LHAHS Chapter 409
Chaaang—!
Swords clashed, ringing with a sharp metallic sound.
Whoosh—!
Celia spun, smoothly diverting Martina's blade as it pressed down on her. The moment Martina lost her balance…
Fwoosh—!
Aina leaped behind her. Her thrust shot toward Celia like a flash of light, but Celia dodged effortlessly, as if she had expected it. Then, grabbing Aina's wrist, she threw her aside.
Suspended in midair, Aina gazed at Celia with an impassive expression. Meanwhile, Celia pointed the tip of her sword at Martina.
"Mock battle over," Celia said indifferently, withdrawing her blade.
Swish—!
With a few elegant swings through the air, Celia smoothly slid her sword back into its sheath.
"You were the one who requested this mock battle, so I went along with it," Celia continued, narrowing her eyes at Aina. "But why did you want to do this? For someone who suggested a fight, your teamwork was a mess."
Aina muttered, "I haven't been subdued yet."
"The moment Martina was taken down, the match was over. There was no point in continuing." Celia ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Aina, you know you can't beat me alone, don't you?"
They had fought without aura, relying solely on pure swordsmanship.
As the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint, Aina had been hailed as a prodigy from a young age, but Celia, as a direct descendant of the Zerdinger family, was also a swordsmanship prodigy.
However, the gap between a first-year and a second-year was like the distance between heaven and earth. In a pure swordfight, Aina had no chance of defeating Celia.
Still, Aina showed no sign of backing down.
Celia observed her carefully. "You should've saved Martina instead of attacking me."
"I wanted to duel you one-on-one, Celia."
"Why?"
"To grow stronger as quickly as possible and earn Leo's recognition."
Leo again. Celia let out a sigh. Aina's strange obsession with Leo was well-known. Every time she pushed herself too hard, that obsession became glaringly obvious.
"I won't ask why you're so fixated on getting Leo's recognition. That's your personal matter."
"……"
"But if you keep this up, you'll never earn it."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just look at what happened earlier." Celia glanced toward Martina, who was watching with a slightly anxious expression. "When Martina was taken down, you should've helped her instead of attacking me. You learned that in class, didn't you?"
"……" Aina clenched her fists.
"If Leo's only standard were strength, he would've acknowledged you already."
Aina had never once lost her position as the top of the first-years. She held her spot against tough competition like Haviden from the knight department, Juen from the magic department, and Sasha from the summoning department, and yet, Leo had never acknowledged her.
But he's acknowledged Carl since first year.
It wasn't just because they were friends. Leo sincerely considered Carl remarkable, not just as his closest friend, but as a comrade who would walk the same path.
At first, Celia hadn't understood, but after the midterms and the recent Aleham incident, she had come to understand. As a supporter and a strategist, Carl's abilities were astounding.
"Do you know why Leo didn't choose you as his mentee?"
"…Because I failed to land a hit on him, while Luke Eldar succeeded."
"Luke still isn't your match, now or then. So why do you think that happened?"
"That's…" Aina trailed off. Even now, she couldn't make sense of it.
"Did you even look at Leo properly back then?"
Aina's eyes widened.
"My cousin, Leo Plov. Who is he to you?"
Her gaze wavered. "That's…"
"And what about me? Have you ever looked at me properly?"
Aina remained silent.
"If you can't even see those around you, how do you expect to earn Leo's recognition?"
Celia's cold words made Aina lower her head.
Watching her, Celia took a deep breath. "What kind of future do you want? What kind of hero do you want to become?"
"……" Aina had no answer. She just stared silently at the ground.
Celia scratched her head in frustration. She had done her best for Aina, and Aina had done her best to follow her guidance, but not once had Aina truly looked at Celia. She was too fixated on earning Leo's approval.
Even Celia, patient and broad-minded as she was, had reached her limit.
"I don't know anymore. You don't need me, do you? I get it. You'll become strong with or without me. You'll pass into the next semester without issue and move on to the next year."
Celia turned to leave.
"C-Celia?" Martina stammered, flustered.
Step. Step.
Suddenly, Celia paused and turned back. "But soon, you might not be top student anymore."
"…?" Aina lifted her head.
"Leo made a declaration in front of everyone earlier. Luke Eldar's goal is to win every match."
"…Win every match?" Aina's face stiffened.
"Yeah. And my cousin isn't one to make empty claims. Which means…" Celia smiled faintly. "Luke Eldar has surpassed you."
Leaving those words behind, Celia walked away.
"Aina! You have to apologize to Celia next time, got it? I'll try to convince her!" Martina called out before hurrying after Celia.
Left alone, Aina stared at the ground.
Luke Eldar was the weakest of the first-years, a failing student, yet his goal was to win every match?
The image of Luke during the final moments of the Aleham incident flashed through Aina's mind.
Aina grit her teeth. I won't lose.
"C-Celia. Are you really giving up on mentoring Aina?" Martina anxiously asked.
"When the semester ends, the mentor-mentee system ends too. There's no 'giving up' to be done," Celia answered calmly.
"…So you're saying you won't see Aina as a junior anymore?"
Celia sighed. "As long as we're both Lumene students, she'll always be my junior. And I was her mentor. She worked hard, and I'm grateful for that. It must have been tough, but she gave it her all."
"Then why did you say all that? Do you want Aina to lose?"
"…I don't know. But one thing's certain, Aina is conscious of Luke."
"Because Leo chose him?"
"That's part of it. But more than that…" Celia narrowed her eyes. "It feels like she sees him as a rival."
Martina was dumbfounded. The ones constantly eyeing Aina's position as the top first-year were Haviden, Juen, and Sasha. Even if the other students didn't say it aloud, everyone assumed Aina was highly conscious of them.
However, Celia had just claimed that Aina saw Luke as her rival instead.
"She doesn't seem to realize it herself, and even if she did, she wouldn't admit it." Celia shook her head.
"How do you understand Aina's feelings so well?"
"Because I was just like her last year."
"Like Aina?"
"When I first met Leo, he couldn't even use aura. I made a bet with him and lost, and I ended up having to be his maid for a week. It was humiliating."
"A… maid? You, Lady Celia?" Martina's jaw dropped.
"Don't go spreading that around." Celia gave her a sharp look. Even within the Zerdinger family, only a handful of people who had been there at the time knew about it.
"After that, Leo learned aura in an instant. And then, he proved he was an All-Class. Honestly, even at the beginning of the semester, I still thought of him as a step below me, a rookie who had just entered the world of aura. I refused to see him as a rival."
It wasn't just Celia, most students had felt the same way.
"And then, before I knew it, he had completely overtaken me." Celia's gaze darkened. "It felt like my whole world was crumbling. Leo had gone so far ahead that it was exhausting just trying to keep up. Even now, he's still like that."
"I see…" Martina mumbled. She had only ever seen Celia's confident side and had never imagined that she had struggled with these thoughts.
"I don't know if Luke will actually beat Aina, but if he does, Aina might break down completely. She can't even see what's around her properly, which makes it even worse. That's why I wanted to make her acknowledge Luke."
Celia glanced back toward the spot where Aina had been, though she was no longer in sight.
"If she at least becomes aware of Luke Eldar and understands the path he's walked, then even if she falls, she'll be able to stand back up and run again. That's the last bit of help I can give her as her mentor."
"Lady Celia…" Martina looked moved, but then, she furrowed her brows in doubt. "Still… can Luke really beat Aina?"
"Who knows? But it's not impossible."
"Why?"
Celia hesitated for a moment, struggling to put her thoughts into words. Then, after some consideration, she said hesitantly, "Because my cousin is a bit… how should I put this? He's insane."
"……"
"Only a crazy person would be that creative in torturing people under the guise of training." Celia shuddered. She was one of the people who had suffered the most under Leo's training.
Martina immediately understood. "…It's true. Young Master Leo's motto is terrifying."
"It's not working? Then make it work. Haven't you heard that before?"
Martina recalled Leo saying that with the most matter-of-fact expression, and she trembled.
"He's already planned out a special summer training program."
"Do I have to go? That's horrifying."
The two girls grimaced as they thought about the ruthless Leo, their minds spiraling into shared trauma.
Waaaaah—!
The first round of the tournament began. The dueling arena, set up in Lumene's central training grounds, resounded with the cheers and shouts of students engaged in fierce battles.
Meanwhile, in the waiting room for the next match, Leo stood with his arms crossed.
"Do you really think I can do this?" Luke asked, his voice trembling with uncertainty.
Leo shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows?"
Luke's expression stiffened slightly at the blunt response.
"But if you don't believe in yourself, who will? Just trust in everything you've done so far," Leo added.
Luke took a deep breath and nodded.
"Oh, and you can remove those seals now." Leo gestured to the restraint orbs attached to Luke's wrists and ankles.
Luke glanced at them, then let out a small chuckle. "No… I think I'll keep them on and give it my all like this first."
Leo smirked.
A magic projection in the waiting room displayed the current match. As the fight concluded and the next match was called, Luke turned toward the arena entrance.
"Alright, I'm going."
Just before Luke stepped out, Leo called out, "Luke."
"Yeah?" Luke turned around and looked at his mentor questioningly.
Leo met his gaze and said firmly, "Go out there and let them know who you really are."
"Got it!"