Episode 39: “Duel, Begin!”
“Phew, finally done…!”
By the time Yuria muttered that in satisfaction, the morning sun had already begun to rise.
The floor, which had been almost invisible under all the clutter, was now clearly visible, and the kitchen had been scrubbed until it gleamed.
Clothes that had been scattered everywhere were neatly washed, and food long past its expiration date had all been thrown out.
“Wow, so this room actually looks this nice…”
“Of course it does.”
“Thank you, Yuria.”
“…You really are hopeless at housework, aren’t you.”
Yuria’s exasperated laugh was so gentle that it left Fiine flustered.
There’d been no hint of blame in her words for how badly Fiine had performed.
(And I could barely help with any of it, either…)
Wiping the floor, she’d nearly put too much strength into it and cracked it; washing dishes, she’d broken more than a few from sheer overzealousness. Fiine had been almost entirely useless.
For the latter half of the night, all she’d really done was keep producing clean water into a bucket with water magic.
“Ahh… I’m gonna sleep a little. You go to sleep properly too, okay?”
Yuria collapsed onto the bed. She curled herself up tightly, making just enough room for Fiine to lie down beside her.
(I’m tired too, but… maybe I’ll get breakfast ready.)
Yuria had done almost all of the cleaning herself; Fiine wanted to let her sleep as long as she possibly could.
Fiine could handle two or three sleepless nights in a row without any issue, so she decided to prepare breakfast instead.
(I’ll use beef, to help her get her energy back. Fish and vegetables too, and plenty of seasoning this time…)
Running through the recipe in her head, she made her way to the kitchen.
Since Yuria had gone to the trouble of cleaning it so thoroughly, she’d have to be careful not to make a mess of it again.
(I hope Yuria likes it.)
It was the first time she’d ever made a meal for someone else. She had no real confidence in it, but if it made Yuria happy, that alone would be enough.
—Thinking exactly that, the breakfast Fiine went on to make would end up dubbed “livestock feed” by Yuria. But that’s a story for another time.
◆
The day of the duel. Nearly the entire student body had gathered on the school grounds.
Two pendant-holders facing off, with both of them freshly enrolled first-years besides — it was little wonder the event had drawn this much attention.
As far as Fiine was concerned, this was more or less exactly what she’d hoped for, but with this many people watching, she couldn’t help feeling nervous all the same.
Standing directly across from her was Andrea.
Her fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail, standing in a way that showed off her pendant deliberately. Rather than her usual uniform, she wore gym clothes, ready for the physical exertion ahead.
And serving as the duel’s supervisor was none other than Burkhardt.
(When I told him I’d ended up in a duel with Andrea-san, he looked pretty shocked.)
She couldn’t very well tell him she’d been harassed by her classmates, so she’d blurted out on the spot that she’d wanted some practical combat training instead — though he may well have seen through the lie.
“Let’s go over the rules once more before we begin. The time limit is one hour. The match ends when time runs out, when either side surrenders, or when I judge it too dangerous to continue.”
The rules of the duel were simple. Magic could be used freely, and non-magical attacks were permitted as well, but the use of any weapon besides a wand was forbidden.
“Duel, begin!!”
Burkhardt swung his hand down sharply.