Chapter 73

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

My father checked my wrist first.

Did he really need to be that shocked…? Maybe? I smiled awkwardly and obediently held out my wrist.

“Reckle—”

“I knew you wouldn’t try any tricks at an Academy where my father is present!”

It was rude, but I cut my father off.

I had a feeling that if I kept listening, my resolve would weaken.

“Theo.”

“Nothing that would worry you happened, Father.”

As if to prove it, I spread my hands wide and showed them to my father.

My sleeves shifted a little, fully revealing the wrist that Iris had been fiddling with just moments ago.

There were no injuries. At that fact, my father let out a sigh, openly showing his relief.

I feel like a terribly unfilial son.

As I was smiling awkwardly, I saw Lerwon’s expression behind my father.

It was a little better than before, but his face was still ashen, pale as a corpse.

As I was cautiously observing my father, he patted my head and then Senior Lerwon’s, one after the other.

“You are both students under my protection.”

Such a firm voice. At the same time, it was a voice filled with a deep affection that no one could deny.

So much so that it felt a little cringey.

“Congratulations on your victory in the Flowering Festival, Lerwon.”

With those words, my father left, and I immediately checked on Lerwon.

Perhaps he was relieved that we were alone; Lerwon gasped for breath and then collapsed to the ground.

“Sunbae!”

The abnormality in his body was vividly apparent.

This is crazy. Just as I was wondering if I should quickly find a bag to stop his hyperventilating, Lerwon grabbed me with a trembling hand and whispered softly.

“The, watch—”

What Lerwon needed was not something else special, but proof.

Proof that he was no longer Iris’s, her property.

The symbol of the promise I had willingly made to Lerwon, that he no longer needed to be thrown into hell by just a few of her words.

Lerwon clutched the watch I took from my pocket as if it were his lifeline.

“Remember, that you must die.”

Just reciting the phrase made Lerwon grimace as if in pain.

A cold sweat broke out, and his hand gripping the watch tightened, his nails digging into his skin, causing blood to trickle down.

“Remember, that you are human.”

Lerwon’s breathing began to return to normal.

The terrible pain of returning to being human was, for this moment, helping Lerwon.

“Look behind you. Remember that although you are here now, you are nothing more than a human.”

A light returned to Lerwon’s eyes, and the force of his grip on the watch weakened slightly.

“Even I, who has become a monster, am ultimately human.”

With the final phrase, Lerwon dropped the watch and relaxed his body.

Just then, the door to the box seat opened, and Zephyros and Lucian came running in, one after another like a string of sausages.

“Sunbae, are you okay?”

“They said that crazy woman came, is there any way he’d be okay?”

Lucian’s sincere worry and Zephyros’s words, though slightly grumbling, also seemed to be concerned for Lerwon.

It was like a tranquilizer that quickly calmed Lerwon down.

“I’m fine.”

There’s no way he’s fine.

However, it didn’t seem like Lerwon was lying to reassure Lucian and Zephyros.

“I wasn’t fine, but I’ve become fine.”

Lerwon smiled.

Because it seemed he could finally feel at ease.

“Alright, alright, let’s begin the burning ceremony.”

I immediately set fire to the bouquet Iris had brought.

Seeing the bouquet catch fire, Zephyros, as if he had been waiting, promptly created a gust of wind to hasten the flames.

Thanks to that, the bouquet burned cleanly in less than a minute.

The fact that Lucian, upon seeing this, had the relieved expression of the GeviXcon man was a bonus.

“Can you blow all the ashes into the sky too?”

“Should I just drown it completely?”

When Zephyros asked back, Lerwon opened the window wide as if he had been waiting.

He might have been disappointed if we didn’t. Zephyros, muttering softly, promptly blew the ashes left by the bouquet into the sky with the wind.

It was such a flawless and perfect disposal that I instinctively gave a thumbs-up.

“Can’t we get an order barring her from approaching the Empire?”

“That seems a bit difficult. After all, we can’t overlook the possibility that Mother might bribe the judge.”

“That’s true.”

Zephyros nodded his head as if he couldn’t deny it.

Watching the three of them quietly discussing how to screw over Iris warmed my heart in many ways.

* * *

The next day, the Knight Division’s matches were held before the Magic Division’s, and as expected, Lucian and Zephyros ended up facing each other in the semi-finals.

So, I was heading over to watch their match, but—

“Why are there so many people.”

There were so, so many people that I worried I might be flattened like beef jerky if I tried to push through there.

“Theo.”

“Senior Lerwon.”

It’s all good, but can’t you do something about suddenly popping out from behind me?

My heart was so startled that it pounded noisily.

“Let’s go to the box seat.”

“That, Iris Viden prepared it, is that okay?”

“Well, there’s no reason not to use it. Right?”

That’s true, but.

No, hearing it now, he’s right. There’s no reason for me to avoid it, right?

Besides, I sincerely want to decline being crushed by people and turned into beef jerky!

“Let’s move right now!!”

This is a chance to use Iris’s money! If I miss this, I’m the sucker!

Humming a little tune, I went to the box seat where I had talked with her yesterday.

The box seat had various snacks and things, which was quite nice.

“I was wondering what was up with a box seat just to watch an Academy’s Flowering Festival, but this is jaw-dropping.”

“But it costs a lot of money.”

Lerwon came over to me and whispered the price, and for a moment, a drop of sweat trickled down my spine.

The Academy sells it at such a crazy price, and there are people who actually buy it?

“It’s expensive, but it has its merits.”

According to Lerwon, you can’t miss the precious opportunity to see the Academy’s brilliant talents with your own two eyes, and since they hate being crowded among people, the price is whatever the nobles are willing to pay.

“The money-squandering of the nobles.”

“So says the sole heir of the Lisitoel Count Family.”

Ah, I guess I’m a golden spoon too.

The problem is that I’ve been rolling to the right and rolling to the left, rolling like a wheel, to the point where I barely realize it.

I felt somewhat melancholic.

“Anyway, the crowd is incredible.”

“Well, it is a match between the Descendant of the Hero and the Duchy of Nevera, after all.”

“It’s bound to be amazing.”

We don’t pay much mind to it, but in reality, the Duchy of Nevera is an incredibly great family.

So great, in fact, that if others saw how casually we treat them, they might be shocked.

The Nevera Duchy is a family of meritorious retainers. In other words, they were a family that made great contributions to founding the Empire alongside the Hero.

“Weren’t there a few people making a fuss, calling it the second coming of the founding myth?”

“If Lucian heard that, he’d probably die from the pressure.”

He’s already a guy who’s uncomfortable with being the Hero, I muttered, and Lerwon smiled, saying he agreed.

“He’s a truly diligent fellow.”

Diligent to a fault, and steadfast.

I wonder what kind of fight our hero protagonist will show us.

With a little anticipation, I looked down from the box seat.

* * *

Lucian was currently in a state more peaceful than ever, making Theo’s worries seem baseless.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t nervous. But a clearer sense of anticipation filled Lucian’s heart.

Lucian composed his breathing and confidently stepped outside.

On his way out, cheers that were almost like screams poured out.

His body flinched for a moment, but Lucian walked out confidently.

It feels strange. No, it was a feeling that couldn’t be fully explained by just that.

Having reached the arena, Lucian confidently drew not the Holy Sword, but an ordinary sword from his waist.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!”

Cheers and praises poured down.

It really feels strange.

[Is this a declaration of war?! Our Hero draws his sword! However, his opponent is no ordinary man either!! To be able to commentate on such a match, could there be a greater honor!!]

No one pointed out Kalen’s fuss.

At least everyone in this place must feel the same way.

[This is truly the second coming of the founding myth!! It is the beginning of a match you cannot take your eyes off for even a single moment!!!!!]

With that cry, as if they had been waiting, the two clashed swords.

A series of swift movements that were difficult for an ordinary person’s eyes to follow ensued.

Zephyros, not using the winds of Nevera.

Lucian, not using the Holy Sword.

If things had flowed according to the ‘Original Storyline’, their fight would have ended rather

quickly.

Neither was at full power. However, the one at a slight disadvantage was Zephyros. It was more a matter of compatibility than skill.

But not now.

The person Lucian had crossed swords with the most was Zephyros. Several times a day, the two fought, clashing their swords.

For example, just before a thrust, Lucian would slightly twist the tip of his foot, or when evading, he would lower his sword slightly.

When his attack was deflected, Zephyros would preemptively distribute his weight to be able to continue to the next motion, and when retrieving his sword, he would intentionally swing it wide.

From habits that would decide the match to trivial habits with no relevance whatsoever. They knew each other all too well. That was the problem.

It was a natural result that a fight that should have ended in 10 minutes at most continued sharply for several tens of minutes.

A battle of who would run out of stamina first.

And Lucian knew well that his stamina would be the first to give out.

Unlike Lucian, Zephyros had had the leisure to build up his stamina. In other words, the longer the fight, the more disadvantageous it was.

If that’s the case… I have no choice but to seize victory somehow!!

A few more fierce exchanges followed, and at some point, Lucian dropped his sword as if his hand had lost its strength.

Now! Zephyros’s amethyst eyes glinted sharply, and his sword keenly aimed for the solar plexus.

There was no mercy in his hands. And Lucian truly wished for it to be so.

Puuk— The sound of flesh being pierced rang out clearly. Zephyros’s sword had accurately stabbed Lucian’s abdomen.

However, that was exactly what Lucian had been hoping for.

“Lucian…?”

As if he had been waiting for only that, Lucian pushed the sword that had stabbed his abdomen even deeper.

What in the… what are you doing?!

Zephyros quickly tried to pull out the sword, but Lucian gripped Zephyros’s hand tightly and pushed the sword in deeper.

“Lucian, you…!”

With one hand holding Zephyros’s sword, Lucian drew a dagger with his other hand and held it to Zephyros’s neck.

“Checkmate, right?”

A tactic of truly giving the flesh to take the bone, one that he wouldn’t have used easily.

But with that, the match was decided.

“…I surrender.”

[The winner of the battle that lasted for a whopping 37 minutes has been decided, and the winner’s name is Lucian, it is Lucian!!!]

And so, the winner was finally decided.

—————–

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