“So? Yuno-kun’s strong, isn’t he?” Selena-san said to Tina-san with a smug look on her face.
“Tina…-san?”
“…Just call me… Tina…”
The sight of her sitting there looking up at me with teary eyes involuntarily made my heart skip a beat.
“Okay. So, Tina, can I ask you something?”
“…Yes?”
“Since when has Athena been coming here?” I asked, glancing over at Athena, who was still doing her light-emitting thing.
“I see… so she’s, Athena-sama…” said Tina, slightly cheering up as she also turned towards Athena.
“I don’t know. She just suddenly was there. She seemed to be preoccupied with something else at first, but… she seemed like she was really trying her best…”
“…Is that so.”
I guess… she’s doing her own type of training?
‘Although, I don’t know if that will actually make her stronger…’ I thought to myself as my chest heated up a little.
“––I like people who do their best.”
“Eh?”
“Even if she’s a god, that doesn’t change anything. I find it really wonderful.”
“…!”
I hadn’t been expecting it, so it hit me all the harder.
Tina really is a kind girl after all. Even if she is a bit weird.
“Onee-sama?”
“Hm? What’s the matter?”
The two’s red hair blew in the wind.
As I watched the two of them staring at each other, I felt almost as if I were inside a story.
“Watch me. I’m definitely going to join the student council!”
Selena-san smiled kindly.
“Okay. But you’ll have to beat Yuno-kun in order for that to happen?”
Tina stood up, turned towards me, and looked me straight in the eyes.
I could tell from her red eyes filled with a determined light.
––Oooh… it seems like she’s going to be my opponent in the competition’s final…
“I’m the second daughter of the Barrett family, Tina Barrett,” she said, holding out her right hand, which I, of course, took.
“I’m the third son of the Astario family, Yuno Astario.”
We exchanged a firm handshake, then she looked at me hesitantly.
“…Could you please… be my training partner?” she asked, her eyes full of anxiousness; she must have been remembering all the things she’d said to me earlier.
But, it wasn’t like I was going to dwell on that.
“Of course. It’s nice to meet you, Tina.”
There’s no way I could hate you after you called Athena wonderful, after all––
◆
After that, the three of us began discussing Tina’s training.
“A… spear?”
“Yes. I’ve told you this before, but I think the spear suits you better than the sword. Don’t you agree, Yuno-kun?”
“…Right.”
She had a point. Tina’s final stab had been very well-done.
She seemed to be more suited for stabbing things than waving a sword around.
Although, it would be too hasty to decide all that after just the one duel from earlier––
––and that was when I remembered her… unique stance from earlier that could have totally been called something akin to a rain-summoning ritual.
––Yep.
“I definitely think the spear suits you more, Tina!” I said, and Tina looked down at the ground muttering something as if deep in thought.
“But… then my path to becoming the strongest swordswoman in the world Lloyd-sama told me about would…”
I had no idea what any of that meant, but it seemed like that sword stance had been Lloyd-senpai’s suggestion.
…And if so, was there some sense to that odd stance after all?
While I was busy thinking about that, Tina suddenly turned towards me, her eyes glittering.
“Say, Yuno! You weren’t strong at all before, right?”
“…Uhh, right.”
“So the reason you became stronger is because you got a skill?”
“That would be correct.”
Or at least, that was the cover story I had decided on.
“…Onee-sama, I have decided,” said Tina, turning towards Selena-san, both her hands balled into tight fists.
“I’ll make a contract with Athena-sama!”
……
The whole place turned silent.
The only sounds still present were the rustling of the grass and trees in the wind –– and Athena’s battle cries in the background.
At the same time, the urge to shout out in joy ran through my body.
Athena had become quite famous at the academy. However, there hadn’t been anybody who had wanted to make a contract with her.
“…I see. Do what you want. However, I still have something to say, as your older sister,” Selena-san said, glancing at me before turning back towards her little sister. “The goddess Athena was a stray god. So, the benefits you will get from making a contract with her aren’t many. You are aware of that, right?”
I stayed silent. It was the truth, after all. The only skill you could get from making a contract with Athena was ‘Spear Arts’. It was only natural for Selena-san to warn Tina.
Most people wanted to make contracts with the most famous god with which they could, which was only natural. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the students who had enrolled at the Ferris Magic Knight Academy also wished for that.
Moreover, we were all still young. Such contracts were often said to be a one-time thing, and there was no need to rush. Not to mention…
I glanced at Athena, my lips pursed.
“That is no problem! I told you, didn’t I!? My goal is to join the student council! I have decided I need a Skill for that. What’s more, if I’d rather make a contract with a hard working god like Athena-sama.”
“……”
––That was when I made up my mind.
Yes, she wouldn’t get many Skills. Only one, in fact. But, that was only right now.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use my strength to make Athena more famous.
I was going to prove that her – Tina’s choice hadn’t been wrong.
First, the fighting competition. I was going to support her with all I had so she could get all the way to the final.
And if, if both Tina and I, who had both made contracts with Athena, managed to get all the way to the final, Athena’s name would be known and spoken of throughout the whole school.
The problem was that then, I would––
“Eh? Yuno-san?”
As I was busy thinking, my ears picked up Athena’s small voice.
She was half-hiding behind a big tree a slight ways away, her face flushed red from embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, Kami-sama! Did I interrupt you?” I asked, and she shook her head an a bit of a panic.
While the sight did melt my heart, we had something more important on hand at the moment, so I went over to her, grabbed her small hand, and led her back over to Tina.
“U-umm…”
Athena’s eyes looked from one of us to the other as she held her closed hands to her chest in embarrassment.
Her face was so red it looked like it could have emitted steam.
“…”
Tina didn’t say anything.
Instead, she silently went down on one knee and looked up at Athena.
And then––
“Athena-sama, could you please –– make a contract with me?”
“––––Eh?”
Athena’s red eyes turned into two perfect saucers of surprise.
Then, she glanced over at me in disbelief.
I gave her a small nod and a smile.
Then –– her red eyes began threatening to overflow with tears.
Even I felt myself tearing up as I watched.
––I’m glad for you, Kami-sama.
This contract was something she herself had gotten.
She had been training so desperately in secret.
And the results of that training had taken shape and come back to her.
“Erm… I-I can’t do anything yet… I’m weak and, umm, I’m sure that, umm…”
“I’m Tina. Tina Barrett.”
“I don’t want to cause you tro-”
“I don’t have any friends. I’ve always been called the incompetent one of our family. I don’t really care about what others say about me anymore.”
“But!”
“––Athena-sama. I will definitely spread your name far and wide! I’ll show that hard work and effort isn’t a lie!”
“…!”
The one who felt the largest shock from those words was probably me.
I desperately tried to hold back the tears welling up behind my eyes.
“Yuno-kun, take care of my sister, okay?” Selena-san whispered gently into my ear.
“Yes. I definitely will. I won’t let her regret this.”
I found a precious friend that day.
◆ [Selena’s POV]
As I watched my beloved little sister’s contract ritual, I thought about the boy standing next to me –– Yuno Astario.
Actually, let me revise that. I couldn’t help but think about him.
I recalled that opening-less stance he had had during his mock duel with Tina.
He had his back towards me, and yet I had still felt like the tip of his spear was right in front of my throat.
His back had seemed so open. If we had been in a real fight, I would have stepped in to attack him without hesitation.
However –– I couldn’t even imagine what would happen after I even took my first step towards him.
I had only gotten the same feeling from one other person in my life before: the sword saint, Rei Astario.
He was str-… no, I was sure he had only shown me a fraction of his true power.
Still, I wasn’t sure all of that was correct. Perhaps I was overestimating him thanks to what Lloyd had told me… but still.
As I watched him standing next to me with teary eyes and a gentle smile on his face, I couldn’t help but think that Tina had been right.
That if Yuno Astario really was as strong as I thought––
––then the contract with the goddess Athena had been the right choice.
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