## Chapter 74 – The Path I Want to Walk With My Senior
The person who walked into the arena with steady steps, standing before her.
Anne’s eyes were filled with surprise as she gazed at his dignified figure, standing there without the slightest hint of awkwardness.
“S-Senior Borgia…?”
“Why are you looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost?
Let’s go over there and practice.”
Just like she had been throughout the special evaluation season, Lucia spoke casually, turned around, and headed towards the corner. Anne, dumbfounded, quickly followed behind her.
“Senior… weren’t you… graduating…?”
As they headed towards the corner of the arena, Anne asked her question. Lucia chuckled and explained what had happened.
“I was planning to, but Professor Hermit asked me.
He asked if I would stay at the academy for a while longer to train and help educate the juniors.
I didn’t have anything urgent to do, so that’s what happened.”
It was as if she had willingly entered graduate school, a place that everyone else avoided like the plague, a place only for bad college students.
Anne’s face showed undisguised shock at the news.
But in some ways, her choice made sense.
Lucia di Borgia was the eldest daughter of the Borgia family’s three siblings, but with an older brother and a younger brother, she had no reason to jump into the power struggle.
“I also want to have time to think about what to do now…”
That meant she didn’t have to prove herself.
In a family with an eldest son, if she, as a daughter, tried to take over the succession or seize power, it would only increase the unnecessary bloodshed.
Lucia didn’t want that either.
“That’s what happened. So, I’ll be working as a teaching assistant for the time being, junior.”
Just by showing that she was holed up in the academy like this, it would be enough to make others not have any reason to be wary of her.
Lucia wore a detached expression as she slowly drew her sword.
“Ah…”
Perhaps she was glad to meet Anne, whom she had become acquainted with during her last special evaluation as a student.
Lucia’s face, which usually seemed a little expressionless, had a faint but clear smile on it.
“I’m glad to start with a junior whose beginnings I’ve been watching.
So, what’s the method? I didn’t bring a wooden sword, so is a real sword okay?”
“Y-Yes…!! No problem!!”
It was truly the余裕 of someone who had everything.
Ability, wealth, and family.
Because she had it all.
That’s why, unlike herself, who was trying to graduate quickly and help with the family’s affairs, she had other options.
One of the proofs of that was a short but ornate rod decorated with numerous geometric and artistic engravings.
Lucia took it out from her side and twirled the rod she was holding to the side. In an instant, the rod, which had grown to a considerable length, was now flashing a bright blue blade.
‘Mechanical longsword…’
Anne also quickly took out a rod from her side and struck a pose while unfolding it with a click. However, Lucia struck a pose without any sign of surprise.
Perhaps she thought it was only natural that Anne had a mechanical longsword as expensive as her own, so she didn’t need to pay any attention to it.
Had her heart almost become confused without realizing it?
She was happy to meet her admired senior here again, but only for a moment.
In the end, Anne’s heart was becoming complicated as she compared herself to her.
An incomparable status, a sword whose ownership was different, and dreams that were heading in different directions.
What meaning did all of this have for her, who was inferior to Lucia in everything?
For a moment, silence flowed between the two, and Anne and Lucia seemed to freeze in place.
– Clang!!
“Ah…”
But a moment later, the sound of a sword clashing with a sudden gust of wind rang out, and Anne’s sword, which had been lost in thought, began to fly through the air.
A quick sword that was hard to see even when focused.
Lucia’s blade, which had rushed in quickly, struck her sword and sent it flying into the air.
And Lucia, who had jumped over Anne and intercepted Anne’s sword, which had soared high into the sky, landed lightly on the ground.
Only then did Anne, who had realized her mistake, turn around. Lucia was glaring at Anne with a colder expression than before.
“What are you thinking about?
You certainly weren’t like this before?”
“I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment…”
“Thinking about something else…
I guess there comes a moment when I’m underestimated.”
“Underestimated… it’s not like that…”
“Thinking about something else at the very moment when you’re being targeted by a sword.
If that’s not underestimating, then what is it?”
Unlike the welcoming voice from before, Anne could no longer make excuses as a completely frozen voice pierced her ears.
Feeling as if she was being scolded by other professors or adults, Anne simply lowered her head powerlessly.
From Lucia’s point of view, she had been satisfied to see her junior, whom she had been watching, eagerly seeking knowledge. However, the dazed attitude she had just shown was a minus.
“You’re completely different from what you showed during the special evaluation.
Or do you still need an older sister to protect you?”
“That…”
“From the moment you pick up a sword, every sword stroke you wield is for yourself and for what you cherish.
The moment you can’t cut and are cut, you can’t protect yourself and your loved ones.
So, get your head on straight.”
It was a clean, textbook answer that made her unable to lift her head.
Swordsmanship is, after all, for defeating the opponent.
At the very moment when she had to pick up a sword, losing, for whatever reason, meant the same as death.
“… Follow me.”
Lucia skillfully twirled Anne’s mechanical longsword, which she had snatched, and her own, and threw Anne’s in rod form.
Then, Anne hurriedly accepted the longsword flying through the air and began to follow Lucia, who was leaving the arena, hesitantly.
“Don’t scold her too harshly?”
Even Professor Chepelli, who was annoyed by everything, seemed to think that the atmosphere was unusual, so he shouted as he passed by.
But Anne could only follow behind her with an anxious heart, as Lucia continued to move without stopping.
Lucia left the arena, followed the hallway, passed through several doors, and went outside.
And the place where Anne, who had been following Lucia, who was walking forward without saying a word even after going outside, arrived was the academy’s flower garden.
The place that serves as a haven for countless girls who love to take walks and chat.
It’s located in a secluded area, but it’s surprisingly crowded and always full of lively energy.
Then, Anne’s head turned involuntarily at the sound of a soft voice.
“What, weren’t you graduating?”
“Professor Hermit asked me to stay as a teaching assistant.
I guess you haven’t been informed yet?”
Edward von Rommenberg.
“Ah… is that so?
Then I’ll be seeing you a little longer for a while?
Professor Hermit’s work is like that after all.
I guess I’ll probably receive it officially next week.”
“That’s probably right, teacher.
I look forward to working with you in this way.”
Edward, who was also in charge of the academy’s facilities management, seemed to be in a hurry to take care of some urgent matters during the vacation. He waved his hand roughly and walked away.
“Where are you going? It’s here.”
Just as Anne, whose heart was becoming complicated by a feeling of excitement, was about to walk forward in a hurry, Anne turned around at the sound of Lucia’s voice coming from behind. Lucia was already sitting on a bench in the flower garden and calling her.
“Sit down.”
The flower garden was not a place with very good memories for Anne.
But at Lucia’s action of sitting on the bench here and leaning her back against the backrest, Anne cautiously approached and sat next to her.
What had she come here for?
“When it’s time to graduate, the graduates who no longer have anything to do become bored.
So, sometimes I hear rumors.
I have a lot of friends who ask me about this and that, so I’ve heard some things too.”
However, Anne tensed up and began to concentrate on her words as her voice continued in an unexpected direction.
“I heard you fought with a gang of delinquent students who were bullying you? Here?”
“…… That’s…”
“I have no intention of blaming or scolding you.
I just want to hear it as it is.”
Lucia, who let out a light chuckle, closed her eyes and continued to speak.
“I heard that you defeated all the gangs, including freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. That’s something you can’t do easily.”
“……”
“In that respect, I was honestly interested.
No matter how foolish and delinquent they are, seniors are seniors.
The difference that those mere one or two years make is something that can never be ignored.
Of course, I could have solved it to some extent, but you were just a freshman.
The story of a freshman bravely facing so many enemies was quite interesting.”
“That… that was just a coincidence…”
“Did the result of that coincidence knock down seven and kill one?
No, to be exact, it must have been that they ended up dying.
You don’t seem like the kind of person who would go so far as to kill someone.”
Anne, who was chewing on Lucia’s words, ended up losing her words and lowered her head.
Herself, who had fought with all her might, and the death of someone who had returned as a result.
The weight of that could never be light, and now she was trying to forget it.
“What did you fight for?”
“….. What do you mean…”
Lucia, who was digging up that sore spot again from Anne, who could never welcome that feeling that was digging into her heart again, was a little resentful.
The reason why she picked up a sword was simple.
If she were to list them, she would be able to answer clearly and firmly.
For her father, her mother, and her sister.
And for the people of the small territory who were relying on the family’s trading company to make ends meet.
But Anne, who couldn’t open her mouth and just stared at the floor, couldn’t say anything. Lucia’s mouth opened first and she murmured in a small voice.
“I have a small and humble dream.
No, maybe it’s not humble…”
“If it’s a dream…”
“I like Edward, the homeroom teacher.”
“Yes…?”
In Lucia’s light orange-brown eyes, which were slowly tilting her head back and looking at the sky, a slight tremor was occurring.
“It’s as it is. He’s a great teacher.
All the students who went through their freshman year liked Edward.
He became a friend for the male students to confide in…
And… for some female students… sometimes…
He was also the object of sincere affection…”
“Senior…”
How could fate be so playful?
“I picked up a sword to stay in this place for such a trivial reason…
It’s so insignificant that it makes me want to cry.
Anyway, then what is that sword for you?”
The reason why she couldn’t just answer that it was for her family.
Perhaps it was because she, too, was thinking the same thing as her sister.
‘I chose the Department of Applied Magic because of my own greed…
I wanted to succeed… like my father now…
I didn’t want to cling to the trading company, which was getting harder and harder…
I thought it would be better to do something unrelated to the family.’
She didn’t want to see her family sad or struggling.
But even so, she couldn’t accept stopping here herself.
As a girl who had stepped into a new world and still had many things she wanted to do.
‘I…’
Surely her parents wouldn’t say anything no matter what kind of son-in-law she brought, or rather, even if she couldn’t bring anyone.
They would just help with the trading company and spend time together, and even until the moment when the passing time separated them, her parents would just love her.
It would be so happy if her sister was there too.
‘It would be an indescribably happy thing…’
Which side is her true heart on?
Why can’t she say it out loud?
‘Is it because I can’t put the excuse of my parents into words…
Or is it because I can’t say to her face that I’m going to steal her dream, that I’m going to be a hindrance…’
“Hmm… You’ll come to your own conclusion someday.
But… if I were to give you advice as someone who’s three years ahead of you…
It’s best to find a conclusion as quickly as possible. Otherwise…
You might end up like me, unable to graduate because it’s too late.”
At Lucia’s words, who momentarily raised the corners of her mouth slightly and smiled, a chuckle burst out from Anne’s mouth.
A loving family, a man she adores, and a senior she admires.
For her, who was at an age where she had so many things to think about, the reason why this time sitting on the bench in front of the flower garden, looking up at the sky with her senior, felt so short was.
Perhaps the reason was that this, too, was one of the moments in life that she had so desperately wanted.
“Senior…”
“What is it?”
At the very moment, with a very small hesitation rising with certainty, Anne’s mouth opened and she murmured quietly.
“Will you… spar with me…?”
