Chapter 116: Our Turn

“Are you even listening to me? I told you, this isn’t something to celebrate!”

As Liolikin returned, Nidhr, who had been pushed aside, poured cold water on the warm atmosphere.

As if he didn’t like that the attention had been stolen from him.

“Th-That’s mean! N-No matter how upset you are about being knocked down by me…! R-Ruining someone else’s celebration party is something you shouldn’t do…!”

“Ruining? I think you’re just misunderstanding the seriousness of the situation. I’m only stating the facts.”

“W-What’s so serious about it?”

Liolikin’s face showed not anxiety, but displeasure as he asked.

It was a clear sign he didn’t believe Nidhr at all.

“Now you can never become a knight. Every time you go into battle, you’ll be consumed by madness, unable to tell friend from foe, and run wild.”

“W-Why would I be unable to tell friend from foe?”

“If you remember what happened when you lost control, you’d know better than anyone. You lose your senses, get swept up in a desire to destroy everything you see around you. Do you really think you could distinguish friend from foe?”

“D-Destruction…? I-I didn’t want to do anything like that… I-I’d get scolded for breaking something I shouldn’t…”

“……?”

There was a hint of confusion in Nidhr’s gaze as he looked at Liolikin, who he had just been staring at with disdain.

On the other hand, I felt my doubts were being resolved. I’d been wondering what exactly Reysir had seen with [Truth-Reading Eye].

Apparently, Liolikin’s [Berserk] state is different from the usual; he can actually distinguish between friend and foe.

“Explain in detail. What were you thinking when you charged at me?”

“Uh, uh…? I just… I wanted to defeat you and get praised by Karvald Austri-nim. And, if possible, I think I was also hoping to win… Then Karvald Austri-nim would care about me more…”

“You recognized your target that clearly?!”

“Is that… is that a problem?”

“No, not at all. In fact, that’s one problem solved.”

Nidhr stroked his chin, staring intently at Liolikin.

His gaze was like an appraiser examining the value of an object.

At that moment, Reysir stepped in, putting an end to the concern over Liolikin’s [Berserk] state.

“In that case, if he only receives an order to defend, maybe the frenzy doesn’t occur at all? If he enters a berserk state, defending would be impossible, which would mean disobeying orders.”

It sounded like a hypothesis, but he was likely speaking based on what he’d seen with [Truth-Reading Eye].

Even Nidhr, who didn’t know that, seemed convinced by Reysir’s argument as his eyes changed when he looked at Liolikin.

As if he’d found a rare accessory that everyone would admire just for possessing it.

“Usually, a reliable shield, but when his master gives the order to attack, he turns into a berserker that only charges at the designated target…!”

Listening to Nidhr’s muttering, I could only feel uneasy.

He seemed to be imagining himself as Liolikin’s master in the future, commanding him.

But the one Liolikin currently recognizes as his commander is…

“Ka-Karvald Austri-nim. D-Did you hear that? It seems I’ve become s-someone special.”

It’s obviously me. There’s not even room for doubt.

I felt relieved that he was following me, not the original protagonist, and lowered my guard regarding Liolikin—

Only for something like this to happen?

I immediately raised my guard back to its original level.

But even then, the situation didn’t change.

‘At this rate, am I going to end up competing with the original villain for the position of Liolikin’s master…?’

If I could, I’d hand over that position to someone else. I don’t want it at all.

But that’s not likely possible.

The biggest problem is…

‘Who on earth would I give him to?’

In the original, Liolikin awakened at the same time as Karvald Austri.

If I handed him over to Nidhr, he’d spend his Academy days bullied as a means to vent Nidhr’s inferiority complex, and end up being killed.

And I can’t hand him over to the protagonist, Reysir, either.

If I do, by the cruel rules of this twisted novel, I’d just end up dead.

‘This is really a mess…!

If I’d known he’d draw the villain’s eye like this, I never would have had Vigdis and Liolikin participate in the tournament.

It’s far too late for regrets.

And now, I don’t even have the leisure to ponder at ease.

“Karvald Austri, it’s our turn now.”

As I let out a deep sigh, Reysir tapped my arm and spoke.

Right, for now, the most important thing is to focus on the upcoming match.

‘Besides, in the original, Nidhr only started seriously killing Awakened after graduation, right? There’s plenty of time left until then……!’

I forcefully pushed all the anxiety and worry crowding my mind into a corner.

I folded my coat neatly and stood up with Reysir.

Just then…

“Ka-Karvald Austri-nim, please take care of yourself.”

Liolikin said this to Reysir.

‘How am I supposed to interpret that?’

While I was left speechless, Reysir very naturally replied, telling him not to worry.

“Meow-meow, meow~!”

While I stood dumbfounded, Yor chirped out a cute encouragement as if to cheer me up.

Looks like he’s not going to bring out his whiteboard.

‘There must be quite a few students who’ve seen Yor writing, so the rumors should have spread by now……!

But phantom beasts can’t just be handed over or taken away.

So unless Yor himself brings out his whiteboard and starts writing, Nidhr won’t bother to approach him to check the truth of the rumors.

He’ll be more efficient trying to win over the ‘berserker who moves on command’ anyway.

I push down my mounting anxiety once again and start walking toward the stage.

Reysir hurriedly catches up and suddenly says,

“About that Nidhr guy, his behavior is unpleasant, but he doesn’t seem dangerous, does he?”

Well, of course not. He hasn’t turned evil yet.

If only he’d commit some wrongdoing now, I could ask Reysir, the protagonist, to deal with him somehow.

But Nidhr is still putting on a friendly front, so all I can do is be careful not to draw his hostility.

Truly a pain.

“After what happened with Tridric, you’re still this relaxed? Don’t let your guard down. Feeling disgusted is itself your instincts warning you of danger.”

“Wow, you must have really had it rough with bad people, huh? You seem so sensitive to danger signs…”

“…!”

Even though I knew Reysir meant, ‘You must have had a lot of people try to use you before.’

I still reflexively shivered, interpreting it as, ‘Have you been bullied a lot?’

Just then, Reysir’s face filled with confusion at my reaction.

“Wow~! Watching these two students chat so familiarly as they walk up to the stage, it looks like they’re friends!”

Suddenly, the announcer jumped in and declared that Reysir and I must be friends.

A wave of emotion, somewhere between embarrassment and confusion, washed over me and my jaw dropped.

“With so many people knowing we’re friends, don’t you think it’s time you admitted it?”

“…No matter what others think, it’s just not true.”

“Well, if you admitted it easily, you wouldn’t be such a tsundere.”

“……”

Don’t get swept up in the protagonist’s way of speaking.

With that in mind, I took the whip from my belt and glared at Reysir.

He, too, readied his spear with both hands, his playful expression vanishing into seriousness.

Facing Reysir like this was nothing new.

We’d sparred many times on weekends.

But maybe because the location was different, or because I knew he’d be using his Aether Attribute ability today—

The tension was thick enough to feel stifling.

Thanks to that, my focus sharpened in an instant, which was good.

I took a quiet breath as I watched Reysir.

Just then, the announcer, who’d been rambling to hype up the mood, announced the start of the match.

Immediately, I used the [Encourage] skill with ‘my vessel’ as the keyword, then swung my whip in the air to create a sonic boom, activating the [Goyang] skill as well.

During all this, Reysir didn’t move an inch.

He must be waiting for me to attack first.

The memory of recklessly charging at Reysir in chapter 84, only to lose instantly, flashed through my mind.

I can’t let myself be defeated the same way.

But that doesn’t mean I can expect Reysir to go easy on me and not counterattack.

This isn’t just a spar—it’s a real match.

I gripped my whip tightly, arm hanging at my side with the tip dragging on the floor as I slowly approached Reysir.

Though I’d made the first move in plenty of our spars, I’d never closed the distance like this.

Maybe that’s why Reysir looked both puzzled and expectant.

He seemed curious about what I’d do.

And judging by the tension in his grip on the spear, he was a bit nervous.

‘Reysir’s always been the one to instruct me, Vigdis, and Liolikin… Maybe he feels he can’t afford to mess up against my attack, or it’d hurt his pride?’

As I analyzed Reysir’s body language and guessed his state of mind, my accelerated thinking skill activated naturally.

By coincidence, it was just then that Reysir entered the range of my whip.

I raised my lowered arm diagonally.

The whip followed the same motion, flying at Reysir.

It wasn’t just my arm moving—my waist twisted to add torque, and my wrist snapped precisely.

With my accelerated thought skill active, the whip seemed to move in slow motion, but in reality it should have picked up plenty of speed.

Even so, Reysir dodged lightly.

And not by backing away, but by darting inside my attack.

The old me would have panicked and flailed my whip while scrambling backward. But not now.

Because I’d launched my first attack from low to high, my arm was naturally raised, so—

All I had to do was swing down to keep the approaching opponent at bay.

But I didn’t stop there. I bent one leg, slid my other foot out, and quickly lowered my stance.

Then I swept my whip sideways along the ground.

I was aiming to snag his ankles—

“Tch!”

Just from the sound that escaped my lips, you could tell I failed.

Reysir leapt at just the right moment, dodging my attack.

For a second, I thought about manipulating the whip with Aether to catch his ankles, but didn’t act on it.

Because the protagonist had just fired a lightning bolt at me.

Or more precisely, before he fired, I caught his preparatory movement with his arm outstretched—that’s the same thing.

As I hurriedly got out of the way, a golden bolt of lightning streaked through the air and vanished.

He must have held back, so he wouldn’t hit me too hard.