“And, well, that brought me here,” said Halpha, “but to be honest, I’m getting bored.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Nobody will fight me. How am I supposed to develop my skills if I don’t have partners to work with?”
Anybody who fought Halpha could be completely healed with healing magic, but that didn’t mean you could easily wipe away the fear of having your weak points targeted and the pain that came when they were hit. I had to imagine it would traumatize most people so bad that they’d never want to stand in front of Halpha again.
“That’s why, though it was not my intent, I thoroughly enjoyed my sparring contest with Usato.”
“You enjoyed that?”
“Well, I lost, but yes.”
I couldn’t believe he could say that, but then again, that was Usato for you. He had his ways. Halpha chuckled as he went on.
“I don’t like to lose, but I felt my limits when Usato defeated me, and it filled me with a desire to grow even stronger.”
“Er, Halpha?” I asked, suddenly scared.
Halpha ignored me.
“I’m going to have to further develop my powers of observation to ensure I’m not caught by similar feints ever again. However, it might be better to strengthen my body first. Now that I can see how much more there is to do, I realize that I was conceited. If you’re too proud of what you are, you’ll lack the true subconscious will to grow more powerful. The next time I meet Usato, I’m going to ask him for another round so that I can find whatever new weak points have emerged.”
Halpha’s face was a terrifying thing to look at. And not only that, his aura was so overwhelming that I took two steps away from him without even realizing it. Even the people around us in town had stopped and were looking at him in wonder. Some of them even looked on the verge of fainting. Fighting against my own instincts, and knowing it was a little rude, I gave Halpha a pat on the shoulder.
“Halpha,” I said, “you might want to cool down a touch, yeah?”
“Oh, I apologize,” Halpha replied, scratching his cheek bashfully. “It seems I lost myself in thought for a moment.”
Suddenly, all the people around us were looking at me in confusion—they couldn’t believe that I could so casually calm a monster with a light pat on the shoulder. But it wasn’t just them—I couldn’t believe that I did it, either.
And then I realized that Halpha was standing with his arms crossed, staring at me in silence.
“Um, what’s wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked.
“It just occurred to me as I was thinking about my own strength . . . when I look at you and Usato, well . . .”
“Well?”
“I can’t help but think that it might not be a bad idea if I were to go to the Llinger Kingdom, too.”
“What?!”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean right away. I was just thinking of it as a potential option later down the line. I still haven’t graduated, you know.”
For a moment, I thought he was saying he would go with me to Llinger.
But still, his words jolted me.
“But what would you do at Llinger Kingdom, Halpha?”
“I could become a knight. Before Usato visited, I was thinking of becoming one of Samariarl’s knights. But now that I’ve made Usato’s acquaintance, the idea of joining the Llinger Kingdom’s forces is also appealing.”
“Wow,” I said.
“That, and Luqvist is much closer.”
Halpha’s last addition seemed to erase all the weight in his earlier statement.
“There’s also one more reason,” said Halpha.
“It’s not because the food is delicious or something like that, is it?” I asked exasperated.
Halpha chuckled.
“Oh, perhaps that’s a good reason also . . . but no. Simply put, it strikes me as the kind of nation that would embrace a magical-eye user like myself.”
“Oh, I see,” I said.
“Ordinarily speaking, the idea of a magical-eye user becoming a knight is preposterous. Such people might be turned away before they even get the chance to take the entry exam. But I’ve since heard that Llinger judges people not by their magical type but by their actual ability, and that, to me, gives it great value.”
Superiority was something often determined by one’s magic. That was especially true with knights, who spent much of their time in battle. But the Llinger Kingdom was a place without such discrimination. That made it a potential bright future for Halpha.
“I have to say though,” I ventured, “I can’t see you as a knight.”
“I’m well aware of that—even I can’t imagine myself decked out in armor and swinging a sword around.”
Halpha used his speed and agility to read his opponents and intercept their movements. If he had to wear armor, his speed would be hampered.
“Then again, I feel like you could cut down your foes by reading their movements and landing fierce counter shots. It’s like, if you can’t take victory with your first blow, you can at least severely punish your enemy for theirs,” I chuckled at the thought. “But it’s not like you at all to give your opponent any initiative, is it?”
“You might be onto something,” remarked Halpha.
“Hm?”
“Ah, yes. I see, I see,” said Halpha, thinking. “Fatal counter shots. What a most wonderful thing you’ve just brought to my attention. Instead of intercepting my opponent’s first move, I could give them a perceived opening just to land an even more powerful counter strike. I don’t think I’m capable of such a thing at present, but if I train those skills . . .”
Oh no! Halpha’s making that terrifying face again! His pursuit of strength is inhuman!
“Halpha! Halpha! Come back to me!” I cried.
“Huh . . .? Oh. Did I lose myself in my thoughts again?”
“Just how often do you do that?” I asked, exasperated.
Still, I was impressed by his drive to improve and grow. He was completely different than me. When I learned I was a healer, I gave up completely. Halpha, on the other hand, ignored all the criticism thrown his way, and in his pursuit of strength, he’d carved out a place for himself. To top things off, he still wasn’t done—he was aiming to become even more powerful.
And just like that, I realized that I respected him.
“You’re amazing, Halpha,” I remarked.
Halpha responded with a bashful grin. Although he seemed for a moment skeptical of my compliment, he relaxed into a smile a moment afterward.
“I think you’re the amazing one, Nack,” he replied.
“But I was just a complete nobody until recently,” I said. “I was helpless, lost, and stuck at the whims of whoever wanted to push me around.”
“But that’s exactly what is so amazing. Under Usato’s tutelage, you crawled up and over the adversity that faced you, and you overcame it. It is not easy for people to confront their tormentors face to face, but you accepted your own fears, and it earned you a victory over Mina Lycia.”
Halpha put a hand on my shoulder, then went on.
“You are a nobody no more, and you are far from helpless now. There is no need for you to put yourself down any longer. In your victory over Mina, you became one of the strong.”
“Halpha,” I uttered.
“You are a person who knows hard work and the power of effort. I hold those who know such things in very high regard. I will never respect those who blame their losses on the ‘talents’ of their opponents. You worked hard, and you earned what you got. And that, simply put, is amazing.”
It reminded me of something that Kyo had said to me.
Halpha is merciless. He judges people only on whether they are strong or weak.
But, actually, that wasn’t true. Halpha watched people closely. He didn’t think about people in terms of strong or weak, but rather whether or not they were working to reach what they wanted. It was clear to me now that Halpha hated those who gave up on improving themselves and stopped believing in their own potential. He hated people who simply decided things were impossible and refused to stand up for themselves . . . just like the sort of person I once was.
Halpha only opened his heart to those he felt were seriously giving life their best efforts.
“Be confident in yourself, Nack,” he said.
“I will,” I said, though I could hear my own voice wavering.
Halpha was an easy person to misunderstand, but I felt like now I had an understanding of who he was. He was the strongest person in the Luqvist School of Magic, but also the loneliest person, too. Halpha took his hand off my shoulder and turned. He started to walk back the way we had come.
“Well then, I should be heading home,” he said.
“Um, thank you, Halpha,” I said.
“No, no, thank you. It’s been a long time since I had such a fun discussion with someone.”
I’d been so scared of him to begin with, but now, talking to Halpha felt entirely natural.
If only I’d talked to him sooner . . . but then again, it’s only because I am who I am now that I could talk to him. As the old me, I would have turned tail and fled the moment I saw his face.
“I’m sad to hear that you’ll be leaving so soon,” said Halpha, “but more than that, I’m looking forward to seeing where your efforts take you.”
I laughed.
“That’s exactly what the headmistress said to me.”
“That just means we see the same things in you. And I bet it’s not just us—Kiriha, Kyo, and Usato all expect great things from you.”
Wow, talk about responsibilities.
And yet, they weren’t such a bad thing to shoulder. I had to chuckle at how I once hated the idea of expectations in all forms. How much I’d changed.
“We’ll meet again,” I said, “and when we do, I’ll be strong enough to fight you!”
“Nothing would make me happier,” said Halpha with a laugh. “That just means I’m going to have to work especially hard to make sure I don’t lose.”
I could see by the smile on his face that I’d set his competitive spirit alight. I’d brought that on myself, sure, but it was also just another reason for me to work hard and grow stronger. Halpha waved and I watched him walk back toward the school. Then I gave myself a slap on the cheeks with both hands to get myself together and started walking again.
“Wow, it’s gotten pretty dark,” I muttered.
The last light of sunset was fading, and the night sky was stretching out above my head. The magical lanterns around the city began to light up, illuminating the way for its citizens.
“Perfect timing for dinner, perhaps.”
Kyo and Kiriha were waiting. The thought made me happy. I felt a lightness in my step. So much had happened in just one day, but it still wasn’t over yet.