novelraw Chapter 115 : Chapter 115
Chapter 115 : Chapter 115
Chapter : 115
“How… how did you know?”
After leaving the cafe, the two headed for Theo’s ‘hideout.’
This place would be suitable for the two of them to talk.
“What’s wrong with something being even better because it’s sweet and cute?”
Although one couldn't say that the image of a noble lily knight and a bunny macaron latte went well together, there was no need to hide it.
Moreover, as far as Theo knew, she would eventually reveal that preference without hiding it.
“I’m going to kill you.”
At that moment, a chilling mumble echoed in my ear.
A thin sword tip grazed past, cutting through the wind.
It was a precise thrust, as if threading a needle.
Theo’s silver hair swayed slightly in the wind, but Theo didn’t even blink and turned his head.
“Um, I’m really not saying this to provoke you!”
Cecilia didn't answer. She only took a short breath.
Cold anger was clearly visible on her face.
And she responded with her body instead of words.
She bent her waist deeply and lunged again.
A second and third thrust, the sword tip tearing through the air.
The direction was unpredictable, and the speed was close to disrupting the flow.
Theo deftly dodged the rapier.
He was forcibly increasing his speed with the Circle of Wind to avoid it.
The flow of mana subtly rose from his fingertips.
With a momentary breath, ice condensed and spread thin blades on both sides.
At the sight of the magic she had seen in the Flowering Festival tournament, Cecilia immediately swung her sword.
Sword met sword, steel met ice. A sharp frictional sound tore the silence between the two.
“Please spare me, sunbae!”
Cecilia gave no answer. Only her sword responded with a ‘no’ in its place.
From a frontal thrust, she turned her body for a side thrust aimed at the abdomen.
Cecilia twisted the angle of her wrist and penetrated the gap.
However, in that instant, ice crystals that shot up from under Theo’s feet pushed the blade away.
The silently formed ice barrier was just about a handspan wide, enough to misalign the sword’s trajectory.
“Agh, this is really driving me crazy!”
In Cecilia’s silence, Theo jumped.
“Die quietly.”
Cecilia whispered coolly, lowering her gaze.
In a moment of silence, the tips of her feet kicked off the ground and she soared.
The tip of her sword cut the sky and immediately aimed for Theo’s back.
Theo’s uniform was torn, and the sword once again collided with ice.
However, it was a little different this time.
The ice cracked. It fractured, and fragments flew.
Cecilia continued her thrusts without faltering.
Then she completely shattered the ice.
The knight’s purpose was clear, and the magician aimed for the gap.
The ice crystals that had been quietly floating in the air changed direction and slid down Cecilia’s wrist and blade.
Pang!
With the sound of a thin crack forming on the sword, Cecilia’s wrist was twisted.
Seeing Theo’s smile as he was about to continue his offensive, Cecilia quickly stepped back.
Her breathing was perfectly steady, and she glared at Theo with a still expressionless face.
“Really! You’re coming at me with everything you’ve got!”
Floating several ice swords in the air, Theo immediately launched them at Cecilia.
Cecilia, who had closed the distance by three steps and leaped, twisted her body to the side to dodge one ice sword while simultaneously destroying two more.
“Tch!”
As Theo’s fingertips cut through the air, the surrounding moisture rapidly froze.
The air froze like an invisible wall, and the rapier’s speed slowed.
For the first time, a drop of sweat formed on Cecilia’s forehead.
Cecilia, who quirked an eyebrow as if she found it interesting, kicked off the frozen ground with the tips of her feet and charged again.
Cecilia’s movements were fluid and seamless.
The trajectory from the tips of her feet to her knees, waist, and shoulders was as precise as a trained machine.
Cecilia’s sword continuously stabbed the air, and sharp lines remained in the air, spreading like waves.
“Crazy!!!”
Theo let out a short scream and pulled his body back, barely avoiding the waves created by the swords.
The more he cooled the surrounding air, the more Cecilia’s speed decreased.
Theo, whose skin felt that fact, continued to use his mana, lowering her speed again and again.
However, Cecilia didn't stop moving, as if she couldn't feel the cold at all. Only tenacity resided in her eyes.
“This is seriously scary.”
Cecilia immediately continued with her next attack.
In response to Cecilia who had closed the distance in an instant, Theo created an ice wall.
Clang!
The sword pressed down on the ice.
With a cracking sound, the ice split, and as a fragment grazed Theo’s cheek, a warm drop of blood fell onto the ice.
I’m really going to die…!
Sensing the danger, Theo instantly created a gust of wind to push Cecilia away.
However, Cecilia placed one hand on the ground as she fell and immediately counterattacked.
Her target was his feet!
But Theo’s reaction was faster.
As if he had read the momentary counterattack, he poured out a torrent of ice swords.
Cecilia pushed off the ground with her right knee to gain momentum.
She managed to graze the magician’s arm, but that was it.
At the end of the third clash, the sword pierced through the ice.
The belatedly created ice crystals blocked Cecilia, but Theo felt the touch of steel on the nape of his neck.
As if surrendering, Theo slowly raised both hands.
“I lost.”
At his meek admission of defeat, Cecilia cut down the ice crystals that had grown around her with her rapier and replied.
“It’s a draw.”
“Hey, if you had put a little more force into it, I would have died.”
“If you had pierced my heart with those ice crystals, I would have died too.”
Theo didn’t particularly refute Cecilia’s words.
Sheathing her rapier, Cecilia bowed her head in accordance with etiquette.
“Not bad for a first-year.”
In fact, it was so excellent that it was hard to believe he was a first-year.
“Why didn’t you use the magic that defeated the hero?”
“That requires a considerable amount of concentration, so I can’t use it in a melee like this.”
The composite magic could only be used after concentrating for at least three minutes.
The fact that a magician who shot out magic as if breathing needed ‘considerable concentration’ for a spell piqued her interest even more.
“Could you use it on me sometime later?”
Theo, who was about to refuse, eventually nodded his head slowly at the strangely desperate gaze directed at him.
It wasn’t that difficult to use a spell once, after all.
“Then I’ll be in your care in the future.”
Cecilia declared briefly and coldly, then turned around.
“Sunbae, our promise is….”
“Come to the library this evening.”
“I will absolutely not say a word about the bunny macaron latte!”
Cecilia paused, then turned only her head slightly and said clearly.
“When did I ever have such a cute—”
Theo quickly brought his index finger to his lips and made a shushing sound.
Cecilia glanced at him with an annoyed face, then immediately left without looking back.
Somehow it had turned into a duel, but he had almost died for saying he knew a secret.
Plop, Theo, who had collapsed onto the floor, let out a light groan.
“I should stop being nosy from now on.”
Though things had never gone as Theo intended.
Lucius, Lerwon, and even Fel, hadn't they all, at some point, found themselves caught up in things and rolling around in the mud?
Recalling the past, Theo somehow felt his energy drain away.
A X-ton of things had happened, and it was certain that more would happen in the future.
They say that if you hate working, you get buried in it.
Swallowing his sorrow, Theo got up with a sniffle.
“Ah, I want to avoid getting caught up in any more incidents.”
It would be fine to just ignore it like this.
He knew it in his head, but when the situation arose, he would probably find himself being nosy without realizing it.
Sigh.
* * *
“What was promised.”
Cecilia faithfully kept her promise.
Five years’ worth of cheat sheets, reports, and notes analyzing the professor’s in-class remarks. It was clear that they would be a great help for the exam.
He had been threatened with murder, but with this much, wouldn't it be okay to have a few more matches?
Then he quickly tore at his hair. Am I crazy?
How could I have such a terrible thought unless I was brainwashed?
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No, I’m fine.”
The spot he had hit hurt.
“If you really want to get hit, shall I give you one?”
“I don’t want to die.”
No matter how much Cecilia was a character who had focused her stats on agility rather than strength, considering my durability, my head might just crack open and I'd die.
At my serious words, Cecilia was silent for a moment before nodding her head as if in agreement.
Just what kind of image did I have within the academy?
“Sunbae.”
“So you do think of me as a sunbae.”
“A crazy sunbae is still a sunbae.”
Cecilia frowned at the adjective ‘crazy’ attached to the front.
Although she was annoyed, she lightly nodded her head as if to say, ‘keep talking,’
so I decided to keep running my mouth.
“Are you going to keep hiding your preferences?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Strawberry ma—”
Before the words were even finished, my mouth was covered.
Her palm suddenly landed on my mouth.
“You said you’d be quiet!”
“Mmmph─”
Sunbae, the truth doesn’t change just because you do that.
She had covered my mouth so perfectly that there was no room for sound to escape.
She really seemed to want to hide her preference that much.
I guess it’s difficult to urge her not to hide her preference at this point.
It’s like telling her to end a lifelong act, so it’s only natural that it would be hard to accept.
[I’ll be quiet, so please take your hand off.]
Only after I conveyed my will with magic did Cecilia finally remove her hand.
Her skill at covering mouths was so excellent that she perfectly sealed only the mouth, and the unfortunate incident of not being able to breathe didn’t happen.
Should I be impressed by this?
“I don’t know how you found out about ‘that’.”
Cecilia, who had lightly cleared her throat, fiddled with the rapier at her waist.
“You’d better be quiet.”
“Understood.”
As I nodded, Cecilia left after receiving my repeated promise.
“I really won’t tell.”
“⋯I’ll trust you.”
Left alone with the materials Cecilia had brought, I pondered for a moment over the vast amount of materials before coming to a conclusion.
“I’ll just call Lucius.”
If I had to move all this by myself, it would take all day and still not be enough, damn it.
Still, thanks to this, I was a little less worried about the final exams.
With this, I’m no longer afraid of the final exams