I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 77
The fact that there was nothing she could do even in the face of such insult was bitterly shameful.
Nick endured the familiar contempt with gritted teeth and replied curtly.
“I’d rather not.”
“Or what—do I need to file a formal duel request just to get a sparring match? You’re all cowards, anyway.”
This would end soon enough. They’d tire of their taunting, throw a few more insults her way, and then vanish—and she’d finish the day as she always did.
But……
It was degrading. It was despicable. And strangely, this time the anger that rose in her was truly unbearable.
‘How much longer do I have to bear this?’
How much longer would they only be able to live like human beings under the protection of others? Was that truly what it meant to live a ‘human’ life?
Always losing, always taking blows?
It was just when that question had begun to coil in all their hearts.
Crack!
“What—what was that!”
Something lashed across Peter’s cheek and fell. Everyone’s eyes followed its descent.
“……A glove? Who is it? Who did that?”
“Here. It was me.”
“What? You—”
Olivia Kishear. A girl with a flushed face, as if she’d come running urgently with a laundry basket in her arms.
She peeled off the other glove and threw it toward the man a second time.
“You’ll have to answer for that insult. I’m challenging you to a formal duel.”
* * *
Olivia was angrier than she’d been in a long time.
She was so furious she had no room to think of anything else. But paradoxically, seeing herself like this, she finally understood what Luca had meant.
“Don’t play the hero when you can’t change anything anyway.”
His words circled in her mind. Don’t pretend to be righteous when you can’t change a single thing.
In Olivia’s eyes, the shame-flushed faces of the Lux Knight Brigade members and the wounds on Kunta’s body were vividly reflected.
So that’s what he meant. Olivia sighed.
Luca had been right. Olivia hadn’t changed anything.
“What—what did you just say?”
The Lumen Knight Order knight stammered in shock, his mouth gaping uselessly.
A green recruit had thrown her gloves at him—twice. Although the situation demanded anger, they replied with startling meekness, merely asking her to repeat herself.
They would never act that way if Kunta or the other seniors were standing before them.
“I said I’m challenging you to a formal duel.”
Panya and Bennett, who trailed behind Olivia, wore shock on their faces too. But Olivia believed this was exactly what she needed to do.
She could see Luca in the back, in the darkest corner of the group, watching her with eyes sunken as if to say, ‘See? I told you so.’
He was right. Olivia hadn’t changed anything.
But that didn’t mean she never could. Olivia clenched her fists and spoke again.
“Why? Do you think you’ll lose?”
“What did you say?”
“If you refuse the duel, I’ll make sure word gets around. I’m meant to see Cesare soon, after all.”
Olivia’s gaze fell on the gathered members. They looked troubled as they watched her.
It was a different expression than what they’d worn days ago when she’d dumped water on them.
She understood there was now a rift between them and her. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t be repaired.
“Olivia. That much should—”
“……Yes! Let’s do it!”
“Damn it. No, we’ll handle this. Step back.”
No. It wasn’t that they would solve it alone—they all had to solve it together.
Gerard broke from the group and took Olivia’s arm, drawing her back among them.
“What in the world are you thinking, Olivia?”
“However weak they seem, they’re actually skilled. You can’t beat them at your level.”
“Just back off. We’re used to it.”
Even Luca tried to stop her. His eyes held complicated emotions as he looked at her, but he clearly still understood that Olivia was an intern student they were meant to protect.
But Olivia simply smiled brightly back at them. The smile, pulled only at the corners of her mouth, carried a coldness very unlike her usual demeanor. The members felt the shift in her atmosphere and swallowed hard.
Olivia whispered to them in that state.
“You’re not going to let me face them alone, are you?”
“No, we said we’d go. We’ll handle it somehow—”
“I apologize for acting without consulting you. But I’d really like your help. At the very least……I don’t want to stand back and watch them insult you seniors with their skill.”
“What?”
It seemed they had their own pride and used the pretense of “sparring” as cover for their violence.
And the Lux Knight Brigade members had apparently suffered helplessly in sparring matches against them for various reasons.
So wouldn’t it be simple enough to just not lose in those sparring matches? Olivia ground her teeth at the thought.
“Now it’s our turn to win. I have a way.”
The members’ faces still bore confusion, but Olivia’s confident words seemed to shake something in them—their eyes filled with stirring doubt.
Then a dull, irritated voice reached them. It was Luca.
“Win, you say?”
“Yes?”
“If you do win, different harassment will start. They might even seek real revenge then—using the power they have.”
That might happen. But when power is used for revenge, you simply crush it with greater power. Olivia answered readily.
“If that truly happens, it’ll be resolved through thoroughly ‘noble’ means.”
“What do you mean?”
“I chose sparring and formal duels because those were the tools they selected. But if they choose power instead……”
Then she could use that same tool against them.
Olivia had power. That was an undeniable fact.
If someone else’s nobility had become a weapon to wound them, then Olivia’s nobility had to be used to protect them against it.
That was what she truly believed was the right use of power in this twisted world, and her responsibility for it.
“Then they’ll experience what they were trying to do.”
Olivia’s voice dropped to a chill. The gravity in her bearing captivated the others, and they nodded as if entranced.
Either way, she had their consent. Olivia smiled brightly and gestured toward the Lumen Knights standing apart.
“Since it’s come to this, I threw my gloves twice, so shall we make this a match of three formal duels?”
What is she saying? The Lux Brigade members whispered amongst themselves, but their words never reached Olivia’s ears.
The Lumen Knights bore expressions of profound wrongness on their faces, yet stubbornly clung to their pride, stomping their feet and giving reluctant consent.
“Then we’ll meet in one week at the Public Training Grounds. As promised.”
The date and place for the duel were set in an instant.
“Ha. You think a week will change anything?”
“That remains to be seen.”
“We’ll see about that!”
“Yes. Do take care on your way out.”
Olivia waved them off with a courteous smile as they were swept away and disappeared in a flurry of footsteps.
“……So we’re actually going through with a formal duel. Is this really okay?”
“I’m going to lose my mind. What do we do?”
From behind, the Lux Brigade members muttered in bewilderment.
What is she talking about now?
“Don’t worry, senior. I have a good method.”
“A—a method?”
“In that regard, would it be alright if I gave you all some help preparing for this duel?”
“What do you mean, help?”
Olivia grinned and produced a notebook from her pocket.
Rustle!
It was a notebook filled with observations of each member’s habits and corrections for them. The unit commander Yugin’s seal was stamped on it as well.
“Fortunately, I have a good eye for detail.”
“When did you get the commander’s approval!”
“I didn’t anticipate something like this would happen, but……the timing worked out perfectly.”
Yes, it was very fortunate indeed. She would make sure these people could never again look down on her seniors through force of skill.
One week remained until the duel. Olivia was determined to make her seniors capable of winning.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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