Chapter 53: Chapter 53

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Scent Discrimination

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"P-Please, save me...! Save me!"

"Gotcha...?!"

"Wow..."

Just as Dorothy was about to be caught by Amelia, she frantically picked up a severed thread lying on the ground and tied Amelia's arm, prompting a voice of admiration from Arte.

From her perspective, I'd expected annoyance rather than admiration, but it seemed I was wrong.

I thought she'd be annoyed if I used Arte's threads.

"Ugh, what, what is this...! Let go! Argh, why is it so strong?! Arte! Make it a little weaker!"

"That's difficult... It's just thread. A bit *very* strong. ...There, I cut it for you. Is that better?"

"Argh, I lost her!"

Damn it.

It was instantly cut by Arte's thread.

It was easily cut by my sword last time too; it seems that while strong, it's vulnerable to slashes.

"Heh, heh... I-I'm tired..."

"Dorothy, no time to rest. Hurry."

"Ah, alright! The Scarecrow said, 'I want a brain.' The wizard granted the wish... Kyaa!"

"Ahaha, my apologies. It seems it won't work a second time. An ability that enhances allies... That's rare!"

Ah, damn it.

She figured it out.

...Well, Dorothy has to recite a unique line to activate her ability.

It's too distinctive; doing the same thing twice makes it easy to catch on.

Still, she could have let her use it one more time.

Sensing that things had already gone awry, I ran a hand over my face.

Arte's threads weren't slow enough for Dorothy to dodge. And there's no way she'd just stand by and watch for weaknesses.

Sure enough, Dorothy was instantly bound by Arte's threads, incapacitated.

"Alright, now that you're outnumbered, what's your plan? It's perfectly fine to concede defeat and surrender, you know?"

"..."

"Oh, I like that! Ahaha, you can step down if you don't want to look any more pathetic, Yoo Siwoo!"

Arte and Amelia's smiling faces were needlessly irritating.

So that's how it's going to be.

"Sorry, but it's not like I don't have a way...!"

"...Alright, then show us this 'way' of yours."

At this point, there's no other choice.

Don't let appearances fool you, I'm a man too. I can't just stand by after being mocked like this.

"I really didn't want to do this... Arte, you brought this upon yourself!"

"...Huh?"

"Alright, bring it on!"

***

I nervously scanned my surroundings.

Dorothy, neatly packaged in threads and stuck in a corner of the arena.

Amelia, her face flushed, catching her breath.

Threads already used, scattered everywhere.

...And the protagonist, Yoo Siwoo, drenched in cold sweat.

[W-Wow... He can do *that*... As expected of the protagonist, amazing evasive maneuvers!]

Is this really the time to be staring at the protagonist like he's enchanted?!

Feeling anxious, I needlessly kicked the ground.

Hearing that sound, Amelia accelerated once more.

Having already accelerated multiple times, Amelia, now too fast for my eyes to follow, charged towards Yoo Siwoo.

Still wearing the threads I'd wrapped around his neck.

"This time, dieee!"

The threads deployed around Yoo Siwoo instantly absorbed mana and tightened around him.

...And failed again.

He focused on breaking through just one part of the surrounding threads, escaping the encirclement.

"Amelia, 'die'? This is a test. The goal is to subdue him, not kill him."

"Argh, failed again?! Shut up! It's because you keep scurrying away! Arte, just one more time!"

"..."

"Arte? What are you doing! ...Is something wrong?! I'm going in alone?!"

I was currently in the dilemma of a lifetime.

Amelia seemed too focused on Siwoo to notice, but I had used up all the threads I'd been trying to conserve.

...Which meant I was now only wearing my leotard, school uniform, and the white coat artifact.

This is insane. What do I do?

This match was being watched by the entire student body.

Of course, for safety, the spectator stands were far away, so they wouldn't be able to see clearly, but wouldn't the students start realizing something was off soon?

Like, 'Why is her clothing damaged when she hasn't even been attacked?'

Even if they don't suspect anything, it's a problem.

If I fought any longer, either my clothes or my leotard...

One of them would have to be sacrificed.

Of course, assuming I could subdue him immediately, using the leotard would be the right choice.

Since the leotard was worn under the uniform anyway, it wouldn't be visible.

...But what if I used up all the leotard and still couldn't catch him?

It would be a catastrophe. My ability would be sealed at that moment.

But then again, I couldn't expose my body by revealing the leotard in a place where everyone's eyes were on me.

What, what should I do...?!

"Agh?!"

"Amelia, you know very well that you're not a good match for me."

"So annoyinggg!"

"Just lie there."

[Ah, she's caught. As expected, Amelia is at a disadvantage against Siwoo.]

This is bad.

Oh, what do I do...?

While I was briefly contemplating, Amelia was subdued.

I think she asked for help, but I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't respond, so she seemed to have charged in impatiently.

Amelia disrupts opponents with incredible speed, but it doesn't work on Siwoo.

It was impressive how Siwoo seemed to know exactly where Amelia, who uses hit-and-run tactics, would charge, placing his sword in her path beforehand.

Wait, is that really intuition?

Intuition is supposed to be an extra sense that makes it easier to evade attacks.

But just now, it looked like he had already placed his sword in her path even before Amelia moved.

...A mistake? It must be a mistake.

The author said Siwoo's ability was intuition, after all.

Amelia's speed and Siwoo's reaction were just too fast; I must have seen it wrong.

"Arte. You're the only one left."

"...So I am."

Siwoo's voice pulled my mind back from its brief reverie.

Right, now isn't the time to think about such trivial matters. There's a more important problem remaining.

...How on earth could I break through this terrible situation?

My mind began to go blank.

"Now that the numbers are even, what's your plan? It's fine to admit defeat and surrender."

"..."

For a moment, I didn't understand what I'd heard.

...What did Yoo Siwoo just say?

He said it was fine to admit defeat and surrender, didn't he?

And that line was the very one I'd said earlier.

The line I'd used to urge the protagonist to surrender.

A mental click.

I clearly understood why he had been so fired up after hearing my words.

Of course, that had been his goal from the start, but the sudden delivery of that line made the blood rush to my head.

[R-Reader...? Are you, are you angry?]

Am I angry?

Of course. He just threw my own words back at me.

I was planning to admit defeat and lose, just as the protagonist suggested...!

"Ha, haha... You got me good."

"Uh, uh...?"

"Since you've said all that, it seems you're ready for the consequences, aren't you?"

One by one, the threads of the black leotard beneath my uniform began to unravel, slowly forming a spiderweb across the arena.

I knew very well that this wasn't what I should be doing.

I knew that if I made a mistake, I might end up exposing my skin to everyone... But...

I don't care, something will work out.

***

"Th-This isn't right...?"

Siwoo stared in bewilderment at the threads Arte had profusely spread across the arena.

This confirmed it. Arte's ability was to use her clothing as consumables.

As proof, her stockings and fingerless gloves had disappeared at some point.

Arte herself had been moving rather lukewarmly for a while, so he had merely made the suggestion after subduing Amelia.

...While subtly returning the slightly irritating line.

He hadn't expected her to get so fired up. Arte had only ever shown him a relaxed demeanor, so he thought she didn't have much of a competitive spirit.

"Let's see if you can dodge this too."

He flinched at the sight of Arte's eyes gleaming eerily, but then Siwoo suddenly remembered.

Fingerless gloves, gone.

Stockings, gone.

Her clothes and white coat were fine.

...Then where are these threads coming from now?

"Try to dodge it. If you can."

Dodging and sometimes batting away the threads flying from all directions, Siwoo approached Arte.

The fight had already resumed. To defeat Arte, he had to reach her somehow.

But where on earth were all these threads coming from...?

Siwoo, looking at Arte with questioning eyes, finally noticed.

That the black leotard, which had been faintly visible at Arte's neck, was no longer there.

"C-Could it be...?"

"What are you staring at?"

He suddenly looked at the threads Arte had deployed.

...Their color couldn't be discerned. Wrapped in mana, they all appeared as a faint blue.

"No, that can't be. Surely, even if she wanted to win, she wouldn't do *that*...?"

Suddenly, Siwoo touched a single strand of thread stuck to his sword and brought it to his nose.

It was a fatal opening created in the midst of battle, but the test no longer mattered to Siwoo.

His mind was already overflowing with other thoughts.

"...What are you doing?"

A faint scent emanated from the thread.

A smell he'd encountered before.

When? ...When he infiltrated the girls' changing room, from inside Arte's locker.

"Arte, you..."

"Yes?"

Siwoo stared at Arte with eyes filled with horror.

The leotard was not visible at her neck.

And the familiar scent he'd encountered before was faintly wafting from the thread cut by his sword.

...Th-This is.

Siwoo realized.

That if he fought any longer, it would be a disaster.

"Arte, let's stop fighting. I'm fine with losing."

"...What do you mean by that? Do you mean you'll just concede defeat like this?"

"N-No, that's not it...!"

"..."

As if her patience had run out, Arte began manipulating her threads and attacking him.

While reflexively dodging her attacks, his mind spun, trying to figure out what to do.

Should I just say I lost right now?

No, judging by her reaction, she'd think I was winning and trying to escape. She'd get angry. Even if I lost on purpose, it would be the same.

But I'm weaker than Arte to begin with, so winning is out of the question.

Even now, I'm barely managing to dodge. While thinking useless thoughts, the threads grazed my clothes, causing slight damage...

...My clothes are tearing?

"Ugh, I'll have to buy a new uniform. This one's expensive...!"

"...?!"

Siwoo prayed in his heart.

Hoping she would understand what he meant.

"I lost."

"What? Arte, are you serious? You were fighting so well just a moment ago?"

"Yes, Teacher. I'm starting to get a slight headache."

"...Alright. It doesn't look like you're going to change your mind. Understood."

Teacher Claire declared the end of the match with a displeased expression.

Th-Thank goodness...

Siwoo finally realized he had overcome a dangerous hurdle and let out a sigh of relief.

He suddenly looked up to see countless students.

If they had continued fighting like that...

Siwoo tried not to think about it any further.

That was a close call.

"By the way, Arte's ability is quite bothersome. What should I do with all these threads...? Sorry, Yoo Siwoo. Could you dispose of these threads on your way out?"

"Yes, understood... Huh?!"

"I'd appreciate it. I have to oversee the arena repairs."

Siwoo suddenly twitched his nose.

It felt as if her scent lingered on the threads scattered across the arena.