"So…! I'm finally on the same team as Nox, and he won't even give me his schedule! Is this another embarrassment due to puberty, huh? Answer me, Emma…!"
Talia's room on the top floor of Sidious Hall, the girls' dormitory, is filled with pleading voices. It was because of Nox, whom she had just met.
Emma broke out in a cold sweat.
"It's... I-I don't know what's on your mind, young lady, so why don't you just calm down a bit and...."
However, Talia continued to rant.
"Was it the dress after all? Maybe the ruffles were a bit much…? But my dad said it was pretty, too...! Emma, answer me…!"
Talia shouted, demanding an answer.
Emma felt her stomach turn in an instant.
What could she do with this brat?
A young lady asking a maid to help her with her love life….
It wouldn't be unreasonable if she at least tried her hand at lovemaking.
'I've never been in a relationship either… love affairs....'
It was a shame.
Emma furrowed her brow, regretting her past behavior.
'If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have sold out Young Master Knox.'
On the way home from her knighting lessons, Emma had once told Talia that Nox's behavior toward her was due to puberty.
Talia still firmly believed her.
And to add insult to injury….
She secretly thought that Nox liked her!
'Please… Miss…!'
But Emma could only feel sorry for her.
She'd never once said definitively that Nox liked Talia.
Just that there was a nine percent chance.
"Young lady. You're just coming of age, at best, and it's good for you to interact with a variety of people…? And since you've just joined the team, you'll still have plenty of opportunities, so don't worry about it too much."
Emma said defensively. She was a little worried, but it seemed to work. Talia began to mull over her story with considerable concentration.
"Right… I guess I'll just have to stay with him long enough to find out."
It was as if the idea of meeting someone else had been erased from her mind.
It was ridiculous, but I couldn't help it.
"And if Rover-Nim finds out, he'll be furious.
Rover, the patriarch of House Steiner, Knight of the White Flame.
He was the kind of man who would draw his sword on Nox in a heartbeat if he heard the news. What a foolish daughter.
No matter how much I thought about it, I knew better than to mention this in my letter to him.
Sometimes ignorance was bliss.
Emma was a firm believer in that.
'Anyway… this kid's all about dating… when am I going to get around to it…?'
The tip of her nose turned sour.
Five years into adulthood.
She was twenty years old, and there was only a rotten kid by her side.
She thought to herself.
A knock.
There was a knock on the door.
Emma rose mechanically to her feet.
"It's Emma, the maid from the Steiners. Can I help you?"
"Uh-huh! Uh, hi. I'm Eleanor de Rivalin, a fellow student from [Joint Martial Arts], and I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time Miss Talia."
"…Huh, Eleanor…?"
Talia looked up at Emma, wide-eyed.
'I see you didn't have a prior appointment with the young lady.'
Emma nodded modestly, then said.
"If you don't have a pre-arranged appointment, I'll have to make one for another time and send it to…."
"Nox von Reinhafer."
Eleanor from the doorway smiled weakly.
"It's about him."
It wasn't long before the door swung open to reveal Talia.
"Good to see you, Miss Talia. This is the second time we've met today, isn't it?"
* * *
"How dare some uneducated bastard say that in front of me, Viscount Olen's scion!"
A harsh shout echoed throughout District 4.
Everyone's attention was instantly focused on one place.
Paracelsus, now standing in front of the rampaging nobleman, smiled.
"I beg your pardon, my lord. I'm just a commoner, uneducated as you say, but I know this isn't right."
By the time I arrived at the scene of the incident, it was already a mess.
The noble bastard had apparently assumed that Paracelsus was a commoner and therefore unable to attack him.
Unfortunately, that doesn't work with a maniac.
Even worse, Paracelsus is a madman.
Sh*t.
I'm the only one who's bothered by this.
'Haa.'
I interjected quickly, not bothering to gauge his timing.
"Stop."
I said, just to draw the crowd's attention to me.
The effect was obvious.
Paracelsus's head snapped around, and his eyes landed on me.
"what. who is this… Even if it wasn't, I wanted to talk. You showed up first like this."
Paracelsus had no more respect for me.
To him, I must be nothing more than trash.
I'm used to it. Damn.
"Hey. You."
"Yeah… yeah?"
I said, looking at Viscount Ollen's scion.
"Get the f*ck out of here right now."
"What?"
He said, his eyes narrowing. I spoke again, more forcefully.
"Do I need to explain myself?"
I held up my family crest like an asshole, and his eyes widened in horror. A white-haired, lavender-eyed family.
There is only one on the continent.
House Rinehafer.
One of the three great Dark Houses, and one of the materials of the Dark Houses that bisect the continent's hegemony.
In other words, they are far above the level of a Viscount.
"Oops, I'm sorry!"
"Get lost. I hope you don't make me say it a third time."
"Yeah… yeah!"
He tried to disappear, a typical villainous actor.
But Paracelsus was persistent.
With a leap, he was on the heels of his fleeing enemy.
At that moment, I couldn't help but grab my sword.
Chae-ae-ang!
Sparks fly between our swords.
It's almost like something I've seen in past entrance exams.
Paracelsus' and my swords glow with a cold light as they aim at each other.
"Are you in league with that nobleman?"
"Not all nobles are the same."
I continue, breathing lightly.
"You think I'm in league with some scum from a viscount's family?"
"Then get out of my way. I have business over there."
Paracelsus sneered. We're still far enough away to catch him.
If we let him go here, it might make things a little easier.
But of course I can't do that.
'Even if you were Paracelsus, you wouldn't be able to make a ruckus here, and you wouldn't be able to eat porridge. You'd be thrown in jail… and soon enough, they'll be looking for you, and then who's going to catch the devil for me!'
Considering I've never seen an ending without Paracelsus.
He must stay here and live.
It's how I live.
So I cleared my throat and smiled at him.
"Why should I?"
[Talent 'Master of Acting' is activating].
"I don't like to show my back. If you can get past me, do so to the best of your ability."
"Really?"
Paracelsus retrieves his sword and points it in my direction.
It was an accurate representation of a target change.
Damn it. This is what it comes down to.
"Young Master!"
"Stay back."
I ordered the pursuing Zitri to halt, then scanned Paracelsus's movements.
The hatchling. Unfortunately, there are no gaps.
And the intimidation radiating from his nearly six-foot height.
The magic radiating from his white blade.
It's not a force to be reckoned with.
Chaing!
Once again, our swords clash. But I'm different this time.
With a mischievous smile I say.
"At least now."
[Activates the Active Skill 'Hour of Genius'].
"You can't beat me."
As long as I have this skill, I'm invincible.
…For about five minutes?
"Come."
With my words, Paracelsus swung his sword as if he had been waiting.
This time, his swordsmanship wasn't just a blur, but a full-blown blade. The Bowblade is finally beginning to shine.
A sword named to save lives, yet ironically the sharpest of all swords. It glows and tries to tear me apart.
His sword is covered in steel scales.
'That's… the first movement of Bowblade, the first Gold [Money].'
A skill that literally covers the sword in unbreakable metal.
A fraudulent skill that increases the cutting power by at least three times.
However, I am not fazed.
I see Paracelsus' slowed blade clearly, and I dodge.
I bring my sword to the fore.
Chaing, I parry the attack with a short spark.
'It's not over yet.'
The movement continues. I pivot, using my left foot for support. It was a split-second move, but it was perfect.
I can see Paracelsus's panicked face.
Yes, you're thinking, I'm only as good as I was on the entrance exam.
But you'd be wrong.
I was saving my skills to kill the Night Walker back then.
But now it's different. It's not an event.
This means I can use my talent to the fullest.
'What a crazy skill… [Hour of Genius].'
[Time of Genius] begins to tear through the monstrous Paracelsus' attack.
Boom!
(chiig!)
The sound of feet dragging on the ground is heard. The crumbling of Paracelsus's center of gravity slowly becomes visible.
More blows.
Bang! Bang! Baaaang!
(Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeaeaeng-!)
The tip of Paracelsus' sword wanders away.
I smile in victory, but I don't relax until the very end.
Thud!
(Kung!)
The final blow from my pommel slams into Paracelsus' abdomen, causing him to collapses. He lets out a short gasp and the [Time of Genius] comes to an end.
It's all good, but the duration is a shame.
After receiving the scroll from Noah as soon as possible, I raised my Dexterity stat.
I set my sights on the target, then looked at the guy on the ground.
I walked over to him, still not completely out cold, and spoke.
"If you want to hear about your master, grow up."
'Then you can take out all the demons in the second half and make it easier on me.'
This is a device to keep Paracelsus from having a protagonist to inspire him. After all, he's already strong now….
'Actually, when I think about it, I've rarely used it properly. Most of my enemies have been neutralized simply by triggering it, so it's a credit to him for pushing me to this point. But it doesn't matter now.'
A world without a protagonist has its own rules.
Why? Because I just made them up.
"Whatever."
The winner remains unchanged, and I've survived this one unscathed.
* * *
Late at night.
A young man with ash-colored hair sits in a room just off the Pavilion of the dormitory. Nearly six feet tall, the eastern Ashen Eagle.
Paracelsus.
"... lost. Again."
This was odd, though.
Nox von Reinhafer hadn't been that strong, at least not at the entrance exam.
But today, there was a clear barrier between them.
The feeling took over his entire body, and with the last one, it almost took his breath away.
It was as if Nox was reading his every move.
"How the hell can you fight like that, you didn't even have to reveal your full power in the entrance exam?"
Paracelsus clenched his fists in a rare gesture.
He was a genius, but he had yet to fight an opponent of his own caliber.
He'd chalked up his past defeats to bad luck, or to some sort of trick by Nox.
But it wasn't.
He had been utterly defeated with his sword.
Paracelsus ran a cold hand through his hair, remembering Nox's snow-white hair and lavender eyes.
"He didn't even punish me. Rather, he demanded a reward, then walked away… and I don't know why, but he told me to grow up."
No matter the time, he'll be fighting Nox again.
Whether it's in the near future or a little further down the road.
Paracelsus truly believed that, and he remembered his dead mentor's words.
-You damned child, you think you can beat anyone with a sword!
-Look at it. The world is a big place, and even if you're acting immature now, there's bound to be a monster stronger than you! Do you understand?
"…Yes."
Paracelsus smirked and gripped the sword in his hand in a vicious manner.
"So there really is. That monster that my inspiration told me about."
He recalled a memory from his past.
A swordsman, one of the Three, who had fought in the Night of Carnage.
A name that is now a thing of the past, but the world remembers him.
In fairy tales, in oral tradition, the name keeps coming up.
Perhaps that's why he can't erase himself.
Celsus.
He still lives in his master's shadow.
"Wait. Inspiration. I will avenge you."
The moon rose in the dark sky, obscured by whitish clouds.
It was time to turn in and go to bed.
* * *
Eleanor de Rivalin and Talia von Steiner.
The two women had just joined the same team, but there was a strange undercurrent between them.
For some reason, Nox von Reinhafer is in the middle of it all.
There's something about him that haunts their minds.
…except, of course, for different reasons.
Eleanor sat cross-legged in the café that had taken over the lobby of the first floor of Sidious Hall, her lips slowly parting as she looked at Talia, who looked a little uneasy.
"I'll be straightforward, Miss Talia. Stay away from Nox von Reinhafer. I have important business with him."
Talia's small jaw dropped as she heard the words.
A moment later.
Barely regaining her composure, she clenched her hands into tight fists.
"Is that... you mind if I ask what that business is?"