Chapter 9: Afternoon Class(2)

Philip and Edgar.

A name that makes you wonder who came up with it, as if it were Dumb and Dumber.

“Isn’t that right, Philip?”

“I think so too. Edgar.”

The main characters of this name were none other than those two.

The names that the original fans gave to those guys who were always together whenever they appeared.

There were usually two cases where fans of the original gave them separate names even though they weren’t the main characters.

They either had a leading role-level presence, or they had that many people who didn’t like them.

Of course, Philip and Edgar were the latter.

Because whenever they appeared, they would always pick a fight with the main character by using the fact that they were their seniors.

Of course, due to the nature of the genre, they were always taught a lesson by the main character.

If you think about the position of fans who are immersed in the main character and read the novel, the appearance of those two was not a pleasant thing at all.

And, that was something I could totally relate to.

If I think about my current situation, they were characters that were annoying enough to me.

It wasn’t like this originally.

The original Lian Trice was not on bad terms with them, but rather, they were almost best friends.

They drank together at the academy where drinking was prohibited.

They skipped class for 7 hours straight without permission.

They were the problem children of the academy who enjoyed doing bad things together.

If it were the original, Lian Trice should have been included in it up until now.

-I’m leaving here today. –

-What? What was that all of a sudden…….

It was just that I possessed Lian’s body.

After I became Lian Trice, I was the first to get out of there.

Since our relationship ended like that, there was no need to talk about our relationship after that.

“Isn’t that bastard ignoring us again?”

“That’s right, he’s being ignored by all the students.”

They think of me as a traitor who ran away cowardly.

They try to get rid of their image as a loser by not getting involved with them.

This was the current relationship between me and those guys.

We both know that if we touch, we’ll shatter like glass.

The problem here was this.

“Lian Tris. Don’t ignore me and answer me.”

“Ha, here we go again.”

I tried my best to avoid breaking the glass, but that damned troublemaker only thought about punishing the ‘traitor’ regardless of whether the glass broke or not.

When he couldn’t get a response from me, Edgar naturally turned his gaze to Ellis, who was sitting next to me.

“Ellis Akstra, what happened to you?”

“Hmm. I don’t know why I’m suddenly getting angry at you when I was just sitting still, but what’s going on?”

“Why are you next to this punk?”

“Oh my, I’m sitting next to this guy. It would be more accurate to say that there was no other place to sit.”

As always, Ellis, with her flexible speech, lightly proved that she had nothing to do with me.

I thought it was very Ellis-like.

The way she quickly got out of the way when she thought she was going to get involved in a fuss.

‘……I won’t comfort you again.

Of course, it was absurd for me, who had been comforting Ellis until just now.

I helped her and now she’s acting like this.

Will I ever be there to listen to her again?

As I made this determination in my heart, Edgar’s gaze was soon turned to me again.

“Really? Then I don’t need to pay attention to you.”

“…”

“Lian Trice. How long are you going to ignore me like this?”

“That’s right. You cowardly brat.”

“Is it so hard to accept my offer? My offer to have a manly fight and call it a day.”

Edgar spat out the words, looking at me as if he absolutely did not understand.

In fact, this was a story that had been coming up for quite some time.

Edgar, who could not suppress his anger, asked me to spar.

However, up until now, I had been indifferent to that.

The reason was simple.

Because I hadn’t yet shaken off the image of a rascal, I thought there would be no benefit to getting involved in such gossip.

If I had accepted the offer, I probably wouldn’t have heard this regardless of whether I won or lost.

People don’t change.

Now, I’m fighting with the problem kids I used to play with.

‘Lian Tris’ never changes.

That’s why I didn’t accept it.

Until now, I was someone who thought that if I tried hard, anything would change.

“Anyway, he’s a coward. His only good point is that he has a pretty little sister.”

“That’s right, Edgar. Did you see him this morning? He was running down the hallway with his little sister crying?”

“Ha. There’s no way I didn’t see it. There’s no way I missed that great sight.”

“… What on earth are you guys talking about?”

“What are you talking about? You’re saying that the only good point of the guy sitting next to you is that he has a pretty little sister.”

“. Edgar Tristan.”

But not anymore.

I wasn’t the kind of person who cared about my image enough to tolerate such insults right in front of me.

-At most, it was a year.

To be exact, he was someone I didn’t need to worry about.

“I’ll accept your offer. Let’s spar right now.”

“…”

“What are you doing? Come out with your sword.”

At the same time as I said that, I grabbed the sparring sword that was always like a decoration in my hand.

***

The afternoon class where the students’ sparring was going on as usual.

The new wind that suddenly started blowing in this afternoon class that was as usual made the students who were tired of boredom fill with anticipation.

“Who will win?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Of course it’s Edgar. Even if he’s a problem child, would that punk who didn’t have any friends to spar with win?”

The students debated eagerly, wondering who would win.

And, Ellis, who had been quietly watching the students, muttered a sentence.

“What’s with that guy all of a sudden?”

Ellis knew better than anyone that Lian hated being the subject of gossip.

To get rid of the punk image, Ellis knew very well that Lian had tried to get information about her in order to somehow wash away her image as a loser.

“That person who was like that suddenly wants to spar.”

Because she was that kind of Ellis, the current situation was even more absurd.

Of course, it was true that the man named Edgar had crossed the line first.

The sentence she had heard earlier was a sentence that would have shocked even her, who was immune to most personal attacks and harassment.

What kind of person would bring up their younger sister’s story at that level in front of their brother who was listening?

It would have been better if only the people who were there had heard it.

If it had been said in public, it would not have been strange if it had been buried as it was.

“Ellis Akstra. You’re here.”

“……Your Highness the Princess.”

As she thought that and watched the two people slowly preparing for the sparring, Princess Layla had come closer before she knew it.

“Can I sit next to you?”

“…Of course.”

After asking her if she could sit, Laila sat down as soon as she answered.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Well, I’ve never seen them fight before, so I’m not sure who would win.”

“Hmm. For Ellis Akstra, who supposedly knows everything, to not know that? This will be an interesting duel.”

As expected, the princess already knew what kind of person she was.

“…Your Highness, you flatter me.”

“Praise? I made my own judgment based on what I saw and heard myself.”

“…I see.”

She felt uncomfortable with Princess Layla.

To be exact, it would be more accurate to say that she felt inferior.

Inferiority complex.

These are words that are absolutely difficult for her to accept, as she has stronger pride than anyone else.

But, the words that I recognized faster than anyone else.

Talent and effort.

The difference between the two was clear.

The efforts of an ordinary person can make that person reach the top 10 percent.

The efforts of a genius can make that genius reach a place so high that they are invisible.

The difference between Ellis and Layla was like this.

Come to think of it, why did that person comfort you so much earlier?

Because I knew that difference better than anyone else, the comfort from Lian Trice that I heard earlier touched my heart even more.

If it had been normal, I would have just laughed it off.

Now, the person who was making a pointless effort to get rid of his image as a loser had comforted her.

-Thank you.

However, the girl earlier was different.

Maybe it was because she had just lost the duel with the princess, but she wholeheartedly accepted Lian Trice’s comfort.

That’s why.

She reacted to the words of the human named Edgar, who would have never reacted because she thought of her image normally.

‘Maybe it wasn’t him who had become strange, but me.’

It was a thought that suddenly occurred to me.

In order to somehow shake off this thought that was about to make her blush, she asked the princess in return.

“Who do you think will win, Your Highness?”

“Are you asking me a question that you don’t know much about?”

“Of course. All the students in the academy should know that Your Highness is more capable of seeing people than I am.”

“Ellis, you’re the one who’s overpraising me. My ability isn’t that great.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“But even so, I guess I can make a prediction.”

Layla took a deep breath and spoke with her sapphire jewel eyes shining brighter than anyone else’s.

“Lian Trice.”

“…”

“For some reason, I think Lian Trice will be the winner of that duel.”

She wanted to ask what the basis was, but Ellis couldn’t.

Her eyes were filled with confidence.

Although she said she wasn’t sure, the princess’s eyes, which were already certain of who would win, made her keep her mouth shut.