Chapter 54 – He’s Actually Really Stubborn

Teresa couldn’t remember anything.

All she could recall was that her brain had stopped functioning entirely toward the end, her thoughts reduced to a single principle: never surrender.

Even when the pain numbed her nerves, she vaguely sensed some disturbance on the battlefield—an arrow whistling through the air, a gentle breeze stirred by its flight lifting strands of her hair.

The cacophony around her fell into sudden silence, but she could feel nothing by then. The ground rushed up in her vision, her sight went black—and she lost all awareness.

By the time she regained consciousness, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

She was lying on a soft, pale-yellow bed in a bright, elegant room. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting golden light across the floor. Outside, Goldencloud Blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, lending the air a faint, sweet fragrance.

The entire room was done in warm tones, filling her with an inexplicable sense of comfort.

Teresa didn’t recognize this place.

She clearly remembered—wasn’t she just on the Divine Princess battlefield...?

“......”

She frowned slightly and tried to move. The moment she did, she tugged at one of her unhealed wounds. The sudden burning pain made her wince.

“Nope, you can’t move just yet.”

A soft hand gently pressed her back onto the bed.

Following the unfamiliar voice, Teresa turned to see a teal-haired girl in a school uniform and skirt.

The girl had eyes as clear as mountain streams, a beauty that humans could hardly hope to match—and the iconic elf ears.

“......You are?”

Teresa was certain she’d never met this elf girl before. She tried shifting again and realized she was wrapped in layers of bandages.

“Facing an unbeatable opponent and still refusing to surrender... Miss Teresa, you’re truly brave.”

The elf girl sat gracefully on a bench, resting her cheek against one hand, crossing her long legs wrapped in student-black stockings, and praised her with genuine admiration.

“But being overly stubborn without reason can come across as... reckless.”

Miss Blaise adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose.

“Miss Blaise? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I heard from your instructor that you don’t really have any friends at the academy, and that Divine Child in charge of you couldn’t be reached.”

Miss Blaise shrugged, then added with a hint of irritation:

“Your Divine Child didn’t even show up for your match. Now you’ve landed in the Heart-Healing Ward, and he’s still nowhere to be found. Not very responsible of him, is it?”

“...I think Divine Child Dylin must’ve had something urgent to attend to, and couldn’t make it in time.”

Teresa was well aware—of course her “Divine Child” wouldn’t come. If he had, that would’ve been the real surprise.

“I’ve been admitted to the Heart-Healing Ward?”

Teresa smoothly changed the topic. She had heard of the Heart-Healing Ward before—it was akin to a school infirmary in her past life, except Coleman Academy’s version was far more advanced.

Given the frequent combat training and real-world trials students faced, the academy had hired top-tier trauma physicians and high-level medical alchemists at premium salaries to meet the overwhelming demand for medical support.

“Well, duh?”

Miss Blaise rolled her eyes. “With the way you fought like you had a death wish, how could you not end up here? Seriously, don’t do that again, alright?”

“I know you’re eager to prove yourself. But this was just a data-gathering exercise. The outcome didn’t matter. What if you'd ended up with permanent damage? What’s the point of being so reckless? You really don’t treat your body with any care at all.”

“I’m sorry.”

Teresa bowed her head. It wasn’t that she wanted to show off—honestly, even she felt confused.

When she first stepped onto the field, she’d only planned to go through the motions, maybe even throw the match if things got too hard. But the moment she stood there, something in her shifted. A fiery unwillingness to lose surged up and took control.

It wasn’t about resentment or defiance.

If anything, it felt more like pride than anything else.

A pride that refused to kneel before any opponent.

If someone wanted her to surrender, they’d have to shatter her kneecaps first. Otherwise, they could dream on.

And so, she ended up in the Heart-Healing Ward.

“Well then, who might you be, elf lady?”

After gently touching her ears and confirming the Sun-Moon Circlet was still securely in place, Teresa turned her attention to the unknown elf girl sitting by her bed.

“Me? I’m here on behalf of the academy to offer some comfort to our injured students.”

The teal-haired elf flashed a dimpled smile and pulled two exquisite bottles from her bag. They shimmered with a warm orange-red glow and were sealed in finely crafted glass—clearly high-grade alchemy products just by appearance alone.

“The academy?”

Teresa’s eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion.

“But I’ve already been treated and bandaged by academy staff, haven’t I?”

“True, but your recovery will be much slower this way.”

The elf tilted her head playfully. She usually kept some emotional distance when dealing with humans, but with this golden-haired girl, she felt none of that usual wariness. In fact, she found herself drawn to her—and she wasn’t sure why.

“With these recovery potions, your surface injuries will heal in an instant.”

“...Elf lady, these aren’t from the academy, are they?”

Teresa had studied alchemy enough to know—these were extremely high-grade recovery potions. If the academy gave these out every time someone got injured, even Coleman’s vast coffers would go dry.

Miss Blaise sighed, then looked at the elf girl, who also sighed in resignation.

“Ah... no, you’re right. But let’s just pretend they are, okay?”

“Was it that girl named Astrid who asked you to bring them to me?”

“......”

The elf’s startled expression gave the answer away before she spoke.

“...W-well, yes. How did you know?”

Now that she’d been caught, the elf stopped pretending. But her curiosity remained.

“Then why go through all the trouble of pretending?”

Teresa didn’t answer her question—instead, she asked one of her own.

“Ah, we just figured... if you knew they were from her, you probably wouldn’t accept them.”

The elf scratched her head awkwardly. “But now that you do know, please take them anyway. Otherwise, I’ll have a hard time explaining myself to Her Highness.”

“...Fine.”

Teresa turned her gaze away.

The Freshman Crown Tournament was coming up—it was a critical time. She really did need to recover quickly, so she didn’t try to act tough.

Still, knowing that someone else had gifted them made her feel a bit awkward.

“Tell Her Highness I’ll repay her.”

She said the words while half-hiding her face behind her hair, cheeks flushing faintly.

Taking something from someone for free... it was hard to say out loud.

“No rush, no rush~ Oh, and by the way, please don’t mention these potions to your Divine Child. Pretty please?”

“...Why?”

“Her Highness said that while Dylin seems easygoing on the surface, he’s actually super stubborn. If he finds out she sent these, he definitely won’t let you keep them,” the elf girl explained.

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