Exchange (2)
Chapter 16
“Hmph, this is too easy. Everyone should now understand the vast gap between nobles and commoners…”
After defeating all the children who had challenged her to a sparring match, Alesya scanned the area with her sword tip and locked eyes with Ray.
The once boastful Alesya immediately became deflated and lowered her voice.
Even if Alesya was intoxicated by noble pride, she wasn’t foolish enough to cross swords with Ray while fully aware of his capabilities.
‘Ray is a monster…’
Alesya still found it hard to believe that Ray had defeated a demon ten times his size using only two swords.
As Alesya fell silent, the atmosphere momentarily calmed down. It seemed like the sparring might end there when a cheerful voice echoed from behind Karen.
“Me too! Can I try as well?”
Johanna raised her arm enthusiastically and shouted, prompting Alesya to respond with a condescending smile and a nod of her chin.
“Come on then.”
Regaining her confidence, Alesya quoted a line she remembered from an old fairy tale’s villain.
“This isn’t even enough for a warm-up. I would appreciate it if you could entertain me more.”
“I’ll do my best!”
Johanna had very little experience wielding a sword properly.
Upon receiving the wooden sword, Johanna attempted to mimic Alesya’s grip, extending and folding her arms repeatedly.
At first glance, it seemed like she was merely loosening up, but in reality, Johanna was carefully gauging the reach and distance when holding the sword.
Once she had estimated the radius of the sword’s swing, Johanna approached Alesya with a bright smile.
“I’m ready!”
Preparing for any eventuality, Ray moved closer and clapped his hands together.
“Begin.”
“Yah!”
Johanna boldly lunged forward with her sword.
Alesya easily deflected the thrust and retaliated by aiming for Johanna’s chest.
As Johanna twisted her body to evade, Alesya spun clockwise and quickly took position to the right, slashing diagonally downward.
“Whoa!”
It was a very narrow escape.
Johanna retreated hastily, missing the attack by just the thickness of a piece of paper.
Both believed they had narrowly avoided disaster.
Of course, Ray saw things differently.
‘As always… Johanna has an incredibly precise sense of distance.’
It was a talent that could be described as innate.
She instinctively grasped the range of her opponent after swinging the same length wooden sword just a few times.
Proud of how Johanna handled her sword, Alesya closed the distance with a satisfied smile.
“Let’s see if your luck continues.”
Chack! Tattat!
Alesya’s advanced swordsmanship was evident.
She knew how to use her opponent’s strength against them, and her movements were diverse and natural.
Since her opponent was Johanna, who was new to swordplay, Alesya took the opportunity to practice some challenging moves.
The problem was that during dozens of exchanges, Johanna had evaded every critical strike by mere millimeters.
“This time was also thanks to good luck! I must be having a really lucky day!”
“…?”
Is this commoner mocking me?
Alesya glared furiously at Johanna, but all she saw was pure joy on her face because of her supposed good fortune.
Alesya was baffled.
There’s no way someone could avoid dozens of sword strikes by mere millimeters just through luck.
Watching Alesya’s confusion, Ray chuckled.
‘Yeah, if you’re gonna pull a rare card, you’ve got to put on a show.’
How many times had he spun the gacha wheel trying to pull another rare card?
Ray felt that his hard work from the past was finally paying off, albeit in a small way.
While Ray pretended to wipe away tears, Alesya tightened her grip on her sword, her face flushed red.
Until now, she had been holding back somewhat, intending to guide her opponent, but now her patience had run out.
!!
Alesya’s swordplay suddenly became much rougher.
Caught off guard by the sudden increase in speed, Johanna stepped back.
Johanna pondered.
Although she had managed to dodge attacks due to good luck, she couldn’t think of a way to defeat Alesya.
Alesya’s swordsmanship focused heavily on defense.
No matter how talented Johanna might be, breaking through Alesya’s defenses with a wooden sword she had barely held a few times seemed impossible.
‘Let’s apply what I know!’
That’s what Ray always emphasized—application was key.
What Johanna excelled at most was a 1080-degree spinning kick.
Having found her solution, Johanna turned her back to Alesya and ran to the opposite side of the field.
“Hmm? Are you running away?”
While Alesya hesitated, confused by Johanna’s actions,
From the other side of the field, Johanna signaled with her wooden sword and began sprinting lightly.
“?
As Johanna rapidly approached, Alesya stammered.
“What is that commoner planning to do?”
Recalling the sight of a wildboar charging, Alesya froze in place.
When Johanna launched herself into the air with a powerful leap,
Whirrrr!
Alesya’s mouth dropped open at the sight of Johanna beginning her spin in mid-air.
In her short life, Alesya had never encountered such unconventional swordsmanship.
Had Alesya had sufficient experience, she might have been startled by the unorthodox technique but would have retreated to wait for Johanna to land.
Unfortunately, Alesya lacked practical combat experience.
“Yah!”
Completing three spins, instead of kicking as usual, Johanna swung her sword wide.
Realizing the situation too late, Alesya finally assumed a defensive stance.
However, regardless of whether the technique followed traditional methods or not, the power of a triple aerial slash was unmatched.
Crack!
“Uwaa!”
Unable to withstand the impact of the collision, Alesya lost her grip on her weapon.
The sound of the wooden sword rolling across the ground echoed through the field, leaving everyone stunned.
After blinking for a moment, Johanna raised both her hands.
“I won!”
In formal duels, dropping the sword wouldn’t necessarily determine victory or defeat, but among children, losing one’s sword meant defeat.
Johanna jumped around in excitement and shouted toward Ray.
“It was super, super lucky!”
‘She’s pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.’
Ray started to feel suspicious.
Was Johanna just pretending to be foolish?
Could she be enjoying irritating others by feigning innocence?
Shaking his head at the absurd thought,
‘Anyway, is Alesya alright?’
Alesya sat on the ground, shocked by her defeat, her mouth agape.
“Let’s do it again! I let my guard down!”
Even as Alesya called for a rematch, a shadow fell over her.
Looking up slowly, Alesya saw Karen smirking with her orange eyes.
“You lost at swordsmanship too?”
*
The next day.
Alesya remained popular among the children.
Though her reputation took a slight hit from losing a duel, the elegant swordsmanship she had displayed was deeply etched into the children’s minds.
While basking in the attention at the dining hall, Karen threw in a comment as she passed by.
“Tsk, you lost at math too.”
“…”
“Tsk, you lost at swordsmanship too.”
“…”
“You’re a liar.”
Unable to endure the constant teasing, Alesya finally stood up abruptly.
“Karen, you commoner! You lack shame! Even if I made mistakes twice due to sheer coincidence, it has nothing to do with you!”
In essence, she was telling Karen to shut up since her losses weren’t against her.
Karen was aware that gloating about her friend’s victories was unsightly.
However, Alesya had already dug herself too deep.
“Isn’t there an insurmountable wall between commoners and nobles?”
“Uh!”
“But you lost, didn’t you?”
“B-but that was due to coincidences…”
“Are you really a noble?”
“Yes, I am!”
“Then you’re a second-rate noble who lost to a commoner, aren’t you?”
Alesya’s jaw dropped.
Could the word ‘second-rate’ really describe a noble?
“W-what did you just say?”
“Alesya is a second-rate noble who lost to a commoner.”
“…!!”
Lightning struck in Alesya’s mind.
“How dare I suffer such humiliation…”
Trembling, Alesya bit her lip.
She couldn’t back down now. Her father was scheduled to visit later that afternoon, so the opportunity to silence that arrogant commoner was only hours away.
Ideally, she wanted to report the arrogant commoner to her father, but the embarrassment of admitting two defeats and the fact that the girl was from the orphanage associated with Ray gave her pause.
In the end, there was only one option left.
“I can’t take it anymore! Everyone, follow me to the field! I’ll personally demonstrate why nobles are nobles!!”
“Woo-hoo!!”
Excited children raised their spoons above their heads and cheered.
Children in their rooms rushed out to join the crowd heading to the field.
“Bring firewood!”
At Alesya’s command, a few children who had become followers overnight rushed back carrying logs.
Satisfied with the growing pile of wood, Alesya sent the children back.
“Everyone, watch closely. The miracle of mana granted solely to noble blood!”
Raising her arm high, Alesya unnecessarily added a spell incantation.
“By this noble lineage, I command thee! O flames that illuminate the darkness, o fires that burn sins, manifest before me now!”
If Ray had been watching, he would have surely slapped the back of her head three times.
Fortunately, Ray had disappeared early in the morning, claiming he had business to attend to, allowing Alesya to add a few more unnecessary embellishments before extending her arm forward.
“Fire!”
Woosh!!
“Wowwwwww!!!!”
As the crimson flames engulfed the wood and rose high, an enormous cheer erupted.
The children, witnessing real magic for the first time in their lives, were deeply impressed and looked up at Alesya with sparkling eyes.
With renewed confidence, Alesya smirked at Karen, standing some distance away.
“Behold. Now you can’t call me a liar!”
Watching the roaring flames, Karen’s eyes quickly reddened.
“Tch…”
Luna, standing beside Karen, quietly observed her.
Luna couldn’t fully empathize with why Karen was sad.
“Sniff… Huff…”
Tears mingling with jealousy and inferiority began to fall.
Karen desired Ray’s exclusive attention, knowing his preference for talent despite her own efforts.
Even though she worked hard, a real noble who could perform magic had now appeared and was trying to get close to Ray.
Karen couldn’t tolerate it.
If Luna or Johanna had taken Ray’s side, she might have confronted them, but nobility was different.
If Alesya was truly a noble, she had to be driven away. They needed to prove they were superior to this noble. Only then would Ray stay here.
“Huff! Luna…”
Karen grabbed Luna’s hand.
“Luna is much smarter than me, so you can definitely use magic. Much better magic than that second-rate noble. Right?”
Luna looked at Karen.
She still struggled to fully understand Karen’s emotions.
Nevertheless, ever since Luna joined the orphanage, Karen had warmly smiled and consistently stayed by her side to help her integrate with the other children.
So, Luna decided,
She could cast a spell for her first friend, Karen.
Luna nodded slightly.
*
Carrying a basket full of bread, Ray grumbled as he returned to the orphanage.
On his way, he heard from Arno that the Count would arrive at the orphanage within a few hours.
‘The kids need snacks… I should remind them to keep quiet, tidy up their appearances, and wait politely.’
Ray roughly planned his tasks and hoped nothing major happened while he was gone. However, from afar, he could already see a bonfire blazing in the center of the playground.
“Camping fire in broad daylight… That’s Alesya’s doing.”
There shouldn’t be any serious problems.
Though it was supposed to be confidential, everyone who needed to know about nobles practicing magic already did.
Count Philips, who owed Ray his daughter’s life, wouldn’t nitpick about Alesya demonstrating basic magic to the children.
“…”
As Ray slowly approached the noisy orphanage, he dropped the bread.
His half-open “insight” eyes began to visualize the flowing mana, forcefully overlaying it onto the landscape.
The sky above the orphanage turned completely red.
“No, no. That’s not right.”
Ray started running.
“You shouldn’t be attempting something like that yet.”
The mana embedded in his muscles explosively accelerated his body.
“That’s an utterly abnormal achievement.”
The sword at his waist was drawn.
“Under no circumstances should you reveal it to others.”
The moment that talent is exposed, overwhelming hands will undoubtedly reach out from all directions.
“Darn.”
Ray had to admit his mistake.
He misjudged the level.
