"Prove that…" the girl whispered.Her gaze dimmed as she saw Frieren walking across the volley's ground.She bit her lip.From above, the window was empty.Frieren kept staring at the volley's net before turning to the girl again.
"W–What can you even prove?!" the girl shouted from afar."M–Making me a mage?! … in this ignorant world…?"The girl ground her feet into the sand."Turning me into something evil?!"
Her shoulders trembled, but she stayed standing.
Frieren kept staring at the girl before turning to Kraft, who was running, his breath uneven and shallow.Frieren didn't ask if he was okay. She already knew the answer.
"Oi!! You both!" he shouted, waving his hand as he approached Frieren."Y–You both final—" His words died once Frieren lifted her hand.
"You didn't breathe like this when you were in the 'game,'" Frieren whispered, her fingers tightening around the net's cord.
"Haha… you got me…" Kraft said, rubbing his neck.
Frieren blinked at the nervous Kraft, then stared at the girl again.
"Not yet…" Frieren said without directly looking at Kraft.
Sunny crossed the sky, making a faint sound.
Frieren held the ball bare-handed. She slowly lowered her back and held it gently.
Kraft slowed a step too late, his chest rising sharply.The girl stood a few steps away, listening.
"You saw me fail…" Frieren said, pointing at the girl with the ball.Then she nodded to herself."You also changed my perspective about the game," Frieren adjusted her hair behind her ear.
"Without magic…"
The girl didn't flinch. She kept staring at Frieren.
"So what?" the girl said calmly, yet her shoulders stiffened.
Kraft stared at both of them steadily.
Frieren threw the ball to the girl. The girl received it with ease, holding it as her gaze never left Frieren's.
The weight of the ball settled into her palms.The court felt smaller, as if the space itself had chosen sides.
"Then challenge me," Frieren said as she walked to the other side.