She was often told that if she were really a genius, she could win without even trying, and that approach had worked for her so far. But sometimes even a genius encountered a wall that required effort to overcome—an opponent they couldn’t beat. And that was especially true when that wall was Earnest Flaming.
What’s so wrong with a genius putting in a little effort?!
Lunaria stared at the man, her eyes brimming with the impassioned emotion building up in her.
“You know… You’ve got talent, too,” he said.
Talent? Ha! How dare he describe her abilities with so cheap a word? This is called genius. Something ordinary people should look up to in awe.
“You definitely have talent…but you’re so full of yourself, you don’t put in any effort.”
“Huh? Huuuh? …Huuuh?!”
Lunaria’s eyes went wide. What? What did he just say?
“Huh?! Are you saying I’m not trying? Are you blind?! You were watching me just now, weren’t you?! Can’t you see?!”
“You were just swinging that thing around in the air.”
“I’m practicing for a group fight against several opponents at once! It’s an advanced training technique that requires a high level of imagination and skill! An ordinary person like you couldn’t comprehend it even if I explained step-by-step!”
“It’s just five people on each side, right? That’s hardly a ‘group fight.’ Besides, they’re all ranked lower than you, aren’t they? Simulating a battle against guys you could beat any day isn’t the same as trying. You can’t get stronger if you always take it easy. Do you know what ‘dissing’ someone means? It means coasting and not respecting your opponent. I learned that word just the other day, so…”
“Y-yes! Yes, I know that much! Who do you think I am, anyway?!”
In truth, that term was new to her. Dissed. Dissed… Okay, I’ve memorized it. Good.
This whole conversation was throwing her off. Why, when faced with Lunaria Steinberg herself, was this man capable of acting so casual?
“You want effort?!” she said. “Well, I’m gonna do a lot of other stuff tonight, too, so don’t bother worrying about me!”
“Such as?”
Now Lunaria was furious. Why should a genius like her have to be lectured by some ordinary person about the amount of effort she put in?
“Well, I’m working on a technique that can kill an ordinary person with a single glare, so I can use it as a feint during intense combat—”
“Oh, that glare thing you just did? Okay, what else?” He’d just dismissed it out of hand.
“Refining my spirit and elemental power at all times, even when asleep, so I can condition my body and soul to a higher level—”
“Everyone does that. That’s normal.”
“Having my magical barriers deployed at all—”
“Everyone in our senior class can do that. Claire keeps three layers going at all times.”
“Th-three?!” Was he talking about some kind of advanced sorcery class?!
“What else?”
The man kept asking her for more. Every “effort” she’d offered so far had been summarily rejected—“That’s normal,” “Everyone does that,” “The whole class.” Constant rejection.
“Um…? Uh… Uhhh…”
“That’s it?”
“W…wait, wait! I have more! I do! Of course I do. I, Lunaria Steinberg…am a genius!”
Saying that had finally brought her to a realization. She had forgotten something very important. She was a genius…so she didn’t need to put in any effort.
“That’s why you have to work hard, right? Otherwise, you’ll never beat Earnest.”
She was just about to fully retreat from reality, but this man dragged her right back down to earth.
“Because Earnest is working hard.”
What did it take to win this man’s approval? This was Earnest, an incredibly ordinary, utterly talentless person, who worked hard but couldn’t do anything else. Was she training at a level Lunaria couldn’t even comprehend…?
“Yeah, so… Tomorrow’s match… I think you’re gonna lose.”
There. He’d said it. Something he absolutely shouldn’t have said. He had said it before, and now he was saying it again. A second time.
Lunaria bit down hard enough to crack her molars before turning back toward Blade.
“I…I can’t have that. No. Not even if it kills me.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, how many times are you willing to die in order to win?”
“Huh? What? No, I… How many times? You only die once…and I don’t even want that. Right? Isn’t that normal?”
“Ah. So you’re all talk, huh?”
“Oh, I’ll die! I’ll die as much as you want! Who do you think I am?! I’m Lunaria Steinberg!”
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to give me your whole name every time. So you’ll die? How many times? Once? Five times? Ten? Thirty? Fifty? Infinity?”
“Huh? No, um… I mean, a person can only die once, right? Like, you know, when their life comes to an end.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Yes necessarily. It’s a fact. You must understand that?”
“I don’t think you can just decide something like that…”
“I’m not. It’s the way things are. Those are the laws of physics.”
“Actually, that’s not true. There are a few ways to get around stuff like that.”
“No, I really don’t think there are. The laws of physics are pretty absolute.”
“Let’s stop arguing… So, how many times are you willing to die in order to beat Earnest?
“As many as it takes, all right? If it means avoiding defeat, I’m prepared to face death… Of course I am.”
She pondered this for a moment. …Yes, that’s right. The thing I loathe most, even more than death itself, is the idea of letting Earnest surpass me. The thought of falling behind her rival rendered everything else, even death, a trivial matter.
“As many times as it takes!” she repeated.
“Okay. Good to hear. I think we can make this work… Come here a sec.” He took her by the hand.
“Huh? What? What are you…?”
It was the first time in Lunaria’s life that a man had taken her by the hand. All right, a few had held her hand when dancing at balls, but she’d been wearing gloves then. This was the first time a man had touched her bare palm. She had taken her customary long gloves off while training because of the sweat, but Steinberg family tradition stipulated that if a man held your hand, you had to marry him.
“Here. I had it activated for us.”
A round section of the floor was shining before them. He took her inside.
A voom came from somewhere. Lunaria deftly dodged it. A cord-like object had sprouted up from the ground with a coin-sized suction cup at its end. When another came flying at her, she used her sword to cut it in two.
“What are these?” she asked.
“Stop dodging them. Don’t cut them either. You’re supposed to stick one on your forehead.”
“What? No way. This is creepy. And earlier, your hand…”
“Earnest does this all the time.”
At that, something clicked. If Earnest was doing it, Lunaria had to, too.
When the next tentacle (or whatever it was) came zooming at her, she let it be. It latched on to her forehead, and a second one did the same to the man. Then her consciousness was sucked away.