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nWhen I entered the arena, my sister was no longer there.

nWell, I was grateful that I didn’t have to talk with her. I didn’t know what I would discuss with her, other than about the bomb, but…it was installed secretly.

nAnjelica was watching Jilk’s green armor standing in the arena.

n“Oh look, I’ve kept my opponent waiting. It seems that things are finally getting serious.”

nJilk came out with equipment that made it look like he was going to a battlefield.

nAs I entered my armor, Luxon made a report to me.

nIt seems to be the type that detonates in response to a specific magic.

nBombs like these were a means of attack in the game as well. I didn’t use them, though.

n“Guys like Jilk are the most frightening type. He excels in his marksmanship, but he’s also an all-rounder with average or excellent abilities in other fields. He can adapt no matter the situation.”

nJulian is better in close range battles, while Jilk is a character that triumphs in long range ones. He had no peculiarities, was easy to work with, and was excellent. He was a reliable character in the game.

nWell, he was also an irritating character who had a high degree of difficulty in capturing him.

nGetting down onto the arena, Jilk voiced out.

n“──You’re strong. I’ll give you my respect for that.”

n“Why yes, thank you.”

nOnce the referee signaled that it had begun, Jilk aimed a rifle in his right hand towards me. He soared into the air from the onset and pulled the trigger without any hesitation while throwing a grenade.

nIt’s a smokescreen.

n“It seems he’s not playing around.”

nMy surroundings were wrapped in a white smoke.

n◇

nIn the white smoke, Jilk soared up until he reached as high up as he could.

nSince flying too high results in disqualification, he flew up to the very limit of what he was allowed to, and decided to attack by using his rifle and grenades from overhead.

n“I hope that he’ll go down with this.”

nHe played a hand that he didn’t want to use that much.

nHe reached out to Leon’s sister and handed her a bomb. He didn’t give it to her directly, but instead had a schoolboy be the middleman.

nIf the matter became public, it wouldn’t hurt Julian’s reputation, and it would just be seen as a schoolboy acting rashly while worrying about Julian.

nThe arena was encased in smoke, but a magic circle appeared before Jilk. Inside it, Leon’s figure showed up, which was what Jilk was looking for.

n“You’re a danger. I will dispose of you here.”

nHe pulled the trigger of the rifle.

nHis rifle was used by the military, and had the ability to pierce through armor. Taking it out during a duel within the academy wouldn’t garner much respect, but his opponent was Leon.

nHe couldn’t say that he was able to play it safe after his opponent had flaunted an overwhelming difference in ability so far.

n“…Your life ended the moment you went against his Highness. I will give you a spectacular finish here!”

nThe bullet hit Leon’s armor, specifically the head.

nIt was clearly a shot meant to take his life.

nHowever──

n“W, what?!”

nLeon looked up at the sky as if nothing had happened.

nHe showed off by waving while looking calm.

n“Tsk!”

nHe threw a grenade and readied his rifle. He loaded a bullet into the bolt action mechanism, and fired.

nJilk had used his last resort, resulting in the calmly standing armor in front of him getting wrapped up in an explosion. In order to activate the explosive he had set, he released a specific magic towards Leon. The magic itself had no meaning, but its reaction with the bomb caused a large explosion on Leon’s back.

n“He’ll take damage from this direct hit!”

nHowever, he couldn’t find Leon’s figure within the arena. It did not seem like he had disintegrated, it just looked like he had disappeared altogether.

n“Where is he? Where the hell is he?!”

nThen, Jilk felt a sense of discomfort when a shadow, one that could block the sun, quickly appeared. There was not a single cloud in the sky, though.

nWhen he looked up, he saw Leon’s figure in the rear.

n“Yo.”

n“!”

nHe readied his rifle while Leon took a nose dive and headed towards him.

nHe pulled the trigger, but even though it was a shot to the armor at point-blank, the bullet was repelled.

n“How did you withstand that explosion?”

n“What a heavy blow that was. If you know what I mean.” (TLN: There’s supposed to be some innuendo

/double-meaning here in the original text with the phrase きつい一発. Anyone know what it is?)

nJilk, realizing that what he said hinted at multiple meanings, then took out his battleaxe and swung it. Leon stopped it with his shovel, and Jilk began to talk to him while not letting the audience hear.

n“──You know nothing.”

n“Look in mirror and say that. You are not sane.”

n“Do you plan on dueling with his Highness? Your life as a noble will end.”

n“That’s fine! The advanced class makes me want to throw up! I’d do anything to be free from it…and be free from people like you!”

nOrdinary boys could sympathize with what he said. Even though they weren’t too fond of him, they would somehow find room to leave that aside when starting a conversation about their troubles.

nHowever, contrary to what Leon said, he showed willpower.

nMarie’s face popped up in Jilk’s head.

nWhat a marvelous woman she was. She understood him quite well, and seemed like his own ideal woman.

nIt didn’t take long for him to become obsessed with her.

nShe was not from the royal palace. Unlike the usual girls around him, she made his heart feel at ease.

n“For the first time! I’ve come across my ideal woman!”

n“Great, that means I have one less rival to deal with. You can go enjoy yourself playing around with love to your heart’s content.”

nWhen he received an attack from Leon’s shovel using his rifle, the rifle flew out from his hands and onto the floor.

n(The difference in power…is too big.)

nJulian’s face also popped up in his mind.

nThe figure of his close friend, who would look delighted when talking about Marie.

n“What do you know?! His Highness and I truly love her! It’s not like I need to monopolize her. I just want to make her happy!”

n“In that case, how would you feel about giving up?”

nLeon seemed dispassionate, but each and every blow of his was heavy.

nThe armor Jilk was operating would creak each time it received a blow, as if it were screaming.

n“I will use whatever I can to not lose to you. If you plan on doing anything to his Highness, I will risk everything I have to make sure that you──no, your family will pay!”

nHe was just like someone in love.

nHe was sad at first, and thought about giving up…but it wouldn’t be love if he gave up with just that much.

nJilk was prepared to do anything for the sake of not himself, but for Julian and Marie.

n“…Such threats are cowardly when in a duel.”

n“Go ahead and say whatever you want.”

nThe two were fighting in the sky, and the audience in the arena couldn’t hear their voices.

nJilk felt something happening, and when he was trying to figure it out──

n“‘I will use whatever I can to not lose to you. If you plan on doing anything to his Highness, I will risk everything I have to make sure that you──no, your family will pay!’”

n──He heard what he had said just a moment ago.

n“W, what?”

nJilk was soon confused.

nHe had never heard of such a magic like this. Perhaps it existed and he just didn’t know about it, and maybe it was newly discovered.

nHe thought it was Leon mimicking his voice, but it seemed different from that.

nLeon began playing back the conversation they had.

nJilk clenched his teeth in regret.

n“You threatened me just a moment ago. So, I decided to threaten you as well. Let’s see, I can take this over to your household. I wonder what your family would think. Threatening someone when it seemed that you were going to lose in a duel would be tantamount to ending your life as a noble! Ah, on second thought, I wonder what your beloved Highness and Marie would think if they heard this? They would definitely scorn you. No wait, they would definitely report this to the academy! Then, all of the students in the whole school would hear about it!”

nJilk soon reorganized his feelings.

n“T, that voice alone isn’t proof.”

nIn this world, there weren’t any machines or magic mechanisms that could record a voice yet. Due to that, it would be difficult to vouch for this as being evidence. It would be difficult, but there was another factor to consider.

n“You doubt that this could be used as evidence, isn’t that right? Even so, everyone would think that my household is suffering from stress. They’ll think ‘That guy really did something to them.’ Then, wouldn’t everyone also start doubting his Highness? They would think ‘Could it be that his Highness does these kinds of things?!’ The reputation of your beloved Highness would sink.”

nWhile Leon continued on in a happy manner, Jilk pretended to be as calm as possible.

nHe endured Leon’s firece attack while trying to figure out how to break out of the situation.

n“His Highness is not involved. This is my own action”

n“You’re not the one to decide that, you know? The people around you will get tied into it, even if you don’t want it to happen…Besides, you all decided not to listen to Anjelica back then, right? Why do think that the same thing won’t happen to you guys?”

nJilk found himself flustered and at a loss for words.

nIt was as he said, they didn’t pay any attention to Anjelica’s arguments back then. They didn’t know about the matter of Marie being bullied, and yet they disregarded Anjelica when she said that she didn’t order for it to happen.

n“T, that’s!”

n“Enough──lie down.”

nLeon’s voice turned cold for an instant, and he trampled on Jilk in the air, causing him to drop down onto the floor.

nLike that, his consciousness started fading as he hit the floor.

n“He even bothered my sister. Now then, I wonder what to do…”

nLeon had already lost interest in Jilk. In any case, after being thrust into the ground, Jilk’s armor was tattered and likely couldn’t move.

nThe last thing he thought was,

n(Your Highness, this is dangerous. You cannot…fight…him.)

nThat’s when his consciousness blacked out.

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