I Was Reincarnated as a Duke as a Matter of Course, So I Bought a Slave on a Whim and Now There’s No Turning Back - 26

Chapter 26: The First Results I Achieved in Another World and the Darkness I Saw

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The atmosphere at the mock battle venue was different from before. A murmur rose from the seats. Gazes filled with both expectation and certainty. Standing at the center was Cedric Eisenwald. Behind him stood two accompanying students. They obviously looked like attendants…

I mean, aren’t you two nobles too? As fellow nobles, it’s honestly embarrassing. Are you really fine just hiding behind Cedric-kun? (Talk about throwing a boomerang.)

“The final match… Begin!”

Cheers echoed. It seemed like everyone was simply enjoying it, regardless of who won. However, something about Elysia standing beside me was off. She was too quiet. She wasn’t the talkative type to begin with, but this was the first time she’d been this silent.

“…Elysia? Are you okay?”

“…Please do not worry. I will kill him.”

Her voice was flat, yet she said something outrageous.

What happened? Want to talk about it? (I’m honestly terrified gere.)

A thin layer of frost spread at Elysia’s feet. The grass crackled as it froze.

Does she hate Cedric that much…?

More importantly, the match had already started. For some reason, Cedric hadn’t taken a single step.

“Start with a feint. Fire.”

Oh? So you’re on that side too?

His attendants hurriedly began chanting.

“Flare Shot!”

“Air Slash!”

Beginner spells I was already sick of hearing in this mock battle flew toward us. I’d figured out a lot by now, but honestly, this level wasn’t a threat. Serena stepped forward.

“That’s light.”

“—Wind Push.”

She deflected the spells with wind pressure. So spells of the same wind type just dispersed like that. At the same time, Elysia moved.

“—Frost Edge.”

Not only did it cancel the magic, it landed right at the enemy team’s feet. The attendants’ feet stopped.

“Uwah—!”

They slipped and fell. Yeah, that looked like a pelvis injury. A merciless follow-up came immediately.

“—Ice Lance.”

I’d seen Elysia’s Ice Lance many times during this mock battle, but it had never once been nullified by an opponent’s spell. It felt like it always overpowered them.

Honestly, that’s pretty broken. What’s different about it?

When the thin, sharp ice spear pierced the ground at their feet, both attendants’ lower bodies froze completely. Then light enveloped them, and they vanished. Two incapacitated. We gained the numbers advantage easily. Cedric sighed.

“Useless.”

And finally, he stepped forward. Cedric drew a wand from his waist, probably a supplementary medium. Light emitted from its tip.

“Then I shall face you myself.”

He raised the wand.

“—Light Arrow.”

An arrow of light, flying straight and fast! The moment I saw that light, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.

…This, is it Yuka’s…?

No, something was different. Yuka’s silver light.. Hers had been far more incredible. Compared to hers… This guy’s was weaker.

“Serena!”

“I know!”

“—Spark!”

Lightning shot forth. At close range, light and lightning collided and burst apart. The dazzling flash made me catch my breath. Cedric’s brow twitched slightly.

“…I see.”

He began chanting again.

“Light Flare!”

What’s next?

As I wondered, a blinding flash swept across the arena, stealing our vision.

“It’s useless.”

Elysia’s voice.

“—Frost Edge.”

An ice wall rose—wait? Didn’t you just say Frost Edge?

…No, looking closely, countless blades of ice were covering us. The light refracted and scattered. In that opening… Serena stepped in.

“—Air Step.”

Accelerating with wind, almost floating, she closed the distance to Cedric with light steps.

“Spark.”

A lightning strike hit him point-blank. Cedric’s body jolted.

Whoa, whoa—he’s dead for sure. (Pity.)

“…!”

It was the first time his expression had broken, though he was still standing just fine… And then came an unexpected follow-up. Elysia’s eyes glinted coldly.

“—Ice Lance.”

A spear flew toward Cedric at incredible speed. Direct hit—no, it was stopped at the last moment by something like a barrier.

“Once more.”

“Huh? Serena—”

“—Spark!”

Lightning engulfed Cedric.

…Wait, did we seriously kill him?

A brief silence followed. Cedric had vanished. It seemed the relic-type artifact had functioned properly. The referee shouted.

“…With all members of one team eliminated, the winner is Team Luka!”

The cheers rang so loudly my ears hurt.

After the match, when we returned backstage, Cedric-kun was there, clutching his arm and looking frustrated. Cedric raised his face. More than frustration, he looked confused.

“…Why?”

I did not order any killing. I know nothing.

Then Elysia spoke quietly.

“Please be silent. To begin with, for someone of a marquis house to speak to Luka-sama without honorific language is inappropriate. An apology should come first, should it not?”

Her eyes were frozen over.

Elysia-san, you’re scary.

“Next time, I will crush your entire house for disrespect.”

That’s obvious overkill… Hang in there, Cedric-kun.

Serena snorted.

“Apologize to Luka, delusional Marquis-kun.”

Please don’t start a debate. I’m already fine. Cedric-kun didn’t mean any harm, right?

“…Tch!”

Do you have a death wish? I’ll beat you up, you know?

Elysia and Serena could kill you anytime with hypothermia and overvoltage…

…Yeah, in this match, I had just stood in the back. No strategy, nothing. We’d simply won through my teammates’ overwhelming power. It still felt good, though. Thanks, you two. Cedric’s gaze turned toward me. There was no longer the insult from before in his eyes.

Instead… The look of someone staring at something they couldn’t understand. I knew that look. That was how people look at an anomaly, right? And there was just the slightest hint of…

Impatience.

His words before the match. His light. Just as I thought, it had resembled Yuka’s in some way. But it was decisively different. The rank of the magic itself was on a different league. Maybe I should ask Yuka. That magic she’d started using without me noticing… I hadn’t paid much attention before, but now I was a little curious.

And just like that, my group training exam ended, and for the first time in a while, I lazed around in my room without thinking about anything.

“…Even if I want to ask, there’s no good timing.”

“Ask about what?”

Whoa!

That startled me! 

I can’t believe someone stood behind me without me noticing—well done, Yuka-kun.

“…What’s wrong? Why did you jump like that?”

“That was just exercise.”

“I see. So what were you going to ask about?”

…Ah, whatever, I’ll just ask! (Brain off.)

“…Yuka, do you happen to have the Light magic attribute?”

“…Yes.”

Huh? She admitted it surprisingly easily. So it was true. That meant what Cedric-kun said was correct… but wasn’t his magic totally different from Yuka’s?

“I-I see.”

“Yes.”

That’s it? I hesitated all that time for just that?

“…Aren’t you going to ask anything?”

“Like what?”

“About me being a dual-attribute holder… perhaps.”

No, I was surprised. Light and fire? That was a protagonist’s material.

“I was surprised, but that’s about it.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah. By the way, why were you in my room?”

I was more concerned about the fact that she’d entered her master’s room without making a sound.

“That is… To receive my reward.”

“Reward? …Oh, right. That.”

“Yes.”

Yuka slowly approached the bed where I was sitting. A reward. During the previous training, I’d relied on Yuka so much that when I asked if she wanted anything, she’d requested head pats. My heart had practically stopped seven times. (How am I still alive?) I’d been more nervous than anyone but apparently she’d liked that, and since then, she’d been asking for it as a reward whenever she could.

We sat on the bed together, and Yuka presented her head slightly. My hand paused.

“…Am I a bother to you?”

“…I think about this every time, but is this really a reward? I’m the one benefiting here.”

“…If that is so, then please say nothing and pat me.”

Well, if Yuka’s okay with it, then fine.

I placed my hand on her head and stroked her hair, following its flow as if combing it.

“…”

Words disappeared, and I was simply captivated by the smooth texture. But even then, I found myself thinking.

…Yuka probably needed this because she’d had a painful past. I wanted to know. But what mattered most was Yuka’s feelings. If she didn’t want to talk about it, she never had to. As much as possible, I would respond to her feelings. Suddenly, Yuka lowered her gaze and spoke.

“…Was he… Was Cedric Eisenwald in your way?”

Her tone was slightly different from earlier. Not understanding the meaning of the question, I answered while keeping my hand on her head.

“Not really. Cedric probably has his own circumstances.”

I thought I’d given a neutral answer.

“…I see.”

“Did something happen with Cedric? He was inviting you over, right?”

I added the question I’d been curious about to keep the conversation going.

“No. If Luka-sama had wished it, I was considering taking his head.”

“…Huh?”

She remained leaning against me like a spoiled child, her face still lowered. Did I mishear? I could’ve sworn I just glimpsed Cedric-kun’s death route…

“…Shall I kill him after all?”

“That’s not necessary. Yeah, we’re good.”

This time I heard it clearly. Apparently, I’d somehow gained the power of life and death over Cedric-kun. I’d like to throw that away immediately though!☆.

Yuka lifted her face. Honestly, her expression as she proposed killing Cedric was horror-level. Her red eyes smiled gently, yet seemed to be looking somewhere else entirely.

“If anything unpleasant happens, tell me, okay…?”

“Right now, I am happy.”

…I see. That’s good, then. (staring into the distance)

Saying something so unreal… It didn’t feel like Yuka.

Seriously, I’ll fulfill her requests as much as I can. Yeah. For real.

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