Chapter 59 - Doesn't That Mean He Has No Weaknesses?

Compared to the two days of sound sleep I'd given Lucia last time, eight hours might not seem like much.

Eight hours.

For someone buried in sleep debt, that hardly counted as a good night's rest. There was still an outstanding balance.

The Peach Garden Festival had its own preliminary rounds after the academy sports meet, so competing in all of them had kept her from reaching peak condition as she had last time. Still, for someone who slept only three or four hours a day, and even those in scattered stretches, eight hours had been quite restorative.

Actually, I could have let her sleep for about twelve hours—but she'd gone and said things like:

["I can't sleep because I'm not at home. I'm worried about my younger siblings, too. Couldn't you stay beside me and help me sleep again today?"]

So eight hours had been the best I could manage.

"That student... Isn't she even stronger than the first-year from earlier...?"

Ximena murmured in a shell-shocked voice.

Understandable.

Lucia's round-of-sixteen match had ended almost as soon as it began. Had it even taken five seconds?

But she probably wasn't stronger than Laward. In the game, Lucia at peak condition was indeed established as stronger than him, but this was eight-hour Lucia, not forty-eight-hour Lucia. Besides, Laward had grown at a tremendous pace.

As Lucia returned to the stands with a yawn, the academy students greeted her with their usual enthusiastic cheers. The more excitedly they chattered, however, the quieter the military academy and seminary students became.

Principal Ximena fell silent right along with her military academy students.

Only once, when Hakan entered the arena, did she regain the expression she'd worn before the first round-of-sixteen match and cheer him on.

Predictably enough, Hakan breezed through the round of sixteen and met Veronica in the quarterfinals.

"My lady! What a pleasure to meet you here again!"

Flaunting his flowing blond hair, he approached Veronica. The referee warned him to keep his distance, since the match hadn't started yet.

Getting a yellow card before the match even began. Was that a talent in its own right?

"What an unusual student... That's Hakan, correct?"

At the chairman's question, Ximena nodded with a peculiar expression, looking both proud and embarrassed.

"I'd imagined someone quite serious, since he used to be a royal knight, but he's nothing like I expected. Oh, Principal, will Hakan be staying on to graduate from the military academy, then? Has he decided to join the military?"

"Well, I certainly hope so, but the master who held Hakan's leash is gone now, isn't he? I understand he's receiving offers from all over. His family has even hired someone solely to handle those inquiries... So we really can't say."

"Just how many offers must he be receiving to need someone to handle his correspondence...?"

"His experience as a royal bodyguard must be appealing. Officially, that puts him among the top ten in the country, after all."

As Ximena finished, she and the chairman turned toward me at the same time.

"Isn't that right?"

"Wouldn't you agree, Lord Daywin?"

They asked me simultaneously, too. While Chiron was impersonating me, I was counted among those knights as well.

"You're serving with distinction as the Seventh Princess's knight yourself, Lord Daywin!"

The Seventh Princess, huh.

The chairman chattered away as though he'd forgotten all about Amelia. Having her at the academy must have felt like harboring a bomb that could go off at any moment. Now he seemed determined to draw a line, as if he had no connection to the royal family whatsoever.

"Ah, well, yes. I suppose that's true."

"Ahaha, there's no need to be modest at a time like this."

The chairman gave my arm a friendly nudge. I discreetly moved out of his reach.

Besides, I wasn't receiving offers like that. Partly because my lodgings were so far from the royal court and I'd only recently begun to gain fame, but fundamentally, I hadn't made the kind of effort Hakan had.

Hakan deliberately moved from place to place, avoiding fights he couldn't win and exaggerating those he could to drive up his price.

He acted like a mercenary. The guy was marketing himself.

I didn't think that approach was wrong for someone who made his living with a sword. Everyone had their own way of putting food on the table. Still, he certainly seemed shrewd for a boy who wasn't even twenty yet.

While I was thinking that—

BOOM!

Veronica opened the match by setting off a gold coin's worth of magic.

"My lady! I do appreciate your fiery spirit!"

Hakan bellowed heartily as he emerged through the explosion.

Veronica was rattled to see him walk out unscathed when she'd used gold rather than silver, but she just managed to make her next move.

A frog-shaped coin purse. A red gem emerged from the frog's belly and floated in the air.

Then it faded away.

The instant the ruby she'd held vanished, a red, rectangular barrier enclosed Hakan.

"Oh, what a beautiful room. It sparkles on every side, just like... you, my lady."

"Just shut up."

She took out another gold coin.

I see. This time she meant to trap him inside a barrier and make certain the blast hit home.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As if announcing with fireworks that I'd guessed correctly, Veronica filled the barrier with explosions.

But once again—

"Ha ha ha!"

Hakan strolled out without a care.

"What in the world... is that?"

The chairman whipped his head around to ask. At his reaction, Ximena gave a light laugh, looking as though she'd finally salvaged her dignity.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"It looked like a direct hit... How strange."

"What do you make of Hakan, Lord Daywin?"

Ximena asked me, but I simply kept my mouth shut.

It didn't matter if Veronica couldn't beat Hakan. I just wanted her to wear him down a little.

JINGLE!

Veronica rummaged through the coin purse hanging at her waist. Perhaps she could identify its contents by touch alone; without looking, she pulled out four green gems at once.

"My lady, what fascinating magic you use."

"I believe I told you to shut up. And would you just..."

All four emeralds faded away at once, and lines of green light traced across her skin. Moving noticeably faster, she lashed out with a kick.

"Fuck off!"

Hakan raised both arms in a guard and blocked Veronica's high kick. Even with her body enhanced, she couldn't outpace his reactions.

But that block of his had been a little...

Strange.

"Principal."

"Yes?"

She turned toward me with a pleased expression when I spoke.

"He takes a mana explosion head-on without a scratch, but goes out of his way to block a kick with his arms."

"Uh..."

Perhaps she'd expected me to praise Hakan, because Ximena's face instantly stiffened.

"I-it's a reflex."

"Well, that certainly is possible."

I smiled faintly, and she averted her eyes as though I'd touched a nerve.

"It just struck me as a little odd."

"You've... noticed?"

"N-noticed what? What are you two talking about? Tell me too, Lord Daywin!"

"I'm not entirely sure myself. But I think I have some idea why Hakan keeps moving from place to place. Perhaps... he had no other choice."

"Ugh..."

Ximena groaned, suggesting my guess was more or less right.

"Will you... tell Laward? You will, won't you? You said he was your pupil."

"I'm not sure. I think it would be best if Laward worked it out for himself. Even if he is my pupil, I can't spoon-feed him every little thing. It would spoil him."

"Again, what have you two been talking about this whole..."

"Chairman, have you ever been hit?"

"Pardon...? N-no! Why would you suddenly ask...?"

The chairman quietly raised both hands to protect himself.

"Because Hakan's ability seems to have something to do with that."

"With... getting hit?"

"Yes. Isn't that right?"

When I turned to Ximena and asked, she merely nodded, perhaps in surrender.

It was similar to the twins I'd met last time. But it wasn't the same as their immunity to physical or magical attacks.

As someone who'd transmigrated into this world, I could be certain of that.

This was a game. They wouldn't create another character with exactly the same ability as an existing named character.

"Anyone can use martial arts, but only Veronica can sacrifice gold coins to turn them into mana explosions."

"... Are you saying his ability only works against rare magic?"

The chairman asked, but this time Ximena pressed her lips shut, clearly unwilling to answer.

"I don't know the precise criteria..."

I watched Hakan quietly.

"But I suspect Hakan has had to pick his opponents carefully. Looking at it that way, his past makes sense."

"Principal, is what Lord Daywin says really...?"

"I can't tell you any more. But that isn't the full extent of Hakan's abilities."

THWIP!

The instant Ximena finished speaking, the edge of Hakan's hand stopped at Veronica's neck.

Had it been a blade rather than a hand, and had Hakan not stopped, Veronica's head would already have fallen.

"His strength doesn't come from his magic, after all."

Just as she said, his physical abilities alone were more than enough to overwhelm Veronica.

"Ha ha ha! Let's call it a day! My lady, I don't want to hurt you any further!"

Veronica's face crumpled in disgust. Still, apparently recognizing that she had no choice, she shook out her frog-shaped purse.

"Fine."

All the money and gems inside were gone. Only dust drifted out.

"I'm over budget already anyway."

As she spoke, Veronica stole a glance at me. When I nodded, she told the referee she conceded.

The attempt to wear down Hakan's stamina appeared to have failed, but at least I'd gained a rough understanding of his ability.

A satisfactory result.

059

There was a little time to spare while they drew the semifinal pairings.

"Then, if you'll excuse me for a moment..."

I rose from my seat and went over to Laward. Ximena gave me a suspicious look along the way, but, well, I paid it no mind.

"Laward."

"My esteemed mentor!"

He'd been sitting quietly with his eyes closed, but sprang to his feet when I arrived.

"What brings you here?"

"Did you watch Hakan's match?"

"Oh, yes! I watched it closely!"

"Did anything strike you?"

"He was incredible. It looked like I could learn a great deal from him!"

This little shit...

He hadn't been thinking at all...

"... I see."

"But why do you ask...?"

"It's nothing. If nothing struck you, that's fine."

"Haha... Is that so? I can't wait to reach the round of two and show you myself winning."

"The round of two?"

"Yes. After the round of four comes the round of two, doesn't it?"

"..."

"What's wrong? I know how to divide, at least, esteemed mentor. Sixteen, eight, four, two. That's the order, isn't it?"

"... So it is."

And we usually call that the final.

"Right... So what if you're a little slow? As long as you're healthy... No, you've already become far too healthy."

It seemed about time he stopped being nothing but healthy.

One of the rewards for winning the Peach Garden Festival raised a random stat by one rank. I prayed desperately that it would land on [Intelligence].

I understood that training day and night left him no time to study, but I had a feeling leaving him like this would lead to serious trouble. The day would surely come when I'd be too embarrassed to tell anyone he was my pupil.

"Laward, Hakan will be vulnerable to fundamentals and hand-to-hand combat. The problem is that he knows his own weakness perfectly well, so he's probably devoted all his efforts to honing those very things."

"Doesn't that mean he has no weaknesses?"

"Against most opponents, probably. You don't need to worry about it. Just take him head-on, like you always do."

I'd only taught Laward the fundamentals anyway. They would serve as a counter to Hakan, whose defenses rose particularly high against unusual magic.

"Oh."

At that moment, Laward pointed toward the arena. The pairings had just been announced.

The semifinals.

There would be no dramatic final showdown between the two prodigies.

Amid the crowd's cheers, Laward was matched against Hakan.