I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

52. You said it yourself, you’re quite the rebel, huh? (New Year’s votes, please~)

The frigid wind howled past his ears, and Zerola found it harder to maintain his smile. This Ludwig said she was searching for a “strong one,” but she herself… might just be the real deal.

Way back when he first intercepted Philora and stood in as a test for this elf named Ludwig, Zerola had already gleaned a certain truth: this elf, cool enough to dye her hair white, very tony, very stylish, was likely more than met the eye. At least, she wasn’t someone you could just knock over with a single punch.

He wasn’t the only one with that impression. Moriarty from the academy had the same feeling. Zerola had even met up with Moriarty, and together they sought out an opportunity to coax out the elf’s true strength, but each time, she lazily rebuffed them with excuses like, “I don’t want to play house.”

So, this very moment, what lay before Zerola, brought a wry smile to his face. He never imagined… that this elf’s power would manifest in such a manner!

She leaped, landed, and the gargantuan thing in her hands – almost “dragged” along – slammed into the spot where Zerola had just been standing, sending up a cloud of dust and shattered stone. The impact made Zerola’s ears ring!

It was an object that could be called a weapon, but it was more like a lump of raw iron! It looked like a tree trunk made of iron, finally sheathed in the guise of a two-handed sword! It wasn’t that Zerola couldn’t lift it, or couldn’t skip around while dragging it; it was that this elf always seemed to have difficulty lifting the weapon, yet she was able to move freely with it. That was… a little terrifying!

And this, probably, wasn’t all of Ludwig’s power! Through the hollowed-out areas of the blade, a segment of deep blue radiance pulsed. Zerola’s intuition screamed that there was room for more!

Good lord, even he, a Seventh Order, could feel something like “trepidation.” This elf was the biggest secret-keeper in the whole academy, wasn’t she!?

Not daring to let Philora’s precious gift take any more damage, Zerola abandoned a head-on defense, opting to evade instead.

“Ludwig, are you doing this on purpose!?”

As for *why* the “evasion,” and the “annoyance,” that touched upon a second issue: this elf was dragging that unwieldy weapon, and yet… she was using it to *throw magic*!? Only when she forced him back did she symbolically tap the ground with it!

Does what you’re dragging around even have the slightest connection to the word “magic”!?

However, the response Zerola received was still so lazy and indifferent.

“Because you want it fair… don’t you? I figured for someone like you, this is the fairest.”

Ludwig paused, dragging the two-handed sword behind her, she smiled. Then, with a twist of her body, she swept the sword through the air, sending a gust of wind towards Zerola.

“Besides, it doesn’t look like you’re doing so hot, either? Why do humans always cry about others going all-out, and then make a bunch of excuses when they’re about to die? Isn’t regular fairness enough?”

“Tch.”

Well, ain’t you just the sweetest thing, huh?

Zerola swung his sword to deflect Ludwig’s attack, his expression darkening considerably.

It wasn’t just the almost playful way this sprite was acting, but… the techniques she was using – these spells, so varied and complex, yet each familiar in its own way, Zerola could never forget them! This was Philola’s power!

Was this a provocation?! A deliberate display?! Some kind of spiritual NTR?!

Even the usually easygoing Zerola genuinely felt that unwelcome sensation crawling under her skin.

Yet, each attempt to close the distance was repelled by Philola’s magic emanating from this sprite. If she were truly only wielding Philola’s power, Zerola shouldn’t be struggling so much…

But the reality was: a seamless fusion of various spells allowed her to effortlessly wield even a slightly inferior power!

Not that she wanted to cheat, but this whole situation was making Zerola uneasy!

“Is that really… Philola’s power?!”

Another thrust of her sword met the broadside of the sprite’s greatsword, the resulting tremor shooting up Zerola’s arm, making her fingers numb! Yet the sprite before her remained utterly still, her eyes barely even open!

“Mmh~”

“How…”

“Of course it is, that’s why I say… Philola is unworthy of her power. My appearance guarantees fairness, fully utilizing your strengths assures victory. But the current Philola, despite her potential for advancement, remains stagnant. Laziness? Neglect? None of my concern…”

The sprite yawned, twisting her whole body as she swung the greatsword, sending Zerola flying as if she’d been struck by a raw log!

“Unworthy of one’s power, I simply take it. Zerola… what about *you*?”

And this time, Zerola realized: this sprite wasn’t just toying with her using magic! As she spun the sword to knock Zerola away, she also leapt into the air! How could something so heavy move with such agility!?

Zerola had no time to dwell on it!

The greatsword was now plummeting towards her body!

*BOOM*

The earth-shattering impact threatened to throw Zerola into the sky! Flying debris stung her face, but Zerola couldn’t even catch her breath. Her body still hadn’t recovered from the crushing weight of the previous blow when the second assault came!

“You, too, are unworthy of your power…”

As she struck, the sprite spun, the greatsword creating a near impenetrable barrier of wind with its rotation, its unwieldy force sending Zerola flying once more.

“Decide quickly, or… I might just take your power as well.”

Then, the sprite leapt again, repeating the same pattern of attacks, a brute force assault, pure and simple!

This time, she wasn’t using any magic, but the situation… had instantly become anything but “fair”!

For the first time, Zerola felt a sense of utter hopelessness. The sprite before her… was definitely beyond the seventh rank, perhaps even… unlikely to be an eighth. Then…

“Isn’t this the ‘full power’ you wanted? Need me to raise the difficulty?”

*THUD*

“Decide already, or… it’s going to be troublesome…”

*CLANG*

Each successive fall was making Zerola’s backside ache!

How much longer would this continue!? Should she have passed the baton to Henry IV after all?! The thought, made Zerola feel a little lost!

However, the next moment, a shout from not far behind sent a jolt through Zelora!

Even his “confusion” had to be swept away!

“Zelora! Enough! You don’t need to agonize anymore!”

It was Filora’s voice!

“That’s enough! Let the Great British Empire handle it! Get away from that elf!”

When had he become so pathetic that he’d been driven back near Filora!?

Any… any further retreat, and wouldn’t he be… dragging Filora into danger too!?

Overslept, posted a bit late.

Ah~ The New Year is truly suffering, everyone remember to give me some monthly votes to get back some blood~ Starting today, I’ll release colored illustrations and chibi versions, and above 3000 votes I can start working on a new body pillow.