists that didn't go through the shield, opened her mouth to bite him, and as she did all kinds of attacks, she became more desolate, looking like a child throwing a tantrum.
"I hate..."
Seeing Abigail, who had sat down exhausted and was hitting the shield weakly with a tearful face, Zeroa felt his heart soften and turned his gaze to Rai.
"Protect her."
When he heard Rai's words, Zeroa put away his sword and opened his shield.
Then, towards Abigail who was looking at him with a dazed face, he swung his fist.
- Thud
With a short impact sound, Abigail's jaw turned and she fell powerlessly to the floor.
Abigail, sprawled out, felt nothing as if her body was gone.
The winter sky that came into view was extremely blue.
Abigail's view, which had been blankly looking at the blue sky that seemed endless without a single cloud, entered Rai's face.
"This is the end of your revenge."
"... ..."
"Come, to a new life."
Tears flowed from Abigail's eyes.
No one knew what emotions Abigail was crying with now, but Rai silently sat beside Abigail's head.
As he slowly stroked her hair, her crying became louder.
"Is it over?"
"He won't say anything else after that."
When Aslan and Philia were talking, Diana joined in with a bright smile.
"It ended well. There is merit to the hardship."
"Wasn't the hardship we went through meaningless in the end?"
"What are you talking about. Look at this appearance."
When Aslan answered, Diana shook her head and looked at Abigail.
She looked deeply at Abigail, who was crying sadly like a child.
Diana turned her head back to Aslan and Philia.
"You've got a lifetime of teasing material. We have to tease you for a long time."
When Diana raised her thumb, Philia and Aslan nodded at the same time.