CH 108

“Chris…….”

Claire was just standing there.

Hey, why are you here? Shouldn’t you have been defeated by the ambush team by now?

“Why are you here?”

Claire was silent for a little while, then smiled bitterly and began to speak.

“I saw that the front line was about to collapse after we had defeated the surprise force. So I rode my horse down the mountain to finish the main line first…….”

With that, Claire clenched her fists and began to tremble. Then she muttered in a damp voice.

“I wish I hadn’t come…….”

Claire smiled weakly at me. Her eyes were moist, reflecting the light coming through the dark shadows of the trees.

Don’t tell me you’ve beaten all the surprise troops? Hadn’t the students around her been crushed by alcohol? There were so many questions that came to mind that I wanted to ask. But none of that mattered. Just the fact that she had heard what I had just shouted took over and cooled the mood I had been floating in.

I looked at Claire, she appeared as if she would collapse at any moment if the wind blew, and I felt a pang in my chest. Rather than being angry at the coincidence, I regretted why I had said that. Any normal girl would be hurt if a guy she fell in love with told her she was trouble. And if it was Claire, who was really into love, it would be even worse.

Whether it was to escape my own guilt or out of pure concern, I wanted to say something to Claire. However, if I were to follow up with something inappropriate here, it would make Claire even sadder. On the other hand, if I don’t do anything, the current situation won’t change.

What should I do?

There was just silence between us. The clouds were hiding the sun, and it kept getting darker.

I wonder how much time has passed.

I don’t know what’s right and what’s not. In the first place, whether something is right or not is just a matter of consequence. Besides, I feel like I shouldn’t be thinking about what’s in it for me at a time like this. I should think about what I want to do.

I don’t regret saying that I’m crappy or anything. I regretted saying it and making her sad. I’m not going to be in a relationship with Claire.

Earlier, I told her how I really felt, and it made me feel better, so why don’t I just tell her how I really feel? No, if I tell her what I really think, it might make her even sadder. That’s not what I want to do.

After thinking about it for a long time, I realize that what I want to do is just to let people know the truth. But I almost said the truth earlier. Claire is a bit naive and a bit insecure about her romantic tolerance, but she’s not stupid. I’m sure she knows exactly what she’s doing. Then let’s make her understand that even if she knew, she wouldn’t understand.

Claire likes me because she thinks I’m stronger than her. The only thing Claire can’t understand is the fact that I’m not stronger than her. If she finds out that I’m not stronger, she’ll think that everything that happened up to now was simply a mistake on her part.

But if I let her understand that, Claire will give up on me and the Alcala family will back out of our house. That would be a huge blow to the Dreschord family. Not just a big blow, but a path to perdition.

But if I do nothing, the result will be the same. Then, it’s better to do what you want to do. I came to a conclusion in my mind and called out to Claire.

“Claire misunderstood me.”

Claire showed a moment of relief when I misunderstood.

She must be grasping at straws. She must be on the edge of her mental state to so easily swallow the word “misunderstanding”. How can the unfaithful men of the world use such a word so easily?

For a change, Claire returns to the despairing expression she had earlier. But I didn’t care and continued.

“Claire, you know. I think that you like me because I’m stronger than you but that’s not true.”

“That’s because……in the entrance exam…”

“It was an eventuality, 99 times out of 100 you would win, and that one time just happened.”

“……”

Claire’s eyes darted about, trying to find a reason, but her mouth remained closed, as if she couldn’t think of one.

I left her there, went into a nearby tent, and picked up a mock sword. Then I went back to Claire. When I returned, Claire was gritting her teeth and wore a look of anguish on her face.

I pointed the crushed blade of my mock sword, which emitted a dull light, at her.

“Claire, let’s fight. I think this will make it clear if I’m stronger than you.”

Claire was confused for a moment, but then she drew her own mock sword. She took a deep breath, as if breathing in the life of the trees, and readied her sword.

“…..Chris. Can I tell you one thing?”

Claire asked in an extremely calm and quiet voice, a complete change from earlier.

“Chris said I misunderstood. That may be true.”

“But,” Claire continued.

“Chris misunderstood, too. I don’t like Chris just because he’s stronger than me!”

Claire shouted as if to shake off something, raised her sword and came at me.