Chapter 5: To Cut Off Worry
The end of the first term was approaching at Eutrea Academy, and as usual, many students were struggling with exams and reports that would determine their grades.
However, this year, unlike previous years, the atmosphere was not gloomy despite the impending exams. Instead, the campus was more lively than usual.
The reason for this was the delayed conclusion of Ranking Matches, which should have already ended. Just before the exam period, the match schedule for the final Ranking Match of the term was announced.
Although the Ranking Matches were temporarily suspended due to the academy’s policy of focusing on academics during the exam period, the campus was abuzz with talk about the upcoming match between second-year student Rourke Areas and third-year student Kay Trallus, rather than the exams.
“Hey, about the next Ranking Match…”
“Yeah, I saw it! It’s Areas vs. Trallus, right?”
“Who do you think will win?”
“Well, didn’t Trallus lose to Areas once before?”
“That was because Trallus skipped the match, so Areas won by default.”
As he overheard their names being mentioned everywhere on campus, Gareth couldn’t help but smile wryly and glance at Rourke, one of the main subjects of the conversation.
“So… what are you doing?”
“Praying.”
Gareth’s eyes fell on Rourke, who was in the cafeteria holding a cross—something he never usually carried—and praying.
“Wait, are you part of some religion?”
“No, not really.”
“Then who are you praying to…?”
“No idea.”
This guy’s really lost it, Gareth thought as he sipped his tea.
“Here, Rourke. Some herbal tea.”
“Thanks, Lily.”
Lily, who had brought the herbal tea, gently placed the cup in front of the praying Rourke. After thanking her and finishing his prayer, Rourke slowly sipped the tea.
“Ah… this hits the spot.”
“Are you okay?”
“Do I look okay?”
“No, you don’t. Sorry.”
After drinking the tea, Rourke seemed a bit calmer to Gareth.
Or maybe it was just his imagination.
“Anyway, what were you praying for?”
“For Trallus to skip the battle again.”
“Hey!”
Gareth couldn’t help but interject, but Rourke just tilted his cup nonchalantly, as if he didn’t care about the people around them.
“Come on, it’s impossible. I can’t win.”
“You’re unusually pessimistic.”
For someone ranked higher than his opponent, Rourke’s words were surprising, but given who his opponent was, Gareth could understand.
Especially since Gareth knew Rourke’s circumstances all too well.
“Hey, Gareth, fight in my place.”
“If I were chosen, I’d gladly fight. But I’m not.”
“You’re kidding, right? Are you a masochist?”
“Rude.”
As Rourke slumped over the table, begging for someone to take his place, Gareth responded with a mix of exasperation and amusement.
Kay Trallus, a spirit master rumored to be the top of their year, even surpassing Misha. Gareth had always wanted to test his skills against him.
“Rourke, don’t you want to fight?”
“Nope. What about you, Lily? Want to fight Trallus again?”
“Not at all.”
Lily’s immediate response made Rourke nod in agreement. No one would want to face someone like Trallus in a match.
“But I want to see you fight Trallus.”
“Stop it.”
“Actually, everyone’s looking forward to it.”
“Ugh, I don’t want to hear it. I know nothing.”
Caught off guard by Lily’s unexpected betrayal and Gareth’s follow-up, Rourke covered his ears as if he didn’t want to hear any more.
“Ugh… someone… help me…”
“That’s desperate.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
It seemed that the expectations and pressure from everyone around him had left Rourke emotionally unstable. He always had a heavy aura before Ranking Matches, but this time it felt even more intense.
“Ah…”
“There, there.”
“Is it really that hopeless?”
As Lily gently patted Rourke’s head, Gareth asked. Normally, Rourke would at least come up with strategies to win, but this time he wasn’t even trying.
“Of course it is! How many spirits do you think he’s contracted with? Seven! Seven! He’s a monster!!”
“Well, that’s true…”
“Cheater.”
Both Gareth and Lily nodded at Rourke’s words.
mages who contracted with multiple spirits were rare.
This was because the spirit master’s capacity, the compatibility between spirits, and the difficulty of controlling spiritual energy all increased exponentially compared to a single contract.
In some cases, multiple contracts could even weaken the spirit master, so it wasn’t always a good thing.
Most mages avoided contracting with multiple spirits, and even if they did, two or three spirits were usually the limit.
Yet, Kay Trallus was an exception, having contracted with seven spirits and using them as if it were nothing.
He was the polar opposite of Rourke, who hadn’t contracted with a single spirit.
“Can’t your contracted spirit handle it?”
“…………”
“…………”
At Lily’s innocent question, Rourke and Gareth, who knew the truth, grew serious.
There’s no such thing.
For a moment, Gareth thought he heard Rourke mutter that.
“………?”
Lily tilted her head, puzzled by their silent reactions.
“What’s wrong?”
“…………”
“…Looks like Rourke’s thirsty again.”
Without answering Lily’s question, Gareth awkwardly covered for Rourke, who silently tilted his cup and finished his tea.
“Is that so? Should I get you another one?”
“Please. I’ll pay.”
“No, I’ll pay. You helped me with training before.”
“Speaking of which, you helped Lily with her training before the Ranking Matches, right?”
At Gareth’s question, Lily nodded.
Lily’s recent Ranking Match had ended in her victory, thanks in part to Rourke’s training.
“It was good training. I learned a lot of spirit techniques.”
“Wait, wasn’t that Minotaur’s training?”
“That one’s useless. A total dud.”
“That’s harsh…”
Gareth chuckled at Lily’s blunt criticism of her own contracted spirit.
Rourke, who had watched Lily’s match, had muttered, “I don’t see any growth in Minotaur, but Lily’s definitely copying my spirit techniques. What kind of training was that?” Gareth vaguely remembered.
“That one’s all muscle, no brains. Useless.”
“You don’t have to be that harsh…”
“If only it were as smart as Gareth’s Beowulf…”
“…………”
While Gareth and Lily talked about their contracted spirits, Rourke, who had no contracted spirit, silently suffered emotional damage, slumping over the table and twitching.
“Lily, Rourke’s getting unstable again. Can you get him another cup of herbal tea?”
“Sure.”
Noticing Rourke’s condition, Gareth asked Lily to get more tea. After she left, he turned his gaze to the twitching Rourke.
“Are you okay?”
“……”
It seemed Rourke was holding back a lot, as he didn’t respond, still slumped over. What emotions were swirling in his heart now…?
“Well, well, is that the academy’s current hot topic, slumping over there?”
“Celia.”
Gareth turned at the teasing voice from behind and saw Celia Rufflair with an amused smile. Rourke still didn’t respond, but his slight body movement showed he had heard her.
“So, what’s wrong with Rourke?”
“Well, given who his opponent is, he’s feeling a bit pressured.”
“Oh, he’s more cornered than I thought.”
Celia looked surprised as she turned her gaze back to Rourke. Though, in truth, it might just be that he was weighed down by the fact that he had no contracted spirit…
“I thought he’d be complaining but still coming up with strategies as usual.”
“Doesn’t seem like it this time.”
“Well, it’s not an easy opponent.”
Kay Trallus, ranked third in their year.
When you looked at his battle record, he had a fair number of losses, but all of them were due to forfeits. In other words, he had won every Ranking Match he actually participated in, making him effectively undefeated.
There were even rumors that if he took the Ranking Matches seriously, he might be stronger than Rourke or Misha.
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
