"Who did this…?"
"..."
At Mari's question, I instinctively held my breath.
Lately, I've often found myself overwhelmed by women's gazes.
Of course, most of the cause is Chris.
When facing her sharp, cold gaze, especially yesterday when I touched her dragon's scale [an idiom for touching a sensitive point that triggers extreme anger].
I was seized by fear and felt terrified.
But.
"Hm? Answer me, Emil. Who did this…?"
From Mari, who I was facing now.
I felt a more dizzying fear than the terror I'd felt from Chris.
'What on earth is this…?'
Empty eyes.
Those eyes, which until recently had sparkled beautifully with a pink hue.
Now seemed like an abyss, sucking in all light.
Facing those eyes, a primal fear surged within me, as if I too would be drawn into them.
"N-nothing much. I've just been busy with something lately."
And I, feeling fear, instinctively realized.
That answering honestly would be dangerous.
So I naturally smiled and vaguely brushed it off.
"A lie."
But Mari didn't believe my words so easily.
She took a step.
Instead, she took a step closer to me and lightly placed her hand on my chest.
"Who hit you?"
"..."
Saying that, Mari smiled gently.
"It's okay, Emil. Tell me."
"Why…?"
"Because I'll help you."
Help?
For a moment, I almost asked back.
But I couldn't ask.
Because her gentle smile looked unnervingly sinister to me.
'Help, what exactly would she do…?'
The moment I questioned her words.
Suddenly, another question flashed through my mind at the same time.
'Now that I think about it… Malcolm…'
I remembered Malcolm hadn't been coming to the academy lately.
Why did he come to mind here?
…Of course, it was because I had been beaten by Malcolm before.
Seeing Mari ask about me getting hit, Malcolm naturally came to mind.
"Hm? It's okay, Emil. I'm always on your side."
While I was quiet, pondering the question, Mari came a little closer.
Now, her hand moved past my arm, gently touching my chest.
I wished another student would pass by and break this atmosphere.
But where we were was at the very end of the hallway.
No students were coming, so Mari approached me even more freely.
"I told you."
And Mari came close and whispered softly.
"I can do anything for you. I'll take care of everything. Hm? So tell me."
Her beautifully sparkling lips.
Uttered cold words in a sweet tone.
"Who hurt you…?"
"..."
Naturally.
There was no way I would answer.
"Stop it, Mari."
"..."
Mari, who had been approaching temptingly, instantly stopped moving at my firm voice.
And her smiling expression subtly hardened, and she stared blankly at me.
Towards her, I spoke with an unintentionally cold voice.
"I told you. I just want to be friends with you."
"..."
"So, …I don't want you to do anything for me."
Honestly, I didn't want to hurt her anymore.
All the resentment I had towards her had been resolved by rejecting her confession.
Since I achieved my goal, my relationship with her was completely over.
So there was no resentment, nor any affection.
Therefore, Mari approaching me like this was not welcome at all.
With a gentle push….
I pushed Mari, who was clinging close, away with both hands.
And directly met her eyes, which I was afraid to face.
"Don't make me hate you anymore, Mari."
"Eh…"
I didn't want to hurt her, but in this situation, it was probably right to be this firm.
At my words, meant to push her away.
Mari made a shocked expression.
And then.
"Ah, no. Emil, th-that's not it…! I don't particularly want you to hate me…!"
"I know, so it's fine. …If you don't do anything, I won't hate you."
"Ugh..."
Her dark eyes began to sparkle at those words.
But that sparkle was not the pure and bright sparkle of Mari from the past.
It was a tear-filled sparkle of sadness.
"Sniff, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…. I didn't mean to. Sob, don't hate me…. Sob, please don't hate me…."
"It's okay, I told you before. You're not bad. So I don't hate you."
"Sniff, sob…"
I tried to calm Mari, who was whimpering, tears streaming down her face.
But I carefully avoided unnecessary skinship like stroking her head or hugging him.
Because I couldn't give her any more false hope.
"Then I'll get going. …See you later."
"...Okay."
After that, I walked down the hallway, leaving the still whimpering Mari behind.
Mari didn't follow.
Relieved by her simply standing there, I looked towards the classroom and walked quickly.
'...No way.'
As I walked, my mind was filled with thoughts of someone else, not Mari.
'Malcolm not showing up…'
It was almost a delusional assumption.
But for some reason, my instincts insisted it was certain.
I couldn't shake that assumption from my mind.
. . .
After the small commotion with Mari.
I kept thinking about why Malcolm had disappeared.
But no answer came, no matter how much I thought.
So I temporarily set that thought aside and focused solely on my current goal.
"Haaah!!"
Whoosh!
Thwack!
"Ugh…!"
The wooden sword I swung was narrowly blocked by Chris's wooden sword.
A bet to land five hits on Chris.
It was already the third day since the bet began.
I stopped thinking about Malcolm and focused solely on winning the bet with Chris.
However, I developed a habit of checking my surroundings before sparring with Chris.
Because there was a possibility Mari might be there….
"Hngh!"
While I was distracted, Chris lunged her sword at my opening.
Swish!
But I dodged the thrust, it only grazed my cheek.
Although I was thinking of other things during the fight, it was the third day today.
I was already quite used to her movements.
That's why I could narrowly dodge her surprise thrust.
And the moment I dodged her attack.
That moment was my opportunity.
"Haaah!!"
Whoosh!
As I dodged the thrust and lowered my head.
I swung my wooden sword towards Chris's now-open abdomen.
The situation reversed, and Chris's eyes, which had been looking for an opportunity, widened.
This couldn't be avoided.
Thud!
"Cough…!"
She barely managed to extend her left arm and block the wooden sword.
But even that was still a hit.
Patter!
"Huu…"
Chris, who had already allowed the third hit, retreated a few steps from me and glared at me with a serious face.
"Haha, only two more hits left, right?"
"...It's not over yet, so focus."
Chris, dead serious, and me, smiling.
But ironically, it was I who was smiling who was covered in dust.
Well, countless exchanges had occurred before I landed three hits on Chris.
Before she allowed those three hits in this sparring match, I had been hit by Chris's wooden sword over twenty times.
In a real duel, I would have obviously lost.
If it were a real fight, I would have died on the first hit.
But since this was a bet.
It was I who was smiling, and Chris who was getting anxious.
Therefore, even with the pain throughout my body, I smiled and, more sharply.
Whoosh!!
I pressed her.
Thwack!!
"Ugh, you undead bastard—!"
During the three days of continuous sparring, Chris had come up with a nickname for me.
It was 'Undead'.
On the first day, Chris had fallen for my provocation and beaten me to a pulp in her anger.
But on the second day, and even today, the third day.
It was her unique nickname for me, who kept attacking without recovering my body.
"…If you'd just teach me swordsmanship, this would all end."
"Shut up! Do you think I'd allow that now?!"
Whoosh!
Chris, agitated with impatience and anger, swung her wooden sword wildly.
But when excited, a sword's trajectory becomes simple and wide.
It's threatening, but also easier to dodge than anything else.
'Now…!'
I didn't miss the chance.
"Gasp…!"
Thud!
The thrust that Chris had almost landed on me just moments ago.
This time, I used that technique.
Chris, who had been agitated, allowed that surprise attack to hit her shoulder.
But perhaps due to a lack of proficiency, the damage didn't seem great; her right arm was fine.
However.
"That leaves one more hit."
"..."
My goal wasn't to incapacitate her, but merely to land five hits.
'I can do it.'
Feeling the possibility, I smiled and gripped my wooden sword even tighter.
. . .
"Ughhh… I'm going to die…"
"..."
Feeling pain throughout my entire body, I lay down right there.
I didn't care in the slightest that dust clung to my sweat-soaked body.
I simply lay down, relieved to finally rest.
For a moment.
I took a deep breath, calming my ragged breathing, and subtly glanced at Chris.
"Tch…"
She clicked her tongue with an aggrieved expression and massaged her left wrist, which had just been hit.
"Now… you'll teach me swordsmanship, right?"
"..."
Chris didn't answer.
However, she didn't say no either.
That meant she would grant my request.
"I did it…!"
I laughed joyfully and pressed my head back onto the training ground floor, savoring the sweet victory.
'I did it in just three days…!'
A sense of exhilaration welled up in my chest.
If it had been the 4th regression, it was a result I wouldn't have achieved even with a month.
The only reason I could do this was thanks to the perk 'Blooming Talent'.
'To think I could steal Chris's techniques just by sparring with her.'
It could be said that this was the first time I had truly utilized the effects of this perk.
Because things like studying for midterms were something I had already studied countless times in previous regressions.
Even without the perk, simply having the advantage of 'easy mode' allowed me to achieve top grades.
But to win a bet against Chris.
That was an unbelievable achievement for me, who had no talent in swordsmanship at all.
Through that victory, I realized the ridiculously overpowered effect of this perk.
Just three days.
In just three days of sparring, I succeeded in understanding Chris's patterns and mimicking her attacks.
That was the secret to landing five hits on her.
"Emil."
While I was savoring the victory and smiling during our break.
Chris, who was standing perfectly fine unlike me, quietly called my name.
At that, I slowly sat up and looked at her.
"...Though I lost this time."
Chris averted her gaze with a somewhat aggrieved expression.
And spoke quietly.
"…This loss is just because my skills are lacking. …It's not that my master is incompetent."
"Ah…"
At those words, I realized why she looked so aggrieved.
'It wasn't because she lost the bet.'
The cause was the provocation I had made just before the bet.
Three days ago, to make the bet with her, I had disparaged her foster mother, who taught her swordsmanship, saying she must be terrible.
Chris's dark expression was probably because she thought I had tarnished her foster mother's honor.
"Sorry, now that I think about it, I should have apologized first instead of being happy."
"...What?"
Realizing that, I immediately dusted myself off and stood up.
And I dropped the smile I had been wearing moments ago, looking at Chris with a very serious expression.
"What I said about the person who taught you swordsmanship being terrible. I take it back."
"..."
"I just said that to bait you. I didn't mean it. …I'm sorry."
And I carefully bowed my head, then looked at Chris again.
Chris's eyes widened in surprise, then.
"Haha…"
She gently smiled at me.
"So I completely fell for it."
"Isn't that a bit late to realize…?"
"Quiet, her honor is more important to me than my life."
She answered gruffly, but she didn't stop smiling.
It was probably due to relief.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere between us became quite friendly.
"So, from now on, I just come here after school, right?"
Now that Chris's expression had brightened.
I comfortably asked her about the future schedule.
And to my question, Chris readily nodded and replied.
"Yes. …But, since we've agreed, I won't go easy on you."
"Yeah, I figured as much…"
At her chilling declaration, memories of my past 4th regression came to mind.
The memory of swinging the sword until I was bruised all over, beaten by the wooden sword every day until exhaustion.
The memory of the physically most grueling regression among all of them.
'Still… I managed to do it, after all.'
Now, I could finally begin Chris's capture.
I simply focused on that fact and smiled softly.
Just then.
"Wow, this is quite a heartwarming moment."
"...Edric."
A familiar voice came from behind me.
And at that voice, Chris, with a surprised expression, murmured the owner's name.
"Hello, Chris. I was just watching for a bit. You two were so absorbed you didn't notice me at all. Haha."
I slowly turned my head and looked at the owner of the voice.
There, a tall man was leaning against the fence, watching us.
A friendly smile and short, sporty black hair.
Edric Balfour.
He and I were meeting for the first time in this regression.
But I knew him very well.
He was Chris's fiancé and one of Sierra's male leads.
And the one who had taken Chris from me.
A detestable bastard.