She came, she saw, she lost—and lost, and lost, and lost.
She lost to the Military Nerd. This one guy at the academy knew everything about every weapon from every country in the land—not just the numerical specs, but the years they were adopted and the history of all their model upgrades. As a genius honor student destined to become a general in the future, Lunaria knew the basics about that sort of thing, but she was no match for this master.
She lost to the Cicada King. That was the nickname given to a guy who could snatch cicadas off trees with only a quick flick of his arm. Blade got the hang of it before too long, but Lunaria’s lack of intuition meant she wound up with a hand full of cicada pee and not much else.
She lost to the Bargain Hunter. There was a ruthless world out there, where shoppers constantly vied to obtain the lowest price, down to the smallest possible denomination. And in that world, raw genius didn’t get you anywhere.
“Okay, so you’re the last one,” said Blade, dragging Lunaria over to Earnest.
“Huh? What? I heard rumors that you were up to something weird again, but…what do you want from me?”
“Whatever you’re good at. Anything you think you can win.”
“Whatever I’m good at? But Luna’s kind of…a genius, so…”
“Yes! Yes, I’m a genius!” Lunaria cut in. “There’s no way a genius like me could lose to a barbarian girl like her! I could never!”
Suddenly, Lunaria was back to life. She’d been unable to walk moments before, but now she was standing strong, glaring at Earnest.
“How about an eating contest?” suggested Blade.
“Huh?”
“Eep…!” Lunaria gasped. The color drained from her face. “No,” she whispered. “Anything but that…”
“Okay, how about some kind of endurance contest? Because I’m pretty good at that, too.” Earnest accentuated this declaration with a cheerful laugh, looking quite proud of herself. “Pain, heat, spicy peppers, itching, tickling… Anything goes. Which one do you want?”
“Nooooo!” Lunaria let out a high-pitched scream.
Earnest had a well-earned reputation as a monster. When she said “endurance,” exactly what sort of hellish gauntlet was she suggesting they endure? It was easy to imagine her saying okay, we’ll start with this only for everyone to go insane three seconds into the first round. Anything she came up with was bound to be “nightmare mode.” Not even the ex-Hero thought he could beat Earnest in that department. Forget it. It was just too terrifying.
And as for the genius girl…
“Ahhhh! Nooooo! I hate pain! I hate itching! Nooo… I forfeit! Forfeit! Fooorfeiiit…!”
Then she kicked her shoes off and ran away at full speed—literally sprinting barefoot. She had fled from the enemy before the fight even began. And so, her final match against Earnest proved the most humiliating of all.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was the morning rush hour in the dining hall.
“Um…g-good morning.”
“Ah, good morning, Lunar!”
“‘L-Lunar’…?”
A girl sitting at the far end of the junior-class section was calling Lunaria by a new nickname. Lunaria looked around, confused.
She’d lost to this particular girl in a game of cat’s cradle. She might’ve been a genius who could learn how to loop strings at a single glance, but her opponent kept breaking out new techniques, and in the end, she just couldn’t keep up. Even a genius like her had no choice but to admit defeat.
“Want a sausage?” asked another student.
“Um… Yes. One.”
“Here you go, then. One sausage.”
“Th-thank you…”
People were calling out to Lunaria from all directions, and just replying to them kept her extremely busy. At first, her eyes would spin at every new nickname, but before long, she was able to smile and give a cheerful “good morning!” ♪ to each one.
Blade, waiting for the right moment, stepped up and slapped her on the back. “Looks like you’re having fun.”
“Huh? Um… N-no, that’s not it…” She quickly erased her girlish smile and put on her usual “cool genius” smirk instead. “Not at all. They might have challenged me using pointless skills that are of no use to anyone, but I still lost. I couldn’t beat any of them…and so I’ve come to accept them all.”
Her voice was calm. There was no bravado, no sour grapes, no sarcasm. She was simply accepting the truth as it stood.
“So you finally see them all as human beings, right?” asked Blade.
“Ugh, stop harassing me, please! I’ve always recognized all of you as people.”
“But up till now, in your world, there were only two humans. Me and Earnest. Just us two.”
“Oh? If I may, Blade, you’re not a human. You’re a super-being.”
“Stop calling me that!”
Blade stamped his feet. She certainly had him there. How frustrating. And just when he had something really cool to say, too!
“But…yes, you’re right. There are so many people with skills I could never match…”
“It’s not just these guys, either, you know. Everyone in this city, whether they can fight or not, is amazing, without exception. They all have something you can’t beat them at.”
Blade was sure of it. He knew that as a Hero. That was why Heroes fought.
“You might have been the only one in your world before now, but that’s not true anymore, right? Now your world’s full of people.”
“Y-yes…” Lunaria opened her eyes wide and looked around. “You’re right…”
There was a sparkle in her saucerlike eyes. Eventually, it crystallized and began dripping down her cheeks.
“Huh? No… No, I… Why am I crying? Don’t look! Blade, don’t look at me!”
Lunaria tried to hold back the tears, but they only gained momentum and began pouring rather than dripping.
“Ahh! You made her cry! You made her cryyy!”
This sudden accusation from everyone in the dining hall, sung in unison, greatly vexed Blade.
“No! I didn’t make her cry! She started crying on her own!”
“I’m not crying! I’m not crying at all! Geniuses don’t cry! I’d never show my tears in front of everyone like this! Hey! I said I’m not crying!”
“You made her cry! You made her cry! Meanie! Meanie!”
“No! I didn’t do anything! I was being normal! Normal! I swear!”
“Stop it! I told you I’m not crying! This is just sweat coming from my heart!”
The chorus of accusations, Blade’s excuses, and Lunaria’s denials continued on and on.