Fan
Lux’s Side
…After the swordsmanship tournament, and following a holiday, it was the first day back at the noble academy.
When I arrived at the academy and reached the gate, Florence-san happened to arrive at the same time.
“What a coincidence, Lux-sama. Good morning.”
“It really is a coincidence! Good morning, Florence-san!”
“If you do not mind, shall we go to the lecture room together?”
“Yes! I should be the one asking you, please!”
And so, the two of us matched our pace, went through the gate, and walked down the corridor of the academy.
“Several days have passed since the swordsmanship tournament, but I still cannot forget the feeling of crossing swords with full strength at that time.”
“That’s true.”
Crossing swords seriously with someone… At first glance it may look like simple fighting, and you could even say it was quarreling. In fact, it might actually have been quarreling.
But the reasons people trained with their swords were probably different for each of them, and it was a place where the feelings they carried in their swords crossed. In that sense, I came to like the swordsmanship tournament, which I was able to join starting this year.
“The swordsmanship tournament is held once a year, correct?”
“That is correct. Therefore, everyone will surely become even stronger next year… I too must continue to train even more.”
Even though she won, she is already thinking about the next one… As expected, Florence-san is an amazing person.
Since Florence-san, who won the championship, has so much drive to improve, I too must train harder from here on, and next year I will win the championship, and work hard so that Siana and my father can be proud of me.
While walking down the corridor with Florence-san, realizing that my fighting spirit had not faded even after the tournament ended, I began to hear voices from the students around us.
“Hey, those two…”
“Ah, that’s Floria Florence, who won the swordsmanship tournament as a first-year, and Lux Rodwell, the runner-up, right?”
“Winning and placing runner-up as first-years… no matter how many times I hear it, it sounds like a joke…”
“Leaving Florence aside, since she’s already famous for being said to possess the greatest talent in the history of the Florence household, what about that Rodwell guy walking beside her? Who exactly is he?”
I could not make out everything clearly, but each time we passed people, my name and Florence-san’s name came up in their conversations.
“I-It feels like people are talking about us, doesn’t it?”
“It is likely because the two of us achieved good results in the swordsmanship tournament. I am used to being gossiped about, so I do not think anything of it, but hearing voices praising Lux-sama makes me feel even happier than if it were about myself.”
Just as she said, Florence-san spoke with a delighted smile.
…I had worked hard in the tournament only for the sake of the people close to me who cared about me, but perhaps the tournament was influencing more things than I had thought.
As I was thinking that, we finally reached the lecture room, and when Florence-san and I were about to enter… at that moment.
“Wait!”
A sudden voice was directed at us, and we stopped walking.
When we turned toward the voice, standing there was a blonde-haired young woman in the academy uniform. She was unfamiliar to me… unfamiliar, yet she somehow seemed like someone I had seen before.
With an angry expression, the young woman approached us… or rather, she approached Florence-san.
“Just because you happened to beat me and win the championship, don’t let it go to your head! Next year at the swordsmanship tournament, I will defeat you and your reputation will be ruined!”
“If I recall, you were Ashwell-sama, correct…? I have no memory of letting victory make me arrogant.”
Ashwell-san… That’s right! She was the one who fought Florence-san in the first semifinal match of the tournament, Nora Ashwell, from a Duke household just like Florence-san!
Although she lost to Florence-san, she had fought very well, so I remembered her clearly.
“Hmph! Who knows! Anyway, I just came to tell you not to get conceited just because you happened to beat me!”
“Thank you kindly for going out of your way to give me such advice.”
“…You really are such an irritating person.”
Muttering that, Ashwell-san suddenly shifted her gaze toward me, standing next to Florence-san…
“R-Rodwell-kun!?”
She blurted out in a loud voice, her cheeks turning red.
Could it be that she had been focused only on Florence-san, and I startled her by surprise?
“I-I’m sorry, did I startle you?”
When I apologized, Ashwell-san shook both her hands and said,
“N-No!? You don’t need to apologize!! …I was watching during the swordsmanship tournament, but Rodwell-kun’s sword was really amazing, or rather… Rezamiliana-sama’s perfectly refined sword was wonderful too, but personally, in this tournament, I liked Rodwell-kun’s sword the most!!”
“Eh!? Uh, um… th-thank you very much!”
When I honestly felt happy and expressed my gratitude, Ashwell-san hastily said,
“D-Don’t thank me! I just said what I thought!”
…I had said that I liked Florence-san’s sword too, but having someone say they liked my sword made me feel this happy.
While I was thinking that, Ashwell-san seemed to recall something and turned toward Florence-san.
“Just so you know! The reason Rodwell-kun lost to you was because he wasn’t used to dealing with rapiers! If he had been used to it, Rodwell-kun absolutely would have won!!”
“Eh!?”
Thinking that was definitely not the case, I spoke to Ashwell-san.
“P-Please wait. It is true I was not used to dealing with rapiers, but even without that, at the very least I could never say that I would have absolutely won.”
Since I really understood how amazing Florence-san’s sword was, I made sure to say that much, and Ashwell-san turned toward me and said,
“I-I’m sorry! You’re right! Compared to you, Rodwell-kun, my perspective is still narrow, so I ended up saying something weird…! I have to go now, but if there’s another swordsmanship class or something, I’ll come cheer for you!”
“Eh? Ah… thank you.”
Though I was bewildered by Ashwell-san suddenly saying that, I somehow understood that she was not a bad person, so I thanked her.
Then, Ashwell-san waved to me and quickly left the scene.
“It seems Ashwell-sama is a fan of Lux-sama.”
“Eh!?”
As I was surprised by that remark from Florence-san, she gave a small laugh and then said,
“Fufu, shall we go as well?”
“Y-Yes!”
I did not understand much of what had just happened, but since we could not just stand there forever, for the time being we went ahead and entered the lecture room.