Chapter 16: 16

Third Match: Leidyrune Centrix

Leidyrune was tall and noble in appearance. Despite her small stature, Sheila discerned her enemies with eyes full of fighting spirit.

Slowly, the two of them got into position.

Onlookers surrounded the field, excitedly talking about the fateful showdown.

‘I don’t think we have a grudge against each other in particular…’

When it came to who would win, all she heard was Leidyrune’s name. It was totally rude.

When she looked at Leidyrune, he had a quiet look on his face, as if he didn’t hear the voices of the outside world. His purple eyes even seemed to be frozen with emotion.

‘I also saw Leidyrune-senpai’s second fight, and he wasn’t the least bit emotional.’

He was just like a proper aristocrat, but wasn’t it hard to hide one’s emotions?

Since he was enrolled in the knight department, he must like swordsmanship. It was a bizarre rule from Sheila’s point of view that they had to look indifferent even when doing something they liked.

Even Regress was showing his emotions. He was still not yet an adult, so he should be allowed to let loose a little.

‘All right. Let’s try to make the attack stir him, even if it’s just a little.’

As she was making up her mind, Claushezade held up the loudspeaker’s magic tool. A clear voice announced the beginning of the match.

“The final match―― Start!”

Sheila immediately slashed at Leidyrune.

She’d heard about his magic skills, but she didn’t know about his sword skills. She had never seen him even hold his sword in his hand because he had always won every match with his magical power. First, she struck down from the front as a small test.

Leidyrune received it without difficulty and let the impact flow through him. All the while without taking a single step.

This was certainly a difficult opponent, she thought, as she moved away.

Leidyrune looked straight at her. That was enough for her to see his unwavering robustness and understood that he was quite skilled.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, they were evenly matched or maybe Sheila was slightly better.

However, the opponent had magic. That alone would cause the attack power to jump up dramatically.

‘I remember that in the first fight, he created a huge tornado.’

It disappeared as soon as the opponent surrendered, but it was on such a scale that there was no escape anywhere on the field. If that thing was put out, she might not stand a chance. However, she’d heard that large spells took longer to chant. It wasn’t that there was no way to prevent it.

‘At any rate, if he can’t chant, he can’t use magic. Then, let’s just attack him so that he doesn’t have time to chant. In the meantime, I should search for his weak points and think of countermeasures!’

First, she decided to attack him with a couple of moves.

She struck down his right shoulder, then his left. The blow that cleaved his torso was dodged as he retreated. She then struck another blow to keep her momentum alive. However, it seemed that she had been read and was easily caught.

Sheila was the one who would lose power in a head-on encounter. She quickly retreated and adjusted her stance.

‘If they were to just exchange blows like this, there was no chance of victory.’

This time, she leaped to her fullest and attacked from above. The force of the attack should be more powerful because of the full weight of the attacker’s body.

“Yaaaaaah!”

She struck with all her might.

Steel clashed and sparks flew. The impact was felt in the arm.

Her gaze crossed with Leidyrune’s. The purple eyes, which weren’t reflecting any emotion, seemed to have a slight light in them. It was as if he was even enjoying the time that he was being attacked.

I love swords. It’s fun. She felt like she was touched by a glimpse of such feelings.

Leidyrune was enjoying the match. Even without words, they could understand each other’s feelings when they hit each other like this. Knowing that they felt the same way, Sheila was so happy that she almost burst out laughing. Her yellow eyes sparkled with joy.

‘Yes. After all, this is how a match should be.’

Her motivation swelled, and she increased the number of moves she was making. Then, Leidyrune, who should have been on the defensive, counterattacks as if he were cutting through the gap. Each blow was heavy and sharp. It wasn’t difficult to use her speed to block the attack, but Sheila’s attack still lacked decisiveness.

“I was expecting another increase in speed.”

“….!! Did you watch my match?”

Between their sword attacks, Leidyrune suddenly opened his mouth. She could tell that he was referring to the first match, when she fought Seiryu.

Leidyrune smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth.

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“I’m relieved. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be any worse than this, huh?”

“!!”

She had completely forgotten about it when they got into the fight. Why did she decide to keep on the offensive anyway, so much so that she didn’t even have time to open her mouth? It was to prevent Leidyrune from chanting.

“――Wind!”

From the position of pushing swords against each other, several whirlwinds suddenly hit her. She dodged them with her reflexes, but one hit her on the right thigh. Her face contorted in sharp pain.

“… Kugh!”

She managed to keep her distance, but Sheila was soon on her knees. It was as if she had been gouged out by a blade and was bleeding quite badly. The bleeding itself should be properly stopped, but the problem was that her leg had been hit.

She would lose her mobility no matter what she did by moving around to protect it. She couldn’t fight as before. Sheila’s advantage was killed. It seemed that he had already figured out her battle strategy.

‘I had seen his fight, too.’

In the fourth match, Leidyrune was fighting a sixth-year nobleman. It was like a magic battle, and she thought it wouldn’t be very helpful, but…

‘At that time, he was creating a tornado, which I also saw in the first match. This guy is….’

“Haahhh!”

She was about to notice something, but Leidyrune’s pursuit interrupted her thoughts. She dodged the blade that was coming right at her just in time. But in her sitting position, she was unable to avoid the second and third blows. Sheila managed to escape while rolling awkwardly and hurriedly stood up.

Her right thigh ached. If the battle dragged on like this, there was probably no way to win. There was no choice but to go for a short-term decisive battle. To do so, she had to devise a surprise plan that would catch Leidyrune off guard.

They switched their position, and this time, Sheila was on the defensive. Moreover, every time she fought off his attacks, her legs hurt from the effort she put into them. She could feel that she was starting to lose her grip. The pain was making it hard to think straight.

‘It’s no good. At this rate….’

Her thoughts slowed down. Defeat flashed through her mind.

Should she give up now? It would be easier if she let go of the sword. Just say “I give up”. It was only four words. People didn’t think she could win anyway. No one will be disappointed if she lost―

At that moment, someone suddenly came to mind.

Silverish-white hair and eyes that were like a malachite. Even though he had a frighteningly beautiful face, he was unfriendly to the point that she wondered if his facial muscles were necrotic. Recently, however, she’d been able to read even the slightest change in his expression. She used to just admire him, but while he was helping her with her studies in the teacher’s office, she got to know his many faces.

‘He’s strong, stronger than anyone else. A man like steel. I came this far because I admired him. I decided to give back more than what he gave me, didn’t I?’

He told her to move up to the special course. Then, Sheila must win. To live up to his expectations. No matter what it takes.

With a big flick of her sword, she distanced herself again. She ignored the pain in her leg.

Think. Think, think, think.

Don’t give up. Don’t give up your chance to win.

This hand that held the sword was her pride.

Sheila took a deep breath. Her father had taught her how to properly breathe to kill pain when she was a child.

Her mind became clear. Sharp, like a sharpened sword.

She looked at Leidyrune with a burning gaze.

His eyes widened slightly as he realized that she hadn’t yet given up. The wounded but unyielding spirit of Sheila stood out in a dignified manner.

Sheila continued to stare at Leidyrune, who flinched under the pressure of her gaze. A great tornado. A whirlwind.

‘…. This guy is probably good at wind magic. That’s why he always uses wind magic when deciding a match.’

It really came down to one or two things.

Sheila closed her eyes once and readied her sword.

Leidyrune, who had come to his senses, reacted quickly. As if ashamed of himself for being overwhelmed by her gaze, he immediately slashed at her.

Sheila, on the other hand, was on the defensive. She managed to keep dodging his heavy sword attacks. Leidyrune was muttering something in his mouth. It seemed longer than usual.

“――Storm!”

The wind roared and swirled. It was a gust of wind that made it hard to keep her eyes open. Her rose-colored hair blocked her vision.

When she opened her eyes again, there seemed to be a mass of wind looming in front of her. Dirt, stone, rising in a swirling mass. ――It was a tornado.

With her eyes wide open, Sheila was quickly swallowed up by the storm.

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