Danita was struggling to get back on her feet. She looked pretty beat up, but the will to fight still hadn’t left her gaze. The glint in her eye looked somehow tragically heroic, coming from someone who had been touted as an elite. Surely, she had her own reasons, something she knew she would never surrender. Good. I like people like that. I was happy I’d be able to fight her to the bitter end of our battle—
“Hang on, Ruchika. The match is already decided. Don’t you think that’s enough?”
—but Leonie was there to step in between us.
“Leonie…”
“You’ve already proven your strength plenty. Any more, and you’d be overdoing it.”
Saying this, she spread out her hands as if to protect Danita. Hmm, okay. So that’s what this looks like to her.
“Get outta the way, Leonie! I can still fight!”
“But, Danita…”
“Shut up! If I… If I can’t be the best, then there’s no point in any of this!”
Standing with a shout, Danita pushed Leonie out of the way and looked at me as she once again raised her greatsword over her head. This was probably her final attack. She would choose her best move, one she had the most confidence in. Her sword swooped down with a beautiful, clean, and straightforward attack. And as it descended toward me—
“—Yup. This one’s the tastiest of them all.”
Bringing my hands together from the left and right, I blocked her attack. This was a technique that human martial artists called a “barehanded blade block”—but to me, it was just another manifestation of Gluttony.
I greedily devoured the battle aura infused within Danita’s greatsword, feeling euphoric as I did. Yup, Danita, I’m so glad I got to fight you. It really is a blast.
“As a show of my respect to how you gave me your all in this match, I’m gonna give you my best, too.”
“—?!”
Danita rushed to try to take evasive measures, but having used up all her energy on her last attack, her movements had become clumsy.
“—Try not to die, ’kay?!”
“Aaaghhhh…?!”
Danita took the full brunt of my attack and was blown back by flames that engulfed her. The moved I had used was technically a punching attack. But since I had also implemented the concentrated energy I had built up while Gluttony was active, the force of the blow was overwhelming compared with your average punch. And because my own battle aura had flame-like properties, it applied a burning effect to my target. This was one of the best tricks I had up my sleeve.
Danita tumbled back four meters or so, then finally went still. As she lay there on her back, I could tell she had still managed to retain consciousness, but it looked like she really wasn’t able to move anymore.
“Th-that’s enough!”
“Thanks for the feast.”
The referee overseeing the match declared the end of the mock battle.
“Ruchika… You…”
“Heh-heh, did you catch all that, Leonie?”
After hearing Leonie’s voice, I turned back triumphantly to face her, but she looked like she was sort of shrinking back from me now.
Huh?
“Leonie.”
“…!”
Leonie reacted to my voice as if she was a little afraid of me. Hmm. Did I get a little too carried away? But Danita had been really strong, and I wouldn’t have been able to win without giving it that much. I guess younger humans weren’t used to seeing the way that demons fought, so maybe it had been a bit scary for her.
I wanted to become Leonie’s mate. Right from the start, I knew she was just my type appearance-wise, but after seeing the honest, steady way she’d fought during today’s exam and the kind, courageous way she’d tried to get in between Danita and me, my impression of her was even better than before. Who would’ve thought the human race would have a catch like this?
“Hey, Leonie?”
“…What is it?”
Keeping Danita in the corner of my eye as she was carried out of the arena, burned to a crisp and muttering insults as she went, I walked up to Leonie. At the same time, I felt everyone in the gallery except for Leonie flinch back in fear. Yeah, yeah, I’m used to getting looks like that. Though, I still think it’s pretty mean.
She gazed back at me cautiously, but I simply returned it with a smile. She took my hand and rose to her feet, and I was struck by how cool she looked, especially since she was so tall. Then I continued:
“Ahem. Leonie, you were really brave back there.”
“…That wasn’t exactly my intention, but…”
“No worries. I thought it was super impressive.”
“Okay…”
“So anyway, I’ve got something I want to ask you.”
“…Yes?”
Leonie still looked pretty wary of me. It occurred to me that maybe I should wait to bring this up until after we got to know each other a little better, but I also felt like a girl this cute was sure to get snatched away if I didn’t act fast. Ah, well. A girl’s gotta have guts.
I put on the best smile I had in me and asked my question.
“Leonie Baez, will you be my mate?”
“Huh…? ‘M-mate’…?”
I saw her face redden a little, which made me think I might have a chance. After the fact, however, I would learn that she was just embarrassed because the word mate had been too direct. Chalk that up to a cultural difference, I guess.
“Leonie, you’re really nice, and in terms of looks, you’re totally my type. I swear I’ll make you happy. So? What do you say? Please?”
“Uh, um…what?”
“Let me guess…you’re not sure about taking a demon as a mate. But you’ve got nothing to worry about there. My mama always said that comfort is more important than attraction when it comes to mates.”
“N-no, that’s not the issue…”
“You don’t like me? I may be a demon, but I’m pretty sure I’m decently cute.”
“There’s no issue with your appearance. The thing is, we’re both girls. I don’t have anything against you, but I must reject your proposal.”
“Aw, man…”
And so, my dreams of marrying Leonie were shattered. Not that I was going to let one rejection stop me from trying again later.
As for the results of the Hero Institute entrance exam, I ended up passing. While my performance on the written part had been bad, my overwhelming victory over Danita in the mock battle got me top marks. After her wounds were treated, Danita came back and gave me a real stink eye, but I guess that was just part of the game. I figured I might have another chance to fight her soon, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
More importantly…
“Hey, Leonie. Are you sure it’s a no?”
“Please, give it a rest.”
“But, Leonie, I just like you so much. Come on, let’s be mates!”
“No, thank you.”
“You’re so cold! But don’t worry, Leonie.”
“?”
Leonie looked puzzled. I couldn’t help but think how lovely that innocent face of hers was as I shot her back a smile.
“This is the beginning of a long relationship between us, so I’ll have plenty of time to win you over. Just you wait and see!”
“…Absolutely not.”
And so, my life as a student at the Hero Institute kicked off. Apparently, some people had already branded me as the scary outcast of our grade, but I didn’t pay them any mind.
“I’m really looking forward to spending more time with you, Leonie!”
“What exactly are you trying to rope me into?!”