A stunning silence.
It wasn’t like some vampire who could stop time had shouted “The World!” and used their ability….but everything had come to such a halt that even the sweat on my cheek seemed to freeze mid-drip.
“Uh, everyone? This is a misunderstanding…”
“What’s wrong? Don’t want to touch me more?”
Shut up! You crazy woman! Don’t say things like that and make it worse!
“T-Touch…?”
Ugh. The girls’ eyes just turned razor-sharp.
If I make a clumsy excuse now, I might end up leaving school not with a diploma, but with a lawsuit in hand.
I hastily pulled my hand away from Frezia’s cheek, which had been forcibly made to touch her, and tried to show that I was pushing her away firmly.
“Listen up, everyone. This is a misunderstanding. This woman came to find me while I was lying here, insisting on sparring. I told her there’s no way I’d go along with someone who has no charm and isn’t even offering anything in return. Then she suddenly climbed onto my bed and made me touch her cheek. I swear, I didn’t do it willingly. I’m the victim here.”
Without the slightest stumble, I spit out the long sentence in one breath and panted as I watched their reactions.
“……”
“……”
Not great. The reaction wasn’t very favorable.
Just as I was trying to come up with another way to break through this awkward situation, Her Highness the Princess sighed and stepped forward in front of everyone.
“Haah… Let’s get this straight. So Mars, you’re saying that this Frezia, a student from another academy, came in while you were resting and abruptly demanded a duel, and when you refused, she went so far as to pull this stunt to provoke you, correct?”
As expected of our princess. She calmly and logically laid out the events in a way even I found easier to understand, even though I was the one involved.
“You all should stop misunderstanding too. If that man were the type to do something shady, we wouldn’t be going through all this trouble right now.”
“That’s true.”
“What are you even saying?”
“Oh, nothing. Anyway, it seems the misunderstanding about you is cleared up for now. Are you feeling alright?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine. I did get hit a bit dramatically, but I didn’t sustain any serious injuries, so no need to worry.”
Skilled aura users know how to hit in a way that hurts but doesn’t leave bruises.
From what I’ve heard, it’s done by using aura to amplify the body’s pain receptors without causing actual damage.
“B-But still, it was really impressive! To fight on equal footing with Count Helios!”
“There wasn’t anything equal about it, though…”
To others, it might have looked like a close match, but in reality, it was a complete defeat for me.
My new technique did catch master off guard for a moment, but if he had really wanted to, he could’ve ended it in an instant.
He only humored me out of curiosity about how far I’d come. If he had been serious from the start, it wouldn’t have even counted as a duel.
“That was amazing. Ordinary people wouldn’t even be able to lift their swords under that kind of pressure. I only saw it from a distance, but now I get why the Count is held in such high esteem.”
“I’ve seen you spar with the Count a few times before, but today felt like a whole different level. You always seemed like you were just slacking off, but I guess you’ve grown a lot, huh?”
Luna, who had watched a few of my sparring matches while hanging out with me, seemed genuinely surprised by how different today’s duel had been from what she remembered.
Back then, she’d only seen me before I had found my path as an Aura Lord, so she’d never witnessed a grand match like today.
It seemed even she was deeply impressed by the duel between Aura Lords that I had with my master.
“Alright, enough chit-chat… You.”
The princess stopped our small talk and turned her gaze toward Frezia, who had been quietly observing everything.
“Hmm?”
“You’re Miss Frezia of Bellum Academy… correct?”
“Mhmm. That’s right.”
That laid-back expression and tone, even in front of the Empire’s princess… I wasn’t sure whether to call it admirable or just clueless.
“In any case, I regret that you were caught up in the incident at our academy. We should have been more prepared, and I apologize for that failure.”
“It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I appreciate your understanding. However—”
The princess glanced sideways at Frezia standing next to me, and her tone began to shift to one of disapproval.
“No matter who you are, displaying such behavior in front of an unrelated man is quite improper. Your actions were not only a great nuisance to this young man but could also reflect poorly on the reputation of Bellum Academy. Don’t you agree?”
“Hmm…?”
Though the princess’s words were perfectly reasonable, Frezia tilted her head like she didn’t quite get it.
“And if you don’t genuinely have feelings for the man, acting so forward around him could easily lead to serious misunderstandings—”
“But I do like him.”
“…What?”
“What?”
I was caught off guard and ended up asking the question again.
“At first, I was just curious about the story of Aura Lord… but even though he didn’t know me, this person helped me. He even saved me. It was strange. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. People always expected me to live up to their faith in me… But kindness without expecting anything in return… this is the first time I’ve felt it since Delphine.”
“Wh-What are you—?!”
“I don’t hate it. A person like this. I don’t know much about him… and he doesn’t know much about me either, but… we can get to know each other over time.”
Then, without warning, Frezia gently placed her hand on top of mine.
I tried to pull my hand away, but thanks to her half-dragon strength, the sheer power in her grip wouldn’t let me go.
“That fox-faced witch—!”
Knock knock—
Just as the noble lady’s voice was about to sharpen into something fierce, a knock echoed through the room.
The charged atmosphere in the room immediately cooled back down.
“C-Come in!”
I was momentarily overjoyed at the appearance of what I thought was a savior to defuse this chaotic scene—
“Pardon the intrusion.”
“…Master?”
—only for that hope to crash and burn.
The person who stepped through the door was someone far too familiar.
My master walked over with a slight smile and studied my face carefully, as if checking for injuries.
“Hmm. Looks like there’s no serious damage.”
“Hearing that from the guy who did the hitting just makes me mad, you know?”
“You’re an Aura Lord. Your aura circulation is excellent, so minor wounds heal quickly. Be grateful I didn’t hit your face.”
“Oh wow. Thank. You. So. Much.”
Still, maybe I should be thankful. Thanks to my master’s entrance, the situation that was spiraling out of control managed to reset itself naturally.
“But why is the mood in here so weird? Did you guys get into a fight or something?”
“It’s not like that. Anyway, did you come to check on my condition?”
“Not really my concern. The real reason I came…”
Suddenly, the laid-back aura around my master vanished and was replaced by a sharp pressure that filled the room with tension.
“…is to tell you about me, the Heavenly Church, and the truth behind our connection.”
***
“Aaaaargh!! Ngh—! Gaaahhh!!”
The headquarters of the Heavenly Church.
The members of the Church were all clutching their heads from the deafening roar echoing through the temple.
“That… that’s Sir Gula’s voice, right? I’ve never seen him this angry before…”
“Same. Usually, he didn’t care about anything except food. As long as no one touched his rations, he was always calm.”
Gula was, at his core, an evil man. But he rarely went out of his way to torment others just for fun.
The only thing he cared about was eating.
Unless someone stole his ingredients or served him bad food, he never got angry. Seeing him now, so furious and completely out of control, was a new kind of fear for the cult members.
“But isn’t Sir Gula basically invincible thanks to his ability? I heard even the executives find him hard to deal with.”
“That’s right. According to the rumors, if his opponent had been just a bit stronger, he might have died. All the high-ranking warriors have been dying off lately… can we really trust what’s happening?”
“Hey… hey!”
“I mean, come on. They all say the cult leader gave them power close to that of a god, but if they’re losing like this… isn’t something off?”
“That’s true.”
Flinch—
“V-Vice Leader?! This, this is—!”
“Don’t worry. I understand. It’s only natural for you to feel that way. Our executives failed to honor your faith, so doubt is inevitable.”
Before anyone had noticed, the Vice Leader was standing behind them, gently resting a delicate hand on the shoulder of the member who’d been speaking ill.
“This is all my fault and my lack of virtue. I must take responsibility…”
“V-Vice Leader…? I wasn’t trying to cast doubt—”
Fwoosh!
“Ugh—!”
The cultist watched in horror as the arm that the Vice Leader had touched fell off without any warning. He tried to quickly back away, but the Vice Leader’s hand reached out and clamped tightly around his mouth.
“I find your loyalty touching… So let me help you take one step closer to His side.”
As the Vice Leader gently stroked the man’s hand and stomach, his body began to disintegrate. Like a sculpture made of sand crumbling into nothing.
The cultist felt no pain, and it was that lack of sensation that filled him with an even deeper fear.
Desperately, he thrashed and struggled with all his might. But the Vice Leader’s grip was as unyielding as stone. Then, from the place where his mouth had been seized, a strange sensation began to spread.
“—! ——!!”
His face slowly crumbled away, like dust scattering in the wind.
Starting at the mouth, the disintegration spread throughout his body, leaving behind no flesh, no blood, and no trace at all that he had ever existed.
“Hhhk… hhhuuu…”
Another cultist, having witnessed his comrade vanish in an instant, collapsed to the floor, soaking the ground beneath with tears and fear.
The Vice Leader turned his back without even sparing a glance at the scene.
Outwardly, he was the picture of calm.
But no one noticed that his clenched fist carried more tension than usual.
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