Chapter 409

409.

Chaeng-!

The swords crossed, emitting a sharp sound.

Hwirik-!

Celia spun her body, deftly deflecting Martina’s pressing sword.

At the moment Martina lost her balance,

Hwaak-!

Aina leapt behind Martina.

Aina’s thrust aimed for Celia.

The thrust was like a flash of lightning.

However, Celia anticipated it and effortlessly evaded the attack.

Then she grabbed Aina’s wrist and hurled her away.

Aina floated in the air, expressionless, as she gazed down at Celia.

Meanwhile, Celia pointed the tip of her sword at Martina.

“Mock battle is over.”

Celia sheathed her sword with a casual tone.

Hwirrik-!

After skillfully swinging her sword a few times in the air, Celia neatly returned it to its scabbard and said:

“I did agree to your request for a mock battle.”

Celia narrowed her eyes and looked at Aina.

“Just what was the reason you asked for this mock battle? Your teamwork was off from the start.”

Looking at Celia, Aina spoke.

“I wasn’t subdued yet.”

“The mock battle was over the moment Martina was subdued. There was no more reason to continue.”

Celia brushed her hair back as she spoke.

“Aina, you know you can’t beat me on your own, don’t you?”

The three were engaging in pure swordsmanship training without using aura.

Even though Aina, the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint, was known as a genius with the sword since childhood, Celia, as a direct descendant of the Zerdinger family, was also called a sword genius.

The difference between first and second year students is like the difference between sky and earth.

Therefore, even in pure swordsmanship, Aina couldn’t defeat Celia.

However, Aina showed no sign of backing down.

Looking at Aina, Celia said,

“Primarily, just now, you should have helped Martina instead of attacking me.”

“I wanted to duel with you one-on-one, Celia-senpai.”

“And why is that?”

“To quickly improve my skills and earn Leo-senpai’s recognition.”

‘Ciel, there’s Leo again.’

Celia sighed.

She was already aware of Aina’s abnormal obsession with Leo.

This obsession became obvious whenever Aina went overboard.

“I won’t ask why you’re so fixated on earning Leo’s recognition. It’s your personal business after all.”

“…”

“But if you keep at it like this, you may never earn Leo’s recognition.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just now for instance.”

Celia glanced towards Martina, who was looking on with a slightly worried expression from behind.

“You should have helped Martina when she was subdued instead of attacking me. Didn’t we learn that in class?”

“…”

Aina clenched her fists tightly.

“If Leo’s standard is ‘strength,’ then you’ve already earned his recognition.”

Aina had never lost her place as the top of the first-year class.

‘Even against competitors like Habidden from the same Knight’s Department, Juen from the Department of Magic, and Lady Shasha from the Department of Summoning—she has firmly held onto the top spot.’

Yet Leo hadn’t recognized her.

‘Moreover, Leo has consistently acknowledged Kal since their first year.’

And it wasn’t simply because they were friends.

Leo genuinely thought Kal was extraordinary and regarded him as both a comrade heading down the same path and a close friend.

At first, Celia didn’t understand this either, but recently, she had started to realize.

Not just during the midterms but also during the recent Alehem incident.

Kal’s abilities as a supporter and battlefield tactician were at an astonishing level.

“I’ve asked Leo about it before. Why didn’t he choose you as a mentee?”

“Because I couldn’t land a successful attack on Leo-senpai back then. Luke Eldar, however, did.”

“At the time or even now, Luke is no match for you. So why was the result what it was?”

“Er… That’s…”

Aina trailed off, still unable to comprehend what happened that day.

“You, did you really see Leo back then?”

Aina’s eyes widened.

“My cousin, Leo Flove, who exactly is he?”

Aina’s eyes wavered.

“That’s…”

“Are you really seeing who I am clearly?”

Celia’s words left Aina silent.

“How do you expect to earn Leo’s recognition when you can’t even see those around you clearly?”

Aina bowed her head in response to Celia’s cold tone.

Looking at Aina, Celia deeply inhaled.

“What kind of hero do you want to be? What’s your future aspiration?”

“…”

Aina didn’t respond. She merely stared at the ground in silence.

Celia, watching Aina, nervously scratched her head.

Celia had done her best for Aina, and Aina had followed her guidance wholeheartedly.

But Aina had never truly seen Celia as she was—only fixating on her obsession with Leo.

Even for someone as kind and broad-minded as Celia, this was her limit.

“I don’t know anymore. Do you even need me? You’ll understand. You’ll get stronger with or without me. You’ll make it through the second semester here at Lumeran Academy and move on to the next grade, no doubt.”

“Se… Celia-sama?”

Martina, watching Celia leave the area, looked bewildered.

Thud… thud…

Celia, leaving coldly, stopped abruptly and looked back.

“But I doubt you can maintain your position as Class Representative anymore.”

“…”

Aina raised her head, looking directly at Celia.

“I heard Leo already declared in front of everyone that Luke Eldar’s goal is undefeated.”

“Undefeated?”

Aina’s face stiffened.

“Yes. My cousin doesn’t make empty promises, you know. So it means Luke Eldar has surpassed you, doesn’t it?”

Celia smiled faintly.

“I’ll root for you, Aina.”

And with those words, Celia truly left.

“Aina! If you meet Ms. Celia again, make sure to apologize! I’ll try to persuade her!”

Martina, speaking to Aina, quickly hurried after Celia, her movements flustered.

Aina, now alone, stared at the ground.

Luke Eldar, the bottom-tier and weakest of the first-year class.

With such a reputation, his goal was “undefeated”?

The last image of Luke during the Alehem incident came to Aina’s mind.

“I won’t lose.”

Aina clenched her teeth.

“Se… Celia-sama, are you really planning to stop being Aina’s mentor?”

“It’s over anyway, right? Once the first semester is finished, the mentor-mentee relationship ends anyway.”

To Martina’s frantic inquiry, Celia responded with indifference.

“Are you saying you won’t think of Aina as a junior anymore?”

At this question, Celia sighed.

“As long as we’re both students at Lumeran, she’s still my junior. The fact that I’ve guided her remains unchanged. She exerted her best effort, which is enough to make me satisfied. I’m grateful to Aina for that, despite how challenging it was.”

“Then why are you saying these things? Are you hoping Aina loses?”

“I’m not sure. But it’s definitely clear that Aina is aware of Luke.”

“Because of Do Lord Leo’s choice?”

“Partly, but more so, she seems to somehow see Luke as a rival.”

At this, Martina made a surprised expression.

Normally, those who were secretly eyeing Aina’s position as the first-year representative were Habidden, Juen, and Shasha.

While other first-years didn’t overtly express it, everyone thought Aina was quite troubled by these individuals.

Yet Celia was now saying that Aina viewed Luke strangely as her rival.

“That seems like something she herself might not even realize, and even if she does, she would deny it.”

Celia shook her head.

“How do you know Aina’s mind so well?”

“I was similar to her until last year.”

“Eh? Similar to Aina?”

“When I first met Leo, he couldn’t even use Aura. Then I lost a bet with him and ended up doing maid duties for a week—it was humiliating.”

“… Maid duties? Celia-sama did that?”

Martina’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Don’t spread rumors.”

Celia glared, knowing it was a fact known by only a few who had been present at that time within the Zerdinger house.

“Afterward, Leo quickly mastered using Aura and even proved he was in the All-Class bracket. To be honest, until the beginning of the semester, I still thought newly-Aura-entered Leo was a step below me, and I refused to see him as my rival, deliberately ignoring him.”

That went for the other students as well.

“And then he overtook me in no time.”

Celia’s gaze darkened.

“It felt like my heart was about to collapse. Before I knew it, Leo was so far ahead that I could barely catch up to him. It’s still the same now.”

“…”

This was new to Martina, who had only ever seen the confident Celia.

“I don’t know whether Luke can really beat Aina or not. But if Aina does lose to Luke, her heart might break. Especially because she’s oblivious to the people around her. That’s why I wanted her to notice Luke’s existence.”

Celia turned to look where Aina had disappeared.

“At the very least, if noticing Luke can make her see the path she’s walking, even if she stumbles, she will at least rise again and run forward. That’s the final help I can offer her as her mentor.”

“Ara, miss…”

Martina looked touched.

But then her expression became one of confusion.

“Can Luke really beat Aina?”

“That, I’m not sure. But it’s not impossible.”

“Why?”

“…”

Celia, hesitating to say this herself, sighed.

“He’s a little… how should I put it…”

“…”

“Because my cousin is insane!”

“…”

“Anyone with sanity could not creatively torture people under the guise of training like that.”

Celia shuddered in exasperation, one of the few who had been repeatedly tormented by Leo.

“Your lord Leo’s motto is definitely terrifying.”

‘Not possible? If it’s not possible, make it possible. You don’t know that saying?’

Martina trembled as she recalled Leo’s calm declaration.

“He plans to arrange a special training schedule for the summer break…”

“I hate that idea, terrible.”

The two girls were mentally tormented just thinking about the wicked Leo.

*

Waaaaah!

The sound of intense battles filled the dueling arena set up in the central training grounds of Lumeran Academy.

Among the clamor, Leo stood in a waiting room for the next duel.

“Can I really do this?”

“Who knows?”

At Luke’s somewhat anxious voice, Leo responded indifferently.

“But if you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Trust all the things you’ve done up until now.”

Leo’s words moved Luke to nod.

“Ah, and those seal cuffs?”

“They’re fine to remove now, Leo said.”

Looking at the cuffs around his wrists and ankles, Luke smiled.

“Alright, I’ll give it my best shot like this.”

Leo smirked at his response.

A magical device installed in the waiting room allowed them to see the situation on the battlefield. The match ended, and it was the next one’s turn.

“Then, I’ll go.”

“Luke.”

“Yes?”

As Luke was about to leave the waiting room, he called out.

Looking curiously at Luke, Leo said:

“Go out there and show them who you are.”

“Yes!”