Chapter 8: Jousting

In the last spear class of the third year, the first jousting match was finally held.

It was a real jousting match on horseback.

Jousting is the national sport of the Kingdom of Leia, so even though it was part of the class, it was quite intense.

Wearing helmets and protective gear, we were divided into two teams to play a one-on-one match.

The team with more winners wins.

During recess, I put on a simple protective gear with a steel plate in the upper half of my body and tied my hair low so that I could easily wear my helmet.

As I stepped out onto the schoolyard with great enthusiasm, I was met with a setback.

Catherine was not feeling well and had to miss today’s physical education class.

“She must be faking it. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

Mac, also wearing a helmet, overhears me. 

“Oh no. I hope she’s okay.”

Mac raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“What, are you worried about Casacci?”

Mac wasn’t friendly with her at all, and he took the liberty of calling Catherine “Cassacci”.

When she found out about it one day during freshman year, she was furious, but Mac didn’t try to stop calling her that at all, so lately she seemed to have given up paying attention to it.

In fact, recently she even turned around and responded when Mac called her “Cassacci”.

“No, I’m not. If Catherine doesn’t participate, I won’t have an opponent.”

“Oh, you’re worried about that. –That’s it, isn’t it? Gideon-sama is going to show up again, isn’t he?”

Mac’s prediction was right on the money.

Professor Allback scolded Catherine, who was tugging and stretching the sleeves of Gideon’s armed uniform to make it neat and tidy, saying, “Sit in the corner of the schoolyard and watch quietly,” and then asked Gideon to be my opponent.

That meant that Gideon would have to participate twice, but no one pointed out whether he was physically fit enough to do so.

The students majoring in spears gather in the grass field in a corner of the large schoolyard. 

The match between Gideon and I was the first match of the day’s class.

As everyone watched with bated breath, Gideon and I each mounted the back of a horse.

It was easy for me to take charge of the first match since the team’s victory or defeat was still completely unknown.

However, my commitment to this battle was very serious.

Straddling our horses, we faced each other head to head and stared at each other from a distance of about fifty meters.

Standing exactly in the middle is the teacher, holding the large school flag of the National Academy of Magic in his hand. 

The flag, embroidered with a cross between a wand and a pen, and framed with yellow braided cord, is massive and magnificent, swaying slightly in the wind.

When the teacher raises the flag high into the sky, it is a signal for the game to begin.

I pull my horse to a standstill and turn to face Gideon, who is also sitting still on his mount, looking alternately excited and calm.

Thus, as I held the long spear on the horse, my nerves sharpened.

My other classmates who major in spear are supposed to be around me, but my helmet covers all but my eyes, so visibility is poor. All I could see now was my opponent.

Forgetting all the cheers around me, I focused my attention only on Gideon, who I had to defeat.

The spear is usually heavy, but I don’t feel its weight when I hold it in a real battlefield like this.

(I will definitely defeat him!)

I declare strongly in my heart.

I gripped the shield handle too tightly, and my left hand even felt pain under my fingernails.

No magic is allowed to be used in Joust. Even if you’re about to fall off your horse, you cannot create a breeze to catch yourself.

That’s why, I felt that this was really a serious one-on-one match, which was rare in this Academy of Magic.

Beyond Dr. Allback, Gideon was holding a long spear with his back straight and clean posture like a model horse rider, pointing its tip toward me.

The shield he carried was not wavering in the slightest. –But my shield was shaking slightly from the wind and tension.

In my helmet, I declare in a whisper that only I can hear.

“Last time, I never thought this opportunity would present itself. Prepare yourself, Gideon Lancaster. This Liesel is different.”

 I will absolutely win.

The teacher raised the school flag with great force. 

Without pausing, I kicked the horse in the flank and started running.

Gideon had also started running at almost the same time.

The teacher withdrew, and Gideon and I were the only ones on the course, his figure growing larger and larger.

Then, at the moment, we were at the same distance from each other as the length of the spear.

It was almost at the same time that I heard a loud bang, and a violent shock hit my whole body.

My vision couldn’t keep up with my body’s movements, and before I knew what was happening, my feet were cutting through the air. My body slumped back to the right, and I had no time to hold on to keep from falling. 

My butt slid off the saddle.

“Blade of flame, wind of protection!”

By the time I heard the teacher’s spell, I was already aware of my defeat.

I fell from the horse’s back, spinning twice, and tumbled to the ground with my armor caught in my legs. 

If my teacher hadn’t immediately used his magic to cut the strands of my armor, I would have been dragged along by the horse and injured. 

On top of that, the teacher had created a wind cushion to soften the impact of the fall.

I was so frustrated that I felt like crying as I plopped down on the ground of the schoolyard, my face covered in sand.

It happened so fast that I didn’t know what was going on. 

It was all over so quickly.

(How pathetic! It’s so uncool!)

When I sat up, moaning, pieces of wood fell from my body. 

The spear that I was holding in my right hand was broken at the base, and the tip of it was scattered around as splinters.

It seems I broke it when I fell from my horse.

“The winner, Gideon Lancaster!”

When the teacher called out the name of the winner, the other team cheered. 

For some reason, Catherine joined in, jumping up and down with joy.

She looked quite healthy by all accounts.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you injured?”

The students from the same team came to help me up, but I was too shocked to get up for a while.

“It was only for a moment. I couldn’t see Gideon’s movement at all…”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure we would have lost as well if we played against him.”

Everyone tried to console me, but the difference in power was so obvious that I was stunned.

I realized firsthand how easy he had been on me in class.

My spear had probably not even grazed his shield. I wasn’t even sure about that, though, because it had been decided in so little time.

When I took off my helmet, I saw Gideon back in the circle of the other team, looking at me.

I was so frustrated that I couldn’t look at him directly.

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