Chapter 143: Greeting is Basic!!

「Nn… Where, am I…?」

As her blurry vision cleared, what she saw was a white ceiling. Solte woke up in a room of the medical office in the academy.

「Morning. Solte, are you okay?」

「…Karua?」

Karua is peeling an apple on a chair next to the bed where Solte was lying. It’s hard to imagine from the usual her, but she’s skillfully handling the fruit knife and cutting it neatly. After watching Karua for a while, and then confirmed that she was lying in the infirmary, Solte realized that she had lost.

「I lost, huh…」

「Yep, something like that. But, that was a bad match, don’t you think? She used dark magic in no time after all. Ah, want to eat some?」

「I’m not in the mood, I guess…」

「Is that so. Then, I’ll leave it here.」

Karua puts the plate with the cut-up apple on the desk next to the bed. When she put it down, there are tears accumulated in the eyes of Solte.

「I, am no good, huh… I tried my best, to gather my courage, but…. I couldn’t win… *sob*…」

「That’s right. You were beaten to that extent after all.」

「I… I can’t face Kiel-kun now… Uu, waaaaaaaaah…! In the end, I couldn’t tell him, that I love him…」

Solte finally burst into tears. Karua silently hugs her in her chest and pats her head.

「…Well, you can cry as much as you want for now. My match is still ahead, so I’ll do this much for you.」

「U-Uuu… T-Thank, you…」

About three minutes passed and Solte regained some of her composure. Since she has calmed down, she realized something at that moment.

「B-By the way, how long has it been since I fainted!? You shouldn’t fight those girls head-on! I have to tell that to Kiel-kun!」

「Ah~, that’s okay, I think? Looking at your battle, everyone understands that those girls are dangerous after all~. And with that bizarre staff, there’s no student who will be careless. Ah, you see, I retrieved your staff~. But, it’s a shame that it’s been broken by that stupidly huge staff~」

Karua takes out Solte’s staff, which has been broken in two, and shows it to her. Perhaps Solte used it for defense, there is a clean cut at the broken part as if it was cut with a sharp blade.

「……Wrong.」

「Hm?」

「That’s wrong! When the match started and the stage became dark, I suddenly felt a sense of danger in front of me and then put my staff to guard it! I thought that I would die if I got hit directly by a staff like that… but, you see, what came out of the darkness was not that staff―― it was a kick from that Haruna girl!」

「A-A kick…?」

「Yes, it was a kick. I guarded the kick with my staff, but the staff was broken and the power still didn’t weaken… After that, I don’t remember anything, but I think I got blown off the stage. She kept her staff on her shoulder and didn’t even use it in the fight… That’s why, I have to tell Kiel-kun…! Those people are a lot more dangerous than how they look!」

Solte is desperate. After making such a declaration to Kiel this morning, she was defeated. It’s a shame for her and it’s greatly frustrating. However, rather than that, she wants to tell that information to the person she loves. That’s why she clings to Karua, who knows the current situation. She looks at her eyes and conveys it clearly.

「………」

Therefore, she notices the pained expression on Karua’s face.

「Solte, it’s hard to say, but…」

「Eh… eh?」

「Kiel is――」

Solte could hear the sound of her own saliva being gulped down. She doesn’t want to hear the rest of it. But, various feelings are mixed up in her mind. She felt like she had a very long time until she heard Karua’s next words.

「――He lost quickly as soon as the match started, and now he’s lying on the bed next to yours~! Even though he was defeated faster than you, he recovered quickly and has been listening to this conversation~! Aha ♪」

「……Eh?」

「Y-Yo… Good work.」

「……Eh?」

Next to Solte’s bed, there’s another bed, where Kiel was lying as if hiding under the blanket, and she couldn’t see it because Karua was hiding it behind her until now.

「Eh, um, how long have you been here…?」

「He has been here since the beginning, of course. As I said earlier, he woke up earlier than you.」

「T-Then… did he heard everything I said…?」

「Yep, he heard everything.」

Solte recalls the conversation they had just now. About her confession, about what she said regarding Kiel.

「~~~~~!」

She became a boiled octopus in an instant and slipped inside the futon to hide her red face.

「Ah, well, sorry…. You see, Karua told me to hide here until she gave the signal, that’s why, sorry!」

「I-It’s okay, it’s not your fault, Kiel-kun… If you are here, then it was true?」

「Yeah, that Chinatsu girl defeated me instantly.」

「……I’m sorry. I put a burden on you because I lost like that, didn’t I?」

「That’s not true. Rather, I felt like I was in good shape and determined to win! But, that was for nothing. It seems that she came up behind me and hit me on the back of my head with the bottom of her staff. I didn’t even know how I lost until I asked someone. It’s funny, isn’t it? Hahaha!」

「T-That’s not. There’s no way I will laugh at you who worked hard…」

「Solte… Hm? Hey, where is Karua?」

「Eh? Huh?」

They looked around the room but couldn’t find Karua anywhere. Instead, they noticed a small memo pad tucked under the apple plate.

『I don’t want to be a third wheel so I’m going back~. Take care of the rest on your own! Ah, you can use this apple however you like~』

Kiel’s hand that’s holding the memo pad is shaking and Solte’s face turned red again.

「T-That bastard…!」

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

「Hm~, it’s good for now, I guess? Doing things I’m not used to is tiring~」

Karua, who secretly sneaked away from the medical office, stuck a “No Visitors” piece of paper on the door and nodded with her arms folded. There, two people who seemed to be peeking into the room are approaching her.

「Dry and Prince, huh. Were you peeking~?」

「Yeah, something like that. It seems that it went well.」

「Yep~. There will be no progress between those two if we don’t do something like this~」

「It’s funny how simple people can be. Everything was in the palm of your hand.」

「No, I don’t understand what you are talking about. What’s with that way of talking that as if you are some kind of mastermind?」

Although their personalities are completely different, they have been cooperating for some reason. It seems that they have the same desire of wanting to bring Kiel and Solte together.

「Joke aside, what do you think about those girls? Do you think you can win?」

「Hmm, I don’t know how strong the small girl is since it was dark. But, I can say for sure that the girl who fought with Kiel is strong. That feat of going around to his back the moment the match started, it couldn’t be done without excellent speed. I judged that she is a considerable wind magic user! I don’t know If I can win against her though!」

「Wow~, that’s not helpful~」

「Hahaha! I’m sturdier than Kiel, so I won’t faint with just that! But, I’m not sure if I can land a hit on her! That’s why I don’t know!」

「… No comment. There’s too little information. After all, they were fighting for only a few seconds.」

「Even the promising Prince too? Ahaha, there’s no progress at all~. ……But, staying silent when they beat our friend, that’s too uncool, right? We have to greet them plenty in the match, don’t you think so~?」

「Yeah, I will do it too!」

「Hmph, this is not revenge or anything. I’m just following my feelings.」

They took a step toward the venue. The tournament lottery will start soon and their opponents will be decided. If they ended up against one of the black-haired girls, they would avenge the two. Karua, Dry, and Prince made a firm resolution. However――

「Ah, there they are! Hey, you guys are the students who will participate in the graduation festival, right? I don’t care who it is, but can one of you give me the right to participate?」

――There was a person who didn’t read the mood. An unfamiliar girl, who has tan skin and gray hair, and wearing the uniform of the academy, was talking to them unreservedly.