EDM 5

The next day, Kafka had such a bad headache, probably from the aftereffects of his injuries, that he submitted an absence form. He spent the whole day inhaling Millenka smoke and sleeping, finally waking up around evening, feeling ravenously hungry.

As he sat up in bed, he felt a pain in his stomach and dry heaved. It was a natural reaction, considering he hadn’t eaten for a day and a half since the previous evening.

With no other choice, he threw on a dressing gown over his pajamas and staggered out of his room. The dinner hour wasn’t over yet, so he figured he could go down to the dining hall and find something to eat.

But contrary to his expectations, most of the food platters were empty because there wasn’t much time left until the end of the serving period. Since he was just planning to grab a quick bite anyway, he simply put some salad and fruit on a plate and took a seat in the corner.

As he was reading a book he had brought from his room and munching on an apple, the dining hall doors suddenly burst open with a loud bang. It was Jade, the representative of the Magic Department’s eighth grade.

“Hey, there’s a fight between the Swordsmanship Department kids on the first floor of the main building!”

Jade’s voice echoed like thunder throughout the large dining hall. The noisy dining hall fell silent in an instant at the sudden live announcement.

Fights were a major source of entertainment in the otherwise dull school life. Duels between students from the Swordsmanship and Magic Departments were especially worth watching, so they were a spectacle not to be missed.

As soon as the news spread, teleportation magic was cast from all directions. The whooshing sound unique to teleportation tickled the inside of his ears as if air was being blown into them. Kafka frowned and scratched the inside of his ear with his pinky finger.

‘A fight in the Swordsmanship Department…’

Could it be ‘that incident’?

But Soren had just transferred yesterday. It was still too early for that incident to happen. Therefore, it was likely just one of those run-of-the-mill squabbles. The Swordsmanship Department was particularly prone to fights, after all.

Thinking that, Kafka peeled the remaining banana on his plate and shoved it into his mouth. He realized he wanted to go check it out. Not because he enjoyed watching fights. He just wanted to see with his own eyes that it was nothing serious.

He cast Teleport, but due to a lack of mana, he ended up in the corridor on the third floor of the main building instead of the lobby on the first floor. As soon as he arrived, the loud commotion assaulted his ears. The first floor, where the duel was taking place, seemed to be heavily guarded by spectators, making it difficult to get to the center. As a result, even the corridors on the second and third floors were crowded.

Kafka squeezed through the crowd and checked the situation below. The sound of swords clashing was so intense that it could be heard clearly even on the third floor. The thick dust rising from the broken walls and fixtures was an added bonus.

“Who’s fighting?”

He overheard the conversation of students surrounding the railing. They didn’t seem to notice Kafka’s presence, and they were using the derogatory term ‘Sonder Duke’s Fighting Cock.’

“It’s him and a transfer student, apparently?”

“Didn’t they say that Fighting Cock awakened his Aura? Isn’t the transfer student going to die?”

“But it looks like the transfer student can use Aura too. Look, they’re clashing with Sword Energy.”

Oh, dear. Kafka’s expression darkened as he looked down at the first floor. The movements of the combatants were so fast, and the dust made it difficult to see clearly, but he could definitely see blue flames sparking. It was the phenomenon that occurred when Aura clashed with Aura.

The great brawl between Soren and Aisha that destroyed the first floor of the main building.

An original event from the webtoon that could never happen in the novel version, where Aisha didn’t show much talent in swordsmanship, and the starting point of the Soren-Aisha couple.

‘But it’s too early…’

Originally, it should have happened around the second semester, after Aisha’s awakening had progressed further. Kafka quickly darted his eyes around, trying to follow the afterimages of the two. It was clear that one of them was at a disadvantage, but he couldn’t tell whether it was Soren or Aisha. A strange sense of foreboding ran down his spine.

Bang!

At that moment, a figure was knocked away with a loud crash and slammed into the floor. Through the hazy dust, he saw pink hair scattered on the ground.

“Aisha!”

Kafka immediately teleported down to the lobby on the first floor. Pushing through the dust and the crowd, he approached Aisha, who was sitting on the floor with a nosebleed. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be seriously injured, but her sword was broken, making further combat impossible.

“Are you okay?”

As he wiped the blood from her nose with the sleeve of his gown and checked on her condition, a dark shadow suddenly fell behind him. He turned around and saw Soren looking down at him with a fierce glint in his red eyes.

“I’ll surrender, so stop now!”

Aisha gritted her teeth and reached out to shield her brother. Kafka couldn’t help but flinch slightly, wondering if Soren would really attack despite the concept of chivalry. Soren’s sword still had blue Aura blazing on its blade.

“How about we stop here.”

Kafka said in a tense voice. Soren’s red eyes followed Kafka’s gaze to his sword in his right hand. Only then did he realize that he hadn’t sheathed his Aura, and he made a dumbfounded sound.

“My apologies.”

With those words, Soren returned his sword to its scabbard. Then, as if to show that he had no intention of attacking further, he sent his sword to his subspace pocket and spread his empty hands wide. He wasn’t crazy enough to swing a sword at an unarmed classmate.

“I thought you’d be bedridden with a cracked skull, but you’re surprisingly energetic.”

Just a Jerk.

“That Jerk…!”

Aisha’s eyes widened as she stood up from her seat. Soren tilted his head, looking at Aisha, who was panting.

“I wouldn’t refuse if you want to continue.”

“…”

“But I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Soren’s gaze went to Aisha’s broken sword. He didn’t seem to care that she was bleeding from her nose. Kafka stood up, pulling slightly on Aisha’s robe sleeve. Her light blue eyes, identical to his own, looked at him.

Stop it. Kafka whispered, shaking his head at Aisha. Only then did Aisha seem to calm down, taking a deep breath. Then, she spat out blood-tinged saliva and wiped away the remaining blood from her nose.

“You, I’m warning you.”

“…”

“If you call my brother that again, I won’t let it go.”

The loser of the duel was threatening the winner. It was a scene that would make a passing dog laugh, but no one around could laugh at Aisha. Her forehead was flushed, and her voice was extremely fierce. Making a sound of laughter here was tantamount to declaring her as a lifelong enemy.

Soren shrugged, looking at Aisha with an indifferent expression. His tone, typical of someone from the capital, was annoying as he spat out his lines.

“I can’t promise anything.”

“What?”

His red eyes slowly turned to Kafka. Aisha was yelling about what he had just said, but Soren ignored her and stared intently at Kafka.

“…”

It was as if only he and Kafka were left in the world, his gaze so persistent.

The longer their eyes met, the more Kafka felt an inexplicable sense of pressure. It was because of the unknown hostility in Soren’s eyes. The feeling was too much to have arisen from a single encounter on the emergency staircase.

Of course, they had engaged in a bit of a battle of wills back then… He suddenly regretted the past. If he had known that he would be so disliked, he would have quietly passed by.

‘Has my memory become hazy because it’s been too long since I was reincarnated?’

He didn’t seem this Jerk-ish or petty. The generous image he had seen in the webtoon felt like a lie. Kafka slowly opened his mouth, his face stiff with tension.

“Soren Ibelnoia… right?”

He said it in case, just in case, it wasn’t Soren. Soren’s eyes became strange. He tilted his head again, as if questioning.

“I don’t remember exchanging names with you.”

“I heard rumors. That there was a transfer student.”

“I heard this was a school only for nobles, so I thought it would be a little different, but the tongues are loose.”

The surroundings buzzed at the aggressive remark. It was a statement that should not have been made if he wanted to have a comfortable school life. Kafka subtly surveyed the mood of the crowd surrounding them. Sure enough, everyone was already frowning and glaring at Soren with hostile eyes.

‘It’s a relief, in a way.’

This duel would be the talk of the town for the next few days, and he was grateful that Soren was drawing attention like that. It was a hundred times better to have the topic be that Soren Ibelnoia was extremely annoying than that Sonder’s Fighting Cock had lost to a transfer student.

“I don’t know how you ended up fighting with my sister…”

“He started the fight.”

“…”

“I just accepted it.”

“You called my brother a moron!”

Aisha shouted. Kafka rubbed his forehead. Did she have to advertise to the whole school that her brother had been called a moron…?

Soren’s gaze, which had been directed at Kafka all along, turned back to Aisha. Aisha, undaunted, pointed at Soren and huffed.

“You didn’t even take the injured person to the infirmary and just left, what? A moron?”

“…”

“Even if he was a bit off back then. Isn’t it possible that it’s because he hit his head!”

“Aisha…?”

Kafka pulled on Aisha’s sleeve again. He was now simply embarrassed by the current situation. Afraid that a second round would start if he left her alone, Kafka stepped forward and blocked Aisha. It was a calculation to see if blocking her line of sight would help.