CH 239

“We now begin the second match!”

It was afternoon and my match was about to start. I looked at the bleachers and immediately noticed that my brother wasn’t there.

“Match number two! Claudia Areola versus Sophie Adolfo!”

I was sure Nii-sama was doing something with that new sword. He kept the sword by his side all through yesterday. I took a closer look at the sword and found that it was fitted with that unfamiliar tracking ball. Either he put it on and couldn’t take it off, or he left it on purpose. I predicted that it was stuck, because he didn’t bother to remove the ball in front of me. Because there’s no merit to show me that he put the ball in front of me.

Also, maybe Nii-sama doesn’t realize it, but I’m at a disadvantage in tomorrow’s game. I wasn’t at that much of a disadvantage before I saw today’s game. But after today’s game, I was at a disadvantage. The reason, of course, was something he did with the Spirit King.

He completely slipped through the physical attack. I think that the magic power that Nii-sama is clad in will probably slip through magic as well. And what I think is more troublesome than anything else is that something that took away his opponent’s HP. The principle is similar to my drain, but my drain can’t take away the HP. My guess is that the activation condition for that thing is touch. And I think Nii-sama in that state can use the spirit king to transfer. I don’t have the reflexes like my brother, so if I get touched in that process, then it’s over. If the HP robber has anything to do with magic defense, I might be safe, but I can’t take that kind of gamble.

If that’s the case, I have to seal Nii-sama’s spirit use. I can’t let him use one that could end things immediately if it’s activated. Even if he had acquired a skill stronger than the spirit user. In other words, I’d have to fall back instead of blocking Nii-sama’s spirit user.

In contrast, the only hand I haven’t shown is Sifa’s special ability. And I can also do devilization, which Nii-sama would never know about, to a point. However, I don’t want to show it in front of the person I love because it makes me lose my reason a little. But I have to use it if I am pushed to the point of losing.

And Nii-sama’s hidden card, which I don’t understand, is those two swords. If it’s balled up and can’t be removed, then I can assume it has some sort of ability. And it’s probably not fully mastered yet. My chance to win is to go for it. There’s no line that he has mastered it and saved it for today. If that were the case, he wouldn’t need to make the move that he made once he got a grip on it. Seeing as how he used the Spirit King after that, maybe it’s an effect that makes it easier to manipulate the magic.

Furthermore, what I know but can’t deal with is that God thunder. I don’t know if he would use it in front of such a large crowd, but it’s hard to block that one. But I don’t think he can afford to use his new sword ability while doing that, so we don’t need to be too vigilant about that.

Thus I’m on the back foot even though I have about the same number of cards in my hidden hand. So I’m at a disadvantage. Nii-sama is like playing rock-paper-scissors with me. I’ll be dealt with according to my actions.

“Hah…hah…it doesn’t hit at all…”

“Hmm?”

I looked around the auditorium again, curious about something.

“She’s not here…!”

That elf is gone! The only thing I could think of was that she was with Nii-sama. That’s absolutely not possible. Last time I went to the church, I didn’t get to meet the goddess, but I was warned. She was right once before, so I can’t ignore her this time either. I kept quiet because I wanted Nii-sama to concentrate only on the heroes, and it backfired on me. For his sake, I’ll end this match quickly.

“Holy ho…”

I used spatial magic to sever Claudia’s head, who was about to do something, from the entire space. Then Claudia was transferred off the stage. If I did the same thing to my brother, he’d surely avoid it. That’s Nii-sama.

“The match is over! Winner! Sophie Adolfo!”

I rushed out of the arena after hearing this announcement. Someone tried to talk to me, but I apologized and ignored them. Of course, Nii-sama is my first priority.

“……”

I walked out of the arena and stopped for a moment. I can’t go to him. I should never be the only one to see him training for tomorrow’s match. But that doesn’t mean I can ignore him now. And it would be a mistake to ask someone else to do it.

“I’m sorry, Nii-sama.”

I don’t think he heard me, but I apologized first. If it were true, he could still train for an hour or two, but I’m interrupting that. First, I used the title stalker to determine his location. Then I dropped his 18th Thunder Burst from directly above him. I don’t think Elira would be hit by the lightning rod of Nii-sama’s title. Even if she did get hit, it wouldn’t be serious, because I’ve made it powerful enough not to seriously injure her. And Nii-sama would be able to tell that it was my magic. I suddenly released my magic, so he would rush back to see if something had happened to me. I took advantage of his kindness.

“Neither of you will be making any final adjustments today.”

“I know.”

“I know.”

I can’t allow my own training to get in the way of Nii-sama’s training. I wanted to be able to use devilization as much as possible today, but I had no choice.