"...Haa."
"Is something wrong? We’re winning! You’re way stronger than I expected!"
Dorothy’s voice rang out, brimming with excitement.
Gone was the gloomy demeanor she’d had earlier, convinced they were doomed. A few battles in, and her mood had completely flipped.
"Now I get why you were so confident. There was a reason all along!"
"..."
"...What’s with that face? We’re winning, but you look like you just lost your best friend. What’s going on?"
"Ah, it’s nothing. Sorry."
Yu Siwoo only realized now how he must look.
If he kept sighing while his teammate was racking up victories, of course she’d be worried. He hadn’t considered that.
"...It doesn’t seem like nothing. Just tell me already."
"Uh, it’s just..."
Should I tell her?
Yu Siwoo hesitated.
And then decided. No, I can’t.
I figured out Arte’s ability—the one I’ve been most wary of! Her ability is turning her clothes into thread!
That’s why I’ve been trying to drag the fight out, to wear her down for sure! But I’ve been second-guessing if that’s the right move!
...If I say that out loud, I can already picture the reaction.
She’ll call me a pervert, look at me with utter disgust.
That—no, that I can’t handle.
I’d be socially dead. My heart couldn’t take it.
"...Sorry. I can’t say."
"Fine. If you don’t want to talk, I can’t force you. Tell me later if you change your mind."
"Yeah. Got it."
He said that, but Yu Siwoo had no intention of ever bringing it up.
If it were Amelia, he could’ve said it without a second thought.
Just like always—casual, as if it were nothing.
Because he knew Amelia wouldn’t look at him with disgust.
Or maybe she’d get even more worked up. “Let’s drag it out as long as possible and strip her naked!”
But Amelia was with Arte right now.
His current teammate was Dorothy. Would another woman really agree with the idea of stripping a girl bare, even if it meant winning?
Yu Siwoo didn’t think so.
If Amelia had been here, he wouldn’t have had to agonize over this at all.
...And then, it hit him. He was starting to think like Amelia.
Before he’d spent so much time with her, he never would’ve entertained these kinds of thoughts.
He would’ve gone for a quick, clean fight—honest and straightforward.
As the saying went, “You are the company you keep.”
Somehow, without realizing it, his way of thinking had started to mirror Amelia’s, even just a little.
"...Why are you suddenly grabbing your head?"
"Oh, uh... Just realized I need to be a better friend."
"That’s weird. Why are you bringing that up now? It’s obvious."
Yeah, it was obvious.
You should be good to your friends. Everyone said so.
His friends were fine. He was confident he wouldn’t be corrupted, no matter what they did.
And if they ever went down a bad path? Then he’d just be a good friend and pull them back. That’s what he’d always thought.
But ink had a way of seeping in slowly.
He only realized that after he’d already been stained by it.
His fight against Arte was coming up soon.
He needed to figure out what to do before then.
"Amelia."
"Hm?"
"Do you know Dorothy’s ability?"
"No."
"...Huh?"
I’d assumed he’d know, but the answer I got was that he had no idea.
...What?
"You fought him once before, didn’t you?"
"Well, yeah, but he didn’t use his ability back then. I don’t know much about it."
"...Hmm."
Asking the Author wouldn’t help either.
He prioritized the novel’s entertainment above all else, so if I prepared for the fight, he’d think it would ruin the fun and refuse to tell me.
Even if I argued that knowing the ability would make for a more dramatic scene, it wouldn’t change anything.
Well, I could more or less guess his intentions.
This was the Academy where the protagonist was supposed to shine. And if it was a tournament, he’d have to win, right?
Since there was no need to fight the Author here, I didn’t press the issue.
I agreed with his reasoning anyway.
Whatever. It’d be good if the protagonist got to shine. Maybe I’d just fight seriously for a bit and then lose on purpose.
[I’m looking forward to it! I wonder what kind of fight awaits us! It’s been so long since I’ve fought the protagonist directly!]
The Author spoke in a voice brimming with anticipation.
As it turned out, meeting Yu Siwoo didn’t take as long as I expected.
I’d thought we’d only meet in the finals.
Never imagined we’d face each other in the Round of 32. Either he or I would have to fight in the loser’s bracket tomorrow during class.
"Shall we begin? Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Since it’s come to this, let’s win. I’ll knock him down a peg."
Here was the problem: I wanted to lose gracefully, but Amelia was way too fired up.
How could I throw the match without making her suspicious?
"Arte Isis, Yu Siwoo, Dorothy Gale, Amelia Lindberg! Step up! You’re next!"
"Ah, it’s starting."
"Let’s go, Arte! Aim for first place!"
...Hmm, I’m not sure.
Maybe the way to lose would reveal itself during the fight.
Or maybe Yu Siwoo would suddenly awaken out of nowhere.
That’d be nice.
"...Ready, go!"
Bang—
Ms. Claire fired the starting pistol, signaling the beginning of the match.
"Amelia, you’re not moving?"
"No need to move. It’s easier if you come to me."
"...Right, yeah."
I let out a small sigh.
I’d wanted to see for myself, but I’d forgotten that they already knew about my ability.
It seemed like they were hesitant to attack first since my ability was easy to counter.
...Fine, then. Guess I have no choice but to check for myself.
I glanced at Arte.
Half-gloves, school uniform, a hint of leotard peeking out, stockings, and a pure white coat.
Her usual outfit.
"Dorothy, lend me your wisdom."
"Sure. ...Just don’t throw up again, okay?"
"I won’t. That was only the first time."
"You scared me half to death. Dizziness is one thing, but no one’s ever puked before."
Wonder how this would turn out.
Siwoo hoped his assumption was wrong.
"The scarecrow said, I wish I had a brain. The magician agreed to grant his wish."
The moment Dorothy finished speaking, a severe headache struck along with a twisting pain in my gut.
A sensation like the world itself was warping.
An unreal feeling so intense it made me question whether this world even existed.
Dorothy’s ability—Magician. ...An ability that enhanced others.
And that ability had just been applied to me.
My eyes and ears ached from the forcibly amplified ability.
Practice with Dorothy was always like this. My intuition was so heightened that my other senses dulled, making it difficult.
My ability didn’t strengthen my body alongside it—only the designated sense was enhanced.
That was why my body couldn’t handle the ability.
I’d heard you could strengthen other things too, but in such a short time, this was the only one I’d gotten used to.
If it were an ability to spew fire, the firepower would be maximized, but you’d probably burn yourself with your own flames.
In my case, it was the amplification of senses. My intuition became disgustingly sharp.
"···Tha, that’s··· not··· fair···! Then, we··· can’t··· even···!"
I closed my eyes and plugged my ears.
Most people couldn’t fight in that state. They wouldn’t be able to see or hear anything.
But I wasn’t like them.
Even with my ears plugged, I could feel it—Amelia’s annoyed, exasperated voice.
Even with my eyes closed, I could feel it—Arte watching me with interest.
I couldn’t sense it, but I could feel it—Amelia thrusting her spear toward me, the wind it carried.
"?!"
"···Got you."
I couldn’t feel anything in my hands, but I knew—I’d caught Amelia’s spear.
I felt the thin threads slithering across the floor. I swung my sword and cut them down.
And just as I was about to snatch the spear away, I felt something.
···What is this?
There was something around Arte.
It wasn’t Amelia. She was right in front of me.
It wasn’t the teacher either. Claire was watching from far away. I could feel her.
···Then what was that presence I felt next to Arte?
While I was confused by the strange presence my heightened intuition had picked up, the world returned to normal.
"Uh, ugh···! Kehk···! Kkgh···!"
"A-are you okay?! You’re not gonna throw up, right?!"
"I-I said it was just the first day···! Why do you keep doing this?!"
"S-sorry. It just left such an impression."
Huu, huuuh···.
I clutched my throbbing head.
M-my head hurts···.
No matter how I thought about it, Dorothy’s ability just didn’t suit me.
Strengthening others was fine, but my ability was practically always active, so using the enhanced ability continuously was torture.
I didn’t know about others, but for me, the strain was unbearable. Ugh, it hurts···.
That was why I’d tried to take down Amelia quickly, but I’d hesitated at that strange presence I’d felt next to Arte, and she’d slipped away.
"Gah, you scared me···! H-how?! You caught me with your eyes closed?! E-even my dad’s never caught me like that!"
"That line’s so cliché, Amelia···. When are you from, the old action movies?"
"W-what? They show up in classic films sometimes. I wanted to try it."
As I played along with Amelia’s nonsense, I glanced around Arte.
···There’s nothing there?
Then what was that presence I’d felt?
Was it just my imagination?
"I was caught off guard just now, but not this time! I’ll take you down properly!"
"Ee, eek! Don’t chase me!"
"Hey, get over here! Was that you?!"
I didn’t have time to think more about the strange presence I’d felt.
For some reason, Amelia thought Dorothy was the one who’d grabbed her, so she was chasing after Dorothy.
If it became two against one, the odds would be against her.
I had to save Dorothy.