“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
In the empty waiting room, I lay on the long bench, venting my fatigue.
Both my stamina and fighting spirit were at their limits.
I felt completely drained, with nothing left.
I hadn’t used much energy in the preliminary rounds or the first match of the main event, but I had nearly exhausted myself in the finals.
Thinking back, the genius lady was truly extraordinary.
Her available attributes and number of spells.
Her reaction speed, magic control, and mana output were all on a different level compared to other magicians.
Thanks to my secret strategy,(Boundary Break), I managed to win, but if the genius lady had regained her composure even slightly faster, I would have lost.
That said, a win is a win.
I had no intention of saying I won the match but lost the battle.
“Phew…”
I pushed myself up and took a deep breath.
The award ceremony was coming up.
I thought I still had some time, but I needed to recover my stamina enough to walk properly.
I swung my legs, letting them dangle above the ground.
As I zoned out for a while, I suddenly heard footsteps approaching.
The footsteps grew closer and stopped right in front of the waiting room door.
I thought it might be a staff member from the magic tournament, but the footsteps were too quiet.
They sounded more like a child’s, and just as I was pondering this, the door opened.
“Oh…”
The one who walked in was the genius lady I had just fought.
With her usual sour expression, she stomped in and plopped down on the long bench across from me.
“……”
The genius lady didn’t say anything and just sat there silently.
I had expected her to throw some insults, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“What do you want with me?” I asked in a weary voice, and she turned her face, which had been looking away, toward me.
“…About that thing.”
“Huh?”
“…I wanted you to tell me about that night… but since I lost, it’s impossible, right?”
She murmured, sounding disappointed.
“That night…?” What could she be referring to?
As I tilted my head in confusion, the genius lady stared at me with a shocked expression.
“You’re not saying you don’t remember, are you…?”
Slowly standing up, she walked closer to me.
“What do you… no, that’s not—”
She grasped my jaw firmly with her hand, leaning in to peer into my eyes.
Her expression was terrifying despite being emotionless.
“Lady… no, Arcelia? Your face is a bit scary—”
“Shut up.”
“Yes…”
The grip on my jaw tightened.
I could have easily shrugged her off, but for some reason, I couldn’t.
There was a compelling force that left no room for argument.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Why are you so confident even though you can’t use magic? You said you’d tell me if I won, so I trained even harder. Every single day, day after day.”
“Ah…”
She paused for a moment, then got even closer.
“And yet you don’t remember…? What does that even mean…? Answer me…”
I could feel her breath on my face.
At the same time, a sweet scent filled my nostrils, but… I couldn’t focus on that now.
I had to find a way to explain myself.
“First of all… calm down.”
“I am calm. Now, answer me.”
“It’s not that I forgot… I just couldn’t recall it on the spot.”
“Isn’t that the same as forgetting?”
“Ugh…”
Her grip tightened even more.
With one hand pinning me against the wall, I had nowhere to escape.
I had to think faster than ever, feeling the pressure, and finally spoke up.
“—Let’s make a deal.”
The genius lady froze at my words.
“If you forgive me, I’ll give you the right to command me just once.”
“Oh?”
I regretted saying it the moment it left my mouth.
There was nothing else I could offer, but I realized I had said something irreversible.
The genius lady in front of me was wearing a meaningful smile.
It was probably something sinister.
“…Alright. I’ll forgive you.”
“…Thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“Thank you very much…”
“That’s right.”
She nodded, still smiling, and released my jaw.
By the way, that smile was anything but pure.
It was a poisonous smile.
What is wrong with this person? I thought.
I should be over thirty if you count my past life and this one… yet I felt no match for her.
“Tsk…”
“Did you just click your tongue?”
“Nah? No way I’d do that. You’re joking, right, genius lady?”
“Good. I’m glad. By the way, stop calling me ‘genius lady.'”
“Eh…?”
“I’ll kill you.”
“Of course, I’ll stop, Arcelia.”
That was close.
What a dangerous woman.
She may look like a stunning beauty, but inside, she was like a poisonous insect.
Speaking of which…
“Is your personality too different now…?”
“Is that so?”
Arcelia tilted her head at my question.
“You used to have no emotions at all, right? You were like a doll, and now look at you.”
I understood that she had changed during the match or had reclaimed her true self, but still, this was an extreme transformation.
“It’s not strange at all.”
Arcelia leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs.
In that moment, she looked like an ordinary girl of her age.
“I was always this way. It’s just that I was held down by that pig and those goblins…”
“Was that how you were?”
“Yes.”
The “pig and goblins” referred to her father and siblings, I assumed.
It seemed overly derogatory, but they must have been terrible people.
“You changed me.”
“…”
“You, you changed me.”
“Alright, alright. I get it, so stop leaning in so close.”
I pushed her cheek away.
“Oh? Are you shy about my beautiful face?”
“No way. I’m scared of you. And you have way too much confidence in your looks…”
I couldn’t help but think again.
Is this really Arcelia?
“Too much confidence? I’m beautiful, aren’t I?”
“…Well…”
“I’m beautiful, right?”
“Stop leaning in. I got it. Yes, yes, you’re beautiful.”
“Hehe.”
She laughed triumphantly.
Having had little interaction with women in my past life, I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
Even if I had, she was too unique to comprehend…
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing? Just trying to figure out how to deal with a poisonous insect.”
“Hmm? Poisonous insects can be cute if you look closely.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Really? I quite like them. They can definitely kill their opponents.”
“…”
Okay, I should stop saying unnecessary things.
Besides… it was probably time for the award ceremony.
I couldn’t be late, so I better head over.
I definitely wasn’t trying to escape.
It was purely out of a sincere desire not to be late.
“Alright, let’s go to the award ceremony.”
“Oh? Are you running away?”
“What are you talking about, Arcelia? I’m serious here. I just don’t want to be late.”
Without waiting for Arcelia’s response, I stepped out into the hallway.
The feelings I had right now were… quite complicated.
