Chapter 16
…
I ended up defeating Luca by sheer luck.
“Wowww!! Amazing! As expected of an Ebenkera! You beat Luca with an apple trash can!!”
“Who would’ve thought the day would come when that guy loses…”
I scratched my head, watching the trash can roll smoothly. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure how I won.
Thanks to the unusual situation, I got lucky, used that luck well, and the gap in information between us probably helped secure the victory.
At least I didn’t have to put on a dramatic fainting act to avoid getting hit.
Splash!
The refreshing sound of water made me whistle instinctively.
“Wait a sec, doesn’t Luca suck at swimming?”
Oh, really?
Even if he was good at swimming, rolling around and falling into the water would make anyone dizzy, making it hard to swim out of the lake.
If he couldn’t swim, he’d probably sink straight to the bottom.
I started heading down the slope.
“S-Sigrin… nim. Where are you going?”
“To Luca.”
He can’t swim, right? The fight’s over, so I should help him. Getting on the bad side of someone that strong would make life exhausting.
I took off my school uniform jacket, slung it over my shoulder, and rolled up my shirt sleeves.
At the edge of the pond, I saw dazzling blonde hair floating on the surface. He seemed disoriented, floundering in the water, unable to tell up from down.
Hoping he’d breathe soon, I quickly grabbed his golden hair and pulled him up.
“Haaagh!!”
His face looked like a drenched, dejected cat.
The lake water stung his eyes terribly. Tears streamed down Luca’s face as he looked at the girl gripping his hair.
Her appearance was as beautiful as a precious princess from a fairy tale.
Strength that didn’t match her looks, and the dignity only the strong possessed.
Even though he fought desperately, those clear green eyes remained full of calm and composure.
Not once during the fight did I show any emotional turmoil.
Thump thump thump thump.
His heart raced wildly. Was it fear, awe, or excitement? He couldn’t tell.
Honestly, it was closer to fear.
“Wait, if you move like that!”
My grip weakened, and I let go of Luca’s hair. He sank back into the water.
Glug.
I hurriedly grabbed his hair again and pulled him up.
“S-S-Sorry! Cough! I won’t try anything again! Cough! I won’t pull any stupid tricks! Okay?”
Luca shouted desperately. The fight was clearly over, so there was no reason to treat him this cruelly.
He realized I’d noticed he’d been eyeing me since we met. Some jerk had impure thoughts and offended me.
But was it really worth doing this? What more did I want?
Then, Luca’s gaze fell on my left forearm. My wet uniform shirt clung to my skin, revealing a tattoo of a dead snake, pierced by a sword, stretching from my shoulder to my elbow.
Right, I was a mafia kid.
I let go of his hair again, and Luca plunged back into the water.
Glug.
“Oh, sorry. Stay still.”
“I’ll gladly be your doormat! Please, spare me! If that’s offensive too, I’ll never show my face again!!”
“No. That’s not. Just.”
Glug…
Realizing my attempts to help were doing more harm than good, I quickly stepped back.
As soon as I did, Luca scrambled onto the shore, gasping for air.
✦ ✦ ✦
A freshman, the heir to a mafia family, was repeatedly dunking Luca’s head into the water.
The scene of a brutal water torture.
“Is that a tattoo on her arm…?”
“…I thought that mafia girl was going to help Luca. He’s bad at swimming, right?”
“The water’s shallow there. He would’ve gotten out even without help.”
“…”
“…”
“She’s making sure the hierarchy is crystal clear with water torture.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Shake shake shake.
Luca reached out with trembling hands, ran them through his wet blonde hair, and shook it out.
He took off his soaked uniform shirt, wrung it out tightly, and draped it over his chiseled, bare shoulders.
Then he dragged a cart over and loaded it with my belongings and the tent’s contents.
Since the fight was for the library building, he had to hand it over to me.
“I’ll get going then.”
“…”
“…Geez. Don’t you have hands or feet? I called you a princess as a joke, but you’re really acting like one.”
After the fight, I said I couldn’t walk, so now he was acting as the horse for my cart, pulling it like a rickshaw driver.
He’d said he’d be my doormat in the heat of the water torture, but he didn’t expect to be used like a lackey so soon.
“…Do I have to keep doing this?”
“…”
I couldn’t speak.
When you first form a core and use its abilities, the side effects can be quite severe. Fever, nosebleeds, coughing up blood, vomiting, nausea, and other abnormal reactions can occur.
‘So this is the side effect.’
The toll of overexerting my body hit me like a wave. My feverish body was hard to control, so I leaned against the side of the cart, holding my forehead with one hand.
“…Alright, I’ll do it. Don’t get mad.”
Luca lowered his tail. The shallow affection he’d felt for my pretty face had completely vanished.
How should I put it…
He realized the hurdle was way too high.
He’d thought about getting closer and casually flirting, but that seemed impossible now.
It felt like I disliked being on equal footing with anyone.
“Sorry for asking when I’m the one getting help, but it’s too bumpy, and my head hurts.”
“Tch, sorry, princess. I’ll drive more gently!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Miss…!! I heard the news! You beat Luca Drümuel!!”
“…Yeah.”
I leaned against the window and nodded. After sweating a bit and throwing up a few times, I felt much better.
“I should’ve been there…! Of all times, I had a class then… If you were going to fight today, you could’ve told me…”
‘I didn’t know either, damn it.’
I almost got incinerated while watching someone else’s house burn.
When the spectators blocked my escape route and my short-range teleport artifact vanished, it was truly terrifying.
Exhausted, I responded with my expression instead of words.
“Eek! Okay! I won’t complain.”
“…”
Seeing Apple shrink back excessively, I wanted to clarify that wasn’t my intention, but I was too tired to open my mouth.
Thankfully, Apple quickly straightened up and started exploring the library.
“Wow… Now we can live somewhere with a roof. …Whoa, it has three floors! Are we using all of this? This is awesome!!”
I quietly watched Apple jump around in joy.
“Miss, you’re the best!!”
“…”
Seeing her so happy made the fight feel a little worthwhile.
A proud smile crept onto my face.
Honestly, taking over the library wasn’t that big a deal.
That fight was won by luck, so we could get kicked out again soon.
Bang!
Just then, someone flung the library door open.
“Hey. Where do I put this?”
Luca walked in, carrying a queen-sized bed over his head.
“Anywhere’s fine.”
“Got it.”
He roughly set it against a wall and dusted off his hands.
With his hands on his hips, Luca looked around the place he used to live in.
There was quite a bit of stuff to sort through.
Sighing deeply, he spread a piece of cloth on the floor and neatly stacked his belongings on it.
He wasn’t taking everything, just the essentials.
‘He’s definitely coming back to pick a fight within a week.’
I crossed my arms and watched Luca closely, clicking my tongue.
Since his living space was taken, he’d probably keep coming back to reclaim it. That’s likely why he wasn’t taking all his stuff.
The library was a symbolic building in Lemaos, which made it a headache. Whoever controlled the library was considered the real power in Lemaos, so plenty of people besides Luca would challenge me.
Just look at Kelnor, the leader of the Kelnor Gang, constantly picking fights with Luca.
Honestly, Kelnor was more of a problem than Luca. That guy seemed really persistent.
After thinking for a while, I spoke up.
“Luca, why don’t you just keep living here?”
“Huh? What’d you say?”
Luca turned his head, frowning as if he misheard.
“Don’t leave. Just keep living here.”
Whoosh!
From his ears to his fingertips.
Luca’s face burned bright red.
“…??”