*

Graduation Tournament (7)

‘Hmm…’

The winner had finally been decided.

As everyone had expected, Wilhelm was the victor.

After all, it would be unthinkable for Wilhelm of the Rosemond Family to lose to anyone with a bow.

However…

‘Surprisingly, the atmosphere was quite heated until midway.’

At least that’s how it appeared to Gwen, who wasn’t well-versed with bows.

To be precise, it was true until Wilhelm dismantled Alan’s defenses.

‘How he managed to break through, I have no idea.’

As I mentioned earlier, she wasn’t knowledgeable about bows.

Instead, she had a friend who knew a lot about them.

“Rosemond really is Rosemond. I never thought they could dismantle it like that.”

“Dismantle it like what?”

“He twisted the bowstring to add a fine spin to the arrow. That must have tricked Sung Yoo-rang’s ability. But it’s not as simple as it sounds.”

It wasn’t just complicated; it was definitely not something anyone could do.

That’s why she said Rosemond really was Rosemond.

“Adding spin obviously changes the trajectory of the arrow. So generally, targeting the opponent’s vital points while spinning is impossible. But Wilhelm calculated the entire trajectory changed by the spin, not just a consistent spin, but an irregular one every time.”

That was an incredible talent.

No, it was the result of Wilhelm’s overwhelming amount of practice combined with talent.

Of course, this was an expectation for the Rosemond family, as everyone was waiting for it.

“Indeed, you can say it’s Rosemond-level.”

It was truly impressive.

‘Truly Rosemond…’

Gwen looked at Wilhelm.

Certainly, if she wasn’t in a retirement phase and valued party play, he was someone she would have thought to recruit first.

But that was all.

‘Not very promising, it seems.’

The Rosemond family was indeed a prestigious lineage in archery, but that was it.

There wasn’t anything that could break free from the ‘expectation’ named ‘hope.’

In contrast, the opponent Alan was different.

‘I thought he was just hiding his sword and choosing archery simply for the sake of smoke…’

In that year, his archery had improved quite a lot.

At that level, it would be tough to be in a high-ranking Hero party, but he might gain some popularity among the upper-tier members of regular Hero parties.

Was it talent, or had he practiced that much?

Honestly, thinking about his swordsmanship, it didn’t seem like talent to her.

‘He must be relentless in his efforts.’

That must be possible only because he had a clear goal.

She recalled his words to her.

‘He said he would become a high-ranking Hero.’

By that statement, he had declined to become her disciple.

And she had also understood that she couldn’t make him a high-ranking Hero, so she accepted the rejection.

However, he had eventually appeared as a high-ranking Hero.

‘He has already achieved that goal.’

Then what would his next goal be?

Could he still achieve something more from his current position?

Of course, there was the Saint-level Hero above the high-ranking Heroes, but was that possible?

‘I don’t know.’

It didn’t mean it was impossible; she simply didn’t know.

The duel was clearly conducted purely through archery, but she, who had reached a certain level of swordsmanship, could detect Alan’s swordsmanship during a brief gap.

‘In the last moment.’

Alan contemplated for a moment whether to rush forward directly toward Wilhelm.

It was merely a split-second thought, so it didn’t manifest in actions, but she could see it.

It wasn’t just because her swordsmanship level was higher, but because remnants of the Reedval family’s swordsmanship remained within Alan.

‘Has he come that close to my level?’

He wasn’t quite at a level where he could reach her yet.

Even if he worked harder, it was uncertain if he could reach it.

But what mattered was that the achievement he had made now seemed impossible for the Alan she had seen three years ago.

‘I couldn’t have expected it.’

That’s why it was exciting.

He might still have something hidden.

After all, he had gone through great lengths to craft the false identity of Sung Yoo-rang.

‘Anticipation…’

She finally tore her eyes away from Alan.

Then she directed her gaze to the fake Alan, who had the same look as hers, sitting across from the audience seats.

He actually looked more haggard than the real Alan fighting in the tournament arena.

‘That must be Elsie.’

There was no way she wouldn’t recognize her own disciple.

And the fact that Elsie was disguised as Alan clear implications.

‘In the end, the promise was kept.’

The promise Alan had made to Elsie to meet again.

Elsie had been looking forward to that promise, and ultimately it had motivated her relentless training.

In a way, one could say the current Elsie was a result of that promise.

‘But…’

She didn’t consider it a ‘real’ promise.

She thought of Alan as someone in a similar category as herself. Had she been in his shoes, she would have used that letter merely as a source of hope so that Elsie wouldn’t crumble without her before leaving.

Whether she could keep it or not was secondary.

‘But Alan ultimately kept his promise to her.’

Alan revealed his true identity to Elsie. That’s why Elsie was disguised as Alan.

It might have been the other way around, but in its own way, it was remarkable for Elsie.

Regardless, which way it was didn’t matter that much.

‘She looks happy.’

Even though she was visibly haggard, the gaze Elsie sent to Alan conveyed happiness.

No one would have expected that a princess who lost her family and had barely escaped with her life would find happiness again.

Yet Alan had done it.

‘A little…’

She was envious.

She was a little envious of Alan for meeting again, but she was envious of the happy appearance of Elsie even more.

‘I want to… someday…’

Before it’s too late, to take off the “precocious” tag.

Have a child.

Live happily in a peaceful place…

That’s how she wanted to live.

‘But you see, Alan.’

Recently, a variable had arisen.

‘Why…’

She looked into the air.

‘Isn’t the Divine Seat going to respond?’

Until now, she had been following her Divine Seat.

Even though the Divine Seat hadn’t led her with the Rose Sword, it had guided her down the path to becoming stronger.

And she knew that, in order to revive her family, she had to grow as much as possible before lifting the trait “precocious.” Only then could she reach a higher Hero Ranking.

‘No matter how much I want to be happy, I can’t abandon my family.’

She had even heard from Elsie that there was a coup happening in the current Leim Kingdom.

She wanted to get involved, but she knew her powerless family could face unknown harm in that situation.

Eventually, the only option left was to grow stronger.

‘But…’

Communication with her Divine Seat had been cut off.

At this rate, both growing stronger and regaining her family’s sword would become uncertain.

‘It’s June of my 33rd year.’

Alan had said that.

Of course, she didn’t fully trust his words, but the timing she had been speculating wasn’t far off either.

And that time had suddenly approached right in front of her.

‘Is it already the year after next?’

If she wanted to have a child, she had to lift the precocious tag before that.

But to do that…

‘Is there only one way?’

She looked at Alan, who was leaving the arena.

‘He might know something.’

It was then.

Suddenly, Ludmilla, who had been sitting next to her, stood up.

“Ludmilla?”

“Just a moment, I’ll be right back.”

Saying that, she disappeared behind the audience seats.

In fact, from Gwen’s perspective, who had noticed Ludmilla’s gaze earlier, she knew where she was heading.

So she shot a look at Elsie, disguised as Alan, sitting across the audience seats.

Elsie’s body trembled upon receiving that gaze.

Gwen communicated with her eyes.

‘What are you doing? Hurry up and go.’

Then Elsie stood up and vanished outside the audience seats.

Now that Sung Yoo-rang’s tournament was over, there was no reason for Elsie to remain sitting in the audience.

As soon as she felt relieved and turned her gaze to the next tournament, she heard a familiar voice.

“Long time no see.”

It wasn’t quite right to say it was a familiar voice; it had been a while since she had heard it and had matured a bit in tone.

Still, she could recognize its owner.

“It has been a while.”

Next to her, he sat down in the seat that used to be occupied by Ludmilla.

He was wearing a hood, so his face was unrecognizable, but it was undeniably Alan Pleuk.

“Why didn’t you say a word until now? What’s up?”

Of course, it was nice to see him.

But she wanted to be a bit mischievous for a moment.

“I’m sorry. There were circumstances.”

She already knew that.

At the same time, she understood.

Thus, she wasn’t really angry.

But if she were to be annoyed about something…

“If there are circumstances, then isn’t this okay now?”

It was that he had purposely come over to her to speak.

“It’s not completely okay, but I have something important to say.”

Something important to say?

“What do you want to say?”

“I want to say you don’t have to worry too much.”

Gwen’s eyes widened slightly, a rare occurrence for her.

Of course, those words were what she needed most right now.

But she never expected Alan would say that to her.

“What’s that…”

“There are many ears around, so I’ll tell you the details later.”

Certainly, as he said, this place filled with people wasn’t ideal for secretive conversations.

However, that was just a superficial meaning.

She sensed the underlying meaning beneath his words.

‘Is he trying to use me?’

Saying there were many ears around while still speaking meant that it was either unimportant or… a lie.

Alan was trying to lie to her starting from here.

But it wasn’t to deceive her, rather, it was to deceive others eavesdropping on this conversation.

‘Alright, feel free to use me.’

That part of his words wasn’t a lie.

‘Don’t have to worry so much…’

It meant he would do his utmost to help her.

So put another way, it was an offer to become comrades.

She decided to hear out what he had to say.

“Well then, why don’t you share the gist?”

“Okay, first I’m planning to head to the Central Sea System. But before that, I still have some things to do in Hailen.”

“That means…”

“Yes, I’d like you to head to the Central Sea System first and lay the groundwork. We can discuss the details there.”

His words were a mix of truth and lies.

‘It’s true that he plans to go to the Central Sea System afterwards.’

So he was asking her to go there first.

Perhaps the family sword she needed to find was also related to the Central Sea System.

‘And he was lying about having unfinished business here.’

He probably planned to do something under the guise of Sung Yoo-rang.

And she had a reasonable guess about that location.

‘It’s Leim Kingdom.’

It was the place with the most rumors of unrest lately.

He likely wanted to divert attention by leaking false information that Alan Pleuk would be heading to the Central Sea System before going there.

‘Is this the end of his story for now?’

She had more or less figured out everything he had said.

But still, one last step remained.

“But…”

Fundamentally, she didn’t tend to trust others easily.

Especially not someone like him, who had a knack for using others.

‘Can I really trust someone like him…’

That was a decision she normally would have to make for herself.

However, she asked Alan instead.

“Can I trust you?”

He responded.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t. However, I want to help you and want to trust you.”

She didn’t feel any lies in his words.

Of course, that didn’t mean she would trust him unconditionally, but this time felt different from usual.

‘Leaving aside whether to trust or not…’

She wanted to trust him.

Not just because Alan Pleuk was her only remaining hope.

Nor because she had feelings toward him.

‘Just because it’s Alan Pleuk.’

That reason alone mattered.

It wasn’t about claiming his achievements.

She was addressing his actions throughout.

‘He has never acted solely for himself.’

She didn’t completely know the circumstances, but right after parting with her, Alan probably hadn’t been that strong.

Even so, he had risked his life to defeat the Demon King near the village.

Ershiarah hadn’t just been saved either.

He had introduced her to himself and kept her from losing hope through promises.

She was drawn to those actions of his.

Gwen Reedval valued cool-headedness and adherence to principles, while also placing importance on righteousness.

Thus, she wanted to trust Alan Pleuk just this once.

“Then I’ll trust you too.”

That made her his comrade.

It might take a bit of time to meet again.

“Thank you.”

With that, he stood up from his seat.

She asked him one last time.

“Are you leaving?”

Just like two years ago in spring.

Just like this spring.

Was he leaving again?

“Yes.”

He nodded in affirmation of her question.

But then he added.

“However, I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

That was a promise.

“Alright, let’s meet again at the Central Sea System.”

Gwen’s expression remained seemingly neutral.

However, she was definitely smiling.

*

‘It really felt good to see her again after so long.’

I recalled Gwen’s face and voice, which were the same as three years ago.

The time we spent conversing was short, but it was undoubtedly enjoyable.

It was somewhat regrettable that we had to part again like this.

‘But does this wrap up Gwen’s side of things then?’

Gwen was likely one of those who would be quite disoriented due to the severance of contact with the Divine Seat.

Resolving her confusion and drawing her into my comrades’ circle had been part of my goal for this tournament, and it seemed to end successfully.

‘Then there’s only one left.’

I headed not towards my original seat where Ludmilla would be, but to check the match brackets again.

‘Is it Yusera’s turn soon?’

I revealed my original face for a brief moment.

With that appearance, there was one last thing I had to do this time.

*