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Chapter 279

“What exactly are you up to?” she asked.

“Nothing! It’s just what it seems.”

“Now you’re not just causing trouble yourself, but pushing others into it as well?”

“Why is entering Mister Temple a problem?”

“If you force someone to do something they would never do on their own, that’s causing trouble.”

“I did it with good intentions.”

‘Um... it wasn’t entirely good intentions...’

In fact, I had begun to think that maybe I should stop Cliffman from entering. His talent for combat was great, but if things went wrong, he would gain nothing and would be scarred forever. He was a good kid despite his nervousness, and I didn’t want to put him through that.

While I didn’t agree with Harriet’s accusation that I was making him cause trouble, suggesting that Cliffman enter the Mister Temple contest might in itself have been a mistake.

“This guy does the most unexpected things and confuses others, doesn’t he? Right, Ellen?”

Ellen nodded.

Even I thought that suggesting such a thing to Cliffman out of the blue was pretty random. I would normally never do something like that. Unfortunately, the unpredictable events had been forced upon me at an unpredictable time by that meddlesome guy, and I couldn’t just do nothing.

Ellen was looking at me. “I think I know why,” she said.

‘How could she know why I was doing this?’

“You said you were going to help a friend, but you really wanted to see that senior, right?”

‘What kind of ridiculous misunderstanding is this?’

“N-No! What kind of nonsense is that?”

“You’re using this as an excuse to go see Miss Temple. Even if it’s not that senior specifically.”

“... Wow.”

Harriet’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t considered that possibility. If anyone could convey the sentiment “you piece of trash” with just a look, it would be Harriet.

‘No, guys... I mean, you’re right, but not really. There’s a reason behind this... There really is...!’

“Hey, even if that’s not the reason, what’s wrong with going? Is it such a big deal if I go?”

“There’s no reason you can’t go.”

“... Right.”

Then why were they looking at me like they wanted to devour me?

In the end, I became the guy who was actually trying to go see the Miss Temple contest under the pretense of supporting a friend in the Mister Temple contest. I ended up being the weirdo making bizarre excuses when I could have just gone openly.

One way or another, studying fell by the wayside.

Harriet, who seemed deep in thought, looked at me and asked, “So, is that senior entering the tournament too?”

“How would I know that?”

“You always seem to know everything, even things you don’t need to.”

That was true, but I really didn’t know if Olivia was entering the tournament or not.

Come to think of it, she had provoked Ellen by saying that, when it came to Miss Temple or the open tournament, she could win them all. Since she said that, would she enter the tournament?

“...”

Ellen remained silent.

“Are you seriously thinking of entering?” I asked.

“Why?” Ellen asked, looking at me intently. “Do you think I would lose?”

“No, I didn’t say anything like that.”

I had just asked if she was going to enter, but she responded as if I had implied she would lose.

However, considering what I’d seen in the classroom earlier that day, and the fact that Olivia was a fifth-year student... It could actually prove slightly difficult for Ellen to beat her in her current state.

As usual, I wasn’t good at hiding my expressions, and Ellen seemed to read something from my face.

“Forget it. I’m not really interested in the tournament anyway,” Ellen said, turning her attention back to her textbooks. However, she didn’t look particularly happy.

“... Let’s call it a day,” she said.

Whether she was upset or just tired, Ellen sat for a moment before saying she was exhausted and left. I stared blankly at the study room door, which Ellen had quietly closed behind her.

“You made her mad with your weird comments!” Harriet scolded me.

“Why are you blaming me?”

Harriet had brought up the tournament and made the whole situation awkward. Of course, it wasn’t really her fault.

Harriet glanced over at the study room door with a troubled expression.

“Do you really think... Ellen would lose?”

“Who knows?”

“... I can’t really imagine it.”

Harriet seemed to find it hard to picture Ellen losing. Although she had seen Ellen get beaten by Loyar, Ellen was quite different compared to back then. Harriet couldn’t imagine Ellen losing.

Anyway, Ellen had said she wasn’t interested in the tournament, and it seemed to be true. It was strange. I thought Ellen, with her competitive spirit, would want to face Olivia Lanche in the tournament. I didn’t expect her to be indifferent to the whole thing, even if she didn’t care that much about winning or losing.

But then...

“Hey.”

“What?”

“What about me?” Harriet asked out of the blue.

“What do you mean, what about you? What are you talking about?”

“Do you think I would lose to that senior too?”

I was taken aback by her unexpected question.

“You? What are you talking about?”

“... Why? Am I not allowed to enter the tournament?”

“Isn’t the tournament for close combat majors? You’re a magic major.”

“There’s no rule saying I can’t enter. I know that much.”

She was right.

The reason magic majors typically didn’t enter the tournament was that it was nearly impossible for them to defeat close combat majors.

How could they afford to take five seconds to cast an offensive spell when a close combat major could close the distance in a fraction of a second? It was a fight in a confined space, face-to-face, not an ambush. To say it was disadvantageous would be an understatement.

If anyone were to enter, I thought it would be Ellen.

“You’ll never know unless you try,” Harriet said.

I didn’t understand why Harriet was acting this way. However, the incident in Aaron Mede’s mansion seemed to have changed something within her. She seemed willing to face an opponent in a situation in which the outcome was hard to predict.

“... Just don’t overdo it.”

“Okay.” Harriet smiled at me. “You’ll cheer for me, right?”

“... People usually cheer for the underdog.”

“So what?”

Seeing Harriet tilt her head in confusion, I sighed.

“Of course, I’ll cheer for you.”

‘Because it’s obvious you’ll lose.’

“You’re so annoying!” Harriet fumed.

In the end, Harriet, not Ellen, decided to enter the open tournament. I genuinely planned to cheer for Harriet. After all, just making it far enough to face Olivia Lanche would be an incredible achievement.

***

In the end, our study session for the exams was half-hearted, but it wasn’t like we didn’t study at all.

Harriet went off to submit her application for the open tournament. Even though she was a genius, I couldn’t fathom how she planned to overcome the numerous close combat majors and even senior students in such a disadvantageous situation. She must have had her own plans.

I had been forced to study by the other two, but I wasn’t particularly motivated for the exams. I left the study room and practiced my swordsmanship alone in the training ground.

Mana Reinforcement...

“Hmm...”

While it wasn’t as effective as in real combat situations, I was starting to get the hang of it. I could now move things that were previously immovable, which awakened an entirely new sense of power within me.

The combination of the lessons I had unknowingly absorbed and my Self-Deception, which had risen to A rank, made me stronger.

I might not be able to win the open tournament, but I could definitely win the first-year tournament.

The strongest contender, Ellen, wasn’t going to participate.

“Break,” I muttered softly towards the scarecrow, but nothing happened.

“...”

This was frustrating.

Self-Deception... Even though there was a penalty for physical enhancement or whatever, most of it was done through thought.

However, when it came to Incantation, I had to say the words out loud. I had to shout what I wanted with conviction. The sight of me shouting “Break” in front of a scarecrow without anything happening was several hundred times more embarrassing than using Self-Deception. It was nothing but utter humiliation!

I had become someone with the most powerful superpower in the world, yet the effectiveness of my ability was directly proportional to my level of embarrassment when using it. Why? If I had to use Incantation in real combat, I would have to shout something, and if nothing happened, it would be incredibly humiliating!

Why did all my abilities feel like this? Even Incantation seemed less effective than Self-Deception at rank F. In the end, it seemed I was still a typical comic book protagonist-type of ability user—the kind whose powers only worked at full output when they were serious.

Of course, having a supernatural power that worked well in training but failed during real combat would be even more useless. I knew this was much better, but it was still tough.

“Uh, w-will you b-break...?”

My voice grew quieter as I started to feel dejected. Practicing Incantations loudly in the training ground was embarrassing enough, but if someone walked in, I would want to strangle myself.

I spent hours alone, practicing Mana Reinforcement, Incantation, Self-Deception, and swordsmanship until the sun went down.

Click.

I didn’t know how much time had passed.

“...”

“Oh... you’re here.”

Ellen appeared at the training ground in casual clothes.

Was she still upset about my earlier reaction? She took a training sword from the rack and approached me.

“Let’s do it.”

“Oh, uh, sure.”

Ellen pointed her sword at me as if nothing had happened.

I hadn’t said anything wrong, and we hadn’t fought. Ellen and I practiced swordsmanship as usual.

Clang!

Clang!

Clack!

“Ugh!”

“Try to read the trajectory more.”

“I’m trying...!”

“You’re not doing it at all.”

Creak!

Despite my improved skills, I was still no match for Ellen. In the end, this was more important to me than anything else.

Cliffman wasn’t in the training ground today. Perhaps he was still contemplating.

Smack!

Ellen deflected my sword and quickly brought her elbow towards my chin.

If she had hit me properly, my neck might have snapped, but she stopped just in time. As always, it was my defeat. A defeat that had become a routine part of my life.

“...”

“...”

Ellen and I locked eyes for a moment. Sweat was running down the side of her face, causing her hair to stick to her skin. I always lost. It had become my daily reality.

However, Ellen, who used to spar with me for hours without breaking a sweat, was sweating as well. At some point, she stopped being able to handle me as effortlessly as before.

I couldn’t remember exactly when it happened, but I realized at some point that I had become much stronger. While I couldn’t tire Ellen out, I was no longer an opponent she could easily overpower.

Ellen remained in her stance, looking at me without moving. Because she was shorter than me, she naturally had to look up slightly to meet my gaze.

“Do you think... I’ll lose?” Ellen asked without specifying to whom.

‘Has she been thinking about this all along?’

“How would I know that?”

“You’re lying.” Ellen continued to look at me. “You think I’ll lose.”

“...”

I wasn’t sure of their exact skills, but the gap in sheer experience was too significant. I subconsciously believed that Olivia was stronger than Ellen.

“I know too. That I’d lose. I just wanted to ask. I’m not upset. I know that already.”

Neither of them had shown the other their true skills, but Ellen seemed to have realized it the moment Olivia Lanche had grabbed her wrist. It was the same feeling I had—that she was no match for her.

“Um, I’m sorry.”

“...”

Ellen stared at me quietly. Eventually, she hung the training sword back on the rack and dusted off her hands.

“Don’t apologize.”

“...”

“I hate that even more.”

Ellen sat on the ledge of the training ground window, staring blankly outside. It was winter now.

Was Ellen thinking of entering the open tournament after all? But then she took off her training jacket, revealing a black short-sleeved shirt that was damp with sweat. Draping the jacket over her shoulders, she looked at me.

“I don’t particularly want to fight that person and win.”

“... Is that so?”

Ellen was looking out at the Temple. Winter was setting in. Sitting on the window ledge, she swung her feet slightly and looked at me.

“I’m going to enter Miss Temple.”

“... What?”

“I want to beat her there.”

Ellen had no desire to win in the tournament. She had chosen a completely different battleground.

“It’s not that I want to become Miss Temple. I might end up losing that too. She’s famous and... pretty. But that’s okay.”

“...”

“I just need one vote.”

Ellen said this as she looked at me. She didn’t specify whose vote she needed, but she was looking at me. I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eye.

Ellen said this, then gracefully stepped down from the ledge and walked towards me. She touched my fingertips lightly before letting go.

Despite her composed expression, I had clearly felt Ellen’s hand trembling as it touched mine. She couldn’t look me in the eye either.

“... I’m gonna go now.”

I hadn’t anticipated this. I hadn’t expected Harriet to enter the open tournament, or Ellen to enter Miss Temple.

Both were completely unexpected.