95 – Teresa VS Felicia

“Ohhh! It’s finally starting?!”

The camera shifted to Felicia on the mountain slope, and Teresa walking toward her. In an instant, the atmosphere in the plaza exploded with excitement.

The spectators, many of whom had already been eliminated, were even more animated than the actual participants.

Yet not everyone was focused on the match.

“So you really can’t hear the sound from this plaza feed, huh?” Blake clapped a hand on the person beside him. “Relax, old Bark, aside from that blonde chick, only the two of us know your name.”

“…Don’t call me ‘old Bark,’” muttered Barclay under his cloak, brushing off Blake’s hand.

Still, just as Blake said, once Barclay confirmed that his name hadn’t been exposed to the public, he let out a small breath of relief.

“Heh, I gotta say, we actually worked pretty well together. What do you think? Wanna stick together after enrollment?” the mage said with a grin.

“Right? Since we’re the only ones who know old Bark’s name, we’ve gotta take responsibility!” Blake laughed heartily.

“Stop saying things that’ll cause misunderstandings. And I said—don’t call me that! …Also, stop saying my name in front of other people.”

“So we’re not ‘other people’ now, huh?” The mage chuckled. “Alright, I get it. Honestly, our current dynamic is way better than it was during the Crown Tournament. At least now we all know each other and there aren’t any walls between us.”

“Exactly. When we first teamed up, old Bark didn’t say a word unless absolutely necessary. I seriously thought he had a grudge against me.”

“Well now it’s all clear. We’ve worked it out, we’re closer than before. That’s a good thing.”

“I SAID STOP CALLING ME OLD BARK!!!”

***

“I take it... you’re Teresa?” Felicia rested both hands on her gauntlets and offered a friendly smile. “Meeting like this—it must be fate.”

“Thank you for remembering me, Miss Zorsha.” Teresa held her bow in one hand, stepped one foot behind, and gave a courteous bow, maintaining both vigilance and etiquette.

“No need for a long-winded introduction. I am Felicia Zorsha, First Princess of the Whiteglass Kingdom.” Felicia released her sword’s hilt and returned the gesture with a formal knight’s salute.

“Allow me to say this without any offense—I’ve dreamed of this Crown Tournament final for a long time. I’ve thought through strategies, tactics, how thrilling it would be... and of course, what kind of opponents I’d face.”

“But no matter how I imagined it, I never expected that before meeting Astrid, I’d encounter you—this dark horse, Miss Teresa.”

Wenfu stood stiffly at Teresa’s side, clearly overwhelmed by the pressure radiating from one of the Academy’s most favored Crown contenders. Her hands clenched together in nervous anticipation.

She had never even dreamed of standing on the same field as Felicia—or Astrid.

Lifting her gaze, she met the eyes of Felicia’s Divine Child and Priest Divine Princess, both of whom were looking directly at her.

Everyone had found their battleground.

Wenfu took a deep breath and steadied her mind.

Teresa had carried her into the top five. Now it was her turn to repay that debt.

She, who had expected to be eliminated in the top ten, had made it to the top five. Even if she lost here, it was a win in every sense—ranking, recognition, and facing off against Felicia? Her name would be remembered. No matter how she looked at it, this was a massive gain.

Through their earlier battle, Teresa and Felicia had developed a budding sense of mutual trust—at least enough that neither suspected the other of treachery.

“I’m sorry, but as you can see, Miss Teresa,” Felicia said as she drew her massive crown-shaped greatsword from the ground, sending dust and stone flying, “there’s only one path up the mountain.”

“And only one team can take it.”

“None of the earlier fights got my blood pumping... I wonder how many surprises you’ll bring me, Miss Teresa. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Her amber twin-tails whipped in the wind. As she licked her lips, her jewel-like eyes glowed with excitement, even as she upheld the grace of a knight.

Her field armor, though protective, couldn’t conceal her striking figure. With every step, her full curves shifted under the plating—like two “white peaches” swaying with power.

The battle began, but Felicia didn’t take the initiative. Instead, she backed up a few paces.

Teresa met her eyes and instantly understood.

They were still standing on a slope, with a steep cliff behind them. Felicia’s group, however, stood on level ground halfway up the mountain.

Fighting like this would be a disadvantage for Teresa.

Felicia didn’t want to take advantage of that. She was giving them the chance to step onto even ground before the duel began.

It was… exactly what one would expect from the Whiteglass Knight Princess.

Teresa’s opinion of Felicia improved slightly. Honestly, all those baseless rumors didn’t seem credible—hearing things was nothing like seeing them for yourself.

Once Teresa reached the flat mountain path, Wenfu hurried after her like a baby chick sticking close to its mother. At this point, it was natural to be nervous.

Though Felicia’s team had lost a member, their core remained intact.

The Divine Child was still there. So was the Priest. And their Knight protector—Felicia herself—was present too.

In contrast, Teresa’s side had only a non-combat Priest and no knight—just a ranger trying to fill the role.

Not exactly favorable...

Teresa focused intently on the three enemies ahead. When she saw the Divine Child’s eyes begin to glow faintly, she made her move—swiftly raising her longbow. A light arrow formed and flew in an instant.

Just as she predicted—the moment the Divine Child turned her gaze to analyze her, she reacted like she’d been hit with a flashbang. She flinched, unable to look away fast enough, and couldn’t dodge the arrow heading straight for her vulnerable neck.

Before the match, Teresa had already rehearsed this strategy in her mind. She had predicted the Divine Child would try to use [Divine Appraisal] on her—and since she couldn’t be scanned, that moment of confusion would act like a flashbang, creating an opening for attack.

However, this wasn’t some ragtag team from the earlier rounds. Teresa had underestimated their coordination and response time.

Clang!

Just before the arrow could pierce her throat, the massive crown greatsword moved like a shield, interposing itself between the Divine Child and the arrow. The light arrow shattered harmlessly.

In the same instant, the Divine Child retreated behind Felicia and huddled next to the Priest.

From that moment on, Felicia’s gaze toward Teresa changed. What started as mild surprise grew into clear fascination.

Teresa figured the Divine Child must have relayed the information through [Silent Whisper], informing the team that her [Divine Appraisal] couldn’t detect Teresa.

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