195. How to Escape the Shadow

Anthony, the Student Council President who had racked up an undefeated streak in duels, had fallen.

Even after arming himself to the teeth with all sorts of dangerous-looking artifacts, he hadn't managed a proper counterattack and had been completely smashed to pieces.

In a way, the Student Council President could be seen as a victim too.

The one who started this scramble, Carlos, was only using the situation to pressure Lucia, and he probably hadn't even considered the actual position of the Russell family's matrilocal son-in-law. Anthony had gotten worked up over a prize that didn't even exist and ended up like this.

Of course, the reason I smashed his ribs to pieces was because the remarks he made at the end pissed me off and my emotions got the better of me.

Ending it like this wouldn't serve as a sufficient example, so I picked up Anthony, who was gasping for breath with his ribs completely shattered, and swept my gaze across the spectator stands.

There were plenty of people who had genuinely come just to watch the duel between the Student Council President and me, but I could also feel hostile gazes from all around.

They were probably the losers who had been defeated by the Student Council President yesterday.

I could also feel gazes that seemed to be analyzing me, as if they hadn't given up yet.

"I'm speaking to those spineless bastards who still think they might have a chance.

If you're going to keep pulling this kind of ridiculous shit, then come at me as many times as you want. I'll take on every single one of you without exception!"

I squeezed the abdomen of the Student Council President, who was dangling limply from my hand.

"Ugh... Uwaaaaaah!!!"

When I touched the spot where the bone was broken, the Student Council President writhed in pain and let out a scream.

Torturing an already downed opponent wasn't my preferred method, but I could do it as much as necessary.

This was a warning.

A warning that I wouldn't let anyone off lightly if they challenged me with such pathetic thoughts.

"But from now on, the ones who act up will get smashed several times worse than this. So you'd better be prepared to end up crippled somewhere."

Naturally, no answer came back.

————————-

After finishing the duel and exiting the arena, Lucia was waiting for me.

"Now... the most urgent matter is done, so then next..."

"Atlas...!!

Before I could tell her what needed to be done next, my vision flew toward the sky.

Lucia grabbed me by the torso, not my arm, and lifted me right up, turning me this way and that as if checking a doll for any broken parts.

"Are you okay? Are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you hurt anywhere??"

"I'm fine, so stop it!!"

When I yelled out in shock, Lucia put me back down on the ground.

Rather than being angry at being treated like a doll, my heart was pounding from the surprise.

'Being swung around without being in control of myself... is really terrifying. I learned something new today.'

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a chilling experience, one I had never lived through before, that sent shivers down my spine.

"...Getting you caught up in this strange mess... I'm sorry."

"At a time like this, you're supposed to say thank you. We're friends."

"Yeah..."

As I looked up at her from this close, Lucia's face flushed red.

She seemed to think she had a lot to apologize for, dragging me into this, but there was no need for her to feel sorry.

Because those guys were annoying to me too, after all.

"You must have been itching to fight too. The Student Council President isn't weak, but if you had fought, you would have won."

The Student Council President wasn't weak, but his greatest flaw was that he had never even considered reaching the Extreme in any one area.

Because among those who train to reach the Extreme, there were plenty of people to whom common sense simply didn't apply.

The same went for that automatic defense artifact.

If I had been an ordinary upper-rank Expert, I probably wouldn't have been able to completely smash through it.

Considering my first attack wasn't exactly weak, and it still blocked it, it was an artifact of a fairly high grade.

It was frankly amazing where the hell he got something like that.

If he had known he was up against a strong opponent capable of piercing that artifact, normally it would have been a well-known strong person, and with his personality, he would have prepared even more.

It seemed he knew I was above upper-rank, but hadn't quite gauged exactly how strong I was.

In that sense, Lucia had more than enough skill to defeat him.

After all, when it came to attack power alone, Lucia, who had diligently mastered the Secret Swordsmanship, was reaching toward the topmost ranks.

"But... it wouldn't have meant anything if I did it."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Lucia slumped down.

I had said it to cheer her up, but she only seemed to grow more gloomy.

I decided to lift her spirits again.

"I'm never handing this position over to anyone else, so unless your father tries some other trick, things should be fine for a while."

"...Thank you."

"For something like this, don't mention it. Once the problem is solved, you won't have to be forced into an engagement or anything. And even if your father insists on pushing me as your fiancé and goes through with it, don't worry. I have a sure way to refuse him."

First of all, I planned to make sure no one else took first place, so Lucia wouldn't get entangled in any other trouble.

This way, it would be safe for at least three years.

There was a possibility that Carlos, claiming it was a matter of pride, might try to make me Lucia's fiancé just like that.

Emotions did prevent people from thinking calmly, after all.

Carlos probably thought of himself as a cool-headed person, but he was an extremely emotional human being.

There was a high ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probability he would commit all sorts of irrational actions to cover up the scratch on his authority.

To prepare for that, I needed to get the next step ready for Lucia...

"...Huh?"

At that moment, Lucia suddenly looked at me as if something was strange.

"What?"

Lucia's pupils were shaking, as if the sky itself had suddenly collapsed.

Why the hell was she acting like this?

The words Lucia barely managed to force out afterward were utterly shocking.

"You... getting engaged to me... wasn't it?"

What was she even talking about?

.

.

.

"Engaged? What do you mean by that? I came to help you because you were in danger of being forced into a marriage right now. So what would it look like if I said I was going to get engaged to you just because I took first place?"

If I said I'd get engaged to Lucia just like this, it would make things look strange.

I was in the middle of preparing a plan to deal a blow to Carlos, who had been trying to manipulate Lucia at his whim. If Lucia happily agreed and we got engaged as is, wouldn't that just mean things turned out the way Carlos had roughly planned in his scenario?

I absolutely hated that, but Lucia's attitude was a bit lukewarm.

"But... that was because... I hated being forced into it... with someone I didn't even know..."

"Because..?"

Lucia twirled her fingers and twisted her body.

"If it's... you... I'm fine... no, I'd like it..."

As she began opening up about her true feelings, Lucia's face turned even redder.

"Do you... hate it?"

It took my breath away.

It wasn't that she hated the marriage itself; she had hated being forced into marriage with a stranger.

If I said I liked it, it would be an engagement right then and there. If I said I hated it, it seemed like she would be hurt.

First, I had to explain why we couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let things turn into an engagement in this situation.

I hoped she would accept this reasoning.

"That's not the problem here, Lucia. Even if I were to get engaged to you, I wouldn't do it through something this ridiculous."

"You wouldn't do it... through something like this?"

"Right."

"Then... does that mean doing it another way would be okay?"

"...Can we talk about this later?"

I wanted to wrap up the matter about Carlos first and settle things for good, but Lucia didn't back down and grabbed my hand.

"...I want a clear answer... to this. Is it okay... doing it another way? I... you...!!"

"Alright. If it's not a situation like this, then I'd like it."

"...!!!"

She was visibly delighted.

I could see Lucia's emotions intensifying in her eyes, so I cut her off in the middle with an affirmative answer. If she had been able to finish, wouldn't she have confessed or something?

If that had happened, the atmosphere would have become awkward when I had to convey even more important things from this point on.

No, right, saying she wanted to get engaged was already a confession, wasn't it.

But for now, I pushed that aside and had to talk about the most important thing.

I had to tell her about the only way Lucia could escape from Carlos's shadow.

"Now for the main point. Lucia, you're dissatisfied with your father right now, aren't you?"

"...."

There had to be not just the obvious fear of him, but a sense of defiance there as well.

"Right. For now, I've blocked him, but it's ultimately just buying time. We can't keep this up forever. I can't exactly kill your father, now can I."

"...You're not doing it?"

"Would I, really."

It seemed Lucia had thought things could possibly go that far.

It made me wonder just how my image had been ingrained in her mind.

Even so, killing him would be awkward.

Not so much for moral reasons, but for Lucia's sake.

"To solve this fundamentally... Lucia, you have no choice but to surpass your father."

"I... have to?"

Lucia blinked, as if she had never imagined such a thing.

"That's right. You are going to defeat Carlos."

I could defeat Carlos myself, sure. No, I would certainly beat the hell out of him a few times, but that wouldn't solve anything.

Even if I beat him up and stopped him for the moment, his shadow would still remain thick in Lucia's heart.

And I couldn't exactly kill him, either.

Because even though Lucia hated her father, she probably wouldn't wish for his death.

That was what family was like.

No matter how much you hated them, it was hard to wish for them to die.

So the only way to solve this was for Lucia to surpass her father on her own.

Just as I had done.

————————

"I... defeat my Father?"

The idea Atlas had brought up was something she had never even considered.

She had simply thought it was over once he had seized first place. Being told out of the blue to defeat her father made her head go blank.

"I-it's impossible... There's no way I could... ever..."

There was no way such a thing was possible.

Lucia had sparred with Carlos countless times at the mansion.

Though he hadn't become a Master after hitting a wall, he still never neglected his training, and to Lucia, he was a massive wall.

A wall she could never overcome, no matter what she did.

Just imagining his swordsmanship, pressuring her from above with his taller frame, made her hands tremble.

That was when Atlas took her hand.

The warmth she felt made her forget the chilling fear.

"Yeah.. it's scary, right? You probably can't even imagine standing up to him?"

"...Yeah..."

"I understand all of it, but that's exactly why you have to overcome it. You can't live forever hidden in your parent's shadow, right?"

Atlas spoke flatly, as if he were talking about himself.

"Lucia, you're strong. You know that, right?"

"...Yeah. I'm strong."

"I can see a sparkling light inside you. You're going to become far stronger than your father. I can guarantee it.

I'll do my absolute best to help you get there, but... for that to happen, first, you need to have the will to do it."

Atlas asked Lucia.

"Lucia, can you do it?"

Atlas's eyes, staring at Lucia, held more strength than they ever had before.

Seeing that made the hesitation in Lucia's heart vanish.

"...I'll do it."

It was an answer so calm it surprised even herself.

The fear of Carlos remained, but a sense of confidence had sprung up alongside it.

Because Atlas had proclaimed with certainty that she could do it.

She couldn't believe in herself, but she could believe in Atlas, who believed in her.

———————

The next day, the flag of the Rock Emblem flew at the academy.

"O-outside!! The flag!!"

This time, he hadn't come secretly by teleport.

He wasn't using a regular ferry either; he was boldly entering the academy by land, using the roads.

It wasn't a very large group, but the number of personnel was sufficient to exert pressure.

And at the very front, a tall, handsome man with his lips pressed tightly shut was glaring down at the academy from atop his horse.

I couldn't quite guess what he was here for.

Was he unhappy that I had taken first place?

Or was he coming to ask Lucia if she had reflected a bit by now?

Whatever it was, I welcomed Carlos coming to the academy.

I had been itching to smash that face of his that looked down so arrogantly from on high.