Chapter 10
In a corner of the examination grounds, Fii sat crying into her knees .
(I couldn’t win…)
The strike that she had given her all for had hit Gorms in the head .
It wasn’t enough to take him down .
Even so, the damage he had taken was significant .
“Guh-…”
His massive body started to sway .
“Seriously? That Gorms got…!?”
“Oi, it can’t be that he’s really gunna lose, yeah?”
A shocked clamour ran through the spectators .
Fii’s airborne body landed on the ground .
(I couldn’t beat him with just one strike… I have to finish him off now…!)
Gorms was still unsteady on his feet .
Taking a deep breath, Fii raised her sword and kicked off the ground .
“I’m going to… win!”
In the next instant, the body that hit the ground was Fii’s .
“GUAHH-…!?”
An intense pain assaulted her legs . Because of the cramping sensation, her hands clutched at them .
The audience started to grow noisy .
“Oi, don’t tell me…”
“Muscle cramps…?”
Sponsored Content
“What the hell . ”
Fii’s body had reached its limit after avoiding Gorms’ fierce assaults .
That already strained body was then subjected to intense movement once more to give herself an opening, and then in the end she even sprung off a sword and tried to continue attacking when she reached the ground again . After all of that, her legs finally passed their limit .
In agony, Fii couldn’t stand .
Seeing that, the judge ran over .
Seeing that, Fii immediately said,
“I can continue…! I can… still continue…!”
And again, she tried to stand .
“Ow-… Aah…”
But her legs had reached their end a long time ago . It was impossible to stand while they were cramping that way .
Attempting to do so had only worsened the pain .
Sponsored Content
“I can still… I still haven’t… lost…”
Even so, Fii gripped her sword, and struggled against the ground to rise .
She didn’t want to lose . She had come all this way . Even though everything was just a single step away…
When the masked man presented her that question, Fii had taken it to heart .
There was nobody in that villa . Besides Fii, not a single soul . And that was where Fii’s life was destined to end . In the villa, surrounded by the tall walls, alone . In that gloomy place, alone . Always alone .
It was the resting place for an outcast who would fade away in solitude .
Fii couldn’t accept it .
She wanted to walk where the sun shone . She wanted to spend her life there with other people .
Fii thought that back when she was a child and still adored the tales of knights, she had seen light there .
As she approached marriageable age though, she was forced to quit the sword, and before she knew it, she had forgotten her dream .
But now, she felt it more strongly than ever .
Somebody like Crow-san . Some special person she had yet to meet . Friends, companions, seniors she had yet to meet . People who would look at the real her . Fii wanted to live in the place where she could find all that .
Sponsored Content
“I can’t lose… I can’t… give up… aahhh…!”
She struggle desperately against the ground, despite the tears from the pain, and the crowd silently watched her .
Even Gorms just stood stock still, dumbfounded .
It continued for a whole minute .
The referee knight shook his head sadly .
“With your body like that, you’re done…” he judged . “The winner of the match is Gorms!!!”
The moment she heard his voice, the power left her body .
(I lost… I couldn’t win…)
A cold despair permeated her heart .
(In the end… I couldn’t grab hold… of anything…)