Overwhelming Firepower

Raina, whose consciousness was slowly returning, felt her body was rather heavy. It was rather weird; despite knowing her injuries would instantly heal once outside the arena, she swore she could still feel a burning sensation in her body.

Raina opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the doll-like face of Mireya Aeromont. It took several seconds for Raina to remember what happened.

”So I lost...” She murmured to herself.

”You put up a good fight, Raina Graven. Had you not fainted, I would have been the one in the bed and would have lost. No, I guess the two of us would’ve been on bed rest if you were able to hit me.”

”So… did you come here just to mock me?” Raina asked after a long silence, her voice rough. ”Hmph, as expected of a noble, to come here just to remind me that I lost to her.”

Hearing what Raina said, Mireya looked at her. The doll-like face was filled with confusion as she shook her head.

”I don’t understand why you would think I would do any of that. Mocking you for what exactly? I simply came here to see if you’re doing well, and to also give you my thanks.”

Raina blinked slowly as she looked at Mireya. It was now her turn to be confused by what was happening.

She was half expecting Mireya to curse at her and tell her that she was of lowly birth or something along those lines.

There was now a sudden silence in the infirmary, as the two girls looked at each other. One was looking at the other in curiosity, while the other was looking warily.

The soft rustle of curtains filled the room as a faint breeze slipped through the half-open window.

The smell of crushed herbs and disinfectant lingered in the air, blending with the faint sweetness of dried lavender hanging near the bedside.

Raina shifted slightly, as she felt rather tired. Her hands brushed over the rough linen blanket, its coarse texture reminding her that this was no dream.

Raina continued to stare at Mireya, trying to figure out what her true intentions were. Unable to guess what Mireya was thinking behind that stoic face of hers, Raina finally spoke.

”Thank me, why? Is this some kind of new way you nobles insult people?”

”I somehow understand why you would think that.”

Mireya’s tone was calm and measured. Mireya, who was sitting down, folded her hands neatly over her lap, eyes lowering for a moment as though choosing her words carefully.

”Based on everything you’ve said and done since I met you, it tells me you’ve had bad experiences with nobles. But that doesn’t mean all nobles are the same. Any being with a semblance of intelligence thinks differently; that’s why we are individuals and not one entity. To assume every noble is the same because of a few is like saying every commoner is the same.”

Mireya suddenly went and started giving some sort of lecture. Raina did not have the chance to interrupt her and simply continued to listen.

Raina wanted to argue to tell her that nobles would never understand, but the words stuck in her throat.

Maybe it was because Mireya’s voice carried no arrogance, or maybe because, for once, the noble in front of her was not looking down on her, nor did she take pity on her. She was looking at her not as a commoner but as Raina Graven.

’I guess what she’s saying does make sense. I treated every noble I met like they were all the same. It’s like I’m denying that there could be any kind of good in them... Isn’t the Iron Duke someone famous for defending Norvaegard without caring for his safety, and never needing any approval from others?’

Raina let out a slow breath, her gaze drifting toward the ceiling. She waited for Mireya to finish speaking.

”Are you done? Do you know you talk too much?”

”I was told before that I talk too little,” Mireya said simply. ”And that I should talk more and try to make friends.”

Raina blinked at that, unsure how to respond. ”…Is that so? Fine, then let’s get back to my original question. Tell me why you wanted to thank me.”

”Because I learned a lot from my match with you.”

Raina raised a brow. ”You learned from someone you just defeated.”

”I don’t really look at it that way,” Mireya replied.

”Too many people enter these matches with the thought that it might bring them honor and glory, but the only thing I want from these matches is the opportunity to better myself. Winning or losing means little to me.”

Mireya said as a matter of factly. ”Fighting you, I learned, that there were many ways to get past second circle illusion spells. I learned that even though you can’t infuse aura on an arrow once it leaves your touch, you can still manipulate it in a way that makes it powerful even without aura. The most important thing I learned from you is that tenacity is a powerful weapon.”

Mireya was once again reminded of the final attack that never reached, but the way Raina held her arrow, even while unconscious, was ready to attack, was something Mireya would never forget.

Raina looked away, lips tightening. ”Do other nobles think and talk like you?”

Mireya shook her head. ”Not many think the same way I do. I guess only Lucen would have similar thoughts.”

Raina shook her head as she looked at the girl before her. Despite the other party talking like someone older than her, everything else seemed normal. Not once did Mireya look down on her.

”Heh,” Raina suddenly chuckled.

”Did I say something funny?”

Raina smirked faintly, shaking her head. ”No. It’s just... You really don’t act like a noble.”

Mireya blinked once. ”Is that a compliment or an insult? I guess coming from you, I should take that as a compliment.”

”You’re a strange one, Mireya Aeromont.”

”I’ve been told that a few times,” Mireya replied lightly.

”Well, it’s a good kind of strange... I’m rather glad to have met you properly, Mireya Aeromont.”

”No need to say my full name all the time, you can just use my first name.”

Raina couldn’t help but smile at hearing Mireya’s reply. ”Then you can just use my first name as well. In fact, you can just call me Rain, that’s what the people back home call me.”

”... Is that your nickname? Since I can call you by your nickname, does that make us friends?”

”I guess it does.”

”Then if I call you Rain, then you need to call me by my nickname... But I don’t have one.”

”Then I’ll just call you Mia. That could be your nickname. Is that alright with you?”

”... Mia, that sounds nice. Very well, then I’ll call you Rain and you can call me Mia.” Mireya’s lips curved into a faint smile. ”Then it’s settled, Rain.”

Raina chuckled softly, shaking her head. ”You really are something else, Mia. Most nobles wouldn’t even bother to talk to a commoner like me, much less try to understand me... But you, on the other hand, seem to be trying to do that from the very start.”

”I do that with everybody. I figured that there was something to be learned from others, and to do that, I needed to try to understand them.”

”Heh, I guess that’s one way to learn.”

The two then continued their conversation. Mireya was trying to learn more about how commoners like Raina lived, while Raina was learning how other nobles that Mireya knew thought of commoners.

The two girls talked for a while longer, their conversation drifting from battle techniques to small, ordinary things, the food at the academy, their homes, the places they wanted to see someday.

By the time Mireya and Raina left the infirmary, the sun had already dipped behind the academy walls. The faint orange glow through the windows painted the corridors gold.

***

The third day of the Royal Academy Tournament was a rather uneventful one. The ducal heirs continued to win with relative ease, and so did Eisen Terre.

On the fourth day, Lucen noticed that there were a few students who either forfeited or did not make it on time to fight. It didn’t take long before he had a guess as to what was happening.

’So, they’re either bribing or threatening their competition. Hm, I guess a noble would try to remove Eisen from the equation right about now.’

Lucen decided to send Sir Thalos to defend Eisen during the night while he was in the estate, which was rather safe. Sir Thalos, who understood the situation, readily agreed to help.

”That young man has a bright future ahead of him. I won’t allow some filthy rats to dishonor this tournament, where many seek honor and glory.”

Once he had escorted Lucen back to the Thornehart estate, Sir Thalos would shadow Eisen Terre and protect him from possible kidnappings or assassinations.