Chapter 2
Leave Me Alone! But No One Listened (2)
The situation was completely different from the hundreds of times I had regressed in the past. That’s why I couldn’t avoid the sword thrust at me. There had never been such a situation when I regressed from death before.
‘I always regained consciousness at some point the day after the subjugation exercise.’
Usually, I was either wrapped in bandages lying in a hospital bed, standing near a relief tent, or in the middle of giving a statement to an imperial knight.
As I realized the discrepancy in the situation, old memories began to surface bit by bit. Even though I clearly recognized the situation, it still felt unreal. How could I believe it?
Hundreds of regressions. When the same thing has been repeated hundreds of times, there’s very little room to imagine anything else.
With trembling hands, I grabbed Ian and asked again.
“Really… is it really still before the subjugation exercise? Right now?”
“That’s right. What’s wrong with you? …Are you really planning to skip the subjugation exercise? Don’t tell me, that’s why earlier…?!”
Ian made a surprised face, then suddenly grabbed my cheeks with both hands and examined me from side to side.
“…No. That’s not it. That’s… a misunderstanding too. Let go of this.”
“Wait~! This is interesting. Did you get hit on the head or something?”
Setting aside how unpleasant his eyes were, as if he had made some amazing discovery.
“Ugh…”
My headache was already bad enough without him shaking my head, and I felt irritation welling up involuntarily.
Without hesitation, I kicked Ian on the shin.
“I said let go.”
“Ouch.”
Ian quickly let go and clutched his leg, exaggerating his pain in a frivolous manner.
It probably didn’t even hurt that much. His exaggerated reaction was annoying.
“Ow ow… Normally, don’t you give people time to let go?”
“Forget it. I told you both to get out of the way.”
There was a reason why Ian’s name and face weren’t familiar to me, even though we were in the same group for the subjugation.
‘Because in the future I remember, he’s already dead.’
This subjugation exercise brought unprecedented casualties.
Not only the students participating in the exercise, but also the academy professors and knights who secretly accompanied the students for their safety.
An elite force sufficient for waging war lost their lives in a mere subjugation exercise.
Even I barely survived, thanks to the curse of regressing after death.
‘If you can call this surviving…’
And the very few students who survived that hellscape all grew up to be heroes considered great.
Ethan Behemoth stood out even among those heroes.
“……”
“…Alright. You want us to move, right?”
Ian must have lost his life then.
That makes sense. It was a situation where no one could take care of others.
Everyone could barely save their own lives.
Even if he later became an unparalleled genius or whatever, Young Lord Ethan Behemoth was still just an academy student at that time.
So Ian, who was already dead by then, wasn’t familiar to my eyes, which had only regressed after the subjugation exercise was over.
Ian, who was already dead in my memory, hummed that he would move out of the way right away and kicked the crumpled sword on the ground.
Ah, the sword.
“Hey.”
“Hm? Me?”
I reached out one hand towards Ian without hesitation.
“That sword. Lend it to me.”
Ian fiddled with his sword with a disgruntled expression.
“I just came from sparring…”
“Are you going to continue sparring? Don’t you feel any pity seeing a girl much smaller than you being oppressed like this? Your chivalry is dead. What am I asking for? Just lend me the sword so I can protect myself.”
“You really have a nasty way of talking…”
“That’s why I don’t have friends.”
I shrugged as if to say, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ and waved my outstretched hand, urging him.
In the end, Ian hesitantly unfastened his scabbard and handed it to me.
“…Here.”
“Thank you.”
“Ian.”
Ignoring Ethan who called him with a growl, Ian kept checking with me.
“You’ll return it later, right?”
“Yes.”
The guy who had been threatening me with a sword mumbled, “Sir Ian, that’s a bit…” I completely ignored him as Ian wiped his chest in relief and winked at me.
“I’ll trust you. Then this is a service for the lady.”
Service?
Ian’s hand landed firmly on Ethan’s shoulder.
Then, thankfully, he pulled on Ethan’s shoulder that hadn’t budged. It seemed he intended to move him away from my sight.
Ian definitely had more tact than Ethan Behemoth.
I raised one eyebrow slightly and nodded my head towards him.
“Thank you. Please make him leave quickly.”
“No problem.”
Ethan Behemoth moved with reluctant steps, but still warned me with his brow furrowed—unfamiliarly clean without scars.
“Edith Crowell. You’re essential for the subjugation exercise. Call me if you get into any trouble. Don’t do anything dangerous.”
…That stubbornness is still the same.
“…I’ll think about it.”
Even as he dragged his feet away, Ethan Behemoth didn’t take his eyes off me until the very end.
As soon as Ethan Behemoth completely disappeared, the crowd that had silently moved aside when he passed suddenly closed the distance and blocked my way.
Perhaps because of the conversation I had with Ethan Behemoth, their eyes gleamed with malicious curiosity.
“……”
Someone stood in front of me again as I was handling the sword I received from Ian.
“Ahem.”
“…?”
“Edith Crowell!”
When I raised my head at the voice, trying to sound threatening with an awkwardly lowered tone, the guy whose sword I had taken was standing there.
My eyes narrowed involuntarily. Why is this pathetic guy trying to act tough?
After all, he was the one who had been quietly holding his breath in front of Ethan Behemoth. And now, suddenly, as if he had suffered the greatest insult, his face turned red, and his shoulders started to shake.
What’s with this sudden outburst?
“Are you crazy?”
You’re the crazy one, brat.
“Excuse me? What?”
Swallowing my irritation, I responded casually, which only made the veins on his thick neck stand out even more.
“What’s with that disrespectful way of talking?”
“Hm?”
“And my sword! It’s ruined because of you!”
“Ah…”
What is he talking about? I responded halfheartedly while handling Ian’s sword.
It was light and well-maintained. Much better than that guy’s sword.
“I said I’d borrow it. It wasn’t even that good of a sword.”
“…What?”
Isn’t he making too big a deal out of lending such a mediocre sword?
Moreover, the one who actually made his sword unusable was Ethan Behemoth.
It wasn’t even my fault, so why is he making a fuss at me?
While I was blinking calmly, the quiet onlookers started to add their own comments one by one.
“Wow… Edith Crowell. I knew about her, but she’s really out of her mind. Is it okay to include someone like her in the subjugation exercise team?”
“The headmaster’s judgment was wrong this time.”
“Savage…. This is a total mess because of her?”
“Really. ‘That’ Edith Crowell is hopeless.”
The murmurs quickly grew louder.
Feeling certain he had the backing of the spectators, the guy lifted his firm chin triumphantly.
“Ha, know that your antics won’t work here. No one’s going to pay attention to your ridiculous pretenses of suicide or whatever.”
“I see.”
No one should have paid attention. Why did Ethan Behemoth do that?
While I was lost in thought, the guy who had frowned composed his face again and continued.
“Anyway, hand over Sir Ian’s sword to me, and you withdraw.”
…Withdraw? From what? …Ah.
“Perhaps… are you doing this because of the subjugation exercise?”
A bitter laugh escaped me. You dare to bother me like this because of something so trivial?
“Yes. I’ve told you many times! Why should someone like you be in that glorious position…!”
I understand what he’s dissatisfied about. The subjugation exercise team is composed of only the best students in the academy.
So if I withdraw from the subjugation exercise team, he’s saying he’ll take that place.
He covets that position where someone like me would simply die.
I answered simply.
“I don’t want to.”
The guy’s voice, which had been barking triumphantly, stopped abruptly, then quickly changed to an ominous warning.
“You don’t want to? Is this sound like a suggestion to you?”
Laughter erupted from all around. It was clearly directed at me.
Really…. Dealing with kids is annoying. But I can’t just leave it be.
After pondering for a moment, I raised my head and pulled the corners of my mouth into a smile.
“You asked for Sir Ian’s sword, right?”
“Yes. Hand it over. Since my sword was tainted because of you, I’ll at least borrow Sir Ian’s sword-“
“Then try to catch it.”
As I smoothly drew the blade from its scabbard, I sent a dull magical force along the blade’s path.
The wind pressure artificially inflated by magic made a sound as if it would tear flesh…
“…Huh.”
It stopped precisely in front of the nose of the guy who had quickly pulled his head back.
It was a level of sword drawing technique that even I, who hadn’t formally learned swordsmanship, could use. If he had even a ‘little’ talent, he could have caught it, but he’s both cowardly and… talentless. I tilted my head slightly.
“Why don’t you take it?”
“Ugh… ugh.”
Blood flowed from a thin cut on the bridge of the guy’s nose. Even the noisy onlookers suddenly fell completely silent, and a chilly silence fell all around.
They must have thought that they might be the next target of my sword, and they were right.
“……”
As I tilted my head and met each person’s gaze one by one, their faces turned pale and they took hesitant steps back, creating some space.
But it’s still not enough to clear a path out of the training ground. What should I do?
Clack, screech.
I let the hand holding the sword drop diagonally, dragging the tip of the sword on the ground.
“Ah. I forgot to give you a warning. I’m not very good with swords, you see. As you’ve witnessed.”
“Ugh, urgh…”
The guy’s eyes gradually filled with terror as he rubbed his nose bridge to check the blood. His expression showed that he had just now realized that my hand holding the sword was still slick with blood.
“A-Are you crazy…?”
“Yes. I am crazy. But if you want to continue, I’ll try to aim for your eyes more accurately next time.”
I smiled slightly as I brushed back my hair matted with dried blood and adjusted my grip on the sword handle.
“I might accidentally swing at the spectators too.”
And finally.
There were no more students blocking my way.
🥀
Thank you for reading! ♡
