Chapter 39: Me!
I saw him waving over here on purpose!
“Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft… urgh!”
I flailed my hands in front of me, my eyes tightly shut, blowing out air like a wind-up toy gone rogue. I couldn’t help but stand up, but the dust twirled around me, no matter how much I waved, it wouldn’t budge. The annoyance in my chest had me stamping my feet, and my patience was simply gone.
So. Dirty. So. Dirty. So. Dirty!
Ahhhhh——
My freshly washed school uniform!
And my hair!
Now it’s all filthy!
Rect—!!!
Moments later, I felt the wind d*e down, and the dust began to disperse slowly. I cautiously opened my eyes, covering my mouth and nose to take a couple of cautious breaths. I immediately widened my eyes and glared at the front.
The gentle breeze whisked away the last wisp of dust lingering in the open space.
As my vision cleared, I noticed the Ghost Fire Boy sprawled out several steps away, while Rect stood there like a statue, not even an inch moved.
“Hey there, kid, you must’ve had some dealings with Wind Order before, or someone told you about it, right?”
The man with the forgiving hair color pressed down the back of his trench coat as he stepped forward, grinning like a cat that just caught a canary.
“Did you think that people with Wind Order typically aren’t good at melee combat, so you rashly tried to close the distance with me from the start? I must say, you executed the move quite well; your punches are pretty strong. You must be skilled at close combat, right? Did you decide to challenge me because you figure that Wind Order poses a lesser threat compared to the others… like Horst’s Earth, or Lucia’s Lightning, when faced with your Flames?”
He bent down in front of the Ghost Fire Boy, extending a hand, a smile plastered on his face.
“Oops, did I hurt you?”
After saying that, the Ghost Fire Boy’s face flushed a bright red.
“I’m fine…”
The boy’s reply seemed to be squeezed out through his teeth. He ignored Rect’s outstretched hand and didn’t respond to his question. Instead, he scrambled to his feet, brushed off the dirt, and glanced over at me. Finding me staring, he panicked a bit—probably feeling embarrassed—turned away like he was trying to hold his breath, backed up a few steps, and muttered to Rect, “Let’s continue.”
Rect just nodded.
“Well then, bring it on.”
The man stayed still, waiting for the boy’s attack. But this time, the Ghost Fire Boy had become cautious; he didn’t recklessly charge in again. Instead, he moved slowly, trying to flank Rect while keeping an eye on his movements.
I stood there expressionless, took off my soft hat, and gave it a few “pfft, pfft, pfft” shakes, sending up clouds of dust that drifted lazily through my field of vision.
Kinda choking.
“…Achoo—”
I couldn’t help but sneeze, then rubbed my nose, glancing at the girls nearby. They were all dusting themselves off, chattering away. I looked down… yup, I could totally see the dust on my skirt.
Heh.
After a brief moment of losing my cool, I calmed down, stood expressionless for a moment, and then started using my soft hat to tap my stomach and chest.
Pfft, pfft, pfft…
After a few taps, I sure felt cloudy all over.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
I stopped, covering my mouth to cough a few times, took a breather, then bent down to thwack my skirt.
“Wow, this isn’t coming off at all. I’m gonna need a shower when I get back…”
“Mr. Rect, you’re so amazing… he just waves his hand, and the wind rushes in…”
“I think the dirt got in my mouth… urgh! So dirty…”
“But Mr. Rect is really handsome…”
“Look at him, not a speck of dust on him…”
“Peter is totally useless…”
The girls around didn’t seem upset at all.
But I was furious.
Furious, furious.
Whoosh—
From the corner of my eye, I saw sparks from the empty space, as if the Ghost Fire Boy had charged again. But I stopped caring, completely lost interest in the show, and coldly thwacked myself.
Pfft, pfft, pfft.
In front, Rect’s voice radiated composure.
“Try moving a bit faster… good… don’t rush into close combat… indeed, many people with Wind Order aren’t skilled at melee combat; they think that wind powers have a weakness in close range compared to other orders. Only by maintaining a certain distance can the wind’s power be effectively utilized… but that’s a foolish mindset.”
Amidst his words, I could still hear the howling of wind clashing with fire, intermingled with the Ghost Fire Boy’s shouts.
“I’m telling you, the application of Order Power is incredibly versatile. It’s not a simple battle of talents! Even if your affinity is far stronger than mine, I could easily defeat you with my techniques…”
…Forget it, no more tapping.
It won’t get any cleaner anyway.
“Shut it! You guys are all too delicate over some dust! Just sit down and watch quietly without affecting the others!”
Teacher Melville’s voice rang out, stern and commanding. The girls jumped in fright and immediately stopped, obediently sitting down.
I followed suit.
Then I rubbed my messy hair… felt like my hands were turning to sandpaper.
It must be full of dust…
…so irritating.
I put my soft hat back on and glared intently at the man in the arena, casually dodging attacks as if strolling through a park.
He dodged and kept chatting away: “The use of Order Power doesn’t rely on brute strength, but on technique… of course, if your talent is vastly superior to mine, you could force power through technique, unleashing flames fierce enough to envelop everything… leaving me nowhere to escape… but that’s a foolish way to go about it, because you can’t expect to always face weaker enemies…”
“Ah——”
The Ghost Fire Boy yelled angrily, his palms igniting with even fiercer flames, and with a whoosh, he launched a fireball at Rect, who effortlessly swatted it away with a flick of his wrist, sending it flying into the sky. The boy crouched low again, throwing a fierce fire punch aimed directly at Rect’s face.
“Too slow.”
Rect ducked easily, his right hand pressing against the Ghost Fire Boy’s chest, pushing him back several steps, then beckoning with a finger.
“Come on, try a bit faster.”
“Whew——, whew——”
The Ghost Fire Boy was starting to fatigue.
His face was flushed, his chest heaving heavily, wiping sweat from his forehead, and after a moment of heaving, whoosh, his fists blazed with flames even more intense than before. He charged at Rect with a look that suggested he was about to pop.
“OOOOOOOOH—”
The atmosphere in the training ground ignited once more, and the students raised their arms, cheering for the Ghost Fire Boy.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——
The boy kept throwing punches at Rect, each punch accompanied by the roaring flames. His movement was fluid, clearly honed from meticulous training. But his eagerness and lack of real-world experience meant each punch landed with a resounding thud—but managed to only bounce off Rect’s jacket.
Rect was playing.
That man with the forgiving hair, swaying gracefully among the punches and flames, his movements fast and fluid, his coat fluttering but not a thread catching fire, hands casually tucked behind his back, simply dodging and avoiding any retaliation; it was clear to anyone that he was toying with his opponent.
“Kid, have you completely given up on defense? Do you even know that with your approach, if I were a real enemy wanting to eliminate you, you wouldn’t even land your first punch before being defeated thrice over?”
“Ahhhhh—”
“And if one day you encounter an opponent whose talent matches yours, but who has outpaced you in technique, physique, and application, with your current level and approach, you’d be just waiting for your d*ath with your eyes closed… My Order Power has been intentionally reduced beneath your level, yet you still can’t figure out how to handle me. If I wanted to deal with you… it would take just a second—”
Saying that, Rect suddenly stopped.
He turned sharply, narrowly avoiding the boy’s punch, then in a flash, his hand shot out like lightning to slam against the boy’s face, bending forward, his arm straining, causing his coat to flare up—
Bam!
Dust sprayed into the air.
The Ghost Fire Boy’s upper body was slammed to the ground by Rect, his legs kicked up high, before crash-landing back down.
“See? I didn’t even need to use Order Power.”
Rect clapped his hands cheerfully, looking relaxed, his coat sweeping behind him again as he extended a hand to the boy on the ground.
“Don’t forget today’s battle; think carefully about what I said. You did well. Among your peers in this academy, there are likely only a handful who could surpass you…”
His tone was calm, not even out of breath.
The Ghost Fire Boy hesitated briefly, then also extended his hand, clasping Rect’s in a handshake, and stood back up.
Whoosh——
The gigantic training ground erupted into cheers.
“Peter, awesome job~”
“Mr. Rect, you’re so cool——”
“He’s so strong! A strong and gentle man, and he’s handsome too… I want to date such a gentleman…”
“Mr. Rect, look at me! I’m right here! I love you——”
The girls turned into a bunch of lovesick puppies. I had never realized Rect was so popular at the academy. The freckled girl beside me had her freckles nearly covered in dust, yet she boldly confessed her feelings, getting a sly wink from Rect when he heard her.
“He looked at me! He looked at me! Aahhh——!”
The girl nearly fainted with excitement.
I finally got it—Rect wasn’t here to teach us…
He was just here to flirt.
Just you wait…
I crossed my legs and sat among the fervent crowd, scratching my face, expression blank.
The battle between the Ghost Fire Boy and Rect was done for now. The boy left the arena looking a little disappointed; he didn’t even glance at me this time.
With the first battle as a comparison, the next student who stepped up already looked defeated before they even started; they quickly got overwhelmed and were knocked down, followed by another… every subsequent match was a foregone conclusion, with students falling one after another. But the process? I had lost all interest in watching it.
I just kept my eyes on Rect.
I saw him standing there, basking in the glory, even sneaking winks at some of the female students in the crowd.
… I’d be sure to note that down and tell Victoria later.
But before I did that, I had to deck him one.
“…Do you know? You guys are way out of your league! You can’t even get them to show the slightest bit of seriousness! Stop making age an excuse! The four who came today were all from the Royal Academy! They were just like you back then, part of this very academy, all calling me Teacher! But when they were your age, they weren’t anything like you are now!”
After the battle, Teacher Melville stood in the middle of the ground, facing all the students, his neck bulging with veins, shouting furiously.
“Is this the best you can do at the Royal Academy? How did you all even make it in here? Is there anyone left? I want to see who’s brave enough to come up next! Can you—”
“I!”
Just waiting for you to say that!
“I, I, I!”
I glared furiously at Rect, raising my little hand high.
