173 – Doubt (3)
Trisha waved her hand.
“Go away! “I heated up the whole room.”
There is no sign of any particular aggression. The wolf spirit just stuck out her tongue and panted.
Trisha whined and pushed the spirit away with her left hand. She then opened the door and thrust her body inside.
“Phew.”
Trisha dusted herself off and looked inside her room. Damien was busy taking a bath so it was empty. The wood fire burning in the fireplace created a cozy atmosphere.
The space where Damian stayed was ordinary, nothing special, but strangely enough, there was something unknown that made his mind calm.
Luna’s wolf spirit outside the door was annoying, but it didn’t seem like Luna would have the guts to enter this room herself. Trisha also knew Luna’s characteristics well.
“Hmph.”
Trisha picked up the poker and hung up her hand-washed underwear. She then sat down in front of the fire and stirred. Just like she always did.
“It’s really annoying.”
***
Dawn with a crescent moon.
Trisha, like she always did, took my bed and fell asleep first, and I had to move to another place countless times.
I took Silverine, Stitch, and Vivi’s Stitch and went out to the garden.
It was a cloudless night with a cool breeze blowing.
I sent a letter to Silverine’s Stitch and then a letter to Vivi.
When I saw the platinum stitches flying into the sky, I sighed involuntarily.
One way or another, Bibi’s illness remained like a stain in a corner of my heart.
It’s not my job and it’s nothing I can do, so why does it bother me so much?
It may be because I see him acting without any regrets in life.
After confirming that the letter was flying well, I slowly went for a walk across the garden trees.
Then, across from me, I saw the image of a woman with liver hair. The figure was slowly getting closer to me. When I was able to see it through the moonlight, I was the first to open my mouth.
“Luna, weren’t you sleeping and were you taking a walk?”
“… Huh. What a coincidence… “It is.”
I often have coincidental encounters with Luna. I never thought we would meet again at this time, in this wide place.
Now that I look at Luna, she looks disheveled, as if she just woke up from sleep. What made her wake up and move?
“Aren’t you tired?”
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She spoke while slightly avoiding my gaze.
“I have something to think about. And the air is just right now….”
“Then…” Shall we take a walk together?”
Luna nodded her head twice.
“Yes.”
She turned and walked side by side, looking in the same direction as me. I asked the question first.
“What were you thinking?”
“There is a sparring lottery tomorrow… “I was thinking about it.”
“The person you are dealing with will have trouble sleeping because of worry. Is there something that is bothering you?”
“Yes…. “I have to maintain my grades and have expectations from my family.”
That’s right. Perhaps because I was so used to it, I had forgotten that Luna was a young girl from a noble family.
“Is there someone in particular you want?”
“Just…” “I hope he is a non-aggressive person.”
Luna is a talented person who toyed with Shion, whom even her seniors were afraid of. From what I could see, there didn’t seem to be anything to worry about. What I’m worried about is Trisha, whose fighting skills are severely lacking. I wonder if she’s having a hard time because she’s dealing with a strange guy for no reason.
“Do you know how the lottery works?”
“We will all gather together and draw for artifacts….”
“Um… Then tomorrow… no.”
With her face exposed, she could not move with Luna.
She said with a look of regret on her face for a moment.
“Then…” “Let’s check it out together at our library.”
***
In Eternia’s central student plaza, there was a structure that had never been seen before.
It was a round, white structure that looked like a fountain. It was filled with white water that couldn’t see through.
From what I heard, they were going to pull out a box with a name tag written on it. They say that magic decides who gets paired up or something. It wasn’t something I received directly from the professor, so I wasn’t sure.
Trisha next to me spoke with a face full of anticipation.
“I’m nervous!”
Originally, I planned to attend the raffle alone, but Trisha whined that she had no friends to go with, so I came together.
The Department of Alchemy and the Department of Magic were not included in this sparring evaluation. This was because those two departments were departments where research performance was more important than combat ability. Thanks to that, there was no Cecil gang.
Students from the Combat Department and the Magic Department arbitrarily surrounded the structure.
“Damian, who do you think you’ll end up with?”
“I don’t know.”
To be honest, I don’t want to fight with anyone. I don’t want to lose, but there are limitations to revealing my full abilities. My wish was to just watch from behind.
I glanced at the place where the seniors were standing closely together. There is no hierarchy of seniors and juniors. Even among students in the same grade, an implicit hierarchy exists. Just by looking at the group composition, it was possible to roughly figure out who was strong and who was weak.
In a chaotic atmosphere, someone separated the students and stood in front of the structure.
It was Professor Rakam who had previously taught a circulatory system class.
“Now pay attention.”
When the professor came out, the chaotic atmosphere suddenly quieted down. He said while looking around.
“Are they all gathered? I heard that you prepared hard to save face in front of your juniors. Is there anyone who is not prepared? “If you have any, would you please raise your hand?”
Then, several people who appeared to be seniors proudly raised their hands.
Professor Rakam shook his head in disgust, as if he had confirmed the results of the sparring.
“Tsk tsk, if you act like a brat, your nose will get seriously hurt. These first graders are not easy. This year’s students were able to obtain the phantom beast’s horn, which you were unable to obtain as freshmen. “He is definitely not an easy opponent.”
Professor Rakam ended the small talk and went straight to the main topic.
“There may be some who are lazy and have not prepared at all, but there are also those who are determined to educate new students properly. Now, all you have to do is put your hand in the water of this fountain and take whatever catches your hand. This magic liquid will determine your fateful sparring partner. The order of selection is free. You only have to draw before the sparring evaluation date, and if you refuse the draw, you will receive the lowest score. Simple, right? Now, who doesn’t understand?”
The student square was still quiet.
Soon after, a student boldly approached the fountain.
It was Zion.
The seniors in the combat club were laughing and whispering to the people next to them. Obviously it wouldn’t sound good.
Even the upperclassmen hadn’t started yet, and some of them were even shocked when the blue-coloured first year came forward. Regardless of the harsh gaze of her seniors, she pulled out something from her, put it in her pocket, and disappeared.
Looking at her confident and confident behavior, Professor Rakam chuckled and said, as if it was amusing.
“Okay, let’s pick one too.”
“… !”
“… !”
I thought it was a joke, but Professor Rakam really put his hand in, pulled something out, and left.
That professor… You were a professor at the Ministry of Magic, right? One of the students at the Ministry of Magic will be dealing with the professor, and I don’t know who will get caught, but it’s a shame.
Now, one or two people started coming out and picking up lottery boxes.
“Huh… ah!”
Trisha also took a deep breath and approached the fountain. She pulled out a box from it and came to the front.
“Let’s see who got caught.”
Then Trisha said, hiding it with both her hands.
“No! “Not yet.”
“… “What are you going to do to save it?”
“I don’t know! “I’m gone until you tell me who your partner is!”
“…”
I slowly turned my attention to the fountain. Luna came out silently and took out the lottery box. She exchanged glances with me from a distance and then left.
In the meantime, Trisha pushed my back and urged me.
“Damian! You too, hurry up and pick it out!”
I tried to quietly pick them out without attracting as much attention as possible, but it seemed like there were quite a few people watching me from the moment I arrived at the student square. I heard whispering around me.
“Damian, Damian.”
“Is this the real Damian?”
“Are the rumors about the escort mission true? “You look so fine?”
I pretended not to hear, turned my attention and put my hand in the fountain. Even while I was waiting, the back of my head was itching.
After a while, something floated out of the water along with air bubbles and landed in my hand.
He grabbed his acquaintance and put it straight into his inner pocket.
When I came back, I saw Trisha looking at me and her partner with a distraught look in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Big trouble…Happened.”
***
I stood in front of the bookshelf with the book ‘Alchemy to Resolve Family Discord’ at the central library, the agreed upon location.
Luna had already come ahead of me and was waiting across from the bookshelf.
“Luna?”
“… Huh.”
“Have you confirmed who the other person is?”
“No… yet.”
“Me too, not yet. “Shall we check it out together?”
“… Huh!”
I took out the lottery box from my pocket.
“Now, you take my raffle box. “Let’s exchange and tell each other who was chosen.”
“… Huh.”
Luna slid hers into an empty space on her bookshelf. I accepted it and handed over mine to her.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“One, two, three!”
We opened the box at the same time.
Inside it was a small piece of parchment with a name written on it.
Luna opened her mouth first.
“Ruscus.”
It was the name of the person who would be my opponent.
“This is my first time hearing this. Do you know who it is?”
“Yes…. “I think I heard it was the second year advanced class of the combat club.”
It wasn’t an easy opponent.
I quickly took out the note and checked Luna’s partner.
There was a very familiar name written there.
“…… “Favela.”