The Coliseum's duel had just ended.
However, the heat of those six minutes still clung to the space. No, it was even more deeply ingrained.
The shield was Gerkhen Kal Doon.
A swordsman evaluated as the highest level of talent in Edsilla's history. A teenager whose ink on his ID card hadn't even dried yet. Despite this, he was a promising talent showing a level of completion beyond active duty.
Numerous scouts, reporters, and dignitaries attended to watch him.
Scouts hoped to discover a new side of him, reporters knew that writing analytical articles about him guaranteed views, and various dignitaries were simply curious.
Jeoly, a fencing instructor at Endex and a professor at Edsilla University, had no expectations.
This was because Gerkhen Kal Doon was such a perfect swordsman. He was certain that no matter who he faced, his orthodoxy could not be shattered.
But...
Now that Gerkhen Kal Doon had lost, Jeoly still found it hard to hide the goosebumps remaining all over his body. His deeply wrinkled fingers twitched on their own.
Approaching his mid-40s, it was a blood match that revived a competitive spirit he thought he had forgotten. It was a fierce battle without a single second wasted.
And it was just a duel among seniors.
"Did you know? Who he is."
A voice asked Jeoly. Jeoly turned to look. It was his old student, 'Belingham Kantar', who had come to watch the evaluation test.
"Don't you know? He's my student."
"...I didn't know he was like that. Gerkhen Kal Doon really lost, right?"
Jeoly nodded.
As far as he knew, Gerkhen Kal Doon had no weaknesses. Every aspect of him was excellent. There was not a single ability that was lacking or deficient.
A full, large, and beautiful hexagon.
Gerkhen Kal Doon greeted his opponent's sword with a quality close to a luxury item.
But that 'sword' was too strange.
Beyond a little twisted, it was a complete difference.
A detachment from the norm.
Shion Ascal was indeed so.
There was no precedent.
There was no example.
A novice who twists the elements he has learned to the extreme, not 'fitting' into the system but 'making it fit'.
At first glance, it seemed like a forced movement. It was a movement that made you wonder if it could move like that.
Shion Ascal 'made it possible' with his physical ability. Like an invertebrate, he freely stretched, shortened, bent, bounced, and changed his joints, cartilage, and muscles.
The process was so natural that his novice swordsmanship felt like a new swordsmanship. It seemed like an alien, not a system.
If it really was, it would have been a deduction.
If you stop for a moment and take a closer look, surprisingly, his sword was all within the system of the Five Basic Forms and Three Sword Forms.
He just performed the maximum 'acrobatics' with his body and sword.
Jeoly glanced at Belingham.
"The direct line of Libra must've been also watching. It must have been interesting."
"Yes, she probably enjoyed watching it."
If Gerkhen Kal Doon Kal Doon was a sword that was too perfect and lacked flavor.
Shion Ascal was an explosive test that was too much fun to watch.
"I do wonder if his body will be okay."
However, as an educator, it was a style he naturally had to discourage. The risk of injury was too high.
"It's the swordsman's style."
But Jeoly wouldn't necessarily interfere.
Firstly, 99 out of 100 swordsmen like that wouldn't listen anyway, and even if Shion Ascal's body broke at some point, even if he couldn't last long and faded away, as long as he could ignite a big flame in his own way.
That would also cause a ripple effect that would shake the calm world of swordsmanship.
"Soliette, it's going to be a cold meal."
Belingham pointed to the stage. Soliette's non-combat had just started. She was up against a promising 4-5 star named Betel.
"That's right."
He didn't feel like watching it particularly.
______________________________________________________________________
Defeat.
That feeling was quite a long time coming.
But it was rational.
In the roles of defense and attack, he had failed in defense, and the other had succeeded in attack.
There was no complacency. There was no error. There was only the variable lump called 'Shion Ascal'.
If someone who watched the non-combat asks if he should have anticipated the clenching of the sword, he would gladly do so next time.
But there was no change in the defeat itself.
That's why it was fun.
It was a very refreshing experience.
The task left for him now was to review today countless times, train himself, and accept it.
To internalize defeat and become a stronger self.
Humility.
Modesty.
Solidity.
"Hand, please give me your hand."
The nurse said.
This was the infirmary inside the Coliseum prepared by the association in advance. It was when Gerkhen Kal Doon handed his almost torn hand to the nurse.
Suddenly-
The door opened.
"Ah. Excuse me. My palm is..."
Gerkhen Kal Doon saw him.
Apparently, a man who seemed to have come here for the same reason as himself.
"Heh."
Shion Ascal looked at him and gave a hollow laugh.
....
"..."
"..."
In the infirmary inside the Coliseum.
In that relatively quiet and awkward place, I am getting bandaged by a nurse.
"..."
"..."
The person across from me is also getting the same bandage treatment.
On a different hand.
"..."
"..."
Honestly, I didn't want to see him for at least a week.
I wanted to feel the afterglow of victory or something like that.
But I met him right after the non-combat in the infirmary.
I glanced at him. His left hand bulging with muscle, white ligaments peeking through.
"Is your hand okay?"
Instead of answering, Gerkhen Kal Doon looked at my hand.
I was in a similar state.
"Hey."
I called Gerkhen Kal Doon again.
Gerkhen Kal Doon looked back at me without a word.
"I won't fall for it again."
As I added in a teasing tone, a tiny cross mark was etched on his forehead.
Because the same trick will only work on Gerkhen Kal Doon once.
"Your treatment is done. You'll need to receive some mana treatment to prevent scarring."
The nurse spoke just then.
"Yes."
I got up first. Gerkhen Kal Doon seemed to have a while left, purely due to the nurse's greed.
What's the point of touching the hand so much?
"I'm leaving."
I said goodbye because it felt strange to leave alone.
"Go."
Gerkhen Kal Doon also responded.
I left the infirmary, fiddling with my hand. I walked down the corridor leading to the exit of the Coliseum.
A presence clung to me one step behind.
"Is your body okay?"
It was Soliette.
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine?"
Honestly, it does seem a bit shaky. Even if it's a tough body, I did move a bit too much.
The aftereffects will likely come later. I might not be able to sleep all day today.
"Using the Five-Flower Form as a consecutive attack… You consumed your body much more severely than when you showed it to me. If you break your spine, you'll be disabled."
Soliette shrugged her shoulders.
"I won't stop you."
"…Why?"
I'm suddenly upset because she said she won't stop me.
"Seeing that your body doesn't break even when you move like that, it seems like you're naturally gifted. Today, you were a killer sword that beat anyone at least once."
Soliette kept rambling on after that. As she spoke, she kept swinging her palm – like a sword.
She seemed to be boiling with blood belatedly because the opponent was too easy.
"I shouldn't have watched your antics."
Was Soliette this talkative? I laughed a little out of curiosity.
"What are you laughing at."
In the meantime, we reached the exit of the Coliseum.
We distanced ourselves a bit more. So that we don't look like we know each other. We walked the road while maintaining a spacious distance.
…And so, from behind while leaving the Coliseum.
A person walked out.
"Why… the two."
A woman, looking alternately at Soliette and Shion leaving, held a somewhat complicated gaze.
It was Elise.
______________________________________________________________________
The next morning.
Elise was lying upside down on the bed, staring blankly at the sunlight seeping through the blackout curtains, reviewing the day for the twenty-third time.
Starting with the mental ward where she met Yael, to the surprisingly brilliant match of Shion and Gerkhen Kal Doon.
─I won thanks to you.
Even the way he smiled as he said that.
He seemed like a boy at that time. It was a genuinely happy face.
The first encounter was so new and sudden, and his pure gratitude, untainted by anything, was so unfamiliar.
Elise unknowingly ran away.
"I wonder how much I don't know."
Suddenly, such a thought crossed her mind.
Did she know too little about him?
Or did Yael's confession change everything she knew in an instant?
"Why…"
However, there was one more thing that bothered Elise.
Shion and Soliette.
She had seen the two walking side by side.
It was her first time seeing Shion and Soliette talk so much.
She didn't understand.
Shion had definitely touched Soliette's spite—Knightmare in the mine, and Soliette also said she disliked him…
"…"
In the end, Elise got up. She had stayed up all night, but her body was fine without sleep for a day or two.
After all, the main event starts on Friday.
She got up groggily and went to the living room. Thud- something like trash caught her foot. It was Layla. She had notified her that she would stay in her Presidium until the evaluation test.
Click-
Elise turned on the light.
"Ugh. Who turned on the light…"
Layla floundered and then turned over and slept. Elise sat at the table in the living room and picked up her smartphone.
She absentmindedly scrolled through her contacts.
Perhaps there was someone to talk to.
Someone to share this stifling feeling with.
No one.
She had thousands of friends on the messenger, but no one to actually talk to.
There was one worm lying in this house. Layla.
Elise glanced at her.
"Excluded."
She talks too much. Even if she fell into the sea, her mouth would float.
Even if she just mentioned Shion's name, she would say, 'Why are you talking about Shion? No way!!!!!'
In the first place, this is not something that can be shared with anyone.
The story of Shion and Yael, and herself, to no one…
[At Your Service]
Suddenly, it caught her eye.
[At Your Service] in a corner of her contacts.
At Your Service.
'Consultation on worries' is also a service.
Elise quickly sat upright.
[At Your Service], who doesn't know each other's gender, age, or anything. A scholar (presumed) who guards lost knowledge.
His culture and discernment are highly reliable; above all, there is no fear that this conversation will be leaked to anyone.
Just in case, Elise changed her smartphone to another one. It was a spare phone she had prepared in advance for business situations.
She sent a text to [At Your Service] with it.
[Human Relationship Consultation]
Ding-
An immediate response came.
[At Your Service: I don't accept overly broad questions. Please make it more specific.]
Elise rested her chin on her hand and pondered. After peering at the screen with bleary eyes, she moved her fingers.
[I hated this person.]
[I really hated them.]
[But it turns out I've wronged them greatly… in that situation. How should I handle it?]
Ding- A response came.
[At Your Service: I am not a counseling center. When I say I'll do anything, I mean in a business sense.]
"Who doesn't know that."
Elise pouted her lips. Was he being dismissive because she was using a different phone, and there was no record of previous requests?
[Isn't counseling a type of business? It requires quite a professional capacity. I'll pay whatever you ask.]
Then, after about a 3-minute gap, a reply came.
[At Your Service: If you want to reconcile, take the first step. Let go of your pride.]
Pride.
"…Pride."
Upon reflection, for Elise, it was the hardest thing to let go of.
Things she hadn't considered as pride before, things she had taken for granted, were her pride.
A life grown from birth as a noble of honor. A life always being number one. A life enjoyed as a beauty of notable appearance.
Everyone approached her first and wanted to be friends with her.
Therefore, 'taking the first step' itself was a pride that did not exist in Elise's mind.
"…."
Elise sent a message along with a department store gift certificate.
[It's 5,000 Ren. Is that okay?]
[At Your Service: It's excessive for a single line of advice.]
[Please save me in return.]
Of course, it was just a single line of advice.
But for Elise, right now, even breathing was difficult.
She hadn't closed her eyes for a second since hearing Yael's words. She had no fingernails left. She kept biting them whenever she came to her senses.
The story of that day was too shocking to accept with the mindset of 'it's not my fault-'
[Just call me 'A'. That's enough.]
Therefore, she needed it.
A channel to vent her complicated feelings.
[From time to time, when I need it, I'll ask for advice on human relationships.]
A consultation where neither party knows the other.
Therefore, a consultation where one can speak more honestly.
She needed something like this for herself.
[At Your Service: Yes, Ms. A. I will set up a separate consultation session. The consultation fee will be 3,000 Ren per session.]
"Haah…."
Elise sighed. Then she opened the messenger as per [At Your Service]'s advice.
She firmly pressed on [Shion Ascal] in the friends list.
An empty chat room.
Elise first wrote "What are you doing?" then erased it. She added another question mark to "What are you doing??" then erased it.
It seemed like she was acting too friendly all of a sudden.
A bit more business-like "What are you up to?"… she erased it again. "It's morning, what are you doing now?" was also erased.
"Elly… what are you doing?"
That's when Layla woke up. Elise quickly pulled her smartphone closer to her body, just in case Layla could see.
"What am I doing indeed."
Shh-
Suddenly, she heard an ominous sound.
Shh.
The sound of a message being sent on the messenger.
Elise quickly looked back at the screen.
「What are you doing」
Her message was in the chat room.
A message was sent to Shion Ascal, or rather, the message was sent.
"What are…."
It was a typo.
She had made a typo.
Elise's hair stood on end.
"No!!!"
"Why, why?!"
「What are」
It wasn't "What are you doing?" nor "What are you up to?" There wasn't even a period at the end.
To anyone looking, it was an incomplete, ugliest typo in the world.
Elise raised her hand and clenched her fist at her own temple. It throbbed as if a mouse had bitten it.
"Elly, what's wrong? What happened!!! Did someone die?!!!"
Clueless Layla hastily approached and asked. Elise glared at her and shouted.
"It's, it's because of you─!"