| Author: Eltria | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: Mui | English Source: Re:Library |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | |
“Listen up. It’s a one-on-one duel.”
As it was a duel, we moved to a corner of the forest in the backyard. Despite being emphasized as a one-on-one duel, the Gutenberg boy had five lackeys accompanying him.
By my side, as usual, was Alfe. Even though I told her it was dangerous and asked her to stay in the classroom, she insisted on coming with me, blaming herself.
“…Don’t overdo it, Leafa.”
“I’ll be fine, Alfe.”
To ease Alfe’s anxiety even a little, I put my arm around her, pulling her closer as I usually do. It was awkward, even for me, but since Alfe smiled, I’ll consider it a success.
“The rules are simple. Fairies that are summoned fight each other, and the first to render their opponent unable to continue is the winner.”
The Gutenberg boy explained the rules. It seemed like he had already prepared a formula board for that purpose, which he proudly raised.
For now, I’ll stick with the slime I made earlier. I increased its viscosity freedom, and since I designed it to transform into a fist, it should be suitable for a casual fight.
“My servant. Come into existence… Create Fairy.”
On their side, he summoned a wolf-like fairy, grinning at us.
“How do you like my Silver Wolf!”
“…”
He asked for my reaction, but I ignored it because it was too much trouble. Uttering the incantation, I flowed Aether into the formula board, summoning the slime I created.
“Hahaha! What’s that weak-looking thing? I’ll crush that trash slime in one blow!”
The Gutenberg boy and his lackeys, who had summoned an ostentatious wolf, mocked the slime. If they think they can defeat my slime in one blow, then they’ve already sealed their defeat.
“Try your best.”
“What did you say!?”
Provoked by my words, the Gutenberg boy urged the wolf forward, making it bite the slime.
“As expected of you, young master!”
“Bite it to death!”
The lackeys erupted in cheers.
“Biting a slime is so uninspired…”
Muttering, I transformed the slime. The slime, spreading like a transparent cloth, enveloped the wolf’s head.
The wolf, having its head swallowed by the slime, thrashed around in reflection of the caster’s panic. Quickly releasing the slime, I transformed it into a massive fist and thoroughly punched the wolf.
“M-My Silver Wolf!”
The wolf tried to retaliate, but biting the slime wouldn’t cause the intended damage. On the contrary, the slime, now transformed into a resilient fist, relentlessly chased the wolf, beating it thoroughly.
“What the hell is that slime?! It’s cheating!”
“I’m coming to help!”
Seemingly shocked by the one-sided beating the wolf received from the slime, the five lackeys summoned their respective fairies.
What they summoned were a goblin, a lower-class demon resembling a long-eared mouse, a skeleton known as a living corpse, a plant-based magic beast called man-eater with a bud-like head and a large mouth, and a bird fairy with a sharp beak that clearly looked fictional.
It was a childish contradiction to insult Alfe as a demon girl while summoning lower-class demons and magical beasts themselves.
“Finish it off!”
However, even with my slime, it would be tough against six opponents. Losing would lead to troublesome consequences, so I needed to figure out what to do.
“…Hey, wasn’t this duel supposed to be one-on-one?”
“You’re the one who cheated first! If you’re frustrated, come at us all at once!”
He seemed to have a vague awareness of breaking the promise of a one-on-one duel. He tried to provoke Alfe, but she shook her head while holding the textbook of magical engineering.
Well, it’s clear that Alfe’s fairy wasn’t suited for combat.
“Oh well.”
Since they gave permission to come at them all at once, I guess I have no choice. Let’s use that.
“Alright, then let me do that.”
I took out the formula board for the simplified formula of the Black Dragon God that I had brought just in case and held it in my palm. Flowing Aether, I concentrated my consciousness.
“My servant. Come into existence… Create Fairy.”
1
Through the incantation, flashes of light erupted from the formula board, and dark clouds gathered around me. A low roar echoed, and from within those dark clouds, the form of the summoned Black Dragon God was revealed.
“W-What the hell is that!?”
Gutenberg boy noticed the anomaly and screamed. The Black Dragon God, with a body length of three meters, covered in armor-like jet-black scales, gazed at the fairies summoned by the boys, emitting a low growl.
“W-What have you done…”
Influenced by the caster’s mental state, the fairies all simultaneously stopped moving.
“Summoning such a thing… Isn’t that a monster!”
“Compared to your demons and magical beasts, I think it’s quite noble.”
It’s a shame that most people in this town worship it, yet they don’t even know what the god looks like.
“Black Dragon God Herdea, the strongest spirit protecting the Arcadia Empire.”
“That’s obviously cheating! Take this!”
Upon Gutenberg boy’s command, the fairies of the boys rushed at once. Anticipating this, I countered with a pre-prepared fire magic.
“Receive the judgment of the god. Flame Pillar!”
“A-Aaaah!”
The mouth of the Black Dragon God opened wide, unleashing a fireball. The flames only engulfed the six fairies, annihilating them in an instant.
“I-I’m sorryyyyy!”
As expected, they didn’t think they could beat the Black Dragon God fairy. The six boys, their spirits crushed, screamed in fear and fled.
“Good grief. I hope they’ve learned their lesson with this.”
I ceased the flow of Aether into the formula board and turned to face Alfe.
“Alfe…?”
Alfe wasn’t surprised or frightened; she just looked at my face and cried.
“Leafa, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. You got into trouble because of me…”
Her face was contorted, attempting to smile somehow, showing a mix of relief from my victory in the fairy battle and anxiety that she might have caused me problems.
“You don’t have to worry about me, and you have every right to be more upset, Alfe. It’s your legitimate right.”
While relieved that Alfe wasn’t as shaken by the summoning of the Black Dragon God as I feared, I comforted her, trying to ease her tears.
“…If only my eyes weren’t like this.”
Alfe repeatedly rubbed her eyes, her actions laced with regret about her unique eye. It seemed that this incident had turned her Pure Eye into a source of insecurity.
“Having a Pure Eye is an extraordinary ability. Any knowledgeable person would envy it. It’s a luxurious concern.”
“Then, I’ll give it to you, Leafa… I don’t need an eye like this.”
“As much as I’d love to have it, unfortunately, Pure Eye can’t be transplanted.”
I unintentionally revealed my true feelings, but Alfe looked at me seriously, fluttering her beautiful eyes.
“…Is that so…?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
While it would have been nice if eyes were something easily exchangeable, I refrained from explaining further. Instead, I proposed a compromise to Alfe.
“What you’re born with is something to be cherished. But if you’re suffering because of it, I’ll find a way.”
“…Find a way?”
“For instance, Alfe, you don’t loathe the ability of your Pure Eye, right?”
“loa..the…?”
Perhaps the choice of words was challenging, as Alfe stared at me with wide eyes.
“I mean, you don’t hate having this eye ability, right?”
“…Yeah. Because of this eye’s ability, I can attend the same school as you, Leafa…”
While I was curious about the motivation being me, if that’s what Alfe thought, I couldn’t do much about it. I brushed it off and focused on the core issue.
“So, what bothers you is just the appearance?”
“Yeah. Because being different from others makes me a target for bullying…”
“It’s just jealousy from kids with no significant abilities. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Even adults often disregard their own lack of abilities and become obsessed with jealousy towards others.”
“But, I’m causing trouble for you…”
“Don’t worry about that either.”
In my past as Glass, I had endured plenty of jealousy and malice. So, I could handle it, but I didn’t want Alfe to experience the same malice.
“You aren’t troubled?”
“Not at all. After that duel or whatever it was, they should have learned their lesson.”
Well, they should have learned from such an obvious difference in strength.
“But what if someone stronger comes?”
“Then I’ll just turn tables on—”
I stopped myself from saying more. It would become a rumor by tomorrow, and it wouldn’t be good to attract more attention. Although the conversation veered off track, I should convey that compromise proposal.
“Speaking hypothetically… what if you could make the color of your Pure Eye less noticeable?”
“I’d like to try that…”
“Let me tell you this first, Alfe. Your eyes are genuinely beautiful.”
“It makes me happy that you like it, Leafa…”
Alfe’s eyes sparkled as she smiled.
Perhaps, in this context, my expression of ‘beautiful’ would be interpreted as ‘liking’ by normal people…?
“So, if the color could be changed or made less noticeable—”
Alfe’s cheeks were tinged with the color of the sunset. In the orange light, her Pure Eye looked even more beautiful.
“I would show this eye only to you, Leafa. Since I can’t give it to you, then at least, I want only you to see it… How about it?”
It was my suggestion, but it felt a bit lonely to think that I wouldn’t be able to see Alfe’s eye daily, even if the intent was to save it from being seen by anyone but me.
“I appreciate the sentiment. But, I want to emphasize that I’ve always thought that you don’t need to hide it.”
“Yeah. I love you, Leafa.”
Alfe said this, embracing me as usual. Her embrace felt a bit tighter than normal, a little suffocating. Whether it was because of that or not, the area where our chests touched became pleasantly warm.
