856 C-6, Rain Month 2, Moon 28
I awoke in the forest to a dull pain radiating across my body. I can’t move... Why...? But then it suddenly all came back to me—I’d been knocked all the way over here by that girl with silver hair.
I bit my lip with frustration. Oh, the humiliation! How could I lose to her?! I’m an elite Magic Breaker! I’m even about to get my own squire! I can’t let myself lose to riffraff like her. No. I must’ve let my guard down due to her beauty. How stupid of me. I’m an elite. How could I let myself slip up like that? I must’ve even unconsciously hesitated to fight her for real out of fear of breaking her. Dear me, I’m such a gentleman. I winced as I tried to chuckle, but I felt pain instead.
My thoughts and justifications were interrupted though as something caught my attention. In the distance, I heard the crunching of leaves as someone approached me.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“Oh? It seems you’re awake.”
“This voice... President Victoria?” I couldn’t exactly move my body, so I couldn’t see her as she approached me, but I was almost certain it was her.
“I’ve come here to check on you. We’re all quite worried.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “I demand a rematch. It wasn’t a fair fight. I wasn’t at my full strength.”
“Is that so? Well, feel free to challenge her again at a later date. For now, it’s official that you lost.”
I scowled at her claim that I, of all people, had lost, but I chose to keep the words, which I so desperately wanted to say, to myself.
Soon, her footsteps came to a stop, and in their place, a shadow was cast down onto me. Above me was the bewitching visage of the student council president, Victoria Vallasteir. Her vermilion eyes glowed a beautiful ruby red even in the shadows of the forest. The longer I stared into them, the more lost I felt, the more...at peace I felt.
“Why are you here?” I asked, snapping myself out of my thoughts. I won’t let myself be entranced by a nonhuman like her.
“To check on you. I just said that, or do you not remember? Oh dear, do you have a concussion?”
“Shouldn’t you be watching over the remainder of the exam? Or are you just that confident that your golden boy is gonna win?”
“My ‘golden boy’?” she chuckled lightly before crouching down next to me. “Ca’al’s nothing of the sort. I’m sure he’d be honored to hear that you think so highly of him.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Well, you’ve checked up on me. Feel free to leave.”
“And abandon you to the elements? What kind of student council president would I be if I did that?”
“Well, as you can see, I’m managing just fine. I’ve got science on my side. At any minute, I’ll pick myself up and return to the school.”
“Is that right? Well, how about this?” Then she proceeded to help me up, leaning me against the tree. “Why don’t we watch something together while we wait for you to pick yourself up?”
“Huh?”
“You can see the outdoor arena over there, right?”
As she said, through the trees, I could see the stone stage in the distance, where I’d been not too long ago. There were flashes of light as spells flew, presumably due to the fight between El, the transfer student, and Ca’al. What’s she trying to show me?
“Are you trying to rub it in my face that I lost or something?”
“No, not at all. I’m simply bored since I need to wait here for a bit.”
“For me to recover? As I said, I don’t need you to—”
“Nope. This has nothing to do with you. Well, not exactly anyway.”
She’s not making any sense. What is she—
“Oh, look. It’s starting.”
My eyes widened as a large black dome suddenly surrounded the stage.
“Huh?!” Was that the transfer student’s magic? No. It doesn’t seem to be that way.
“Looks dangerous, doesn’t it?” she mused. “Inside that dome is a very dangerous berserk greater vampire lord.”
A chill ran down my spine. Here?! Something like that’s here?! “Wh-What? Shouldn’t you go help?!” If it breaks free, then we’re next!
“Hmm? You’re concerned about them? Or perhaps you’re fearful of your own safety?”
“N-No!”
“How kind of you. But I am helping by letting them sort it out themselves. Not that I expect you to understand.”
“You’re damn right that I don’t understand. What are you—”
“Truth be told, checking up on you was just an excuse. Really, you’re my alibi.”
“An alibi? For what?”
“For what’s about to happen, of course. What do you think’s taking place in there?”
“If they’re fighting a greater vampire lord, they’re dying. That’s what’s happening.”
“And I’m sure you care a lot about that,” she said sarcastically. “But would you still think the same thing if I told you that his opponents are the Blade Saint and an elder dragon?”
Wait. What? I looked at her with confusion. “Blade Saint...? Elder dragon?”
“Oh, yes. You see, Ca’al’s the Blade Saint, and the girl you fought, El, is actually an elder dragon. You’re fortunate that Karen found her first... Or rather, you’re fortunate that it was part of my plan for her to be found by Karen.”
I couldn’t follow what was going on. First of all, that talentless, unsophisticated, forgettable guy was the Blade Saint?! That couldn’t be. There’s no way someone like him could be special. He had no qualities like me, someone who was actually special and elite. This must’ve been some kind of joke.
Then the girl... She was an elder dragon? Now that had to be a joke. Those overgrown lizards wouldn’t ever dare venture into our realm. Why would one of them pop up here just to randomly go to school?! Inconceivable.
Besides, even if on the very, very off chance that this was true, why would the student council president herself be telling me this?
I couldn’t follow what she was talking about at all, but one thing felt certain. “You’re plotting something against us, aren’t you?”
“Define ‘us.’”
“Humanity.”
Her lips curled into a smile. “Hmm... Close. I suppose, ultimately, that’s how things will turn out, but I wouldn’t say that I’m plotting against humanity specifically, per se.”
I still have some juice in the suit. If I’m quick enough, I can cast my Mana Void, and—
“I’ll give you a chance to change your mind.”
“Huh?”
I began to shiver uncontrollably as her gaze pierced through to my very soul. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe! Is this the pressure she can exert?!
“I’m saying that it’s my very humble suggestion that you simply continue leaning against the tree here. It must be hard to even move, right? Why exert yourself? Why risk losing that pretty arm of yours?”
Though her words echoed sweetly in my ears, they dripped with venom. Is this what it’s like to stare death in the face? Is this what true fear is?
“Oh, dear. Looks like you’re sliding down the tree a little. That won’t do. You won’t be able to see as well. Here, let me help you.”
As she sat me back up against the tree, I didn’t dare move a muscle or even breathe. My body had regressed to the point that it only functioned based on instincts. It was screaming at me to run, but since I had no chance of escape, I simply stayed still, praying that she wouldn’t hurt me.
“Wh-What’s your true angle here?”
“In this moment? I told you, vanquishing my boredom,” she said through a sigh. “I have to wait here until the battle concludes so they don’t suspect I have anything to do with the school’s barrier allowing his entry, nor will they ask me to do anything to help dismantle that dome.”
“That’s what you meant by ‘alibi’...”
“Finally connecting the dots, are you? Yes, you see, I was here the entire time looking for you to the best of my abilities and then making sure you were safe.” She began giggling, but despite how lighthearted it sounded, it only served to send yet another chill down my spine.