Ch. 48
“People’s hearts are like reeds, you know. And come to think of it, that kid is way too annoying—I don’t feel like giving in.”
Leo flared up, clearly offended by my straight-up pointing finger.
Maybe it was because he thought all the adults were on his side, but today he looked even more smug than yesterday.
“Did you change your mind overnight, you coward?!”
“Nope? I told you from the start I hated the idea of a duel.”
“Just admit it! You’re avoiding my challenge because you know you can’t beat me!”
[Master, all three of them are in on it. They want to see you humiliated.]
Rai whispered quickly.
Hearing that made Rai sound awfully sly… but I guess that’s to be expected from a snake.
“Whoa there, calm down, Leo.”
Huh? The knight commander was trying to calm Leo down. Weren’t they trying to force me out of the delegation?
“A duel is a sacred tradition. It must follow the proper rules. If you both duel for the delegation spot, I will serve as judge.”
Of course. I see through you, you old man. This is just pressure disguised as fairness.
I’m pretty sure I’ve said “no” about ten times already, but they’re completely ignoring me.
“I’m a highly esteemed knight, so I’m more than qualified to judge.”
“Guess I must not know the meaning of ‘esteemed,’ then.”
“Running away at a critical moment—is that a mage tradition?”
“I’m a spirit mage, actually.”
“Same difference.”
It’s absolutely not the same, you idiot!
What pissed me off the most was being lumped together with mages.
Spirit mages aren’t a subset of mages. We’re a separate class with our own powers!
“Come at me, Geenie Crowell! For my honor, I will fight you!”
“Sigh.”
“I’ll defeat you and reclaim my honor!”
If Leo and I were to duel, we’d have to accept the outcome no matter what. Whatever was at stake had to be given up.
Even if a king stepped in, the result couldn’t be changed. That’s what honor meant in this world.
A duel was a battle over honor.
Honor was regarded as equal to life, and anyone who didn’t value it was treated like a walking corpse.
I didn’t think I cared much for pride or honor… or so I thought. But being disrespected? That I couldn’t stand.
Congratulations, Leo. You’ve succeeded in getting on my nerves.
“What exactly do you gain from fighting me? A spot on the team?”
“I’ll restore my pride, which you shattered!”
“Never thought it might get even more shattered, huh? I see now just how little you think of me.”
I had a speck of pity for Leo. Maybe a fleck of sympathy.
Even if he got kicked off the team for political reasons, if he beat me, he’d gain back his reputation and honor.
But oh well. I’ve no intention of letting him win.
“Fine. In a duel, if one side admits defeat or drops their weapon, that ends it, right?”
“Yes! So you’re finally ready?!”
“Not really. But I figure if I don’t play along, you’ll keep being a pain.”
“Still mouthing off to the end! Pick up your weapon, Geenie Crowell. It’s time to duel!”
Says the one who only knows how to shout.
If I was going to do this, best to get it over with quickly.
“A weapon, huh… We’re doing this here?”
It was my first time dueling.
I looked around in response to Leo’s overly enthusiastic shout. It was a dining hall—spacious, but still—and now even more cramped with all the kids crowding in to watch.
When did this become a full-on spectacle?
Apparently interpreting my hesitation as a cue, people started clearing tables and chairs out of the way.
Before long, only Leo and I were left standing in the center of the now-empty dining hall.
People in this world really loved watching fights, huh? Maybe it was just part of daily life here.
“Alright, now nothing’s in the way! Pick up your weapon!”
Drawing a weapon signaled the start of the duel.
A mage might pick up a staff, but spirit mages didn’t have anything like that.
I glanced around at the crowd that had gathered.
I saw the delegation kids with eager eyes locked on the rare spectacle, knights watching curiously, and the only ones who looked even remotely worried—Hansen and Philo.
Even they seemed to think I’d obviously lose.
If only Ms. Iritho were here—she’d say this was a pointless duel and stop it. Unfortunately, she’d gone to the Magic Tower for warp scheduling.
Maybe that was why they chose now.
Either way, no one here looked like they would stop this.
Such a cold world. If you don’t push back, this is how you get treated.
“Geenie, if you look weak, they’ll bite. Be strong.”
Suddenly, I remembered Anel’s advice.
The only woman in the Shavel Mercenary Corps—but proud and never disrespected by anyone.
Anel chose to be a protector, not someone protected.
She could live that way because she was strong.
“I’m not much for fighting… but losing really rubs me the wrong way.”
I walked slowly toward a water pitcher sitting at the side of the dining hall.
It was a large, clear glass pitcher, filled to the brim with clean water.
Heavy enough that it needed two hands to lift.
The water was so clean, it felt like a waste to use it like this.
Since it was drinking water, Leo was actually lucky. But as I stared into the water, Leo lost patience and barked at me.
“What are you doing?! I said pick up your weapon!”
“This is my weapon.”
“That’s a water pitcher, you idiot!”
“We’ll see who the idiot is soon enough.”
People didn’t know much about spirit mages. And that ignorance worked to my advantage.
“Undine.”
Through countless experiments with the Shavel Mercenary Corps, I learned one thing: I didn’t have to speak aloud to summon spirits.
If I wanted her strongly enough, Undine would appear by my side from anywhere.
Just thinking about her was enough.
I didn’t know if all spirit mages could do that, though.
“Watch closely, everyone. This is what a spirit looks like.”
The only reason I called out to Undine aloud this time was purely for showmanship.
I wanted to show them what a spirit truly was.
To people who knew nothing about spirit mages—I wanted to make it crystal clear.
[Master.]
As I smiled faintly, the water inside the pitcher I was holding surged straight up toward the ceiling.
Ignoring gravity, the water shimmered and gathered, forming the shape of a transparent mermaid.
With the sound of rippling waves, Undine soared above my head.
This was something I’d only learned recently—if there was no nearby water, Undine appeared from thin air. But if there was water, she used it as a medium to manifest.
Naturally, when water was present, the mana cost was much lower.
“Wow.”
“What is that?”
“I know! It’s a water spirit!”
A mermaid made entirely of pure water floating in midair was quite the rare sight. It was beautiful—and so mesmerizing you couldn’t look away.
Gasps and murmurs broke out all around me. Mostly from the kids.
As I stood there, smiling in satisfaction at the crowd’s reaction, Leo—clearly annoyed—suddenly charged at me with a loud yell.
“Hyaaaaah!”
Impatient little thing. Well, I had summoned a spirit, so I guess that counted as the start.
Leo raised his gauntlet, his weapon of choice, and rushed at me, while the eyes of those who disliked me glittered with excitement.
I’d learned to tell the difference between the air of peace and the air of combat. Compared to the time I fought monsters, Leo was nothing.
“Begin!”
The knight commander hastily announced the start. Shouldn’t he have paused it first or something?
Too late. Leo was already charging in.
No doubt the onlookers wanted a thrilling spectacle. But I had no intention of giving them that.
I wasn’t going to lose embarrassingly. I wasn’t planning a dramatic back-and-forth either.
I was a lazy person who prioritized efficiency, after all.
“Undine, [Unwater Breathing].” (T/N: Yep. It’s Unwater not Underwater Breathing. I think it was explained in the unrevised version or in the earlier chapters since the aim of this spell is for the person to drown in a water bubble hence Unwater Breathing.)
At my whisper, the remaining water in the pitcher shot out like a missile.
Straight toward Leo, who was charging at me.
He hesitated, but the water moved freely, wrapping tightly around his small head before he could resist.
Simple.
A round sphere of water formed around Leo’s face.
“Wh—glub!”
He tried to say something, but the words were swallowed by the water.
