Battle Race in the Fantasy World

EP.116 Not Enough Effort! Not Enough!!

“Ugh.”

Thud-.

Tisha, with her face buried in the bed, clearly shows signs of exhaustion.

Over the weekend, she ended up not reading even a single book, let alone a few words.

Every time she tries to concentrate, the events from a few days ago keep coming to mind, scattering her thoughts.

The side effects of confession. The most serious of which is, of course, the relationship after rejection.

It would be better if they were strangers. They could just remain as such.

But if they were well-acquainted, extremely close friends, the story changes slightly.

Rejection is rejection, and if they have to keep seeing each other anyway, it’s really awkward.

Who in this world could face the other person as if nothing happened?

If they really could, it’s certain there were no feelings to begin with.

‘When will Kyle give me an answer?’

Since he said he’d wait forever, he won’t answer right away.

It would be nice if he responded early, but even she thinks that’s not possible.

They’re noble and commoner. Plus, there are already many other women around him.

Just looking at the obvious ones, there’s the princess and the duke’s daughter. People too difficult for her to compete with.

‘I hope it’s not too late.’

As she was thinking this while leaving the dormitory for morning lectures.

From far away, a male student waves his hand and approaches.

“…Kyle?”

“Did you have a good weekend? It seemed like you weren’t coming to the library.”

“Well… I just couldn’t concentrate well.”

She can’t say it’s because of him. She just gives a plausible reason.

Kyle then mumbles, ‘I see,’ and stands next to Tisha.

“…”

To be honest, she thought he would keep some distance.

Kyle too should need some time to process things.

She thought he might maintain some distance and observe the situation until then.

But looking at Kyle now, she can clearly see that’s not the case.

Isn’t he rather closing the distance first and creating a strange atmosphere?

As she cautiously observes Kyle’s expression with a ‘Could it be?’ feeling.

As if reading Tisha’s thoughts, Kyle speaks first.

“Tisha. In the world I used to live in… Well. Yes. In Jonathan, there’s a term called ‘situationship’.”

“Situationship? Um… It’s a word I’ve never heard before.”

“To put it simply, it’s this. It’s not yet at the stage where you can call someone your boyfriend or girlfriend, but the stage before that. So… let’s say it’s somewhere between friends and lovers.”

“Ah… Yes. I understand what you mean, Kyle.”

“I’m glad you understand. Then, what do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“How about we start with that? Us.”

Somewhere between friends and lovers.

Negatively speaking, it’s ambiguous, but positively, it’s a relationship that could become anything.

A slight feeling of disappointment inevitably flows from a corner of her heart.

If he’s going to make up his mind anyway, why not just clearly establish her as his girlfriend?

To bring up this term ‘some’ that she’s never heard of before.

This way, it won’t be easy for either her or Kyle to approach more definitively.

But in another part, relief wells up, followed by joy.

Although not a girlfriend, he suggests starting from the stage right before that.

A relationship that’s not quite lovers yet, but not just ending as friends either.

Isn’t that enough to hold onto hope!

‘At least it’s not a rejection, right? I’ve avoided the worst-case scenario.’

As her thoughts flow in that direction, the disappointment soon melts away like snow in spring sunshine.

“…Later, you’re not going to suddenly say we should go back to being just friends or anything like that, right?”

“We’ll have to work at it. Both me and you, Tisha. So that we can reach the end, not just somewhere in between.”

The end he speaks of must mean starting as friends, passing through this ‘situationship’ thing, and finally arriving at lovers.

She realizes this is the best and highest choice Kyle can show right now.

With the princess and duke’s daughter nearby, this much is a godsend for her.

“You really mean that, right? That if we work at it, we can reach it.”

With those words, Tisha quickly grabs Kyle’s hand.

Her face, flushed red as if about to burst.

She’s embarrassed. Even she didn’t expect her own actions.

She doesn’t dare look at what Kyle’s expression might be right now.

But she doesn’t let go of his hand. Rather, she grips it tighter.

Just because she’s embarrassed, or because taking the initiative hurts her pride.

If she backs down now, nothing will improve. It will only become more awkward.

‘I have to push forward even a little bit more! That’s the only way to win!’

Surpassing the princess and duke’s daughter is impossible right now.

She’s confident in her abilities and her future, but not now.

More time is needed. More effort is needed.

The way to keep those two in check before that is to leave something special.

It’s okay if she’s not his girlfriend. Even this ‘some’ thing Kyle mentioned is fine.

Isn’t it the first? Won’t she remain in this man’s heart even a little more?

“Alright. Somewhere between friends and lovers. I’ll gladly be there, Kyle.”

And be careful, Kyle. Don’t let it be you who crosses the line first.

I’ve never once denied it when other students call me a witch, you know.

Tisha thinks this to herself as she moves a little closer to Kyle.

“…!”

Without noticing that far away, a gaze is directed at her and Kyle.

===

**

===

“….”

Crunch-.

Elga’s face freezes in place.

Her wide-open eyes clearly reveal her disbelief.

She had been waiting for Leto before the morning lecture.

Then she spotted Kyle and Tisha in the distance, followed by a scene she could never have imagined.

‘W-what, what is that!?’

It’s clear. That’s Kyle. And the one next to him is Tisha.

She’s not seeing things wrong. It is Tisha. And that Tisha is holding Kyle’s hand!

As if, as if they were a new couple starting from today!!

Elga had already been feeling a sense of crisis due to the princess’s bombshell statement not long ago.

Saying she’d become his possession, such nonsense, yet from someone who might actually do it.

And not only a princess, but also one of the Empire’s Top 10, a woman with an unbelievable title.

Because of that, she even had a nightmare the day before yesterday about Kyle marrying the princess.

If there was one fortunate aspect, it was that Kyle didn’t show much interest in the princess.

He hadn’t given any particular attention to herself, a duke’s daughter, or even to Yurika, the princess.

No matter how close they became, they were just friends, nothing more.

Thanks to that, she had felt somewhat relieved. She had been hopeful.

Since he hadn’t shown interest in anyone, she could potentially catch his eye at any time.

Wasn’t that common for young men and women in their prime?

The problem is, who would have thought it would be someone else? And someone she thought she knew well!

“Ky…!”

Elga was about to call out to Kyle in a loud voice without realizing it.

But she quickly closed her mouth and abandoned her action.

‘If I interfere now, I’ll just come across as a nuisance.’

Biting her lip, Elga accepted her current situation.

If she had been with Kyle before Tisha, it might have been different.

But those two were already meeting, talking to each other, and walking hand in hand.

If she were to butt in and say something now, she would only come across as one thing:

A thoughtless duke’s daughter interfering in others’ romance. Nothing more.

‘No. I absolutely can’t let that impression stick. If that happens, Kyle will only distance himself from me more.’

Quietly, she could only watch from afar.

Kyle and Tisha gradually moved further away until they completely disappeared from view.

Even until then, the hands of the young man and woman remained clasped together, not separating.

“Haaah….”

Her legs give out and she sinks to the ground.

It feels like her heart, which had just begun to feel at ease, has completely collapsed.

She never dreamed that Tisha would make a move like this, not even in her wildest imagination.

Could it be that she had been pretending to be close to her while aiming for this all along?

To understand her feelings and then make her move before she could?

It’s not impossible. In fact, the possibility is quite high.

Yes. Tisha, that woman must have been targeting this all along…

‘Nonsense.’

Elga immediately regained her senses and shook her head vigorously.

From everything she had observed so far, Tisha wasn’t that kind of person no matter how she looked at it.

It was more likely that, like herself, Tisha had been spurred on by the princess.

The conclusion is simple. She was just too late. She just couldn’t do it herself.

On the contrary, Tisha had pushed aside all embarrassment and everything else.

She had focused solely on Kyle, made her move, and achieved a good result.

“I’m sorry, Lady Elga. Did you wait long?”

Leto rushes to Elga’s side and hurriedly speaks.

But Elga doesn’t give any reply. She just stares blankly, that’s all.

“…Lady Elga?”

“Leto.”

“Yes, Lady Elga.”

“I guess I’m just not cut out for this after all.”

Forget about becoming a grand duchess, what’s this about just watching and doing nothing?

If you were going to regret it like this, you should have made a move earlier.

You’re jealous of others doing it, so why couldn’t you do it yourself?

Always planning all sorts of attempts in your head, but never actually taking action.

“I don’t understand what you’re suddenly talking about…”

“It’s nothing. Just… I feel like such a fool, being neither here nor there.”

If it were the old Leto, he would have remained silent upon hearing Elga’s words.

He would have just listened quietly, waiting for her to sort things out on her own.

But this time, Leto was different too.

Thanks to being pushed around by Kyle in various ways.

He had unknowingly reached a level where he could express his own opinions.

Of course, this expression of opinion stemmed from ‘struggling to survive’, but still.

“…I’m not sure why you’re saying this, but if it were Kyle, he would say this.”

“Kyle?”

“Yes.”

“…What would Kyle say?”

“That you lack effort, he’d say.”

Leto, who used to sink deeper with just one punch from Kyle.

When he finally confessed that he thought he couldn’t do it, Kyle immediately became serious and said this.

“You say you can’t do it even after trying? You lack effort. Try harder.”

He had protested, saying isn’t it just impossible if it doesn’t work even after trying?

Then Kyle answered with a very confident voice like this.

“I thought so too. How could everything be possible just with effort? But you know what? It all became possible.”

He said that with effort, he could split wood with his hand, break rocks, and even crack monster skulls.

Kyle spoke so confidently that it left no room for argument.

“…Try harder, that’s what Kyle said.”

Elga, who had been muttering to herself, slowly nodded.

Those words about trying harder sounded different to her.

As if saying, ‘There’s still plenty of opportunity left. So do it properly from now on.’