Elves are proud.

I can’t say that all elves are proud, but at least none of the elves I’ve met have weak self-esteem.

Regarding the size of pride, there may be differences among individuals, but at least this one maxim was clearly in every elf’s head.

I’d rather die than obey the orders of those weaker than me.

Xian-senpai was clearly an elf born and raised in the forest of the World Tree, so he was no exception.

That’s why, like an elf, he was just raising his pride in front of me.

However, I just don’t understand why she’s saying this now.

“Are you doubting whether I am stronger than Xian?”

“Yeah, right.”

“If that’s the case, didn’t you already show it at the last hunting festival?”

A great owl bear that almost killed Xian-senpai and all three other party members.

Since I killed that monster that couldn’t hurt even when four people attacked it, Xian-senpai should have naturally thought of me as stronger than himself.

She shook her head cautiously at my answer.

“If you’re talking about defeating a mutant Great Owl Bear, I think it’s hard to admit.”

“Yeah?”

“Certainly, the way you caught that monster was fresh. It would be difficult for me, as well as other mages, to respond as easily as you and capture them.”

“I guess so. Magic Reflection is a magic I developed myself.”

“If that monster reappears in front of me right now, I will choose to retreat to preserve my life. You, junior, will probably be able to catch it without difficulty this time too.”

“You know that, but why… .”

“Still, that alone is not enough for me to admit that you, my junior, are stronger than me.”

“… Why?”

“It’s a simple reason.”

Senior Xian lightly clenched his fist towards me, and in the other hand, he made the shape of two pinned scissors.

“Just because the fist beats the scissors, and the scissors beat the paper. It’s like you can’t say that the fist beats the ball.”

After listening to senior Xian’s explanation, I was able to figure out what logic she was talking about.

“So, are you saying that the fact that Shian-senpai was defeated by that monster and I won was simply a matter of compatibility?”

“It may not be the only problem, but I think there are plenty of possibilities including that.”

It wasn’t completely wrong either.

If Xian-senpai had been given time to calmly attack, it would have been possible to damage the monster I had slain.

A normal Great Owl Bear would probably have hunted like that.

However, he probably didn’t know how to use a ridiculous attack that couldn’t be avoided and couldn’t stand up once hit.

It was also understandable to feel resentful.

“So even though I won the battle against the mutant Great Owl Bear, if I had a 1v1 sparring with me properly, Xian could win. Are you saying that?”

“Exactly.”

Won true.

The belief in myself was great.

Even after seeing the magic I used to catch that monster from beginning to end, I couldn’t believe that I wanted to stick with me somehow.

Of course, it was because of that confidence and spirit of improvement that senior Xian was able to win without losing even once.

“I don’t mean to think lightly of how you saved my life.

If it wasn’t for you, I would have surely lost my life in that forest, and I think I owe you a debt that’s more than enough to repay for the rest of my life.”

“I know. Still, there are things you can’t yield to Xian-senpai, right?”

“If you ask me to join your party on the pretext of grace then, I will accept it.

But if I’m going to belong to your party, I want to make sure that the person who commands me is at least stronger than me.”

“… … .”

“So fight me. One-on-one, fair and square.”

He was still an honest person.

If I didn’t accept the confrontation and said that he would come in even if I forcefully invited him to the party, he could skip the cumbersome sparring if he wanted.

Instead, if I did that, Xian would not be able to bring about the desire to actively follow me.

It would be a little difficult to become a relationship where you could safely trust each other’s backs as the same long-range firepower officers in your previous life.

It was not the way I wanted to connect with senior Xian in such a halfway relationship.

“Okay, I will accept it.”

“I knew you would say that.”

Xian-senpai gave a satisfied smile.

“Shall we rent a simulated arena? You’re not suggesting that we use arrows and fire magic dangerously on the bare ground, right?”

“I have something in mind. A place where you and I both have no choice but to fight sincerely, and we can fight more safely than any other arena.”

“Where is it?”

“Before the mid-term evaluation of the second semester.”

Senior Xian, who got up from his seat, turned to me and took out a piece of paper that looked like a document from his chest.

“In the midterm evaluation match in two weeks, you and I will face off until the anti-death magic activates. It’s a fight between you and me with your grades before the midterm exam and me belonging to your junior’s party.”

It was a much more spectacular stage than expected.

Of course, if you look at it under the conditions of senior Xian, there was certainly no place where I could show my skills as seriously as the pre-evaluation stage.

First of all, the anti-death magic is applied, so you can seriously attack each other with all your might.

Regardless of party affiliation, each other’s grades were also at stake, so it was difficult to take care of the mindset of being halfway.

However, the only problem was whether it was okay to compete in the evaluation match.

“Isn’t the midterm evaluation usually only done with the same department?

Of course, not too long ago I had a fight with the mad dog of the swordsmanship department in an evaluation match, but that was an accident caused by Professor Oliver’s corruption, right?”

By the way, Professor Oliver was fired as soon as this semester started.

At the same time as all the bribes to silence the school officials fell, the injustice he had been committing so far was exposed at once.

It was like the future that was supposed to come someday arrived a little faster.

“I already got permission from your professor. If the student parties agree, permission will be granted only when there is no suspicion of infidelity.”

“If it is true that I and my seniors are going to fight, it would be hard to imagine that there would be cheating.”

It was a battle between the chief of archery and the chief of magic.

Apart from individual grades, it was a matter that even the pride of the department was at stake.

It was a premise that one side could not exist in the first place for one side to yield grades for the other side.

“If you want to accept my offer, you can sign here.”

On a piece of paper that senior Xian handed me, it said an application for permission for special sparring before the evaluation.

One of the two signature fields was already filled in, so it meant that as long as I signed, my opponent in the midterm match would be Xian.

As soon as I received the pen from senior Xian, I wrote down my name without hesitation.

Lastly, I filled in the last blank with my signature to prove myself.

I think the opponent in this midterm evaluation match will not be so easy.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“So that’s why senior Conrad ended up fighting with senior Xian.”

In front of the pre-evaluation bracket posted on the department’s bulletin board.

After listening to my explanation to the end, Stella nodded as if she understood.

Stella’s suspicions that infidelity had happened again had finally calmed down, and Lulu seemed to have understood the confrontation after hearing the circumstances.

Perhaps senior Xian won’t be misunderstood by them.

Since it was a battle between a wizard and an archer in the first place, there was no room to say anything negative.

The two classes had almost the same fighting style and winning method.

Starting at a distance from each other, negating the opponent’s attack and accurately targeting one’s own attack was a common way for both classes to win.

The only difference was whether the nullification method was evasion using body movements or absorption of damage using magic barriers.

“Rather, the department would have welcomed a confrontation between me and Xian. There probably wasn’t anyone in the Ministry of Magic who could match me.”

If a mage using a melee weapon and a normal mage were matched, the outcome of the match would have been obvious.

Besides, my magic circle itself has already passed the 4th circle.

It’s probably been said that no matter who the Ministry of Magic is assigned to, it’s not fair.

On the contrary, it was necessary for senior Xian, the head of the archery club, to think it was a match that everyone could understand.

“By the way, it’s not a festival of any kind, only your bracket was set up so big.”

As Lulu said, only me and Xian’s bracket were hung alone on a different bulletin board, not mixed with other students.

It was as if he was openly expecting a match between me and her.

Perhaps the academy is showing an exciting interest in the confrontation between the heads of the two faculties.

Besides, originally, it would have been an interim evaluation match where dozens of games were played in a row.

The evaluation match between senior Xian and I was treated as special, to the extent that we had to select a separate date.

“Well, how are you? It would be nice to use this opportunity to promote the Perdalos family.”

“Oh right. You were a noble.”

“What was that reaction?”

“No, just. Conrad doesn’t really feel like an aristocrat. Not arrogantly showing a sense of privilege like the other guys.”

It was an ambiguous remark, whether it was a compliment or a disparagement.

It was more comfortable to take it as a compliment, so I accepted it that way.

“By the way, Conrad, you’ve been involved with that senior a lot lately.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Besides, this matchup is also an evaluation match that was created to put that senior in the party, and you plan to continue to be friends with Rudflicka from now on, right?”

“yes. Because Xian is also the head of the archery club. If you come to the party, it will be very helpful strategically.”

“The words are correct, but… .”

Lulu timidly blurted out her words as if thinking about something.

“… Do you have any other purpose?”

“Another purpose?”

“Inviting Rudflicka to our party. I wondered if there was a hidden reason other than simply increasing the party’s strength… .”

“So what is it?”

At my questioning, Lulu pursed her lips as if to say something, and then managed to open her mouth as if to squeeze her voice out.

“That senior… You’re an elf.”

“Lulu, you didn’t look at me like that, but I can’t believe you’re trying to make a racist comment… .”

“That, that, it’s not like that! They’re talking about how pretty they are because they’re elves!”

“… Ahh.”

I was almost going to get cold.

Of course, I knew that Lulu wasn’t that kind of kid, but it was a very sensitive topic to bring up carelessly.

“Not pretty.”

“Crabs, on top of that, have a long lifespan, so your beautiful face won’t remain the same no matter how many years pass!”

“That too.”

“On top of that, the style is really cool, and it’s quiet, so I feel like an intelligent city girl, and since I’m an elf, I can drink well like you… .”

“… What do you want to talk about?”

Uncharacteristically for Lulu, it was frustrating to spin around and talk for a long time, so in the end, I couldn’t stand it and asked as if questioning.

She seemed to have decided to say what she had been holding back as she opened her mouth wide and answered me as if shouting.

“Conrad, I wonder if you want to develop into a lover with that senior, so you keep approaching him on purpose! I was curious about that, okay!!”

Lulu’s voice made the surroundings quiet for an instant.

Not only me and Stella, who were listening to her story, but also the people around me, looked at Lulu’s loud voice and passed by.

Receiving more than expected attention, her face turned red in a short time.

“Ahh… .”

Then, as soon as he realized what he had said, he immediately blushed and covered his face with both hands.

“Mi, you must be crazy, what am I saying? Sorry Conrad. Forget what I just said. What am I saying, interfering in your private life? .”

“I don’t have any romantic feelings for Xian-senpai, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, huh?”

“Is it because you’re worried that I’ll throw away your party and leave the two of you because I’m in love? There’s no such thing, so don’t worry about unnecessary things.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m glad, hahahaha… .”

At my answer, Lulu smiled shyly as if she was relieved and waggled her tail.

“What, were you jealous?”

“What, what?! … Mi, I must be crazy. This is real! what is jealousy Gotta say something that makes sense, dude!”

“Well, even I thought it was funny.”

“… But don’t be so quick to deny it.”

What tune do you want it to fit into?

Lulu’s reaction, which changes every moment, was quite tiring to respond to today.

Anyway, it seemed like he was in a good mood again, so I wondered if this conversation would go well at this point.

“I was jealous, Senior Conrad!”

Rather, Stella, who had been silently listening to our story, suddenly intervened between me and Lulu with a strange noise.

“stellar?”

“What do you mean, Stella? I hope you are also in love with Conrad… Ah, no, I have other feelings… .”

“Like senior Xian, I also wanted to risk my life and fight seriously with senior Conrad in the evaluation match!

Even though now, if I try to attack senior Conrad, the result will be obvious, but I still want to be acknowledged for my skills by senior Konrad one day!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Was that the story that you were jealous?

“yes. If I get a chance someday, I’ll have a sparring with you, Stella.”

“thank you! I will work hard while waiting for that time!”

“Yes, work hard.”

In order to join the Demon God Subjugation Corps, do you have to have a mysterious personality enough to be given the title of a different species?

It was an unanswered question that continued from his previous life.