Chapter 77

The second-year students’ duel has ended.

That means only the finals for the first-year students remain.

I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, smoking a cigarette. My mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, and I felt like if there were a lid on my skull, I would want to dump all those thoughts out.

The duel between Laura von Adelheit and Chloe. I don’t know what kind of ripples it will cause.

If Laura wins, nothing particularly significant will happen within the Academy, but I can’t even guarantee how I’ll react.

On the contrary, if Chloe were to win.

It would surely send a tremendous ripple through the Academy. A wizard who has defeated the esteemed Adelheid would emerge like a comet.

Then, what about me? What kind of ripple would it bring for me?

If Laura loses to Chloe, and the Adelhaid Duke watches, consumed by sadness and despair.

And if I see that scene firsthand, I…

“I might just smile.”

It’s truly shallow and vile. Dirty and lowly fantasies swirl in my head. I inhaled the cigarette smoke more deeply than usual.

I stubbed out the burnt cigarette butt in the ashtray and suddenly glanced at my wristwatch.

“5:36 PM.”

Timewise, it was almost evening, yet the sun crossing the summer’s shimmering sky was still stubbornly hanging onto the horizon. I watched it for a moment before heading into the practice field.

After walking for a while down the long hallway leading to the large practice field, I began to see the infirmary and waiting room in the distance. I walked toward there.

Suddenly, someone spoke to me.

“Oh, Professor Lucio. Here you are.”

It was Professor Esther. Her expression seemed a bit more fatigued than usual, but she soon smiled upon seeing me. I nodded slightly, glancing at the trembling corners of Professor Esther’s eyes.

“Professor Esther.”

“Where have you been?”

“Just taking a smoke…”

“Oh.”

Professor Esther’s lips closed. I, too, fell silent.

An awkward silence settled between us. Professor Esther’s lips twitched, then closed firmly again. I shifted my gaze to the monitor in the center of the practice field.

Since a break was given, Professor Andres’ face wasn’t being broadcast on the monitor. An empty host chair sat alone on the screen.

“It’ll finally be over.”

Professor Esther, standing next to me, spoke up. I quietly looked at her, and without missing a beat, I responded.

“What do you mean?”

“The grade-by-grade duels. Once this final is over, all the duels will have concluded.”

That was true. I nodded at Professor Esther’s words. She continued.

“For a week, no, including the travel time, it has been six days of grade-by-grade duels. The previous academy I worked at didn’t have events like this, but… the grade-by-grade duels at the Caldera Imperial Academy felt really long.”

A nostalgic look crossed Professor Esther’s eyes. Was she recalling events from her previous academy? Or perhaps remembering the grade-by-grade duels that had taken place over the last five days?

I couldn’t tell, so I simply stayed quiet and kept my eyes on Professor Esther.

“…It really does feel unusually long. It hasn’t even been a week… right?”

“That’s right.”

“At my previous academy, a festival was held too… Speaking of which, I hear the Caldera Imperial Academy’s festival is going to be in October?”

“Are you already thinking about the festival?”

“Well, I’ve heard that the Caldera Imperial Academy’s festival has a lot to offer. Since I’ll be seeing it this year, I guess it’s fine to get a little excited about it.”

I had no particular reply, so I nodded and ended the conversation. Silence returned between Professor Esther and me.

“Professor Lucio. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“…It may be a somewhat personal question?”

“If it’s a question I can answer, I will.”

Professor Esther hesitated for a moment before asking her question. I patiently waited for her to speak.

“Uh… it’s nothing significant, but this morning, the Adelheid Duke came by, right?”

“…Yes.”

“At that time, Professor Lucio’s expression seemed unusual and has been on my mind… Was there something unpleasant between the two of you in the past?”

“…”

I held my tongue. After briefly looking at Professor Esther’s face, I turned my gaze back to the monitor in the middle of the practice field.

“I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Professor Esther. The reason I couldn’t speak about my relationship with the Adelheid Duke wasn’t merely an issue of trust.

It wouldn’t be difficult to spread tales of the Duke’s misdeeds and seek sympathy for my plight. However, the reason I refrained from doing so was.

I feared that sympathy mixed with judgment would show in Professor Esther’s gaze when she looked at me.

The baseless blame or sympathy from bystanders who didn’t fully grasp the essence of the situation cut deep and left a wound far worse than I could have imagined.

Having experienced that, I couldn’t carelessly share my story with anyone.

Countless times, boxes wrapped in the names of sympathy and understanding have turned into arrows of blame once opened. I had an overwhelming desire to prevent such occurrences.

My story had already been set aside, while those who muddle the essence of the matter inflicted incorrigible pain on me.

I feared that Professor Esther might become one of them.

After hearing my apology, Professor Esther stared into the distance for a moment, then turned her body toward me and lowered her head.

“…No. I asked the question too hastily. I was careless. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. You did nothing wrong, Professor Esther. It’s just…”

The pain that doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger. That’s what Friedrich Nietzsche, whose reality is now but a distant memory, had once said.

Unfortunately, those words didn’t apply to me. The pain that doesn’t kill me only brings me more suffering.

“…It’s just that I’m a frustrating person.”

I was living a pathetic life, neither dead nor truly alive.

We gazed at the practice field in silence.

– Thank you for waiting!

With the return of Professor Andres, the students who had been wandering during the break began to gather in the audience seats. The duel was about to begin.

Regardless of my situation, the world inevitably moves on.

—

Chloe let out a heavy breath.

“Ugh…!”

Everything in front of her was spinning. Her breathing was irregular, and cold sweat began to trickle down.

No matter how much she steeled her nerves, the tension was still the same. Chloe looked ahead with trembling eyes.

A tightly closed door. But soon, the door would open, and she would step into the practice field.

When that happens, the duel with Laura von Adelheit would begin. Just thinking about receiving her merciless ice magic made sweat pour from Chloe’s hands.

Chloe clenched her sweaty hands tightly. The anxious heart that had been trembling began to calm down.

“I can do this… I can do this…”

Yes, she could. Chloe diligently tried to keep a hopeful mindset.

The advice from Elin to try using fire-elemental magic and Professor Antorelli’s counsel to believe in herself. Chloe kept those two pieces of advice in mind.

“Believe in me. Believe in myself. Chloe, have faith…”

– Thank you for waiting! The grade-by-grade duel at Caldera Imperial Academy! We will now begin the final duel!

Professor Andres’ voice echoed. Hearing those words, Chloe wiped her hands dry, gripped her wand tightly.

– The final duel of the first-year grade-by-grade duel! Allow me to introduce the first protagonist who has reached this glorious stage! From Class A of the first-year magic department, Student Chloe!

Finally, the time had come to meet everyone’s expectations. Chloe looked slowly towards the opening door.

The practice field, with its firm-packed earth that she had seen numerous times before. The ground had hardened even more, with the blood and sweat of countless students soaked into it.

All for today.

As the door completely opened, Chloe slowly took her first step. Unlike before, when she had been anxious and trembling, this one step was filled with firm conviction and determination.

– If I don’t even believe in myself, no one in this world will believe in me.

Not confidence that she would win, but conviction that she would do her best. A resolution that she would not disappoint everyone who looked forward to her performance.

– Do you understand what I’m saying?

The tension dissipated from Chloe’s face. She stepped confidently into the practice field.

She would show it here. She would not lose to Laura in vain. She would not run away with her tail tucked between her legs.

With her head held higher than anyone else, she would not yield even amidst the pressure of an almost certain defeat.

It was a will forged of steel. A fiery spirit reflected in Chloe’s eyes.

– It seems you are quite resolute! Now, let’s introduce the student whom Chloe will face!

‘Here it comes…!’

– This student is truly remarkable! Putting aside the bright future ahead of her, I can assure you that she is a student who is absolutely indispensable when discussing the title of a genius magician!

Simultaneously with Professor Andres’ shouting, the door at one end of the practice field began to open slowly. Chloe’s gaze turned towards it.

The last passage connecting the inside and outside of the practice field, directly facing Chloe.

As it opened, the air in the practice field became heavier. Chloe swallowed hard.

– Allow me to introduce! From Class A of the first-year magic department, Laura von Adelheit!

The eldest daughter of the prestigious Adelhaid Ducal House. A genius of magic. The daughter of an Archmage. A prodigy of ice magic.

All these titles converged into one as Laura von Adelheit stepped into the practice field.

Laura scanned the arena with a majestic expression, as usual. There wasn’t an ounce of tension on her face, and it made Chloe’s blood boil unconsciously.

Eventually, Laura’s eyes, which had been glancing around the practice field, fell on Chloe. She stared at Chloe for a moment, then slowly walked towards the center of the practice field. Chloe followed her steps towards the center.

So, Laura and Chloe stopped a few paces apart. As they stood silently, Laura spoke first.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“Do your best. Make sure I do my best too.”

Don’t let me hold back. Make me go all out.

What an arrogant statement. But under the name of Adelheid, it was a permissible assertion. Chloe nodded solemnly.

“Don’t underestimate me too much. You might regret it.”

“Oh, I hope so. I mean it.”

With those words, Laura abruptly turned away and began to distance herself from Chloe.

“…I mean it.”

That mumbled phrase was the only other thing she said.

Chloe also stepped away from Laura. Now, the distance between them was the same as when they first entered the practice field.

– The 89th new students of Caldera Imperial Academy! We will now begin the final duel of the first-year students!

Chloe lifted her magic wand. Laura did the same.

“Liquid, transformation, absolute zero, compression, compression….”

“Inhalation, materialization, property change, compression, compression….”

Each began to materialize their respective magic circles, and different magic circles unfolded before them.

A confrontation between Chloe, who dreamed of a delightful rebellion, and Laura, who sought to calmly trample over challengers and ascend to the top.

– Duel, start—!!

“Freeze (πάγωμα)!”

“Shoot (πυροβολούν)!”

As soon as Professor Andres’ words finished, the gathering of frozen ice and earth-transformed steel clashed vigorously.

It became a signal marking the commencement of a duel where more than just pride was at stake.