Chapter 93: Complications

Caelus descended from the platform and headed for the exit. The arena had yet to recover from the duel. Conversations that had once filled the stands continued in quieter voices, interrupted whenever someone noticed him passing, and the students who had spent the match mocking his supposed incompetence now seemed uncertain whether meeting his eyes was a good idea.

Their reactions were understandable. Plenty had heard the rumors surrounding his entrance examination, but rumors were easily dismissed when they concerned a D-rank student who had somehow earned the title of Apex. His victory over an S-rank creature had been impressive enough to attract attention. But Ruven von Stailor, on the other hand, had challenged him before an audience of the Academy’s finest and had been reduced to his knees in front of them.

The magic had unsettled them almost as much as the result.

Chantless casting was rare even among high-ranking mages, and those who could perform it reliably tended to be exceptional figures whose mastery had been refined over years of practice. Even S-rank mages often relied on incantations for spells of considerable complexity. Caelus had formed a moving construct around his own body in the middle of combat, without a chant or a prepared magic circle, and maintained it while exchanging blows with a Wind Knight.

To the students who had witnessed it, the difference between hearing rumors of his abilities and seeing them firsthand had become painfully obvious.

Caelus paid their attention little mind.

His gaze moved across the dispersing crowd until it settled on Cale.

The two regarded each other from a short distance, Cale was wearing a subtle smile, like he had found the duel entertaining. Caelus’s expression cooled. He held Cale’s gaze and moved his lips without producing a sound.

Tell the prince to leash his dogs.

Cale’s smile remained in place, though Caelus caught the slight change in his eyes before turning away.

They want to test the waters without knowing how deep they ran.

Caelus stopped walking.

The thought had sounded considerably more impressive inside his head than it deserved to.

He resumed his pace, wearing the same indifferent expression as before, and decided that whatever remained of his dignity would be better served by never acknowledging that thought had occurred to him.

The arena’s noise followed him into the passage beyond the exit. His ribs still ached with every breath, and the injury in his left forearm had begun to throb now that he no longer needed to concentrate on redirecting the force of a claymore.

Caelus drew on the Spacial Ring’s storage and summoned a healing potion into his right hand. The glass vial appeared with a faint shimmer, its contents a translucent shade of green. He pulled the stopper free and drank the potion without slowing down.

Warmth spread through his chest and down his injured arm. The bleeding around his nose had already stopped, and the ache beneath his side began to ease.

His mana circuits were another matter entirely.

He would need rest before attempting anything demanding again.

The prospect was deeply inconvenient.

"Not bad."

Caelus turned toward the voice.

Eve stood beside Leon near the passage’s outer wall, her expression composed, although the faint smile on her lips betrayed that she had enjoyed the spectacle more than she intended to admit. Leon, meanwhile, looked far less capable of disguising his excitement.

Caelus returned Eve’s smile with a small one of his own.

"Thank you for that generous assessment."

"Don’t let it go to your head."

"I wouldn’t dream of it."

Eve’s smile lingered, and for a few seconds their exchange felt almost ordinary.

Leon stepped forward before she could continue.

"Congratulations on your victory, Young Master Caelus."

Caelus regarded him, then gave a slight shake of his head. "Thank you. And just Caelus is enough."

Leon hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Unless you’ve discovered some hidden benefit to adding another title to my name, yes."

A brief smile escaped Leon before he straightened. "Understood, Caelus."

Eve, who had watched the exchange in silence, tilted her head.

"Why were you holding back?"

Caelus looked at her.

"You had other spells, didn’t you?" she continued. "Yet you fought almost the entire duel with that water construct and the techniques you improvised around it. You could have used more of your arsenal."

"I won, didn’t I?"

"That isn’t an answer."

"It seems to have been sufficient for Ruven."

Eve’s smile remained, though her eyes sharpened. "And what about the Vespera sword art? Aren’t you from a knight family?"

The question arrived with enough precision to make Caelus regret that she had been granted the ability to notice things.

He had expected her to ask about the water spell. She was knowledgeable enough to recognize how unusual the construct had been, and her own ambitions made an examination of his abilities inevitable. He had even prepared a few answers for the questions she might raise about his performance.

The sword art had not been among them.

Caelus let the silence stretch just long enough to consider his options.

"He wasn’t worth it," he said at last.

Eve’s smile thinned.

"You didn’t use the Vespera sword art whenever you dueled me, either. Does that mean I wasn’t worth it?"

Caelus froze.

He regarded her while his mind searched for an answer that would end the conversation without giving away anything he intended to keep to himself.

Since his awakening, Caelus had vowed never to use the Vespera sword style again.

He had no intention of explaining that decision to Eve in a crowded passageway, least of all when he could not be certain which parts of his past she might recognize in his answer.

"I never use that style on anyone," he said. "Their worth has nothing to do with it."

Eve watched him for another moment.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Her expression did not change much, but the last trace of amusement faded from her smile. She seemed to weigh the answer, finding it insufficient and choosing not to explain why.

"Very well."

She turned and walked away.

Caelus watched her leave, the conversation remaining unpleasantly present in his mind long after she had put several steps between them. He could have called after her, but anything he said now would only make the evasion more obvious.

The Vespera sword art was a subject he preferred to keep buried. Eve had just reminded him that his refusal to use it was becoming noticeable.

Leon followed her departure with his eyes before glancing at Caelus.

"Well," he said, clearing his throat, "that was awkward."

Caelus turned his head slowly.

Leon looked away.

No shit, Sherlock.