I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes

Chapter 9: Frustration

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped from Drin, who was lying on the floor.

‘I lost…’

Defeated.

Can’t move from her position.

Using only one hand.

She’d put a restriction on herself and lost the bet.

The fact that she placed restrictions might give her an excuse.

“Oh well, it’s a shame because of the restrictions,” you might say.

But not for Drin.

She felt that she could still win the bet and teach her opponent enough.

But in the moment of defeat, the source of her judgment became ignorance and arrogance, not understanding and confidence.

Even the way she lost was absurd.

It wasn’t like he had a secret move or something.

It was simply the result of his posture collapsing from too much tension.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t reacted to the move and lost his sword, but he tripped over his own feet.

He was too pathetic to think to himself, almost contemptible.

‘That’s weird…’

Suddenly, she felt awkward.

She replayed the recent situation over and over again trying to figure out why she made such a pitiful mistake and find its cause in order to fix it.

But no matter how much she replayed it, she couldn’t see the reason.

In her mind, she repeated that situation several times.

The man loses his stance and swings his sword in a blind approach.

And then she fell out of her position because she couldn’t react to his movements.

No matter how hard she tried imagining herself coping with his movements,

she just couldn’t picture herself doing so.

Eventually, she released herself from those constraints imposed upon her imagination.

She could move around freely now; both hands were available.

How many times did she replay it after releasing those constraints?

-Bam!

Finally, in her imagination, she succeeded in catching up with his movements.

‘Huh…’

A sense of accomplishment washed over her, like solving a puzzle she’d been stuck on for a long time, but it was followed by an even greater sense of frustration.

‘What the hell…’

She tried to uncover and analyze the principles behind those movements in order to understand how they were produced.

But no matter what, she couldn’t grasp those principles.

She barely managed to block that movement.

To think that she didn’t understand his swordsmanship.

It was like when facing her father, the best swordsman on the continent.

‘No way…’

Perhaps he had skills beyond her understanding.

Maybe he’s just hiding it.

Drin lifted his head and stared at the man.

Her eyes widened.

“…”

It couldn’t be.

The thought vanished without a trace at the sight of the man’s lightweight vibe.

She’d lost the bet, and her thoughts had gotten too complicated.

Keep it simple.

True to his word, what he had just done was a fluke.

Just as she was collecting her thoughts, he held out his hand.

Drin took it, stood up, dusted herself off, and coughed huffily.

“I’ve made a shameful showing.”

“Oh please~ It’s not even worth being embarrassed about. Even if you’re an outstanding swordsman, how can you always win?

“This is not about winning!”

“Oh really?”

“This is not about winning or losing in duel; it’s a bet, a kind of game! You said so yourself! Right!?”

“Ah, I see.”

“That’s right! And what I meant by being embarrassed wasn’t that I lost the bet.”

Drin looked genuinely embarrassed and avoided eye contact.

“I said that I restrained myself because I was confident that I would never lose the bet; confident enough to look at your sword; and yet here I am, looking so pathetic.”

Then Drin squints cautiously to gauge the man’s reaction.

“My God, you’re being too honest, aren’t you?”

“Hmph- What are you trying to say?”

“Hahaha, you’re not going to say ‘sincerity is a virtue-‘ this time?”

“How can you say that in this situation, you are-”

“Hmm?”

“You also think I’m ridiculous right now. Thinking arrogantly that you could easily win the bet – isn’t that what you’re thinking!”

Drin looked the man in the eye as if to say that if he were lying, she would see right through it.

“Nonsense-I never thought of you as ridiculous, I swear to the heavens!”

“…Even if you said that while smiling, it wouldn’t be convincing.”

“Oh, that’s just the impression I’ve always gotten; I look like this even when I cry.”

“Oh, I see, you mean when you’re laughing and tears come out.”

“Aww, I can’t believe you noticed that.”

“…”

As thorns seemed to prick from Drin’s expression, he quickly changed the subject.

“By the way- I was surprised.”

“What else were you going to say…”

“I’ve never seen a swordsman as good as you in my life!”

“That’s just nonsense…”

“What- I felt like I was facing a city wall, I’m still reeling. How I won the ‘bet’, I can only say that I got lucky.”

“…”

He rambled on for a while, praising Drin’s skill, and the difference in class he felt in dealing with her.

The man’s blatant flattery didn’t change Drin’s scowl, but he could see the thorn in her heart slowly receding.

Eventually, Drin hesitated with a chubby expression.

“So, are we going to end it like this?”

“What? Ah. You mean Duel?”

“It’s not because I have any other intentions, but it seems premature to evaluate your sword just yet. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Oh, of course. I don’t think you’re a petty person who wants to continue the bet by coming up with plausible excuses just because you lost.”

“Of course not!”

Even as he said that Drin somehow avoided eye contact.

“As you say, it’s a war of words. I may have won the duel, but I’m afraid I’ve been distracted from my original purpose, which was to look after my sword. So, if you’ll excuse me, may I ask for one more contest?”

“…Are you sure?”

“Oh, isn’t this a bet?”

Drin clicked his tongue and muttered.

“Huh~, didn’t you say that provocation is not your preferred method?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hehe, this. I’m a little worried that I’m leading you down a bad path.”

The two picked up each other’s swords as they moved closer together.

“Oh! By the way!”

“What now?”

“We haven’t even introduced ourselves properly yet!”

“Oh.”

Drin also showed a momentary reaction indicating realization. Soon, her face turned into an expression of reluctance.

She wondered if his attitude would change once he found out her name.

Like other people who find it difficult to deal with her.

“My name is Ceylon.”

“…I’m Drin. Drin of House Lebringer.”

But she couldn’t refuse the introduction either.

After saying her name, Drin cautiously gauged Ceylon’s reaction.

“Hmm? Drin? Drin of House Lebringer? Hmm- I think I’ve heard of you before… Ah! Lebringer! So you’re the genius of House Lebringer, huh? Do you look uncomfortable?”

“It’s you who’s uncomfortable, not me, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me? Me? Why do you think that?”

Drin’s defensive response revealed his mood.

Contrary to her concerns, the man’s attitude remained unchanged.

“Weird person.”

Drin smirked and tilted her head.

“Suddenly?”

“Forget it, rant over, come on let’s finish what we’re doing. Ceylon.”

“Understood, Drin-ssi.”

NOTE: -ssi in korean often used to respect other people

Psyche.

Drin felt like Ceylon’s use of ‘ssi’ as a title was mocking him. He didn’t know why, but he liked it.

They stood a few feet apart.

Drin shook her head, and Ceylon lunged.

He didn’t use his assassin’s skills this time.

He dueled with Drin, keeping his assassination skills and black magic completely hidden.

The duel played out similarly to the first round.

The first time, Ceylon had managed to hold out for seven hits.

This time, it was also seven hits.

“Oh my~ I really gave it my all this time, but nothing has changed.”

Ceylon barely managed to stifle a gasp.

Then Drin spoke up.

“No, it hasn’t.”

“What?”

“The first time, I didn’t mean it, either. I was half in the mindset of play, but this time was different.”

“What do you mean?”

“That you’ve improved in this short time, and there’s something- I should have said, something about your sword that bothers me.”

Drin’s gaze flickered to Ceylon.

She traced over the impressive movements she had memorized from the previous duel.

When she’s finished, she nods.

“You have very special senses.”

“Very special?”

Drin was certain that Ceylon had a special sense.

But he wasn’t sure how to explain it.

“This is just a metaphor. I hope you’ll take it with a grain of salt. I apologize if it offends you.”

“What the hell are you trying to say?”

“You…”

She cautiously brought up the topic.

“You have the qualities to succeed on the path of an assassin. Your ability to create openings and penetrate into weaknesses of opponents is remarkably outstanding.”

That was the assessment of Drin, who, as Ceylon intended, hadn’t gotten the slightest glimpse of his true nature.

“Oh, the qualities of an assassin… that’s quite remarkable…”

For the first time, Drin could see Ceylon’s bewilderment.

Of course, being described as having the qualities of an assassin would be embarrassing.

Drin fully understood Ceylon’s reaction, and she quickly corrected herself.