Chapter 173
Trisha waved her hands vigorously.
"Go away! I already warmed up the room."
The wolf spirit showed no particular aggression. It just stuck out its tongue and panted.
Unable to stand it any longer, Trisha grunted and pushed the spirit away with her hands. Then she opened the door and rushed inside.
"Phew."
Trisha dusted herself off and surveyed the room. Damian was still absorbed in his bath, so it was empty. The burning firewood in the fireplace created a cozy atmosphere.
Though Damian's space was ordinary with nothing special, it somehow had an inexplicable quality that calmed the heart.
Luna's wolf spirit outside the door was annoying, but Trisha knew Luna's personality well enough to know she wouldn't have the nerve to enter this room directly.
"Hmph."
Trisha took the poker and hung up her hand-washed underwear. Then she sat in front of the fire and stirred it, just like always.
"This is really annoying."
***
In the early morning under a crescent moon.
As usual, Trisha had claimed my bed first and fallen asleep, leaving me no choice but to move elsewhere.
I gathered Silveryn's Stitch and Bibi's Stitch, and went out to the garden.
It was a cloudless night with a cool breeze.
I sent a letter attached to Silveryn's Stitch, then attached one for Bibi.
Watching the platinum stitch fly into the sky, I unconsciously sighed.
One way or another, Bibi's illness remained like a stain in a corner of my mind.
Why did it weigh so heavily on my mind when it wasn't my business and there was nothing I could do about it?
Maybe it was because of how she acted without any particular attachment to life.
After confirming the letters had flown off properly, I began walking slowly through the garden trees.
Then I saw the figure of a woman with short hair approaching from the opposite direction. As the moonlight revealed her features, I spoke first.
"Couldn't sleep? Are you also out for a walk, Luna?"
"...Yes. What an incredible... coincidence."
Luna and I had frequent chance encounters. Who would have thought we'd meet again at this hour, in this vast place?
Looking at her now, Luna seemed disheveled as if she'd just woken up. What had made her get up and move around?
"Aren't you tired?"
She slightly avoided my gaze and said, "I had things to think about. And the air is just right..."
"Then... shall we walk together?"
Luna nodded twice.
"Yes."
She changed direction and walked beside me, looking in the same direction. I asked first, "What were you thinking about?"
"Tomorrow's sparring lottery... I was thinking about that."
"Whoever gets matched with you will be losing sleep with worry. Is something bothering you?"
"Yes.... I need to maintain my grades, and my family has expectations."
Right. I'd become so familiar with her that I'd forgotten Luna was a young lady from a noble family.
"Is there anyone you'd prefer to face?"
"Just... someone who isn't aggressive would be nice."
Luna was skilled enough to outmaneuver Sion, whom even seniors feared. From my perspective, she had nothing to worry about. I was more concerned about Trisha, who was quite lacking in combat ability. I hoped she wouldn't end up struggling against some weird opponent.
"Do you know how the lottery works?"
"Everyone gathers and draws lots using an artifact..."
"Hmm... then tomorrow let's... no, never mind."
I couldn't move around with Luna while showing my face.
She briefly showed a disappointed expression and said, "Then... let's check together at the library."
***
There was an unfamiliar structure in Eternia's central student plaza.
It was a round, white structure that looked like a fountain. It was filled with cloudy white water that one couldn't see through.
I heard that one drew boxes with names written inside from there. Apparently, magic determined who got paired with whom. Since I hadn't received this information directly from a professor, I wasn't certain.
Trisha, standing beside me, said with an excited face, "I'm so nervous!"
Originally, I'd planned to attend the lottery alone, but Trisha had whined about having no friends to go with, so I ended up coming with her.
The Alchemy and Magic Engineering departments weren't included in this sparring evaluation. Those two departments valued research achievements over combat ability. Thanks to that, Cecil's group wasn't present either.
Combat and Magic Department students surrounded the structure in a disorderly circle.
"Who do you think you'll fight, Damian?"
"Don't know."
Honestly, I didn't want to fight anyone. While I didn't want to lose, there were also restrictions on revealing all my abilities. I just wished I could watch from the back.
I glanced at where the seniors were clustered. There wasn't just a hierarchy between different years; an implicit hierarchy existed even among the same year. Just looking at how groups formed, one could roughly tell who was powerful and who was weak.
In the midst of the chaotic atmosphere, someone parted through the students and stood before the structure.
It was Professor Rakam, who had previously taught the circulation system class.
"Attention, everyone."
The noisy atmosphere immediately quieted when the professor appeared. He looked around once and spoke, "Is everyone here? I heard you've all prepared hard to save face in front of your juniors. Is there anyone who hasn't prepared? If so, raise your hand."
Several people who appeared to be seniors proudly raised their hands.
Professor Rakam shook his head in disgust, as if he'd already seen the sparring results.
"Tsk tsk, that overconfidence will get you hurt. This year's first-years aren't pushovers. They retrieved the Horn of the Phantasmal Beast that you couldn't get in your first year. They're absolutely not easy opponents."
Professor Rakam finished the small talk there and got straight to the point.
"Some of you might be lazy and unprepared, while others have sharpened their blades to properly educate the newcomers. Now, put your hand in this fountain's water and take what you grab. This magical liquid will determine your destined sparring partner. The order is free. Just draw before the evaluation day, and refusing to draw will result in the lowest score. Simple, right? Is there anyone who doesn't understand?"
The student plaza remained silent.
Soon after, one student boldly approached the fountain.
It was Sion.
The Combat Department seniors snickered and whispered to those beside them. Surely nothing nice was being said.
Some were even shocked that a green first-year would step forward when even the senior students hadn't started yet. She ignored the seniors' harsh stares, drew something out, put it in her pocket, and disappeared.
Seeing her bold, thoughtless behavior, Professor Rakam laughed heartily and said, "Well, shall I draw too?"
"...!"
"...!"
We thought he was joking, but Professor Rakam really put his hand in and drew something before leaving.
That professor... wasn't he from the Magic Department? Some Magic Department student would have to face him—whoever it was, how unfortunate.
Now people started coming forward one or two at a time to draw lots.
"Hoo...ah!"
Trisha took a deep breath and approached the fountain, drew a box, and came back to me.
"Let's see who you got."
But Trisha covered it tightly with both hands and said, "No! Not yet."
"...What's the point of keeping it secret?"
"Don't know! I won't show mine until you show your opponent!"
"..."
I glanced at the fountain. Luna silently came and drew her lot. She exchanged glances with me from afar before leaving.
Meanwhile, Trisha pushed my back, urging me, "Damian! Hurry and draw!"
I tried to draw quietly without attracting attention, but apparently, quite a few people had been watching me since I arrived at the plaza. I could hear whispers around me.
"Damian, Damian."
"Is that really Damian?"
"Are the rumors about his escort mission true? He looks too normal."
Pretending not to hear, I diverted my attention and put my hand in the fountain. Even while waiting, my back burned from the stares.
Soon after, something floated up with bubbles and touched my hand.
I grabbed it and immediately put it in my inner pocket.
When I returned, Trisha had checked her opponent alone and looked shocked.
"What's wrong?"
"This is... terrible."
***
I stood in front of the bookshelf with "Alchemy for Solving Family Discord" at our meeting place in the Central Library.
Luna was already waiting on the opposite side of the bookshelf.
"Luna?"
"...Yes."
"Have you checked who your opponent is?"
"No... not yet."
"I haven't either. Shall we check together?"
"...Yes!"
I took out my lottery box from my pocket.
"Here, take my box. Let's exchange and tell each other who we drew."
"...Okay."
Luna slipped hers through the empty space on the bookshelf. I took it and passed mine to her.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
"One, two, three!"
We opened the boxes simultaneously.
Inside was a small piece of parchment with a name written on it.
Luna spoke first, "Ruscus."
That was the name of my opponent.
"Never heard of them. Do you know who it is?"
"Yes.... I think I heard they're in the Combat Department's second-year advanced class."
Not an easy opponent.
I quickly took out the note to check Luna's opponent.
There was a very familiar name written on it.
"...Fabella."