Chapter 296 (Patreon)

On the first day, Joan stood alone in the training field like a statue carved from quiet resolve, unmoving despite the curious glances that drifted toward her like passing clouds. Students slowed as they walked by, whispering among themselves, trying to guess the reason behind her stillness. To them, she was an oddity. To Joan, they were background noise. None of them knew she was waiting for a duel already agreed upon, a promise left hanging in the air like a drawn blade that had yet to fall.

At first, some assumed it was Suri she waited for. Others decided it must be a tradition from the Holy Kingdom, some ritual of patience or devotion. Joan neither confirmed nor denied their guesses. Let them think about what they want. It was easier than explaining a duel where only one side had shown up. Easier than admitting that she had been left standing there, waiting, while time stretched thin.

As the sun dipped and the sky dimmed into night, Joan finally lowered her greatsword. Midnight approached, and even her discipline recognized the limit of a wasted day. She turned away, her grip firm, her thoughts quieter but no less sharp. Tomorrow, she decided, she would find Kana and ask directly. There would be no more waiting without answers.

The next day came, bright and indifferent, but Kana did not.

Joan stood again in the same place, her posture unchanged, her blade resting against the ground as if it had never moved. A small part of her wondered if Kana had been unwell the day before. That would be acceptable. A duel meant nothing if one side was weakened. Joan wanted victory, but not a shallow one. Not something she could dismiss later as undeserved.

But the situation had changed.

Somehow, Suri knew.

Joan did not know how the red-haired girl had learned of their agreement, but the result spread faster than wildfire through dry grass. A single comment, spoken casually to a classmate, had grown into something larger by midday. By afternoon, the entire academy seemed to know.

Now the field was no longer empty.

Students gathered in clusters, forming loose circles around the training grounds. Voices rose and overlapped, excitement buzzing in the air. Some leaned forward with eager eyes, others lounged with lazy confidence, as if this were nothing more than a passing spectacle. A few even exchanged coins, placing bets not only on the outcome of the duel, but on whether Kana would even appear.

Most believed she wouldn’t.

After all, Kana had missed her classes that day. Even if attendance was not strictly required, it was still the second day of the term. Important. Foundational. For many, that absence spoke louder than any promise of a duel.

Joan heard the murmurs. 

She ignored all of it.

The noise, the crowd, the changing expectations, they all faded at the edges of her awareness as she steadied her breathing. Her grip on the greatsword remained constant, her stance unbroken. The ground beneath her feet felt solid. Real. Anchoring.

Joan closed her eyes for a brief moment, drawing in a slow breath, letting it settle deep within her chest before releasing it just as carefully. When her eyes opened again, they were clear, focused, unwavering.

Whether Kana came or not, whether the crowd stayed or dispersed, whether the academy whispered or roared, none of it would change what she had come here to do.

She would stand.

She would wait.

And when the moment finally came, she would fight because this was not just a duel. It was proof. Proof that the path she had chosen, the discipline she had endured, the faith she had sharpened like a blade, was not misplaced.

And proof that she, Joan Clarke, was no longer someone who would lose and quietly accept it.

Not again.

…..The afternoon sun stretched long across the academy grounds as Suri, Rin, and Yuri made their way toward the central district, their footsteps light with the promise of a break from classes and the familiar comfort of Rin’s father’s shop. The air buzzed with a strange energy, thicker than usual, as if the academy itself was holding its breath.

They passed by the training field, now transformed into something closer to a festival than a place of discipline. Students crowded the edges, voices rising and falling in waves, all eyes drawn toward a single figure standing at the center.

Joan.

She stood exactly as she had before, unmoving, her greatsword resting against the ground like a pillar anchoring her to the earth. The wind tugged faintly at her clothes, but she did not react. She looked less like a student and more like a challenge made flesh.

Rin adjusted her spectacles, her gaze sharpening as she studied the scene. “Are you sure there was an agreement between her and Kana?” she asked, her tone careful, as if the answer might shift the meaning of everything they were seeing.

Yuri crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing slightly as she observed Joan’s stance. “I doubt Kana would refuse a duel,” she said after a moment. “But… where is she?”

Suri, walking a step ahead, let out a quiet sigh, one that carried far more meaning than her words. “Let’s just say,” she murmured, “she’s somewhere nice.”

They continued walking, but only for a few more steps.

Suri suddenly stopped.

It wasn’t dramatic. Just a slight pause, subtle enough that someone else might have missed it. But Rin and Yuri noticed immediately. They exchanged a quick glance and halted beside her, their attention sharpening.

Suri’s ear twitched, just once.

Then came the voices.

“Two silver says Kana won’t show today,” a student nearby declared, his tone full of easy confidence.

“Make that one silver from me,” another chimed in, more excited than cautious. “She’s not coming.”

Coins clinked softly. Quiet bets exchanged hands under the surface of the academy’s rules, hidden in plain sight. Gambling wasn’t allowed, of course. That only made it more tempting.

Suri’s lips curled slowly into a grin.

Not a small one.

The kind of grin that meant trouble was about to become profitable.

She turned her head toward Yuri, eyes gleaming with calculation. “Yuri,” she said, her voice suddenly lighter, “I have some coins here. It came from a reward.”

She reached into her pouch and pulled it free, the faint weight of gold shifting inside. “But I think,” she added, her grin widening, “it’s about to be more than doubled.”

Yuri’s expression tightened immediately. She shook her head even before Suri finished speaking. “No way… don’t tell me—”

Suri leaned closer, cutting her off, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper.

“Yes,” she said. “Bet all of it on Kana.”

She straightened slightly, already turning her gaze toward the crowd, as if she could see the outcome before it even unfolded.

“She’s showing up today,” Suri continued, calm and certain. “I’ll wake her up.”

There was no hesitation in her voice. No doubt. Just quiet confidence, the kind that made people either trust her… or regret not doing so.

Yuri stared at the pouch in her hands, then at Suri, then back at the crowd.

“…You’re serious,” she muttered.

Beside them, Rin was already digging into her own pouch, counting coins with quick, practiced movements. Her earlier uncertainty had shifted into something sharper, more decisive.

“Alright,” Rin said, snapping the pouch closed. “Then I’m all in too.”

She looked toward the training field, toward Joan, toward the empty space where Kana should have been.

“Kana will show up.”

Suri’s grin didn’t fade.

If anything, it sharpened.

Because somewhere, not too far away, a certain girl was still asleep, completely unaware that an entire academy was waiting for her…

And that a small fortune now depended on whether she opened her eyes.

…

Kana slowed as she stepped onto the training field, her stride faltering the moment the sheer number of people came into view. The place was overflowing, not just crowded but alive with noise and movement, as if the entire academy had decided to gather in one place at the same time. Students lined the edges of the field, some standing on higher ground to get a better look, others pushing forward in quiet competition for space. It felt less like a training ground and more like a stage.

For a brief moment, Kana simply stood there, trying to make sense of it all.

Then she noticed the details.

A few students were kneeling on the ground, laughing as they clutched small pouches of coins, their relief impossible to hide. Others jumped in place, celebrating loudly, drawing annoyed glances from those who clearly hadn’t shared in their luck. There were muttered complaints too, quieter but sharper, from those who had lost whatever they had risked.

Kana blinked, then stilled.

Her [High Awareness] flared instinctively, spreading outward like an unseen net.

The noise unraveled.

“…I told you she’d show…”

“…easy win…”

“…should’ve bet more…”

Understanding came quickly after that.

Her arrival hadn’t just been anticipated.

It had been wagered on.

Kana exhaled softly, a mix of disbelief and faint amusement settling in her chest. She had overslept a duel, and somehow that had turned into a spectacle for the entire academy.

Her gaze shifted forward.

Joan stood at the center of it all, exactly where she had been left, as if time had simply moved around her instead of with her. Her greatsword rested against the ground, its tip planted firmly, her posture straight and unyielding. She looked like she had been carved into place rather than having walked there.

The moment Kana stepped closer, Joan’s eyes locked onto her.

Sharp. Focused. Unwavering.

“You’ve finally arrived,” Joan said, her voice steady enough to cut through the lingering noise.

Kana felt the weight behind those words.

“Are you sure you can fight?” Joan continued. “I heard you’re sick.”

Kana paused. For a split second, the truth rose in her mind. That she had simply been asleep. That all of this had been caused by something so ordinary it almost felt ridiculous to admit.

She gulped. Some things didn’t need to be said.

She let out a small cough instead, straightening slightly as she met Joan’s gaze. “Yes,” she said. “I can fight now.”

That was enough. The space between them seemed to tighten, the air growing heavier, as if the field itself understood what was about to happen.

A familiar figure approached from the side.

Kana glanced over and saw Elle York making her way toward them, her steps calm, her presence steady. She didn’t rush, didn’t push through the crowd. People simply moved aside for her without realizing they were doing it.

“I heard about your duel,” Elle said as she reached them, her voice gentle but clear. “You can go all out. I’ll be here to watch… and to heal you both afterward.”

Joan inclined her head without hesitation. “Thank you, Elle.”

Kana nodded as well, her grip tightening slightly around the dagger in her hand.

Elle stepped back, giving them space.

The field seemed quieter after that, the crowd fading into the background as attention narrowed to the two standing at the center.

Joan’s gaze dropped briefly to Kana’s hand.

A single dagger.

Her brows drew together.

“You’re not going to use your sword?” Joan asked.

Kana glanced down at the blade, feeling its familiar weight, the way it settled naturally in her grip.

“I’ve used a dagger my whole life,” Kana said.

Joan’s expression hardened, something colder settling into her eyes, not anger but resolve sharpened into something precise.

“Then don’t regret it later,” she said.

The words landed heavily between them, like a line drawn that neither intended to step back from.

A faint breeze passed through the field, stirring dust at their feet. Somewhere in the crowd, someone started to speak, only to fall silent again. Even the spectators seemed to understand that the moment had shifted.

Kana adjusted her stance slightly, lowering her center of gravity, her dagger angled just enough to catch the light.

Across from her, Joan lifted her greatsword.

Slowly. The tip rose from the ground, leaving a faint mark behind, as if the earth itself had been holding it in place.

The noise faded. The space between them emptied. And in that brief, fragile silence, the duel finally began to take shape.

Post note:

Yes. Suri needed to wake her up. 😂

So many active eyes around, so ayt, longer than the three executives. 

4th chap of the week.

Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂

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