Chapter 20: Why Is It My Fault?
Kael was breathing heavily.
He had dirt in his hair.
Scratches on his arms.
His uniform was torn.
And his dignity was increasingly questionable.
In front of him, the Celestial Mirage was still flawless.
Elegant.
Majestic.
As if it had barely started fighting.
Meanwhile...
The Fat King was still sitting.
Licking its paw.
As if it were waiting for someone to bring it food.
"I’m starting to hate you."
"Meow."
"And you don’t even try to deny it."
The crowd watched in silence.
For the first time since the match began.
They were no longer laughing.
Because something had changed.
Kael was still losing.
But he was still standing.
And that was strange.
Very strange.
Aurelion crossed his arms.
"I thought you would have given up by now."
"I considered it."
"And?"
"Luna would kill me."
From the stands.
"Correct!"
"I’m not going to support this family alone!"
Several people started laughing.
Aurelion did too.
But then he noticed something.
Kael was no longer looking at the Mirage.
He was looking at the cat.
Thinking.
Remembering.
Analyzing.
And finally...
Understanding.
"Wait..."
The Fat King opened one eye.
"When have you ever listened to me?"
Silence.
"Meow."
"No. I’m serious."
The cat looked at him again.
Kael remembered the Abyssal Beast.
The slimes.
The mountain.
The river.
Everything.
And in none of those moments had it obeyed an order.
Not once.
It had always acted on its own.
Always.
"You never listened to me."
"Meow."
"Not once."
"Meow."
"And yet you’ve saved me several times."
The cat slowly closed its eye.
As if tired of hearing something so obvious.
Kael stood still.
And for the first time...
He stopped thinking like a summoner.
Because everyone else gave orders.
Everyone.
The nobles.
The teachers.
The adventurers.
Everyone treated their creatures like soldiers.
Like tools.
Like weapons.
But the Fat King...
Didn’t seem like a tool.
It seemed like an extremely rude companion.
And absurdly fat.
"Ah."
Kael sighed.
"I think I get it."
Aurelion watched the scene from afar.
Without interrupting.
Because he was curious too.
Kael looked at the cat.
"Hey."
One eye opened.
"I know you don’t want to be here."
"Meow."
"Neither do I."
Silence.
The cat didn’t go back to sleep.
For the first time.
"I don’t want to fight either."
"Meow."
"And honestly, I’d rather be having lunch."
"Meow."
"But it looks like we’re both stuck here."
The Fat King blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And kept watching him.
"I’m not going to give you orders."
"Do whatever you want."
"Just..."
Kael scratched his head.
"Try not to let them kill me."
The crowd was confused.
"Is he talking to the cat?"
"I think so."
"And does that work?"
"I have no idea — I don’t speak cat."
Even the commentator seemed lost.
"This is officially the strangest strategy I’ve ever seen in a match."
"And that includes the time a student tried to bribe an enemy dragon with fish."
Aurelion smiled.
Because something was working.
For the first time since the duel began...
The Fat King stood up.
The entire arena exploded.
"HE MOVED!!"
"HE MOVED!!"
"HE MOVED!!"
"FINALLY!!"
Luna almost jumped out of her seat.
"Let’s go, fatty!"
Seraphina stared intently.
Without blinking.
Without breathing.
Probably without a soul.
The cat walked.
Slow.
Very slow.
As if it were making a huge personal sacrifice.
It stopped in front of the Mirage.
Looked at it.
The Mirage looked back.
And then...
WHAP.
A slap.
The creature staggered back two meters.
Nothing more.
Silence.
Kael blinked.
"..."
Aurelion blinked.
"..."
The crowd blinked.
"..."
"That was it?"
asked Kael.
The Fat King slowly turned its head.
And looked at him.
Offended.
Deeply offended.
As if he had just insulted seven generations of its family.
"Meow."
"Don’t look at me like that."
WHAP.
Another slap.
The creature staggered back a little more.
"That wasn’t impressive either."
WHAP.
Third slap.
Even weaker.
"..."
"I think it’s still mad at you."
commented Aurelion.
"I noticed."
The audience started laughing again.
Because it was obvious.
The cat was cooperating.
Technically.
But it was also getting revenge.
And enjoying it.
A lot.
Then something unexpected happened.
Seraphina stood up.
The entire student section fell silent.
Because the number one student rarely did anything.
And when she did...
It was usually weird.
Very weird.
She held up her shirt and waved it like a soccer jersey.
A shirt of absurd quality.
Probably more expensive than Kael’s house.
And printed on the front...
Was the Fat King.
Sleeping.
With a crown.
And a small text that said:
"Little Fat King."
Absolute silence.
Kael felt something inside him break.
"What...?"
Luna smiled proudly.
"I helped her design it."
"WHY?"
No one answered.
Seraphina raised a fist.
And for the first time since anyone had known her...
She shouted.
She really shouted.
"LET’S GO, LITTLE FAT KING!"
Silence.
Complete.
Absolute.
The entire arena froze.
Teachers.
Students.
Adventurers.
Everyone.
Kael too.
"Is that Seraphina?"
Luna too.
"No idea — I don’t think it’s the real one..."
Even Aurelion.
"Seraphiphi?"
And then...
Kael felt jealousy.
Genuine jealousy.
"Unbelievable."
"Not even my own cheerleader supports me — and that cat has the number one student cheering for him like she’s a different person."
"I do support you!"
shouted Luna.
"Your shirt says ’KAIL.’"
"IT WAS A MANUFACTURING ERROR!"
Laughter filled the arena.
But Kael kept looking at Seraphina.
Because he had never seen her like that.
Not even when she talked to him.
Not when she remodeled his house.
Not when she brought him food.
And that stung a little.
Then he looked at the cat.
And sighed.
"Listen."
The Fat King opened one eye.
"I don’t want to win."
Silence.
"I just don’t want to look like an idiot."
The crowd was confused.
But the cat kept listening.
"And if we lose..."
Kael subtly pointed at Seraphina.
"She’s going to hug you for weeks."
Silence.
The Fat King’s ears perked up.
For the first time.
The entire arena felt something.
A pressure.
A presence.
Something invisible.
Something enormous.
Aurelion stopped smiling.
The Mirage did too.
Seraphina tilted her head slightly.
And Luna murmured:
"Oh."
"It worked."
The Mirage disappeared.
And appeared behind the cat.
Faster than ever.
More serious than ever.
The creature finally understood that this was no longer a joke.
It attacked.
And then...
The Fat King vanished.
It didn’t run.
It didn’t jump.
It simply stopped being where it was.
The attack cut through empty space.
Missing completely.
The Mirage’s eyes widened.
Surprised.
For the first time in the entire match.
Frightened.
Because now it had seen something.
An impossible speed.
A speed that even it hadn’t perceived.
The Fat King appeared several meters ahead.
Standing.
Its fur swaying gently.
And its eyes narrowed.
No sleep.
No laziness.
No boredom.
Just contempt.
Pure contempt.
The Mirage instinctively stepped back.
Aurelion felt a chill.
The teachers stood up.
The commentator forgot to speak.
And thousands of students held their breath.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
The Fat King was finally going to fight.
For real.
Slowly, it raised a paw.
The pressure increased.
It vanished from its spot and at an overwhelming speed began circling the Mirage, which could barely follow it with its eyes.
The air began to tremble.
Even Kael swallowed.
"Oh."
"Now we’re screwed."
Aurelion watched intently.
Without blinking.
Without breathing.
But with a wide smile.
Waiting.
Wanting to see that attack.
Wanting to discover what that creature really was.
The paw began to descend.
And then...
DONG.
The bell rang.
Silence.
The entire arena stood motionless.
The Mirage stood there, paralyzed — but the pressure stopped where the paw had halted.
Just millimeters from its face, passing right behind it, destroying the entire forest in a straight line.
The Fat King slowly lowered its paw.
The pressure disappeared.
And it sat back down.
As if nothing had happened.
The referee raised a hand.
"Time’s up!"
No one reacted.
"Match over!"
They still didn’t react.
"Winner... Aurelion Voss!"
Some people applauded.
Others didn’t.
Because it didn’t feel like a victory.
Nor a defeat.
It just felt incomplete.
Aurelion stood still for several seconds.
Then sighed.
And walked over to Kael.
He didn’t look happy.
He didn’t look proud.
He looked annoyed.
Very annoyed.
"If you didn’t think I was worthy of seeing your true level..."
"You should have just said so."
Kael opened his mouth.
"What?"
"I felt it."
Aurelion looked at the Fat King.
"It was about to get serious."
Silence.
"And it was taken away from me."
Then he turned.
And began to walk away.
"Next time, I’ll finish the match before the bell rings."
"Wait... why is it my fault?"
Aurelion raised a hand without turning around.
"See you in the rematch."
And he disappeared into the crowd.
Kael stood still.
Watching the cat.
Which was already asleep again.
As if nothing had happened.
As if it hadn’t just terrified the entire academy.
"..."
"Meow."
Kael smiled slightly.
For the first time since the duel began.
Because yes.
He had lost.
His first defeat.
And it hurt.
But not because of Aurelion.
Not because of the ranking.
Not because of the fame.
It hurt because he had understood something.
Something important.
Something he should have understood from the beginning.
The Fat King was not a weapon.
Not a tool.
Not a pet.
It was his partner.
And he still didn’t really know it.
As he watched the enormous cat sleep peacefully...
Kael had a strange feeling.
The feeling that he had just taken the first step toward understanding the most absurd creature in the world.
And that was much more important than winning any duel.
