"…I have limited my power so that it's more or less equal to you. It's not even my full power yet!" Carbuncle tried to refute Alt-nii's protest. But Alt-nii didn't yield.
"But you've got those wings!! That's cheating!!"
"…"
I stared dumbfoundedly at Alt-nii as he still had the nerve to protest—could it be that he doesn't want to admit his lost?
Still, it makes sense. No matter how you look at it, this is not a really fair game…
"With this, the wonderful match between Carbuncle-chan and Altaire-kun has ended! It's Carbuncle-chan's victory! However, Altaire-kun's impressive that he could put all the resistance! Let's give a round of applause to the two of them!"
Shekai-san announced happily—her tone of voice contained that of a relief. She seemed to be so relieved that it all has ended.
As I sensed the separating barrier that was put around the fighting ground was canceled, I quickly rushed to the fighting ground again, so that I could go to Alt-nii's side.
"Ah, Ly—"
"Wai—"
I felt like hearing Luca, Kiri, and Iris' pleading voices, but my mind seemed to filter them out as I'm only thinking of Alt-nii at the moment.
"Aah, here I thought you could amuse me…," Carbuncle's sigh echoed through the whole venue.
"Seems like that's it for Non-Draconis?"
"Alt-nii!!"
Before Alt-nii could respond to Carbuncle, I finally reached the grounds and called out to him.
"Lyra!!"
I finally could stop running. Ah, finally! It's time to catch my breath again!!
I need some breath of life after all that running!!
But wait…
"Hey, Carbuncle-san, is it? If you want a non-draco… I mean, an opponent of the other races that could fight you on equal grounds and amuse you, shouldn't you be looking for the powerful adults? Like the head of knight, or anyone else… It doesn't make sense to me that you're looking for an opponent to amuse you in an academy! What's more, from the Basic Level!!"
I managed to make a complaint to her remark just before—even when I was gasping…
I didn't have to look at the audience's area to know that Kiri must have twitched when I mentioned his adoptive father's title—uhh, forgive me, my dear friend!! His title naturally came to my mind as I always thought of the Head of the Royal Knights highly even during my life as Reinst—it's kind of ingrained in my mind.
…Okay, perhaps my subconsciousness worked fine and saved my mom's title from all this mess.
"I heard that exceptional young people are usually found in this academy. I actually only planned to observe the young Non-Draconis in this academy and learn more about them. But I changed my mind when I came across this Void user. I also sensed… ah, well, my main purpose wasn't to look for an opponent. But I wanted him to amuse me in the fight. Really, really."
Carbuncle shrugged her shoulders and heaved a long sigh.
"…But, but! We're still kids!! Don't expect something that high from us! You'd learn better from the adults! Alt-nii's almost a pure human anyway, if you want a stronger opponent, you should try the other races" I protested again.
"Eeh? But I heard that humans are quite awesome?! My friend, a dragon princess from the other kingdom told me about her wonderful experience with the humans… so I had high expectations especially towards you humans!!"
…what kind of a tale did she tell you?
We all know that the humans don't really possess any special thing in comparison to the other races… but we managed to maintain our autonomy and country—is that why she believed in the humans' power?
"But I still think that it isn't so fair… Right, I don't think a human kid can impress you that much… your expectation is unreal…"
"Yes, yes, it's not fair! Lyra's right! It feels kinda hurt when you blatantly expressed your disappointment in me when the high expectation came one-sided, you know?!" Alt-nii chimed in.
Ah—so it's not like he doesn't want to admit his lost—but Alt-nii can't accept Carbuncle's apparent disappointment on him.
"Hmmm, well, I guess I can't really put a dragon's standard to Non-Draconis," Carbuncle said as she put her left hand on her chin.
A split second later—she lifted her head with sparkling eyes.
"I know! You're his little sister, right? Let's have a rematch with a condition that's more fair than this one! You siblings must fight against me alone!!"
"Haaa?!" (Alt)
"W-what?!" (Lyra)
"Wait a second, Carbuncle-chan!!" (Headmaster Shekai)
"Come on, it's fine, right? Since they're siblings and all, they share the same blood, which means… Yes, I can sense it from you, too, little sister!"
…Sorry, I don't understand what you mean at all.
"Your student didn't get hurt at all, as I promised. Come on, isn't it fine? Let me have one more match against them. I promise to behave myself after this. Besides…"
Carbuncle first turned her head at Shekai-san's direction before she then turned her gaze at the surroundings.
"Don't you all want to see yet another match?!"
--This is when I feel the biggest betrayal in my life. Almost all of the students cheered in response to Carbuncle's question.
"Fight! Fight!"
"Again!!"
"More!"
"We want to see!!"
Their demanding cheers echoed within the venue.
There were also some other voices like—
"Oooh, the Void user's little sister just got enrolled?"
"Can she use [Void] magic as well?"
"Ah, I want to see her power!!"
…
My only hope is… Shekai-san!!
I turned my head to see Shekai-san with a face full of anticipation.
"…as long as they won't get injured and as long as they consent."
…S-Shekai-san!!! T__T
With that, Carbuncle turned to look at me and Alt-nii.
"So, you two consent, right?"
"No, I—"
"Lyra, let's do it!!"
…Alt-nii's loud voice caused my small voice to be drowned—ah, is this how things will turn out?
Can I say any objection, please?
When I turned at the two of them—Alt-nii and Carbuncle both had the same expressions—an excited expression with glittering eyes!!
Cold sweats ran through my body as I continued to listen to the other students' demanding cheers.
"…"
Well…
My "no" will cause many people's heartbreaks…
And it's not like I will get injured…
It's just going to be a fun… game?
Yes, let's consider it so.
"…Okay."
"Aaaaaa!! Yeahhh!!! Horraaayyyy!!!"
Right after I stated my consent, not only Carbuncle and Alt-nii, but everyone in the whole venue cheered.
I sighed.
I think I really should keep a journal on my unique experiences and achievements in this life.
Look, I've got yet another achievement—received a challenge from a dragon girl!
But…
A match against a dragon?
A team battle with my big brother?
I can't deny that it feels quite exciting, indeed!