DPAA 67

chapter 67

Mei froze for a moment as she saw the blood on my hands.

Swish. Bang.

The dormitory door slammed shut with a loud noise.

“…….”

And then silence.

Silence.

Silence is terrifying.

No, wait.

It was a situation that could easily be misunderstood.

But still!

The one who should be lecturing here isn’t Mei—it’s me.

After all, I had been waiting for her, starving through dinner, guarding the dormitory.

[Clean (C)]

First, I wiped the blood off my hands.

Then my gaze turned to Mei.

“Where have you been?”

“Why are you curious?”

Her reaction was sharper than I expected.

“Why?”

I frowned and said,

“Because I was worried.”

“Worried……”

“Yeah. You didn’t even eat dinner while waiting.”

Mei’s expression softened a little.

Now I could hear her reason.

“I just had something to check. I didn’t know you’d be so worried.”

She murmured this while slightly avoiding my gaze.

“……Sorry.”

That “something to check” was bothering me a lot, but I had a guess.

It must be related to my coughing up blood (or not).

Since Mei possesses healing magic, she might have been thinking more deeply about my physical condition than I expected.

“So, your body… how is it?”

“It’s just a small cut.”

I could have just said it was a nosebleed, but I was too embarrassed, so I lied.

I held both hands out to her.

“See? The blood came from this wound.”

On my palm was a cut that looked like it had been sliced by a blade.

Of course, I had just made it myself.

“……I’ll heal it for you.”

Still unconvinced, Mei obediently held my hand.

Warm white magic enveloped my hand.

So this is the healing magic of this world.

Unlike the healer-class hunters who simply boost regeneration with no effects, this was more like actual “magic.”

By the time the light faded, the cut on my hand had completely disappeared.

“Impressive.”

I complimented her sincerely, and Mei lowered her head.

“…….”

Still, she seemed uneasy.

I decided it was best to clear up this misunderstanding today.

I got up from the bed and stood beside Mei.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, I said,

“Let’s go eat.”

Mei nodded.

Claude regained consciousness around 9 p.m.

He grabbed his throbbing head and sat up.

“Ugh.”

Even the simple motion of stretching out his hand made his arm shake.

Every movement sent tingles throughout his body.

It felt as if every neuron in his body was being scrambled.

Even controlling his own body was difficult.

He barely managed to prop himself against the infirmary bed.

Immediately, he recalled what had happened before he passed out.

“Damn it.”

His raised finger.

A bolt of lightning falling right after.

The woman seemed to control the sky as if she were a god.

Like the incarnation of a great dragon beyond the northern border, who once drove humanity to the brink of extinction.

Of course, there was no chance that Kanis Escliff was an actual dragon.

Everyone in the ducal family had witnessed the birth of the former duchess and Kanis, so it was clear she was human.

Moreover, Kanis resembled the duke so much that even he, who had tried to undermine the former duchess, couldn’t accuse her of wrongdoing.

This gave Claude a slight glimmer of hope.

Right… no matter how strong, she’s human. And she only recently awakened.

In fact, he had succeeded in landing a strike during a moment when Kanis was off guard.

Judging by the coughing up blood, he must have sustained considerable internal injuries.

Though he was defenseless afterward, it at least proved she wasn’t an invincible being.

He tried to stand up.

Well, at least he tried.

Plop.

His legs gave out, and he fell embarrassingly, but he gritted his teeth and hit his leg with his fist.

“Damn it!”

Even his striking arm trembled, but he endured with sheer willpower.

He staggered forward, teeth clenched.

Next time… somehow…

Claude wasn’t the only one thinking like this.

“Did you hear? About Claude’s match with Senior Kanis.”

“Yeah. I heard the senior took a hit.”

The news reached the sensitive-eared students of the magic department, and the rumor spread quietly.

Of course, the result was an overwhelming victory for Kanis.

Had this fight occurred six months—or even a month—earlier, the story would have been told as “Kanis Escliff defeated her younger brother, the second-highest scorer.”

But this fight was different.

Less than a month after awakening, Kanis Escliff was considered an unassailable wall, and people no longer expected Claude to achieve a “natural victory.”

Just one effective strike.

If he could land a blow on Kanis, that would be enough.

This is the underdog effect.

While a one-sided match where the strong crush the weak can be thrilling, it’s even more exciting when the underdog performs unexpectedly well.

The world always focuses on David rather than Goliath.

“They say he coughed up blood.”

“Whoa. Claude’s more impressive than I thought.”

“Right? Honestly, awakening after twenty years is historically genius-level. Against such a genius…”

At first, the students praised Claude.

He had fought well against that Kanis.

They thought, at least he struggled a little.

But gradually, opinions shifted.

“Is Claude really that strong?”

“He’s weaker than Daen.”

Claude was certainly talented in every way—writing, application, combat, situational judgment.

But many still considered the eldest son of the Escliff family merely a subpar prince.

“Is the princess weaker than we thought?”

“She only recently awakened as a mage; her skills and body aren’t fully developed yet.”

“So she could even lose to Daen in the finals?”

Gradually, people began to underestimate Kanis while placing their bets on Daen.

“Who will win the finals?”

“I still think the princess will win.”

“No! Daen’s clever. He’ll find a creative way to win in battle.”

Now, the students were split into factions debating who was stronger.

Among those most nervous about the aftermath of the coughing-up-blood incident was…

“Ah, damn it.”

Bella.

As soon as Bella heard the rumor about Kanis coughing up blood, she immediately realized it wasn’t blood—it was because of the juice she had given her.

“Aaaahhh…….”

“What’s wrong?”

“You don’t need to know……”

Ignoring her annoyed roommate, Bella clawed at her hair.

“Come on. It’s bedtime, so be quiet.”

It’s true!

Bella snapped her head toward her roommate.

In fact, the root cause of this whole mess was that person.

Suddenly furious, Bella grabbed her roommate by the collar.

“It’s all because of you!”

“Ah! Are you crazy?”

Smack.

Her roommate swatted Bella’s hand away.

“Stop acting crazy and go to sleep.”

Sigh.

Bella collapsed onto the bed.

Her bright crimson hair spread across the blanket.

I didn’t expect this to get this serious…

Honestly, when she first realized she had given the wrong juice, she only worried that the princess would misunderstand.

That’s why she tried to apologize quickly.

But no matter how long she waited outside the dorm, Kanis didn’t show up.

After her conversation with Aiden, Kanis had teleported straight to her dorm room, but Bella didn’t know that and gave up after waiting for about five hours.

Meanwhile, the rumor spread uncontrollably.

Everyone at the academy heard: “The princess coughed up blood during the match!”

From Bella’s perspective, it was maddening.

Even first-year students from the unrelated swordsmanship department had heard the rumor, so soon it would reach Kanis herself.

Regardless, she would naturally realize what caused her stomach upset.

Bella was trembling when she heard a knock at the dormitory door.

Could it be the dorm supervisor?

The dorm supervisor was notorious for negligence but occasionally did rounds irregularly, especially after arguments with her boyfriend.

“Coming—”

Bella dragged her feet lazily and walked toward the door.

Creak.

The door opened.

“Hi.”

A brief greeting.

“If you have time now—”

Kanis asked kindly,

“Would you like a glass of juice with me?”

Click.

Bella froze in place.