“Yeah. I’ve put in plenty of work since then.”
“...Plenty of work flirting , maybe.”
“Damn it, I told you that was a misunderstanding.”
After an intense staredown, they broke off the clash, both leaping back a few steps. Sain then declared in a voice loud enough for all the spectators to hear, “My maid and I do not have that kind of relationship.”
Yuria regarded him with wide, hesitantly-wishful eyes.
“Do you... really mean that?”
“Absolutely. I said it before the match, and I’ll say it again. My goal is to become the dark knight. Right now, that is my sole and singular focus. I have no time to be dabbling in any other matters.”
Her expression blossomed into a broad smile.
“You’re serious, aren’t you? You really are trying to become the dark knight...”
“I absolutely am.”
As she beheld his earnest, determined gaze, she let out an enamored sigh and visibly swooned.
“...So dreamy .”
He lifted an eyebrow, finding himself baffled by her actions for the umpteenth time today.
“Uh, what?”
“I’ve never felt like this before,” she explained. “For as long as I can remember, winning was what mattered to me. The only thing I cared about was my own victory. But now... I really want to see how far you can go. It’s... a strange feeling. I never thought I’d become so invested in someone else... to want to cheer them on so much. And to feel good while doing it.”
Honest admiration flowed from her soft, kindly voice. She meant what she said.
“And that’s why,” she continued, “I’m going to concede.”
Sain watched dumbfounded as she raised her hand and held it up in an indication of surrender.
“C-Could this be what I think it is? Is Yuria throwing in the towel?”
While Sain was still struggling to make sense of the gesture, the female commentator quickly caught on and looked at Yuria to verify her intent. Upon seeing her nod calmly, she turned to the audience to announce the conclusion of the match.
“That’s it! The match is over, and the winner is Sain! I have no idea what just happened... but it seems like Yuria has decided to surrender the match! To me, it looked like she could still keep going, but it’s certainly possible that she’s having some difficulties we’re not aware of!”
Contestants in the ring had to really project their voices to be heard in the stands, so the discourse between Sain and Yuria during the match was audible only to themselves. As a result, much of the audience was bewildered by her decision. Amidst a confused uproar in the crowd, she approached him and whispered in his ear.
“Sir Sain, I’d just like you to know that I’ve fallen for your strength.”
With that, she left the arena, leaving him to puzzle out the meaning of her cryptic message for himself.
“W-Well then... You don’t see a match ending like that everyday,” said a frowning Alicia.
She and the other two girls had been watching from the stands.
“Now the question is whether that’s going to throw him off his game,” remarked Melia. “Hopefully not.”
“It’s a valid concern though...” added Marni. “Sain has a tendency to overthink things.”
All three girls agreed that an unexpected win of this nature ran the risk of lingering unhealthily in Sain’s mind. The match ended in an awkwardly unsatisfying fashion, and his candid nature might very well work against him in this regard, causing him to question himself and consider the victory unearned.
“Still, this means he made it into the semifinals.”
“Yeah, and the next match is going to decide his opponent.”
Soon, they would find out whether he would be up against Melia or Cain.
“I’m going to get ready for my match, then,” said Melia as she stood up.
Unlike the first day, which was crammed full of matches, the schedule for the later days was looser. Contestants had been notified that they could wait until the previous match was over before heading to the waiting room. Arena maintenance was carried out in the downtime, which was necessary due to the increasing intensity of the matches as they entered their second day. The remaining contestants were of higher caliber and their spells packed more destructive potential, as evidenced by the fissures Sain and Yuria had left in the ground during the match, which arena staff were in the process of repairing.
“I have to start moving, so could you hand these to Master Sain?”
“Sure.”
Alicia took a towel and a beverage from Melia.
“Huh. Did you make this drink yourself?”
“I sure did. It’s easy to wear yourself out during the battle expo, so it’s important to be diligent in treating fatigue. I’ve got a whole action plan drawn out for smoothly getting nutrients back into him after a good workout.”
“Wow... He’s so lucky to have a maid like you. Capable and dedicated.”
“It’s only normal. I do owe him more than I can ever repay, after all.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s nothing special,” said Melia, patting down her uniform nonchalantly. “A long time ago, he took me in when I’d lost myself to rage and despair after Chaos killed my family. You know, the usual.”
“You... what? Wait, are you serious?” exclaimed Alicia, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Maybe. The point is, I owe him a lot.”
Then she strolled off toward the waiting room, leaving Alicia to wonder just how much of what she said was true. A few minutes later, Sain returned. Since Melia’s match was going to be in the same arena, there was no need for them to relocate.
“Oh, hey, there you are.”
Marni nodded at him.
“Congratulations, Sain... on reaching the semifinals.”
He sat down beside them with a sigh and shook his head.