Chapter 77
“Ah, there’s our Yulia.”
Seeing Ceres focus on the play again, Chaian also turned his head toward the stage.
But soon, he whispered again in a small voice.
“What are you going to do after the play ends?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“I have somewhere to go.”
“Somewhere? The shop?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
Watching Yulia trick the wolf and run away with amusement, Ceres gave a short answer.
“Cleaner Selection Contest.”
“What? Cleaner?”
Despite Chaian’s puzzled look, Ceres remained fully focused on the play.
***
“Hey, look at their faces.”
“They’re totally frozen.”
“The result’s obvious—what are they so nervous about?”
At the training arena where the Swordsmanship Tournament was being held.
Iron and the Group A students giggled as they watched the Group B kids.
It was ridiculous seeing how much more tense they looked than usual.
“Guess it’s embarrassing to get beaten in front of this many people.”
Iron sneered at how restless the Group B kids looked.
‘They haven’t even been training in the arena lately.’
It was funny that the ones who had been avoiding them all this time still chose to enter the swordsmanship tournament.
“But why are they looking around like that?”
“Yeah, right.”
“They look like they’re searching for someone?”
There was something strange about Antonion and the rest of the Group B kids.
They weren’t just nervous—they kept anxiously scanning the audience, which felt off.
“Hey, Antonion. Is Ceres really coming?”
“Ugh, please, just say she won’t come.”
“If we mess up today…”
“We’re just screwed.”
“Ugh!”
The faces of the Group B kids turned even paler as they recalled a recent conversation with Ceres.
‘I heard the swordsmanship tournament is coming up soon. Is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘You can do well, right?’
‘Yes!’
‘Good. You better do well. If you want to live.’
‘Y-Yes…?’
L-Live?
‘I trust that everyone will do their best. I really hate when that trust is broken. But surely that won’t happen, right?’
‘W-What if it does?’
‘Why are you even asking that? There’s no way it’ll be broken.’
‘Still, if it does?’
‘Then you’ll probably end up doing your best here. Something worse than death… but, well, it won’t come to that.’
‘……’
“…She was joking, right?”
“Anyone ever seen her joke?”
Shake shake.
“…Sh*t…”
The kids, nervously scanning the audience, soon turned to look at the Group A students.
They were still relaxed and sneering.
And that reminded them of why they even started this training.
Wasn’t it to land a solid punch on those smug faces?
“Yeah. Whether we die here…”
“Or die later.”
Nod.
A glint of determination briefly flickered in the eyes of Antonion and the other Group B kids.
At the very least, they wanted to see those arrogant faces twist in defeat!
“We will now begin the Swordsmanship Tournament.”
At the sound announcing the start, more and more people gathered at the training arena.
“You kids okay with this?”
Cold, the instructor in charge of Group B’s swordsmanship, kept clicking his tongue inwardly.
From the beginning, this tournament had been essentially made for Group A.
It was a stage to showcase the skills of Group A children to their wealthy sponsors and parents.
‘What are they thinking all of a sudden?’
And yet, Antonion and the rest of Group B had all insisted on participating.
‘You want to enter the tournament?’
‘Yes!’
‘I’ll still enter!’
‘……’
Colin had tried to give some thoughtful advice, but they didn’t take it.
What good could come from getting humiliated in front of a huge crowd?
With a light sigh, Cold called out the student who would go out first.
“Antonion.”
“Yes.”
Antonion stepped forward when his name was called.
Watching him walk forward with heavy steps, Cold let out another long sigh.
Because the first person being sent out by the Group A instructor was none other than Iron Belgial.
Among all the Group A students, Iron was the most skilled.
‘He’s about to get crushed in the first match.’
Cold sat down without even intending to watch the match and closed his eyes.
What’s the point in watching kids get beaten down? He just wanted it to be over quickly.
“Uh, uh… Whoaah!”
But then—
“…?”
Something sounded strange shortly after the match began.
Hearing the sudden cheer, Cold quickly opened his eyes.
Was the match already over?
“…What the—?”
But what Cold saw when he opened his eyes was an unexpected scene.
Iron Belgial, clearly on the losing end, overwhelmed by Antonion.
—
‘This is… working?’
The one most shocked by all of this was none other than Antonion himself, the one in the match.
‘I can see it…?’
He could see it.
Iron’s attacks. His swordsmanship. His every movement!
“Hah……”
Antonion swallowed back the laughter that threatened to burst out.
‘Is this the result of our training?’
Whoosh, whoosh!
‘Noona! Argh! Stop throwing them!’
‘How bold of you to think of holding a sword when you can’t even dodge a snowball.’
‘What do snowballs have to do with swordsmanship!’
Whoosh, whoosh!
‘Aaargh! That really hurts!’
‘Then dodge if you don’t want to get hit.’
In the snowy mountains, snowballs flew. In the rocky mountains, rocks were thrown.
More than a few kids had fainted after getting hit by her weak-looking arms.
What made it worse was that even after fainting, they woke up in seconds.
Not a bruise left behind—there was no excuse to fake being hurt.
‘Antonion, how the heck does Noona throw so well?’
‘…I don’t know either.’
He could only shake his head in response to his teary-eyed friend, whose eye was bruised from a snowball.
Of course, even that bruise disappeared quickly, and they had to keep dodging snowballs all over again.
‘Compared to those snowballs…’
Whoosh!
“Hey! How long are you just gonna keep dodging?!”
Iron shouted, frustrated that none of his attacks were landing.
“If it bothers you, then hit me. Don’t you think your attacks are too slow?”
“Wh-What?! You son of a—!”
Iron’s face twisted as he lunged forward again with his sword—but then he panicked. He lost sight of Antonion.
Where the hell did he go…?
Sshhk.
“……!”
Just as Iron was about to turn around, he felt the cold edge of a sword against his neck.
“If this were real combat, you’d already be dead.”
“Y-You…!”
Iron couldn’t even form words. He had completely exposed his back and hadn’t read a single one of Antonion’s movements.
How could this be happening?
“Antonion wins!”
“Wooooooah!”
The crowd’s cheers filled the air.
Especially the Group B kids screamed so hard their throats went raw.
For the first time since enrollment, they had defeated a Group A student!
“From now on, you guys can clean the arena.”
Tap.
Antonion lightly patted Iron’s shoulder, who was standing there in a daze, and walked off the stage.
And the upsets didn’t stop there.
“That’s it? That was your full attack? Ha! That’s weaker than a rock!”
“What did you say?!”
“Dodging your attack is easier than dodging a rock or a snowball!”
BANG!
“Guh!”
Iron Belgial and the rest of Group A’s attacks weren’t working at all on the Group B kids.
The faces of the once-nervous Group B students were gradually brightening.
With each match, their confidence grew.
Because they could see.
Their opponents’ attacks and movements—strangely, unbelievably, clearly.
Even their bodies felt light.
Maybe it was because they had removed the heavy enchanted sandbags they usually wore on their arms and legs before entering the arena.
It felt like they were flying.
‘Noona, what is this?’
‘Enchanted sandbags. You’ll be wearing them even while sleeping from now on.’
‘E-Even while sleeping?’
‘A friend of mine made them a long time ago. They’re perfect for training. Wear them under your clothes—they won’t show. But the weight can be increased endlessly. I’ll keep upping the weight, so get used to it.’
‘How heavy are you going to make it?’
‘Why ask something so obvious? Until you reach the limit of the limit of the limit.’
‘……’
Since then, they had never taken off those increasingly heavy enchanted sandbags from their arms and legs.
But today, just before the matches, they were given permission to remove them.
—
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