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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Sparring (2)
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"Alright, sparring begins. Everyone, get ready. It would be good to observe the students sparring in the earlier rounds and share your thoughts on their performance."
[It's finally starting! Wow!]
"First, we'll begin according to the set order."
I looked at the paper in my hand.
The paper had '10' written on it. It was the last number.
[Hehe, as expected, the protagonist always appears last! Isn't that right?]
"That's fine."
The sparring order was decided by drawing lots, but it meant nothing to the Author and me.
For us, probability isn't just probability.
If the Author desires it, we can do anything as long as plausibility allows.
Pushing the order to the very end for the protagonist's grand entrance is easy.
"What do you think?"
"Huh?! Wh-what do you mean...?"
What's with her, why is she so surprised?
She sounds a bit breathless too.
Did I flirt too hard? She didn't actually fall for me, did she?
"The students sparring right now. Do they seem to be fighting well?"
"...Well. The one with the spear is strong, but their opponent is too weak. It'll be over quickly."
Her formal and informal speech keeps getting mixed up.
Well, even if I overlook that, it does look like it'll be over quickly from my perspective too.
The blonde girl was wielding a spear, pressing her opponent with its long reach, and the opponent couldn't cope at all.
It'll be over soon, won't it?
It seemed like her opponent couldn't even keep up with the girl's speed, let alone get her in their sights.
"Ah, it's over."
"...She couldn't cope at all. What's her ability?"
"Well, I can't say for sure, but I have a general idea of what kind of ability it might be."
While physical abilities do speed up when imbued with magic, that was beyond that level.
No matter how I look at it, it's an ability.
Probably something related to physical enhancement.
[They're both heroine candidates! Aren't they pretty?]
"Hmm..."
I get the blonde spear-wielder, but that other kid too?
Then again, late bloomers who are frustrating in the beginning often appear as heroines.
It must be that kind of thing.
Wouldn't the plot flow into a scenario where Yoo Si-woo discovers the heroine's issues and saves her?
"...Are there other candidates?"
[Hmm, not at this point. It'd be a bit much if too many came from the same class... Maybe they'll appear during sword fighting class?]
Hmph.
Then there's no particular need to pay attention.
I watched the second sparring match begin with an unenthusiastic gaze.
Certainly, the level of sparring had risen compared to before.
Still, it's not enough.
No matter how I looked, no one stronger than that heroine candidate girl from before stood out.
Third, fourth, fifth.
Even as the eighth match began, no one seemed stronger than the first girl I'd seen.
...If it had been anyone else, that girl from before might have lasted a bit longer.
She was spreading a gloomy aura around. It bothered me a little.
"Next up, the final match! Once this is over, there'll be no more classes, so the rest of you can rest well!"
"Ah, it's our turn. Shall we go up?"
"...Mm."
[Kyaa, kyaa! The protagonist fighting coolly! Hurry!]
You'll see it soon enough, even without rushing.
I stepped onto the platform and took my place.
The protagonist, Yoo Si-woo, also stood firm, gripping his sword.
"Are you ready? ...Begin!"
What if I lose right at the start?
I've never heard how strong the protagonist is.
It'd be too embarrassing if I lost immediately, so I hope it's at least a decent fight.
I was on edge, wondering when Yoo Si-woo would rush in, but a long time passed, and he didn't move.
...What is it?
"What is it, you two? Is there some problem?"
"No. There are no problems at all."
"...Alright."
Of course, the homeroom teacher must have found it strange, seeing us not move for so long.
It seems he let it slide for now, but I should probably move soon.
"Aren't you coming?"
"..."
Yoo Si-woo focused, keeping his sword aimed, without replying.
It seems he has no intention of coming directly.
[Ughh, you said it was starting!]
"This... I guess there's no choice. I'll go first."
I was conscious of the teacher, and the Author was whining about when it would start.
Yoo Si-woo doesn't seem to want to come, so I have no choice.
I'll go.
The threads of the gauntlet I wore under my gym clothes began to unravel, surging towards him.
"!"
"That wasn't a bad judgment. I'll commend you."
I admired Yoo Si-woo, who dodged the rapidly approaching threads.
He's dodging it instead of trying to parry?
If the threads had touched his weapon, it would have been instantly tangled and snatched away.
As I was slightly surprised, he opened his mouth for the first time during the sparring match.
"I saw you bind a magic beast with my own eyes. There's no way I'd try to parry that."
"Hmm... Then, how about this!"
I unleashed the threads once more and attacked. Let's see how he reacts to this.
*Clang!*
The sound of metal striking metal rang out, and the thread fell to the floor.
"...You didn't dodge it; you parried it?"
"I also saw you cut through concrete."
"My, you're more observant than I thought."
He was watching that?
I like that.
Should I say, as expected of the protagonist? He's quick at gathering information.
[Ahem, our protagonist's ability is intuition! He's excellent at discerning physical threats!]
"Intuition, huh..."
That's a good ability.
An ability that allows him to counterattack even if an invisible person attacks him.
The fact that he can distinguish my threads, even though they look the same on the surface, makes it even more highly valued.
The problem is that his physical potential isn't outstanding, but that's something the protagonist can resolve as he grows.
"You, you, how did you know my ability...!"
"Alright, here comes more! Will you be able to block this time?"
If so, what if I launched an attack that he couldn't possibly dodge?
I used up one entire gauntlet, recklessly attacking the space around Yoo Si-woo, rather than him directly.
Because an unavoidable attack renders intuition meaningless, even if it warns him.
"H-hew... That startled me."
"...You're more outstanding than I thought. I like it."
Whoa, is that even possible?
I thought if it was intuition, I just needed to hit him where he couldn't dodge.
I thought I had covered enough space with the threads, but it seemed it wasn't enough.
He deflected the threads he could, making them collide with other threads, and then dodged through the gaps.
Is that guy even human? Does he have another ability?
If someone with overwhelming base stats also has an ability like that, it's practically cheating!
"Alright, then next is..."
[I don't like it.]
Just as I was about to use my other gauntlet to attack, I heard the Author's gloomy voice.
"You don't like it...?"
"..."
Suddenly?
I have no idea why the Author is in such a bad mood.
I listened to the Author's words, watching the protagonist, who was catching his breath and looking puzzled that no attack was coming.
Her voice was subdued, unlike usual. She seemed genuinely disappointed, so I didn't know what might happen if I even joked around.
[I didn't even get to see the protagonist's first grand entrance. It's his first sparring match, but...! What is this! The protagonist doesn't even look strong; he looks like he's being pushed back by the reader!]
"Ah, oops..."
Oh, no.
I had forgotten the most important thing!
Since I had already created a pair, I had been focused on wanting to know the protagonist's strength.
He didn't seem to want to come at me, and it was my first time using my abilities to the fullest, so I got too excited.
I should have made Yoo Si-woo look good...!
[I'm angry...! Hmph!]
"This, this... This is really troublesome..."
What should I do?
The Author was furious.
This time it was my mistake, so I had nothing to say to the Author.
"I forfeit."
"...What? Are you serious, Arte?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely serious."
[The reader ruined the protagonist's first sparring match! Waaahhh!]
The bewildered gazes of the surprised students and teacher converged on me, but I had no time to pay attention.
I had to soothe the crying Author.
First, I needed to make it so the protagonist won; it would make things easier to fit together later.
"This is going to be hard to clean up..."
[Waaaaaahhh!]
***
"That girl uses threads."
I wanted to spar with the boy who was said to have defeated the magic beast, so I approached him, but I tripped over something.
By the time I got back up, he had already formed a pair.
I had no choice but to try and find another pair, but it was too late, so I ended up sparring with the remaining kid.
...When I tripped, I thought I'd briefly seen a black thread, but I dismissed it as my imagination.
Could it be...?
"And what was that? Forfeiting when she had already won."
She had consistently pushed that male student back and overwhelmed him.
She could have won just by continuously draining his stamina like that.
She suddenly said she didn't like it, then that it was troublesome.
She muttered something strange, then declared a forfeit.
She's not just toying with people, is she?
Everyone else looked bewildered, but I was angry.
Instead of showing her true abilities fairly, she toyed with her opponent and threw away the victory!
"Arte Isis... They said she was one of the people who resolved the magic beast attack."
I heard that two people had defeated the magic beast while all the other students were evacuating, and I wanted to get to know them.
I never imagined she'd be such a shameless person.
Did she not defeat the magic beast to save the students?
Her skill certainly seems real.
But I didn't like her suspicious behavior.
I can't possibly believe she's an academy student.
"I, Amelia, will keep an eye on you...!"
I'll watch to see if she's truly a student fit for the academy!
Amelia vowed so.