Chapter 176: I’m Not a Lion That Goes All Out to Kill a Rabbit
Oriana was swinging her sword vigorously.
"Fuhahaha! There you go! What’s wrong!? You’re only running and running like that!?"
Oriana had been chasing Rigel with intent. She had run after him through the forest.
(Tch... What a pathetic guy...)
Oriana thought. Even among the Royal Academy students, there were weak ones. Naturally, there were many mediocre examinees before they entered the academy. However, those who aimed for the Royal Academy were supposed to have some backbone. There were many who didn’t give up until the very end. But this boy named Rigel seemed to have nothing to do with "backbone."
(He’s this weak... That’s actually refreshing)
Oriana smiled. Chasing a determined examinee was fun, but chasing a weak young man who had given up early was also new and good. She was thinking that as she swung her sword at the fleeing Rigel.
"Hahaha! How’s that!!? If you’re scared, cry or scream if you want!!"
"Hii...!!"
Rigel let out a pathetic voice while fleeing through the forest. He ran desperately through the place where sunlight filtered through the trees. After running for a while, he suddenly stopped.
"..."
"Fuhaha! Lost all will to run? You’re finished!!"
Oriana shouted. However, Rigel gave no reply.
"Fuh... Fufu..."
He looked down and laughed. Then he slowly raised his face. His expression was... a smile.
"Hm? What is it?"
Oriana frowned. Rigel wore a creepy smile and slowly opened his mouth.
"You chased me all the way here, huh?"
"W-what...?"
Oriana narrowed her eyes. Rigel wore a eerie smile.
"This is the forest beyond the hill, right? This isn’t the venue for the swordsmanship exam. There’s no one here — other examinees, supervisors, assistant examiners... No one at all, right?"
"Tch... I knew that. I came here because you kept running pathetically! You’re really fast at running, though!"
"Hahaha! Maybe! But the reason I came here was your mistake. Since no one will see anything that happens, it’s fine."
Rigel laughed. Oriana gritted her teeth.
"You... What are you trying to say? Keep your mouth shut. If I get serious, I can kill you even without any evidence."
"Hou...? Can you really do that to me?"
"Of course. If you try anything, I can simply say you went berserk while running and were attacked by a monster. There will be some questioning, but since there’s no evidence left, it’s fine."
Oriana spoke confidently. She was certain of her superiority. However—
"You’re being overconfident. With your weak sword skills, can you kill me?"
Rigel said provocatively. Oriana’s expression changed.
"You...! That remark won’t be overlooked! I take pride in swordsmanship."
"Hou...? Pride? Clean up the room. It’s not just dust — there’s dirt piling up."
"Y-you bastard...!!!"
Oriana’s face twisted with rage. And she raised her sword.
"Fine! If you want to die, I’ll kill you myself!!"
"Alright? But if you’re going to kill me, you better be prepared. It’s not like I’m going to die easily."
"Hmph. I don’t think I’ll lose. Ever."
"I see. Then let me teach you reality now."
Rigel grinned. He drew a knife.
"You... You’re using a knife instead of a sword? With that, you fight me?"
"Yeah. Because you’re such a weakling, there’s no need to use a sword. A knife is enough."
"What!?!!"
A vein popped on Oriana’s forehead. She ground her teeth.
"Don’t screw with me! I can’t fight someone who uses a weapon like that!!"
"Too bad. Unfortunately, I don’t have a smaller knife than this. Forgive me."
"Gu...!! W-what the hell...!!!"
Oriana ground her teeth. She had been completely looked down upon... She had planned to beat the examinee without killing him. But for a swordmaster like her, fighting someone armed with a knife was unthinkable. However, Rigel’s relentless provocations had pushed Oriana to her limit.
"Enough! Die!!"
Oriana raised her sword and swung it down.
"Hehe."
Rigel lightly blocked it with his knife.
"Hou... So that’s all you’ve got. Just as I thought. With a knife, it’s more than enough."
"What!?"
Oriana’s eyes widened. She pulled back her sword and swung it again. However, it was blocked easily. The next time too. Oriana kept attacking, but Rigel’s knife blocked every single one.
—-
Rigel was playing with Oriana, the swordsmanship examiner. He had provoked her, lured her to the forest where they would be alone, and was enjoying the humiliation of fighting her with a knife instead of a sword.
"Hehe! What’s wrong, Swordsmanship Examiner!? Your spirit was so high at first!!"
"Shut up!!"
Oriana swung her sword. However, every single strike was blocked by the knife.
"Damn it...! Damn you!!"
"Ahahaha!! With that, you’ll never hit me in your lifetime!!!"
"Shut up!!"
Oriana shouted. She increased the speed of her sword swings. However, they were still blocked by the knife.
"Damn it! Why!?"
"Hey hey. Can’t you learn anything? You’ve been using the same pattern of monotonous attacks all this time."
"Kuh...!"
Oriana ground her teeth. More than 10 minutes had passed since the fight began, yet she had not landed a single hit.
"Haa... Well, whatever."
Rigel sighed and drew his knife. It was an ordinary knife. There was nothing special about it. However, to Rigel, it looked terrifyingly sharp.
"Then let’s finish this."
Rigel said with a light tone. He started running. Oriana hurriedly countered. However—
"End."
Rigel blocked Oriana’s sword with his knife. Then he pressed the knife to her neck.
"Kuh...!"
Oriana dropped her sword. She was sweating cold sweat while looking up at Rigel.
"Y-you surrender...!"
Oriana shouted. However, it was too late. Rigel pressed harder on the knife against her neck.
"Hii...!"
Oriana’s eyes widened. She began trembling.
"What are you planning...?"
"I’m going to kill you."
"What...?"
Oriana was speechless. Rigel laughed.
"It’s obvious, isn’t it? You were going to kill me. So you should be prepared to be killed in return."
"W-wait! Please wait! I was wrong!!"
Oriana shouted desperately. However, Rigel paid no attention. He increased the pressure on the knife.
"Stop!! I don’t want to die!! Forgive me!!!"
Oriana screamed. She begged for mercy while shedding tears. Seeing her, Rigel sighed in exasperation.
"Haa... What a pathetic sight. I was thinking I could enjoy this longer, but I never expected you to be this pathetic. Show some real guts. I’m disappointed."
Rigel said it on purpose. The beastkin girl gritted her teeth in frustration but couldn’t reply.
"Well, whatever. Time to wrap this up."
Rigel told the beastkin girl. She sighed in relief.
"Then...!!"
"Ah, yeah. To hide evidence, it’s time for the final tickle."
Rigel grinned. At that moment, every hair on the beastkin girl’s body stood on end.
"N-no way...!? —Uhihehihaha!! Ahih!! W-why...!?"
"I told you, it’s to hide evidence. I’m going to tickle you until you fall off the cliff."
Rigel said with a grin. The beastkin girl’s face turned deathly pale.
"T-that’s no good!? If I fall from this height, I’ll die...!!"
"Yeah. That’s why I’m trying to push you off the cliff."
Rigel said with a grin. The beastkin girl thrashed desperately. But Rigel’s tickling movements only became more intense.
"Hiyaa!! Ahih!! Wait! Stop... Aihihihi!!!"
"I’m not stopping. As long as I’m an official of the academy, it would be troublesome. A woman who won’t submit has to be eliminated."
Rigel said that. As the heir of the Goussel Marquis family and someone who had performed brilliantly in the war against the Valestain Kingdom, Rigel could easily cover up most things with his status and achievements. But even if he could cover it up, it would be easier to avoid any trouble if possible.
"T-that’s no good!? Ahihihihi!! N-no...! I don’t want to die!!!"
"Relax. If you die, I’ll deliver your corpse to your family. ’My daughter died smiling happily.’"
Rigel said with a grin. The beastkin girl was terrified by the boy who was tormenting her.
"Ahih! Hiyame!! —Ahihihihaha!! Ohyahohyo!?"
"Hey, what’s wrong? Are you at your limit?"
Rigel asked. The beastkin girl had no energy left to answer.
"Ahihihihi! I can’t take it anymore!! Ahihihihaha!!"
"I see... Then you can fall down and rest in peace. Or will you muster your last strength to try to deal with me? That’s a story only if you can actually do it."
Rigel said with a grin. The beastkin girl was in despair. She no longer had any hope of being saved. She would fall to the bottom of the cliff and die...
"Ahah! W-wait! I’ll submit! Submit... Ahahahaha!! I’ll submit!!"
At last, the words "I’ll submit" came out of the beastkin girl’s mouth. However, Rigel ignored those words.
"Hm? I can’t hear you!"
"Ahah! I’ll really die!! Ahah! I’m... already finished!!"
The beastkin girl screamed. Rigel sneered at her while slowing down his tickling.
"Kuku! If you say that much... Let’s test it. Are you really submitting?!"
Rigel grinned as he said that.
