That night, we made the decision to rest. Rest played a significant role in this ga. Previous reports indicated that so participants hadn't slept a wink due to fear of being attacked while asleep. They failed to recognize that adequate rest could enhance their performance the next day, leading to their elimination due to sleep deprivation.
Naturally, we didn't opt for rest without considering the risk of being attacked during sleep. Thus, we devised a system to take turns keeping watch. Each person would remain awake for an entire hour before being relieved by another. This way, we could obtain sufficient rest even in such dire circumstances.
Hereon abruptly woke by nudging with his foot.
"It's your turn," he declared, glaring down at .
I rose from my makeshift bed of grass and assud my watch duty. anwhile, Hereon took his turn to rest.
How uncouth of him to wake with his foot like that. He lacked finesse. Well, I suppose I can comprehend his behavior. Love has a way of clouding judgnt. Anything that threatens to disrupt that love becos an adversary. Hereon harbored jealousy towards , which I could empathize with.
I ought to clarify that there's no romantic involvent between Shredica and myself. Shredica is the last person I'd consider as a romantic partner. I might even suggest to Hereon that I support their relationship. Would he appreciate that, or would it only irritate him? I suspect the latter.
As I kept watch, my mind wandered to my earlier conversation with Hertrude.
"Seems like sothing significant is happening on this island. Sothing substantial," I murmured quietly. We might be venturing into territory even beyond my ability to intervene.
While lost in these thoughts, I sensed soone behind beginning to stir from their sleep. Without turning around, I allowed them to sit beside .
"Struggling to sleep, Miss Shredica?" I inquired.
"Are you kidding ? Not at all. I can sleep like a baby even amidst danger because I have this innate sense that alerts when danger draws near. Besides, I can even doze off with my eyes wide open, just like you. I picked up that skill from observing you snooze in class with your eyes open," Shredica remarked.
"That's quite observant of you, managing to mimic that," I remarked.
"Don't underestimate , Mr. Leon. While you may not be aware yet, I happen to be quite the genius."
"A genius who doesn't excel in academics?"
"Academics aside, I consider myself an all-around genius," she asserted. "Anyway, the reason I'm here awake with you is to have a chat. Is that alright?"
"Well, as long as it doesn't jeopardize the secret you're keeping, I suppose it's fine."
Shredica began, "What are your thoughts on this ga, Leon? Do you think we'll erge victorious?"
"It's hard to say, really. Our success depends on various factors. If we continue to make good progress, then we're likely to fare well. From what I can see, our progress seems promising. We've established a solid base, you've defeated so of the other participants, and while cooperation hasn't fully materialized yet, we should be alright if we maintain our current trajectory."
"Is that your stance?"
"Well, I'm not overly confident about our chances," I admitted. Considering the future Hertrude had foreseen, there's a possibility we might not erge victorious. Additionally, there's soone formidable here, and even I might have to put up a fight. Though I'm confident I won't lose, flaunting my skills wouldn't be wise. Besides, I'm a wanted individual.
Revealing my abilities could jeopardize my secret identity and hinder my mission to conquer the hearts of the won at school.
At that, Shredica sighed, "If we fail here, we'll be expelled from school," she remarked.
"And whose fault do you think that would be?" I asked. I anticipated her deflecting the bla onto , but surprisingly, she didn't. What surprised even more was her acknowledgnt that it was her fault.
"I know. It's on ," she admitted.
I blinked several tis, trying to process whether I had misheard her.
Seeing my reaction, she clicked her tongue in irritation. "Ugh. Do you really believe I'm incapable of acknowledging my own faults? You've underestimated to the lowest degree, Mr. Leon," she scolded.
"I an, I've never heard you acknowledge your faults, so I assud you couldn't. Well, I suppose that's just my assumption. My bad," I admitted.
"That's understandable, I suppose. I've never really questioned why I'm acknowledging my fault like this until now," she mused. "What would you do if we lose and get expelled from the academy?"
"Hmm... Maybe I'll look for a job, I guess. Being a magic knight isn't my top priority anyway," I replied.
"I feel guilty for dragging you into this. It's going to be my fault if you get expelled," she said, showing an unusual level of remorse today. Did sothing happen? "For that, I apologize, Mr. Leon."
"You're worrying . Are you sure nothing bad happened to you?"
She glared at .
"I'm sorry," I apologized imdiately. "I know what you did was wrong," I added. "But there's nothing we can do about it. If we lose here, it's not just your fault, it's mine too."
"Don't worry, Mr. Leon. Even if you're useless, I'll carry you," she reassured .
Well, she's still the sa old Shredica. I thought she might have changed, but it seems not.
"I'm going to sleep now. Take care of the watch," she said.
"I will," I replied.
With that, the first day of the King's Ga ca to an end.
***
I woke up much earlier that morning than I had anticipated. The heat and humidity had tossing and turning in my sleep. It finally roused , and I wasn't very well-rested. My bed felt warm, and I recalled that Johanne was on watch duty after . However, when I woke up, it was the Princess herself who was on duty. She was...
dozing off, propped against the cave wall. Perhaps her sleep wasn't sufficient, causing her to nod off during her watch. It wasn't a major concern though. As long as there wasn't any threat of attack while we slept, it was acceptable for her to doze during duty.
I adjusted her position to ensure she could rest comfortably, then stepped out of the cave. The sun had just begun to rise, and I couldn't detect any presence near our base. Despite this, I decided to conduct a thorough check of the vicinity. I tend to be sowhat paranoid about such matters, wondering if there might be soone nearby with a skill enabling them to evade my senses.
That concern turned out to be unnecessary since I hadn't spotted anyone nearby.
I climbed up into a tree and scanned the area. The sounds of battle reached my ears, blades clashing and gunfire echoing. It seed like soone was already engaged in combat this early in the morning.
"I suppose I'll allow them to settle their dispute. It'll only increase our chances of victory," I muttered to myself.
Suddenly, I sensed sothing approaching rapidly in a straight line. It was moving so swiftly, with clear intent to do harm. Without hesitation, I activated my Guardian to deflect the impending attack.
However, my Guardian suddenly vanished into thin air as soon as the attacker closed in on . Fortunately, I managed to dodge the attack without any issue.
"...?" The attacker, a woman with black hair and red eyes, looked at with confusion evident in her expression. Though her eyes remained cold and devoid of emotion, I could sense her perplexity.
"Who are you?" I inquired. She gazed back at , and as our eyes t, I felt as if I were staring at my own reflection in a mirror. She wasn't , rely a striking resemblance. I recognized her as the woman who extinguished the fire during that arson incident. The manner in which she quenched the flas was instantaneous, as if the fire itself were unreal. I already knew this woman.
She was Veronica Eclair. Despite my knowledge of her na, I still posed the question, adding an extra layer of dramatic effect. It wouldn't be plausible for a random woman to suddenly attack out of nowhere. Naturally, after surviving her initial assault, it was only fitting to inquire about her identity.
Instead of responding to my question, she launched into another attack. Her speed was remarkable, making it increasingly difficult for to evade. I attempted to activate one of my skills to retaliate, but each ti I tried, the skill would inexplicably vanish. Was her sword capable of nullifying powers? No, while her blade wasn't ordinary steel, it didn't seem to be a power dampener.
So what was causing my skills to be nullified?
Since skills seed ineffective, I decided to resort to magic. I gathered mana in my hand, shaping it into a precise swirl.
"Hm...?" The woman raised an eyebrow, sensing sothing was amiss, and promptly vanished from my sight.
Suddenly, she materialized behind , attempting to sever my neck from my shoulder. I solidified the mana to form a barrier, blocking her blade from reaching my neck and sparing from decapitation.
The woman's eyes widened in surprise, but she swiftly reverted to an aggressive stance once more.
While all of this was happening, I felt eyes on once more.
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