Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 23

EP.23 The Free Part Has Ended. Now The Main Story Begins

“…?”

Tisha, who was in the midst of sipping coffee and chatting away, sensed something strange. Just a moment ago, Kyle had been nodding along, occasionally chiming in, but now he seemed absent-minded.

“Kyle?”

“…”

“Kyle.”

“Ah, um, sorry, Tisha. I was lost in thought for a moment….”

Kyle, who always listened attentively to Tisha’s stories, something she was well aware of, from the moment they first met at the academy, through the passage of time. Kyle had always shown himself to be attentive to her words. So, his current behavior seemed even stranger.

“Is something wrong? Is it because of the duel a few days ago?”

Her voice was full of concern.

In response to Tisha’s question, Kyle waved his hands dismissively.

“No. Nothing’s wrong. Really, nothing at all.”

It wasn’t a lie, nothing had actually happened. That’s why Kyle was even more confused. This was an unexpected situation.

“On the day of the duel, even if that wasn’t the case, I thought the Headmaster would summon me the next day. But….”

There was no summons from the Minister, and there was no escort to the headmaster’s office. The ominous men who usually approached silently like agents didn’t show up either. Not to mention, it was during the freshman welcoming party that the duel took place. He even shattered a sword that flew at him with his bare fist, by the way. Oh, just to be clear, he only shattered the sword, not the person.

If he really did that, he would immediately return to the hell of physical training.

‘Anxious, I’m anxious…?’

Despite feeling relieved, there was still a sense of unease creeping in.

Could it be because they were discussing something tremendous that they were taking their time?

He thought it might be better if they just summoned him and gave him a warning, that might dispel this unease.

It wasn’t for nothing that the saying goes, ‘It’s better to be the first to strike a blow’.

“Hee”

As he was about to turn around, he heard someone gasping behind him.

He glanced back and locked eyes with a female student who was just bringing coffee.

“Eek!”

– Clang! –

The female student dropped the coffee cup she was holding as it is and fled.

A male student who was following behind her hurriedly approached, asking, ‘What’s wrong? Why did you do that?!’

“Hee”

She gasped and turned around quickly, then bolted away.

Even though the female student who dropped the cup was shouting, ‘W-wait for me!’

Hey, excuse me? No matter what, you should take care of your girlfriend. What will you do if you run away alone?

It seems like you won’t be able to have a long relationship. You’ll probably be teased about this for a long time.

“Sigh.”

Honestly, it’s a bit unfair. No, it’s really unfair.

Who knows what happened. If others saw, they’d think you were a monster who devours people.

It wasn’t like he started the argument first or talked about the duel first.

Somehow, he ended up being challenged to a duel because of insulting words.

He didn’t even touch the person, he just shattered the sword.

Still, the current situation could be summarized as ‘a commoner who challenged a noble to a duel, then used overwhelming force to shatter that noble into pieces as a monstrous freshman.’

“it’s been like this for a few days now.”

Tisha, who was assessing the situation, cautiously spoke up. She was the only one standing by Kyle’s side in the current situation. If you really think about it, Ian was also there, but Kyle dismissed him as a messenger from his side.

“There’s nothing I can do. We had a duel at the freshman welcoming party, and I shattered a sword with my fist. Even I would instinctively avoid someone like me.”

Kyle was actually relieved by the current silence. Being summoned by the Minister or the Headmaster was the most terrifying thing, but there were also concerns. It was none other than the skilled examiners at the academy who were challenging him.

The duel at the time wasn’t won by competing in swordsmanship. He simply threw away the sword and shattered it with his fist. In this situation, maintaining the pride of the examiners was not a problem, and no one stepped forward to challenge him.

If, by any chance, it really happened, the situation would escalate. Continued duels, and eventually, the skilled members of the academy would step forward. If that happened, the Minister or the Headmaster, who were currently silent, might finally decide to summon him. They could even announce on the spot, ‘You’re expelled from the academy!’

‘I must have been crazy. Why did I do that?’

He had to endure it. He had to endure it with all his might. When he heard that he was weak, he had to bite his tongue to come to his senses. When he heard that people were talking behind his back, he had to take deep breaths and endure it…

‘Damn it. Still, saying that Ian is on the same level as me is really crossing the line.’

Anyway, it was too late to regret now. The deed was done, the duel was over, and several days had passed since then. During that time, several rumors had spread, but one thing was certain. Kyle had become someone that most students at the academy should not mess with. He was not only avoided in conversation but even meeting his eyes was considered terrifying.

“Um, but Kyle, is your hand okay?”

“Hand?”

“Do you have any idea how shocked I was? To reach out with bare hands against an opponent charging with a sword. I even closed my eyes shut and screamed ‘No!’ inside at that moment.”

After saying that, Tisha carefully took hold of Kyle’s wrist.

Then, she drew his hand towards her and inspected it cautiously.

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t a cursory glance. She examined it very thoroughly, with a worried look in her eyes.

She seemed to be checking to see if there were any other injuries.

“Fortunately, it seems to be okay. There’s no sign of a cut.”

“I told you. I underwent tremendous training at the powerful Baron’s house.”

“You did say that. But I’ve never heard or seen a human body that doesn’t flinch at the blade, no matter how much training they have. Even if it were possible, it’s natural to shrink back in front of a blade.”

“That is… true.”

From Kyle’s perspective, it was indeed a tricky situation to explain.

He had simply swung his fist, following his instincts.

During that moment, he hadn’t even considered the obvious worry of ‘Is my hand going to be okay?’

So naturally, so familiarly, he had resolved everything with a single extension of his arm.

‘It’s not like I’m some kind of One Punch Man.’

Of course, becoming One Punch Man is out of the question. One cannot afford to lose their hair as a price for power.

While it’s said that a person without deficiencies is preferable, having ‘no’ deficiencies is certainly not desirable.

“It seems that the story was true after all.”

“What story?”

“The one I heard when I was in Lord Byun-kyung territory. Kyle, they said you faced an ogre with your bare hands, one that was targeting Lord Byun-kyung. At first, I thought it was nonsense. How could a person, with bare hands, against a monster, and not just any monster but a supposedly very strong ogre?”

“…Faced an ogre with bare hands?”

A different voice suddenly interjected. Both Kyle and Tisha were startled.

There stood none other than the Grand Duchess Littorio, Elga.

– Step, step. –

With an elegant demeanor, Elga took her seat between Kyle and Tisha.

Her action was so natural that no one could object.

“That’s an interesting story. Please, continue.”

“Lady Elga?”

“How long do you intend to keep using that formal title? Even if it’s difficult for you to call me by my name alone, I’d like you to drop the title. Is that too much to ask? We are at the academy, aren’t we?”

Upon reflection, even Reto has started to simply call her ‘Elga.’ Emphasizing one’s status at the academy is one of the things to be avoided.

Even seemingly unrelated titles are trending towards disuse for that reason.

“…..”

“…..”

After a moment of looking at each other, Kyle and Tisha nodded.

Let’s do as Elga wishes. With the intention of quickly getting rid of this burdensome woman, they agreed,

“So, what’s the story? I’d like to know too. Can you tell me, Kyle?”

“There’s not much to it. Lord Byun-kyung was attacked by an ogre, and I happened to save him.”

“Not much to it? The story seems quite extraordinary to me! Lord Byun-kyung, an ogre, saved. That’s all quite something.”

“It was just good luck.”

“If it was just good luck that you faced an ogre with your bare hands, does that mean everyone else in the world is unlucky?”

If he didn’t tell the story properly, she would cling to it and drag it out!

He could clearly feel her silently cute threat.

Eventually, Kyle, admitting defeat, briefly explained the incident of that day.

“So, you’re saying you faced an ogre with your bare hands and subdued it?”

“As I said, I only blocked it once. The rest was done by Ian.”

“Ian?”

“He’s a male student who was supposed to have dueled a few days ago, the one who received the recommendation letter from Lord Byun-kyung, just like me.”

“Ah, I see. The man from the rumors who is thoughtless and has a foul mouth.”

At Elga’s words, Kyle almost burst into laughter without realizing it.

Because her description was spot on. It was as if she had satisfyingly scratched an itch.

“However, it’s more interesting that you subdued an ogre with your bare hands rather than killing it with a sword.”

“I did suffer for a few days because of it.”

That was a lie. He just ate well, slept well, and lived well.

In fact, it felt like he got some extra exercise, and he was in a very good mood because of it.

“…..”

Meanwhile, Elga turned her head to look at Tisha, who was sitting opposite Kyle.

‘This woman, yes. She’s interested in Sorcery.’

The continent is already firmly in the grasp of magic.

Anything other than magic can hardly escape being labeled as witchcraft.

In such circumstances, it’s not just anywhere else, but at the academy that she practices Sorcery.

Moreover, she’s not a noble with powerful backing but a mere commoner.

Why she chose such a difficult path is curious, but Elga does not ask.

No matter how tactfully she might phrase it, it wouldn’t be taken well.

It would be unwise to create unnecessary conflict by approaching it in such a manner.

‘Friend. For now, let’s just say… friend.’

Elga mulled over Kyle’s response, lost in thought.

What exactly did his words mean?

Was it that she wanted to be more than friends, but Tisha was refusing?

Or conversely, was it that Tisha wanted more, but Kyle was the one preventing it?

‘I hope it’s the latter… No, no, what am I saying?’

Shaking her head vigorously—

Elga suddenly shook her head.

Because of that, Kyle and Tisha had to blink in confusion with a ‘Huh?’