Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

No one had expected a freshmen matchup to turn so bloody.

Still less had they expected the final winner to be Cynthia, who belonged to the lowest sequence.

The arena had descended into chaos. Cynthia forced down the splitting dizziness in her head, lifted her foot, and left the stage.

There were bloody holes all over her body, and some of the flesh had been scraped from her palm, exposing white bone beneath.

The magic power inside her had been completely drained dry, which only caused even more intense pain.

The backlash from overusing her skills, combined with the wounds covering her body, made Cynthia feel, at that moment, as though death would be preferable to living.

The competition area was too far from the teleportation array. Cynthia had thought she could hold out until she got back.

In truth, she had overestimated herself.

When overlapping lights and shadows appeared before her eyes and her body fell to the ground beyond her control, Cynthia somewhat regretted leaving just now.

Wouldn’t it have been fine to wait at the arena for a healer to come treat her? She would have had to listen to a whole lot of nagging, but at least her situation would have been better than this.

But she had already left. Regretting it now was useless.

Cynthia sighed. She no longer had even the strength to walk, so she could only rest where she was for the moment.

Her hands were a miserable sight, so she had no choice but to prop herself up with her elbows and sit up.

After that, she stopped moving and simply leaned there on the ground.

Her entire back rested against the wall, one knee bent. She looked utterly wretched, yet still somehow languid.

Once the suffocating sensation eased a little, Cynthia was just about to take out a potion and drink it, only to discover she did not even have the strength to hold the bottle.

The glass bottle rolled away. Cynthia grew a little irritated.

The backlash was too severe. Blood flowed from all seven orifices, gradually dyeing even her vision a blood-soaked crimson.

Even so, Cynthia’s gaze still subconsciously followed the rolling glass bottle.

Soon, a tall, slender shadow entered her field of view.

Cynthia’s eyes paused. Using all her remaining strength, she raised her head to look at the young man who had suddenly intruded into this corner.

The afterglow of dusk dragged out a long shadow. The setting sun fell across his shoulder, tinting the silver strands that hung down with a gentle pale gold.

As for his expression… the last bit of clarity in Cynthia’s vision had been completely obscured by blood, so she could not make out what expression he wore right now.

But judging by his usual reactions, he was either gloomy and irritated because of the pain caused by Resonance, or he had that foxlike fake smile plastered on his face.

Cynthia coughed up the blood surging in her throat. Her voice was dry and hoarse. “…Why are you here?”

Her third round was in the second half, while the others’ had been in the first half. They shouldn’t have run into each other.

Richter did not answer. He stood quietly at the entrance to the alley, lowering his eyes to look down at the girl in her sorry state, her body riddled with bloody holes.

After two seconds of silence, he bent down, picked up the potion that had fallen to the ground, and walked over to kneel on one knee in front of her.

He still said nothing. Cynthia could only sense him drawing closer, and hear the sound of the bottle being opened, but she still could not see his face clearly.

Yet in the next second, cool fingertips pinched her cheek.

Cynthia frowned slightly and was just about to pull away when she heard the person in front of her say, “If you don’t want me to feed it to you mouth-to-mouth, open up.”

His voice was gentle, yet cold as the deep sea.

More like… he was suppressing some kind of emotion.

“…What nonsense are you talking about?” Although she knew he was joking, Cynthia still broke out in goosebumps.

Forget it. She really was about to die from the pain right now. Who cared about dignity? She just had to cooperate.

With Richter’s help, she successfully swallowed the Saint-level Potion. The bleeding stopped, and the feeling that she might faint at any moment gradually faded.

Unfortunately, because her injuries were too severe, the pain did not diminish at all.

She did not even have the strength to stand.

Perhaps because the person before her was a teammate she had spent a month with, rather than a stranger, Cynthia relaxed a little and thanked him.

“Thank you.”

Richter lowered his eyes. His face did not show the impatience Cynthia had predicted earlier, nor did he wear a fake smile.

His expression at this moment was very faint, as faint as wind, as snow melting at winter’s end.

He did not accept her thanks. His tone was calm. “Captain seems very fond of wagering her life. Aren’t you afraid of losing?”

Cynthia caught the implication. It seemed he had come to watch the match this time.

To that question, Cynthia’s answer was, “Since I chose to make the bet, then naturally, I can also bear the price of failure.”

Despite how wretched she looked, she still shone like a rose blooming in spring.

Far too dazzling…

Richter raised his hand. Just as his fingertips were about to touch her eyes, he suddenly came back to himself and withdrew it sharply.

He let out an almost inaudible scoff, his voice so low it sounded like a murmur between lovers. “…Madwoman.”

Whether he was mocking her, or mocking himself for meddling in someone else’s business, no one knew.

He rose and scooped up the blood-soaked person in front of him, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of sand.

Her body suddenly left the ground, and Cynthia instinctively grabbed his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“What else?” Richter held on to her. “Taking you to the infirmary.”

Hearing that, Cynthia did not resist.

Her injuries this time were more serious than any she had suffered before. Potions alone would not be enough to heal her. She really did need to make a trip there.
But… who carried an injured person like a sack of sand?

It felt like the wound in her stomach hurt even more now.

Cynthia had no intention of making herself suffer in silence. “It feels like my internal organs are about to come spilling out. Requesting a change of position.”

Richter fell silent for a moment, but he complied.

He pulled her arm back over his shoulder, and just like that, the sack-of-sand carry became a piggyback ride.

Both of Cynthia’s hands were covered in bloody wounds and couldn’t muster the slightest strength, so she could only hook her arms around him.

—

For some reason, the walk to the infirmary felt especially long.

The silence was getting awkward, so Cynthia simply found a random topic. “Why did you insist on pushing me into the captain’s position back then?”

As if surprised by her question, Richter answered as though it were only natural. “They all refused. And compared to me, I thought you were better suited to be captain.”

That barely counted as a reasonable answer.

“Then before we entered the academy, had we met before? Or spoken to each other?”

She was certain there was no trace of him in the original owner’s memories, and there was no noble family in the Empire with the surname Delches.

And his Sequence meant he definitely couldn’t be a commoner. After all, only commoners with outstanding talent and a Sequence above 150 would be admitted as exceptions.

But ever since they enrolled, this guy had been hovering around her. The first time they met, he’d even said something about having long admired her reputation. No matter how she thought about it, they should have met before.

Faced with her sudden question, Richter said directly, “Captain, do you simply find it strange that I’ve been deliberately getting close to you since the moment we met, or do you want to know what my purpose is in approaching you?”

Cynthia hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. But since the conversation had already reached this point, she might as well ask.

“Both. So, are you going to tell me?”

Richter said, “If I told you I approached you because you carry the identity of the Duke’s Daughter, and because I was curious whether your reputation as a villainess was truly deserved, would you believe me?”

Who would openly admit they deliberately got close to someone in order to cling to power and status…?

Cynthia didn’t say whether she believed him or not. Instead, she asked, “Is that your final answer?”

“Not really,” Richter replied lightly. “If I truly had to give an answer, perhaps it’s because whenever I’m with you, Captain, even the air around me becomes fresher, and the chaotic voices in my head quiet down for a moment.”

Cynthia fell silent.

Did he mean he was treating her like an air freshener?

Although she had reason to suspect this guy simply said whatever came to mind, his tone really didn’t sound like he was joking.

Chaotic voices… What did that mean?

Cynthia asked, but Richter didn’t answer her directly again. He only said, “I don’t want to tell you.”

So childish.

Cynthia decided not to press further.
The evening breeze near the start of autumn was exceptionally gentle.

Drifting along with the wind was a faint fragrance that seemed to seep straight into the heart.

“Did you spray on perfume? Why do you smell so good?” Cynthia asked seriously, even leaning closer to sniff carefully as she spoke.

“…”

Her warm breath brushed against his neck, and an unfamiliar ticklish sensation spread in dense, tiny waves through his chest.

Richter’s fingertips suddenly curled. Resisting the urge to throw her off, he said, “…Are you insane?”

His bristling tone was honestly a little funny. Cynthia smiled. “I’m serious.”

She had noticed it from the first time they met. At first, she had thought he used perfume, but now it seemed it was his natural scent.

Richter: …

The smile in her voice was impossible to ignore. It sounded almost like she was teasing him, leaving him completely at a loss.

The other party had no idea what he was feeling right now. She even asked, quite leisurely, “Did you win your third match?”

“Mm.” Probably because of the Resonance, not only did his body hurt like hell right now, even his soul felt as if it were being torn apart. The dizziness was irritating.

“Thanks to someone, I’m about to die from the pain right now,” he complained.

“Sorry. I really was a bit impulsive today.” The backlash was too severe, and even now, Cynthia still couldn’t see clearly. Since she couldn’t see, she simply closed her eyes.

To be honest, she had indeed wronged her teammates this time. Fortunately, their matches had been scheduled before hers. Otherwise, she probably would have dragged all of them into defeat with her.

Richter didn’t know why he was being so talkative today, but he didn’t want to stop either. “…If you’re sorry, then don’t get hurt again next time.”

“As you command, Lord Xiao Xi.”

The instant that strange nickname came out, the atmosphere around Richter plunged to freezing point.

His tone clearly sounded as if it carried a smile, yet it was especially chilling. “You’ve already started spouting nonsense. Looks like we’ll have to ask a healer to give you a proper examination today, Captain.”

Cynthia had only called him that casually. How was she supposed to know his reaction would be this exaggerated? “Do you hate it that much?”

Richter snorted coldly. “Extremely. Incomparably.”

Cynthia gave an oh. “All right.”
The sunset gradually faded, and the two overlapping shadows dimmed with the dying light…