A few minutes after Rafine's match ended.
"I'm back… How was the match?"
"Oh, Miss Eve! You won't believe it! The princess actually sublimated her Kotodama magic and—"
Eve, who had vanished right before the match began, finally returned. Aldi, still buzzing with excitement, immediately launched into a passionate recap.
After saying "I'll get ready," Eve had climbed into the magical carriage without watching a single second of the fight and disappeared somewhere. I'd been wondering where she went.
As if reading my mind, Eve turned to me and explained calmly.
"I went shopping in the neighboring country. I still haven't finished the immigration procedures here, so I couldn't buy it inside the kingdom."
"…I see."
That explained it. She'd gone through the hassle of crossing borders just to buy something she needed. Sounded like a pain.
Eve reached into her cute little pouch — a magical storage item — and began pulling something out.
"…A staff?"
What emerged was a long, slender rod taller than Eve herself. A proper magician's staff.
"Ohhh… Miss Eve, does this mean you're finally going to use *that*? This is gonna be good," Aldi said, eyes sparkling.
"Yeah. I think I can use it a few times."
"???"
Aldi clearly understood something I didn't. I just stood there with question marks floating above my head.
Wait. Didn't Eve already have her own staff? Why go through all this trouble to get a long one — which is supposed to be harder to handle?
…Well, I'm sure she has a plan. I just don't get it.
"Rafine, you look pale. Are you okay?"
Eve noticed Rafine sitting beside me in silence, head bowed, and spoke to her gently.
"Th-that's not true! I'm fine! Being next to Jirei-sama fills me with energy! In fact, I have *too much* energy right now!"
"...I see. Good, then."
Rafine forced a smile and did a little fist pump. Eve seemed to pick up on something off about the reaction, but she didn't press and simply looked away.
"More importantly… are *you* okay, Eve? I can't really picture you fighting…"
"I did study physical combat techniques and offensive magic at the academy. I always got top marks in written exams."
Eve answered confidently while adjusting the new staff, almost puffing out her chest with pride.
—Okay, that's reassuring.
"…But I was always dead last in practical exams."
"That's… really not okay."
Yeah. That was very much *not* okay.
Still… her opponent was also a white mage, so maybe it'd be a fairly even match? White mages were usually pure backline support. Most of them only knew enough self-defense to not die immediately. If her opponent turned out to be some muscle-bound macho guy, though, we were screwed.
Honestly, that's probably why I figured Eve might actually be fine. A white mage mirror match was unlikely to turn into a gore-fest. I was secretly kind of curious what it would even look like. A healing contest? A staring match of who could buff faster?
"…They're really taking their time."
I muttered, glancing up at the giant magical clock (Magi Clock) hanging on the outer wall of the arena.
Apparently they'd been calling for the opponent since before Rafine's match even started, but there was still no sign of them. Wisdom eventually got fed up and went to drag the person here, but it seemed like it might already be too late.
Well… I'm often late myself, so I can't really judge. The futon just has this magical hold on me, you know?
"If I remember right… besides Miss Eve, there was another girl from our academy who joined a hero party. I think only those two passed the white mage course, so her opponent is probably that girl. She was famous for being late too," Aldi explained.
While I was seriously contemplating my "futons possess actual magic" theory, Aldi dropped that piece of info. Sounded like he had a pretty good idea who was coming.
"Hmm. What kind of person is—"
"HEY! I told you I can walk by myself, so stop dragging me!"
"If I don't, you'll never show up! Hurry up already… Seriously, Waka, why'd you even bring this walking disaster into the party…"
Just as I was about to ask Aldi for details, a loud, annoyed voice echoed from the entrance.
I turned toward the sound.
I really hoped it wasn't a muscular gorilla… but the way Aldi talked made it sound feminine, and since it was another academy-trained white mage… maybe?
"…Aldi. Quick question."
"Yeah, what?"
"Is that… really a white mage?"
"Huh? What else would she be? She's obviously a white mage."
No, I mean—look at her.
She was wearing the official uniform of the White Mage Association, sure. No doubt about the *job*. But…
The outfit was incredibly sloppy. The loose white robe was barely draped over her shoulders, leaving them completely bare. She had a newsboy cap tilted on her head, shoulder-length translucent purple hair, a purple choker, and a small hairpin holding back one side of her bangs, exposing half her forehead. Amethyst-like purple eyes.
The clothes themselves weren't the problem — plenty of adventurers dressed casually. But…
"Isn't she… a little *too* revealing for a white mage…?"
Yeah. That was the word.
The White Mage Association was notorious for being ridiculously strict about appearance. Their approved uniform was designed to be modest — something about embodying the image of a "saint." Yet here she was, wearing it like a loose jacket, exposing shoulders, arms, midriff, and thighs in hot pants.
She looked more like a delinquent fashion model than a white mage.
While I was thinking that—
"Hmm… But seriously, Hero, why do *I* have to do this? Why don't you just do it yourself?"
"…Hmph. If I could, I would."
"Ohhh, I see. Fine, fine. You better be grateful, seriously."
"Hey, watch how you talk to a young master…"
"Yeah yeah, oh great young master, sorry sorry~"
She was openly sassing Wisdom, who was trying to scold her. Their party definitely had some… tension.
After Wisdom raised his voice, he eventually gave up with a heavy sigh.
"…That's your opponent."
"By the way, is it true you *lost*? And to a girl too…? Lame~"
"Guh…"
The purple-haired girl grinned wickedly. Wisdom's face twisted into something terrifying. Please stop, seriously.
"Aaah, I really shouldn't have joined a hero party. I'm so busy I have no free time, I never get to see *that person*, and I thought maybe hero parties would at least interact sometimes but nope—"
She grumbled complaints under her breath.
"Let's just get this over with quickly. I finally have a day off and I don't want to waste—"
The moment she lazily turned her gaze toward us, her eyes flew wide open.
"…Eve?"
She stared straight at Eve, stunned.
"Huh… so that's how it is… You're the white mage, huh."
A fearless, almost predatory grin slowly spread across her face.
"I was thinking this whole thing was such a hassle… but if it's *you*, that changes everything. Heh. Perfect timing. Let's finally settle who's better once and for all. Obviously it's gonna be me, though. Back in school you might've had the edge, but now I'm—"
She crossed her arms, puffed out her chest, and started talking excitedly. She sounded hostile, but her tail would've been wagging furiously if she had one.
Clearly, she and Eve were friends. Probably got along great back at Magikos Magic Academy.
Or so I thought.
Eve, however, just tilted her head blankly.
"...Who are you?"
◇
"…Fweh?"
The girl froze solid. Like a statue. Time itself seemed to stop.
"…Aldi. I thought she was Eve's friend? She came in with full friend energy."
"Uhh… well, they *were* classmates. Same white mage department, studied together and all—"
Aldi quietly explained.
She was Maya Katze Violetta. Same age as Eve — 15. Also a prodigy who skipped grades and graduated early.
Eve was always 1st, Maya was always 2nd. So Maya constantly saw Eve as her rival and picked fights with her all the time. Aldi apparently watched it all thinking "she just wants to be friends" and quietly cheered her on.
(You could've just *told* her, man.)
A few minutes later, Maya finally thawed from her frozen state and spoke in a trembling voice.
"We… we talked quite a bit at the academy… didn't we?"
"? I didn't have any friends at the academy."
"Y-you know! You were always 1st, I was always 2nd… My name, Maya Katze Violetta, doesn't it ring any—?"
Maya desperately tried to jog Eve's memory, but Eve just tilted her head thoughtfully.
"…Maya…? Sorry. I don't remember. Back then I… didn't really have the mental space."
She bowed her head apologetically.
Utterly merciless.
"H… Hmph? W-well, whatever! I don't care at all! Not even a little! I didn't remember you either, you know?!"
Maya declared through teary eyes. The girl who'd charged in full "old friend" mode five minutes ago was now putting on the world's most obvious act.
And then, without waiting for the still-stunned Maya to recover, Aldi mercilessly called the start of the match.
◇
"Honestly, if they fight normally, Eve's got no chance… Wonder how this'll go."
After the match began, Aldi sat next to me and calmly analyzed the two girls facing off inside the battle field.
"I figured white mages would just do some weird recovery contest or something."
"They could've… but neither of them seems like the type to be satisfied with that. Especially Eve — she's always been pretty self-conscious about her combat ability."
"Hmm. Well, as long as it doesn't turn into a slugfest, I guess it's fine."
I mean, white mage vs white mage. Both slender girls. Surely it wouldn't get brutal—
"—Oh yeah, I forgot to mention—"
Eve took a proper stance, holding the long staff in both hands.
Maya still looked depressed, but Eve was ready for anything—
"Maya is actually a *gori-gori* frontline fighter."
The instant Aldi said it—
Maya kicked off the ground lightly. Her figure blurred.
"—!"
In one step she was behind Eve, and without slowing down, slammed an open palm into Eve's defenseless back.
""Dark Flame""
No time to breathe — a magical follow-up.
Eve somehow recovered her balance, wrapped magic around her long staff, and managed to intercept and cancel the pursuing spell.
"…White mage?"
The words slipped out unconsciously.
"Maya is one of the rarest types — a white mage whose strongest suit is close combat. Top-tier in academy interpersonal combat rankings. She could even beat swordsmanship students bare-handed. And on top of that, she handles support, recovery, cooking, chores — perfect all-rounder."
"That's… way too high-spec. Can she even be called a white mage anymore?"
"But apparently she dresses like that because the official white mage uniform is 'stupid ugly'."
…Oh. So it's not even rebellion against the association. She just thinks it's tacky.
"Hey! Stop just defending! Attack me already!"
While we were talking, the fight had become completely one-sided. Maya's dance-like ferocious attacks left Eve with no choice but to desperately block with her long staff.
Sweat beaded on Eve's forehead. She was clearly on the back foot. If this continued, defeat was only a matter of time.
"Thinking about it… this is the first time we've fought like this since enrollment…! Just remembering it pisses me off… You beat me so badly back then, and I've been working my ass off ever since—!"
"…Weren't you the one who said you didn't remember?"
"I-I don't remember! But *that* part I remember!"
Maya desperately tried to cover her obvious lie. Eve's calm "I see" clearly irritated her even more.
"…But if she was *that* strong, why was she only 2nd? Eve was last in practicals. Shouldn't Maya have taken 1st…?"
"Ahh, about that. Eve had points outside the normal evaluation categories. White mage department doesn't get many points for combat anyway… Oh, speak of the devil. Looks like she's finally doing it."
Aldi pointed with his paw.
Maya was also an almost flawless student. And yet… she still never took first.
In the arena, Eve slowly raised the long staff with both hands.
Maya, thinking Eve was finally going to counterattack, crossed her arms and watched smugly.
"The biggest reason was Eve's recovery magic thesis. It made a huge impact on the White Mage Association. She was even nominated as a 'Saintess of Water' candidate. But the real reason she took first—"
Eve took a small, focused breath and gently closed her eyes.
Water-colored magical power gathered around her, converging into the staff. The originally white staff began glowing a beautiful, fantasy-like aqua blue.
"Magic Deployment — "Water Life Scythe""
The moment Eve whispered it—
The water-colored magic unfurled.
A giant, translucent crescent blade — taller than a person — formed in her hands.
The thin, clear blue edge looked sharp enough to slice skin at the slightest touch… yet somehow gave off a gentle, enveloping warmth.
But what caught my attention most was—
"Black magic power… That's a blessing, isn't it?"
A sinister black aura coiled around the blue scythe — the mark of a blessing.
"I was a demon."
Eve spoke quietly, almost to herself.
"I've killed. So many people. People begging to live. People crying for help. I killed them with my own hands."
Her voice was small, like a confession.
"If I had been stronger… no one would have died. If I'd refused harder, run away, anything… it wouldn't have ended like that. The blessing's power didn't matter. It was my own weakness that killed them."
Eve looked down, gripping the staff tightly. Her voice trembled with regret, fragile and anxious.
"So I never want to kill again. Never want to hurt anyone… But just healing isn't enough. If I really want to protect people… there will come a time when I have to fight."
"Hmph! What are you muttering about?! What can you even do with that huge, clunky scythe?!"
Maya leaped back, putting distance between them. She picked up a fallen branch, wrapped it in dark magic — the dimension-slicing "Void Blade" — and charged head-on.
"Magic is hard enough to use one at a time. Especially opposing attributes. Even I can only handle two at once. Someone like Jirei who casually uses multiple simultaneously is just abnormal."
Aldi watched with an amused grin.
"But Eve managed it. A level of magic manipulation that even the top elders of the Magic Society can barely use. And—"
Maya rushed forward, raising her right hand wrapped in dark magic, ready to slice Eve apart.
But—
"…Eh?"
The one who got cut… was Maya.
Eve had merely swung the scythe so it *just barely* grazed Maya's arm.
And yet Maya's right hand fell to the ground with a soft thud.
"I've changed. Thanks to Rei… I was able to change."
""Superior Heal – High Heal"!"
Maya immediately tried to regenerate her hand.
But—
"Wh-why isn't it healing?! Why—hii!"
No matter how many times she cast it, the wound didn't close. Worse — black, sinister magic began spreading from the cut, eating away at her flesh.
I glanced at the fallen hand.
"Over-Heal"
It wasn't a cutting attack.
The moment the blue blade touched Maya, Eve had deliberately triggered an *over-excess* of healing magic at that exact point — creating this horrifying phenomenon on purpose.
The blade itself probably had no physical substance. Nothing around it was damaged.
And that giant scythe—
"—Eve created a magic that deploys two opposing attributes at once. Healing for allies… destruction for enemies. And she uses her blessing to keep it under perfect, permanent control."
Aldi sounded genuinely impressed.
"I never want to repeat the same mistakes. So I won't forget what I did. To protect people… to become someone who can fight for them… I have to become strong."
Eve held the scythe steady and looked straight at Maya. Her eyes burned with quiet determination.
To perform magic this advanced… it couldn't have been easy. Precise magic control, deep understanding of recovery, advanced enchantment… and then combining them into an original spell? Nearly impossible.
Unless you spent every single day—
"Eve spent every night after class locked in the academy library. She ran laps around the grounds until she collapsed every morning. She drank that disgusting magic enhancement potion three times a day without fail. I never understood why she pushed herself so hard… but now I get it."
"…I see."
"—From now on, run every day until you collapse. Healthier body = better magic quality."
"—You're drinking that insanely bitter potion too. Every day."
"—I'll be away for a while, but don't slack off. You need to master recovery magic before you can make a spirit contract."
My own words from the past echoed in my head.
"People made fun of her for it. But Eve just kept going alone, head down, full speed ahead. When you're that focused… it's no wonder she doesn't remember Maya."
"—Let the haters hate. What matters is what *you* want to do. Just do the thing you want."
Just some casual, irresponsible words I'd tossed out without thinking.
And yet… Eve had kept every single one. Even after I left. Even searching alone for something as uncertain as the blessing of the World Tree.
…All for me.
I'm not some noble person who wants to change or save people. I'm just a lazy, irresponsible piece of trash who loves freedom more than anything.
"…"
I roughly scratched my head.
…I really don't want to think about this. It's annoying. Troublesome.
The version of me that Eve and the others see is fake. A lie. I'm not someone worthy of respect or admiration.
And yet—
Watching Maya eventually surrender, overwhelmed by the blessing's corrosion, and Eve standing there quietly… the emotion rising in my chest felt irritating.
I scratched my head even harder.
…I really, *really* don't want to think about it.
The match ended. Eve's victory. Everything went back as it should, including Maya's hand.
Eve and Maya returned from inside the battle field.
"U… uuu… I-I didn't *really* lose… okay? I just… let my guard down… s-so I'm not… frustrated… at all… uuu…"
Maya hugged her knees and sniffled pathetically.
Eve looked at her, troubled, then slowly approached.
"…I'm sorry."
"Don't… apologize! It just makes it… worse…"
Maya swatted Eve's offered hand away and curled up tighter, like a turtle.
"No… not about that."
"What…? Just go away! You don't… you don't even matter to me!"
Eve ignored the rejection. She gently rubbed Maya's back the way you'd soothe a crying child.
"I'm sorry… for forgetting you."
"…It's fine. I don't care. I didn't want to be friends anyway…!"
"Yeah. We weren't friends back then."
"Hmph! I didn't want to be friends with you either—!"
"So—"
Eve reached out again, slowly, ignoring Maya's attempts to push her away.
"Let's become friends… starting today."
"…Eh?"
"I didn't have room in my heart to notice back then. I'm really sorry… So, from now on… friends."
"Th-that's… I don't… really…"
Maya turned her face away, stubbornly refusing to be honest.
Eve gently took Maya's hand and squeezed it.
"…Friends."
She smiled — a soft, rare, adorable smile that almost never appeared on Eve's usually expressionless face.
Maya stared for a moment, then scrubbed her tear-soaked face roughly and turned aside.
"F-fine! If you're gonna insist *that* much, then I guess I don't mind being friends with you! Can't be helped, huh! Geez!"
She kept glancing sideways at Eve, unable to hide how happy she was. Extremely obvious.
"B-but don't get the wrong idea! I'm still your rival! My party is going to defeat the Demon Lord first!"
"…Bring it on."
"And… since we're both hero parties… I guess I could go shopping for white mage stuff with you sometime… if you want!"
"Mm. Then… my staff broke earlier. Let's go buy a new one together."
"Can't be helped! Geez!!"
Despite her tsundere words, Maya's face lit up like the sun. She looked incredibly happy.
Good for her.
◇
"…Want some water?"
"…"
"…Thanks."
A few minutes later, Eve came back over. I used "Water Creation" to fill a cup and handed it to her.
She drank it down in small, polite gulps, then let out a soft sigh.
"Eve… that was amazing! To use such advanced magic…"
"…Thanks. Rafine, beating that huge wolf beastman was incredible too."
Rafine gave honest praise. Eve looked a little embarrassed, but praised her right back.
Looked like Rafine had mostly recovered too.
She was back to full energy, saying things like "It's all thanks to my burning love for Jirei-sama~" while Eve calmly countered with "No, I love him more."
Please stop.
"…"
I listened silently to the two of them chattering happily.
"…Eve."
"? What is it, Rei?"
After a while, I called her name without looking at her. Just one quiet sentence.
"You worked really hard, huh."
Eve blinked in surprise, eyes wide.
Then her face slowly melted into the happiest, softest smile.
"…Yeah."
Just that one word.
Her cheeks were relaxed, genuinely delighted.
All because I said something on a whim.
…I really don't understand.
I—
"Um… Jirei-sama? I worked hard too, you know? Why is Eve the only one getting praised? Um… hello?"
"Ah… no, Rafine, you did great too. Seriously. Really."
Rafine had grabbed the hem of my shirt, pulling me out of my thoughts. She was smiling with her mouth, but her eyes were not smiling.
Scary. Very scary.
…Well, anyway.
Both of them won safely.
Next up—
"Seriously… every single one of them… useless trash."
Lucas — the man who'd been watching everything with cold eyes — finally stood up, spitting venom at his teammates.
"Come here, D-rank. I'll teach you your place. Guess the girls will be going without you."
—My turn to smash this guy.