I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

11. The Old Guy Has Skills

Honestly, Zeluo La hadn’t initially taken Ludwig’s “strength” to heart, regarding her as merely a “riddle-speaking” oracle-type elf, who “possessed some sort of trick, and used it to say strange things.” Even if she proposed wanting to “test the level of the academy’s students,” it was probably just to play some “underhanded trick.”

Perhaps Fiora and the others thought the same, which was why Zeluo La decided to intervene before Fiora could proactively agree to Ludwig’s “test,” choosing to step in himself. After all, even knowing the other party was “strange,” Fiora might still encounter danger in a situation where they knew nothing.

However, in that instant just now, Zeluo La felt a twinge of regret – there were no underhanded tricks; this elf named Ludwig truly was strong. Simple, pure, brutally “strong,” just as her reason for entering the academy – “wanting to find powerful people” – implied!

Luckily… he hadn’t let Fiora go up. Otherwise, if this young lady lost, she would definitely sulk for a long time!

Going in empty-handed was definitely not an option! Zeluo La immediately retreated a step, picked up a practice, unsharpened single-handed sword from the weapons rack, and in that very next moment! A strong sense of crisis made Zeluo La dodge sideways, and then… the “small branch” in Ludwig’s hand, comparable to an incredibly sharp weapon, without even a hint of a “collision sound,” cleanly sliced all the weapons on the rack in half!

Magic? No, absolute strength!

They were just “practice tools,” Zeluo La could naturally accomplish the same thing, but what truly surprised Zeluo La wasn’t that the elf had done it, but rather… that she hadn’t hesitated even a little bit!

A branch at most would bruise his old waist purple, but… if she were holding a real blade? Would she hesitate, or would she be like just now, without feeling any need to “stop”?

“Zeluo La! That’s enough! That just exceeded the limits of a normal test…”

Fiora’s anxious voice came from behind, but this time Zeluo La really wasn’t willing to continue being a lapdog. After all… some things needed to be clarified!

“What exceeded! It hasn’t exceeded anything! I’m doing just fine!”

Not bothering to brush the dust off himself, Zeluo La didn’t plan to “hide his strength” any longer, gradually building up his momentum. Even though the practice tool in his hand was no different from firewood, it seemed to transform into a divine weapon!

“Are you pretending to be weak to fool me, beautiful elf girl?”

“Because it’s a bother, and besides… weren’t *you* the one I was impersonating?”

Hmph, close enough. After all, exposing too much strength in an academy like this wouldn’t exactly bring good things.

Zelora had always chosen to coast by, flying just high enough to scrape through, but right now, he really didn’t have that luxury.

“Zelora! I told you to stop! That elf’s behavior has already crossed the line! Stop it! And what is that… this feels wrong!? You’ve been hiding your strength!? This feeling of yours…”

Standing further back, Fiora glanced at Moriarty, then, filled with surprise and anxiety, she shouted, “You scoundrel! You were a freaking Seventh Circle the whole time and you hid it! Argh! Forget about that, I’m telling you both to stop right now!”

“Don’t rush me, Fiora, it’s not over yet! Besides, I hid it because I didn’t want you to feel bad, ha ha ha~”

Laugh? It was hard to. The pressure from this Ludwig elf was just too great, forcing Zelora to go straight to “all-out effort”!

“Seventh Circle… hmm… so that’s where you are now?”

“Enough with the cryptic nonsense. I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of! I don’t care if you’re here for the academy or if you’re leaving, but… don’t mess with Fiora!”

The ground swirled with dust despite the absence of wind. Zelora, no longer hesitating, became utterly serious, a tangible “hostility” radiating from him as he charged toward Ludwig, sword in hand! The unleashed power of the Seventh Circle was so intense it even… made the protective barriers around the training grounds tremble!

With the next strike, everything would be decided, like: letting Ludwig see what the academy’s “strength” really was… or something!

Finally, my gaze peeled itself away from the chessboard! Rather than that final result of “Ludwig falling to the ground in defeat,” I was now more suspicious of something else!

Ludwig was here, and… his goal was so “aggressive,” so “blunt.” Although my piece – Zelora, of course – would handsomely win back the honor for his future wife, still…

“Horus, what are you up to?”

I looked at the fairy who had also chosen to pause the game within the chessboard, taking a temporary break. The perplexing thing was this: From the moment Ludwig appeared, I’d assumed this fairy would select Ludwig as her “piece,” but… she hadn’t!

Ludwig’s actions were entirely his own!

“What am I up to? I’m watching~”

Horus blinked her eyes. This “innocent” facade was nowhere near as convincing as the Queen’s.

It was immediately clear that she still had something up her sleeve. And she had no intention of hiding it, she just wanted me to see it.

“Like I said, Ludwig certainly appeared in this era. What she does at this time, without me using her as a piece, isn’t something I can control~”

“…”

I could only respond with silence.

At least for now, Ludwig’s behavior was very “Ludwig,” and the old man’s actions hadn’t been influenced. I was perfectly “moving my pieces,” controlling the changes in the chessboard to a large extent.

“What are you afraid of, Controller of Order? This is just a friendly, hopeful match~ Besides, it’s only the first round, and you’ve only just finished making your move~”

“Your piece was Zelora, and you did some of the things he would do, so… your turn is also coming to an end. Next, it’s my turn to choose a piece, my turn to start ‘planning’.”

The fairy before me finally sat up straight. The smile was still there, but… combined with her black and white color scheme and clothing, everything felt a little “unreal.”

“I’ve made all the ‘fair concessions’ I needed to make. Next… we can proceed with the normal ‘attack and defense.’ Your setup is complete, and as the second player, I’m going to start ‘attacking’.”

“Maintain your ‘hope,’ don’t be crushed by worry. The more hysterical you become, the more distant hope becomes, and the worse you’ll lose~”

The white-haired elf held a black chess piece in her hand, then…

In my silence, I retracted my gaze, casting it upon the chessboard, and then…set it down.

The “duel” with the “Hope Fairy,” disguised beneath a veneer of harmonious “game,” appeared to have officially begun!

【Hope Fairy Horus desires to kill Euclid.】