EP.165 Autumn, New Semester (8)
The duel has ended, and the winner has been decided.
Every moment had the audience on the edge of their seats, holding their breath as they cheered loudly. Many were intoxicated by the excitement of the battle, their cheers echoing throughout the coliseum.
Waaaaaaah!
The applause and cheers flowed like a river.
The heroes of the duel were showered with praise.
“That’s right, Lac! Everyone, that kid is the top disciple of the White Tower!”
“White, please…”
“Haha! Hasn’t it been ‘proven again’ that the White is superior to the Black? Losers should just sulk!”
“…It’s maddening.”
Among the raucous audience, one voice stood out, but it was drowned in the cheers. In the midst of the commotion, Belnoa stood in the arena, gazing blankly at the crowd.
It felt strange.
This refreshing feeling was new to him.
The cheers didn’t feel noisy like they used to. They no longer sounded like mere noise. It was unfamiliar, but an enjoyable unfamiliarity.
“Feeling good, huh?”
At the sound of the voice, Belnoa turned his head.
Lac, grinning widely, looked back at him. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he continued speaking.
“You’ve discovered the joy of battle. You’re now a proper warrior…”
“What are you talking about.”
Belnoa managed a bitter smile as he interrupted, but he couldn’t really deny it. He didn’t quite understand the honor of being a proper warrior, but he thought he might have some inkling of the joy of battling.
His battered body.
The overwhelming exhaustion from squeezing every bit of mana out.
Both Lac and Belnoa found it hard to stand. Leaning on each other, they staggered toward the waiting room. Just moments ago, they had fought desperately against one another, and now they were walking arm in arm.
The duel was over.
It wasn’t a duel that left behind uncomfortable feelings filled with emotional bruises. They had both simply done their best. The process was clean, which made the result equally so.
The duel was over, and the winner was determined.
Belnoa, who always held the top spot, had stepped back to second place. Lac’s name, now the new top disciple, echoed from the crowd.
Lac von Grace
The prince of the North smiled at the sweetness of victory.
2.
The duel that had heated Apuria was now over. The students were guided by the academy staff as they exited the coliseum. Having left the coliseum first, Belnoa glanced through the window in the hallway at the departing procession.
So many had come.
As he walked down the hallway with that thought, it was eerily quiet compared to the ruckus outside. As he walked through the desolate hallway, the sharp scent of medicinal herbs caught his attention, leading him to the infirmary.
Thud, Belnoa paused in front of the infirmary. He thought about borrowing some painkillers and bandages. Though he was recovering quickly from his frequent injuries, it still hurt.
“…”
Reaching out for the door of the infirmary, he suddenly sighed as he looked at his fingers.
Not a single finger was uninjured. He hadn’t noticed during the heat of battle, but now that the duel was over, they throbbed painfully.
‘…It would hurt if I grabbed them.’
After a moment of hesitation, Belnoa nudged open the infirmary door with the tip of his foot. Just as he stepped inside, a breeze rustled his hair.
Swish.
Had the door been ajar? He blinked, then looked inside the infirmary.
“Oh.”
Someone was sitting inside.
The wind blew, causing her shiny ash-gray hair to sway. She waved at Belnoa.
“You came quickly.”
“…Professor Rania?”
What’s the professor doing here?
Just as he was about to ask, Rania gestured with her finger towards the chair in front of her.
“I borrowed it for a bit. No need for chit-chat, just sit down.”
“Uh?”
“Come and sit.”
Belnoa tilted his head but complied, taking a seat as Rania reached for the shelf and skillfully retrieved some medicinal supplies.
“I’ve broken a lot of bones, so I know this. Last time, your bandaging was really shabby.”
“What? Shabby?”
“You didn’t even set the bones right and just let them heal however they wanted, and look at your finger now.”
She pointed at Belnoa’s finger.
Indeed, the finger he had bent the most was crooked. While he stared at his hand, Rania motioned for him to extend his arm.
“Stretch out your arm.”
He did as told.
Rania held Belnoa’s wrist and twisted his arm around. She clicked her tongue.
“See? Sorcerers’ fingers all look like this. For a mage, fingers that draw circuits are life. But if you destroy your hands like this, what can you do?”
She tilted her head slightly.
“Let’s align those bones now.”
“…What?”
‘Align the bones again?’
Can it really be that simple?
Belnoa blinked at Rania, who was tilting her head. Her gray hair flowed down, and the shape of her head caught Belnoa’s attention.
Crack.
With one hand, she firmly gripped Belnoa’s wrist while her other hand adjusted his broken finger. It was a tingling sensation, mixed with intermittent sharp pains, causing Belnoa to frown.
It was a strange feeling.
Even Belnoa knew the identity of the woman bowing before him. She was the legendary Ashen Mage. And this figure was now attempting to fix his broken bones.
‘Actually, I still can’t quite believe it…’
The image didn’t align at all.
Historically, the Ashen Mage’s signature expression depicted constant scowls. Objectively handsome, but rather than a soft look, it had a sharp, deadly aura.
In contrast, the woman before him?
She was gentle rather than sharp. If approached without knowledge of her true identity, countless would fall into misunderstanding. She looked soft, kind, and innocent.
It was the same now.
Watching Rania tend to her own fingers, Belnoa subtly turned his head. He felt a ticklish sensation inside.
“Uh, professor, when will it be over…”
“Just wait. I can see the skeleton now.”
…See the skeleton?
“Uh?”
“I learned a few things from Sara over the shoulder, you know? But she’s a saint, so she’s good at setting bones.”
Though it was a bit painful.
Muttering to herself, Rania suddenly gripped Belnoa’s finger tightly. His eyes widened. Kah!, a scream escaped from Belnoa’s lips.
“One, two.”
Crack, crack.
“Three.”
Crack, crack, crack!
Flashes of light burst before Belnoa’s eyes.
“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Unable to hold back, he screamed. As Belnoa trembled and attempted to flee, Rania’s grip on his wrist showed no sign of loosening.
“Hey, stay still!”
The ticklish feeling had long since vanished.
In its place came pain; literally bone-breaking pain. As flashes of pain exploded before his eyes, Belnoa writhed in agony.
“This way? No, this way is more…”
Rania mumbled, shaking Belnoa’s finger back and forth. Belnoa’s movements made treatment difficult.
“Just hang in there.”
After a delayed attempt to cast a pain-relief spell, the spell didn’t completely erase the pain. Eventually, Rania layered several spells onto him.
Finally, it’s a bit stable now.
With a thud, Belnoa’s body relaxed.
In the silence, the unsettling sounds continued to crackle like twigs snapping. This went on for about ten minutes before it finally stopped.
“Ah, done.”
Somehow, it worked.
Rania looked at Belnoa’s finger with a satisfied expression. Wrapping his finger in a bandage, she glanced up slightly.
“…What’s wrong? Why are you looking like that?”
Belnoa lay back, staring blankly at the ceiling. It looked like drool might be forming at the corner of his mouth, but Rania decided to ignore such trivial matters.
“Hey, it’s over.”
“Hiss, what? What?”
Belnoa opened his eyes, dazed.
He stared at his fingers blankly. Looking at the neatly bandaged finger, Belnoa’s eyes reflected emptiness.
“Belnoa, are you in there?”
At that moment, creak, the door opened, and someone walked in. Belnoa, with hollow eyes, gazed at the visitor entering the infirmary.
“I’ve been looking for you forever. Oh? Professor Rania is here too?”
It was Chloe. She approached casually, then gasped when she saw Belnoa’s finger.
“Oh, what? You’re always wrapping your bandages weirdly, and I came to fix it for you… but it’s already done?”
You could do it this neatly?
Belnoa, receiving the curious gaze from his childhood friend, answered weakly.
“…I didn’t do it.”
“Then who?”
“I had it done for me.”
Chloe turned to look at Rania, who shrugged as if it was no big deal. She continued speaking.
“It’s wrapped up nicely, right?”
“Yes! It’s very neat! Professor, I see you have knowledge in this area too?”
“I know a few things.”
Wow, impressive!
I’m a bit too!
Exchanging playful banter, Belnoa stared at Rania and Chloe with cold eyes. The childhood friend who always felt like a bright light now seemed dim. This place was filled only with darkness.
3.
In the visitor waiting room.
In a separate waiting room prepared for distinguished guests, the masters of the Black and White Towers conversed while waiting for their disciples.
“You see, Black? What did I say? The White proved to be superior to the Black, and our Lac demonstrated it…”
An endless monologue.
How many times are you going to say the same thing?
Yetual frowned. He had the urge to cover his ears due to the incessant chatter of the White Tower Master. It was noisy. Very much so.
“I know, I know.”
“Ha! Don’t you know that losers must endure humiliation? Just sit quietly and listen to the winner’s bragging!”
As Celli continued her endless boasting, Yetual began to feel pity.
How deeply wounded must their pride be in the North to go this far?
White Tower Master, Selly Devela.
Yetual remembered that when wounded, she would often act in this manner to regain her pride.
Boasting to an unreasonable extent.
Now, Yetual could see that Selly’s behavior had crossed the line. Her repeating the same story multiple times had made it clear.
…The White is better than the Black, so I’m superior to you…
Yetual looked at Selly with pity.
By the way, didn’t I hear something about planning to bring Professor Rania into the White Tower?
He thought he recalled hearing such things.
Given the current state of the White Tower, it was clear that plan had utterly failed. Moreover, it had resulted in a blow to their pride.
…What? Why are you looking at me like that?
“Nothing. Keep talking.”
…Even without asking, I was going to anyway?
Yetual sighed, letting Selly’s words enter one ear and exit the other.
When is the kid coming?
Sitting here waiting to see that renowned disciple of the proud White Tower, yet there was no sign of him arriving.
“White, is your disciple coming soon?”
…He should be here soon.
“Didn’t you tell him in advance?”
No?
“What?”
Yetual frowned.
How could he know to come here without any hint?
“Lac is always the first to find his Master after winning a duel. Knowing I’ve come to visit, he should be here soon.”
Our Lac is such a good boy!
Selly shrugged her shoulders, and a significant amount of confidence was evident in her stance.
“He’ll be here soon! Unlike any other disciple, our Lac is a boy who knows how to respect his Master!”
Thirty more minutes passed.
Lac had not arrived.
Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay!
