~Chapter 92~
The next day was the Sword Tournament.
As I headed toward the arena, I stopped in my tracks.
Void—who was supposed to be waiting in the preparation room—came running toward me from far away.
“Rubyyy! I won!”
Void jumped up and down, holding a wooden sword. I tilted my head.
“You didn’t even start yet. How could you win?”
“They all forfeited.”
“What? Why?”
“No idea. They all said they had stomachaches.”
Void shrugged and proudly showed me the badge pinned to his chest.
What the… did everyone eat something bad yesterday?
As I wondered, I overheard kids whispering nearby.
“Fighting Void Zebret with swords? If you hit him wrong, your whole academy life will be ruined.”
“Besides, no one can beat him with a sword anyway.”
“Exactly. Why pick a fight you can’t win? Just avoid him. Ah—he looked this way!”
“…”
The boys hurriedly turned their gazes away.
‘Why does this feel like… they’re not avoiding him out of fear, but out of disgust?’
Void just kept swinging his wooden sword with a happy face. I let out a deep sigh.
“Big brother… are you poop?”
“What?”
“Never mind…”
Olivia and her demerit notebook suddenly came to mind. I put my hands on my hips.
“Brother, how many demerit points do you have now?”
“Why would you even ask that?”
Grumbling, Void scratched numbers on the ground with his wooden sword.
“Minus 20? That’s… better than I thought—”
But then the zeros multiplied endlessly.
In a flash, Void vanished into the distance, leaving only an afterimage.
“Where are you going?!”
Seriously… what does he even do at the academy?!
Finally—the last day.
“Heh, heh.”
I stretched and warmed up hard.
In front of me stood the entrance to the small Maze Garden.
Unlike the previous public matches, there weren’t many spectators. After all, there wasn’t much to see from the outside in a maze.
“Rubian!”
While I was rolling my ankles, a cheerful voice called out.
“Oh—Licht?”
I turned and saw Licht walking over, drawing all eyes in the crowd.
He smiled brightly, dressed casually. I thought he had already gone home since I hadn’t seen him during the festival… but here he was.
“Are you feeling okay? Since you’re still wearing a mask, I guess your cold isn’t fully gone.”
Actually, my cough had already stopped, but I kept the mask on anyway. People’s stares were uncomfortable, and also…
‘You never know what might happen.’
I calmly smiled at him.
“Yeah! I just feel shy about showing my face suddenly. I didn’t know you were entering the competition too, Licht!”
“This is my first time. I’ve always been curious.”
His smiling face sparkled.
“So you’re starting from Entrance Two.”
“Yeah. What about you?”
“Three. Right next to yours.”
Licht reached out his hand with a grin.
“Let’s make it fun! And… don’t forget what we promised. After the competition, we’ll talk.”
“Oh?”
Ah, right. I had promised.
“Yeah, yeah!”
I grabbed his hand and shook it hard. His smile grew even brighter… though, the handshake was going on a little long.
“Um… how long do we keep doing this?”
I blinked. Licht quickly let go, embarrassed.
“Ah, sorry. I got distracted.”
“By what?”
“Behind you… well…”
Oh.
“My family…?”
I pretended to ignore it and kept stretching.
Yes. I had been deliberately tuning out the thunderous cheering from earlier.
“Rubian! Our youngest! Do your best!”
Flags flapped wildly.
“My tiny little nose-droplet who used to wander the training hall… now you’ve grown so tall…”
“Father, you’ve grown so emotional.”
“Rosetta, you too…”
“Children really do grow up so fast.”
Grandpa was crying, while Mom comforted him.
“Your Grace, if Rubian doesn’t come out within one minute of entering, please authorize a search party.”
Senior Leon looked restless.
“Approved.”
Dad nodded calmly, though his face was pale.
It’s just a maze!
‘Anyone would think I was leaving on some grand journey!’
I kept stretching. Now I fully understood why Khalid always hid behind words.
Please, just start already—it’s embarrassing.
Beside me, Licht laughed.
“Haha, I didn’t know the Zebrets were this lively. Did you make them like this?”
“I must be the one who ruined their peace…”
Maybe I wasn’t a stone rolling into clear water—more like a wriggly loach disturbing the pond.
Forgive me, ancestors of House Zebret.
“Ah, Rubian. Time to line up at the starting point.”
“Right.”
“Here, take my hand.”
I was about to move along when—whoosh! A sudden gust blew by.
“Ow, what bird is this?”
Out of nowhere, a skylark swooped down and pecked Licht’s pale hand. He frowned and shook it off.
What was that? I looked around—and my earlobe burned hot.
[ Hand. ]
‘Khal?’
[ Wave to me. ]
I glanced over. There he was, standing with his arms crossed not far away.
Wave?
‘Uh… okay. See you later.’
I wiggled my hand at him. Khalid gave a short wave back.
But why did his face look so displeased?
I thought about it, but couldn’t figure it out.
“Alright, everyone, stand at your entrance! There’s only one exit! We wish you luck. Ready…”
I clenched my fists.
“Go!”
Bang! Fireworks exploded.
The man bowed lightly.
“Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor. May the goddess’s blessing be with you.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Blessing my foot. You barged in the moment you had a chance.’
The northern portal linked to the south lay just below Ipsun.
He had expected it to take several days, but the man had ridden hard and arrived almost instantly.
It showed just how desperate the Magic Kingdom was to hunt.
The mage’s priest-like robe hid his face.
Red hair. Brown eyes. That was all.
‘Mages… always hiding their true selves.’
The Emperor thought bitterly and waved his hand.
“Rise.”
From the wide hall, the mage looked up at the Emperor on his throne.
“So? What’s the meaning of this? Cutting off magic tool supplies without warning—that’s a treaty violation.”
“We will resume supply, if you permit me to search this place.”
“You sound as if the runaway is here.”
The mage neither confirmed nor denied. The Emperor chuckled coldly.
“If a fugitive really were here, the base magician would’ve noticed first. Stop wasting energy and just go back.”
“Base magician…?”
The man’s eyes turned to Asha Drukan, who was nervously picking at her nails nearby. She flinched.
“What could you expect from the Kingdom’s cast-offs?”
His cold gaze brushed over her, then left.
It seemed base magicians weren’t respected here—or anywhere.
“So grant me search authority. I promise to look quickly and leave.”
The Emperor sighed deeply.
“…Fine. After the festival ends. I won’t let the mood be ruined.”
The mage lifted his head. A sly smile peeked from under his collar.
“Of course.”
Once more, he bowed perfectly.
“Just a little time, Your Majesty, is all I need.”
His submissive tone made the Emperor want to mock him, but he held back. Respect? What nonsense.
The mage then smiled faintly.
“Until then, I’ll quietly enjoy the festival nearby. Surely that much is allowed?”
There was no excuse to forbid him. He wasn’t a criminal—he couldn’t be locked up.
The Emperor rubbed his brow again, reminding himself this was about southern mines and magic supplies.
“…Then make sure you don’t reveal yourself as a mage. We can’t let the people panic.”
The man’s long eyes curved softly.
“Of course.”
