Chapter 16
Swish-!
A faint noise brushes past my ears. In my flickering vision, dozens of sword strikes flash.
Silver lines rush in with a fierce momentum.
"Tsk."
I take a step back.
While narrowly executing evasions, I directly ward off the attacks that persistently dig in.
Sparks constantly fly from the black sword in my hand.
-Bang, screech...! Tung!!
Steel fragments fiercely colliding.
Every time I take a step, the surrounding terrain twists. The thicket rises to become blades, and fluttering petals shoot out as daggers.
The roses interfere with my path, raising thorns in all directions.
The pungent scent of iron brushes my nose.
I groan while blocking the persistently clinging fragments.
'...This is certainly troublesome.'
Is this what they call the continent's greatest genius?
Even though she hadn't achieved awakening yet, she was strong enough to beat most graduates.
I roll my eyes while blocking another slashing attack coming at me.
Clang-!
A barrier covering the entire circular arena.
The ground that was once a flat sandy floor had now changed to the texture of cold metal.
The neatly blooming sword flowers shake.
It was like seeing a garden made entirely of steel.
'Gray Garden.'
This was Charlotte's ultimate technique.
Spreading an absolute domain around herself. Within this space, Charlotte receives near-invincible judgment.
It looks like a splendidly blooming rose garden.
But in reality, it was a sea where every single flower was made of swords.
When the girl makes a gesture, the thicket moves. Like waves crashing, hundreds of sword blades sweep out in waves.
I take a stance to avoid being swept away.
Clang! Screech...!
Sharp petals scratch noisily across the sword's surface as they pass.
As I deflect each of the pouring steel raindrops, I see platinum blonde hair at the far end.
"Hmm."
"Ugh...!"
"Is it an act? Or are you really weak?"
"I don't know what, you're talking about...! I'm giving, my all...!"
"...It's strange."
Charlotte tilts her head slightly.
As if there was something suspicious, the Little Prince didn't easily lower her guard.
I inwardly sigh.
'Why on earth is she acting like this?'
Surely my acting was perfect.
This time there were no mistakes in controlling my strength, and I thoroughly hid my killing intent.
Moreover, I was creating the appearance of an unrivaled weakling by wrapping my entire body in 'lies'.
Clang-!
Once again, sparks fly from the sword tips.
Though it looks like she's pushing recklessly, it was an attack with finely controlled intensity.
I can sense her strong will to test me.
What on earth does Charlotte know?
No... 'How' does she know?
I continue moving while turning over these troublesome thoughts.
'I guess this is fortunate, in a way.'
Testing means she's suspicious.
At the same time, it also means she's not certain yet.
I don't know for what reason she's suspicious of my 'existence', but as long as she's not certain, I just need to continue acting shamelessly.
After all, Charlotte has no way of knowing.
"I'm curious about you. It's difficult."
"From earlier, I really don't understand what you're saying...!"
"But, that's why I want to know more."
Tung-!
A heavy impact striking the sword's surface.
It was an attack with clearly more weight behind it than before.
Did she decide to increase her output?
I stuck out my tongue while fidgeting with my hand that was coming numb.
'She really is a once-in-a-century talent.'
One of the flagship beauties of the original 'The World as Seen by the Little Prince'.
Overwhelming performance. She was evaluated as the best playable character, so if it weren't for me, she would have certainly taken first place.
This is why they talk about bubble top students.
To the students' eyes, Charlotte must have looked like something transcending normality.
'Maybe because it's the early part of the story, it's a bit disappointing... but I guess this is good enough for a passing grade.'
I mutter inwardly.
By the way... how should I lose here to make it look natural?
While fleeing to avoid the swirling steel fragments, I glanced at the magic tools placed here and there.
Screen transmission magic tools.
Although the arena was covered by Charlotte's barrier, the situation inside was being broadcast through screens via magic tools.
The faculty must be gathered watching.
'It would have been nice if other students could see too.'
Unlike the entrance exam, this time there was no separate scoreboard prepared for students.
These magic tools were prepared solely for grading.
In other words, apart from the faculty, no one else had any way of knowing the situation inside the barrier.
If it were a barrier spread by an ordinary student, the inside would be transparently visible, but this was a 'domain' created by none other than the Little Prince.
It wouldn't even form an image in the pupil of an ordinary person.
"Huff, huff...!"
"It's strange. Are you really just weak? There's nothing you're hiding at all?"
"I've been telling you, from earlier...! I'm giving, my all...!"
Screech, grind...! Clang, tung!!
It was about time I should collapse.
It would be nice if something big came flying... but only ambiguous attacks have been pouring since earlier, so it's troublesome.
Strength control matching what I can parry.
Perhaps she's being considerate to avoid injuring me.
'At this rate, it won't end.'
Of course I'm moved! I'm so happy to be considered!
But I still have to do what needs to be done.
Amidst the fiercely resounding steel explosions, I subtly wiggled my finger.
A strand of lie falling to the floor.
The shadow writhes a few times like a snake, then soon advances towards the platinum blonde girl.
And then.
Kwak-!
Without delay, it bit her ankle.
"Ugh...!?"
Lips exhaling a faint groan.
For a moment, Charlotte's legs stumble.
The petals that were dancing fiercely fall back into place. The girl stands frozen like a stone.
"...Your Highness?"
I throw a question as if asking what's wrong.
Though it was a worried tone, a smile I couldn't quite hide was evident on my lips.
It's going smoothly according to plan.
I smile ominously.
***
"Whew."
Charlotte quietly catches her breath.
Perhaps because she was deploying a wide-range domain, mana was draining faster than expected.
She thought it might have been too much, but quickly shook off the thought.
A landscape full of intense iron scent.
Splendidly blooming roses. In this cruel yet infinitely beautiful garden, only two people stand.
"......"
The girl silently looks ahead.
What reflects in her transparent blue eyes is a boy with an unusual appearance of blonde hair and slit eyes.
His name was Yuda or something like that.
Clang! Screech...!
The boy was busy blocking sword strikes pouring from all directions.
The sweat drops thoroughly wetting his forehead gave the impression that he was truly pushed to the edge.
Charlotte asked casually.
"Hmm."
"Ugh...!"
"Is it an act? Or are you really weak?"
"I don't know what, you're talking about...! I'm giving, my all...!"
"...It's strange."
A panting answer came back, but Charlotte still didn't lower her guard.
Rather, she tilts her head as if suspicious.
There was a reason for her suspicion.
It was because of a scene she had witnessed two weeks ago.
-The atmosphere in the slums has been unsettling recently.
-Kidnappings, murders, disappearances and other incidents keep happening... it seems the heretics are running rampant again.
It was content reported by her direct informant.
To confirm that part, Charlotte headed to the slums herself.
As she was going around collecting clues here and there, she accidentally witnessed a chilling scene in a deep alley.
-I clearly gave you a chance.
-You're the one who kicked it away.
-That's right~ People should know their place, you know?
Shadows writhing strangely.
It soon spreads into a massive blackness, swallowing the surroundings. The scenery without a trace of light resembles primordial darkness.
Nothing survives in such pitch-black mist.
There was only a blonde man smiling as if enjoying himself.
Charlotte could only hold her breath.
She felt that if she showed even a slight sign, her life would be cut off right there.
The rope of silence chokes the girl's neck. The retreating figure of the 'monster' still remained in her shaking eyes.
'It was the first time I saw something so terrifying.'
Transcendent power with no end in sight.
It gives a sense of despair like falling into an abyss just by encountering it.
Literally a disaster... no, destruction.
The girl had witnessed a brief fragment of destruction.
Her breath trembles with eerie tension.
Charlotte struggles to maintain composure and focuses on the opponent before her.
'This student called Yuda... he resembles that man from back then.'
Of course, many parts were different.
Compared to that man then, his energy was fainter, and his skills were far below her level.
But there was one thing that was similar.
It was the atmosphere.
Sticky, sweet, and ominous... a unique atmosphere existed.
It was a scent that once smelled, could never be forgotten.
"I'm curious about you. It's difficult."
"From earlier, I really don't understand what you're saying...!"
"But, that's why I want to know more."
Tung-!
So Charlotte pushed even harder.
To confirm whether the boy's identity matched the person she knew. And also hoping it wasn't.
The garden's petals flutter mournfully.
"Huff, huff...!"
However, the longer the situation continued, the more confusion grew.
The essential sense pointed to the boy, but looking at how he fought, he was just a weak student.
At best, barely hanging on to the top 10.
"It's strange. Are you really just weak? There's nothing you're hiding at all?"
"I've been telling you, from earlier...!"
Certainty gradually fades.
Charlotte thought.
Was it simply a misunderstanding? Was she just tormenting an innocent person?
Such thoughts gradually color her mind.
Her heart softens.
Naturally, the power behind her attacks also becomes fainter.
As the girl's suspicion was falling away like that... something bit her ankle.
"Ugh...!?"
Motion sickness rises momentarily.
Consciousness becomes hazy with dizziness from an unknown source. As if intoxicated by severe alcohol.
The gathered mana becomes disordered, and concentration shatters into pieces.
Charlotte staggers for a moment.
As she stumbles, she unconsciously swings her arm.
It was an unconscious movement due to motion sickness, but the result it brought was immense.
Kugugugu-!
This steel garden reacts following the girl's gestures.
The larger the movement, the wider the effect produced.
That's why Charlotte had been standing in place, only moving her fingers slightly until now.
"Uh, uh...?"
She didn't want to attack to the point of endangering the boy's life.
With that thought, she had been making careful adjustments, but suddenly an unknown force intervened from outside. Thanks to that, a control error occurred.
Rustle-!
The ground roars.
With the vast background behind, all structures like vines, roses, and thickets writhe and rise.
They seem to mix and align with each other, then soon become a massive flow and make waves.
It wasn't an expression stemming from mere exaggeration.
Literally, a huge steel tsunami was surging.
Kwaaa!!
The blades rushing like a tsunami tear apart everything around.
Where the disaster looks, the blonde boy stands. He seems frozen stiff, perhaps in shock.
"Ah, no...!"
Charlotte's consciousness only returns then.
She hurriedly tries to move her hand, but it was already too late.
The garden's flow was moving more fiercely than ever before, so it was impossible to block it without damage.
Even for Charlotte, called an unparalleled genius.
'This isn't right.'
She had decided to test the boy.
But she didn't want this.
She didn't want to see others get hurt anymore.
Because in Charlotte's world, only one person could be hurt, she reached out without hesitation.
"Hup...!"
If she can't break the flow, she slightly twists it to turn it back.
The girl resets the targeting of the attack.
Not at the boy, but at herself.
The tsunami that was rushing to target the boy twists its direction.
With a visibly clenched fist, the wave of blades follows, drawn like a magnet. To swallow her.
Rustle, kwaa-!
A storm approaching with a fierce roaring sound.
Charlotte stood still and looked up at it. It seemed difficult to block without damage after all.
She would probably be injured enough to be carried to the infirmary at least.
"...This will hurt."
Charlotte mutters calmly.
Even in this situation, the girl didn't lose her characteristic serenity.
She was simply satisfied that she hadn't caused harm to the boy.
Swish...!
A rose passes by the tip of her nose.
The girl closed her eyes, preparing for the impact that would come next. Right after, an explosion sound hits her ears.
Kwaang-!
"......"
But why was it?
Although a long time had passed since the loud noise rang out, no pain was transmitted to Charlotte's body.
Could it be that she was too injured to have any sensation left?
"...?"
With such doubt, she slowly opens her eyelids...
"Are you alright?"
Golden hair shining calmly in the sunlight.
As our gazes meet, the white eyes that were rarely open close again, returning to slits.
"My, my... Can I consider this as you owing me one?"
The boy grinning while holding her in his arms.
Behind his back was the scene of debris shattering into pieces, the garden landscape scattering into dust.