Youngest 092
by CristaeEpisode 92
The next day was the swordsmanship tournament.
On my way to the arena, I paused.
Void, who should have been waiting in the preparation room, was racing towards me from afar.
“Ruuuuby! I won!”
Void was jumping up and down with a wooden sword in hand. My head tilted in confusion.
“But it hasn’t even started yet? How did you win?”
“Everyone forfeited?”
“What? Why?”
“Dunno. They all got a stomachache or something.”
Void shrugged, proudly showing off the badge pinned to his chest.
What’s this? Did everyone eat something bad yesterday?
While I stood there puzzled, I heard the whispers of kids passing by.
“They expect us to fight Void Zevert with swords? If you hit him wrong by accident, life at the academy would get really tough.”
“Not that we could beat him with a sword anyway.”
“Yeah. Let’s just avoid trouble where we can. Oh no, he saw me.”
“……”
The boys hastily averted their gazes.
‘It feels more like they’re avoiding him because he’s dirty, not because they’re scared of him…’
Letting out a deep sigh, I watched Void gleefully swing his wooden sword.
“Hey, were you the dirty one?”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing…”
Suddenly Olivia popped into my mind, brandishing her demerit notebook. I put my hands on my hips and asked,
“Hey, how many demerit points do you have right now?”
“Why would you wanna know that?”
Grumbling, Void traced numbers on the ground with his wooden sword.
“Minus twenty? That’s better than I thought…”
Scratch, scratch. Suddenly, the number of zeroes multiplied endlessly.
Void vanished, leaving only an afterimage in his wake, running into the distance.
“Just how far are you planning to go?!”
What is he even doing at the academy anyway?
The long-awaited final day.
“Heh, heh.”
I warmed up diligently.
The entrance to the small maze garden stood before me.
Not many people had gathered to watch. Unlike the previous matches held in open spaces, there wasn’t much to see in a maze challenge.
“Rubian!”
As I stretched my ankles in circles, a familiar voice called out.
“Oh, Licht?”
I looked toward Licht as he drew closer, drawing all eyes to us.
Dressed comfortably, he beamed at me. I barely saw him during the tournament and assumed he’d left, but I never expected to run into him here.
“Are you feeling better? You’re still wearing your mask, so you must not be over your cold yet.”
Actually, my cough had stopped, but I just kept wearing the mask.
The way people kept sneaking glances at me was a little burdensome, and besides…
‘You never know what could happen.’
I smiled calmly and replied to Licht.
“Yeah! I just feel a bit shy about showing my face all of a sudden… But I didn’t know you were competing too!”
“It’s my first time entering. I’ve always been curious, though.”
His smile sparkled.
“So you’re starting at entrance number two, huh.”
“Yeah. What about you?”
“I’m number three. Right next to you.”
Licht offered his hand, grinning.
“Let’s have fun! And… don’t forget we promised to talk after the competition.”
“Huh?”
Oh, right. We did.
“Sure, sure!”
As I grabbed Licht’s hand and shook it up and down, he grinned even more brightly. But the handshake was going on a bit long.
“Um, how long are we doing this?”
I blinked, and he hurriedly let go.
“Oh, sorry. Got a little distracted.”
“By what?”
“Behind you… That is—”
Ah.
“Your family…?”
Feigning indifference, I started warming up again.
Of course. I’d been doing my best to ignore their thunderously loud cheering from earlier.
“Rubian! Our youngest! You can do it!”
Flags waved and fluttered.
“Sniff, the little one who once toddled around the yard is already all grown up and standing proud.”
“Father, you’re getting sentimental.”
“Rosetta, you too… “
“Children really do grow so fast.”
My tearful grandfather, my mother consoling him…
“Your Excellency, if Rubian hasn’t come out after a minute, please authorize a search party.”
Leon-senpai looking anxious.
“Permission granted.”
My father, pale and composed, nodding gravely.
This is a maze challenge, not a voyage to the ends of the earth!
‘Anyone watching would think I’m about to embark on some epic journey!’
I kept doing warm-ups. Now I perfectly understood why Khalid always hid behind people.
Please, let this start soon before I die of embarrassment…
Licht, standing by my side, burst out laughing.
“I never knew the Zevert family could be this lively. Is it because of you?”
“I must be the muddy fish polluting the clear water…”
Am I not a rolling stone, but rather a loach sullying a transparent stream…?
Sorry, ancestors of the Zevert family, up above.
“Ah. Rubian, we should head to the starting line.”
“Oh, right.”
“This way.”
Just as I instinctively reached for his outstretched hand, a sudden gust of wind blew past.
“Ouch. What bird was that?”
A lark darted out and pecked at Licht’s pale, slender hand. Licht grimaced and shook his hand off.
Puzzled, I looked around, and suddenly my earlobe grew hot.
[ Hand. ]
‘Khalid?’
[ Wave goodbye. ]
Looking over, I saw Khalid standing a short distance away, arms folded.
A wave?
‘Uhh… I’ll be back in a bit.’
I waved and Khalid briefly returned the gesture.
But why did he look so displeased?
I pondered, but couldn’t figure it out.
“Everyone, please take your places at your respective entrances. Only one exit! Best of luck! Now, on your marks…”
I clenched my fist.
“Go!”
Bang! The celebratory cannon fired.
The man bowed politely.
“I greet Your Majesty the Emperor. May the goddess’s blessing be upon you.”
The emperor quietly clicked his tongue.
‘Blessing, my foot. As if you weren’t waiting for this moment to barge in.’
The northern portal from the south was a little farther down than Ipson.
I thought it would take a few more days, but they raced from there and arrived in an instant.
It made clear just how desperate the kingdom was getting.
The mage’s face was mostly hidden under priest’s robes.
Red hair and brown eyes—that was all that set him apart.
‘Mages…’
Thinking how unknowable these people were, the emperor waved his hand.
“Rise.”
In the vast hall, the mage looked up at the emperor seated on the throne.
“So, what’s your point? To suddenly halt the supply of mages’ tools is a breach of the accord.”
“The supply will resume. If you’ll just allow us to search this place.”
“That sounds as if you think the person you’re looking for is here.”
The kingdom’s mage neither confirmed nor denied it. The emperor gave a dry laugh.
“If a fugitive mage really was here, the local mage would have noticed first. Why waste time chasing shadows? Best to go home.”
“Local mage…?”
The man’s gaze shifted to Asha Drukan, who stood beside him nervously picking at her fingertips.
She flinched in fear.
“I hardly expect much from the kingdom’s cast-offs.”
A chilly glance settled on her, then drifted away.
Apparently, local mages were not esteemed here or elsewhere.
“So grant me the authority to search. I promise, I’ll be quick and depart at once.”
The emperor let out a long sigh.
“…You can have permission once the festival’s over. We won’t let you spoil a rare good atmosphere.”
The mage lifted his head. A sly smile curled beneath his collar.
“Of course.”
Once again, he bowed with perfect form.
“All I ask for is a moment of your time, Your Most Esteemed Majesty.”
The emperor restrained his urge to spit back a retort. Esteemed, indeed.
Just then, the mage raised his head and smiled softly.
“Then I’ll quietly enjoy the festival until it ends. Surely you’ll permit at least that?”
There was no real excuse to forbid the mage from moving about. He wasn’t a criminal; he couldn’t be detained.
He reminded himself that the supply of tools from the southern mine was at stake, and pinched his brow.
“…Just make sure you don’t make it obvious you’re a mage. We can’t have people getting agitated.”
Slender eyes curved gently.
“Naturally.”