Thirty minutes before the match was set to start.

Orca sighed deeply.

A friendly match or whatever, she had no interest in it.

If it weren't for the teacher's words, she wouldn't have had to wander around like this.

"Work hard, he says. But what exactly am I supposed to work hard at..."

Orca couldn't understand why she was following the teacher's words so obediently.

It had been quite a while since she decided to stop caring about what adults or others said.

Of course, recently, thanks to the so-called "relic" incense from that teacher, she had been able to sleep soundly, which made her feel at ease.

She couldn't steal it and run away right now, and the only way to enjoy its effects was to follow the teacher's instructions, so she just complied.

But that didn't seem to be all there was to it.

Something felt slightly different...

As she was lost in her thoughts, someone shouted from behind her.

"Die, Orca!"

"Why do they all say the same thing?"

"Ugh?!"

From Orca's back, where she was sitting, a sinister arm sprouted and grabbed the student charging at her.

Realizing the surprise attack had failed, the student struggled desperately to break free from the grip, but it was futile.

No matter how much he moved, the massive hand didn’t budge, and the student's face started to pale.

...A short while later, Orca clicked her tongue, realizing the student had lost consciousness.

"Missed it again."

How many times had it been now?

She wanted to toy with those who attacked her, so she knocked them out lightly and waited for them to wake up, but they disappeared before she knew it. At first, she thought they had escaped.

But when three or four had disappeared, Orca realized that someone was rescuing the incapacitated students.

Since it was a match, they must have been preemptively rescuing them to prevent any real danger.

It was probably the teachers' doing.

But how?

How were they doing it?

Orca was curious about that.

She had kept an eye on the students she captured, but to no avail.

They disappeared in an instant.

"Magic, maybe? Tch."

She vaguely recalled something similar mentioned in class, but she wasn't sure.

Realizing that not knowing why the students disappeared was due to not paying attention in class, Orca decided to stop thinking about it.

She was curious, but not to the extent of wanting to uncover the method.

However, because she had once harbored curiosity, Orca felt a burgeoning inquisitiveness she had never felt while studying.

"Why do they yell 'die' when they're not really killing each other?"

And besides that, why do they shout during surprise attacks?

Do these fools forget that the sound of their voices would make her react?

"...Or is it just lack of experience."

She could understand.

Orca had been like that in the distant past.

Yelling to hide the fear of failure.

It made it easier to act.

It was almost a reflexive action.

It made acting easier but also made failure just as easy.

"...I'm in a bad mood."

Old memories she had buried resurfaced, and Orca lay down in the grass.

The unpleasant recollections of that time made her not want to do anything.

She remembered the teacher's words about working hard, but who cares.

At least for now, she didn't want to do anything.

Having knocked out several, she could argue she had made an effort.

Although she had been passive and they came to her...

Who cares. She wanted to sleep.

She had done enough.

As she thought that and basked in the warm sunlight, someone else approached.

Again...

So annoying.

Orca waved her hand lazily to show she had no hostile intentions, eyes still closed.

"Ignore me or knock me out. I don't care."

"That won't do, Orca. I'm very interested in you."

"What? Go away if you're just going to bother me."

Annoyed that her words were being ignored, Orca opened her eyes to tell the intruder to leave immediately.

But the student who had spoken smiled warmly at her, showing no fear of her threats.

"...Oh, it's you again. I thought you wouldn’t come near anymore."

"Long time no see, Orca. I wasn't planning to, but I heard something interesting."

Even with her eyes covered in white bandages, it seemed as if she could see Orca. The girl smiled, relieved.

"See, I knew you’d eventually become a good person."

"...Gross. Go away."

"How cold."

"..."

This conversation is pointless.

Maybe it’s better to block my ears than my eyes?

Orca thought, looking at the Watcher, Anastasia.

Being worshiped in the church must have made her clueless about rejection.

"Little bird in the cage might not know, but... I'm telling you to disappear from my sight."

"I understand, Orca."

"What?"

"...In other words, Orca, a wild wolf might not understand, but... I'm trying to communicate with the wolf."

Orca sighed, realizing she couldn't win in a verbal battle, and lay back down in the grass.

If she took a nap, maybe Anastasia would be gone when she woke up.

"Huff, huff... Hoo."

The boy, Leo, was trudging along the riverbank with difficulty.

After the previous battle, he was exhausted, looking for a place to rest.

According to the teachers, there should be a plain beyond the forest.

But instead of a plain, he had been wandering in the forest for hours.

"...I guess facing five at once was too much."

A knight stands tall, facing adversity with honor.

With that mindset, he had taken on five ambushers and won, but...

He hadn’t been realistic.

He had managed to fend them off, but his body was now battered.

He desperately needed to find a place to rest, or it could get dangerous.

His stomach growled.

...Was this the end?

A moment's misjudgment had left him in this state.

He needed to reflect.

"...What's that?"

Just as Leo was contemplating, a delicious smell reached his nose.

Fish. Well-cooked fish.

As an orphan who wandered here and there, Leo knew it well.

The smell of freshly grilled fish. Was it caught from the river?

But how?

It was the middle of a match, and the students had turned the meadow into chaos.

Most of the students were defeated in battle.

In such a situation, who would leisurely grill fish?

It must be a trap.

To gather and deal with those exhausted from combat like him.

However, despite knowing it was a trap, Leo found his steps moving towards the smell.

If he hadn't smelled it, he might have resisted, but his hunger overpowered him.

"...Damn it."

In the end, despite knowing it was a trap, Leo couldn’t resist the temptation of the delicious smell and moved towards it.

Fine.

If it came to this, he would break through.

Even if it was a trap, the fish smell was real.

His well-trained nose wouldn’t lie.

Although he was battered, he still considered himself superior to other students his age.

If he could deal with the students lying in wait and get the fish...

"Alright, let's go with that."

"What are you muttering to yourself about?"

"?!"

When did she...?!

Leo hastily drew his sword, swinging towards the sound.

But it cut through empty air.

The student who had spoken seemed startled.

"Oh, wow... That was a quick reaction. I'm impressed. Even in your state, that speed..."

"...!"

He had reacted before thinking, but he hadn’t even grazed her.

Leo was shocked at the student before him, who pulled something from her waist.

Another battle?

Maybe he shouldn’t have come.

...But what he expected didn’t happen.

Her reaction was different from what he imagined.

"You look hungry. Want some?"

"...Huh? Fish?"

"Don’t you want it? Or don’t you need it?"

"If you're giving it, I’d be grateful, but..."

"Sure, then eat up."

"Oh, thank you..."

What she pulled out wasn’t a weapon.

It was a poorly cooked fish on a stick.

She proudly handed it to Leo.

"I'm Aileen. Nice to meet you, Leo."

"...Uh, yes. Nice to meet you too."

What is this situation?

Leo, bewildered, still ate the fish.

...It was delicious.