---

“Should I call this bad luck…?”

“Both before and now, it makes me wonder if there’s some kind of fate between Elena and Orcus.”

“Even if there is, it must be a bad connection for sure.”

“Oh, I should have told you about the sealing technique.”

Reinhardt, Richard, Noel, and I felt an uncomfortable sensation watching Orcus, who got dismantled by Elena.

Maybe it’s because the memory of their previous duel is still etched in my mind. It felt like the same thing was happening again.

Unlike before, Orcus had grown a lot and gained the courage to not give up, but the gap between them was still a gap, and the outcome was the same as before. The only difference was that Elena didn’t beat down Orcus despite her victory being apparent, which might be a small consolation.

I’m not sure if I should take comfort in this or not.

Still, I think Orcus did well.

After all, he had addressed all the shortcomings from his previous match. This was an issue tied to Orcus’s character and a problem that was hard to fix, but managing to correct it all in such a short time was impressive.

‘The object that popped out at the end was definitely the Sacred Relic I saw in the Archbishop’s Temple.’

I don’t know if Altair intervened with Orcus, but I chose to believe that he summoned the Sacred Relic on his own. If Altair had interfered with his business, he wouldn’t have ended it with just that staff.

Like Reinhardt, Orcus is also referred to as a genius. Given his rapid growth, it wouldn’t be strange for him to summon and handle a Sacred Relic now.

Because Elena was so strong, he showed a lot of vulnerable moments, but in truth, among those participating in the Sacred Festival’s duel, Orcus’s opponents are quite few.

If he hadn’t met Elena from the start, he might have been remembered a bit differently by people, but let’s just say this time, the guy was simply unlucky.

‘Funny… he lost but he’s smiling. That guy.’

Anyway, whether he was satisfied or not, there was a smile on the face of Orcus, who had collapsed. Since there’s no phrase like “you fought well despite losing” in my vocabulary, I was slightly displeased by his smiling, fallen form, but this time I think I can let it slide.

Praise works the same way; being overly critical can lead a person to turn sour. To be honest, this time, praise was warranted. The courage to fight without breaking against someone far stronger than yourself is truly commendable.

Among the people here, none would shy away from encountering someone stronger than themselves, and everyone is currently pondering how to sustain their victories. Since there aren’t overlapping duels, everyone will get a chance to see each other’s techniques.

Well, we’ve known each other for quite some time, so we all roughly know our abilities, but there are cases like mine where skills are hidden, so watching the matches is essential.

“Next, it’s my turn. I’ll be right back.”

“Then I’ll take a moment too.”

Reinhardt got up, realizing it was his turn as the duels of others were about to proceed. Richard seemed to have something to prepare, and with everyone leaving, it ended up being just Noel and me left in our seats.

‘Something feels off…’

Feeling uneasy about being alone with Noel, I glanced around the place. It was awkward being with a friend like Noel, but that’s just how the atmosphere felt.

Recently, Noel had been keeping some distance for training with the kids, but if our friendship had become awkward to that extent, we wouldn’t have even thought of each other as friends in the first place.

I don’t know why, but it felt uncomfortable to be alone with Noel right now. It’s as if she weren’t the Noel I knew. Since Altair had manifested through her body at the Imperial Palace, I wondered if it was the same this time, but that didn’t seem right; it felt complicated. Or maybe it was just me, as Noel appeared to look no different than usual.

Noticing my gaze, I turned my head to find Noel’s eyes on me instead of the duel arena.

She stared at my face silently, making me wonder if something was wrong, but it turned out she was simply looking at me.

Since Elena often did that, I easily recognized it.

‘Why my face?’

Why suddenly do something she hadn’t done before? I wanted to ask why, but given the quiet mood between us, it felt difficult to speak up. Then I thought just standing still was even stranger, so I asked Noel.

“Noel, why are you looking at my face like that? Your gaze is piercing; it feels like my face is going to be drilled into. More importantly, you should focus on the duel. What if your opponent comes up and you get caught off guard by their techniques?”

“Oh, that’s true. Yes, I should focus on the duel.”

Noel turned her head back to the arena. However, my question about why Noel had been staring at me remained unanswered, so I asked her again.

“Is there dust on my head or something? You’ve been looking at me for a while. It’s making me curious.”

I said this as I gave my hair a shake, just in case. Noel was a bit eccentric, so I thought if a bug happened to land on my head, she might just sit there looking at it without doing anything.

Nothing fell from my hair, but I kept moving my hands nonetheless.

Noel observed me and then replied with a bright smile.

“It’s just that today, my eyes keep getting drawn to you. Is it because Damian is so handsome?”

“I am indeed good-looking. But don’t look at me too much, or I’ll wear out.”

“Eh. Elena always does that.”

“Elena is fine. I do it too. It’s a win-win situation.”

Noel burst out laughing at my response and nodded in understanding. She seemed relieved, as if she had let something go. Looking at her, I suddenly felt something weighing on my heart, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

Noel, who had just laughed brightly, now gazed at me with a gentle smile.

This time, Noel’s gaze didn’t feel awkward like before. Had she returned to the Noel I knew? I didn’t know what the issue was, but I could tell that our earlier conversation had somehow brought Noel back to her original self.

Noel checked the match schedule she was holding and spoke to me.

“If I keep advancing like this, it seems I’ll face Damian. You better be prepared this time, okay? I’m confident I can win it all this time.”

“I feel the same way. Let’s just win this and talk later. It’s still the first round; saying that now sounds like tempting fate. Anything could happen. A moment’s mistake in the next match could see us out.”

“Since you just said that, I don’t think mistakes will happen.”

I said something I didn’t really mean to Noel to keep her on her toes. Of course, it didn’t quite land. Whether out of arrogance or what, Noel knew that everyone else wasn’t her match.

In truth, I felt the same way.

Since the goal is the goal, it was important to set aside any arrogance and think that anyone could be beaten.

“Noel, since you said that, I’ll share my resolve too. Today, I’m invincible. I have no plans of losing to anyone. Whether it’s Reinhardt or you, Noel, or even if Elena is my opponent, I’ll win against all of them. Even if Altair in the sky came down, on this day, I won’t lose to anyone.”

As I mentioned even Altair, there was a ripple on Noel’s calm face. Without realizing it, she was in awe of my statement, but I could see her eyes tremble.

I hadn’t meant it as a metaphorical expression of commitment; I purposely said that. The Noel I was talking to was indeed my friend, but the one listening to our conversation wasn’t just Noel.

There must be a reason why Noel had changed from her usual self. No matter how much I thought about it, the only possible cause was that incident at the Archbishop’s Temple. And it seemed my thoughts were right. Even if it wasn’t a descent, someone was clearly influencing Noel, and they were watching the world through her.

The Noel I was currently talking to was my friend Noel, but as my opponent, she likely wouldn’t be seeing me the same. Even if Noel didn’t want it, that being would certainly make its appearance for the sake of victory. Even if Noel and I battled equally, that entity would undoubtedly use whatever means necessary to secure a win.

In a way, I was declaring a war against the gods, but regardless, what I’d said just now was sincere, so I looked beyond Noel’s eyes and spoke to the being watching us.

“So, keep that in mind.”

 

---