Chapter 5: To Banish Worry

The end of the first semester was fast approaching at Yutrea Academy. As usual, the season of suffering was upon the students once again, bringing with it a barrage of exams and reports that would determine their grades for each course.

However, despite facing their impending exams, the student body lacked the gloomy atmosphere of previous years. If anything, the campus was buzzing with far more energy than usual.

This was because the Rank Battles, which normally would have already concluded, were delayed this year. The match-ups for the final Rank Battles of the first semester had just been announced right before the exam period.

Although the Rank Battles were temporarily suspended in accordance with the academy's policy that students should focus on their academics during exams, the talk of the academy wasn't about tests. Instead, conversations were overwhelmingly dominated by the final day's match: the second-ranked student of the second year, Roak Areas, versus the third-ranked student, Kei Traluus.

"Hey, about the next Rank Battle..." one student muttered.

"Yeah, I saw it! It's Areas and Traluus, right!" another chimed in.

"I wonder who'll win?"

"Ehh, but didn't Traluus-kun lose to Areas-kun once before?"

"That was just Traluus skipping the match, so Areas won by default," another student corrected.

With the names of those two echoing from every corner of the academy, Gareth smiled wryly and turned his gaze toward one of the individuals at the center of it all: Roak.

"...So, what exactly are you doing?" Gareth asked.

"Praying," Roak replied flatly.

Reflected in Gareth's vision was the sight of Roak clutching a crucifix—an item he absolutely never carried around—and offering a prayer right in the middle of the cafeteria.

"Did you join a religion or something?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then who are you praying to...?"

"I don't know."

This guy's completely lost it, Gareth thought as he tipped his cup and took a sip of black tea.

"Here, Roak. Your herbal tea," Lily said.

"Thanks, Lily," Roak replied.

Lily, who had just returned with a cup of herbal tea, gently placed it in front of the praying Roak. He thanked her, brought his prayers to an end, and slowly let the herbal tea wash down his throat.

"Haa... That hits the spot," Roak sighed.

"Are you alright?" Gareth asked.

"Does this look alright to you?"

"No, it doesn't. My bad."

To Gareth, it looked as though the herbal tea had managed to stabilize Roak's mental state just a bit, making his expression slightly calmer than before.

Though, it might have just been Gareth's imagination.

"By the way, what were you praying for, Roak?" Lily asked.

"I was praying that Traluus won't show up for the Rank Battle again this time," Roak stated frankly.

"Hey now," Gareth retorted reflexively.

Despite Gareth's interjection, Roak simply tipped his cup, completely unfazed. They were in the cafeteria with eyes all around them, yet he still made such an outrageous statement.

"No, it's impossible. I absolutely can't win," Roak groaned.

"You're being unusually pessimistic," Gareth noted.

It was a comment unbecoming of a man who was technically ranked higher than his opponent, but considering who that opponent was, Gareth couldn't entirely blame him.

Especially since Gareth knew Roak's circumstances; it made perfect sense.

"Ahhh, Gareth. Fight in my place, would you?" Roak pleaded.

"I'd actually love to fight him if I had been chosen," Gareth replied.

"Are you kidding me? Are you a masochist?"

"How rude."

Gareth answered with a mix of exasperation as Roak face-planted onto the table and begged him to take his place.

Kei Traluus, a Spirit Master rumored to be the number one in their year in terms of raw talent alone, surpassing even Misha. Gareth had always wanted to test just how far his own strength would reach against him.

"You don't want to fight him, Roak?" Lily asked.

"Not at all. Let me ask you, Lily—would you want to fight Traluus again?"

"Absolutely not," Lily replied instantly.

I figured, Roak nodded at her immediate answer. Nobody would ever want to have a match with a guy like that.

"But I still want to see you and Traluus fight," Lily added.

"Please stop."

"If anything, everyone is looking forward to it," Gareth pointed out.

"Ahhh, I can't hear you! I don't know anything!"

Letting out a wail at Lily's unexpected betrayal and suffering a follow-up attack from Gareth, Roak covered his ears as if refusing to hear another word.

"Ahhh, I hate this... Someone... save me..."

"You sound genuinely desperate," Gareth remarked.

It seemed the expectations and pressure from his peers were making Roak emotionally unstable. He always emanated a thick, negative aura before a Rank Battle, but this time it felt far heavier.

"Ahhh..."

"There, there," Lily patted him.

"Is it really that hopeless?" Gareth asked.

He looked on as Lily stroked the pathetic-looking Roak's head with her small hand. Normally, even if he complained, Roak would still rack his brain trying to formulate a strategy to win. But this time, he wasn't even attempting to do that.

"Obviously! Just how many spirits do you think that guy has formed contracts with in the first place? Seven of them! Seven! He's a monster!!" Roak cried out.

"Well, that is true..." Gareth conceded.

"A cheater," Lily stated.

Gareth and Lily nodded in agreement with Roak's words.

Spirit Masters who maintained multiple contracts were by no means common.

This was because the difficulty skyrocketed compared to single contracts, factoring in the Spirit Master's own capacity, the compatibility between the spirits, and the necessary Spiritual Power control.

In some cases, having multiple contracts could even weaken a Spirit Master, so doing it wasn't always a good thing.

Thus, most Spirit Masters avoided forming contracts with multiple spirits, and even if they did, two or three was their absolute limit.

Yet amidst all that, Kei Traluus was an exception—a man who had formed contracts with seven spirits and commanded them as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He was the complete polar opposite of Roak, who hadn't managed to form a contract with even a single spirit.

"Can't you counter him with your contracted spirit, Roak?" Lily asked purely.

"......"

"......"

Both Roak and Gareth, who knew the truth, went completely deadpan at Lily's innocent question.

I don't have one of those.

Gareth could have sworn he heard Roak's voice echo those words in his mind.

"...?"

Unaware of his circumstances, Lily tilted her head in confusion at their sudden silence.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"......"

"...It seems Roak is just really thirsty," Gareth said, awkwardly covering for Roak as he silently tipped his cup and chugged the rest of his herbal tea without answering her question.

"Is that so? Should I go buy some more?"

"Please do. I'll pay for it."

"It's fine. Roak helped me train before, so I'll pay."

"Now that you mention it, Roak did help you prepare before your Rank Battle, right?"

Lily gave a small nod to Gareth's question.

In Lily's recent Rank Battle, whether due to the results of Roak's training or not, she had safely emerged victorious.

"It was good training. Thanks to him, I managed to learn various Spirit Arts," she stated.

"Wait, wasn't the training for your Minotaur?" Gareth asked.

"That child was useless. A total piece of junk," Lily bluntly replied.

"Isn't that a bit too harsh...?" Gareth chuckled wryly at her scathing assessment of her own contracted spirit.

Gareth vaguely remembered Roak watching Lily's Rank Battle and muttering, "I don't sense any growth from her Minotaur, but she totally ripped off my Spirit Arts. What was the point of that training again?"

"That child has muscles for brains. Utterly useless," Lily added.

"You really don't have to go that far..."

"If only it were as smart as your Beowulf, Gareth..."

"......"

While Gareth and Lily chatted about their contracted spirits, Roak—who had zero contracted spirits to his name—silently took mental damage from their conversation and began twitching as he face-planted back onto the desk.

"Lily, Roak is starting to get unstable again, so could you go buy another cup of herbal tea for now?" Gareth requested.

"Okay."

Noticing Roak's state, Gareth asked Lily to go grab another drink. After watching her get up from her seat and leave, he shifted his gaze to the still-twitching Roak.

"Are you okay?" Gareth asked.

"......"

It seemed Roak was enduring a lot of things as he remained face down and gave no response. Just what kind of emotions were swirling within him right now...?

"Oh my, could the person face-planted right there happen to be the popular guy who is currently the talk of the academy?"

"Celia."

Hearing a teasing voice from behind, Gareth turned around to see Celia Rouflare with an amused smile on her face. Roak still didn't reply, but his body twitched slightly, so it was clear he heard her.

"So, what's wrong with Roak-kun?" Celia asked.

"Given who his opponent is, he's brooding over quite a few things," Gareth explained.

"Oh, he's feeling more cornered than I thought."

Celia shot a surprised look at Roak before turning her gaze back to him. Honestly, Gareth couldn't help but feel that Roak was just crushed by the fact that he didn't have a contracted spirit...

"Knowing him, I figured he'd be whining about how much he hates it while still racking his brain for a strategy, just like always," Celia commented.

"It seems that won't work this time around," Gareth noted.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense. He's not exactly an opponent you can easily strategize against."

Kei Traluus, ranked third in their year.

A look at his battle record showed a fair number of losses, but in reality, every single one of those was a loss by default due to him skipping. In other words, he had won every single Rank Battle he had actually participated in, boasting a combat record that was practically undefeated.

Rumors were even circulating that if he actually took his Rank Battles seriously, he might be stronger than both Roak and Misha.

"What are your thoughts on this match?" Gareth asked her.

"Hmm, I'm purely looking forward to it. From what I hear, unlike before, Traluus-kun actually seems motivated this time," Celia replied.

"Wow, that's rare."

While agreeing with Celia, Gareth threw a quick glance at the still-collapsed Roak. He felt as though the heavy atmosphere around him had grown even denser.

"The second-ranked student versus the third-ranked student. It'll probably stir up as much excitement as his match against Misha-sama," Gareth said.

"It already has. Rumor has it there are even underground bets being placed on who will win," Celia revealed.

"That is quite..."

What an incredible amount of hype, Gareth thought with a wry smile. The sheer energy in the air made it hard to believe they were right in the middle of their exam period.

"Who do you think will win?" Celia asked.

"Who knows? It's hard to say definitively," Gareth replied.

"For the record, my money is on Traluus-kun."

"Why is that?"

"Probably because Roak-kun won't go all out this time either. He'll almost certainly hide his contracted spirit again."

He doesn't have one to begin with, though, Gareth thought, but nodded and said, "I see."

"If Roak-kun brought out his contracted spirit, the outcome would be completely unpredictable, but if he doesn't, it's safe to say Traluus-kun will win. Well, I think most people are basing their bets on whether or not Roak-kun will actually summon his contracted spirit."

In short, the general consensus was that a defeat for Roak was highly likely. That was only natural, of course.

"I think I'll cast my vote for Roak," Gareth stated.

"Is that a vote out of friendship? Or are you betting on him using his contracted spirit?" Celia asked.

"No, neither."

Gareth threw a glance at Roak, only to see Lily shaking him as she stood there with another cup of herbal tea.

"It's just a hunch," Gareth added.

"Oh my, betting without any evidence? That's a very uncharacteristic reason coming from you."

"You might be right. But don't you think it would be interesting?"

"What would be?" Celia tilted her head.

Gareth flashed a smile and said, "If Roak manages to beat Traluus without even summoning a contracted spirit."

"......"

Celia looked surprised at his words, but the very next moment, she laughed in amusement, just like Gareth.

"You're right. If he could win like that, I'd definitely want to see it. I could probably use it as a reference for my own strategies, too," Celia chuckled.

"Right?"

As the two laughed together, Roak abruptly sprang up from the table, took the second cup of herbal tea that Lily had brought, and chugged it all down in one go.

"Ooh, what a magnificent chug," Lily commented.

"Phew. Thanks, Lily," Roak sighed.

Patting the head of Lily, who was giving him a thumbs-up, Roak slowly stood up. Noticing his movement, Celia called out to him.

"Good morning, Roak-kun," she greeted.

"Yeah, morning," Roak replied.

Giving Celia a brief greeting, Roak grabbed his empty cup and started walking toward the return counter.

"Gareth, I'm skipping the next lecture, so cover for me," Roak requested.

"Eh? Wasn't the next class an exam?" Gareth asked, surprised.

"It's fine, I can afford to drop a credit or two."

Gareth watched his retreating back in shock, unable to believe that Roak—a guy who would absolutely never do something that would cost him course credits—was actually skipping an exam. Just then, Roak glanced back over his shoulder as if he had forgotten something.

"Celia," he called out.

"What is it?"

"I don't know where it's happening, but about those bets you were talking about earlier... I'll give you my paycheck from my part-time job later this month, so put it all on me."

Leaving her with those final words, Roak returned his empty cup and left the cafeteria.

"Roak finally got motivated," Lily noted.

"...Yeah, he did," Gareth agreed.

Just what kind of shift in his state of mind had occurred?

Or rather, was it really okay for a struggling student like him to blow his entire month's salary on a bet?

"...Maybe I should bet on Roak-kun, too?" Celia muttered, still slightly dumbfounded as she stared at the spot where he had left.

＊＊＊＊＊

"So, what do you think I should do?" Roak asked.

"I have no idea..." Owen sighed.

Having let the momentum carry him into betting his own living expenses, Roak could no longer back down. Juggling his training and exams, he had come to Owen's place to borrow the wisdom of his elder.

However, contrary to Roak's expectations, Owen brushed him off with an annoyed expression.

"Don't say that! Please, let's think about this together..." Roak begged.

"No, no. Your opponent is just way too tough this time," Owen replied dismissively.

"Is his opponent really that strong?" asked Jack, the pumpkin-headed spirit, bringing in a tray of black tea with a clink of metal.

Owen nodded as Kei Traluus crossed his mind.

"Kei Traluus. A prodigy born with an innate talent as a Spirit Master, despite coming from a family of musicians. If we're talking pure talent alone, he's definitely far above me," Owen explained.

"Oh my, then it's a guaranteed loss, isn't it, Roak-kun?" Jack chuckled.

"Could you not say things that kill my motivation right when I'm trying to do my best?" Roak complained, scowling at the cheerfully laughing spirit.

"Well, with motivation that easily killed, you wouldn't be able to win anyway~" Jack teased.

"Ugh."

It was an incredibly infuriating way to phrase it, but Jack wasn't wrong.

Considering he had absolutely nothing that surpassed Traluus as a Spirit Master, he needed to at least have a solid fighting spirit.

"Hey now, don't rile him up," Owen scolded, lightly tapping Jack's pumpkin head with his fist before turning his gaze back to his disciple.

"But practically speaking, winning through conventional means will be nearly impossible. Although against an opponent like him, resorting to underhanded tactics will be just as difficult."

"I know that much," Roak replied.

Against an opponent like Ophelia, there had been ways to work around her. But with Traluus, whatever tricks Roak could muster would likely just get crushed by brute force. At the same time, to defeat an opponent of such a higher caliber, he had to do something completely beyond Traluus's expectations.

He was completely caught in a dilemma.

"Master, what do you think my chances of winning are?" Roak asked.

"About ten percent. Even with a heavily biased view, it's not even thirty percent," Owen stated.

"Even with a biased view, it's only that much...?"

Once again, Roak felt just how desperate this match truly was.

He hadn't felt this hopeless since his upcoming match against Misha.

"I'd say that's a fair assessment, for anyone who knows your actual circumstances," Owen noted.

"...Well, yeah, I guess."

If people knew he didn't have a contracted spirit, that prediction was only natural. If anything, giving him a ten percent chance was practically a miracle in itself.

"It's true that you boast more than double the Spiritual Power of an average Spirit Master. On top of that, your sword skills and Spirit Arts allow you to fight on par even with high-ranking spirits," Owen acknowledged.

If an average Spirit Master tried to imitate Roak's fighting style, they would run out of Spiritual Power in a flash and collapse. The only reason Roak could manage such a reckless style of combat was due to his extraordinary Spiritual Power and high physical capabilities.

That in itself was certainly astonishing.

"But that alone won't be enough to beat him. And I'm sure you already understand that yourself, Roak," Owen stated.

"......"

He was right. Roak didn't need his master to tell him that; he already understood it perfectly.

As he was now, he absolutely could not win.

"If you still truly want to win... then you have to go beyond his expectations. Basically, you just have to bite the bullet and make your resolve, don't you?"

"...Tch."

Roak instinctively grimaced as Owen smiled and poked him in the chest with a finger.

What an unpleasant person.

He was thrusting the very option Roak had been subconsciously avoiding right in front of him.

"...Are you telling me to use it?" Roak asked.

"I'm not forcing you, nor am I recommending it. It would definitely cause a lot of trouble for you. At the end of the day, this is your battle. You should do as you please."

Flashing a wicked smile, Owen gave his one-sided advice, and as if having said everything he needed to say, he took a sip of the black tea Jack had brought.

"...I'll think about it on my own for a bit," Roak said.

"That's for the best. Depending on the situation, this could heavily impact your future. You should think it over carefully before deciding."

"......"

With Owen's advice lingering behind him, Roak left the room.

"Haa..."

Ultimately unable to reach a proper conclusion, Roak felt as though he was just pointlessly wasting time and let out a deep sigh.

He had headed to the Grand Market, figuring a change of pace might help him clear his head.

However, his mind remained entirely consumed with thoughts of the Rank Battle. Even now, he had wandered into the Spirit Sealing Stone vendor area and was browsing for any spirits that might be useful in tomorrow's match. However, the high-ranking Spirit Sealing Stones were priced way out of reach for a struggling student like Roak, and buying a bunch of low-ranking spirits wouldn't be of any help at all.

"...Oh, this is," he muttered.

But on that particular day, he managed to find a rare bargain. While it was by no means cheap, it wasn't a price he couldn't afford, so he quickly snatched up the Spirit Sealing Stone he wanted and bought it before anyone else could.

"Alright..."

Having made a good purchase, his mood had lightened slightly, so he started walking toward a bookstore, thinking he might browse some Spirit Arts grimoires or Spirit encyclopedias next.

"Oops, excuse me," Roak said.

"No, the fault was mine," a man replied.

Walking while looking elsewhere, he accidentally bumped into a man coming from the opposite direction.

As always, the main street was bustling with festival-like energy regardless of whether it was a weekday or holiday. There were people as far as the eye could see.

"......Hm?"

As Roak continued walking carefully so as to avoid bumping into anyone else, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a single girl wearing a robe.

Her face was obscured by her hood, so he couldn't verify her identity, but the blonde hair spilling from beneath the hood as she peered through the glass into a store was remarkably beautiful. It was easy to tell that she must be quite a stunning beauty.

"...Ah."

He felt the natural curiosity any man would feel, wondering what kind of girl she was, but he wasn't going to go out of his way to check her face.

Roak was just about to walk right past her from behind, but right at that moment, the girl looked up and muttered something that made him pause and turn around.

"...Eh?"

Seeing the girl's face beneath the hood, Roak let out a similarly dumbfounded sound.

But of course he did.

Because the person standing there was none other than—

"What are you doing in a place like this, Princess?" Roak asked.

It was the Princess of the Romus Kingdom, Misha Romus.

"N-no, this is... M-more importantly! Why are you here, Roak Areas?" Misha stuttered.

"I'm just scavenging for some Spirit Arts grimoires," Roak replied.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu at this whole situation as he answered the clearly flustered Misha.

He'd thought the exact same thing back with Leia, but they probably thought they were hiding well in their robes, yet they couldn't conceal their sheer aura at all and were completely standing out.

Even now, passersby kept glancing at Misha as they walked by.

"I see. So you are preparing for the Rank Battle," Misha noted.

"Well, that's not entirely wrong."

Though his main goal was just to clear his head, it wasn't far off the mark.

"I heard that lately, you have even been skipping exams to prepare. Does this mean... I can expect a proper match from you this time?" Misha asked with a look of anticipation.

"W-well... I wonder," Roak replied ambiguously.

Even if she called it 'preparing,' he had barely accomplished anything. At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising if he waved a white flag and surrendered the moment the match started.

"More importantly, what were you looking at, Misha?" Roak asked.

"Eh? T-that's..."

Trying to derail the conversation, he asked why she had come to the Grand Market, which caused her to fluster once again and avert her eyes. Tilting his head in confusion at her behavior, Roak remembered that she had been peering through the store's glass window and took a peek inside himself.

"...Plushies?" Roak muttered.

"......!"

Dolls and plushies decorated the interior of the shop. Sitting perfectly in the spot Misha had been staring at was an adorable plush toy shaped like a Carbuncle, a small animal-type spirit with a ruby embedded in its forehead.

"N-no! It was just a coincidence... Yes, a coincidence! I felt a little suffocated by the crowd, so when I stepped aside to rest, I just happened to stop by this store!" Misha quickly defended.

"Oh, a coincidence, huh?"

It seemed she really wanted to hide the fact that she was looking at plushies. It was completely obvious, though. Personally, he thought it was perfectly normal for a girl her age to be interested in them. It didn't seem like something she needed to hide; was she really that embarrassed about it?

"So, are you going to buy it?"

"I will not!" Misha declared.

"But Carbuncle plushies are popular, so they'll sell out quickly, you know?"

"Eh?!"

At Roak's words, Misha looked surprised and turned her gaze back to the Carbuncle plushie. Looking closely, there were indeed fewer of them on the shelf compared to the other plushies.

"......"

Forgetting that he was even watching, Misha scrunched up her face and stared intently at the plushie, completely lost in thought. Roak smiled wryly at the sight. She had totally abandoned all pretense of hiding her interest.

"So, are you buying it?" Roak asked again.

"Kh! N-no. I don't have anywhere to display it anyway, and I'm not even interested in the first place..."

"Is that so..."

She claimed she wasn't interested, but her eyes were glued to the plushie, making it blatantly obvious that her words weren't genuine. Exasperated by Misha's sudden bout of clumsiness—which was completely unimaginable from her usual dignified demeanor—Roak figured this was a good opportunity.

"Wait here a second," he said, stepping into the store.

After checking the price tag and confirming it was an amount he could just barely afford, he called out to the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me, I'll take this Carbuncle plushie."

"Sure thing. Want it wrapped up?"

"Yes, for a present, please," Roak replied.

In stark contrast to the adorable plushies decorating the store, the burly-looking male shopkeeper carefully placed the plushie into a bag.

"Here you go. A present for your girlfriend?"

"No, it's more like a bribe, actually," Roak admitted.

"What the heck is that about?"

Handing the bag over with a puzzled expression, the shopkeeper watched as Roak smiled wryly, took the bag, and left the store.

"Sorry for the wait."

"Roak Areas. What exactly did you..."

Misha, who had obediently waited outside the store exactly as he told her to, shot him a suspicious look as he called out to her.

"Here," Roak said, handing her the bag containing the plushie he had just bought.

Tilting her head, Misha accepted the bag, peeked inside, and froze.

"Why...?"

"You wanted it, right?"

"N-no, that's not true!!"

"Then, do you not want it?"

"......"

At Roak's question, Misha fell silent. Well, it would be a problem if she said she didn't want it now, but...

Misha agonized over it for a while—looking far more serious than she ever did during a Rank Battle—before finally turning to Roak with a fierce intensity.

"How much was it?" she demanded.

"Eh?"

"I am asking for the price of this plushie. I will pay you back."

"You don't have to."

"No, I cannot possibly—"

"I said it's fine."

"...Ah."

Staring at the Carbuncle in her hands, Misha stiffened for a moment before her expression softened into a beaming smile.

"Thank y—"

"Alright, you accepted it," Roak cut off her gratitude with a sly grin.

"Eh..."

"So, in exchange, please let me decline my participation in the Great Spirit Martial Arts Fest—sorry, I'm just kidding."

Roak stopped his proposal mid-sentence because Misha's face had morphed into an expression he had never seen before. As expected, trying to bribe her with a plushie was pushing it.

"As the Student Council President, I absolutely cannot accept that proposal. I'm giving this back," she declared.

Despite her words, she clearly still had lingering attachments to the plushie, as her hands trembled while trying to return it. It almost made him feel sorry for her.

"My bad. Like I said, it was just a joke. Just take it as a 'thanks for your hard work' gift."

"...I have wondered this for a while, but is there some guilty secret as to why you won't summon your contracted spirit?" Misha asked.

"......"

Having fully intended to end the conversation and head home, Roak stiffened slightly at her words.

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Your reason for declining to participate in the Great Spirit Martial Arts Festival, and watching the way you normally fight, made me think so. To begin with, you always demean yourself, but if we look solely at your grades, you are an exemplary honors student," Misha explained.

"That's..."

"Do you think everyone with lower grades than you is incompetent?" Misha pressed.

"Of course not. If anything, they're—"

"Exactly. Given your values and the way you fight, it's only natural to assume that you feel some sort of guilt or burden regarding your contracted spirit."

"......"

Cut off by Misha's assertion, Roak was left speechless once more.

"Roak Areas. I believe I have told you this a few times before, but I will say it again. You need to accept the evaluation of those around you more. You are a much more splendid Spirit Master than you give yourself credit for," Misha declared.

"......"

"I don't know what you are hiding, but my assessment of you will not be overturned at this point. At the very least, not mine."

"...You really rate me highly, don't you?" Roak muttered, recalling how he had shown his pathetic self getting completely trounced by her in their Rank Battle.

Misha nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes, which is exactly why I've been telling you that you should participate in the Great Spirit Martial Arts Festival."

"Why?"

"It will give you confidence, won't it? Well, of course, securing victory for the academy is the primary reason, but still."

Participating in the Great Spirit Martial Arts Festival was an immense honor for any student, spreading their name across the nations. Most students who participated would take pride in the memory and use it to build their confidence.

"......"

Even without a contracted spirit, if I stood on the stage of the Great Spirit Martial Arts Festival, would I be able to gain confidence... Could I change this self-deprecating side of me?

He had no proof of that. In fact, he had always felt that participating would just be exposing himself to lifelong humiliation.

But if... If there were people like Gareth, Master, and Misha who acknowledged him even while knowing his circumstances...

"...Then I suppose I can't show them a shameful match," Roak muttered.

"...?"

"No, it's nothing."

Roak shook his head, a wry smile forming on his lips that felt somewhat refreshing, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I'm heading off. See ya, Princess," Roak said.

"Please wait. I still haven't paid you—"

"I've already received it. More importantly, take good care of that plushie," Roak grinned.

Leaving the confused Misha with those parting words, Roak walked away from the Grand Market without looking back.

"......"

Misha stared at his retreating back for a while before shifting her gaze to the plushie in her hands.

"...!"

Moving to a nearby alleyway and making absolutely sure no one was watching, Misha hugged the Carbuncle plushie tightly to her chest, a genuinely happy, age-appropriate smile blossoming on her face.

ToC