A C-Rank Magic Student Who Deludes Himself into Thinking He Is SSS-Rank - Chapter 22: Eliza Loredo <2>

“Ah…”

(…eh)

As Shion walked down the hallway to his next class, he noticed a girl student walking towards him stopped upon seeing him.

Recognizing the girl, Shion stopped momentarily but tried to walk past her as if nothing had happened.

But then,

“Hey, wait a minute. Why are you ignoring me?”

“Uh…”

Shion was stopped by the girl student, Eliza Loredo, who grabbed the back of his uniform.

Thrown off balance by the sudden pull, Shion’s steps halted.

“Why not greet me, at least?”

“…Ah, good work.”

While thinking to himself, (We’re not really on terms to greet each other…),” Shion turned towards Eliza, replied, and then turned to walk away, saying, “Well, then, I’m off.”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

“Uh…”

Eliza, sounding frantic, grabbed his uniform again to stop him.

“…Do you need something from me?”

“Ah, no… It’s not that I particularly need anything…”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be cold… But if you don’t need anything, I will go.”

“No, no… It’s my fault, sorry…”

Eliza said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Having his uniform released, Shion turned around and started walking away again.

But, after a short distance,

“Ah, wait, I do need something! Wait!”

Eliza hurried after Shion.

(This is bad, really bad)

Shion worried that Eliza might challenge him to a duel again, was trying to find an excuse to end their conversation quickly.

To him, Eliza Loredo was currently his biggest cause for caution.

Interacting with her could mean getting beaten up again in some way, and there was also the danger of his lack of magical talent being exposed, ruining the “pretense of hiding his true power” he had maintained during their last duel.

Especially the latter was a matter of life and death for Shion.

As he tried to find a way to avoid her, he turned and saw a very serious, almost burdened look on Eliza’s face.

“…What’s wrong?”

Sensing her seriousness, Shion responded to her call.

“That… I have something I want to ask you.”

“…If I can answer it.”

Shion prompted Eliza to ask.

“You told me before, ‘As long as you don’t give up, it’s not a loss.'”

Eliza, taking a deep breath, asked Shion.

Recalling their recent duel, Shion thought, (Did I say something like that?),” and remembered.

“…Ah, I did say that.”

“Do you think that as long as you don’t give up, you can eventually win against any opponent?”

“Of course.”

“…!”

Eliza showed a slight tremor to Shion’s affirmative response, which had no hesitation.

“Just one word, yet the weight of the words made Eliza slightly falter.

“So, you know my strength, but if I don’t give up…”

There was a slight hesitation, but Eliza continued with determination.

“Do you think I can win against Yufia Queensroad, the top-ranked in our grade?”

──Yufia Queensroad.

One of only three S-class magic students in the academy’s history, the top-ranked of the second year at Crawford Magic Academy.

A genius magician recognized by everyone and the strongest magic student at the academy.

Logically, A-ranked Eliza defeating Yufia Queensroad is unimaginable, no matter what miracle happens.

Surely, every magician in the world would agree.

Eliza herself knew this very well.

But, deep down, she hoped that the man before her would say, “You can win.” She asked Shion that question, hoping to be inspired by his words, just like during their duel.

A man with such an unfathomable resilience may say so.

However, Shion knew Eliza’s strength.

A person of her caliber would know better than anyone the gap between her and Yufia Queensroad, which no effort could bridge.

Perhaps even this man might say, “That’s impossible.”

Imagining that answer, Eliza instinctively felt like rejecting it.

Maybe she was ready to accept that she could never reach Yufia Queensroad if told so.

If the man who said, “As long as you don’t give up, it’s not a loss,” says it’s impossible, she might just give up.

Shion immediately responded to the trembling Eliza.

“What are you talking about?”

“…!”

Shion’s words and expression conveyed a message: “Don’t ask something so obvious.”

(─After all, it’s reckless…)

Eliza’s voice trembled as she tried to say it, but she was interrupted by Shion’s continued words.

“That’s… right… Forget what I just said…”

Eliza started to say, her voice trembling, but she was interrupted by Shion’s direct response.

“It’s obvious.”

“──…Eh?”

“No matter who the opponent is, if you keep fighting until you win, you’ll eventually win. It’s obvious.”

He stated this confidently.

“Eh, eh…?”

“Hm? Did I say something strange?”

Seeing Eliza’s surprised expression, Shion looked at her curiously. He felt it was necessary to confront her question head-on as her serious gaze demanded a sincere response. That’s why he answered straightforwardly, finding it strange that Eliza was surprised by it.

“No, it’s not that it’s strange…”

“─That’s absurd! How can that even make sense? It’s completely illogical!”

Eliza thought.

However, she could see that Shion was dead serious, not joking, and truly believed what he said.

Initially, Eliza had hoped for such an answer from Shion. She held back the urge to question him further.

She didn’t quite understand, but she thought this man would never stop, no matter his obstacles.

It might be an overestimation based on just one duel, but she somehow felt certain.

“No… I understand. Thank you for answering.”

“Sure.”

“There’s one more thing I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“If you had a dream and knew it was impossible, would you still not give up?”

“Yes, of course. The mere fact that it’s ‘impossible’ isn’t enough reason to give up on a dream.”

Shion answered without any hesitation.

“…I see.”

Eliza, seemingly expecting this response, continued with another question.

“But isn’t it ridiculous, pitiful, and foolish to chase a dream you know is impossible? Everyone around you’ll probably ridicule you.”

Saying this, Eliza felt a tightness in her chest as she related it to her situation.

“What others think doesn’t matter when you’re chasing your own dreams.”

To Eliza, who appeared somewhat pained, Shion replied simply.

“If being wise means not pursuing impossible dreams, then ── I’d rather be a fool.”

“────!”

Shion looked at Eliza with unwavering eyes.

“Struggling, striving hard, even if others laugh at it ── to me, a fool chasing their dreams is far cooler than such people.”

“…!”

Eliza was speechless for a moment after hearing this.

“…I see, understood.”

After a few seconds, Eliza managed those words, then turned her back on Shion.

Seeing this, Shion thought her matter was settled and said, “Well then,” preparing to leave.

But immediately after,

“I will… Definitely!”

Eliza spoke, causing Shion to stop.

When Shion turned around, Eliza still had her back to him.

Without turning around, she continued.

“One day, I will defeat Yufia Queensroad…!”

Saying this, Eliza turned towards Shion.

“And after I defeat her, I will settle things with you…!”

With her eyes and nose reddened, Eliza pointed at Shion and declared, “Remember that!”

“…Sure, I look forward to it.”

“Your confidence is so irritating…”

With a sigh, Eliza gave Shion a more serious look.

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“What?”

“…What exactly are you?”

“You can tell by looking at this uniform.”

Shion replied with a hint of pride.

“I’m just a C-class magic student. …See you.”

Saying that Shion turned his back on Eliza, waved his hand lightly, and walked away.

“…Really, such an annoying guy.”

As she watched his retreating figure, a strong determination grew in Eliza.

Someday, she will defeat Yufia Queensroad.

No matter how much she’s knocked down, the gap in strength, or how desperate the situation is, she won’t falter or stop again.

──She would never give up.

Once Shion’s figure disappeared, Eliza wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform.

◆

Several weeks later, the second-year A-class was again conducting mock battles during their lessons.

Eliza Loredo’s opponent was, just like before, Yufia Queensroad.

Despite diligently honing her magic over the past few weeks, the result was the same as before: a crushing defeat for Eliza.

Just like in the previous mock battle, all of Eliza’s full-force magical attacks were scattered by Yufia’s “Tyrannical Azure Water Dragon” – magic that conjured a dragon made of water – and finally, Eliza herself was engulfed by the magic and slammed into the barrier of the field.

Eliza collapsed on the ground and faced only a cold stare from Yufia, who had completely ceased her combat stance.

Yet, Eliza declared,

“I’m not done yet… It’s not over yet…!”

As she stood up and prepared a magic circle facing Yufia. However,

“Eliza, it’s over. You’ve lost. Please give the field to the next pair,”

said the teacher, who was supervising the mock battle just like before.

Glaring back at the teacher, Eliza was about to protest when,

“Please, teacher. Let me continue.”

she pleaded with a different tone than before.

Unlike her previous petulant attitude, her eyes now held a seriousness the supervising teacher had never seen before. Taken aback, the teacher tried to dissuade her again,

“It’s impossible, I cannot allow it. I’m not stopping you out of spite. I’ve judged that it’s dangerous for you to continue…”

“Please, teacher, let me continue…!”

Eliza interrupted, pleading earnestly.

Outside the field, her classmates whispered to each other, but Eliza paid no mind.

Her strong will to not give up and continue the match was clear to the supervising teacher.

“Your seriousness is clear, but it’s still too dangerous to continue…”

Still, as the supervisor of the mock battle, the teacher decided it was best to stop the match.

Then, an unexpected voice joined the conversation,

“Please, teacher.”

“Yufia?!”

Both the teacher and Eliza were surprised.

Yufia Queensroad had quietly approached them.

Ignoring their reactions, Yufia continued,

“Let us continue the match, please.”

“But, Yufia, even with your request, considering safety, I can’t allow the match to continue…”

“It’s okay. I assure her safety, no matter what.”

Yufia, still expressionless, insisted on continuing the match, forcing the teacher to reconsider.

If S-class mage Yufia Queensroad assured safety, whether she held back her attacks or stopped them before impact, Eliza’s safety was almost guaranteed.

“If Yufia says so, I understand. The match can continue. But I will supervise inside the field and intervene if it looks dangerous.”

With that condition, the teacher reluctantly allowed the match to continue and prepared to supervise.

“Why are you doing this, Yufia?”

Eliza asked, still unable to hide her surprise.

Yufia Queensroad was always expressionless and interacted with no one, and even after over a year at the academy, few had heard her speak outside of classes.

Moreover, there seemed to be no benefit for Yufia to continue the mock battle with Eliza.

Understandably, Eliza couldn’t believe Yufia’s actions.

“Why now, of all times?” Eliza wondered, filled with questions.

Yufia answered,

“Your eyes right now remind me of someone I respect most in this world.”

Eliza was puzzled.

Yufia’s expression remained blank, but it seemed almost happy to Eliza.

Then, “I don’t fully understand, but I’ll take this chance. I won’t hold back,” said Eliza, reenergizing herself for the match’s continuation, which again ended in her defeat.

Although they didn’t continue further that day, Eliza kept challenging Yufia in subsequent classes.

No matter how many times she was defeated by Yufia Queensroad, no matter how stark the difference in talent, Eliza Loredo never gave up.

Regardless of how foolish, pitiful, or laughable it seemed to others.

She continued to challenge herself, inspired by the words of a certain man──.