My eyes widened at Can’s call.
“Huh? Why?”
He insisted on calling the two of us out to demonstrate.
What’s more, wasn’t my sister a new trainee who registered today?
To ask someone who isn’t even familiar with martial arts to demonstrate.
I wondered if he was bothering her too much from the first day and glanced around.
I felt resentful toward the master as well.
‘Oh, no, my sister can’t get hurt.’
Because of the promise, I couldn’t help but feel more responsible.
Therefore, before demonstrating the sparring, I whispered softly.
“Sister, just pretend, and I’ll take care of the rest. You don’t have to worry at all.”
And I didn’t forget to wink slightly.
She would understand without me having to explain everything.
But before long, my mental state was shattered.
Because a bizarre thing started to happen.
In an instant, my body was lifted off the floor.
What is this?!
“Ah!”
I was so surprised that a scream escaped my lips.
I was now in a piggyback position on my sister’s back, and I could see the faces of the trainees sitting around.
I quickly tried to stop my sister.
“Sister, you don’t have to go this far, uh? Uh!”
The faces of the trainees seemed to hang from the ceiling.
Thud!
In no time, my body crashed to the floor.
“Ugh!”
A tingling pain ran through my back as I was thrown to the ground.
The pain wasn’t great because of the mattress, but the shock was considerable.
Before I could even collect myself, my body was lifted again.
As if anticipating the reality to come, my pupils dilated rapidly.
Thud!
“Gck!”
I was thrown again.
After that, I had to experience the sky and the ground changing places several times.
I was the one who had to keep my wits about me to save my life.
Watching my sister, who showed no mercy, all sorts of thoughts ran through my head.
‘What’s with this sister?’
Is she secretly full of anger?
Or does she have a grudge against me that I don’t know about?
Otherwise,
‘Why are you doing this to me?’
I even gave her the last ‘that taste we all know’ that I had!
You’re doing this after receiving that?
How much did I suffer from swallowing those strange potions after giving that up!
You really shouldn’t be doing this to me.
“Say, focus.”
My delusion was cut off by my sister’s words.
I finally snapped out of it.
My sister is now…
She seemed very serious about sparring.
Then there’s no choice now.
‘I won’t go easy on you either. No, I can’t!’
But.
“The winner is Lagenne Viviana!”
“Lagenne Viviana wins!”
“Lagenne Viviana wins again!”
The winner called out by Can was only my sister’s name.
No matter how much I struggled, the result didn’t change.
‘Huh, unbelievable.’
I belatedly learned about my sister’s identity.
It wasn’t her first time visiting the martial arts gym today.
She had already been attending for quite some time and was already in the intermediate class.
When I asked why I had never run into her at the gym, she said that our class times didn’t overlap because I was in the beginner class.
Therefore, she added that she didn’t know I was attending either until I said something.
‘Still.’
Why did you have to be so serious with me?
I was in a bad mood throughout the class.
The only consolation was that my plan wasn’t completely ruined.
Thanks to my sister beating me to a pulp, my classmates were all eager to nominate me as their next partner.
But it was hard to consider this a consolation, and somewhere in my heart, I felt very uncomfortable.
My gloomy mood didn’t improve easily.
Even on the way home, I only looked at the ground.
“Say?”
“…”
I couldn’t bring myself to speak easily even at my sister’s call.
People’s hearts are so fickle.
When I asked my sister to be my sparring partner first, I was now narrow-mindedly showing it.
Maybe this is…
More than the fact that I lost the sparring, I’m dissatisfied with my perception of my sister as weak.
When I still didn’t answer, my sister stopped walking and stood in front of me.
“Say, why are you acting like this?”
Seriously.
Do you really not know why?
But I couldn’t say that this unpleasant situation was because of my sister.
Huff, the moment I let out a sigh.
‘Uh? Why, why is she doing this?’
My sister gradually came closer and stared at my face.
I reflexively avoided her gaze.
“Say, look at me.”
I felt awkward trying to look at my sister in this mood.
I couldn’t do this or that, and then.
“You like looking at my face, don’t you.”
Huh? What did I just hear?
I was so flustered that I raised my head and accidentally made eye contact with my sister.
“Are you feeling better now?”
No, what is this sister saying!
‘You’re saying I’ll feel better just by looking at your face, how did you know?’
As soon as I saw my sister’s face, my heart melted away.
Now that I see it, this sister is a flirting master?
Seriously, don’t seduce me unless you’re going to marry me!
‘Ugh, you stupid idiot.’
I shook my head repeatedly.
It’s because I keep thinking about what happened at the martial arts gym yesterday.
Besides, the memory of when I first visited the martial arts gym to register also played a big part.
‘Hey, kid. If you’re here to play around, go back. This isn’t a place for kids.’
‘Who’s playing around? It’s very rude for a martial artist to judge people by their appearance, isn’t it?’
I was the one who didn’t deserve to say such things to Can in the first place.
Didn’t I assume that Rabienne sister wouldn’t be interested in martial arts at all just by looking at her handsome appearance?
I was tormented by the recurring memories, no matter how hard I tried to forget them.
I wanted to hide if there was a rat hole.
‘Ugh!’
I exclaimed and tore at my hair.
The more I thought about it, the more I could see my sister’s image.
The techniques my sister used to treat me seriously throughout the sparring.
Now that I think about it, there were more than one or two suspicious things.
‘Why is my sister going to the gym?’
She seemed very serious, not just enthusiastic about improving her physical strength. It was as if she had a goal.
Each of my sister’s movements was precise, and her attacks and defenses were perfect.
Besides.
‘My sister didn’t even exist among the martial arts gym rivals.’
This was clearly different from the original story.
But my suspicion didn’t last long.
Since I possessed this place, the game settings could change as much as possible.
‘Then my sister’s actions aren’t entirely incomprehensible.’
Occasionally, there are rare noble young ladies who are interested in martial arts.
I nodded slowly.
Thinking about it again, my sister was really cool that day.
‘If she wasn’t my partner, I would have been able to watch the sparring with a much more comfortable heart.’
Although there was a deep regret, I found this development very interesting.
No matter how I look at it, I can smell something. The smell of a successful conquest.
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Am I turning on the positive circuit too much?
I was just making a sad face, calling myself a stupid idiot, but just thinking about my sister makes my mouth open this much.
No matter how I think about it, it’s all my sister’s fault.
‘Tch, who told you to be so cool?’
I was smiling while thinking about my sister.
It was a positive feeling that I had felt in a long time.
* * *
Before I knew it, the National Foundation Festival was fast approaching.
I devoted my time to improving my physical strength, and I barely met the participation criteria for the National Foundation Festival event.
‘Phew, that’s a relief.’
I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to participate.
It would be very difficult if everything went wrong from the start.
And the day of the National Foundation Festival finally arrived!
I arrived at the event venue early with Anne.
So I was leisurely checking the competition schedule and the list of participants.
“Lady! It’s a disaster!”
Anne called me with a panicked face.
A disaster?
Why are you making me anxious, Anne?
“I think there’s a problem!”
Anne was stomping her feet and pointing at the list on the wall.
‘Ah! I thought it was something else.’
I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I understood what Anne was worried about.
Unlike Anne, who was restless, my actions were calm.
“Lady! Why is your name on the cooking competition? The family name is correct, so it doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, but it seems like there was a mistake.”
Anne was urging me to report the error before the competition started.
She seemed very worried that my efforts would be in vain.
“How can they make such an important mistake? Lady, I’ll go and say something!”
Anne rolled up her sleeves, huffing and puffing.
I quickly pulled on Anne’s sleeve.
“Anne, it’s not a mistake.”
“Yes?”
“That’s me.”
“Yes? Lady, cooking? Why are you saying something that even a stray cat wouldn’t believe?”
Anne blinked her eyes repeatedly as if she couldn’t understand.
“Anne, do you have to hit me so hard with the facts?”
“Yes? Hit you with the facts? Me? What are you talking about? You’ve never even used a knife. Why are you suddenly doing this when you’ve been living apart from cooking until now?”
“Well, rather than that.”
Anne. I may not be getting my hands wet here, but.
Actually, I’ve used a knife, and I haven’t been living apart from cooking.
So stop scolding me with your eyes.
I’m actually a little nervous because it’s been so long since I’ve used kitchen utensils.
In the meantime, Anne seemed to be thinking about something, and then she nodded, saying, “Ah!”
Then she leaned close to me and whispered.
“Maybe am I participating as a substitute?”
What? A substitute?
How can you come up with such a clever idea?
That’s how shocking the fact that I was participating in the cooking competition was to Anne.
Well, it’s understandable, since I hadn’t even mentioned the word ‘cooking’ or even hinted at it.
Rather, I’ve only been going to the martial arts gym countless times.
“Shh! Don’t say such a terrible thing. I’m participating myself. So don’t make a fuss anymore.”
“Lady, knives are so dangerous. And what about the brazier? What if you burn your hand.”
“Anne! Are you going to bring bad luck like this?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“I know what you’re worried about, Anne. But I’m eleven years old. I can do it.”
“Lady!”
In the end, Anne backed down to my stubborn will.
I knew better than anyone.
With my current skills, I wouldn’t be able to receive even a speck of reward if I went to the martial arts competition.
‘I’d be bedridden for days.’
I know it, so I can’t commit such a reckless act.
So, what I chose was the cooking competition.
I, who lived in Korea, had to make a living with my own hands.
To do that, cooking was essential.
Booo!
Just then, the trumpet sounded, announcing the start of the competition.