Ch. 46
I didn’t have any close friends among the delegation, but most faces were familiar. Who’s that kid?
More importantly, the meat’s almost gone.
My attention had clearly shifted to the meat.
“It’s true, but Leo…”
“This is all that girl’s fault!”
The boy with lemon-colored hair—Leo—stormed toward me, huffing and puffing, but I didn’t care. I was more disappointed that there wasn’t much food left.
This is why you should never come late to a meal. Growing kids need proper nutrition!
“I challenge you to a duel!”
“Ma’am, do you have any more meat?”
“Hey!”
“Hm?”
Who’re you?
I gave the unfamiliar boy a brief glance, but that was it.
I quickly turned my head back toward the plate.
Since I was hungry, I grabbed the biggest piece of bread from the buffet-like spread and stuffed it into my mouth, chewing as I ignored him and walked right past.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!”
You’ve got the wrong person. My name’s not ‘Hey’…
“Can’t you hear me?!”
He grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to stop. Though my mouth kept moving. This bread is really good. Quality inns sure do serve delicious food.
“My name is Leo!”
“Didn’t ask.”
“I just arrived in Valen!”
“Don’t care.”
“I’ve ridden without rest, sleeping only two hours a night! You should respect my courage!”
“Oh dear, why’d you do that?”
Honestly, I thought Leo was a bit strange. He suddenly got angry and started yelling at me. Brainless kid.
“The instructors thought you were dead and called me in!”
That’s when I realized this kid was my substitute, though I still felt no inclination to be nice.
There was no reason to be kind to someone who wasn’t kind to me.
“Sorry to disappoint you. I’m alive.”
“Do you know how much I’ve been through?! I rode nonstop for ten whole days!”
“Ugh, just thinking about that makes me feel sick.”
“Argh! You have to compensate me for this disgrace! I challenge you—”
“Pfft, did you just say ‘disgrace’?”
“So what?”
Am I the only one who finds this funny? I laughed out loud.
“Puhahaha! What kind of ten-year-old talks about disgrace? Do you even know what that means?”
“I’m eleven!”
Funny is funny. I hadn’t laughed this hard in a while, and the more I laughed, the redder Leo’s face got.
Though it didn’t seem like embarrassment. He looked genuinely angry.
But even that just looked like childish tantrum to me. What could a kid possibly be so mad about?
I briefly considered stopping since he looked so upset, but then he went even further, and I just couldn’t hold it in.
“Geenie Crowell! I challenge you to a duel for the spot in the delegation!”
“……”
“We’ll fight fair and square, and the winner will take the position!”
“Puhahahaha!”
I clutched my stomach and laughed even harder. Leo, clearly provoked, clenched his fists and charged, but before a fight could break out, Ms. Iritho stepped between us.
At that moment, I calmed down Rai, who was about to leap out.
[Master! That kid just now—]
[He’s just a kid.]
With a troubled expression, Ms. Iritho focused more on pacifying Leo than on me.
“Leo! What are you doing here? I told you to rest!”
“But Master! This is so unfair!”
“Sigh, Leo…”
I kept snickering as I looked at the side of Ms. Iritho’s face, who let out a helpless sigh.
“Ms. Iritho! Did you hear that? He challenged me to a duel… Puhaha!”
“Geenie! Don’t tease your friend like that! And a lady shouldn’t laugh that way!”
“Hohohoho!”
“Geenie! That’s even more irritating… No, anyway, cut it out!”
“You grown-ups always tell me not to do things. And he’s not my friend.”
I puffed out my cheeks in protest.
Why do adults always assume that kids close in age must be friends?
“He rode ten days and nights just to help you. You could show a little gratitude.”
“He did it for himself. Not for me. Sacrifice and opportunism aren’t the same.”
“Geenie!”
Had it been another instructor, I would’ve kept pushing, but I liked Ms. Iritho quite a bit, so I decided to let it go for now.
“Try to understand. Leo’s just upset.”
She tried hard to mediate, but Leo kept glaring at me furiously.
The angry look on that little brat’s face was just pathetic, and instead of laughing again, I gave him a subtle smirk.
That seemed to be the final spark, and Leo exploded with rage.
“Damn it! This is all your fault! I got kicked off the delegation, came all this way just to be told I’m not needed! It’s all because of you!”
It did seem like that was the situation.
Someone must’ve been absent from the delegation, and since Leo was first in line as a backup, he got called in as a substitute. He rode through the night to catch up with the team, only for me to return and take his spot.
What a cruel twist of fate. The life of a substitute is full of sorrow.
And I guess it makes sense why he’d be angry.
I could understand Leo’s frustration, just a little.
“So… you mean everything would be fine if I weren’t here?”
“Exactly! This spot was mine from the start if it weren’t for you!”
“I see. That’s actually a great idea.”
“…What?”
“I think we’ll get along just fine.”
Leo, who looked like he was about to pounce, blinked in confusion at my sudden agreement.
“There’s no need for us to fight, is there? Just take the spot.”
I smiled brightly and said it clearly. The more I thought about it, the more appealing the offer sounded.
A generous gesture that also made my life easier? Perfect.
I never cared about being part of the delegation in the first place. It wasn’t something I had wanted.
I didn’t want to participate in some barbaric tournament with people punching and kicking each other.
Above all else, I was a very elegant person. Fighting was beneath me.
“You… want me to take it?”
Leo looked so dumbfounded that I had to spell it out for him again.
“Yeah. Whoever wants it more should do it. I never wanted it to begin with. Thanks for speaking up first. So, can I go back to school now? Hm? Is that alright, Ms. Iritho?”
“Heavens! Miss Geenie! That’s not how this works…”
“How far are you planning to mock me, Geenie Crowell?!”
“Mock you? I’m being serious. Do you even know what ‘mock’ means?”
Even when I gave him what he wanted, he still got mad. What a picky brat.
Just when it looked like Leo was trembling with clenched fists, he suddenly put on a smug expression and acted all high and mighty.
“Ha! I get it! You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“…What?”
“Yeah! Just look at you—completely pathetic with not a trace of combat ability. You must be terrified. I hate weakling mages, but you spirit mages are even more useless! Thanks to you, I now know what cowards spirit mages really are!”
“Wow, you really just say anything that comes to mind, huh?”
“That’s right! I, the great Leo, am your savior! Go on, run away like the coward you are!”
Stay calm… stay calm…
“Why? Am I wrong? You’re all weaklings! Useless trash who’d only be a burden in war! You’re just there to fill out the numbers!”
I clenched my jaw slightly. Falling for a cheap provocation like this was something only those brainless combat club kids would do.
I’m a brilliant and rational intellectual. I would never stoop to—
“You brain-dead blonde!”
“…Come at me, you little brat!”
“Let’s fight! Geenie Cro—blargh!”
“Ew! That’s disgusting!”
Why’s he throwing up all of a sudden?!
I quickly stepped back. The stench of vomit hit me harder than any punch, and I had to cover my nose and mouth with both hands.
Leo, who already looked a bit grubby, had turned completely pale.
Must’ve been the side effect of pushing himself too hard on a tight schedule.
“See? Leo! I told you to get proper rest!”
“Blargh!”
“So gross…”
Gross no matter how you look at it.
He called me weak and pathetic, but in the end, he was the one carried away princess-style by Ms. Iritho.
Thanks to that, I completely lost my appetite and had to go back to my room after eating just two pieces of bread, one egg, a bowl of soup full of meat, four cookies, and grabbing two apples on the way.
Ugh, lost my appetite.
