SFMC 29

SFMC

Chapter 29. Ridipin Lightzers

As night deepened, the welcome party finally came to an end, and everyone began returning to the dormitories.

Ban, Reina, and Ridipin were also supposed to head back together. However, feeling reluctant to part ways just yet, they decided to take a long detour.

As a result, no one was around them. It felt slightly eerie, but thanks to the streetlights, the atmosphere was actually rather charming.

As they walked slowly, Reina let out a sigh.

“Did I really do something wrong?”

“I told you, no. At most, they’ll just ask you about what happened.”

“But still… was it necessary to summon me all the way to the headmaster’s office…?”

Ban thought that the headmaster, Castro, had simply called her there because he was too lazy to come himself—but he didn’t say it out loud.

She wouldn’t believe him anyway.

After all, who would believe that a war hero, and the headmaster of the empire’s greatest academy, would be lazy?

“Don’t worry too much. If it really comes to it, I’ll try to persuade the headmaster.”

“Ah, right. You’re from the same Astrea family.”

“He’s my uncle.”

At that, Reina seemed a little relieved and smiled.

“Yeah. I mean, even if I get scolded, they wouldn’t go as far as expelling me, right?”

“Gasp. Was it that serious? If you’re really facing expulsion, even I can’t help you.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that! Do I look like someone who’d cause that kind of trouble?!”

Ban stroked his chin and pretended to think seriously.

“Don’t pretend to think about it!”

“Ah, sorry. Sorry.”

As always, Ban teased Reina, and Reina got mad at Ban. Watching the two bicker, Ridipin giggled softly.

Then Reina suddenly turned to Ridipin.

“By the way, Ridipin. I was debating whether to ask earlier… but can I ask you something now?”

“Y-yes, go ahead.”

“You said before you couldn’t use a bow because of trauma. So… have you overcome that now?”

“W-well… I don’t think I’ve fully overcome it yet.”

She still lacked confidence in herself. That’s why there was still hesitation whenever she picked up a bow.

To Reina, Ridipin looked quite pitiful.

“Then… would you mind telling me what the trauma was? Only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

Reina asked because she wanted to help—but she didn’t really expect an answer.

Trauma wasn’t something easily shared with just anyone.

But Ridipin mustered her courage.

“A-actually, I’d prefer if you listened. It… it might be a bit of a long story though…”

Reina’s face brightened with joy.

“Of course! Right, Ban?”

Just then, a message popped up in front of Ban.

[Character Event – Ridipin Lightzers 1 has begun.]

Character events appeared whenever the bond level rose by 20%.

Each event varied per character, but they all shared a common trait—they revealed a character’s past or true feelings.

Like Ridipin’s first event, some didn’t give items or skills, but they increased the bond level instead.

Ban closed the system window casually and said,

“It’s better if you tell us. That way, we’ll know how to help.”

“……Okay!”

Ridipin took a deep breath and slowly began to speak.

“T-to be honest, I was never good with swords.”

A rare case—being a direct descendant of a swordsmanship family, yet unable to wield a sword.

“I-I believed that if I kept trying, I’d eventually get better.”

She watched the genius she trained alongside and believed she could do the same.

“B-but eventually, I had to face the cold reality.”

Her sword skills didn’t improve even after two years. It was a disheartening, undeniable result.

“M-my father told me to give up the sword.”

As the head of the family, he ordered her to abandon the path of a knight and live as a noble lady instead.

Objectively, it was a considerate choice—but to Ridipin, it felt like rejection.

“I-I hated that so much. I shut myself in my room for a while… and then someone came to me.”

Now a lazy and pitiful man, but once a genius who surpassed expectations—Lestar had approached her.

“He said, ‘If you can’t use a sword, why not learn something else instead?’”

That’s how she started archery—entirely because of Lestar.

“A-and surprisingly, I was really talented at it.”

Remembering the joy of discovering her hidden gift, Ridipin smiled slowly.

“My skills improved day by day, and even the family recognized me. I completely forgot about swordsmanship. It was such a happy time.”

She poured four years into archery.

In that time, she reached the same level as Lestar.

“A-and then… I ended up dueling the one who introduced me to archery.”

Before Lestar left for the northern training camp.

Ostensibly, it was just a final duel before they parted—but she secretly wanted to prove herself.

She wanted to beat Lestar and proudly claim the position of next head.

But was it arrogance?

“B-but during the duel… I almost killed him…”

In the heat of battle, Ridipin subconsciously infused her arrow with aura—something she hadn’t done before.

The attack turned into a lethal blow.

The scene of blood gushing and torn muscles flashed before her eyes as she spoke, and Ridipin squeezed her eyes shut.

Still, even if Lestar was a genius, he belonged to a branch family. As a direct heir, Ridipin was barely reprimanded. Even if she had killed him, the outcome wouldn’t have changed much.

Everyone covered up the incident like it never happened—but Ridipin couldn’t escape it.

“S-since then… I haven’t been able to use a bow. E-even just holding it makes me remember… I-I’m terrified someone will get hurt…”

Even as Lestar smiled and said he was fine, his trembling made her feel too guilty to even think of the word ‘overcome.’

So she shut herself in her room again.

“B-but even though I stopped… the world didn’t. It kept moving—so fast…”

In the three years she was shut away, the Lightzers family changed drastically.

All other factions except the knights revealed that the Serenia family had colluded with demons, and the Lightzers led their extermination.

This led to a massive purge. With the knights left vacant, Lestar’s mother became the new commander.

With the influence gained from this, the branch family tried to install Lestar as the next head—but the boy suddenly fell into a life of debauchery.

Maybe it was because their rising star had gone astray—or perhaps it had always been the plan—but Lestar’s parents slowly replaced everyone around Ridipin with their own people.

“W-while I was turning a blind eye to the world… everyone around me disappeared. I was suddenly isolated in my own family.”

No one protested as Lestar’s parents pushed Ridipin aside.

Not the elders, retainers, knights—not even her own father.

Ridipin, now alone, lost her once-cheerful personality.

“I-I finally felt the crisis and tried to change things by picking up the sword again… but just growing older doesn’t improve your skills.”

She trained every day, pushed herself to the limit, but nothing changed.

Not even the way people looked at her.

“W-when I trained with the sword, people mocked me behind my back. That’s when I realized… I really was hopeless.”

Now with no one to rely on, Ridipin even began to stutter.

“I-I didn’t know what to do, so I went to Father…

He told me: ‘The world moves according to man’s will. If you want to achieve something, you must alter the flow yourself. Don’t expect others to bend the stream to your desires.’

I-it was irresponsible, but I understood what he meant.”

Don’t rely on others. Stand on your own. Ridipin accepted that.

She never expected help from her father, who had ignored her all this time.

She just wanted direction.

“S-so I picked up the bow again. If you take away swordsmanship and the family name, archery was all I had left.”

She could’ve tried a different weapon—but she chose the bow again.

Because she wanted to return to that time.

When everyone believed in her. When she felt she could do anything.

If she could use the bow again, she believed she could fix everything.

Regain her lost place in the family, bring back the people who left her side, and straighten out the benefactor who had gone astray.

“B-but I couldn’t even hit the target properly, let alone duel. And time passed… and now I’m here.”

A misfit who couldn’t master either the sword or the bow.

Staring into the void, Ridipin slowly closed her eyes.

“E-even after entering the academy… I couldn’t do anything. I thought it was all over…”

Then she smiled faintly as she looked at Ban and Reina.

“But then… I met you two.”

Ridipin admired them.

Reina, who had become top student despite losing her noble status.

Ban, who acted freely and overwhelmed others with sheer will, no matter how strong the opponent.

But at the same time, she believed she could never be like them—and so, never dared to approach.

But they had approached her.

“It was a reckless, thoughtless, shocking first meeting…”

Their first group tactics class. When no one else came near her—Ban, whom she admired, sought her out.

When she stumbled in surprise, Reina, whom she idolized, offered a hand.

– “I like her!”
– “You, join our team.”

Ban awkwardly coughed.

“Looking back… yeah, that was pretty sudden.”

“But now… I’m grateful to you both.”

“I’m glad. Haha…”

Reina laughed awkwardly, while Ridipin spoke in a singsong, cheerful voice.

“I really liked what you said—‘Ridipin Lightzers, we want you to be with us!’ I think that’s why I joined your group.”

The fact that they knew she used a bow was interesting—but what really moved her heart was the first time anyone had ever said they wanted her.

“We set records in training, practiced together, made plans, defeated second-year seniors, faced assassins, almost died… and for the first time in ages… I used archery again…”

She still hadn’t fully escaped her trauma—but she’d become aware of her own fear and feelings.

That alone was huge progress.

Sailing a vast ocean with a broken compass—now, finally, the compass was working.

She was still lost at sea, but at least now she knew which direction to head.

“Especially the things Ban said—they helped me use a bow again. So when Ban said he’d form a faction, I wanted to join it.”

Then Ridipin hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but switched topics instead.

“S-so even though I haven’t overcome my trauma yet… I feel like if I stay with you two, one day I will.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Let’s keep working together, Ridipin!”

“Y-yes! I’ll do my best!”

Just then, fireworks erupted from the central plaza.

Bang! Pop-pop!

The three of them silently looked up at the colorful bursts filling the sky.

Ridipin thought of the words she had stopped herself from saying earlier:

‘I still don’t believe in myself. But Ban… is reliable. And wherever Ban is—that’s where I want to be.’

It felt almost like a confession, so she didn’t say it aloud.

She did have feelings for him, but not enough to be sure.

And if she confessed and got coldly rejected, she might not be able to stay with them as she did now. That what if scared her.

‘Still… one day.’

She couldn’t stay still forever.

The world changes fast—like a blizzard. If she hesitated too long, she might never get to express her feelings.

The same went for everything else.

If she didn’t regain her reputation soon, she wouldn’t be able to call back those who left. She had to find out why Lestar had changed, before it was too late.

But just now—she had overcome half a trauma she thought impossible to beat.

She was too tired to act right away.