「Colbert, are you okay?」

「Oh, it’s Fran, huh…?」

When we entered the infirmary, we found Colbert lying on a bed with bandages on his head. But when Fran called out to him, he was able to respond normally.

I wondered what would happen to him after that awful headbutt, but it seems he was saved by healing magic.

However, he suffered a caved-in skull and broken bones from the fall. In addition, the backlash from the killing blow that he unleashed on Sibylla had damaged every muscle in his body, and he seemed to have been in a dangerous situation for a while.

「I’ve lost」

Said Colbert while looking somewhat dejected.

「Nn. I watched your fight」

「Haa-h. It’s really depressing that I couldn’t finish her even with my trump card. I was hoping I could send her out of the stage if I couldn’t knock her down…」

「That attack was amazing」

「You think so? It’s one of my trump cards that I developed after I was excommunicated from Dimitris-style School, however…」

「However?」

「It’s still not perfect yet」

Dimitris-style is a school that utilizes the release of magic power. There are a variety of ways to use it, such as shooting it to attack, or strengthening the body with it.

However, because of the restriction of the Dimitris-style School, which he had taken for granted, Colbert’s ability to operate magic has been greatly reduced.

Even so, he still had some skills he had acquired such as the magic power release and it makes him wonder if he could somehow use it in different ways.

「I got a request to deal with a magic beast that can move at high speed by using magic release. You can imagine how hard it is to tell when it’s going to accelerate, right?」

「Nn」

After all, if it uses magic release to accelerate by releasing magic on its behinds, noticing when it would use it beforehand by only looking at its gesture would certainly pose a challenge.

「That’s how I came up with that attack. I thought that if I utilized magic release properly, I might be able to disguise the attacks」

「You mean, that last attack?」

「Yeah. But it takes too much time to build up the power needed for that. I can’t use it unless it’s a match like this one and the opponent is willing to wait for me to attack. It will take me more time to get it ready for actual use. Besides, its offensive is still lacking too…」

「But it could send Sibylla flying」

「That was just a fast punch at this stage. The perfect form I envision it is to let magic flow through me when I attack」

「I see」

A certain kill technique from internal organs destruction by an extreme-speed blow that comes without a hint. I guess that’s Colbert’s vision of the perfect form.

「When I could do that, even Fran wouldn’t come out unscathed, right?」

I see. It seems that Colbert was considering it as a way to deal with physical attack nullification that we used last year.

「Dimitris-style specializes in the manipulation of Ki. It’s a tremendous advantage to be able to use martial arts techniques at a distance… But “The thing” that Fran uses, it not only nullifies physical attack but it also nullifies Ki attack. It completely renders the Dimitris-style technique meaningless. Well, I’m sure Oujousan (Hilt) or Master (Dimitris) could do something about it though」

Ki and magic power are roughly the same, but there are some slight differences. The magic inside one’s body is called Ki, while the magic from outside is simply called magic power.

If you’re wondering what the difference is, Fran and I can’t really tell for sure… But Dimitris-style seems to be based on releasing Ki out of one’s body.

Releasing Ki out of one’s body has made it possible to use fist techniques, which would normally only be used in close combat, to attack opponents from afar.

But the physical attack nullification skill that we have seemed to also nullify that Ki-based attack. Otherwise, there would be no explanation for the fact that we were able to completely nullify Colbert’s various Ki-based attacks last year.

「I wanted to use magic power instead of Ki in that attack, but…」

As Colbert said, if he releases magic power into his opponent’s body at close distance, physical attack nullification skill will not work. However, as he said before, he has not mastered it yet.

「Well, I’ll let you see the completed form one day」

「Nn. I’m looking forward to it」

「Ou――」

Baang!

The moment Colbert smiled and nodded. The door to the infirmary opened with such force that I thought it would burst into pieces.

「Colbert!」

「Uh! H-Hilt-ojousan?」

The one who jumped into the room was a scary-looking Hilt.

「Y-you seems fine」

I thought she was angry with Colbert for losing, but it seems she was just in a hurry to get here. She was clearly relieved to find Colbert chatting with Fran.

「You’re, Fran the Black Lightning Princess, right? Why are you here?」

「Visiting Colbert」

「I see, much appreciated」

「Why would Hilt appreciate it?」

「Eh? T-That’s because he’s one of us, albeit a former one! It’s a bit of a hassle, but I just wanted to check on his injuries!」

「Hmm」

Hilt is getting flustered. Her face turned bright red, and she was too obvious.

However, Colbert seemed to have no idea about Hilt’s concerns.

「I’m sorry for bothering you, Ojousan」

「T-That’s right! Good grief! I can’t believe you lost to a no-name mercenary like her! That’s proof that you haven’t trained hard enough!」

「Haha, that’s harsh」

「I-I can help you train again, you know?」

What a roundabout way of saying that she wanted him to come back to the Dimitris-style school. Well, Colbert was way too insensitive to notice that though.

「I was excommunicated. I can’t just come back」

「―!!」

Hilt looks frustrated. She’s frustrated with Colbert for not grasping her intentions, and with herself for not being honest with him.

How can you not notice something so obvious, Colbert!?

Maybe in Colbert’s mind, Hilt is the heir to a master who was very strict with him. So, there was no way he could fall in love with her.

「Anyway, Fran, I’ll definitely win!」

Just like a storm, Hilt left after saying all that. Her eyes were filled with hostility the last time she looked at Fran. She was the reason why Colbert was excommunicated after all. And now she’s the one she has to win against to make her love life come true.

「Haa-h, somehow, I feel bad for Ojousan」

We can’t afford to lose, but I’m tempted to root for them from the shadows.