Chapter : 96
When I grabbed Sasha’s wrist firmly and pulled him along, he gave a bitter smile.
“A little… sad, isn’t it?”
“What’s sad?”
“That Kalmia came to check on me first.”
What nonsense is he trying to say this time?
“Are you trying to say that, if Deldomosans had made such a rude request to Halrolen, you thought I would be the easiest target?”
“…….”
“Right… I guess it can’t be helped. After all, I’m just an adopted child who doesn’t reach the nobility of Halrolen… ouch!”
I kicked him squarely in the shin, and Sasha, who had been playing the tragic hero alone, doubled over.
“—That’s not it. You were the most at risk, so I came to check on you first!”
“Kalmia treats me too harshly….”
“Think about your usual behavior and words.”
“Of course, I’m glad because I know it’s only because I’m comfortable with you.”
“…….”
It was irritating that he said it out loud.
‘Anyway…’
I knew he took comfort in my strong denial whenever he did passive-aggressive self-deprecation, but I still didn’t like it.
Even if I wanted to tell him not to flaunt his lack of affection… it was a dilemma because, given his environment, it was natural and impossible to completely ignore.
Grumbling inwardly, I moved my feet faster.
Sasha laughed softly and squeezed my hand tightly.
‘Sigh…’
Even I felt reassured looking at that face, which was a bit extreme.
Ruska and Emil were both not in their quarters.
Knowing where the kids would likely be, I headed to the Colosseum first.
“Ruska is here.”
“Oh. Looks like sparring.”
The one facing him was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties.
She was Hailey, Ruska’s teacher and a rather renowned elemental mage.
I knew that Uncle Duren had gone to great lengths to bring her here.
I would have to wait until her lesson was over to talk to her, so I decided to watch the sparring match in the meantime.
Ruska, possessed by a demon named Shamos whose aura was even more vicious than before, charged toward Hailey at an inhuman speed.
She smiled coldly and effortlessly evaded his attack.
Using dark elemental magic at a speed almost like teleportation, she dodged before the eye could see.
As if predicting her movement, Ruska unleashed black flames toward her back.
Hailey moved swiftly to counter his attack.
A deep blue smoke began to rise from her hands.
‘Ah, she compressed the dark element at a low temperature.’
Altering an element’s nature is not easy.
Her skill in precisely countering each attack was genuinely impressive.
I thought the match would end quickly since Shamos’ flames alone couldn’t surpass that momentum.
But suddenly, Ruska released the possession of Shamos and quickly cast a spell.
“<Residual Darkness of Rain!>”
“……!”
At the same time, droplets of dark energy around Ruska began to surge toward Hailey as if drawn to her.
“Wow, Ruska’s instantaneous judgment….”
Sasha’s jaw dropped in admiration beside me.
I felt the same.
Ruska had anticipated that to counter Shamos’ flames, the opponent would drastically lower the temperature, and he cleverly exploited the way moisture would rapidly cling to the colder area.
The courage to momentarily release the possession despite the risk—his combat sense left me in awe.
But Hailey’s spellcasting was faster than Ruska’s maneuver.
“<I declare the world halted!>”
Just before the droplets could reach her, they froze in midair.
It looked as if time itself had stopped on a rainy day.
Hailey struck Ruska’s chest with a fist imbued with dark elemental magic.
“In a real fight, that would have been fatal.”
“……I lost.”
“No, I was planning not to use fifth-tier Dark Core magic, but you created the situation, so it’s impressive. Well done.”
Sasha and I applauded from the stands.
Ruska seemed to notice us for the first time and blushed slightly in embarrassment.
“……I know you went easy on me, Master.”
“No, really. Honestly, it was more pressure than facing most high-level mages. Did you see me lie?”
“No… thank you.”
She was right.
If Hailey hadn’t created a ‘barrier’ around herself to twist the laws of the world, Ruska’s victory would have been absolute.
Even without reaching the fifth tier, he managed to draw that level of effort from a master… Ruska was truly amazing.
“At this rate… it’s fair to say he’s on the verge of opening the fifth tier of the Dark Core.”
“Indeed.”
Though he was the biggest rival for the head family’s position, his growth genuinely made me happy.
Before being a rival, he was precious family, someone I could trust in battle.
“I’m a little envious. I’ll probably never break through that barrier.”
“Who says? You’ll become an Archmage. I saw it in the future.”
“……Haha.”
Sasha seemed to take my words as just a joking encouragement.
Knowing he would reach the seventh tier of the Dark Core before turning twenty-four, I couldn’t help but feel irritated.
‘Meanwhile, I have no idea if I can even break through fifth-tier Dark Core spells!’
Though I had boldly declared to explore all magical possibilities, who knew if I’d hit a physical limit?
Looking again at the Halrolen family, full of monsters, I felt small.
“Are you two up to something? Came here to spar?”
After finishing his lesson with Hailey, Ruska walked toward us.
“Not really. I have something to ask you.”
“Me?”
I quickly explained the rumor I had heard (through Lila, so fairly accurate).
Ruska tilted his head upon hearing it.
“I haven’t heard anything. My father didn’t mention it at breakfast either.”
“I see. If Uncle Duren didn’t react, then it’s probably nothing.”
That left one person.
If it wasn’t a collateral branch, the match proposal might have gone to Emil.
‘Not good…’
Had Emil, feeling insulted, immersed himself in forbidden research to assert his superiority magically?
Either way, it wasn’t a good situation.
“I need to ask Emil. Hopefully it’s just a rumor… Do you know where he is? He’s not in his quarters.”
“I haven’t heard him say he went out. Probably at the Central Library.”
“Let’s go!”
Ruska naturally took my empty hand on the other side and nodded.
Walking, sandwiched between Sasha and Ruska, I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.
‘I’m grown up now; I don’t really need to hold hands like this anymore.’
It was proof of how close I had become to the kids.
Feeling a warm, tingling comfort, I moved forward while suppressing my worry about Emil’s situation.
“Oh? A group stroll?”
At the Central Library, we ran into Emil in the corridor, holding several books under his arm.
“Emil!”
I let go and ran over, grabbing his arms tightly.
Then I scrutinized his face from every angle.
“……What are you doing?”
“Just worried about you.”
“Worried?”
“Actually….”
I briefly told him about the rumor I had heard and my concern that he might have faced unpleasantness if he had been considered for a marriage match.
Blinking, Emil smiled softly.
“You worried about that?”
“Of course! It’s insulting!”
Relieved by Emil’s usual calm demeanor, I carefully asked,
“It was just a rumor, right…? They didn’t propose marriage to you?”
“Hmm……”
Emil tilted his head with a slightly awkward expression.
“It’s true that I received a marriage proposal.”
“What?”
Not just me, but Ruska and Sasha behind me also looked startled.
My chest felt like it was burning as I shook his arm.
“Good heavens… You refused immediately, right? Should I protest too? What kind of rude person does that!”
“It’s okay, Kalmia.”
“Okay…?”
“I thought I might as well meet the match formally.”
Emil spoke calmly, his expression unnaturally serene.
