DPAA 61

chapter 61

After sending the excited Carnis away, Bella let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m tired, but… thank goodness.”

Ever since her crushing defeat by Carnis in the pop quiz, Bella’s competitive spirit had ignited against him.

At the same time, she thought:

“What is it with him… is he a monster?”

It was inevitable.

Professor Vernua had designed the pop quiz specifically to challenge the students, and every problem was far from normal in difficulty.

The more time Bella spent reviewing just to understand the questions, the clearer this became.

For all that time, Bella had no choice but to reflect on her past self.

“To solve these problems, I have to understand all the underlying concepts and even apply them. There’s no shortcut; I can’t just memorize the hard parts to get through it.”

Despite her low social status, Bella was one of the top geniuses in the academy. Unlike others who studied to inherit their family’s legacy, she pursued magic purely out of passion, dedicating herself to her studies.

Moreover, the synergy of her talent and hard work was remarkable. She had even heard that, if she continued at this pace, she could be granted a baronial title within ten years.

Because of that, she had come to dislike Carnis Escliff, who was in the exact opposite position: high social rank but lacking talent, and without putting in any effort.

Though there were some extenuating circumstances, on the surface, Carnis Escliff was a problem child.

But now, that situation had changed.

“A girl who was last in the school ranking suddenly rises to first in the grade?”

The reasons Bella had disliked Carnis disappeared.

And a reason to like him emerged.

“Maybe… he really worked hard over the vacation?”

It was an illusion.

But that illusion gradually evolved—

“No doubt about it. He reflected on his previously lazy attitude and changed. He nurtured his talent through effort that the average person couldn’t manage!”

Finally, Bella reached a decision.

“Then… I should apologize, of course.”

To anyone else, this way of thinking might seem absurd. But for Bella, already immersed in her own world, no outside voice mattered.

“Yes. Next time I see him, I’ll apologize.”

And she actually put that decision into practice.

There was an unmentioned process of courage and hesitation, but once it was done, she only felt relieved.

After sending Carnis off, Bella’s eyes fell on a poster on the wall. It listed the participants who had survived the tournament so far.

“Escliff has a match today too, huh.”

Should I go cheer for him…?

Bella leaned on the window sill and looked outside.

Her gaze landed on the empty juice bottle Carnis had finished. She remembered the taste of the pomegranate juice he had drunk and licked her lips.

“Come to think of it, today’s juice did taste better than usual.”

Of course, Bella’s homemade pomegranate juice always varied slightly in flavor, depending on the quality of the pomegranates available that day.

But today’s difference wasn’t just minor.

“Why? I didn’t add anything special…”

It felt as though something stimulating had been added.

As she sat pondering, a sudden abdominal pain made her bend over.

“Ugh!”

Nausea soon followed.

Bella covered her mouth with both hands and dashed to the bathroom.

“Ugh!”

The pomegranate juice, as red as blood, gushed out.

After vomiting for a while and emptying her stomach completely, Bella tried to recall what had happened.

“What? Why? Did the juice go bad? That can’t be—”

Then she remembered.

“Bella, is this the emetic you mentioned? The one we made in potion class?”

“Mm. Probably.”

“Ugh! But it’s way too strong. Not that it tastes bad, but it’s like dumping a ton of seasoning in at once.”

“Well, it had a lot of ingredients.”

“Ugh… I’ll have to drink this again at the party today.”

“Then mix it into the juice or something.”

“Ah—that’s perfect!”

Just yesterday, her roommate had asked for an emetic to bring to the school social club party.

“I’ll mix it into the juice and bring it!”

“Yeah. Since we’re not using it anyway.”

“Oh—almost forgot my fan… never mind! I’m going.”

After mixing the potion into the juice, Bella briefly looked away while gathering her belongings.

“Bella, are you sure this potion works? I drank a lot and didn’t feel sick immediately.”

“Really? A failed batch… I’ll try again next time.”

Her roommate had complained that the emetic didn’t work, and Bella, understanding everything that had happened, realized something important.

“Escliff drank it too!”

She whipped her head around.

[Carnis Escliff vs. Asphodel Luxelrod (Quarterfinals Match 1)]

And a voice came from outside the window:

“Now, the first match of the day begins!”

“Oh no.”

Bella’s face went pale.

Meanwhile, Carnis, unaware of all this, stood in the waiting room with a carefree attitude.

“This is a cliché-filled novel world…”

Well, “carefree” wasn’t entirely accurate.

“Maybe I could start a takeout service using that juice… Not bad. Above all, it’s fun to create a menu that suits my taste. The prize money from this tournament should be enough to fund it. Yeah.”

Her mind was completely preoccupied with thoughts of the pomegranate juice she had just drunk.

[Finally, the long-awaited quarterfinals first match!]
[Students, please enter the arena!]

“Time to go?”

Despite Bella’s worries, Carnis was perfectly fine. She had drunk less of the potion, and her S-rank awakened body delayed the effects of the emetic to the maximum.

For that reason, Carnis stepped into the arena in optimal condition.

Across from her stood Asphodel, looking almost like her twin.

Carnis’s eyes curved in a smile.

“Hi.”

“Uh… yeah.”

Asphodel responded reluctantly.

Carnis, unconcerned, spoke kindly.

“I’ve been looking forward to standing here with you.”

At that moment, the audience silently thought in unison:

“That doesn’t suit them!”
“What is that? A stand-in who looks like the princess?”
“Bring the real one immediately!”

It was ridiculous, but true.

Carnis Escliff was fundamentally unpredictable. Yet people judge by impressions, usually based on the most recent memorable event.

And the most memorable thing Carnis had shown in this arena was—

“Crawl on the ground like a dog and beg for mercy.”
“Oh, how pitiful.”
“Did it hurt so much you lost your mind?”
“Trash.”

…mostly things like that.

It was natural for students, including Asphodel, to view the changed Carnis as a delinquent.

Though there were reasons behind it, people generally only look at results, just as they had labeled the original Carnis Escliff a problem child.

• Beep!

The horn announcing the start of the match sounded.

“Here it comes!”

Asphodel lowered her stance, drew her magic circle while keeping as far from Carnis as possible.

“Escliff’s casting speed is unimaginable. I’ll block her first attack with my body, then manage the defense magic somehow…”

But Asphodel paused mid-thought.

“…What?”

The surge of magic she expected right after the horn never came.

“Why…”

Asphodel, who had just cast a defensive spell, asked in confusion.

“Why isn’t she doing anything?”

“Why isn’t she doing anything?”

I felt a little awkward at the question.

“It’s been less than five seconds since the match started.”

Five seconds. For an ordinary student, barely enough time to draw a magic circle.

But she had already created a high-level defensive spell even before that and asked me why I was standing still.

The answer was simple:

“I want to give Asphodel a chance to attack.”

So far, I had knocked down opponents almost simultaneously with the horn.

As a result, except for the first preliminaries, I had constantly broken records for the shortest matches ever.

While that was great for my record, it had a downside: it left a huge dent in the opponent’s results.

So I decided to play defensively for over thirty minutes, then end the match decisively.

If I left a record like this against the tournament’s top-ranked student, it would definitely be useful—

“Do you take me lightly?”

“What?”

I was caught off guard by her unexpectedly sharp response.

“Of course, I know you wouldn’t have good feelings toward me. Even if you weren’t the instigator, you didn’t stop the harassment I endured, so your resentment is understandable. Unlike other unrelated students, we’re cousins.”

“No, I…”

“But this is different.”

Her violet eyes locked onto mine.

“If you want to crush my pride, that’s fine.”

“….”

“But if not, then fight me properly.”

To my frozen self, Asphodel clenched her fist and pleaded:

“Give it your all, like always.”