The Price of a Lie

No one present was unfamiliar with the sound of shattering glass. At the signal that someone had been eliminated, the students who had been warily circling Agniell snapped their heads toward the source of the noise.

“—Ensi?”

“Lily, it makes me feel a bit guilty if you believe me so easily when I say I’m elsewhere.”

Standing beside the already-teleporting classmate, Ensi wore a relaxed smile, basking in the collective gaze of utter shock. For a moment, Lily’s mind went blank at the appearance of the person she was certain was miles away.

‘Agniell lied? Seriously? That Agniell?’

It was unbelievable. To Lily, the shock was doubly painful because, as Ensi noted, she had accepted the lie without a single doubt.

“You… you…!”

She should have remained suspicious; she should have warned the others. Regret bit at her, but it was too late. Of course, it wasn’t entirely Lily’s fault. Given Agniell’s usual stoic and upright nature, anyone would have taken his word as gospel.

Ensi let a thin smile play on his lips. The plan had worked even better than expected, proving just how much everyone viewed Agniell as a man of stubborn integrity.

Regardless, while everyone was dazed, he needed to thin the herd. Ensi raised his sword and thrust toward the stomach of the student closest to him. He intentionally avoided vitals like the heart or neck; these were knight candidates, and their instincts would likely trigger a parry if he aimed for a lethal blow.

His intuition was correct. Even as he felt his blade meet the resistance of a dull protective barrier, he slashed horizontally with force. The artifact registered a “fatal blow,” and a sharp clink filled the air.

“—What are you doing! Snap out of it and stop Ensi, now!”

Lily, who had been stammering like a fool, finally regained her senses at the sound of a second elimination. At her command, the remaining students lunged toward Ensi. Though their coordination was clumsy and full of openings, their sword paths were fierce.

“You scammers! Are you even knight candidates, acting like this?!”

“The one who gets fooled is the one at fault.”

“…Probably.”

Agniell added the last word with a hint of uncertainty. He was simply defending the situation because it was Ensi’s plan.

“Agniell, this way!”

Ensi moved like a dancer, weaving through the simultaneous strikes. Parrying only the unavoidable blows, he maneuvered himself toward Agniell’s position. Though they had taken out two, five remained. Even for Ensi, handling five at once was a tall order. Realizing Ensi’s intent, Agniell immediately surged forward to meet him.

“Aren’t you all looking down on me a bit too much?”

Despite Agniell’s explosive speed, Lily was quick enough to intercept him. She felt sorry for Ensi, but she decided she had to lock Agniell down until the others finished the job.

“And Lily, aren’t you looking down on me too?”

“Ack!”

Sensing a blade thrusting toward her back along with Ensi’s voice, Lily let out a short yelp and spun around just in time to parry. Naturally, Agniell didn’t miss the opening created by Lily’s focus on Ensi. He brushed past the two of them, skillfully knocking away a sword aimed at Ensi’s flank.

Finding the targets of their duel suddenly swapped, Lily bit her lip.

“Ah— seriously, Ensi! Your footwork is unfairly fast!”

“You’re parrying just fine, aren’t you? Stop complaining.”

But this wasn’t working. Could Agniell take on five of them? Her original plan was predicated on her keeping Agniell busy while the others looked for an opening. Now, the entire strategy was being scrapped before it could even be executed. She had underestimated the variable that was Ensi.

“It’s so annoying to be tricked so stupidly.”

“I know. If it weren’t for Agniell, you would have seen through it easily, right?”

“Exactly! Who would expect Agniell to lie? Especially since he likes you—it made everything he said sound so much more believable!”

Despite her irritable tone, Lily’s blade was cold and precise. Knowing Ensi was relatively weaker in raw strength, she pressed him hard. Ensi responded calmly to her heavy, rapid strikes, his eyes flickering toward Agniell’s back.

“Are you worried about Agniell?”

Lily, catching his gaze, wore a playful smirk. As their blades clashed and locked, she leaned in, her eyes glinting with mischievous intent.

“Hey Ensi, don’t you actually like Agniell too?”

She whispered it in a voice low enough that the others fighting behind them couldn’t hear.

“—What are you talking about so suddenly?”

At the blunt but certain question, the balance of power that had been holding steady wavered for a split second. Though Ensi regained his composure quickly, the momentary lapse had consequences. The locked blades tilted toward Ensi’s side, allowing Lily to step forward and exert even more pressure.

“Come on, Ensi. If it were the usual you, you would have avoided a fight like this long ago. You say you hate troublesome things.”

Ah, he’s wavering.

Ensi had always seemed detached, almost transcendental. Seeing this change in him made Lily smile inwardly. While she had said it to rattle him, she also genuinely wanted to wake up her friend, whose self-awareness was lagging. The signs had been clear since the training session two weeks ago, and it was frustrating to see him carry on without a clue.

She knew it was a bit low to launch a “confession attack” during an exam where they were supposed to be eliminating each other. But then again, the best time to push someone is when their mind is busy.

“Titania told me. That hairpin… she said it looks like you wear it every day because Agniell gave it to you.”

“That’s—!”

“Oh? So it’s true. Titania’s intuition really is spot on.”

Ensi’s hair was tied back with that very pin today. It was a marked difference from his usual habit of leaving it loose and unmanaged. Seeing the change pointed out so directly, Ensi’s eyes darkened.

“……Be quiet, Lily.”

Clang! With a dull, heavy sound, Ensi shoved Lily back. She scrambled to regain her stance.

“Um… Ensi. You’re not actually angry, are you?”

His warning voice was dangerously low. There was a faint, oppressive weight to his tone. She had only meant to distract him, not truly enrage him. Lily shifted her eyes awkwardly, so flustered she almost forgot they were in the middle of a battle.

Ensi tilted his head and stared at her with a void-like expression. Even though his sword tip was pointed toward the ground, a chill ran down her spine. It felt as if a sharp thorn was hovering right at her throat.

“Ensi…?”

Crystalline shatter—!

Had she ever received such a cold look from him? Caught off guard by a side of Ensi she had never seen, Lily forgot the exam and reached out a hand toward him—only for a heavy blade to strike her from behind.

“—By the way, Lily. I’m not angry.”

“……Huh? Eh? What?”

“You shouldn’t get fooled twice, you dummy.”

“You’re… not angry?”

Realizing the previous moment had been nothing but an act, Lily looked at him with eyes full of betrayal. Ensi’s eyes crinkled into a soft smile. He gave a light wave as her teleportation sequence began.

“And you were trying to shake me, but unfortunately, you’re a step too late. I’ve already admitted it.”

“—What? Liar! Since when!?”

Wait, what? How is his self-awareness this fast? This isn’t how the romances I read go! Even Titania and Cyril took forever to realize!

Confused by Ensi’s words, Lily didn’t even have the chance to be angry at Agniell for ruthlessly stabbing her in the back.

“You… you…! Just wait until the exam is over! For sure!”

Lily vanished before she could hear a reply. Ensi let out a quiet laugh at the lively energy she left behind. Beside him, Agniell sheathed his sword.

“Agniell, I’m sorry for leaving all of that to you.”

“It’s fine. They were targeting me anyway, so it was only right that I handle it.”

As Ensi tucked his own sword away, he looked at the area behind Agniell and let out a soft exclamation.

“The fight must have been quite rough.”

Thick branches were snapped everywhere, and deep, jagged gouges were carved into the earth. Unlike Agniell’s usual controlled style, these were marks of violent, raw power.

“I… I didn’t manage to get all of them.”

Agniell turned his gaze away from the evidence of his rampage. He intentionally tried to lead Ensi in the opposite direction to change locations. Since there was no reason to stay, Ensi followed his lead.

“It’s alright. Now that Lily is out, they won’t try to attack us again.”

Those who fled likely realized that taking down Agniell was an impossible task. There was no need to worry about those who had already lost their will to fight.

“Anyway, we haven’t found a campsite yet, have we? We should move before the sun sets.”

“Shall we head back to the valley? We haven’t confirmed if the information was true, and we still haven’t secured water.”

“True. Let’s go and see if the tip was real.”

Despite the fierce battle they had just concluded, the two began walking back toward the valley, chatting as calmly as if they were merely out for a stroll.