“What do you think about this match?”
“Well, I’m genuinely looking forward to it. I’ve heard that this time, Trallus seems more motivated than before.”
“Huh, that’s rare.”
As Celia spoke, Gareth glanced at Rourke, who was still slumped over. The atmosphere around him felt even heavier now.
“Second and third in the year. It’s going to be as exciting as a match with Lady Misha.”
“It already is. Rumor has it there’s even a betting pool on who’ll win.”
“That’s… something.”
Gareth smiled wryly at the level of excitement. It didn’t feel like the exam period at all.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Hard to say.”
“For the record, I think it’ll be Trallus.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because Rourke probably won’t go all out this time either. He’ll definitely hide his contracted spirit.”
Gareth nodded, thinking, He doesn’t have one, though.
“If Rourke used his contracted spirit, the outcome would be hard to predict, but if he doesn’t, Trallus’s victory is pretty much guaranteed. That’s my opinion. Most people are focusing on whether Rourke will use his contracted spirit or not.”
In other words, the general consensus was that Rourke’s defeat was almost certain. And, of course, it was.
“I’ll vote for Rourke, I guess.”
“Is that a vote for a friend? Or are you voting for him to summon a contract spirit?”
“No, neither.”
Glancing at Rourke, Lily, who had brought a refill of herbal tea, was shaking Rourke’s body.
“It’s just a hunch.”
“My, that’s quite an uncharacteristic reason for you—no basis at all.”
“True, maybe so. But don’t you think it’s interesting?”
“What is?”
Gareth smiled at Celia, who tilted her head in confusion.
“If Rourke beats Trallus without summoning a contract spirit.”
“……”
Celia looked surprised at his words, but the next moment, she laughed just as cheerfully as Gareth.
“True. If he can win like that, I’d love to see it. It might even be useful for my strategies.”
“Right?”
As the two laughed, Rourke, who had been slumped over the table, suddenly sat up, took the second cup of herbal tea Lily had brought, and downed it in one go.
“Whoa, nice drinking.”
“Phew. Thanks, Lily.”
Patting Lily’s head with a thumbs-up, Rourke slowly stood up. Noticing this, Celia called out to him.
“Rourke. Good morning.”
“Yeah, good morning.”
Rourke’s greeting to Celia was brief as he picked up the empty cup and headed toward the return counter.
“Gareth, I’m skipping the next lecture, so cover for me.”
“Huh? Isn’t the next one a test?”
“It’s fine. One credit won’t hurt.”
Gareth was shocked. Rourke, who would never normally throw away credits, was skipping a test…… As he watched Rourke’s back, Rourke turned around as if he’d forgotten something.
“Celia.”
“What?”
“I don’t know where it’s happening, but about that bet we were talking about earlier, I’ll give you this month’s part-time earnings later. Bet it on me.”
With those final words, Rourke returned the empty cup and left the cafeteria.
“Rourke’s really fired up, huh?”
“……Yeah.”
What kind of change of heart had he gone through?
And was it really okay for a struggling student to bet an entire month’s earnings?
“……Should I bet on Rourke too?”
Celia muttered half in disbelief as she watched him leave.
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“So, what do you think I should do?”
“Don’t ask me……”
Having impulsively bet his living expenses, Rourke was now in a position where he couldn’t back out. Alongside his training and exams, he sought the wisdom of his senior, Owen.
But contrary to Rourke’s expectations, Owen looked somewhat annoyed and brushed him off.
“Don’t say that. Help me think of something……”
“Nah, this time the opponent’s just too strong.”
“Is he really that strong? This Trallus guy?”
As Jack, the pumpkin-headed spirit, clattered with a metallic sound and brought tea, Owen nodded, recalling Rourke’s opponent.
“Kay Trallus. A prodigy born into a family of musicians but blessed with natural talent as a spirit master. In terms of talent alone, he’s far above me.”
“Oof, sounds like you’re doomed, Rourke.”
“Can you not crush my motivation when I’m trying to get pumped up?”
Rourke frowned at Jack, who laughed at his predicament.
“If your motivation’s this fragile, you’re not gonna win anyway~.”
“Ugh.”
His words were annoying, but they were true.
As a spirit master, Rourke had no advantage over Trallus. At the very least, he needed to maintain his determination……
“Hey, don’t provoke him.”
Owen lightly tapped Jack’s pumpkin head with his fist and turned his gaze to his disciple.
“But realistically, winning head-on is nearly impossible. That said, even underhanded tactics would be tough against him.”
“I know that.”
Against someone like Ophelia, there might still be a chance, but against Trallus, any tricks Rourke could muster would likely be overpowered. At the same time, to beat someone of that caliber, Rourke needed to do something completely unexpected.
He was completely stuck in a dilemma.
“Master, what do you think my chances of winning are?”
“About ten percent. Maybe twenty at best, if I’m being generous.”
“Twenty, even with your bias……”
It was a hopeless match.
The last time he felt this hopeless was before his match with Misha.
“That’s a fair assessment, considering your circumstances.”
“……Yeah, I guess.”
For someone who knew Rourke didn’t have a contract spirit, a ten percent chance was generous—almost miraculous.
“It’s true you have more than double the spiritual power of most spirit masters. Plus, your swordsmanship and spirit techniques are strong enough to rival high-level spirits.”
Normally, any other spirit master trying to fight like Rourke would run out of spiritual power and collapse immediately. The fact that Rourke could pull it off, even barely, was thanks to his exceptional spiritual power and physical abilities.
That was indeed something to marvel at.
“But that’s not enough to beat him. You know that, right, Rourke?”
“…………”
He was right. Rourke understood it even without his master saying it.
As he was now, he couldn’t win.
“But if you’re serious about winning…… you’ll need to go beyond his expectations. In other words, you’ll have to steel yourself.”
“……Tch.”
Owen poked Rourke’s chest with a finger, and Rourke couldn’t help but grimace.
What a frustrating person.
He was pointing out the option Rourke had been unconsciously avoiding.
“……You’re saying I should use it?”
“I won’t force you or recommend it. It’ll be tough, after all. This is your fight. Do as you like.”
Owen grinned mischievously as he said this, then drank the tea Jack had brought.
“……I’ll think about it alone.”
“That’s for the best. This decision could greatly affect your future. Think carefully.”
“…………”
With Owen’s advice, Rourke left the room.
“Sigh……”
Feeling like he’d wasted time without reaching any conclusion, Rourke let out a deep sigh.
To reset his mood, he decided to take a walk to the market.
But his mind kept drifting back to the upcoming match. Even now, he was browsing the spirit stone section, looking for something that might help in tomorrow’s match. Of course, high-level spirit stones were far too expensive for a struggling student like Rourke, and low-level spirits wouldn’t be of much use no matter how many he gathered.
“……Oh, this.”
But today, he found something rare. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t out of reach either. Rourke quickly grabbed the spirit stone before anyone else could and bought it.
“Alright……”
Feeling slightly better after the purchase, Rourke decided to head to the bookstore to browse some spirit technique manuals and spirit encyclopedias.
“Oops, sorry.”
“No, my fault.”
Distracted, Rourke bumped into a man coming from the opposite direction.
As always, the main street was bustling like a festival, no matter if it was a weekday or weekend.
“…………Huh?”
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