Love Letter From The Future

With a sound of “thud,” my foot struck the ground. It was a fleeting moment where no one could react.

In that frozen time, it felt as if I was the only one swimming through it. My hand grasped the hilt of the sword at my waist.

The target was, of course, Senior Elsi, who stood with her back to me, but next to her was a sturdy man with a strong physique.

“What, what the hell…!”

He turned around at the sudden presence, astonished, and immediately positioned himself in front of me. Truly a fourth-year student, his reaction was swift compared to the untrained.

However, his mistake was that he hadn’t drawn his sword from its sheath.

With a swoosh, a silver line was drawn. And along that line, blood burst forth. For an instant, the gaze of the man blocking my path went blank.

Before he could even draw his sword, the blade, imbued with silver aura, swept across his forearm. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it wasn’t shallow either.

It was enough of an injury to incapacitate a swordsman. A scream escaped from the man’s mouth.

“Graaaaah!”

At the sudden commotion, everyone’s attention turned to me. My body, having brushed past the man blocking my way, surged forward once more.

It was then that I made eye contact with Senior Elsi. Her blank stare was fixed on me, like a beast that had just allowed a strike it never imagined.

However, my sword did not reach her. Once again, two men positioned themselves in front of me.

The man on the right was large and sturdy, whereas the man on the left appeared lanky. However, they both shared the commonality of wielding swords.

The two swung their swords in a cross pattern. Their attacks were perfectly timed and angled without need for further discussion. Trained swordsmen were indeed terrifying beings.

Even in a split second, they reacted from their instinctual domains. That’s why ambushes required an element of surprise.

I stopped in a position where their strikes barely missed me, channeling the surging power into my sword.

With a crack, my blade flew forth, and a look of confusion appeared in the eyes of the two men.

“What, what is…!”

The sword was aimed, of course, at Senior Elsi.

The two men quickly withdrew their swords as they read the trajectory of my strike. And without being able to determine who went first, they raised their swords to deflect the incoming blade.

And that was the last of it. From my waist, the familiar weapon I had grown accustomed to was drawn.

With sharp sounds, deep wounds appeared on the thighs of the two men. Blood spurted like a fountain, and with screams, their stances crumbled.

“Graaah!”

“Ugh…!”

The time it took for three fourth-year students to fall was literally just a moment. My body, accelerated and further accelerated, was gliding through a different timeline. Even the screams of the victims flowed sluggishly.

But I wasn’t the only one who could sense that fleeting time.

What awaited me as I slipped between the two men was Senior Elsi, who had unexpectedly completed her rapid incantation.

Her body was cloaked in blue magical energy. It was a shield spell. One of the basic spells that all mages learn, a vital magic for preserving one’s life in a critical situation.

For someone of Senior Elsi’s caliber, no matter how hastily it was cast, its power was understandably potent. It was impossible to shatter even with an overlay of aura in a single blow.

This meant I would need to land several effective hits, which in that time frame was ample opportunity for the remaining stunned gang to join the fray.

Realizing this, a proud gleam flickered in Senior Elsi’s eyes.

The look as if to say, “What can you do?”

A cruel smile formed at the corners of her mouth. The thought of how she would deal with this insolent junior was plainly visible. It was a gaze that, while innocent like a child tearing the wings off a dragonfly, was filled with malice.

So, I launched my body silently. Not with my sword, but my body.

With a thud, the clash of my body and her shield echoed. I didn’t stop there; I forced my body closer and pushed against Senior Elsi once more.

The shield only absorbs shocks beyond a certain threshold. If it resisted all forms of force, one wouldn’t even be able to breathe. I was traversing that precarious line.

At that moment, before she could react, Senior Elsi had already fallen. And atop her lay me.

“What, what are you doing… Gyaaaah!”

Bang, bang, bang! The hand axe imbued with silver energy beat down on Senior Elsi’s body mercilessly. Each strike created a translucent barrier, sending shards flying in all directions.

Within that chaos, Senior Elsi could only let out cries and screams.

“Stop, please! S-save me… Huh, ugh… Please save me! Anyone… Gyaaaaaah!”

The last sound was a harsh gasp.

It was merely a temporary shield. Her resistance did not last long.

From the point where the axe blade struck, cracks began to spread across the translucent barrier. It was an irreversible speed. Soon after, with a sharp shatter, the shield crumbled completely.

It was a beautiful sight. Particles of light scattered in all directions, creating a dreamy atmosphere. However, the expression on Senior Elsi’s face witnessing that scene was one of profound despair.

Her blue eyes, soaked in fear, looked towards me. Reflected in those eyes was my fierce visage, axe raised high.

Senior Elsi could no longer hold back her fear. She let out a scream like a wail.

“Stop, please!”

In that instant, my arm, which had been prepared to swing the axe down, froze in mid-air.

Haa, haa, my breath came in sharp gasps, and my chest heaved. I had been so focused on the battle that I hadn’t realized how taxing it was. It felt as if my innards were being squeezed painfully.

I was not the only one to come to a halt. The gang of Senior Elsi, who were belatedly snapping back to reality and had been rushing towards me, and Delphine’s group, who were staring at Elsi with vacant expressions, along with the hundreds of spectators, all closed their mouths tightly.

It was a peculiar stillness. A feeling as if the world had briefly stopped.

Then, a drop of sweat slipped down my hair and moistened the earth, and only then did life return to the world.

The signal was Senior Elsi’s trembling voice.

“Ugh, I… I lost. So, please… ugh… just, stop… ugh, ughhhh…!”

Her sobs were high-pitched and long. Though her actions were like a riffraff’s, the sound of her crying was delicate and clear, fitting her doll-like appearance.

Tears dropped from her eyes. Each droplet falling was a humiliation she couldn’t escape from.

Not Delphine, but trampled and humiliated by me, a mere junior she had ignored. I couldn’t even imagine how she felt begging for her life while in tears.

Finally, the spectators began to murmur again. Delphine was still staring vacantly, and Elsi’s gang was watching me and the crumpled figure of Elsi with looks of hopelessness.

I took a deep breath. The grip on the hand axe was still tense.

Quietly, I whispered.

“Senior Elsi, what did you just say?”

“Ugh, what, what do you mean?”

Senior Elsi seemed puzzled by my sudden question, her tear-filled blue eyes capturing me fully as she asked.

In those eyes, resembling a lake on a rainy day, my reflection looked wild, drenched in sweat and blood. And I liked it.

“If you liked Senior Delphine, you’d wait at least one night, right?”

At my following words, Senior Elsi shuddered. Her eyes began to shake violently. My expression remained unchanged.

Fierce, filled with lethal intent, golden eyes. My reflection yet again in Senior Elsi’s eyes was indeed that of fierce determination.

“Th-that’s… no, it’s a misunderstanding! Yes, it was a misunderstanding!”

“Senior Elsi, you know, a fight for the honor of a noble is always a matter of life and death.”

Despite Senior Elsi’s desperate excuse, my arm holding the axe showed no signs of dropping. Her eyes glazed over with fear once more.

Her body trembled. That small figure shaking looked even more pitiful. The spectators seemed to have listened to our exchange, turning their faces into expressions of alarm.

The desperate ones were indeed Senior Elsi’s gang. They attempted to step forward, but upon receiving a few of my glances, they had no choice but to retreat.

No matter how fast they were, they could not outpace my axe. Seeing this, Senior Elsi became even more frantic.

“W-wait, it was a misunderstanding! I had no intention of tarnishing your honor….”

However, Senior Elsi’s pleas did not create any ripples on my expression. The fear reflected in her eyes grew even darker. She could no longer even shed tears.

Even if it was a matter of honor, it was rare for that to lead to murder. Because grudges between families could remain long afterward. Thus, Senior Elsi thought she could afford to feel somewhat relieved.

Just declaring her defeat would suffice, enduring a moment of shame would be a small price to pay.

Yet, the axe hovering over the shield threatened to strike down at any moment, and with a blade infused with aura, I was poised without a trace of hesitation. No matter how much she tried to dismiss it, she could not help but understand such thoughts.

Could it be, am I really going to die?

As I raised the axe even higher, Senior Elsi curled up and shrieked.

“I-I was wrong! I-I’m sorry! I-I’ll never do it again! Please, spare me! Please save me! Anyone—Gyaaaaaah!”

Whack!

The axe blade struck right next to Senior Elsi’s head.

Sighs of relief rippled across the audience who had been watching me with tense expressions. Even Lupin, who seemed ready to charge at me if necessary, had a complex expression as it was evident he cherished his senior sister.

But this concern was limited to the spectators alone.

The one truly facing the threat of death, Senior Elsi, still stared at the axe I had stabbed down beside her, trembling.

In that chilling moment, I could not hide the fear dwelling in her eyes. She gasped, hissing with dread.

I whispered into her ear one last time.

“Senior Elsi…”

My gaze flicked toward Lupin. It was a story I had shared with her brother before.

“…there will be no next time.”

With tear-filled eyes, Senior Elsi nodded desperately. That was enough.

I sheathed the axe and stood up unsteadily. As I exhaled, I finally felt my breath ease somewhat.

I had done something crazy again today.

If I had prioritized safety, it would have made sense to wait until the conflict between Delphine and Elsi was resolved. I didn’t even know why I was being so proactive lately.

Nevertheless, I felt refreshed. With a dazed expression, I turned to Celin, who was alternately looking at me and Senior Elsi.

“Let’s go, Celin.”

“…Huh? Y-yeah!”

With Celin, who stood blankly, I took my steps forward.

As I did, the gang blocking my path made way, parting easily, while the crowd around us also stepped aside.

All that was left was to walk down that path.

However, one last person remained, someone who would catch me before I could leave.

“…Wait a moment.”

At that brief call, my movements came to a sudden stop.

My tired gaze turned back. There awaited a pair of blood-red eyes, their intent unreadable.

“Shall we have a little chat?”

Delphine Yuridina was showing interest in me.

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