When your body gets younger, does your mind get younger too? Some people don't benefit from advanced learning.
Kanna Aspis, who returned to Count Aspis territory, looked like half her face had disappeared. Because she'd been getting lectured by her father, Count Aspis, for two hours straight.
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"If you cause trouble one more time, I'm sending you to a convent."
"A convent is too much!"
Convent.
A facility where female believers live communally under strict discipline. A terrifying place where even a queen can receive the sacred rod for breaking the rules.
"How is it too much? Are you announcing you'll cause trouble again?"
"No. But everyone makes mistakes..."
"Should I put you in the convent by mistake?"
"I'm sorry! I tried to stop Sister Lucia but got curious... sob!"
"You're grounded. Not even for a moment. Know that if you break this, it's the convent no matter what."
"Ah..."
His beloved daughter's tears weren't working. A true formidable opponent.
"Now for the main point."
"Huh?"
Then what was the last two hours?!
"What do you think of Baron Ronan Marcus?"
"...As a man?"
"I suppose it could sound that way. I hadn't thought that far."
"My first impression was the worst."
Kanna Aspis said flatly.
"I like that."
"What? But it was the worst?"
"Kanna, my daughter. Your eye for men has been the worst since advanced learning. Always the opposite."
"B-back then I was young too..."
Kanna's face turned bright red because it was true and she couldn't properly refute it.
"I'm joking."
"What?"
"Ronan Marcus. I've liked him since I first learned his name. A man who protected his family and territory alone. How could I dislike him?"
"He killed Sister Lucia."
"Do you want to go to the convent right now?"
"I'm so sorry! She died because of me!"
"My nagging paid off."
"..."
Kanna pouted her lips to show her displeasure. A timid rebellion.
"Look how late it's gotten. This father plans to go to the arena. To personally confirm Baron Marcus's skills. Kanna. Will you join me?"
"I'd rather not..."
She doesn't like the arena dominated by madness and violence.
Arena.
A circular stadium where prisoners fight for their lives in front of spectators to win the reward of a pardon.
Not something to watch in your right mind.
'But he's a lord?'
Ronan Marcus isn't a prisoner. He's not someone of a status to become a spectacle at the arena either.
Count Aspis immediately resolved her question.
"There's a duel with the marriage between the Benator family and the Marcus family at stake. They came all the way to Aspis for a fair confrontation."
"Oh my!"
Her interest suddenly bubbled up.
"If Baron Marcus wins, the marriage is off. If you want to take your sister, defeat me..."
"I definitely want to watch!"
"I knew you'd say that."
Count Aspis, who'd easily coaxed his daughter, laughed heartily.
***
Count Aspis territory borders the elven world. Due to this geographical issue, large and small racial conflicts and wars of attrition never cease.
You'd think the territory's economy would be a mess, but it's always booming thanks to the tourism industry utilizing captured elves.
'There really are a lot of spectators.'
At the arena, you could vividly watch elves dying.
"Waaaaah!"
"Yeaaaah!"
The crowd went wild with bulging veins every time a human with long, pointed ears died.
It wasn't only elves dying. They needed humans to kill elves too. Unspeakable curses poured down on humans defeated by elves.
"You lost to that?! You (censored)..."
"You (censored)! Why were you born!"
"You're not human! You're (censored)!"
But there were more duels between humans. Because there's a limit to the supply of captured elves. This side was pure gambling where you bet on the winner.
I watched the scene and muttered unconsciously.
"It feels so real..."
The realism emanating from the spectators gave me chills.
'If only this wasn't a game...'
There was a time when I worked hard to stand on a stage like this. I wanted to become a human who received expectations and support even once.
After long wandering, the means I found was gaming, but I gave up on my dream after getting eliminated in the preliminaries.
"Tsk."
Clicking my tongue and waking from memories, I waited for my turn in the shabby waiting room.
"Pre, a! Pre, a!"
"Pre, a! Pre, a!"
Then the voices of spectators chanting the same name echoed through the arena.
A girl trudged into the waiting room.
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She had sky-blue hair I'd never seen once in this game. Her long eyebrows and eyelashes that made her sultry eyes stand out even more were also sky blue. Very natural, not like dye.
'Well, it's a game.'
Pink, green hair wouldn't be surprising either.
But the sky-blue individuality covering down to her lower back was so strong it buried her beautiful appearance. Maybe if I saw it often and got used to the sky-blue, it'd look different?
"Are you Prea?"
"Yes."
Prea wore a prisoner's necklace around her neck that blocked warping.
"What crime did you commit?"
"..."
She turned her head silently and went out to the arena where the spectators' hot cheers could be heard.
Pione, who'd been waiting quietly like a secretary beside me, answered instead.
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"Prea is an alias. Her real name is Priel. An angel with her wings removed. That's why it's hard to notice. Only insiders know she's an angel."
"Why?"
"Angels are also objects of hatred like elves."
"It's business."
"Yes."
The reason spectators cheer for her is because she's human. If the fact she's an angel becomes known, no one could like her no matter how beautiful and strong.
'Strong too?'
I need a lot of strong companions to protect the nexus. Species doesn't matter to me.
"Strong?"
"She's an angel."
"I asked if she's strong."
"Angels are strong even without wings. But she might look weak in your eyes, Baron."
"My standards aren't that high."
I don't plan to compare her to a protagonist character with buffs.
"Baron, your claim after easily killing Knight Lucia lacks credibility."
"Ah! Right! How does she compare to that knight?"
"Knight Lucia is stronger."
"I see."
Doesn't seem like a companion useful enough to bow my head to Count Aspis for.
'Unless he gives her for free.'
My interest disappeared.
"Baron. It's time."
"Good."
Time to collect the experience points Count Benator worked so hard to prepare.
***
Humans who die in accidents can be revived. But there are conditions.
A corpse that medical treatment can work on.
A human worth reviving.
A coin to summon the soul back.
Most accept death obediently because of the third condition. Because there's no way to obtain coins.
'I can't breathe.'
Lucia was lucky.
The corpse's condition wasn't bad, and there was the Aspis family willing to use a coin for her.
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But levels don't come back.
She, who'd been level 21, became so weak she couldn't even beat a petty thief armed with a gun. That sense of loss is indescribable.
Is this the end?
'I thought I'd win!'
The legal responsibility for secretly infiltrating Baron Marcus territory and attacking Baron Marcus remains.
Compensation for damages from interfering with the ruins exploration hasn't been billed yet either.
"The worst..."
Before cruel reality, she wanted to die again. But if she did such an irresponsible thing, the Aspis family would never forgive her.
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"Knight Lucia. This is the opposite waiting room."
"...Ah! Was it? I forgot since it's been so long. Ha, haha..."
A supervisor had already been attached to prevent her from making extreme choices.
'What do I do now...?'
Lucia came to the arena on Count Aspis's orders.
She had to apologize to the human who killed her childhood friend. An extremely cruel treatment, but she had no right to refuse.
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Of course, the feelings she'd had toward her childhood friend Kevin disappeared the moment she saw her status window.
Still, she doesn't resent him because she died fighting by her own choice.
"Knight Lucia."
"I know. Don't rush me."
"My apologies."
She couldn't drag it out any longer. She had to go right now to Baron Ronan Marcus in the opposite waiting room.
"Oh! Isn't that Knight Lucia? But you're in terrible condition."
Someone called out to her as she turned to leave the waiting room.
Lucia stopped walking and turned, bowing her head slightly in polite greeting.
"Master Teron. It's been a while."
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Master Teron.
He's a Master 2nd rank who transcended automatons with a human body.
You'd expect a Master to be arrogant, but his character isn't bad either. At least the him Lucia knows.
"Everyone has circumstances."
Teron didn't mock her for falling to level 1.
Because for knights protecting their lords, death is like a shadow. Revival is the same.
"Thank you."
"Since this is fate, meet the future count before you go. Connections are a knight's asset, aren't they? No need to go far."
"I'm Lean Benator."
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The young man wearing flashy leather clothes like a bullfighter introduced himself directly.
Lucia immediately bowed her head politely.
"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Lucia, a knight of the Aspis family."
To be honest, Lucia doesn't know who he is. But she knows "Benator." Because the territory neighboring Count Aspis territory is Count Benator territory.
'So it's this man.'
The man trying to win against Baron Ronan Marcus and become the son-in-law of the Marcus family.
Because they promoted him day and night for two days, there's no one in Count Aspis territory who doesn't know him.
Behind him stood a woman presumed to be his wife, standing demurely.
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As befitting a woman chosen as a daughter-in-law by a count family, she was naturally beautiful, and Lucia could feel the noble dignity and charm she lacked.
The woman whose eyes met hers gave a poignant smile.
"Knight Lucia. I also know the experience of losing all your strength. I'll pray and cheer for Segra's favoritism to be with you."
All nobles who receive advanced learning go through it once. The terrible experience of being a protagonist in virtual reality then waking up at level 1.
"Thank you."
Lucia bowed her head politely in thanks at the sincere voice of encouragement.
"But what brings Knight Lucia to the arena? It'll be very dangerous in that condition."
Teron's concern was valid.
Criminals who like fighting and gambling come and go to the arena hiding their identities.
It's not common, but gunfights break out in the stands too.
"I plan to participate directly."
"You're thinking of recovering levels at the arena."
"That's right."
The Aspis arena is so prosperous it has no days off. The average level of gladiators is correspondingly high too.
If they arrange the bracket favorably for her, she can raise her level quickly. If she pushes herself a bit, reaching level 10 won't take even a day.
"Young master. It's time to compete."
"Already?"
Lean Benator, who received the automaton's notification, prepared to go out to the arena.
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"Lean! Lean! Lean!"
"Lean! Lean! Lean!"
The waiting room suddenly got noisy. Because noble youths presumed to be friends started vigorously shouting his name in support.
"Ooh!"
Lean Benator also responded to their support by raising his sword above his head.
"Awesome!"
"The best!"
A festival atmosphere unsuited to an arena where people die in real time. They seemed to think they'd already won.
'...A festival of fools.'
Lucia thought the exact opposite.
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You could tell just from the way Lean Benator held his sword and his bearing. Levels raised at a nexus.
Lucia recalled the boy she'd fought in the ruins.
'If they clash, he won't even have time to surrender...'
She could clearly see the future of Lean Benator's head flying off the moment the duel started. Though he wouldn't die in one hit thanks to his shield.
"Oh Segra."
"..."
Lucia's gaze couldn't leave the woman praying in the corner.
Was she perceptive? She wasn't fitting into this festival atmosphere.
'Maybe she already has children...'
Thinking that made her heart heavy.
This duel is suicide. She should stop Lean Benator from going out.
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"Knight Lucia."
"Ah!"
The automaton who noticed at the speed of light stopped her.
"You mustn't interfere."
"...I know that much."
Lucia, who answered curtly, quietly left the noisy waiting room.