Chapter 51 - Unused Trump Cards!
Dong dong dong—!
Just as Luke lay on the hospital bed, lost in thought, the room's door was knocked.
"Please come in."
Interrupted in his thoughts, Luke wasn't angry; on the contrary, he was somewhat eager to know who the first visitor would be.
"Excuse me~"
The room's door opened, and a blonde girl walked in, holding a bouquet of flowers.
"As expected, it's you, Claudia."
Although Luke had already guessed in his heart, he still felt a bit emotional seeing Claudia as the first person to come for a visit.
"Oh? Luke, are you displeased that I'm the first one to visit?"
Looking at Luke's expression, Claudia didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Even if you say that, I did come to see you. You're being quite impolite, you know."
Upon Claudia's words, Luke finally realized that his behavior had indeed been a bit inappropriate.
"Well, no, that's not what I meant. I was just expressing, 'As expected, it's you.'"
Afraid that the girl might misunderstand, Luke quickly explained.
Claudia, of course, understood that Luke was not unwelcoming. After placing the bouquet of flowers in the vase by the window, she smiled at Luke.
"Well, compared to the 'others,' I'm better informed, you know~"
"They probably need some time to find this hospital."
The affiliated hospitals for the Festa are generally not publicly disclosed, especially for champions like Luke.
The hospital where he is being treated during his injury requires strict confidentiality to prevent any harassment.
However, this level of confidentiality has limited effectiveness. It can only deter ordinary spectators, and with some detailed investigation, the location can still be found.
So, Claudia's words were not a problem, but Luke instinctively felt something was not right.
Fortunately, Claudia didn't seem intent on delving into the matter of the 'others.'
"I won't say much about the 'congratulations on winning the championship.' Regarding the wish afterward, are you sure you want to go through with it?"
Claudia sat down beside the hospital bed, shifting the focus of the conversation to this crucial point.
"Well, after releasing Todo Kirin's father, I'll leave the subsequent related issues for you to handle."
In response to Claudia's inquiry, Luke nodded.
Seeing Luke's acknowledgment, Claudia sighed and touched her forehead, pretending to be very troubled as she spoke to Luke.
"Hey, by doing this, aren't you fulfilling Todo Kirin's wish? What if she decide not to enroll in Seidoukan Academy anymore? Then, I'll have lost such an outstanding student because of you, right?"
"Don't lie. Don't think I don't know. You've already taken care of Todo Kirin's enrollment procedures in advance through your connections, haven't you?"
Luke shrugged, not believing at all in Claudia's feigned expression.
After all, Claudia was capable enough to forcibly take away a highly talented graduate from Rewolf Black Institute under 'King of Evil' to serve as an instructor at Seidoukan Academy.
Taking an advantage from the 'King of Evil' is something few people in the entire Asterisk City can achieve.
Since the moment Todo Kirin was discovered by Claudia Enfield, her enrollment in Seidoukan Academy was almost certain.
As for whether Todo Kirin would participate in the 'Festa' after fulfilling her wish, that's a different matter.
Leaving aside that the 'Festa' is the world's largest event, based on Todo Kirin's personality, as long as it's implied as bringing glory to the academy, she would likely participate.
What's more, Todo Kirin now owes Luke a huge favor.
Favor debts are the hardest to repay, and returning Luke's wishing opportunity through winning the 'Festa' is obviously the best way.
Therefore, Claudia is not worried at all that the outstanding student Todo Kirin would run away.
…
While Luke and Claudia were chatting,
On the other side,
Dirk approached Orphelia, who had just regained consciousness.
"How do you feel?"
Dirk looked at the weakened Orphelia and asked with a furrowed brow.
"He's very strong... but I still had the chance to win."
Orphelia's eyes flashed with unwillingness.
In fact, she didn't know why she felt this way because this was her first time experiencing failure.
Perhaps it was because she had always been invincible?
Maybe she had grown accustomed to always achieving victory?
Orphelia didn't know.
The only thing she knew was that the taste of failure was not pleasant.
"Do you know why you lost?"
Dirk wasn't influenced by Orphelia; he had his own assessment of the match. Asking Orphelia now was just to see if there might be any unexpected insights.
"That final blow... and Ser-Veresta... If I had an Orga Lux, maybe I could have blocked it."
Orphelia strained to recall, as if trying to find a solution to that last moment.
"Is that so? It seems that you haven't noticed it yet."
Dirk's words caught Orphelia's attention. She stared intently at Dirk, wanting to know what he meant by saying 'you haven't noticed yet.'
Sensing Orphelia's reaction, Dirk impatiently clicked his tongue.
In the end, he still explained to Orphelia, "Even if you had blocked the final blow, you would still have lost."
"You seem to have completely forgotten, haven't you? The fact that there was a puddle of water beneath your feet."
Dirk's explanation left Orphelia silent.
She remembered that from the beginning to the end, she hadn't moved at all.
Even in the final stage, when she wanted to retreat, she couldn't budge because of the attraction of Amakakeru-Ryū-no-Hirameki.
So, the puddle of water had been continuously beneath her feet. Even if it had turned into contaminated water, it didn't mean Luke had lost control over it.
During their confrontation, essentially a face-to-face close-quarters combat, the puddle of water was equivalent to being under Luke's control.
If, at a crucial moment, Luke could control that puddle of water to do something...
Orphelia suddenly felt that the gap between her and Luke might not be as small as she had imagined.
Dirk's words were not finished yet.
"Even if we don't talk about that, haven't you noticed that he didn't use 'Star Swordsmanship' at all in this match?"
"You don't really think that the 'Star Swordsmanship', recognized by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation and designated as the second unique skill of Jielong Seventh Institute, is just for playing with water, do you?"
As Dirk spoke, he appeared extremely irritated.
"If I'm not mistaken, he still has at least one or two trump cards in his hand that he hasn't used."
Knowing that Orphelia wouldn't get any more information here, Dirk turned and walked towards the door.
As he left, he said one last thing to Orphelia.
"Besides Ser-Veresta, he used the exact same move two years ago. Do you think he hasn't made any progress in these two years?"
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