In the center of the arena stood a young girl. Her blue hair was waving in the air and there was no emotion on her face. She was looking at her opponent with her blue eyes, waiting for him to make the first move.
Her opponent had black hair and brown eyes. He seemed ordinary—at least at first glance. This was the person I had coded in my mind as the "main character".
'So his name is Alex. What a coincidence. It feels like it's not just a simple coincidence that he's facing the person I consider to be the villain this early on.' I thought. I saw him as the main character because, for reasons I couldn't explain, he seemed like he was from outside this world. He held a gladius, a simple short sword that was ideal for both slashing and stabbing attacks. Then my gaze shifted to Zui. Sin of the Flower was also using a sword, but the sword she wielded looked unfamiliar to me.
The sword she was using resembled a kris but definitely wasn't kris. It was longer than a gladius. The sword had a wavy structure, and its curves were indistinct. If you didn't look closely, you might have thought this sword was straight. It was almost like the stem of a flower. The tip of the sword was flat. It didn't resemble a classic sword and appeared to be split in the middle. Main character stared at her a little longer before finally making the first move. The swords clashed and the sound of the two metals grinding against each other echoed throughout the arena.
They seemed to be testing each other's strength. From my perspective, both of them appeared equal. Therefore, I felt that the determining factor would be their technical capacity. Aside from that, I thought Zui had the advantage in terms of weaponry. After all, her oddly-shaped sword was longer than Alex's gladius. As long as she maintained her range, Zui would be one step ahead.
At this point, my eyes shifted to Viola, who was standing next to me. She seemed to be watching the fight just like I was. It was interesting that she had done what I did, especially since I had noticed that other people were avoiding looking at Zui. 'Now that I think about it, it was the Scarple family who uncovered the incidents involving Zui. Viola must have definitely encountered her.' I told myself. Even thinking about it made my stomach churn and caused me to question how Zui was even "healthy". I don't need to say it but certain DNA strands that should never have come together due to her birth had somehow merged. That's why it was strange that Zui was even here right now.
And I witnessed how well she took advantage of the length of her sword.
Main character quickly stepped to his left and lunged forward, hoping to close the distance. Sin of the Flower must have seen this, as she waited until the last moment and held her sword out toward Alex as if she were wielding a spear. Heavy armored knights who wield two-handed swords sometimes fight not just by holding the hilt but also by gripping the blade itself. Zui didn't need to do anything else because her target was already rushing toward her. Alex had already moved and he was unable to stop himself from being impaled by the flat tip of her sword. Due to the strange shape of the blade, it didn't have any piercing power but it carried overwhelming force. I was sure that the main character was currently suffering from a pain in his stomach.
He had lowered his guard and was holding one hand to his stomach. I saw Zui swing her sword diagonally, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity. Alex was barely managing to evade her attacks. Zui, now in an advantageous position, seemed to grow more confident and looked like she was going to win this battle.
However, I felt that something different was going to happen and I was about to witness my sense prove correct.
Suddenly, Alex had started to block the attacks instead of avoiding them. A gladius was typically not used for blocking because soldiers who wielded them used large shields. Nevertheless, he was successfully blocking Sin of the Flower's attacks thanks to its sturdy structure. Zui made a downward strike this time. Alex struggled to block the attack, as he was holding the sword with one hand. Then he suddenly let go of his sword. I saw him step to his left as the sword fell, catching the falling sword with his other hand. Zui looked taken aback by this but there was no change in her expression. She quickly tried to position herself to protect her body, as there was doubt that her opponent would target for her abdomen.
But when she felt the cold steel against her neck, she genuinely looked surprised. Her opponent had anticipated her next move, and accordingly aimed his finishing strike at her neck. At that point, I noticed that, just like in the fight between Viola and me, the other people in the arena were watching them. For an unknown person to defeat the terrifying Sin of the Flower, even if it was just a training match, must have been shocking. Zui had no move left to make. She raised her hand and signaled her surrender. After gaining this victory, the main character pulled his sword from Zui's neck.
"That kid really knocked Zui out!"
I looked at Viola's shocked expression beside me. It seemed that everyone except me thought Zui would win easily. Since I had potential information about Zui right in front of me, I wanted to ask her about Zui. I had learned that Zui's past was real, but the vast majority of people viewed it as a "rumor". Since I had once accepted it as just a rumor myself, it would be more appropriate for me to speak of Zui as if I were unaware of who she was.
"Do you know her?"
It was clear that Viola hadn't anticipated my question. Assuming that the source of my inquiry was simple curiosity, she answered indirectly.
"Um... We've never talked face to face but I know of her. Of course, in general, she's weaker than me, but..."
"But?"
"Ah... Her past is a bit strange. You'll definitely find out who she is. I don't want to tell you this and feel like I'm talking behind her back."
Viola's final sentence surprised me a little. 'For a noble, she must be not only foolish but also clearly naive.' I thought to myself. Nobles tended to walk around wearing a mask of courtesy among themselves, keeping their true thoughts to themselves. Because of this side of Viola, I began to question whether she was truly a noble. After all, she could have been someone who dyed her hair the color of a Scarple just to look like one, but I had heard her last name before she fight me.
I wanted to set aside the question marks in my mind because they were seriously multiplying. I couldn't help but wonder about Viola's strangely naive behavior and why I couldn't stop thinking about Zui. Moreover, these questions were branching out and growing within themselves. While contemplating whether I should be an even bigger nuisance in the nobles' lives, I continued to watch the other battles. After the fight between Zui and Alex, nothing noteworthy occurred and all the battles came to an end.