I Reincarnated as a Mob in a Depressing Erotic Video Game World. When I Saved the Main Heroine That Fallen Into Despair, Her Overwhelming Obsessive Love for Me Wouldn’t Stop. - Chapter 11

That night, I let Ena stay in my room.

She slept, making little breaths as she was curled up in her small body.

Her face was completely relaxed… just like at the inn, maybe she felt my room was a safe place too.

“Alright, I’m going now, Ena.”

I said that to her while she was still asleep and left the room.

Then, I started getting ready for tomorrow’s duel—.

◇◇◇

Time passed. Ena woke up the next evening.

I thought maybe she hadn’t been able to really sleep properly until now. This morning, I’d woken her up with my loud voice, and the guilt from that kept gnawing at me.

“Ah… Shiruto-kun…?”

She opened her eyes slightly and muttered my name.

“…I‑I’m sorry…! I just… fell asleep without noticing…”

“It’s okay. But did you sleep well?”

“Eh… ah, y‑yeah…”

Ena nodded, her lips trembling a little.

I understood. The trauma from the bullying she’d faced wouldn’t heal in a day or two. It would take a long time before her heart could really trust someone again.

But first.

Today, I had to make Irwin admit his crimes and change the atmosphere of this academy. That would be a big step toward helping Ena recover.

“…Shiruto‑kun. What time is it…?”

“Just past five, I guess.”

“Eh… the duel…! In the evening…”

“Yeah. If I don’t go soon, it’ll be a forfeit. Well, I’ll go and win.”

I gave a big thumbs‑up. Ena looked down, worried as always, but she didn’t say anything to stop me.

“Alright then… see you later, Ena.”

I couldn’t help but pat her hair. Ena squinted her eyes and looked ticklish.

“Wah…”

“Ah… I’m s‑sorry! I just couldn’t help it…”

“No, it’s okay… hehe. I’m happy, really.”

Her cute smile gave me a hundred times more courage. I had been a little nervous, but it disappeared instantly.

“Alright then, I’m off.”

“…Yeah. Do your best, okay?”

Ena hated seeing anyone get hurt. Deep down, she probably wished this duel with Irwin wouldn’t happen.

But she was also kind enough to respect someone else’s choices. That “do your best” probably carried more meaning than the words themselves.

Now, it’s finally time.

Irwin Selbus, that worthless protagonist. I’m going to make him understand.

His story is almost over.

◇◇◇

The Eratel Magic Academy had a huge dueling arena.

A stone-built circular coliseum with seats for over a thousand people.

―At the very center, the stage for the duel, I stepped in boldly.

“You’re late, you worthless mob.”

Straight ahead with his silver-haired boy is Irwin Selbus, who spoke with a mocking tone.

“I’m not late. On the other hand, you seem to be way too early.”

“Well, I couldn’t wait to see you kneel before me.”

“Haha. You really are just a kid.”

“…Tch.”

Irwin clicked his tongue and glared at me.

From the VIP seats above, Cynthia-sensei, who arranged this duel, looked down at us and said,

“―It’s time. The magical duel between students will now begin.”

The audience… was almost full. Not just students, but some outsiders too.

In modern times, magical duels were rare and mostly considered outdated. This giant arena was mostly used for magical training.

Still, students wanted to watch to learn, and outsiders probably wanted the thrill of seeing a real duel. So this worked in my favor.

(Ena… she’s… not here, as I thought.)

I exhaled in relief. Considering her situation, she shouldn’t be in a crowd like this.

But thanks to the student council’s <Projection> magic, this duel would be broadcast all over the academy. Everyone with a slate-like device (basically a magical smartphone) could watch.

Ena, she’d probably watch, too. I knew her well enough to believe that.

“Please prepare for battle.”

Cynthia-sensei announced.

Irwin quickly drew his sword. Using a weapon in a magic duel wasn’t cheating. In fact, using a sword as a focus for magic was a common tactic.

On the other hand, I pulled a magic book from under my robe, over my uniform.

I borrowed it from the library late last night.

“…Huh? A magic book…?”

Irwin frowned and looked suspicious. But then he chuckled and was mocking me.

“Pfft… A-ahahaha! You’re really planning to beat me with that?”

Honestly, his mockery hit the mark.

In the world of “Magiaka,” a magic book is basically a converter. A tool for turning magic into something you can actually control.

In this world, everyone’s magic abilities are determined by the type of mana they’re born with. That means each person has magic they’re naturally good at and magic they’re not. That’s why we focus on mastering just one type of magic.

But a magic book works differently. It automatically converts the user’s mana and casts the spells written inside it for them.

(Well… honestly, magic books hardly ever show up in the story…)

Like I said, modern magicians focus on perfecting the magic they’re best at. A regular magic book can’t compete with a highly skilled magician.

On top of that, casting spells from a book takes several minutes. It was way too long in a fast fight. In real duels, magic books are basically useless. In classes, they’re treated as ancient relics.

“You, a worthless mob, dared to challenge me. I figured you must have some trick… but haha, I never thought it would be this. Abandoning your strongest magic? You’re a disgrace to magicians.”

The audience laughed.

I hadn’t really thought about it, but they would. From their point of view, I’m just a reckless mob student challenging Irwin for Ena’s sake. Most of these students probably want to see me lose embarrassingly.

“Irwin. Let’s get this over with.”

Talking won’t save Ena.

Irwin readied his sword. I held my magic book.

We both prepared our weapons, and then―,

“Then, both sides. Begin!!”

With Cynthia-sensei’s declaration, Irwin and I started casting our magic at the same time.