Right now, he found himself fighting in the final of the Holy War Festival.

　While continuing the onslaught, Ira Horne felt a choking nervousness.

　This is what makes him an ordinary talent, I guess.

　If I was to relax even a little, I felt like the taut thread would break with a thud.
　I felt like I was walking across a thin rope.
　An uneasy feeling welling up from underneath my body.
　The feeling of desperately trying to repress it from above.

　Because I'm fighting with that Cecily Arkwright in the final of the St. Mary's Festival.
　Because I'm fighting with that Cecily on this amazing stage.

　It's strange that this doesn't happen.

　But the body moves naturally.
　The body moves properly.
　It's as if I'm being guided.
　Hundreds, thousands of training motions.
　This is the path he laid out for me.
　I'm just following that path.

　Could I be like him, even if only for a moment?
　Would I have been able to move his heart, even if only for a moment?

　Cecily raised her sword with a flick of her wrist, dexterously flicking it off of Ira's swing.
　With the least amount of force and movement, Cecily prevented Ira's meteoric strike as he went to score an effective strike.

　It's going to be decided, I thought.
　But that premonition, which was almost certain, was easily broken by Cecily.

　The girl who was called a genius.

　This is genius, I think.
　I've known her for a long time, but the first time I felt a decisive difference was during the mock tournament right after entering school.

　At that time, I was selected by Instructor Josef as a talented person myself.
　But Cecily was the most dominant of them all.
　More than me, more than Fiburg.

　Everything was so vivid.
　Everything was beautiful.
　Everything was radiant.

　She was something different, she told herself, something different from herself.

　The ties between the Horns and the Arkwrights were as good as settled in her brothers' generation anyway.
　However, the pressure from the house remained the same.

　You know that.

　You know that a stone can't defeat a jewel.
　But that's okay.
　You just have to keep going.
　In your own way.
　You just have to do the best you can.
　Even if you don't win, you just have to show them the best you can.
　That's how I was thinking.




　A boy who wasn't there on the day of the entrance ceremony arrived in my group.

　He seemed to be unsure of himself, and he looked like me.
　He looked like me and I felt like him.

　I wondered if I could get along with him.

　At first it was with him. I was a little taller than I was.

　And the words I said to him after the mock tournament was over.
　Looking back, I feel like I was talking to myself as well.
　Maybe I felt that if I could encourage him, I would also encourage myself.

　But he was much more amazing than I thought he was.

　A forbidden spell user.

　He had defeated the Cyclops who had been summoned in class with that legendary forbidden curse, to his surprise.
　That's when I understood that he was different from me.
　Yes, it almost occurred to him.
　But - after he defeated Cyclops, he seemed to relax, and he was all of a sudden weakening, as if the tension had been released.
　I don't think he thought he deserved to win or anything like that.



　Then a lot of things happened, and he and I decided to conduct a mission to defeat the giant in the Holy Ruins.
　There was even more stuff going on at the time, and I was almost hating myself.

　But he was supportive.
　He was so kind.

　And I noticed that when he was doing something for someone else, the lack of confidence that had been hiding in him was gone.
　I'm sure he didn't have time to feel insecure.
　He didn't have time to do that, and he saved the people he cared about.
　I knew he was an amazing person.



　He was changing.
　In a short period of time, he changed so much that he looked different.

　To my surprise, he defeated those four evil plagues.
　He also defeated the person from the 6th house who said he had done something terrible to Currier.
　Also the people from Doomsday Township who were trying to ruin the Holy Martial Festival.
　And the mysterious monster that appeared with those Doomsday Township people.
　He backed off.


　But he never changed.


　He was always the same and kind.


　He was still the same Sagara Kurohiko that I felt when we first met, but he grew stronger.
　I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.

　But I know myself.
　The reason he became so strong - the reason he changed is because he made an effort to become stronger than others.

　I heard a lot of stories about him from Currier.
　I heard a lot from Cecily, too.
　All sorts of people told me about Kurohiko's efforts.
　And I wondered.
　Could I become one?
　Just like that.

"He just doesn't give up, you know?

　I still remember the look of happiness on Currier's face as he spoke like that.




　I think there are two kinds of longing.

　Distant longing and close longing.

　The distant longing is Cecily.
　No, in truth, Kurohiko is probably on the side of the distant longing as well.

　But now - I want to be close to him, yearning for him for a while longer yet.
　I want to feel him, close to me.

　I can't win anyway - I don't want to think just like that, right now.




'I'm not the big guy that Ira-san thinks I am, me.
Really?
'When I fought against Hibigami and Beshgam, I was just desperate... even with Noyes and Skolbanger. I was just desperate.'
''Well........did you ever think that you might not be able to beat this opponent or something, Kurohiko?''
I think it was more like I had no choice but to win. I had no choice but to give the best I could in order to win...
"...I'm impressed with Kurohiko.
"I think it was for someone else that I was able to think that much.
"For the sake of...
'At all times, I had someone I cared about in my head so I don't think giving up was an option that even existed.




　I don't want to give up.

　I want to believe that we can change.

　I want to believe him.


　I still want to chase it down.


　Talking to Kurohiko makes me feel like I can do it myself.
　I feel like I can do it myself.

　I don't know why.
　What's so special about him?

"I had someone in my head that mattered to me.

　.....................

　I think that's what it's all about, after all.

　So there's no choice but to give up on myself now.

　I increase the speed of my sword swing even more.
　My lungs begin to scream.
　But I can't stop - I don't intend to stop anymore.




　One day.
　It was on the way back to the dormitory after training was over.
　I found a pebble on the side of the road.
　I was bent over for a while, looking at the pebble.
　I remember that my lips had naturally parted.

　Then, to no one, I murmured to myself.

The day will come when the pebble will shine like a jewel if you don't give up, right?




　I can see the cheers gaining momentum.

　The Holy War Festival, the final.

　I can see my thoughts becoming purer and purer.
　I can see the purity of my battle thoughts growing higher and higher.
　A sharp and sharpened sensation.
　The blade of the sword clenched in both hands strikes Cecily Arkwright on the side of her left chest, hard.

　A sure, palpable feeling.

'Effective strike!

　How many effective hits was that?
　.......................
　That's right.
　That's the third one.


　Two more to go.


　I want you to be just like him.


　Just like him.


　And when I win this tournament.


I'm in.


　Naturally, my ears picked up the voice of "he" that was emitted in the hall.


"Pseudo-polar space, a state of affairs.