Funnily enough, Rotsard wasn't late or even right on time.
He was early.
There was still appropriately enough time before the agreed time that would be considered elegant… but the reaction everyone had at the idea of Rotsard just ditching the promised event was clearly enough to birth the wildest of accusations.
"...or should I have shown up late? At least the sight of your face turning cute with tears would be one more thing to enjoy today."
"...!"
As he walked up to the middle of the field and stood in front of the future hero, Rotsard scoffed in annoyance, causing Justin's face, ears, and even neck to turn bright red.
…from anger, surely…
The teacher explained the rules once more, although after he was done, he did not question Rotsard's decision to fight with his bare arms against a training sword, and neither did he ask him about a contract with the fae.
"Is everything clear then?"
"I want to add a rule for his safety."
"Wh-wha…!?"
As the teacher asked, Rotsard spoke up, causing Justin to choke up on his own saliva.
"...what kind of rule…?"
The teacher asked, only glancing briefly at the commoner student and completely focusing on the bleached-blond-haired one.
"I know for a fact that he cannot defend against my snowball. If I end up forced to use an external spell during our duel, it should count as his win. If that happens, I will ask of you to immediately save him, no matter how stubbornly he tries to stand his ground. He will die otherwise."
Rotosard loudly announced the first part of his first sentence, but then he stepped closer and even leaned in towards the teacher before whispering, clearly not intending for his reasoning to be known by anyone other than the three of them.
"Wh-WHAT?! That is preposterous!? Who do you take me for!? I…!"
"Student Justin, SILENCE!"
Justin took it very personally and raised his voice in exasperation, but the height of his anger was brought down by the teacher's sharp shout that even seemed to momentarily stunlock him.
"Why haven't you brought this up in any of the earlier duels…?"
The teacher then turned back to Rotsard and inquired.
"Becasue, back then, nothing he could do was able to force me to use external magic. He got stronger, but that only made things more dangerous for him. Actually, I don't want this rule to apply just for today's duel, but for all of our future duels."
"..."
"..."
Not only did Rotsard not back down, but he actually doubled down and even went a bit further, trying to make the change permanent.
"A-absolutely not! What, do you expect me to never be able to even block your spells!?"
"Fine. Teacher, let's make this rule be in place until he can prove that he can at least block a single spell of mine outside of the duel."
Justin called out, actually getting angry over being underestimated to that degree, but Rotsard merely shrugged his shoulders and nodded before addressing the teacher without as much as batting an eye.
"That sounds reasonable."
The teacher ended up nodding his head in agreement.
"Eh…!? EEEHHH!? Teacher, you can't be serious! That kind of handicap is…!"
"Can you block student Vallhall's spells then?"
Justin did not like that, even a bit, but the teacher simply looked him in the eye and asked.
"..."
"In that case, the new rule requested by student Rotsard Vallhall will be added. Take your spots."
Since the future hero could not deny it in clear conscience, he merely opened and closed his mouth before lowering his head, prompting the teacher to announce.
The audience present was outraged.
With Rotsard's opinion being at the lowest, that new rule seemed like nothing more than an attempt at boasting and mocking his opponent.
In the first place, Rotsard never used external spells in his duels before…!
As the realization kicked in, the first-year students would get silent one by one as they recalled what Rotsard did during the practical magic exam.
There was something off about this entire scenario, but no one could quite tell what exactly.
It just didn't make sense... at least based on what they thought they knew about Rotsard…
The two opponents were facing each other, standing on two sides of the field.
"..."
As the teacher raised his hand, Justin clenched his fists. He was going all out from the start, fully intending to show Rotsard the fruits of his training. Both mana and true sword aura filled and enveloped his body, not only strengthening him but also enhancing all of his senses to their current limits.
This time, it will be different.
Who knows, maybe even he will be the one to toss Rotsard around and not the other way, like that last time.
Even if not, the future hero was able to replicate the power that Rotsard channeled when they trained together as his triumph card.
"...I will show you how strong I've become…"
Justin muttered under his breath without taking his eyes off Rotsard while only waiting for the teacher's call…
"BEGIN!"
"HAA…! …a…?"
As the signal arrived, Justin let out a spirited call, going for his triumph card right from the start, but at that very moment, the earth just disappeared, and the future hero could only see the vast sky as far as he could see.
*WHAAAAM*
"GA-HUAAGH…!?"
But then came the impact to his back so powerful that Justin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and, as the air was forced out of his lungs, he saw his own feet kicking up with enough power to launch his shoes off…
…and then everything went dark for a second…
—--
The teacher observed the two students eyeing each other out like two beasts about to fight for territory.
The man could sense an impressive pressure coming from the commoner student, much more than any student should be able to exert, but the same thing could not be said about the young noble with bleach-blond hair.
The headmaster let him in on the Rotsard Vallhall's situation, at least on what he believed it to be, and it all made sense… to a degree…
There were still some doubts the man had, but alas, that wasn't the time for such thoughts. What he should be focusing on was the duel itself and assuring the safety of both competitors.
"BEGIN!"
The teacher raised and lowered his hand, giving the signal…
"...!"
And he immediately felt something was wrong.
Despite the commoner student standing right over there, the pressure that he was releasing suddenly disappeared…
…and then the teacher realized that it didn't actually disappear…
It was simply overwhelmed by another, this one so powerful that he could not perceive it in the slightest…
"!!!"
"HAA…! …a…?"
The teacher flinched as a bleached-blond-haired blur passed him, and the moment that the commoner student opened his mouth to call out, Rotsard Vallhall already had one hand on his chest, slamming the commoner student down.
"...!"
The teacher was about to interfere with a spell to soften the impact and immediately end the duel in favor of Rotsard Vallhall, but then he caught a glimpse of the bleached-blond-haired boy's expression.
It was pure confusion and disbelief, as he was taken aback by the fact that his opening move worked.
That observation alone wouldn't stop that teacher from interfering, though... What made him stop was the fact that Rotsard Vallhall, while in the middle of slamming his opponent to the ground, twisted his body, not only lessening the power of the attack, but even went as far as using his other hand to grab the back of the commoner student's head to cushion and redirect as much power away from it as possible…
*WHAAAAM*
"GA-HUAAGH…!?"
And yet it was still enough to knock the commoner students off his shoes and even knock him out for a second… just long enough for Rotsard Vallhall to step aside.
"..."
"...!"
The worried look in his otherwise beastly yellow eyes finally convinced the teacher that the headmaster's words weren't just some wishful thinking.
"Gh… GHAGH…!?"
The next moment, the commoner student came back to his senses and scrambled back to his feet, spooked and completely disoriented.
Originally, he did not register Rotsard's involvement in the attack, so the sight of him standing right by his side caused him to scuttle away, putting his guard up…
…so at least he didn't seem too concussed…
"???"
But he sure did seem flabbergasted upon realizing that his shoes were gone and he was dragging his socks against the dusty ground. It seemed that the last sight he witnessed before getting knocked out did not register properly.
"Cute ribbons you got there, little pervert."
"!!!"
Rotsard snickered, commenting on the design of Justin's socks, causing the future hero to blush with embarrassment…
*WHAM*
"GHHH…!"
Only for Rotsard to charge at him and launch such a devastating half-spin kick at his stomach, that even though Justin managed to block it with his wooden weapon, he wheezed through his teeth as his arms went numb from the transferred force.
"..."
Even though he was pushed back and could barely feel his arms, Justin didn't lose his spirit. On the contrary, the fire of competitiveness was lit in his eyes.
That strength and speed… Justin could win! He saw a way!