TL/Editor: Butter Cat

    Status: 4/week mon-thurs

    Illustrations: none

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    〈 Chapter 53 〉 Chapter 53. Following.

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    Squeeze, squeeze.

    "....Will I. For the next three years, will I really... be able to survive?"

    The lament of a girl who had just turned sixteen, still years away from turning twenty.

    You might think it''s a pointless worry, but right now, I''m genuinely concerned about my life.

    Death threats?

    I wish that was all I had to worry about.

    My arm ached so badly that I wondered if it would bruise.

    Afraid of accidentally touching the swollen area, I diligently massaged the area around my forearm, blowing on it to cool it down.

    It was a strange sensation, painful yet soothing, I wanted to stop, yet I wanted to continue.

    "......Hmm."

    On my forearm, which had been clean without a single scar, a long, straight red mark was clearly imprinted.

    What in the world had happened?

    It''s exactly like the saying "a bolt from the blue" - a perfect fit for this situation.

    Well, at least the thirty minutes of massage had been enough to alleviate the excruciating pain that had been threatening to overwhelm me.

    Though, it still ached.

    …Is it okay to touch it now?

    —Tap.

    ".....!!"

    Nooooooooooo—!!

    I tentatively pressed the swollen area, and my body jumped as if I had been electrocuted.

    Like a flounder, pulled out of a water tank.

    Flop, flop, I covered my mouth to stifle the groan that was about to escape, and only after banging my head against the wall I was leaning on several times was I able to calm down.

    A person suddenly banging their head against a wall, that was me.

    "....Waaah…"

    Waaah....waaah....

    I''m tired....

    I want to go home…

    Overwhelmed by self-pity, I glared at my arm resentfully.

    The red, swollen mark was a clear testament to the intensity of today''s swordsmanship class, a battlefield in its own right.

    Self-defense(??), they said!!

    A technique to protect yourself, they said!!

    If this is a ''self-defense'' swordsmanship class… then what in the world were the things I''ve been through…until now…!?

    A wave of frustration washed over me.

    I lamented my misfortune countless times in my mind, but in this empty space, there was no one to listen to my complaints.

    Fear gripped me, the fear that I might actually die here, just like this.

    It even made me feel like the bandit subjugation I had participated in before with my seniors, back when I was still a clueless newbie who hadn''t even earned the title of mercenary, was easier than this.

    Yes, subjugation.

    As if I had come to hell, blood and flesh flying everywhere—

    ''…Behind?! You, you little—!?''

    ''A dead bastard''s the idiot. Remember this, Han. Kick them in the balls, or the eyes, whatever. A dead man can''t talk.''

    …A combination of strategy and tactics—

    Stab! Stab! Pierce!

    ''Kya… AaaaAAaH… M-MoTheR…’

    ''That... isn''t it not that they can’t talk, but that they can scream, Senior?''

    ''A person is either a man or a woman. Therefore, that bastard is not a person.''

    ''Ah.''

    Such a scene where swords clash against swords....um....

    Uh, umm.

    …It might seem strange, but yes, it was a bandit subjugation.

    Throwing dirt in each other''s eyes, tripping each other, stabbing each other in the back, it was a common occurrence, but it was still a bandit subjugation led by mercenaries.

    At least, it is, as far as I know. Yeah.

    I remember watching with trembling hands and feet, witnessing a fight where blood splattered everywhere for the first time in my life, but why is this the only scene that comes to mind?

    It''s all because of today''s class.

    Ah, by the way, what happened in the swordsmanship class was—

    …

    ''—DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!''

    ''Hiiiiiiieeeek—!?''

    The moment she picked up her sword, her expression hardened, and she looked at me with murderous intent in her eyes, a look that only someone who had killed a person or two could have.

    If you have a sworn enemy, I''m sorry, but I don''t think it''s me.

    You don''t have one? Then why did you do that to me?

    No, seriously, why…

    I looked at the teacher, who was supposed to be the referee, hoping for help, but the teacher had already retreated from the arena.

    My classmates, whom I had considered friends, were outside the arena, their hands clasped together, praying for my survival.

    Should I be grateful that they''re at least praying for me?

    Even now, I wanted to praise myself for not turning around and running away from the arena.

    No, thinking about it now, I should have just turned around and run away.

    Pride? What''s that, can you eat it?

    ''…Um, Your Highness?''

    ''............''

    Despite my pleading eyes, filled with the desperate hope that she would go easy on me, she just smiled, chased away the person who was originally supposed to be my opponent, and approached me, requesting a spar. She then gritted her teeth and swung down her sword.

    Clang, clang. A deafening sound that was hard to believe it was just wood hitting wood was born between us.

    Block, dodge, block again.

    Where did she get that monstrous strength from, those slender arms and legs?

    The more I blocked, the stronger her attacks became, and I even thought it would be easier to just get hit once and lose consciousness.

    That is, until I saw the floor caving in from the impact of her sword.

    Ah, that''s not happening.

    How many times did I block her attacks?

    Crack, a loud sound echoed through the arena.

    Her attack, filled with genuine murderous intent, was too much for the wooden practice sword, and it shattered into pieces.

    Countless fragments, like flower petals, danced before my eyes, and through them, I saw her eyes, filled with murderous intent… Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I thought it would end there since her sword was broken, but it didn''t.

    I thought the match would end in a draw, but to me, who thought so, the sight of her charging at me, wielding the broken half of her sword, and the next thing I knew, she was pressing it against my arm, leaving the mark I now have. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie.

    Her name, well, it was obviously ''Remi Akaia''.

    The person I am diligently trying to avoid, she was now officially number one on my list of people to avoid.

    "Ugh…"

    Honestly, if I had to fight her again, I would rather bite my tongue and die.

    I continued to complain in a voice so low that no one else could hear, fearing that my muttering might reach someone else''s ears, as I tried to cool my head.

    I couldn''t even speak properly.

    Hngg, this is too much.

    It might sound strange, but sparring with a princess wielding a wooden sword was far more terrifying than fighting criminals who had actually killed people with real swords. But please try to understand.

    If you had seen it with your own eyes, you would have said the same thing.

    If I were to tell this story to the people who had witnessed that spar. All 100 out of the 100 present, they would all nod their heads vigorously in agreement.

    They would say, of course, that''s not even a fair comparison, and try to comfort me.

    —Tap, tap.

    "Uwaaaa… My whole body is sore."

    Was it because I had been sitting on the stairs where people often passed by?

    My pants, which I had just plopped down on, were covered in dust and dirt.

    I stared at it for a few seconds, then brushed off the dirt and prepared to leave.

    Well, it''s all over now.

    The spar, the class, my daily routine—everything.

    Everything, is over.

    "...Remi, Akaia."

    I muttered her name, with a hint of pity and sympathy.

    To be honest, I didn''t dislike her.

    …Granted, her strange hostility and the way she looked at me as if I were a suspicious person were a bit annoying, but honestly, there was no reason for me to personally dislike her.

    She hadn''t done anything to harm me directly—

    And she hadn''t done anything wrong to Alice.

    In the story I heard through Saelli, she was just an innocent victim who had lost her beloved younger sister.

    Rather, I wanted to be friends with her.

    That is, except for her older sister, of course.

    The reason I didn''t tell her about Alice was because of the existence of her older sister, ''Anna Akaia''.

    If it weren''t for her, Alice would have—

    "—Haaaaam." (Yawn)

    I rolled my shoulders, loosening up my stiff muscles, I then picked up the wooden sword that was leaning against the wall and casually slinging it over my shoulder.

    Turn the corner, and go straight.

    The now familiar path back to my dorm.

    I walked slowly, enjoying the scenery, as if I were taking a stroll, surrounded by the sweet scent of flowers.

    It had only been a few days, but this unusual (?) daily life had become completely ordinary.

    I felt a pang of nostalgia for the overwhelming commotion that I thought I would never get used to, a wry smile forming on my face, but my legs steadily carried me towards my destination.

    To the place where I shouldn''t be.

    To the place where I shouldn''t exist.

    Until I heard that voice so familiar to me.

    "—Sis Sia!!"

    ".....Ali....ce?"

    Thud.

    My legs, wouldn''t move, as if stuck in a swamp.

    My footsteps, once stopped, wouldn''t continue.

    I couldn''t even turn around, frozen in place.

    Alice, why are you here?

    That question was the only thing on my lips.

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