Chapter 2-4:
Battle Royale
A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE DIRECTOR’S VISIT, Serena gazed upon the orphans with a bright smile and showered them with praise.
“Recently, your rate of growth has been astonishing,” she beamed.
However, none of the kids took her words at face value. The better a mood she was in, the more unreasonable her requests became.
“Richard, Isabel, Oscar, Emma, I’ve been told that you are all capable of becoming knights,” Serena said. “Alice, you have the potential to become a mage, and Lewis, you can become a priest. This is all excellent news.”
Serena’s happiness implied misfortune for the kids. They grew even more nervous as they awaited her words.
“And so, I’ve begun wondering. Just who amongst you is the strongest of all?” Serena said.
The orphans gulped anxiously. Until now, they had banded together against Serena, their common enemy, and survived the past year. The six hadn’t been close at the orphanage, but now, they shared a deep bond as though they were biological siblings. Her words implied that she wanted them to fight against each other—a truly cruel and heartless order. They likely wouldn’t be permitted to hold back. The moment any of them even thought about cutting corners or pretended that they already knew their lessons, Serena would use her incredible instincts to sniff out the slacker and cast judgment upon them. She was indeed a demonic lady.
“So, to see how much you’ve grown, I’d like for you to fight each other,” Serena said. “But if I forced you guys into a duel, Lewis or Alice would be at a disadvantage. And so, in my kindness, I came up with a new idea. I just need you all to fight against each other simultaneously!”
The same thought ran through all the orphans’ heads. Kindness? She’s lying. I’m so sure that she thought this form of battle would be way more enjoyable for her. None of them dared to vocalize their thoughts for fear of intense punishment. Each kid had learned that from personal experience.
“What do you think?” Serena asked.
“Sir, yes, sir!” they replied.
They all shouted back energetically, as they always did. The orphans knew that they had no right to refuse.
✦ ✦ ✦
In the depths of the vast garden of the duke’s residence, the orphans fanned out to form a circle, glaring at each other. Serena sat in her chair to watch the scene as she gracefully sipped the tea laid out for her. Before the battle began, the orphans had various plans in their heads. In a proper fight, it was clear that Richard and Emma held the advantage, but if the others blatantly focused their attacks on those two, there was a chance that the duo would team up to wipe out the others. The other orphans were thus hesitant to make the first move.
Richard was usually one to act first, but even he could read the room and thus stood still. Emma was eager to fight as she happily swung her wooden training sword around. Everyone had a wooden sword in hand except for Alice; she held a simple wand to fire her spells. It seemed even Serena had enough common sense to prevent the orphans from using actual blades—the orphans were prepared to be forced to fight until the death, and internally they were truly relieved. Unfortunately, none of them received armor, so they knew that wooden swords could inflict a great deal of pain.
Everyone stood around quietly.
Oscar was the first to break the silence. “Emma, who do you want to battle?” he asked.
He wanted to at least talk and move this situation along. Oscar feared that their master would be in a foul mood if nothing happened for a while. Who knew what would happen to them then?
“Me?” Emma asked. “Hmm, probably Richard.”
She spoke without much thought, likely just naming the strongest person.
“I see,” Oscar replied. “Then why don’t you two duel it out? We’ll sit back and watch; we promise that we won’t interfere.”
Everyone but Richard nodded at this suggestion. If the strongest two of the bunch fought each other, the others would be at an advantage.
“Oscar, you bastard…” Richard growled. He bared his teeth, intimidated, but Oscar was unfazed.
“Hmm, okay,” Emma said. “Why not?”
With that, she pounced, her small frame moving swiftly as she approached Richard. She wasn’t acting without a plan; Emma was convinced that she could handle the rest after she beat Richard.
“You can’t be serious!” Richard shouted.
He hastily raised his sword as Emma brought her blade down without holding back. Richard had an overwhelming advantage when it came to strength, but Emma was faster. He couldn’t defend himself against all of her attacks, and his body was soon covered with bruises.