Iria and Sera were in a confrontation. Sera was looking down at Iria, who was seated.

 

Sera’s face showed a hint of surprise, as she had clearly expected to be refused. The situation was unfolding differently from what she had anticipated.

 

But it was fine either way. She didn’t have to use any other methods.

 

“Well, I’m not saying we should do it right now. I don’t have a hobby of bullying first-years. I’ll give you about a week. That’s enough, right?”

 

Nod, nod.

 

Iria nodded her head.

 

At that moment, Iria’s evaluation in Sera’s mind skyrocketed.

 

‘What’s this? She’s cute.’ Sera thought.

 

She really liked her easygoing personality.

 

Up until now, whenever Sera had requested a duel, most people would refuse with a terrified expression.

 

She had seen Iria’s duels before, as they were quite anticipated. Although majoring in Combat Magic, it was said that Iria fought by masterfully mixing swordsmanship and martial arts with superior physical abilities rather than mana.

 

It was an unusual fighting style, and Sera was already looking forward to seeing what kind of performance she would show against her.

 

The reason Sera gave Iria a week was because she knew Iria’s tactics.

 

If they proceeded as is, it would be a duel favorable only to her. She didn’t want such dishonorable talk about facing a first-year.

 

Regrettably, she decided to postpone the duel schedule a bit.

 

“Well then, see you in a week.”

 

And with that, Sera left.

 

***

 

After the strange senior left, causing a disturbance, the classroom became quiet.

 

Next to Iria was Rena, half-frozen.

 

“W-wasn’t that Senior Sera just now…?” She stuttered as she asked.

 

“Do you know her?”

 

Rena couldn’t continue speaking for a while. Her face was pale white. For some reason, she seemed to have received quite a shock.

 

“Know her? She’s at the top of the second-year Combat Magic department! Although overshadowed by Senior Ariel, she’s said to be no less than the top student of the third year!”

 

“…”

 

Iria tilted her head as if to say, “So what?”

 

But she understood why Rena was angry. Their eyes met earlier, and Iria knew what she felt.

 

Rena was worried about Iria getting hurt. Even if it was just a light duel, the opponent was a monster from a higher grade. Rena seemed to think she would sustain considerable injuries.

 

Although it was just a duel, and Iria wouldn’t lose her life, it might interfere with classes for about a week.

 

Just looking at Rena’s case, hadn’t she suffered from aftermath for a while after the practical exam?

 

Iria understood her thoughts.

 

“There’s no way you can fight her! Huh? Let’s go tell her you’re backing out now. It might not be too late…”

 

“She would’ve kept coming until I accepted.”

 

“Even so, this time is a bit…”

 

But I wasn’t particularly scared.

 

No matter how talented the students at the Imperial Academy were, they were still just at a student level.

 

‘Even the elite knights, the main force of the Empire, could barely scratch my body. The reason I had refused duels with others until now was because I was clumsy at controlling my strength.’

 

If there was something Iria felt from the duel with Lucia last time, it was that the level of the top students in this school was higher than she thought.

 

They don’t die easily.

 

That’s also why she accepted. It seemed like she could use a bit of her strength against Sera too.

 

“I’ll be fine.”

 

“That’s not the point-”

 

“I said I’ll be fine.”

 

“…”

 

When Iria again insisted to the worried-looking Rena that she was fine, she let out a deep sigh.

 

Then she met Iria’s eyes.

 

“I’m just worried. You don’t seem to know how scary the second-year seniors are yet.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Are you really going to do it? That duel?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Iria nodded.

 

For Rena to go this far, she was starting to get curious.

 

Iria had never particularly hidden her strength in front of Rena.

 

She had rightfully claimed the top spot among the first years and even cleared out the Shadow Monsters alone during the external practicum.

 

But Rena predicted Iria’s defeat in the duel.

 

In other words, the second-years seemed stronger than what she had shown.

 

Iria decided to listen to what she had to say.

 

“What kind of person is Senior Sera?”

 

“Well… To be honest, she was beyond my imagination. Officially, she’s the student who handles fire magic best in our academy. But what’s scary is that she’s not just good at one type of magic.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“While fire magic is her main skill, she’s proficient in wind, lightning, and ice magic too. It’s fair to say her level as a mage is among the top across all years.”

 

A standard magician who handles various elemental magic at a proficient level. If Iria had to compare her to someone, she might be similar to Albert’s type.

 

Even so, Iria didn’t think that Sera’s power was comparable to Albert’s level, as she was still a student.

 

However, in duels, Iria couldn’t use real swords, magical energy, or magic stones.

 

It was essentially like fighting with her hands and feet tied, so some caution was necessary. Excessive overconfidence leads to ruin, after all.

 

“Is she that strong even though she’s just second-ranked?”

 

“That’s why there’s a lot of talk about the current second-year batch. I heard it’s literally a gathering of monsters. Sera is almost at the top among them. Are you really sure you don’t want to cancel the duel…?”

 

“Yes,” Iria answered decisively.

 

It’s not that she wanted to duel, but that she didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t accept it now.

 

‘Lucia poured water on my head. Since Sera is a fire magician, she might set me on fire.’

 

Iria didn’t want her hair to burn again.

 

“Haa… Alright, how could I stop you?”

 

“…”

 

“Then, follow me. I have something to teach you.”

 

Saying that, Rena went outside the building with Iria following her.

 

She led Iria to a quiet meadow outside the academy. It was the same place where Rena had taught her magic before.

 

After checking several times to see if there was anyone around, Rena lit a small flame at her fingertip.

 

“Did you know that fire magic is the most aggressive among elemental magic? The temperature can rise endlessly depending on the caster’s capacity. Depending on how you use mana, it can produce enough firepower to turn a human into ashes in an instant.”

 

With a whoosh, Rena’s flame flared up.

 

It’s a flame that looks quite hot at a glance. More than enough to kill an ordinary person without resistance.

 

But Iria knew that her capacity was not just this much. She saw her dueling with Wendy on the day of the practical exam.

 

Fire magic can cause serious injuries even in light duels. Although you can receive treatment at the academy facilities, the pain of being burned is the same.

 

Rena enveloped her whole body in flames and continued her explanation.

 

“But you know, the fire element is ultimately strong because it’s hot. This is where it differs from other attributes. Fire magicians all have some kind of preparation process to raise the temperature of the flame. The method differs for each person, though.”

 

‘Come to think of it, that’s right.’ Iria searched through her past memories.

 

Although fire wasn’t Albert’s specialty, he seemed to release stored mana in an instant, while Eve boosted her firepower by rapidly exploding her output in a single moment.

 

That seemed to be the difference in methods that Rena was talking about.

 

“This can be seen as a common weakness of fire magicians. Figure out how the opponent raises the temperature of their flame, and interfere with that preparation process.”

 

“Interfere?”

 

“For example, I use a method of slowly preheating and building up the fire spell. If you run in and interfere before I can stack the spell, I become very vulnerable.”

 

“So the same could be true for Senior Sera.”

 

“That’s right. The problem is that she’s good at other magic too, but still, fire magic is what she uses best. She’ll definitely show her flames to decide the match.”

 

“Is that so…”

 

“If you aim for that moment, you can win easily,” Rena added to her explanation.

 

The information Rena gave was quite useful. In a duel close to actual combat, the presence or absence of information made quite a difference.

 

“…”

 

But there was something that bothered Iria quite a bit.

 

Rena was revealing her weakness to Iria, the top student in the same year.

 

It wasn’t something to be shared with someone who might compete for rankings later.

 

So she asked.

 

“Are you sure it’s okay to tell me that?”

 

Rena remained silent for a while. It was a windy day.

 

Her golden hair fluttered, tickling her cheek. Looking down the hill, she spoke.

 

“It’s okay if it’s you, Iria. You won’t tell anyone else anyway, right? And I’ve long given up on being the top student. I think it’s more accurate to say I’ve hit a wall against those with real talent.”

 

Rena stroked my head.

 

Iria looked up at her, but this time, their eyes didn’t meet.

 

It was because she was looking elsewhere. Maybe she hadn’t been looking at Iria from the start.

 

“So, don’t get hurt. Unlike me, you’re someone with talent.”

 

‘Talent, huh.’

 

Right.

 

She wished she was someone with talent.

 

“Let’s go back. We’ll be late for class.”

 

With those words, Rena left first.

 

Today, too, their gazes didn’t meet.