Why Did You Hold Back?
"...You deliberately released your aura at the end, didn't you?"
"....."
I couldn't deny it. I couldn't explain the reason, but during the final clash with Leon in the quarterfinals of the swordsmanship tournament, it was true that I'd pulled my strength. But... I never imagined she'd notice.
"No, it was clearly my mistake—"
That was as far as it went. Ariel tried to make excuses, but she realized that the more she spoke, the more it would wound his pride.
"What was the reason? Out of pity?"
Leon began pouring out the words he'd been holding back. He knew full well that every sentence was like spitting in his own face, but he had a mountain of questions piled up for the duke's daughter standing before him.
"That's even more pathetic. Someone as noble as you, Lady Ariel, probably couldn't understand—"
"......Th-that's not... I mean...."
Chin—
".....Haha, ahaha...!!"
Kyle let out a hollow laugh and hurriedly clamped his hand over Leon's mouth.
"He's in a lot of pain right now...!! Th-the professor's about to come in, so why don't we all take our seats...?!!"
**
"Are you insane? I don't know what happened, but that's Ariel von Saint. Do you wanna end up as a corpse no one even notices?"
".....Haa."
"You two know each other? Childhood friends or something, where you can fight one minute and make up the next...."
"No. We only met once, as opponents in the swordsmanship tournament."
"....Are you crazy?"
Kyle stared at me with the expression of someone looking at a lunatic, then sighed and dropped his head.
"....You live off rumors, don't you?"
Clunk—
As Kyle spat his contemptuous words, a man entered the classroom with the door open.
Dark skin, pointed ears sticking out.
"....A dark elf?"
The one who said it was Crown Prince Cedric. I'd been exhausted just seeing that name on the academy's new student list. Seeing him in person made it worse.
It was clearly loud enough to hear from afar, but the dark elf man ignored it, rummaging through his papers as he began preparing for orientation.
"Leon, have you ever seen an elf before? This is my first time."
"....He can hear you. From what I know, their hearing is incredibly sharp—they can pick up every sound."
"......Gulp."
Kyle's mouth snapped shut at my words.
A dark elf. I'd heard stories about the elf race from my father a few times. Guardians of the forest, now nearly extinct like the dwarves.
Who would've thought one would be teaching at the academy...?
"Welcome. I'm Elvin, in charge of Swordsmanship Department Class A."
With an expression screaming worldly boredom, Elvin picked up the chalk and scrawled out the academy rules on the board—credits, required courses, and so on.
Then, one student up front threw a question at Elvin.
"....Um, could you explain why we in the swordsmanship department have to learn magic theory?"
At that, Elvin's face grew even more annoyed.
"...The question that comes up every year. I was waiting for it."
"......"
"Enemies on the battlefield aren't idiots who swing their swords honestly at you. Know your enemy, and you'll seize victory. You gonna get toyed with and die the moment you face a mage?"
"....No, sir."
"Louder."
"N-No, sir...!!"
"Hm."
Elvin pondered with a dissatisfied look, then began writing something on the board.
How to Gain the Upper Hand Against Mages
"That's your homework for today. Bring a satisfactory answer, and I'll give you 50 points."
A murmur rippled through the students.
Kyle shot his hand up to clear up his curiosity.
"....Um, what exactly are points?"
"You'll find out even if you don't want to."
".....Pardon?"
"Exactly what I said."
Elvin surveyed the students with a wordless grin.
"......"
".....Whoa, this real?"
The Point System. A new academy policy this year, designed to boost student motivation. Equipment, artifacts, textbooks, daily necessities, even meals—everything requires points.
New students start with 400 points total. You can earn more based on midterm exam results a month from now... but it was a brutally harsh system.
That said...
".....Whoa, isn't that a full-course meal?"
"Yeah. The 30-point one."
Pride, perhaps? Most academy students, raised on gourmet tastes, had made it trendy to order the priciest meals to flaunt their vanity.
"What happens when they run out of points?"
Kyle voiced his genuine bewilderment. I had no answer either. Three meals a day would be tight enough—burning through points like that could spell disaster for everyone.
Munching on our baguettes soggily with Kyle, we settled for vicarious satisfaction.
"Want this?"
It was Lady Ariel. Her eyes were slightly red, as if she'd been through something sad.
".....Sure."
I took the sandwich and gave a quick nod of thanks.
"Why give it... to me?"
I scanned for help, but Kyle had vanished in a flash.
'That bastard...?'
"....I want to get close to you. To you."
"....."
Her unexpectedly gentle words. I paused, then asked back.
"Uh, well.... I've only ever said rude things to you, Lady Ariel."
"I didn't think that."
"We're not even old acquaintances or anything..."
"...Th-then we can start now, right?"
"......"
'Ph-physical contact...? What did she... say...?'
Having lived passively her whole life, Rachel's advice to act proactively was brutally harsh for Ariel. She'd approached intending to link arms, but even sidling up awkwardly made it hard to breathe.
Leon’s scent, every word he spoke—it tickled her heart. Maintaining her expression was challenge enough.
...And being hated by Leon hurt more than she'd imagined.
She'd planned to take it slow, but wanted to clear the misunderstanding as soon as possible. She waited silently for his reply.
"Pfft, alright. Guess I misjudged you."
"......"
"Could you do me one favor?"
An empty training hall, devoid of people. A male and female student there were tending to their swords.
Sword training was set to start on the fifth day after theory classes began, but true to the academy's emphasis on diligence, personal practice wasn't forbidden.
"....So, what should I call you? ...Lady Ariel? If it's uncomfortable, I can use honorifics."
"....Ariel."
She answered firmly.
"Call me Ariel."
"Got it, Ariel."
"....."
What was that? She seemed to smile for a second, but whatever. I just wanted to settle what we'd left unfinished before.
I'd never lost to anyone my age before, so that first taste of helpless defeat had become huge motivation. I'd rebuilt my sloppy basics, doubled training time with my father, endured killer workouts.
After polishing the rust off my sword, I spun it and offered my hand.
Ariel hesitated, then blushed faintly and took it, stepping onto the training floor.
"One bout, please."
"....."
Ariel nodded silently. I steadied my mind, gripping my sword and never breaking eye contact.
Aura refines the mana—life force flowing through the body—to enhance oneself. Same root as magic, but closer to circulation than expenditure.
Red sword energy scattered like rose petals. I calmly deflected the incoming strikes, dodged, focused on defense.
As Ariel paused to prep her next attack—
Boom—!!
My fastest iaijutsu slash made her eyes widen briefly. But she fluidly twisted her waist to redirect, leaped into the air spinning her blade.
'...Got her...!'
But I smirked confidently. It was within my predictions. Defending mid-air is tough.
I swung upward from below for the clean finisher.
The blade I thought connected... warped before my eyes.
Clang—!!
"The gap's even wider now... I trained hard, too."
"No, that was close... really."
I meant it. Leon's growth was on another level from his past self.
She panted roughly too, leaning against the training floor wall with a satisfied smile.
Leon, sprawled beside her, suddenly recalled something and tossed out a casual question.
"By the way, Ariel. That day, the reason you pulled back on the final strike... what was it really?"
To my puzzled query, Ariel answered thoughtlessly in her exhaustion.
"...Because I was only looking at you."
"....."
"....."
"....Wh-what did you just—"
Ariel covered her face with both hands and bolted up.
"......"
Then kicked open the training hall door and vanished in an instant.