The duel was over.
But in a way, this was only the beginning.
Given how prideful the girl had seemed, her mental state was probably in pieces right now.
Which made it all the more important to have a proper conversation.
If I just ignored her after thoroughly crushing her, something truly dangerous might happen as a result.
Like her falling for a terrorist like Tillis.
And considering that a terrorist was lurking nearby, I couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
“Johan! I brought her!”
“Good job, Yuna. Set her down there and just in case, could you go get Raven too?”
“Okay!”
Yuna supported the unnamed girl and laid her down in front of me.
Whether it was the shock of defeat or something else, the girl couldn’t even get up and just sat there on the ground.
Hmm… Looking down at an injured girl like this made me feel like the villain here.
It was a disastrous look.
“Alright, let’s sit and talk comfortably.”
I plopped down in front of her and began the conversation.
“You really wanted to fight, didn’t you? So, what did you think? Now that you’ve actually experienced it.”
“……”
The girl said nothing, simply bowing her head gloomily.
“I won’t sugarcoat it, so I’ll be honest. Yuna is probably the strongest student in Class D.”
Honestly, you could say she’s got Class S-level ability.
But calling her the strongest in Class D wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t a lie.
“And I’m the weakest in Class D.”
That too wasn’t a lie.
I was undeniably the weakest. There was no room for excuses.
Even though I’d recently beaten Senior Jabir and my win count had been steadily climbing, it was only because my opponents had let their guard down.
And the reason they did that…
“Just so you know, people here don’t like fighting. Sure, they’ll spar lightly or trade a few moves, but full-on battles where you crush your opponent? They usually try to avoid that.”
Among the students, there were very few who still fought at full strength.
That’s because situations requiring them to go all-out were usually the worst kind.
It’s hard to control your power, and the more seriously you fight, the more depressing it feels.
You could even call it a kind of PTSD.
That’s why even during training or duels, they tend to smile and just lightly exchange blows.
Senior Jabir was the same.
“These kids didn’t become strong because they wanted to. They had to get strong to survive. So now that peace has finally come to the Cradle, their intense growth will probably stall.”
Except for a very few, that is.
Most of them likely won’t grow much more.
“So there’s no need for you to feel discouraged. Honestly, when you watched my duel with Raven, you didn’t think I was totally out of your league, right?”
“……”
“And I’m sorry about threatening you with your family. I only meant to throw you off your game, but things got a little out of hand. Sure, I’m from a count’s family, but it’s not like we’re some big deal. We’re just a small-time noble house from the countryside.”
“……”
“So you don’t have to worry about me trying to noble my status or family over you or anything like that. And even if we don’t end up getting close, there’s no reason to hold a grudge, right? We’re going to be seeing each other for at least another half a year.”
“……”
“I get it, really. You were assigned to Class 1-A in your first year, your family was proud, and they probably had high hopes for you. But come on, have a little perspective. At our age, a one-year gap is huge. And for the record, I was considered elite too back in my first year.”
“……”
“So let’s just bury the hatchet, okay? The others aren’t ignoring you out of spite. They just don’t know how to approach someone ‘normal’. Got it?”
“……”
…Why isn’t she saying anything?
After all that clear and thoughtful explanation, is she still holding a grudge?
Hmm… well, she was still a student, after all.
Even if she understands what I’m saying in her head, accepting it in her heart might be a different story.
That kind of thing just took time.
At any rate, I should keep an eye on her, but for now, this should be enough.
“So, do you have anything you want to say?”
“…pital…”
“Huh?”
“P-Please take me to the hospital…”
“…Ah.”
Only then did I finally take a proper look at her condition.
Her arm was broken, and blood was dripping from her head.
Probably from the way Yuna had slammed her into the ground, her back was completely soaked in blood and her clothes were stained red.
By Cradle standards, these were minor injuries.
But by normal standards, they were serious.
It was another moment that reminded me how much both Yuna and I had been unconsciously shaped by Cradle’s warped mindset.
So…
She wasn’t sitting there because she was crushed emotionally, but because she was physically unable to stand.
She wasn’t hanging her head in gloom, but because she was in too much pain.
She wasn’t ignoring me because she had a grudge; she simply couldn’t talk.
“Ow… it hurts…”
“Hang in there! I’ll get someone right away. Just hang on a little longer!”
***
On the way to the infirmary, the girl passed out.
Thankfully, her life wasn’t in danger.
“Hmm, just minor injuries. I’ll give her some medicine when she wakes up in three or four hours. Make sure she takes it.”
“She’s technically a second-year, but she advanced early from the first year.”
“What?! These are serious injuries?! That’s a serious condition! What were you doing, letting her end up like this?!”
“……”
“We’ll need to observe her for at least three days, and she should be hospitalized immediately. Just so you know, there’s a personal fee involved. Does she even have money for that?”
“…I’ll cover it.”
…What’s with this double standard?
Watching what should’ve been a perfectly normal reaction, something inside me began to boil.
Why were injuries judged differently based on grade level?
I was hurt just as badly, yet mine were treated as minor, while hers were considered serious?
“What are you staring at?! Pay up and get out! The patient needs rest!”
“Ah… yes…”
It wasn’t fair.
***
While Johan was hurriedly escorting the girl to the infirmary,
Yuna who was tasked with finding Raven came upon a scene that made her pause.
She spotted Raven… talking with Tillis.
“You two! What are you doing here?”
Yuna quickly wedged herself between the two.
Just like Johan had warned her.
It was just that Tillis had approached Raven sooner than expected.
“Oh my, Yuna. You got here quickly.”
“Yes, I did. So… what were you two talking about?”
“Nothing at all yet, actually. We just ran into each other.”
“Really? Is it something urgent? Johan was looking for Raven.”
“Oh, not at all. I just thought he looked a little down, so I wanted to cheer him up.”
“I am not really feeling down… or rather, I wasn’t… uh, I mean—ahem! I’m not feeling down.”
While Raven stumbled through his choice of tone, seemingly still undecided on how to speak, Yuna gave Tillis a cheerful smile.
“Mind if I take him now?”
“Go right ahead.”
Tillis smiled back at Yuna just as pleasantly.
Quick on the draw, that one.
No doubt Johan had anticipated Tillis’s move.
Thanks to him, she had failed to sway Raven.
This was the perfect time to shake him up right after his defeat, but Johan had left no openings.
“Then take care.”
“Will do.”
“I’d love to have a proper chat with you sometime, Yuna.”
“…Anytime.”
Yuna responded with a forced smile as she led Raven away.
And Tillis remained in place until even her shadow had disappeared from view.
***
According to Yuna, it seemed Tillis had tried to make contact with Raven.
“It might be a good idea to keep a close eye on Raven for a while. She wouldn’t have approached him for no reason.”
“That was my plan anyway. He’s a mercenary, after all. He might be carrying a lot of things inside without showing it.”
I approached Raven, who was glancing around awkwardly.
Has this guy never even been to a hospital before?
“We didn’t really get a chance to talk earlier, did we?”
“I thought we already talked about everything… didn’t we?”
“Just speak casually. You’re a mercenary, right?”
“But you’re a noble…”
“Only in name, so don’t worry about it. It’s easier for me when people talk to me normally too.”
“Oh, really?”
Raven’s face lit up a little.
“So anyway.”
I repeated to Raven what I’d told the female student earlier.
Though unlike her, Raven wasn’t weighed down by inferiority complexes, so I tweaked the way I said it a bit.
“Got it?”
“Yeah, got it. Makes perfect sense.”
Maybe I was expecting too much from him.
Still, he didn’t seem to have any complaints for now, so maybe it’s fine?
Let’s just keep an eye on him until Tillis leaves.
“By the way, Raven, Yuna told me you talked with the Saintess. What was that about?”
“It wasn’t much of a conversation. Hmm… she mostly just talked about herself.”
“Herself?”
“You know, that story. About her past. She told me about it. Felt like she was about to say more, but then Yuna… came in and cut it off, kind of.”
“Yeah? Got it. I thought it might be something important.”
“But why are you asking?”
“I owe the Saintess a personal debt. I’d like to repay her somehow, but I have no idea what she’d appreciate.”
“Ah, I see.”
I deflected Raven’s suspicion with an excuse I made up on the spot.
Still… her past? That’s not exactly the kind of story you share with just anyone.
I’ll have to think more about what her reason might have been for bringing it up.
***
Elves were fewer in number than humans, but each individual was far more powerful.
And that was only natural.
Their race lived for generations beyond human lifespans, so their martial strength was inevitably on another level.
However, they had long led isolated lives centered around the World Tree, cut off from the outside world.
Because of that, they paid little attention to events in the wider world and maintained strict neutrality…
But the Empire that was locked in its campaign of conquest didn’t leave them alone.
“Why?”
Tillis had still been a child then.
She was fleeing as the Empire invaded.
Not content with simply attacking, the Empire set the forests and the World Tree which was the very homeland of the elves ablaze and set out to exterminate every last one of them.
“We already surrendered… So why go this far?!”
Tillis was a high elf. She was equivalent to royalty among humans.
Naturally, her parents held a position akin to monarchs among the elves.
She remembered her mother facing the Black Knight.
That merciless knight had slaughtered every elf along the way to their home.
There was no hatred or anger in his actions. He killed them like it was a task to be carried out. It was an efficient and detached genocide.
“Because it is His Majesty’s will.”
“What kind of will justifies this?!”
“I wouldn’t know. We follow orders, nothing more.”
“Orders…? You’re saying this massacre happened just because of orders? How could any human—”
“Is that a problem?”
“You’re a monster… All of you are monsters! You vile—!”
The queen stood her ground against the Black Knight.
But the outcome was obvious from the start.
How could anyone hope to defeat the strongest being on the continent aside from the Emperor himself?
The Black Knight’s spear pierced the queen’s heart in an instant, then struck down the other high elves one by one.
Only Tillis was left.
She had witnessed the entire slaughter at the hands of the Black Knight.
“Speak, young elf. Are there others who escaped? Any hiding somewhere?”
“……”
Tillis shook her head.
And at that moment, she realized something.
“A moment ago, everyone was killed by your hand. Now, I’m the only one left.”
She realized she was the last.
And with that, the elven race would vanish from the world.
Tillis mocked herself. Yet at the same time, she thought:
Not a single tear.
How could she be so calm? Why did she feel no sorrow, no fear?
“So be it. With this, the elves will be driven to extinction.”
“………”
But the Black Knight lowered his spear.
He could have killed Tillis, but he didn’t.
It wasn’t out of pity.
It was simply because a single elf alone couldn’t carry on the race.
Erasing the elven bloodline—
He had carried out the Emperor’s orders to the letter.
“Well, unfortunate as it is, this is reality.”
“……”
With the job done, the Black Knight spoke to Tillis in a tone as casual as a man chatting on the street.
“Guess that makes us the righteous ones.”
Like he was quoting something he’d heard somewhere, the Black Knight tapped his helmet and muttered.
“Well then. Live your life.”
And with that, he left.
Alone in the burning forest, Tillis thought to herself:
“I see.”
She recalled the words her parents had shouted.
She recalled the way the Black Knight had acted without a trace of emotion.
“So that’s how it is.”
Good and evil don’t matter. Only the victors get to decide what’s right.
Right and wrong were irrelevant. Only the winners had the right to judge.
And so, Tillis created a demon modeled after her own heart.
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