“I’m Ive. A third-year. What happened earlier really wasn’t on purpose. You’re all right, aren’t you?”
She asked gently, her eyes curving as if she were sincerely sorry.
“Yes, yes! I was startled, but Taesan blocked it for me, so I’m fine.”
Yurika, who had been pressed close behind my back, let out a relieved sigh and suddenly stepped forward.
“That looked rather dangerous for someone to block with their bare hands. Are you really all right?”
Ive approached with a worried expression.
A strange tremor clung to her soft, sticky voice.
“Taesan isn’t an ordinary person—he’s a summoned beast! So something like that is easy for him to block.”
As if proud of me, Yurika clutched my arm and readily volunteered information no one had asked for.
“R-right?”
Her eyes sparkled as she sought my agreement.
I let out a small sigh and answered briefly.
“Uh… right.”
At my answer, Ive’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Her gaze turned to the remnants of mana scattering from my fingertips, then slowly rose to my face and stopped there.
“Hmm… I see.”
Ive’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“A summoned beast, you say. You don’t look like one at all. Then you must be that famous human summoned beast? So are you the princess of Rosenhart?”
“No! I’m Yurika, the Rosenhart family’s maid in charge of summoned beasts. The young lady is sleeping right now.”
Yurika hurriedly denied it, waving both hands.
“Mm… is that so?”
Ive let out a quiet breath.
A small, regretful sound slipped between her lips.
“What a shame.”
“Pardon?”
Yurika asked back, her eyes widening.
Ive soon put on a good-natured smile and waved a hand.
“Nothing. I was in the middle of battle training with that junior over there. Would you like to join us?”
“Huh? Me? But I’m a maid…”
“Does that matter? If he’s a human summoned beast, he should be able to decide for himself and enter a battle, shouldn’t he?”
Ive added gently, her eyes curving.
Her voice was kind, but in her eyes lay a subtle amusement, as if she were trying to ensnare her opponent.
“Our cute junior is still poor at controlling mana, so he lacks a sense for real combat. If it’s such an excellent summoned beast, I think he’d make a very good practice partner. What do you say? Just play with us for a little while before you go.”
“Sure. There’s no reason not to.”
At my indifferent reply, Ive’s red lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Yurika grabbed the hem of my clothes with an anxious face, but I lightly shook my head to reassure her.
In one corner of the park, faintly glowing silver powder formed a circular boundary over the grass.
A hastily drawn battle field.
With my hands stuffed into my pockets, I walked into it at a leisurely pace.
Crunch, crunch.
The sensation of grass being crushed beneath my feet was vivid.
When I reached the center of the field, the youthful freshman who had been pale-faced just moments ago stood awkwardly opposite me.
“Junior. They say he’s that famous human summoned beast. Do you think you can make use of the defensive magic I taught you?”
Leaning against a bench with her arms crossed, Ive asked in a low voice.
Her voice was still sweet, but there was a chill amusement buried within it.
“Y-yes…! I’ll try.”
The freshman boy swallowed dryly and answered.
Unstable mana began to rise from his tense hands.
I lightly loosened up and observed his movements.
“Summon!”
At the boy’s shout, the light of the circular formation drawn over the grass flashed violently.
Wooong—!
The ground vibrated heavily, and a massive form tore through the earth and surged upward.
A gigantic rock man with the texture of pale marble.
As the golem rose, scattering dust from each of its joints, red mana flashed in its eyes.
“A tough one, huh.”
I smiled faintly to myself.
A guy like this was perfect for testing the physical impact of my strikes.
Kwaaang!
The golem raised its massive fist and slammed it into the ground.
I lightly sprang away, leaving the spot where dust billowed up.
Then, using the rebound from stepping off the ground, I charged straight into the golem’s chest.
“D-defensive barrier, deploy!”
Just as I was about to throw my fist, the boy’s urgent incantation burst out.
Paaat!
In front of the golem’s enormous body, translucent curtains of mana unfolded in layers.
The very defensive magic Ive had been teaching him until just before.
The barrier, refined thin and sharp, shone with a fairly solid light as it blocked the trajectory of my attack.
“Hm.”
But there was no reason to stop.
Without slowing down, I rotated from the shoulder and gathered heavy strength into my right fist.
Kwaang—!
My fist collided head-on with the layered curtains of mana suspended in the air.
“I-it blocked it!”
Seeing that the barrier had deflected my fist, even if only once, the boy’s face brightened.
But that shallow joy lasted only an instant.
I pierced through the fragments of the shattered curtain and threw my second punch without delay.
Kwaaaang!
My fist, drawing out all its rotational force, struck the golem squarely in its massive chest.
The body, hard as marble, shattered into pieces with a thunderous roar.
Kugugung!
“Ah…”
The rock golem, huge as a mountain, collapsed to the ground without even a death cry.
Over the fallen remains of the golem, a grotesquely distorted summoning circle unfolded, then swallowed every broken fragment like a black hole.
The boy stared blankly at the remnants of mana plummeting from his fingertips to the ground.
“That was an excellent deployment of your defense.”
Just then, Ive, who had been leaning against the bench, approached while clapping in her soft voice.
“R-really?”
“Yes. Though you’re still lacking quite a lot.”
As Ive passed by the boy’s side, she whispered softly.
“It means even such an inadequate defense can withstand about one punch, doesn’t it?”
Her eyes curved as she smiled cutely.
With light steps, she came right up in front of me.
“What do you think? That barrier. You couldn’t burst it in one go.”
Ive’s red eyes sparkled with curiosity as she awaited my answer.
I shrugged indifferently and replied.
“It’s decent magic. Though it can only block one punch.”
At my answer, the corners of Ive’s eyes curved ever so slightly.
“Really? You really… really can’t break through it in one go?”
She asked again, taking another step closer.
A poisonous scent wafted toward me.
“No. Other than breaking it, I can’t really find a way to counter it.”
Countless moments when I had to keep driving my fists into an opponent’s solid guard, waiting for the instant a gap opened so I could smash their jaw.
That barrier was the same.
If I couldn’t break it in one hit, then I could simply smash it in two, or three.
At my reply, Ive tilted her head as if thinking for a moment, then soon smiled in satisfaction and held out her hand.
“Thank you. That’s more than enough for a spell.”
Without a word, I clasped the hand she offered.
A soft and cold sensation.
After the handshake, Ive naturally held my wrist and gently rolled up my sleeve.
“Let’s see…”
Her gaze carefully swept over the skin where I had struck away the green poison with my bare hand a moment ago.
In her eyes was the light of persistent observation.
“Oh my.”
A quiet exclamation flowed from between her red lips.
On my wrist, where I had struck away the poison with my bare hand, a small but distinct green wound had been etched.
“You’re hurt. This is the part where you blocked my attack earlier, isn’t it?”
Ive’s finger slid over the wound.
Along with her cool body temperature, a faint pain passed through me.
Still holding my wrist, she lightly checked the hands of her wristwatch.
“Hmm… I see. This much time… Did it hurt?”
She looked up at me with a sticky gaze and asked.
“No. It doesn’t really hurt now either… though it does feel a little numb, maybe.”
At my answer, Ive’s red eyes curved in a satisfied smile.
“I’m truly sorry. Let me apologize properly.”
As if she were genuinely distressed, she lowered her brows and quickly took a small glass bottle from inside her clothes.
“Stay still. I’ll apply the antidote.”
With practiced hands, Ive opened the glass bottle and carefully dropped a clear liquid onto my wound.
With a cool sensation, the acrid poison lingering around the wound vanished in an instant.
“All done.”
Ive smiled kindly and slipped the empty bottle back inside her clothes.
The green energy that had been skimming over my skin disappeared as if it had never been there.
“This should be fine. I’m sorry I pushed you too hard today, maid friend. You should go in and rest too.”
“Ah… yes, Senior.”
Yurika, who had been frozen stiff, hurriedly nodded.
Ive leisurely waved once, then took the still-dazed freshman boy and walked away to the opposite side of the park.
I silently watched the two of them disappear into the darkness, then quietly ran a hand over my wrist.
The sensation that had been flowing faintly through my veins just before the antidote touched it.
“Taesan, are you all right?”
Yurika cautiously approached and examined my complexion.
“Yeah, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”