Chapter 278: The Saint’s Offers

The first day of our week-long break after our preliminary match had finally started. In accordance with the announcement, all first-year students were granted a week of rest before the real tournament actually began. And that included students who didn’t make the cut.

Not only do they act as a no-show, but now they can relax for a full week worrying about nothing?

Rewarding the lazy, huh?

Well, it was clear that I still had lingering frustrations about the preliminary match, mainly on how I wasn’t able to fully utilize or train my techniques properly against real, challenging opponents. The only ones of note were Myura and Ravilenna.

It was due to that frustration that I actually went out and tried to find those two again. Considering we had a week before the tournament, this was the perfect time for all of us to train together.

But the thing was, even with both of my bodies wandering around the halls of the main building, checking training yards, and even asking Miss Craw if either of them had reserved a practice chamber. Yet, I couldn’t find a single trace of them.

There’s no way they would actually just… relax… right?

Surely they must be training somewhere.

It didn't really help that I didn't even know their dorm locations nor their dorm room numbers, just in case they were just relaxing.

Maybe I'll ask Lionne to gather that info for me in the future.

Perhaps even info on other dual-wielders I could duel.

As I was wandering the halls aimlessly, a familiar voice called out to me.

“Feyt?”

I turned around to find none other than the Saint-slash-Student-Council-President, Clara, standing there with a gentle smile, still wearing her full uniform.

“Oh, Clara! It’s good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, Feyt.” She walked closer and stopped a few steps away from me. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on break for the upcoming tournament right now?”

“Ah, well,” I lightly scratched my cheek. “I was looking for someone… Wait, actually. I could ask the same of you. Why are you still in full uniform?”

“Well, being a president doesn’t come with a lot of breaks, right? Haha.” She lightly chuckled.

“Ahaha, busy as ever, huh?”

That sure made me glad I rejected Lionne’s offer about the class representative thing. Wouldn’t have time to be searching for sparring partners like this if I did.

“Make sure you don't overwork yourself, alright?”

“I'll do my best.” Clara gave a soft laugh, though there was a subtle shift in her expression. She cast a glance down the empty hallway before her eyes brought their focus back to me.

“Though running into you might actually be good timing, Feyt.” She gestured lightly toward the grand staircase behind her leading to the top floor. “Everyone on the council is out on break or other duties right now, so my office is empty... Would you mind joining me for tea?”

—

The Student Council Office was as peaceful and calm as before…

Well, actually, no. The last time I was here, Talia was mouthing off at Ricent at full volume.

But I couldn’t deny that the impressive view of the early morning sky, calming aroma of tea being brewed, and the gentle warmth of the office contrasting with the cold air outside… it made it seem like the incident last time happened somewhere else rather than here.

“Here you go, Feyt,” Clara said gently, placing a delicate porcelain cup onto its saucer before me.

“Thanks, Clara,” I said, picking up the cup and taking a slow sip. It was as smooth and soothing as last time. “Honestly, you’re really great at brewing tea.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Clara sat down across from me, her posture graceful and serene. She rested her hands over her lap and smiled softly. “Actually, I wanted to use this chance to congratulate you...”

“Congratulate me?” I blinked.

“On your preliminary matches,” she explained, her smile widening. “You won them all, right? Ten points across all of your matches! It’s great news to hear!”

Wait, how did she know that?

Scores were never publicized, and I purposefully kept my score secret so that I wouldn’t stand out too much. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

But then again, she’s the Student Council President. Of course she has direct access to the match tallies.

“Ah... thank you,” I said, scratching my cheek with an awkward, sheepish chuckle. “Honestly, though, it’s really not that impressive when you look at it. I barely got to fight anyone real.”

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“Yes, having only half of your opponents show up must have been quite shocking,” Clara replied smoothly, taking a delicate sip of her tea.

“Tell me about it,” I muttered, swirling mine. “But I did encounter two interesting opponents, though. They were really fun to fight! In fact, I was wandering around looking for them just now.”

“Really? Who could it be?”

“Well, one of them is Ravilenna.”

I couldn’t really say Myura’s name too, since that’s Carine’s opponent. Wouldn’t want anyone to assume I was giving special focus to Carine.

As soon as I said the name Ravilenna, Clara’s fingers twitched on her cup.

“R-Ravilenna, is it?” she said with a slight stutter. “Did she… hurt you, in any way?”

I shook my head. “Nope, but I nearly lost to her. She’s really quick on her hands and feet; if I had lost focus, I would’ve lost to her.”

Clara’s eyes narrowed.

“Ravilenna put up a fight? Did I misread the name and this is a different Ravilenna?” She mumbled to herself.

Even Clara found Ravilenna’s rather rapid transformation shocking. Guess I wasn’t alone in wondering if she was the same person as before.

Though she looked like she was in rather deep thought about it. I wondered why.

Clara shook her head before turning her attention back to me, her warm smile slowly fading into something much softer and more solemn. She set her cup down, the porcelain making a quiet, barely audible clink against the saucer.

“Ravilenna aside...” her voice dropped into a lower tone, "...the second phase of the tournament will be entirely different from the preliminaries. The people you’ll face there… they’ll be the real deal. You can bet that none of them would arrive late or misread their schedule.”

I nodded. “That much, I know.”

She took a slow breath, her fingers fiddling around above her lap.

“To be honest, Feyt… I’m worried. If someone goes too far during the fight... or worse, if someone uses underhanded, dirty tactics against you... I don’t want to just sit and watch.”

She looked at me, her eyes filled with that same quiet, stubborn resolve I’d seen back on the western staircase.

“So I’ll ask you again, Feyt... please, consider letting me help you during the main tournament. Let me stand by your side between your matches. If anything happens to you, I want to be there to help you immediately.”

I blinked, processing her words, and raised an eyebrow in genuine confusion.

“I mean, wouldn’t you be helping me already?”

Clara froze.

The heavy intensity in her posture vanished in an instant. Her eyes widened, her lips parted open and closed rapidly as she stuttered.

“A-Already...?” she stammered, her usual serene composure completely crumbling into a flustered mess. “W-Whatever do you mean…?”

“I mean, surely the academy is going to place you on standby for medical duty, right? You’re a Light Magic user and the Student Council President. If any student gets seriously injured during the duels, you’d be right there in the medical wing on standby anyway. So even if I did get hurt, I’d end up seeing you regardless, right?” I explained, ending with a slight chuckle.

She stared at me in total silence. I stared back, offering a polite, helpful nod.

Slowly, the flustered warmth drained from her face, replaced by a lingering, deeply exasperated disappointment. Her shoulders slumped a bit. She picked up her porcelain cup with a slightly stiff hand and took a long, quiet sip.

“I guess… you’re right.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing at all,” she replied, setting her cup down.

I leaned back, eyeing her with a bit of confusion. She looked strangely... deflated. I wondered what could’ve possibly brought her mood down so fast.

Before I could ask, Clara’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Ah! That reminds me—” She stood up and jogged toward her desk, reaching for a small, neatly wrapped paper pouch resting beside a stack of folders. She picked it up with both hands and held it out across the table toward me, her gentle smile returning. “Here! Would you like to try one?”

I blinked, reaching out to accept the pouch. Opening it up revealed a batch of perfectly golden, delightfully aromatic cookies.

“Did you make these?”

“I did,” Clara said, a faint, proud puff in her chest. “Please, go ahead.”

I picked one up and took a bite. The texture was light and buttery, perfectly crisp on the outside. A bit too sweet, though. But it was genuinely a good cookie. I wouldn’t mind eating something like this once in a while if the tournament wasn’t so close.

My eyes widened slightly. “Wow. Clara, this is tasty.”

“I’m glad you like them,” she said softly, her posture relaxing as her smile turned subtly fond. “If I can’t... stand by your side during the tournament, the least I can do is provide you with sweets like these to keep your energy up. I’m actually quite confident in my baking, you know?”

Provide sweets…?

“I can bake you a batch every day, or any day you need them! Just let me know!”

E-Every day?!

“Ah,” I said, carefully setting the rest of the cookie down on the napkin. “I really appreciate the thought, Clara, but... I’m going to have to pass on that.”

Clara froze. “E-Excuse me?”

“The tournament is next week,” I explained earnestly, raising a finger. “I’m on a pretty strict diet right now to make sure I’m in peak condition for the main arena. If I start eating too many sweets now, I’m afraid it’ll mess with things.”

“I... I see,” she murmured, nodding stiffly. “Yes, I guess that makes sense…”

She took a slow, quiet breath. A second later, she looked back at me with renewed determination.

“Well! If sweets are out of the question because of your diet,” Clara pressed on smoothly, “I can easily prepare healthy, homemade meals for you instead! I’m very good at cooking home meals—”

“Oh, no, no, you really don’t have to do that!” I interjected quickly, waving my hands.

I was already used to cooking my own lunches at this point. Carrying or eating two lunchboxes would be a nightmare. Not to mention, she had already mentioned she rarely had breaks; I wouldn’t want to bother with cooking my meals every day.

“I couldn’t possibly burden you with something like that,” I added, giving her a reassuring, polite smile. “You’re already busy enough running the entire Student Council.”

I knew the value of free time more than anyone in this academy, and for someone as busy as her, she needed all the free time she could get.

Clara sat there, utterly speechless. Her mouth opened slightly, closed, and then opened again, but no words came out.

“Anyway, thank you so much for the tea and the cookie, Clara!” I said cheerfully, pushing myself up from the couch. “I should probably get going and resume my search!”

“A-Ah... of course,” Clara stammered, offering a wave as I made my way to the door. “Take care, Feyt...”

“See you later, President!”

I closed the office door behind me with a satisfying click, stepping out into the quiet hallway.

—

Inside the quiet office, Clara stood alone by the panoramic window, overlooking the vast courtyard below. Her eyes were narrowed as she placed a hand on the cold glass.

“The Sareid House is that strict with him...?” she muttered. “He isn't even allowed to eat sweets...?”

Then her mind drifted to his quick rejection of her homemade lunchbox offer. He was too quick to reject her.

Her gaze narrowed even more as her fingers tightened against the glass.

“So the rumors about Lady Carine forcing her own lunches on him were true...”

Carine wasn’t just restricting him from eating sweets; she was controlling him, keeping him entirely dependent on her under the guise of care.

How much longer can you endure this, Feyt…?

Her grip on the glass deepened.

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