HTACS 40

Chapter 40

The flow of time cannot be stopped by anyone.

That is why humans always prepare.

Even if you prepare as much as possible before a big event, it’s inevitable that sometimes it still feels like there’s never enough time.

But I did everything I could. Now all that’s left is for her to do it herself.

“Nephti. The results are certain, right?”

“Yes. I’ve drilled everything I could into her. Right, Junior?”

“Yes, that’s right! Instructor!”

Instructor? What’s that about?

“Mille-feuille. Did you bring the snacks?”

“Y-yesss!”

“Then we’ve done everything we can, and preparations are complete. Let’s go.”

“…Yes, Senior!”

Today is the day of Mille-feuille’s sparring match with Kelterus.

And—

The day of my Magic Craft submission.

—

Since there was time before the submission, I decided to escort Mille-feuille to the first-year common dormitory.

As we walked, Nephti grinned when we reached the front. When I asked why—

“The plastering there—I did that. And the wallpaper too. Huhuhu. No—the Sabuten Wolves crew did it.”

She said that with an inexplicable smile.

Well, Nephti’s always like that. Lately, she’s started wearing an armband on her right arm that says “Safety Manager.”

“Ah, I have some business at the Knight Department, so I’ll be going. Do your best, Junior.”

“Yes. Instructor!”

“Go ahead.”

Nephti disappeared with a bright smile, and Mille-feuille and I walked past the common dormitory to the front of the first-year common department building.

An awkward silence continued as we walked—and it was Mille-feuille who spoke first.

“Senior.”

“I’m listening. Speak.”

“Thank you. I will definitely win.”

“Good thinking.”

“And if I win… I’d like about one day…”

Before she could finish, a loud voice rang out from afar, drowning out Mille-feuille’s words.

“Mille-feuille! We thought you’d been eaten! Ah, Doughnut Senior. Hello. You haven’t eaten Mille-feuille, have you?”

“Mille-feuille. You’re safe. I’m relieved. Hello, Doughnut Senior. Have you come to return Mille-feuille?”

“Vanilla, Yogurt…!”

The yellow fledgling and green fledgling came out to meet the pink fledgling, and the three hugged and laughed together.

Colorful Chirp-ies assemble.

“Well, do your best on the test.”

“…Senior.”

“What.”

“I’ll do my absolute best and come back!”

Mille-feuille’s eyes held no hesitation.

Honestly, I too was rooting for this child’s victory.

Right now, in this battle, how would this child—who was originally destined to lose and disappear—change?

As a fellow third-rate extra, I wanted Mille-feuille to succeed.

“Mille-feuille.”

“Y-yesss.”

“Take this.”

“…This is?”

The last item I could lend her at this moment.

I took off the glove I was wearing on one hand and handed it to Mille-feuille.

“It will help you.”

Mille-feuille blinked, accepted my glove, hugged it dearly, and then slipped it onto her hand.

“…Yes. Even when we’re apart, we’re together.”

What is she saying?

That thing raises dexterity by 3 when worn.

—

Hearing Wolfram von Lohengrin and Mille-feuille von Sablé’s oddly sweet exchange, Vanilla and Yogurt looked at each other.

“What do you think, Yogurt?”

“If you have any sense, don’t ask. Vanilla.”

“Right?”

“Right.”

The two simply watched their friend with warm eyes.

—

Practical class.

The approximately one hundred students gathered here sat in the stands of the training ground.

With the exception of two.

“Before we start class, those two haven’t taken their practical yet, so we’ll begin with that.”

At the professor’s words, two students stepped forward.

One was a boy with red hair and a refreshing smile—Kelterus.

The other was a girl with pink hair who looked extremely frail—Mille-feuille.

Each holding a wooden sword in one hand, they bowed to each other from a distance.

“The sparring will continue until one is incapacitated or admits defeat, even if they fall. You both understand, right?”

“Yes, Professor!”

“……”

The professor smiled at Kelterus’s energetic answer, but shot a dissatisfied look at Mille-feuille for merely nodding.

“There’s a stat difference between you two, but I’ll intervene anytime, so don’t worry and give it your all. Understood? Now—begin the sparring. Start!”

“Let’s have a good match!”

“……”

Mille-feuille simply nodded.

Silently, she bit down—*crunch*—on the last piece she had tucked between her molars.

—

Mille-feuille didn’t think.

No—she couldn’t afford to take the time to think. If she indulged in such luxury, she wouldn’t be able to land a single blow on Kelterus.

So—the first move after the fight began had to be an absolute surprise attack.

That’s what she’d been taught.

[The condition for activating Magical Pâtissier’s buff is ‘one pastry.’ What that means is—you can eat almost all of the cake, leave a chocolate chip between your teeth, and *crunch*—just that is enough to activate it. Remember this.]

[Junior Mille-feuille’s stats are lower than Junior Kelterus’s. Even with Half-Berserk activated, you’ll be at best equal or lower.]

Mille-feuille said nothing. She just bit down, activated it, and charged.

“HYAAAH!”

“…Wh-what?!”

*CRASH!*

The sound wasn’t of a wooden sword hitting a body cleanly—it was the clashing of the two swords.

Even with this level of surprise attack, she failed to touch Kelterus, the top first-year.

[If the surprise attack fails, you need to push forward again spectacularly. Once you’ve launched the first offensive, you can’t fall back on the defensive. The stat difference is that hopeless. Got it, chirpy?]

“Yah! HYAAAH!”

“O-oh, wah!”

Two more sword strikes crossed.

Following her seniors’ advice, she continued her assault without letting up—but Kelterus didn’t allow a single clean hit.

“Ugh… Dammit!”

Still, she succeeded in forcing Kelterus—that boy—to take two steps back with her relentless attacks.

Two steps that an extra had stolen from the protagonist.

But that by no means meant the extra was at an advantage.

[Junior Mille-feuille. If your opponent retreats, they’ll definitely use their next skill. That’s when you respond like this.]

“【Nameless Sword: Slash: Breakthrough】”

“【Nameless Sword: Slash: Breakthrough】”

Exactly the same swordsmanship form.

Exactly the same stance.

Exactly the same charge.

At the exact midpoint, Kelterus and Mille-feuille clashed—but the result wasn’t the same.

“KYAAAAH!”

Kelterus successfully broke through—Mille-feuille, conversely, was sent flying.

With a *thud*, Mille-feuille rolled across the ground several times.

“A-are you okay?!”

Kelterus, who had inadvertently struck her with full force, was the one who panicked.

But Mille-feuille used her wooden sword as a cane to stand up, meeting Kelterus with eyes that were far from defeated.

[The mille-feuille pastry is made by folding and rolling the dough thin, then folding again—repeatedly. And when it finally emerges, the dough has no less than 2,187 layers.]

“…One layer down. Two thousand, one hundred and eighty-six to go.”

Mille-feuille wasn’t done yet.

—

From the start, the outcome of this fight seemed obvious to everyone.

Even now, no one would say Mille-feuille had the advantage.

A child with no presence versus the top first-year—though he’d been suspended. The result was clear.

“【Nameless Sword: Slash】”

“KYAAAA!”

Even now, Mille-feuille was being sent flying by Kelterus’s blows.

Of course—this was the top student who deserved everyone’s attention among the shining freshmen. How dare she.

But the atmosphere was strange.

“…Two thousand, one hundred and… wait.”

“Stop, stop getting up. Just stop!”

That third-rate girl, that failing student, that fledgling with only flashy colors—she wouldn’t fall.

If anything—it was the opposite.

“I said stop getting up!”

“Two thousand and ninety-nine to go.”

The top student was glaring at the fledgling with eyes that looked like they might cry at any moment.

—

Mille-feuille thought:

*My whole body hurts. It’s hard to stand up. No matter how much I try, two thousand layers really isn’t easy.*

“Why do you keep getting up? You can just fall!”

“Because I want to win.”

“There’s no way you can beat me! My attacks are ahead of yours! You go flying every time! Just give up!”

“…Yes. Kelterus, you’re right.”

“Then—”

“But I promised I wouldn’t lose until I’d fallen 2,187 times.”

“Wh-what?”

“So—I also want to win.”

“…Ugh.”

“【Nameless Sword: Slash: Breakthrough】”

“【Nameless Sword: Slash: Breakthrough】”

Ah.

I’m the one being sent flying this time too.

That’s so unfair. What is he made of? I came up with strategies after listening to my seniors’ advice, but I can’t see any way to win.

Mille-feuille—rolling on the ground, standing up again—thought:

How can I win?

[How to beat Kelterus?]

“…Senior.”

At the same time, she recalled—

The conversation with that cold, blunt, bad senior who had force-fed her a mountain of pastries.

[Senior. Since Kelterus has higher stats than me, if we fight with just basic swordsmanship forms, won’t I lose…?]

[You’ll lose. Even with Half-Berserk, losing is losing.]

[Ehh…]

[More than anything, your dexterity is too low. Even using the same skill, you lose in technique. That’s certain.]

[……]

She looked up at her senior with hopeful eyes.

What she’d learned over the past few days of talking with this senior—if she made a face that said “help me,” he’d grumble but kindly explain.

[So you need to draw out Kelterus’s trump card. Before Half-Berserk runs out.]

The senior continued his explanation—gruffly but warmly.

[First, you absolutely have to keep getting up. I’ll explain on that premise. First, start by making Kelterus misunderstand something.]

[What kind of misunderstanding?]

“Stop getting up.”

“Kelterus. With just swordsmanship forms, you can’t defeat me. One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven to go.”

[Once that happens, Kelterus will change his approach. That guy’s an all-rounder, so he’ll create distance and prepare a different attack. That’s when you get your one and only chance.]

“…Tch. Pierce all enemies before me.”

“That’s not swordsmanship—it’s a magic formula.”

Kelterus in his field of vision raised his sword vertically and began chanting a spell.

“【Ore: Cannon: Single Spear】”

She threw her body with all her might.

Her mana sensitivity made her body tremble, and her frightened instincts allowed her to narrowly dodge the single spear.

[But I have mana sensitivity—if a spell is fired, even its influence is dangerous, isn’t it?]

[Half-Berserk is already active.]

[Ah, right.]

[With mana at 0, there’s no worry about wavering either. The problem is only one thing.]

[What’s the problem?]

[You must not fear magic. If you just dodge Kelterus’s magic, he’ll definitely prepare a second attack.]

[Then what should I do?]

[Charge in with everything you’ve got. Then you’ve practically won.]

[How do I win completely?]

[Look at just one spot. Swing at it with all your might.]

[Where is it?]

[The crown of the head. The top of the skull.]

[Th-the top of the skull?]

[Yes. Put all the rage you’ve built up from tumbling around into a loud shout. Fix your eyes on the top of the skull and yell like this.]

[How?]

[The top of your—]

“IIIIIYAAAH! Th-the top of your skull!”

“Wh-wha—?!”

[*CRASH!*]

“CRASH!”

—

It was over.

One had collapsed to the ground, one had fallen flat.

The amusing part was that the one who collapsed had lost consciousness, while the one lying flat was perfectly lucid.

“Mille-feuille!”

“Mille-feuille, are you okay?!”

“…Yeah. I’m okay. Hehe.”

She laughed like an idiot—but the laughter wouldn’t stop.

Mille-feuille just kept laughing, and laughing.

“I won, right? I did the *crash*, right?”

“Idiot! Is this really the time to care about that?!”

“The infirmary. Let’s go see the doctor quickly. Professor, can we go?”

“Uh, yeah. Go ahead.”

Vanilla and Yogurt were making a ruckus.

Her body wouldn’t even move, but why were they trying so hard to carry her? Mille-feuille just lay there, naturally looking up at the sky.

On her left hand, she felt the glove Senior Wolfram had given her.

Thanks to this glove, she felt like she could move just a little faster.

Forcing her hand up, looking at the glove, Mille-feuille smiled like the usual pink fledgling.

“*Crash*. I did it, Senior.”