Chapter 67: Chapter 66

"They couldn’t kill me, so in the end, this is just another trial."

That was something Cecilia often said.

"A trial that doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger. So, I guess you could say I’m stronger than before."

"I’m glad you think that way."

Cecilia, frail as she was, was probably the student at the academy closest to death. Her unique way of speaking seemed to be a means to reassure others.

As I took another sip of my tea, I thought back to what Cecilia had said.

"So, to summarize, a gate suddenly opened at the academy, and most people failed to escape. You were lucky enough to be receiving treatment on the outskirts of the academy, so you weren’t caught up in it."

"That’s correct. You’ve summed it up well, Lady Laura."

"And now you want me to deal with the gate?"@@novelbin@@

"Yes."

"What about the Holy Knight?"

I asked.

The Holy Knight—the protagonist of the Labyrinthos series. A chosen one who carries out the will of the gods and leads the world to salvation.

"Why didn’t you ask the Holy Knight for help instead of coming to me?"

"I had no idea where the Holy Knight was. And if we wait any longer, the damage could be catastrophic."

"So you came to me for help instead. But don’t you think the Holy Knight is too nice?"

The Holy Knight is exactly what you’d expect from a protagonist. Someone who cannot tolerate injustice, always standing for what is right.

As for me, I’m the villainess. My role is to antagonize the Holy Knight’s party. In other words, we are complete opposites.

"Of course, I’m not asking for your help for free, Lady Laura. If you want something, feel free to ask for it."

"Anything?"

"Yes, anything."

"Are you able to pay for it?"

"With your sharp mind, Lady Laura, I’m sure you’ve already done the math. Saving the academy would greatly increase the prestige of House Iris."

She was right.

Unlike the Holy Knight, who helps people out of the goodness of their heart, I’m not so charitable.

The Holy Knight is a commoner and a servant of the gods, which makes their altruism possible. But I am the heir to a duchy.

Every decision I make impacts my family, my land, and even the country. In noble society, you’re looked down on if you don’t turn a profit.

So, after briefly weighing the options, I concluded that this situation could be beneficial to me.

And besides, it had been a while since I last wielded a sword, and my hands were itching for action.

"Very well. If that is your wish, I’ll lend you my aid. Consider yourself fortunate to be under the protection of Laura Iris."

"I am truly honored. Thank you, Lady Laura."

"But I have one question. Why are you so intent on saving the academy?"

Cecilia wasn’t a student of the empire. She was a foreigner from another country.

Whatever was happening in the empire should have no bearing on her.

To think that she would negotiate with me, a duchess, to save these people—it was something I couldn’t quite understand.

"Good question. It’s hard to explain, but there is a word I think will help you understand, Lady Laura. Revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes."

Cecilia continued.

"I came to you for the sake of my revenge, Lady Laura."

VR MyRoom

Kisaki Rinco stepped into the space.

The MyRoom was impressively designed, with the grandeur of an arena, large and majestic.

It wasn’t something the agency would’ve created from scratch. But they probably didn’t commission it just for this one-off event either. It was more likely that they had purchased assets and adapted them.

Anyone who saw it might think they were about to have a battle here.

But this was just the venue for a pre-match interview.

"Mamaaa!"

Aurora appeared from the opposite side, and the moment AiNatsu saw her, she dashed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Aurora’s waist.

Was this the first time they’d met in person…?

Even if it’s in a VR space, is it really normal to hug someone right away when you meet them…?

"We finally meet! Mamaaa!"

"Please let go of me."

"No way! I’m not letting go until you pat my head! Give me pats! Head pats!!"

"This is… troublesome."

Laura touched her cheek and gave a subtle glance as if signaling for someone to help her get rid of AiNatsu.

With a sigh, Veronica stepped in, and Rinco also helped to peel AiNatsu off.

"Mamaaa! I don’t wanna leave Mama! I’m gonna live with Mama Laura foreverrr!"

"Goodness, what a nuisance. Cut it out already."

"You’re old enough to know better. Are you drunk again?"

"Nope, I’m completely sober."

AiNatsu, who was indeed sober, returned to the commentary booth, clearly just wanting to cause a little scene.

Ahem.

She cleared her throat a couple of times, adjusted her posture, and grabbed the mic.

"Alright, we have two players who will grace the grand finale of today’s event. Let’s start with an interview with each of them."

That’s what she said.

What a drastic shift in behavior.

If she could act so composed now, what was with that childish behavior earlier? Could it be short-term memory loss or something?

I’ll have to remind her to get a dementia test after the event. Considering how much she drinks, it wouldn’t be surprising if she developed alcohol-induced dementia.

'Maybe I’ll set up a punishment game and a stream where I challenge AiNatsu to a competition.'

If AiNatsu loses, the punishment could be a health check-up. Nothing would terrify her more than that.

"First, we’d like to hear from Kisaki Rinco. Please say a few words."

AiNatsu handed the mic over.

Rinco’s gaze landed on Aurora.

They were facing each other. This was clearly a setup for some trash talk.

'Honestly, I’m not really into belittling others.'

Boasting and showing off had never been Rinco’s style. In fact, she had always thought of herself as rather insignificant.

She had debuted as a first-gen VTuber and gained some popularity, but she still felt like she was in a position beyond her abilities.

Not to mention, there were countless cases where harsh words led to controversy. She always preferred to be cautious with what she said—it made things easier.

"When people think of the top Labyrinthos VTuber from EYEAI

, they think of me, don’t they?"

Rinco spoke.

But even she knew that being too humble in a situation like this wasn’t the best approach. After all, she had been a VTuber for four years.

For the sake of entertainment, sometimes you needed to play it up, and sometimes you needed to be a bit rough around the edges.

Rinco smiled as she spoke.

"There were only six Korean streamers who got to participate in last year’s Streamer League. And I was one of them. I’m basically the face of Labyrinthos streamers from Korea, and now a newbie dares to challenge me? I guess I have no choice but to crush her."

Rinco smirked deliberately, handing the microphone back with an obnoxious grin.

"Thank you, Kisaki Rinco, for your interview. Next, let’s hear from our beloved Mama Laura!"

"Get her name right."

"Right! Now for Aurora’s interview. Aurora, please say a few words."

Aurora accepted the microphone from AiNatsu.

Silence.

Aurora’s eyes met Rinco’s.

Rinco nodded, signaling that Aurora could say whatever she wanted. Being overly formal just because of their senior-junior dynamic wouldn’t be fun. A little disrespect and a touch of malice would make the audience love it even more.

Luckily, Aurora seemed to understand and nodded back.

Then,

"Isn’t Romance of the Three Kingdoms a martial arts story?"

...What?

"Before coming here, I looked at Rinco-senpai’s profile. It said one of her hobbies was reading martial arts web novels. So, to get closer to Rinco-senpai, I decided to read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. After all, it has both 'martial' and 'chivalry' in it. I found it quite enjoyable!"

"………………"

I’m going to kill her.

At that moment, the burnout that had dulled Rinco’s spirit ignited into pure, blazing rage.

Of course, Rinco knew that Aurora was joking.

But that didn’t stop the insult from cutting deep.

Rinco was enraged.

Normally, Rinco was patient, able to endure most things. But this? This was too much. When Aurora said those words, Rinco was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

'Stay calm… Stay calm…'

The calmer she remained, the more thoroughly she could destroy her opponent.

With that in mind, Rinco focused on hunting neutral mobs.

【Arcade Mode: Tower Map】

【The tower has several secret passages. Use them well to reach unexpected areas.

Defeat the opposing player or slay the boss before your opponent to win.】

Rinco and Aurora’s event match wasn’t the usual one-on-one duel mode.

Instead, they were fighting in Arcade Mode, which also allowed for one-on-one duels.

It was similar to the traditional duel mode but with added complexities.

This meant the established tactics for the duel mode didn’t fully apply.

Honestly, Rinco didn’t fully understand why they couldn’t just use regular duel mode.

But as previously mentioned, this event was sponsored by Deadlaus, which wanted to promote Arcade Mode. That meant even their one-on-one battle had to be done in Arcade Mode.

'This round is essentially the same as duel mode.'

The only difference was the presence of multiple secret passages. Since the win conditions hadn’t changed, there wasn’t much to worry about.

That’s why Rinco was determined to win this round. Aurora had clearly been studying the various maps in Arcade Mode.

"So, this is where you’ve been hiding."

Click, click.

Footsteps echoed, followed by the sound of a wall being torn apart.

It wasn’t physically destroyed, but rather by magic. Aurora must’ve found a secret passage to reach this spot in no time.

Rinco had hoped to hunt more neutral mobs to level up, but with her opponent now in sight, that wasn’t an option anymore.

"Berserker, huh."

"Yes. And Rinco-senpai, you’ve chosen Gladiator."

Of course. It was the class Rinco was most familiar with.

She adjusted her grip on her sword and locked eyes with Aurora.

"Let’s begin."

With just those words, Rinco charged at Aurora.

Her sword came down in a diagonal slash, not straight. Rinco knew that if she attacked in a straight line, her opponent would easily dodge to the side.

Forcing Aurora to backstep, Rinco then activated her skill and tumbled forward.

Fwoosh!

Her vision flipped, and a powerful floating sensation surged through Rinco’s body.

As someone experienced with the Gladiator class, Rinco was well aware of its biggest weakness. Just like how the Hunter’s main vulnerability was during a jump, the Gladiator was most exposed right after a tumble.

At that moment, the Gladiator couldn’t see their opponent. Beginner Gladiators often lost track of their enemies in this situation.

Last time, when Chel had played Gladiator against Laura, she made the same mistake. But Rinco was no beginner.

Even as her vision flipped and she couldn’t see Aurora, Rinco could sense her location instinctively.

'She’s targeting my sword.'

One of the standard tactics against Gladiators.

Since the sword remained fixed, targeting it was a way to destabilize the Gladiator’s balance.

But Rinco had seen it before.

Huff!

Rinco held her sword with sheer arm strength, shifting her body into a windmill motion.

Instead of a downward strike, she spun both legs in a circular motion, as if she had become a human fan.

With that acrobatic maneuver, Aurora had no way to approach.

If Aurora got hit by the Gladiator’s spinning legs, her bones could easily shatter.

Confirming that Aurora couldn’t get closer, Rinco threw herself forward.

Rinco landed safely on the ground, her sword coming free from the earth with the momentum of the spin.

She spun gracefully, almost like dancing.

The Gladiator’s greatsword was far from light.

So to swing it effectively, you had to make large motions or utilize momentum.

Using the momentum from throwing herself forward, Rinco swung the sword in a powerful downward arc.

Thud!

Aurora deflected the blow.

"...What?"

"The Gladiator’s sword is heavy. It’s designed to support the weight of the Gladiator."

With that said, Aurora's fist connected with Rinco’s sword, causing it to fly back from the impact.

Aurora then charged in.

"I’m going to win this round."