4-14: Things can finally change

“Kazu!”

“Wake up!”

“...Hmm?”

My eyes slowly opened, and I saw Cloe, Fran and Leonard using healing magic on me.

“...Hello.”

“You were severely harmed and you just say that?!”

“Sorry…Ouch…”

“We’re treating the wounds, please don’t move.”

“Leonard can’t heal me?”

“He can’t, he’s almost out of mana.”

“I see…”

“You will be okay, but our healing isn’t as good as Leonard's, so this will leave you some scars.”

“At least he didn’t hurt my face.”

I looked at Leonard's position, and he wasn't standing, he was sitting on the ground... And now I realize, we're in a crater!

“Did I go a little too far?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought the attack would go away once I passed out.”

“You put too much mass, everyone thought Leonard was crushed.”

“Sorry...Ouch ouch!...I need the adrenaline I had before, this pain is too much…”

While Cloe and Fran helped me with my wounds, Maria and Amelie approached Leonard and helped him to stand up. He just raised his arm like he was indicating something, and immediately after, the crowd became loud.

“What…?”

“I ask them to be quiet. I know you like this sound…”

All the feelings they feel with this fight…No, with all our fights, it was impressive.

Certainly, it was a great show.

“And the winner of the last battle is….the strongest student! Leonard!”

“Congratulations…”

The excitement of the public was powerful, but confirming that Leonard won just made me remember what we’re betting. And that made it hard to enjoy the noise.

“About our bet.”

“I know what you’re gonna ask me.”

“...Let me say it once we’re alone. It would be a problem explaining the context to everyone.”

“...All right.”

We enjoyed the hustle and bustle for several minutes. When everything calmed down, some people helped the crowd leave. I thought about joining them to find out what they thought about our fights, but we decided to wait in the arena.

“That was the last?”

“My mana detection doesn’t sense anyone. We’re only six right now.”

“All right, so…”

“Let’s do it in order.”

“...Do you want to prolong my torture?”

“...Maybe.”

“...All right, Cloe.”

“Yeah.”

Cloe approached Maria, ready to say something.

“My favor…”

“Yes?”

“...”

“...”

“I actually didn’t think anything. All I wanted was to win.”

“...Why am I not surprised?”

“I’m gonna use it just if I feel like I need it.”

“All right, just don’t use it for something stupid or something very difficult.”

“I can’t promise anything.”

Next up was Fran, and it was obvious he had already decided what he wanted.

“I-.”

“I know I know. I’m not gonna tell your parents about this. You and your hobbies are safe.”

“Thanks.”

“I still can’t accept this…”

“You deserve it, what you did was cruel.”

“I just wanted to win.”

“You have zero morals.”

“Sometimes that can be good…”

They were both full of hostility towards each other, so I didn't say anything, and Cloe did the same.

“Now.”

“I know.”

With the help of his teammates, Leonard approached me. Cloe and Fran also helped me to approach so we could talk properly. I was the first to talk.

“That was a great performance.”

“I just did everything I could to win.”

“And you did it.”

"I get why you love doing shows."

"Yeah..."

Postponing what we had been waiting for so long made no sense, so Leonard finally got to the point.

“Also, I’ve already decided my prize.”

“Great..”

“Look. From now you will never…”

“...”

I was prepared for the words he was supposed to say, so his actual words surprised me.

“...Left your friends. No matter how difficult things can be in the future, stay with them.”

“...What?”

It wasn't just me. Fran, Cloe, and even Leonard's teammates were confused, as if he had decided that just a few minutes ago.

“...Are you sure?”

“I thought my methods were perfect, I thought Cloe could reach her full potential with me. But she and Fran confirmed how wrong I was.”

“Me?”

“My theory was right, I think even I felt for a second how strong feelings can affect magic. But, I was wrong when I thought I could control that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now I cause fear, impossible expectations and dependence. I thought I could be a goal, but it’s obvious that I’m ruining everything with my methods. I was so high up I forgot to look down...”

“...Well…we-.”

I was about to say something, but Cloe lifted me up and celebrated with Fran.

“We won!”

“Congratulations Kazu!”

“Ouch!”

“I knew we were going to win!”

“Ahem!”

Leonard clearly wanted to say something else. He probably would do something else than coughing if it wasn’t because he can barely move.

“That's why I need to become better, I can't let people like you guide the future of magic... Except Fran, he's decent.”

“Thanks.”

“Anyways, what about the favor to all the team?”

“That is a huge thing, we can’t just decide it now.”

“So it’s gonna be on stand-by?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d like to say something, but it’s the smartest decision."

“Yeah.”

After the most tense moment I've experienced in years, we were ready to return to our rooms...But I got hungry.

“Let’s go eat something!”

“Good idea!”

“Cloe will pay…”

“All right, have fun.”

Leonard made a gesture to his teammates so they could walk away with him. But I grabbed his shirt with a large mana hand.

“Huh?”

“You three are coming with us.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you would be resented.”

“I am, but if you are able to acknowledge your mistakes and improve, it would be fun to learn more about you.”

“I don’t-.”

“Sure.”

Maria was quicker to respond and brought Leonard closer to us.

“...I have the rest of the day free…”

Amelie was okay with that too, probably she liked the idea of having free food.

“...Okay then, let’s go.”

We went to a restaurant, and even when moving all of our articulations was a torture, the food was good, they three were polite, and in general, we spend a good time.

Things may change, perhaps slowly, but thanks to this challenge, that slow change finally began.