Never Compare Your Morals to Those of a Dead Otaku

Yet, despite everything, the condition Ji Qianluo had proposed was undeniably tempting.

‘Was I truly going to fight?’

After careful deliberation, I finally made up my mind.

Very well then, let the battle commence!

“Airi, you can do it!”

Lance had already retreated to the sidelines, offering his encouragement.

‘Go die, you utterly useless teammate! Just wait until this battle is over; I’ll deal with you then.’

I turned my body back towards Mage Aud, lowering my head so that he couldn’t discern my expression.

The young mage still seemed to hesitate, grappling with the dilemma of whether to strike at a young girl.

Ji Qianluo smiled faintly, observing our respective reactions.

Her slender arm rose, then, three seconds later, dropped decisively.

“Let the match begin!”

With the situation set, the mage, no matter how unwilling, had no recourse.

He swiftly raised his magic staff and began to chant a spell.

However, I did not wait for him to complete his incantation.

I took a swift step and strode quickly towards Aud.

‘Is this girl attempting to interrupt the mage while he’s still mid-chant?’

Surely, everyone present was thinking precisely that.

Yet, everyone understood that during a mage’s incantation, an impenetrable barrier would manifest around them, one that ordinary individuals could not shatter.

Interrupting a spell chant was utterly impossible, meaning this girl’s strategy was likely doomed to fail.

While I wasn’t entirely clear on the specifics, I generally knew that a mage’s incantation couldn’t be easily broken.

Thus, my approach had no such intention.

‘I had my own calculations.’

Ji Qianluo silently observed my movements, a clear expression of ‘What is this fellow trying to do?’ etched upon her face.

Finally, I stepped directly before Aud.

The mage had already completed half of his spell, and he fixed me with a peculiar gaze.

It seemed he believed I intended to interrupt his incantation and desperately wished to convey its impossibility.

However, as he was mid-chant, it was impossible for him to utter anything else.

‘How naive! Did they truly believe I, this lord, would resort to such a crude, low-level tactic? Allow me to demonstrate the profound wisdom of a Celestial Empire otaku!’

Taking a deep breath, I silently affirmed ‘Excellent’ in my mind.

Then, I slowly opened my mouth, deliberately pinching my voice, and uttered my first words.

“Uhm, are you truly unwilling to spare poor little me?”

The moment these words left my lips, the audience below, the other magic apprentices, and particularly Ji Qianluo, all stared with utterly dumbfounded expressions.

My voice, already inherently soft and endearing, coupled with the delicate vulnerability I now deliberately feigned, transformed into a truly captivating and alluring timbre.

‘But this is a match! What on earth is this girl trying to accomplish?’

I offered a faint smile, simultaneously raising my head slowly.

With eyes shimmering as if on the verge of tears, I gazed pitifully up at Aud, my lips, faintly aglow with a reddish hue, slightly parted.

“Onii-chan?”

‘Here it comes! The ultimate, lethally charming, mysterious address of a true otaku! While I had no idea if people in this alternate world would even comprehend it, that certainly wouldn’t diminish its devastating impact!’

This was my strategy.

Brute force was an absolute non-starter, and in that regard, I possessed no advantage whatsoever.

But I was a girl now!

My inherent advantage lay in the privileges of being a girl.

In other words…

Cuteness!

I’d overwhelm him with cuteness!

So much cuteness he couldn’t even finish his spell!

As a seasoned otaku, the array of girlish charm (and shameless tactics) I commanded was far from trivial.

I had absolute certainty that I could interrupt Aud’s spell!

Indeed, upon hearing my “Onii-chan” and witnessing my current expression, the mage’s face visibly flushed.

The spell he was chanting faltered for a moment, though only for a brief one.

‘Tch, still not enough?’

I pressed forward another step, gazing expectantly at Aud.

Pinching my voice once more, I resumed my assault.

“Nee-nee, Onii-chan, are you truly, truly so cruel? What did poor little me ever do wrong?”

Aud’s gaze grew visibly strained, and he retreated another step backward.

I pressed relentlessly forward.

“Nee-nee, Onii-chan, Airi is begging you, please don’t hurt Airi, okay?”

“Onii-chan…”

My words sank to progressively lower depths, becoming increasingly shameless.

What truly frightened me was how effortlessly they now flowed from my lips.

‘Oh no, it seems I’ve awakened something entirely new within myself.’

Regardless, my assault on the mage proved exceptionally effective.

Aud was forced to retreat, step by step, his face flushing an ever-deeper shade of red.

Finally, in one critical moment, Aud could bear it no longer.

He waved his thick, dark stick—no, his magic staff—and cried out.

“Waaah! Don’t come any closer!”

Immediately, an expression of ‘Oh no!’ flashed across the mage’s face, while mine was etched with triumph.

A chance!

Seizing the precise moment his spell was interrupted, I instantly ceased my verbal assault.

I spun, delivering a powerful back-kick.

My skirt billowed, and Aud’s face took the full impact.

It’s often said that a mage without the protection of their magic is weaker than an ordinary person, and that adage proved absolutely true.

Struck by the heavy blow, Aud was instantly sent flying, tumbling from the high platform.

The outcome was far more effective than I had ever anticipated.

The entire arena fell into stunned silence!