Chapter 36

"200,000"

"100,000"

"180,000"

"120,000"

"150,000!"

"I'll buy it!"

"I'll sell it!!"

A deal was struck. Ravi and Leon glared at each other, almost bumping foreheads as they pounded the counter. That was because he was a man who could be swayed by anything. If one side heated up, the other would respond with the same intensity. Honest with the honest, dishonest with the dishonest. He was a man of many quirks.

With a sigh, Ravi wiped the sweat from her forehead after the finally concluded deal. The robe she had stripped from a servant was loose and uncomfortable, but there was no help for it.

"Wow, Lady Ravi, you've really gotten the hang of it lately, haven't you?"

Leon stretched out his words and grinned, reminiscing about the days when she used to sell things at whatever price she was given. His relaxed attitude was a result of mimicking Ravi. The tension that had once been taut was now gone. "You've been coming here so often," he said. Indeed, Ravi had once knocked on the shop door trembling with fear, but now she opened it with a whistle, hopeful of further savings.

"Well, people do grow, don't they?"

"Watching you, I really believe that."

While warming the coins in her pocket, Ravi smiled, and Leon matched her. The rabbit who had cowered, desperately trying to hide her white body, was nowhere to be found.

***

The training session ended faster than expected, and Ravi returned home with a satisfied smile. Time was finite, and especially for Ravi, it was never enough. Every minute and second was crucial, and there was no room for waste.

Yet, her feet felt unusually heavy, and she couldn't stop thinking about Fiel's condition this morning. Even while sharing the same carriage, she was so worried that he might vomit from the slightest jolt that she couldn't focus on anything else. Perhaps it was because they were siblings, but his dejection was eerily similar to her own.

Despite noticing Fiel's discomfort, Ravi claimed to have a stomachache. It was a performance worthy of a goddess. This allowed her to leave Fiel at the arena and return to the mansion, only to venture out into the city as if she were free.

"Where is the match now?"

According to the schedule, she should have missed both the preliminaries and the main event, but Leon's shop had fewer customers than expected, and the negotiations went too smoothly. Leon had lamented, "It's so quiet here!" but finishing early was better. Knowing she should move on to her daily training, she found herself in the carriage, listening to the clopping of the horse's hooves, feeling the intense heat.

She had never been to this place before. The dome-shaped stands surrounding the arena were filled with young ladies and gentlemen, who, on this day, let their hair down and cheered for their favorites. Some young ladies even fainted from the heat, so some nobles kept servants nearby.

She never thought she would end up here. The previous Ravi would have evaporated the moment she stepped into such a place, dissolving into a bubble and disappearing. She understood the concept from the game, but even now, she felt her sweat pouring out, sapping her strength.

A parasol was, of course, essential. She searched for the remaining participants, focusing on the tiny figures. Baldo, Sai, and Fiel were still in the running, along with their teacher, Matthew, who was participating as a model. As expected, the preliminaries had whittled down the numbers, and the main event was a clash of the remaining participants. It seemed Fiel was fighting an unknown student, but his performance was lackluster, and he was clearly losing in terms of magic.

Ravi furrowed her brow. This was exactly as she had imagined.

Today was Fiel's Shadow Day. Thinking about it, she felt incredibly frustrated. She bit her lip, tasting a hint of iron.

***

The characteristic of this exchange tournament was that the outcomes were closely tied to the characters' affinities. The rankings, from top to bottom, were determined by the level of interaction with Nella, the holy maiden. Characters with the lowest affinity with Nella would barely make it through the preliminaries but would be utterly defeated in the main event. This was because, except for Baldo, the character with the lowest affinity would be designated as the Shadow Day, the day when their magic power was at its lowest. And that character was Fiel.

Reflecting on it, Fiel had apparently been rejected by Nella during the flower festival event and had returned to the mansion in sadness. He was younger than the other characters, and the middle school building was not particularly close. Unless he made an effort to interact, deepening a relationship with him in reality would be difficult.

Still, there was a strange sense of discomfort. While playing the game, she hadn't thought deeply about it, but the idea that Fiel's Shadow Day was due to his low affinity with Nella seemed absurd.

Shadow Day was something only family members knew, except for siblings, to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Thus, Ravi was not supposed to know about Fiel's Shadow Day, but was it his fate from birth to be like this? It should have been possible for anyone to have this day.

It felt as if the world was bound by the game's system, as if Ravi's death was an obligation.

"Ridiculous..."

For now, Fiel was somehow winning, but he would eventually be defeated. Baldo would win the tournament, and Fiel would become just a side character, cheering for Nella and the prince. Despite his efforts and the fact that he was still alive, swinging his sword desperately...

Ravi's heart was in turmoil. It was so unjust and infuriating. Even her brother, who smiled and laughed like a maple leaf, was just a cog in this world. Remembering Fiel trembling in the carriage, she realized that even his fear was predetermined. Before she knew it, she was running.

---

"Such a scrawny sister is embarrassing."

The thorn was there. They avoided eye contact and didn't speak to each other. They were just silent presences in the same carriage. But the fact that Fiel was her brother was undeniable. Imagining the boy being knocked down and seeing herself in his place, she felt as if God had told her that resistance was futile.

Her breathing was heavy because her feet were moving incredibly fast. Despite stumbling and falling many times before, she pushed through the cheers, running desperately. She had grown. Instead of the parasol she had discarded, she clutched a small handkerchief, which she had taken from her room after returning to the mansion.

"Fiel!!!"

Fiel, who had just won a close match, was drenched in sweat and bent over in pain. He stepped down from the stone ring, swaying. "Fiel!!" Ravi's voice went unheard. She clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers, splashing water on his head. Of course, it was only a cupful of water.

"What... What is this...!?"

Dripping wet, Fiel looked around in a panic. "It's perfect, you need to cool your head a bit!" Ravi then jumped down from the stands, raising her hands in a perfect pose, though her ankles weren't bent. Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, she approached Fiel, who was dripping water and looking confused.

"Fiel, what are you doing?"

"What... What do you mean...? But—"

"Listen, Fiel, you're a genius."

She knew this from the game's settings, but it wasn't just that. He had always been smart, quick to learn, and incredibly talented. She forced his hand to hold the handkerchief. At first, he tilted his head, but when he realized what was inside, his face turned red.

"You don't need to hide it. You've always liked it."

She used to do embroidery as a pastime, and little Fiel would always come over, cheeks flushed, saying, "Wow, that's amazing!" One day, she noticed a silver needle was missing, but she knew it was dangerous for a child. By then, she was bound by Nella's desires and couldn't do anything.

The needle was there now.

(Pretending not to see would be easier. It would be better that way. I know that.)

But she couldn't help but shout. The image of Ravi walking to the execution platform in the game overlapped with Fiel. The idea of being bound by a mere 'game' setting was infuriating. She couldn't bear it.

His next opponent was Sai. Normally, he wouldn't stand a chance. But...

"Use this to win quickly!"

Fiel's face contorted. After that, he gripped the thin needle. He was still breathing heavily and looked exhausted, but he chose to fight.