“Wh…What’re you doing…?” asked Lunaria. “You… You scared the daylights out of me… That was so mean…”
“Listen, you two, that’s enough, okay? You’re not supposed to really fight to the death, you know. That’s prohibited. I could tell the king and have you both disqualified right now.”
“Huh? Huh? Whoa! No… No, we were just joking around, okay?” Earnest protested. “No, like, wait… Did that look serious to you? Oh… B-but, Lunaria, that was just us having some fun, right?”
“Y-yeah… Right! I was just teasing you a little bit, wasn’t I, Earnest? Because if I was really serious, I could have frozen you in less than three seconds.”
“What? You want me to turn you into a pile of ash?”
Blade raised his fists again. The two girls closed their eyes tightly and covered their heads. He lowered his hands again, assuming all was well.
“I…I’m leaving!”
Lunaria fled in a hurry, forgetting all about Brynhildr. Claude picked it up before following her out.
“Are you all right?” Blade asked.
“No, I’m not all right,” said Earnest. “That hurt.”
“I didn’t mean you.”
“There’s no problem,” replied Asmodeus.
You’ve got it rough, huh? Blade thought. He was pretty sure Asmodeus could hear him.
“There’s no problem,” came the reply. This thing always kept a cool head.
Blade returned the sword to Earnest. She was still slumped on the floor, so he offered her his hand.
“Th-thanks.”
Earnest stood, quickly fixing her disheveled hair. Blade turned away and looked down the corridor after Lunaria.
It was now pretty clear the two girls were rivals. But what did that mean for them?
✦ ✦ ✦
In one corner of the deserted garden under the blue sky, a young woman was swinging away with her sword, her mind blank. It was late at night, and all that could be heard was her breathing, her sword cutting through the air, and her footsteps.
There was a hint of desperation to her swinging. People called her a genius, and she took pride in that designation. Whether in her studies or in martial arts, she was able to master most things after just one attempt. Even if she couldn’t, she could always tell how many more attempts it would take. She was almost never wrong.
It was only once she matured that she’d realized other people weren’t like that. That was the moment she became aware she was a genius.
And now, that genius was putting in real effort, swinging her sword with all her might.
The match was tomorrow, and despite her talents, she couldn’t be sure of her victory. Would she be able to improve enough in just one night?
She’d reunited with her childhood friend after six months and seen her incredible progress, and she’d been stunned. The two of them had met twice a year for much of their lives, and Earnest had always taken big leaps in the meantime—but this was something else. Lunaria had thought her eyes would pop right out of her skull. The other girl had transformed into a monster with more power than Lunaria could perceive. What kind of harsh, cruel training could cause such a change in just half a year?
Lunaria never knew how to act around Earnest. She was always just about to catch up to her—even though Lunaria was supposed to be a genius! No matter how much Lunaria pushed her away or boasted about the difference in their abilities, Earnest never gave up and never lost heart. She would put in a superhuman amount of work, and in six months, she would close the gap yet again. If Lunaria hadn’t progressed in her own right, Earnest would have easily defeated her.
Lunaria hated this. She hated it so much, it made her want to die.
Why should a genius like her be chased around by Earnest—a completely ordinary girl with no talent beyond her relentless drive? When you realized someone else was leagues ahead of you—so much better you’d never catch up—that was your cue to throw in the towel. She’d been besting Earnest like that ever since they were children. And yet, every time, Earnest would manage to close the gap.