Chapter 17
Rustle, Kwaaa-!
A roar that seems to tear through the eardrums.
Sword blade fragments flying up like butterflies become a storm and swirl.
I mutter softly.
"This... I didn't expect this."
Standing in front of the steel wave is the platinum blonde girl.
Charlotte stands frozen in place, dazed.
Was it because of the sudden control error?
She reached out her hand to regain control immediately, but it was already too late.
Rustle-!
So the girl tried to take on everything alone.
To avoid causing harm to others.
A feast of fluttering petals.
Charlotte was quietly preparing for the impact.
'...She twisted the flow at such risk to protect me.'
I never thought she would reverse the attack like that.
Thanks to that, my plan to lose spectacularly turned to bubbles.
She really has an unpredictable personality.
Until just now she was ruthlessly pushing me, but when a dangerous situation arises, she tries to protect.
As expected, she was a four-dimensional girl who could go in any direction.
Well... that's part of her charm as a character.
'What should I do?'
If left like this, she'll get hurt.
No matter how great Charlotte is, she's still a young girl.
Since it's the early part of the original story, her ability's stability is low, and she can't perfectly control her own power.
She was a genius in the process of growth.
If it collides like this, at minimum light bruises or cuts.
At worst, she might be in such a mess she'd have to be carried to the infirmary.
Of course, there are priests on standby so she'd heal right away, but... imagining my favorite character getting hurt made me uncomfortable.
'Damn it.'
But I hesitate to save her directly.
What I would lose was too clear.
A life of struggling as a barely visible extra.
I've been acting weak while hiding my strength, but if I save Charlotte here, everyone would surely find it strange.
The students can't see because of the barrier.
But the faculty is different.
They were watching this situation.
For a moment I thought about covering all the magic tools' views, but it was impossible with my remaining output.
I had to choose.
Whether to save Charlotte for momentary satisfaction.
Or leave her to get hurt for future stability.
'What to do...'
In less than 5 seconds of fleeting time.
Tens of thousands of thoughts flash by.
What pushed my back as I stood unable to make a hasty decision was...
"...This will hurt."
None other than that single phrase.
A self-mutter without a trace of wavering.
The platinum blonde girl standing calmly gently closes her eyelids. As if falling into a peaceful sleep.
I let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha."
Seeing something like that, how can I not save her?
It was a foolish worry from the start.
Didn't I enter the academy to watch over the children?
Wanting to stay by their side as a helper, yet trying to avoid my own responsibility.
"I should reflect on this."
Tak-!
I snap my fingers.
Following the clear bursting sound, my vision flickers.
The next moment.
I move behind Charlotte.
Charlotte was standing still, as if not even thinking of preparing for the impact.
"Excuse me for a moment."
I gently wrap my arms around the girl.
As I pull her slender form into my embrace, with my other hand I gather 'lies'.
Swish-!
A noise tearing through the surrounding air.
I point my finger towards the wave of blades rushing like a tsunami. With moderate strength.
A momentary smile flashes.
As dark as possible to utter.
As ecstatic as possible to form.
The youngest columbarium in the world.
I am the agent of stars, or teeth caught on a bowstring.
"Shatter."
I move my lips.
And.
Kwaang-!
The pouring steel fragments shatter into pieces.
As if unable to withstand enormous pressure and bursting, the surrounding scenery breaks and breaks again.
The solid barrier crumbles.
The gray garden scatters, turning to dust.
It's a scene resembling non-existent destruction.
What was once a world is devoured by paradox, gradually coloring into beautiful collapse.
'Maybe I overdid it a bit.'
I dusted off my hands while chewing over a nonchalant impression.
I tried to control my strength, but because the barrier was unstable, it seemed to break along with it.
"Whew."
As I catch my breath for a moment, soon I feel movement stirring in my chest.
The platinum blonde girl nestled in my arms.
Transparent blue eyes look up at me.
It was a gaze that didn't understand what was happening.
"...?"
"Are you alright?"
I lightly asked while checking the girl's condition.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to be injured anywhere.
A sigh of relief escapes.
Charlotte seemed to have trouble grasping the situation.
She was in a dazed state. I deliberately threw a playful remark at her.
"My, my... Can I consider this as you owing me one?"
"......"
"Huhu."
A grinning smile is on my lips.
I held Charlotte preciously until every side of the barrier collapsed.
***
"I forfeit."
The match ended with Charlotte's declaration of forfeit.
Perhaps still under the effects of hypnosis, the girl was standing with unsteady legs.
Murmuring sounds can be heard from around.
-What? She's suddenly forfeiting?
-Does that mean the bubble top student won?
-No way.
-Her Highness was clearly overwhelming him... What on earth happened inside the barrier?
-To think Her Highness would lose to such a subpar person...
The students couldn't see what happened inside the barrier.
What they remember is only the scene of me struggling to continue the match before Charlotte deployed her domain.
It was natural for them to show bewildered reactions.
I was expecting a development where I would be thoroughly crushed.
But when it was revealed, the opposite result popped out.
It was a situation where question marks were bound to pour out.
-What kind of trick did he use?
-Honestly, just looking at his sword skills, he wasn't a bubble. It seemed like quite excellent skill...
-No, but does it make sense to beat Her Highness!
-Did Her Highness deliberately go easy on him?
Behind the noisy reactions of the students.
I look at the girl standing in front of me.
"......"
"......"
Charlotte was also staring this way.
Silence continues without any conversation.
What broke it was none other than Charlotte.
"As I thought, it was right. The person I know."
She mutters plainly.
The girl who seemed lost in thought for a moment opens her lips again and speaks.
"Hey."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Why did you save me? You could have just left me alone."
"Well..."
I lightly shrug my shoulders.
I pretended to ponder the answer slyly, but I already had a clear reason.
I poke the girl's cheek with a slightly extended finger.
A soft touch.
Charlotte tilts her head.
"...?"
It was truly an innocent gaze.
Pupils reflecting transparently.
A gentle smile forms on my lips naturally.
"I just... didn't want you to get hurt."
This time it wasn't a lie. It was purely sincere.
"Was that answer satisfactory?"
"I'm not sure."
"How unfortunate."
"Mm."
A blunt voice coming back.
Even hearing such a response was enjoyable, and I let out a grinning laugh.
It was a smile full of ominousness as usual.
At times like this, the trait is really inconvenient. Not even letting me laugh freely...
As I was sighing behind such lament-like thoughts.
"Your smile is pretty."
An unexpected compliment flies in.
The speaker was none other than the Little Prince.
Hearing words I've never heard before in my life, I raised several question marks and asked back.
"...Are you talking about me?"
"Yes."
"Which part exactly?"
"It's a clean color. So it's pretty."
What does she mean by clean color?
While I was giving a dubious look, a faint smile forms on the girl's lips.
"I think I can watch over you for a bit."
"Hmm?"
"I'm not sure yet if you're a good person or a bad person. So, yeah. I'm going to watch."
"You mean you're reserving judgment?"
"Something like that."
This was a bit unexpected.
I thought she would at least show some aversion after learning about my ominous power.
Charlotte was rather showing interest.
Should I call her eccentric? Or pure?
I can't say which... but it was the exact reaction of the 'Little Prince' I remembered.
"Are you perhaps a bad person?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't know."
"Your Highness has a mysterious insight. Probably nine out of ten would say I seem like a bad person."
"Just because it's one out of ten doesn't mean it's always wrong."
"You're right."
As we exchange such simple words, an announcement signaling the end of the test is heard.
《The 7th test has ended.》
《Students who have finished the test, please exit following the faculty's guidance.》
"It seems this is it,"
"Mm."
"I'll be going then."
"Okay."
We each slowly take our steps.
As if we never had a conversation, we turn our backs to each other and move towards the passages we each entered from.
《Charlotte Little von Staufen forfeits. The winner is Yuda Snakers.》
Thus, the class assignment test ended.
***
Meanwhile, in the faculty waiting room.
All faculty members including the dean were gathered in the spacious room.
They were seated to evaluate the class assignment test.
It should have been conducted solemnly as it was one of the important academic schedules, but for some reason, the waiting room was full of commotion.
"What on earth did I just see?"
"Quickly rewind to that scene earlier! Wasn't something recorded wrong?"
"...Impossible."
"Is this magic possible at a student's level...?"
Professors staring at the screen with dazed expressions.
On the screen transmitted through magic tools, a scene that occurred in the 7th test was being replayed repeatedly.
《Shatter.》
The slit-eyed boy muttering a light incantation.
Right after, the solid steel garden shatters into pieces.
Watching the barrier being miserably crushed, the professors couldn't hide their shock.
"What... what on earth is that?"
A professor's soft mutter rings out.
The faculty members stare blankly. At the blonde boy smiling ominously.