Chapter 43: Academy Exchange Meet — Conclusion (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: Academy Exchange Meet — Conclusion (1)
I never agreed with the saying that defeat is the mother of victory. As I’ve mentioned before, I hardly ever lost to anyone in my life.
It wasn't that I only engaged in areas I was confident in; rather, the things I set out to do simply worked out smoothly according to nature. At any rate, I had very few opportunities to use defeat as a bonsai for victory.
And frankly, even if not quite to Abel's level, I have my fair share of competitive fire. If I had been complacent, settled, and rationalized things, the honorable title of "Nation's Best Swordsman" would have been snatched away by someone else long ago.
Yet...
“Waaaaaaaah—!”
The lingering afterglow of the match remained as intense as ever.
You’d think it would cool down over time, but for some reason, it only grew hotter.
Sure, maybe on the day of the match itself. If the heat of excitement died down completely after just one day, that would feel a bit disappointing.
Yet people showed no signs of tiring, relentlessly pouring praise upon Victoria and me, who had fought the match.
Victoria faced a pleasantly overwhelming ordeal as people shoved autograph paper in her face wherever she went.
Episode. ■■■■■■
For the remaining week until the final event, the two of us had to film our own version of Surviving the Crowd. They looked up at us with eyes full of infinite awe.
Even Victoria, who had felt bashful yet secretly enjoyed it, seemed to find the attention burdensome after a certain point. She sought out only secluded places, and by the third day, she was completely holed up in her room.
Whenever Ji Chang-hyuk, the second-year representative, left a meal tray outside her door, a lonely empty plate would be left behind a short while later. As a side note, all that food was my homemade cooking. Anyway.
Even in defeat, we received the world's recognition. It was uncertain whether winning would have drawn this level of response. Probably not.
‘People are cheering because we lost.’
Why?
No matter how much they might have liked the fight itself, the temperature of their feverish enthusiasm felt intensely scalding to me, one of the actual parties involved.
“…We lost, so why are they so thrilled?”
Could it be that people were desperately waiting for a narrative where I, the Heavenly Sword, suffered a defeat? Maybe it was my rebellious nature, but even looking at it positively, I felt unnecessarily on edge.
It was a bad habit. Always sharpening one's intellect to a razor edge was a shortcut to drying up one's humanity. I should fix it or find a replacement habit, though neither was immediately possible.
The anchor keeping this unstable mind grounded had always been my family.
* * *
It was the fifth day. I melted away my fatigue while watching the evening glow. The full-length glass window was the entirety of my solace.
Switzerland's natural scenery was neatly framed in the glass like a canvas painting. Far in the distance, Castle Sigurd quietly showed off its presence.
The harmony between the lush green pastures and the white velvet that had held its place for ten thousand years was a work of art no matter how many times I saw it. Even the winding slope hugging the castle walls carried a certain aesthetic.
As I was soaking in the mood, Ryozo smirked.
“Must be nice to be our Heavenly Sword. Win or lose, people get so wild over you. Meanwhile, as the principal, I can do nine things right, but if I mess up just one, I get cursed at like I sold out the country.”
It might look like she was teasing me, and she was. Still, this was Ryozo's unique way of comforting me. Even if she had a mischievous streak, it was far more empowering than cheap sympathy.
“I’m starting to wonder if people are just teasing me like you do, Principal. Or is this... the world secretly conspiring to pull a hidden camera prank on me? While I was away in the Demon Realm?”
“…….”
“…….”
“…How……”
Ryozo twisted her head at a bizarre angle.
“How, did, you, know……?”
“Sorry, Ryozo. You’ve used that line on me seven times already.”
“Tch, no fun.”
Ryozo looked genuinely disappointed. She added that she sometimes missed the tomboyish teenage version of me.
Our lighthearted yet cozy conversation continued. It was around the time dusk had settled completely that Ryozo offered her opinion on my doubts.
Ryozo rested her head against my shoulder and stroked my back.
“People aren't cheering because you lost. They saw a value beyond the result through the two of you.”
“That’s strange. Most people are results-oriented. I thought they tended to ignore the process.”
“That applies to adults like us. But what is the event we’re in the middle of?”
“The Academy Exchange Meet.”
Ryozo wore a gentle smile.
“It’s a common misconception, but an academy isn't a place for producing results. It’s an arena where students build up their process. Midterms and finals check achievements, but even those are part of the process.”
“…So you mean they view the exchange meet as part of the process, too.”
“Even if it wasn't explicitly emphasized, everyone knows it subconsciously. Giving your absolute all, and coming up with a strategy no matter what in a situation where anyone can see you're going to lose... Once you showed them that much, win or loss stopped mattering in people's minds.”
A sudden shiver ran down my spine. Ryozo poked my lower back lightly with her fingertips as she spoke.
“The princess who is first in line to the Victoria royal throne and the Heavenly Sword, the strongest force on Earth—when two such people struggle so desperately, whose heart wouldn't beat fast? In fact, because you lost, that process stood out even more.”
“Ah……”
“If the two of you had won, people would have just gossiped about the result a couple of times and moved on. Human attention span is limited, so it focuses on one thing at a time.”
As I listened to her, my mind cleared up.
“The reason I was so bewildered by people cheering for me even after losing... was probably because I’ve never lost to anyone in my life, Ryozo.”
“Don't think of it as a defeat, Geomma. Just think of all this as part of the process. It's just one event in the exchange meet anyway, and it's not like you completely lost overall, right?”
“Right. There's still one event left.”
“Oof, oof, oof.”
Ryozo visibly glanced at me and put on a show of groaning.
“Maybe it's because I held class on a precious day off. My body feels so stiff and achy.”
“How should I pay the tuition, Principal?”
“Hmm. Accepting too high a fee would violate the law, so we can't have that. My shoulders feel a bit tight, though, so I’d like you to give them a bit of a massage.”
“Haha.”
Ah, really. What was I going to do with this woman? She was so adorable I wanted to bite her cheek right off...
Crunch!
Ryozo and I looked down at the same time.
Different snouts had sprouted from under the sofa. They were chewing on my ankle bone, holding it inside their mouths.
I quickly yanked both legs up, uncovering the snouts. Baekgu and Heukgu, each the size of a forearm, dangled from my ankles, swinging back and forth.
“Yip?”
Skoll and Hati bared their pink gums and tilted their heads. This was a different kind of cute. Animal therapy, you know?
“…Hey. Baekgu, Heukgu.”
Skoll was Baekgu, and Hati was Heukgu. Under Ryozo's glare filled with indignation, the two fell off with a thud.
“Why aren't you two in your house? Why are you ruining the mood here?”
They immediately covered the tops of their heads with their front paws and shivered violently. Ryozo placed her hands on her slender waist and raised her voice.
“Yipp...”
“What do you have to be proud of, crying? Does crying solve everything? Does it make everything go smoothly? Hmph! What are you doing? Stop that crying right now.”
Skoll and Hati, who used to be the size of houses, couldn't even stand up for themselves. Tears like chicken droppings dotted the carpet.
The twin wolves had shriveled up as soon as the match ended. Their gallant and threatening physiques were gone.
According to Weapon, who brought Skoll and Hati from the Demon Realm, it was the aftermath of pushing themselves too hard in the match. Their bodies had shrunk because they used up every ounce of muscle. They were magical beasts that circulated their power in such a manner, but who could have known they would shrink this much?
I bore a significant amount of responsibility for their pitiful size. So I took them in, at least until they returned to their original state. Even beasts ought to know gratitude and obligation. Besides, experts estimated they would return to adulthood in three days.
However, as one could see right now, they remained chihuahuas. Their cheeks were chubby because they were eating well, but because of that, their belly fat almost touched the floor.
In the meantime, under Ryozo's stern scolding, Skoll and Hati tucked their tails and bolted away. They darted straight into the arms of Abel, who had just stepped out of her room, and rubbed their heads against her.
“Yip! Yip!”
“Nng...? You're hungry?”
Even half-asleep, Abel humored Skoll and Hati's whining.
Ryozo let out a dry laugh, leaning her elbow against the backrest.
“Those little guys might not even be beasts. Look how sharp their minds work. I'd have no further wishes if our faculty members were even half as sharp.”
Feeling like the mood was ruined, Ryozo brushed off her rear and headed somewhere. As if taking her place, Abel sat next to me, holding an armful of chihuahuas.
“Did Baekgu and Heukgu make a mistake with Ryozo? Did they pee on her leg or something?”
“Not pee, but po— no, never mind.”
While I glared daggers at the two loads of baggage, Abel hesitated.
Having deliberated for quite some time, she finally opened her mouth with difficulty.
“Could you perhaps go to the Catacomb with me?”
“The Catacomb? The undead dungeon? At this hour?”
“…Mm-hmm.”
Abel lowered her voice.
“The final event of the Academy Exchange Meet is the day after tomorrow. I thought that once we leave Switzerland, we'll be too busy to come back for a while. The thought struck me while I was sleeping that it'd be good to pay my respects to Father while we have the chance...”
“Why are you saying that like you're a sinner? Of course we can.”
“Is it... okay? Today is an odd-numbered day.”
Odd-numbered days were Ryozo's turn with me.
“Why do you think Ryozo suddenly left the room? She yielded her turn knowing you'd say something like this, Abel.”
At my words, Abel turned her head toward the door Ryozo had closed behind her.
“Is her head average? And what about her sharp intuition? Knowing things will get busy from here on, she probably meant for you to go see your father, just like you said.”
Though that probably wasn't the original plan.
I had naturally mastered the survival skill of living between two wives: Make them see each other in a good light.
“…Ryozo.”
Abel's eyes grew wistful, then she gave a firm nod.
She put down Baekgu and Heukgu. Coming out of the room with my black coat, she draped it over me and prepared to go out herself.
I gave a heads-up to her as she busily prepared.
“We’re not using my magic to go today. There’s that rule, remember? 'Using magic for another wife on her assigned day is forbidden.'”
“Are we taking the bus? It's late at night, so all the mountain buses should be out of service. Should I call Shail...?”
Rather than riding in that speed-demon maid's car, I'd take Ryozo's piercing glare any day. Goosebumps rose on my spine as I shook my head.
“Fortunately, a good mode of transportation that doesn't use fossil fuels just became available.”
My gaze locked onto Abel's feet. Receiving my chilly glare, Skoll and Hati flinched.
“Baekgu, Heukgu.”
Seeing them try to hide behind Abel, I immediately bound all four of their paws with mana.
“You gotta earn your keep, right?”
I had spent a whole ten years with Ramji Thunder. I was an expert at handling beasts.
‘Speaking of which.’
Is Lycan getting enough food—no, acorns—to eat?
* * *
At the same time.
In the main building of Parsi Academy, waves of celebration had been overflowing for five days. Even if there was a slight trick involved, they had won against that Joaquin. Shareholders clinked champagne glasses, celebrating their victory.
“Drink! Drink up! For the glory of our Parsi, for a brilliant future—!”
“Bwahaha! Madam, aren't you counting your chickens before they hatch today? There's still one match left.”
Though the party had raged for five days and nights, the vigor showed no signs of waning. Even if the whole world sang praises for the Heavenly Sword and Victoria, they couldn't care less. The shareholders pretended to genuinely wish for Parsi's glory, but...
“The cadets will take care of that on their own! We, the adults, just need to raise our glasses while watching the stocks we invested in Parsi shoot up! Let's raise a toast!”
They were simply intoxicated by the secondary profits attached to it.
“Tsk.”
The principal of Parsi Academy observed the scene from a corner of the hall. He looked thoroughly displeased and sulky.
“The bear does the tricks, and those bastards pocket all the pay.”
Even hearing them bring up the cadets rubbed him the wrong way. Contrary to his sneaky appearance, his heart for the cadets didn't contain a speck of foul intent. That, he could swear.
That was why he held his temper and endured the oppression of these filthy, money-obsessed nobles. If an academy were to absorb such ideology raw without any shelter, the future of hero society would be grim.
‘The Heavenly Sword will slice off every single one of their heads.’
The principal's desire was a properly functioning noble society.
“The launch of the nobility system itself was healthy. As long as hereditary power like blessings exists, this order is like skin. It's just that a part of it has become an infected wound like this.”
Would it be better to team up with the Heavenly Sword and cut only these guys out? Impulse knocked behind his front teeth.
‘Let's throw away such unrealistic delusions.’
It was just when the principal was pouring ice water down his throat to cool his burning thirst.
“Are you the principal?”
A woman wearing a deeply pulled-down hat approached and asked. She even wore sunglasses. It was a look that seemed to try hard to appear suspicious.
As if responding to the woman's disguised efforts, the principal narrowed his eyes guardedly.
“Who are you?”
“I am a shareholder using the epithet ‘Kitty.’”
“Kitty..., Kitty. That sounds familiar...”
“You might not know. I put investment funds into Parsi right before the exchange meet.”
“Ah!”
The principal clapped his hands.
“You're the one who bought a huge chunk of our academy's shares all at once! To meet you like this! I apologize that I couldn't greet you properly before because you supported us under an epithet.”
“No need. It's not like I did it to receive thanks.”
“Still, thank you. Unlike those human... shareholders over there, I felt your investment for promoting education came from a place of genuine goodwill. If there is anything you want, please tell me. I will do my absolute best.”
“…Then.”
As she shook her head, a single strand of hair slipped out from beneath her hat. The woman tucked her red hair behind her ear. As if that alone could reveal her identity.
Wait. Red hair?
Before the principal could even feel a chill, the woman preempted him.
“The list of shareholders here.”
A firecracker went off, accompanied by a small sonic pop. Because of that, her sunglasses slipped slightly down.
“I'm asking you for it.”
The eyes behind the lenses gleamed. They were the color of blood.