## Chapter 186 – Collusion (28)
Everyone was speechless at what had just unfolded.
It was astonishing enough that Claire, who had been undefeated until now, had suddenly been defeated by a freshman admitted through special privileges. But more than that, the level of their match was beyond what one would expect from ordinary students.
It might be rude to say this in front of them, but it was a battle comparable to that of demon lords.
Having finished the long tournament, Ryu was immersed in a feeling as if he were left alone in the world. What brought him back to reality was the frantic beating of his own heart, which he could hear clearly.
After a long silence, the host finally regained his senses and came to the center of the half-destroyed arena, raising his voice.
“The match is finally over! The courage they have shown will shine forever like stars engraved in the night sky! We offer our deepest condolences to the loser and ask for applause for the winner for their future glory!”
As soon as the host finished speaking, an unprecedentedly huge cheer erupted from the audience.
Being the sole recipient of people’s cheers was more embarrassing than he thought.
Ryu gave an awkward smile and waved his hand, enjoying the moment for a while. Then, a thought flashed through his mind, and he widened his eyes, approaching the fallen Claire.
The power was so great that his entire body, which contained that power, was trembling. He was worried about Claire’s condition, having taken that attack head-on. What if she died?
Ryu approached Claire, who was buried in the wall, with a worried look. He felt sorry to even ask if she was okay. Claire, buried in the debris of the shattered outer wall of the arena, squirmed slightly.
Soon, as if to show that she was okay, Claire got up without any help and staggered slowly towards Ryu.
Blood was flowing from various parts of her body, and she was limping, but her life didn’t seem to be in great danger. As proof, Claire smiled and extended her hand.
“That was a good match.”
Ryu grabbed the outstretched hand tightly. Claire’s hand, soft yet with a firm energy inside, was warm. Claire stared silently into Ryu’s eyes. She could sense that her fate had begun to run in a different direction.
Claire let go of his hand and said to him in a small voice.
“There’s something I really want to tell you, so come to the student council when you have time.”
Ryu didn’t understand what Claire was saying, but he nodded for now.
“Okay.”
Claire’s expression brightened for a moment upon hearing those words, but soon she wore an expression that one could not believe belonged to a loser, and looked at the audience.
“What are you doing? You should be enjoying the winner’s leisure now.”
Claire stood close to Ryu, put her arm around his shoulder, and gave him a look as if telling him to greet the cheering people even more.
Even among the many spectators, Ryu could accurately find Acer’s face looking at him. Only then did Ryu smile brightly and wave to her.
●
It was decided that the awards ceremony would be held the day after the finals for the students’ condition.
Ryu, who came out before the afterglow of the final match had faded, could finally catch his breath. It was as if Claire was still lingering before his eyes. Before his excitement could subside, he turned around at the sound of someone calling him.
“Ryu! Are you okay!?”
Acer, who ran and hugged Ryu, looked at his rather disheveled appearance with a worried expression and began to examine every part of his body. His body was bruised in various places, and the lacerations had already healed, with scabs of dark red blood forming.
Acer made a painful expression as if she were the one who was hurt, and carefully placed her hand on his wounds. Ryu scratched his head with an awkward smile and opened his mouth first, even though no one said anything.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as you think.”
“That doesn’t mean the wounds disappear.”
Charlotte intervened in the gloomy atmosphere and opened her mouth.
“I don’t know how the Demon Lord feels, but shouldn’t there be better words to say than that right now?”
“I know that, but if I had known you would get hurt like this…”
Charlotte cut Acer off in the middle of her sentence.
“Wouldn’t a good Demon Lord be able to purely rejoice in growth? This is your first time participating in a tournament, and your opponent is Claire. Don’t you know how difficult it is to win in this situation?”
Only then did Acer erase the gloomy look from her face a little and offer Ryu praise.
“It must have been hard for you to keep up with our training all this time, right? You’ve worked hard. Still, seeing you win makes me feel proud.”
Hearing Acer and Charlotte’s praise made him feel better, but there was one thing that bothered him. It was that he couldn’t keep his promise with Row. He said he would win the tournament without allowing any effective hits, but the opponent was who she was, so it was impossible to win while keeping that condition.
When Ryu’s expression turned bad, Acer asked again with a worried voice.
“I guess you need some recovery. Should we go home and rest for a bit?”
It didn’t hurt as much as she thought, but it seemed like it would be better to do as Acer said now. Ryu’s heart was not at ease when she made a worried expression.
As he was preparing to return, the sound of whispering in the distance began to grow louder. There was only one person in District 1 who could cause this much commotion. The man called the apex among the seven districts’ demon lords was walking down the street with a nonchalant expression.
He didn’t look anywhere else and came straight to Ryu. Acer looked at him with wary eyes, but she couldn’t do anything more than that.
Contrary to Acer’s worries, Lahart greeted Ryu’s face with a friendly smile and greeted him in a friendly manner.
“Long time no see. Is this the first time since then?”
Ryu bowed politely and greeted him. Lahart patted him on the shoulder as if sending praise.
“I expected you to win, but I didn’t think you would show such an overwhelming gap.”
“No, not that much…”
Ryu trailed off without realizing it. He had definitely talked to him before, and he was impressed by his will and decided to join him. Lahart knew that too, so he was being friendly to Ryu, but Ryu felt like he was far away.
Acer, who was watching the conversation between the two, subtly pulled Ryu towards her.
“Is that all you have to say? If you don’t have anything else to do, I want to go because I need to treat his wounds.”
The somewhat stiff tone, which could sound businesslike, represented the pressure she was feeling. At those words, Lahart tilted his head as if he didn’t know why.
“Treatment?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lahart grabbed Ryu’s hand. It was at a speed that couldn’t even be seen. The three people in that place looked at the situation with bewildered faces. They knew that they shouldn’t move rashly since he had moved first.
Then, he felt as if something was being transmitted from Lahart’s hand. No, it wasn’t just a feeling. In fact, a small light that began to bloom from his hand began to pass into Ryu’s hand. Ryu felt that he could be destroyed if he didn’t hold on tightly to his mind with the overwhelming energy filling his body.
And only then did they realize that their worries were unfounded. The wounds on Ryu’s body, which had received Lahart’s magic power that seemed to overflow, began to disappear.
“Is this enough?”
Ryu, who had returned to the body he had before the match, expressed his gratitude before thinking about the principle. Lahart waved his hand at Ryu, who was bowing to his waist, and said.
“This is nothing, so there’s no need to be so grateful.”
“Rather than that, there will be quite a few demon lords, professors, or students who want to talk to you after seeing the match, so you should be careful in the future. Interest can be poison. Well, I think you can handle it yourself.”
Lahart left only that advice and disappeared from sight like a lie. He was dumbfounded by the sight of him disappearing so quickly that the conversation he had with him so far felt like a dream.
Only after Lahart left could Charlotte and Acer finally catch their breath. They were at a level where their legs were so weak that they would collapse. Acer stretched once to calm her trembling body and looked at Ryu and said.
“Your wounds are healed, so shall we spend some time together?”
Ryu was lost in thought for a moment. Now that he had finished a big event, he might not have to come to the academy for a while. The words that Claire had said after the final match kept 떠올랐 in his mind. Claire said he could come when he had time, but he felt like he had to go today.
“I’m sorry, but can I go to the academy for a bit?”
“Did you leave something behind?”
“That’s not it… I want to say hello to my friend because I don’t know when I’ll be back if I go today.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Acer nodded readily as if it was okay.
“Okay, shall we go together? Or should I wait separately?”
Acer, who would have insisted on going together in the old days, didn’t know she would say she would be separate. If he went to the academy with Acer, he would attract attention, and Claire could feel burdened.
“I’ll go alone. I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry too much.”
“Okay, then we’ll be waiting there.”
The place Acer pointed to was a simple restaurant. Ryu nodded after confirming the location again, waved to the two, and headed to where Claire was waiting.
