I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 207: Tue. New semester

"Who in the world falls in love with someone they’ve only exchanged letters with, without even knowing their face or identity?"

My head began to hurt.

I couldn’t understand it. Falling in love through letters with someone whose face, identity, or anything else I knew nothing about. That kind of thing was just the fantasy of girls with their heads in the clouds, or something out of a romance novel.

But when it appeared right in front of me, it was shockingly more intense than I imagined, leaving me at a loss for words.

"I thought Yuria was a sharp-minded one..."

From the way she’d behaved up until now, Yuria always seemed reliable.

Even though her friends were dragged into Vermont Estate, uncertain of their lives, she didn’t panic or break down in tears. Instead, she opted to enter the academy.

Despite everything that could have distracted her, she kept a steely resolve and maintained the top grades.

Because of this, I had always thought Yuria was someone who matured early. But...

Looking at it now, it seems that wasn’t the case.

It seemed like she only appeared to mature early because she had no other choice.

It was likely that she couldn’t afford to show any weakness due to the harsh circumstances around her.

In the academy and even at work, Yuria had no choice but to show strength.

But now, Yuria’s only way to open up and show vulnerability was with the grumpy old man. It seemed that through their letters, she gradually opened up the feelings she had been holding in, and began to be drawn to him more and more.

"Is this some form of love deprivation...?"

A sponsor who supports me without asking for anything in return, who encourages me and extends a helping hand when I’m in trouble.

If Yuria had been in a stable mental state, perhaps she would have just seen him as a figure to admire.

But with accumulated emotional deprivation and dependency, it seems she began to view this benefactor as someone more than that.

"It’s not that I outright hate it, but I never wanted Yuria to fall for me this way."

According to my plans, the grumpy old man should remain a trusted and dependable figure for Yuria, like a godfather. As Aslan Vermont, I should be the one approaching Yuria, establishing a connection, and then eventually proposing.

Strangely enough, though, it had become easier to imagine proposing as the grumpy old man than as Aslan Vermont.

[The evil god, ‘Kali,’ is urging you to reveal your identity to Yuria and propose to her!]

“I can’t reveal myself here...”

I shook my head at Kali’s suggestion.

Over the break, Yuria’s relationship with Aslan Vermont had significantly improved.

If I revealed my identity now, there was a high chance we could immediately move toward an engagement while Yuria was feeling this attraction toward the grumpy old man.

But that wouldn’t work.

It couldn’t be done.

It wasn’t just because my plans were being thrown off course.

There was a crucial problem...

"It would be less impressive..."

[Kali, the evil god, understands your words and silently nods.]

It was the major issue that I wouldn’t look ‘cool.’

If I revealed my identity as soon as I heard Yuria liked me, it would look like I had been making subtle plans since the time when this girl despised me and plotted revenge—constantly being kind to her, building affection, and then planning for marriage.

It would seem like I had hidden my identity and supported her, not out of pure goodwill, but because I wanted to marry her.

It wasn’t completely false, but it wasn’t entirely true either.

When I first started supporting Yuria, it was truly with pure intentions.

"I’m really frustrated by this..."

Back then, I thought Yuria was a boy.

I never even thought of marriage, let alone trying to woo her.

The idea that my pure intentions were part of a sinister plot is something I can’t stand.

"Of course, that’s not the only reason... It's also because seducing a child in an unstable mental state goes against my principles..."

[Kali, the evil god, agrees with your reasoning, realizing that you must proceed with caution.]

If I managed to seduce Yuria while her emotional deprivation and dependency made her mentally unstable, would that really be true love?

Could I be sure that the feelings Yuria developed during this time would remain unchanged when she eventually recovered and her mind became healthier?

That’s impossible.

Such a method would be no different from imprisoning Charlotte and Yuria at the estate and forcing them to look only at me, just to seduce them.

That goes against my very principles, so there’s no way I’d consider it.

In fact, this was the main reason.

"I thought she’d made a few friends at the academy... But is it possible she still doesn’t have many people close to her?"

The solution to Yuria’s emotional deprivation and dependency is simple.

Right now, the only people Yuria feels comfortable with are the grumpy old man, Charlotte, and Yuria herself (when I’m not around).

The more people she has to talk to, the better her mental health will become.

The fact that it hasn’t worked as well as expected while attending the academy means she likely hasn’t made many close friends there.

Yuria is likely drifting on the outskirts of academy life.

Well, she probably views the academy as just a place to build strength, so it makes sense she wouldn’t focus much on friendships.

"I’ll have to push for Charlotte and Yuria’s admission to the Imperial Magic Academy. At least by next year..."

I need to make sure that Yuria feels like she wants to stay at the academy.

I need to ensure she starts forming bonds with other people besides Charlotte, Yuria, and the grumpy old man.

To do that, I must first get Charlotte and Yuria admitted to the Imperial Magic Academy, so Yuria can devote herself to her academy life.

It’s not enough just to make her focus on studies.

She needs to develop her social skills.

With this in mind, I picked up my pen, making a firm decision.

"First, the reply..."

After hesitating for a moment, I began writing the letter. I decided to tell Yuria the words she needed to hear.

.

.

.

"Alright. As this is the first class, we’ll begin with the measurement of combat abilities."

The second semester of the Imperial Magic Academy began.

It was the first day of the Combat Magic Department’s class.

Before the students, now dressed in comfortable activity clothes, the teaching assistant began reading the announcement.

"Ahem, due to time constraints, the measurements will be carried out in a battle royale format."

"Battle royale... what does that mean?"

"Yes. Everyone will fight in the arena at the same time, and points will be awarded based on when you leave the arena, with additional points for performance during the battle."

In the Combat Magic Department, they ranked the students based on their combat abilities at the start of every semester.

Of course, these rankings would change as classes progressed and exams were held.

But since the final ranking directly affected the students' grades, events that influenced the rankings were highly sensitive matters.

"If an unmanageable injury occurs, the judges will intervene with a barrier and remove the injured participant from the arena."

"Can we cooperate with others?"

"Cooperation is allowed. Moral responsibility regarding collaboration and betrayal will not be evaluated."

"Understood."

A student, seemingly satisfied with the answer, grinned widely.

At this, the teaching assistant let out a quiet sigh.

"We’ll be spending a semester together, so try not to cause too much trouble. Now, let the match begin."

As all the students entered the arena, they began moving in unison at the sound of the whistle.

Some began chanting spells and attacking immediately.

Others just took off running.

And some, possibly having made a silent agreement before the match, chose to cooperate and avoid attacking each other.

"It’s always the same every year. The kids’ level is predictable..."

There were really only a few strategies available.

First, the strategy of avoiding combat and running away.

This could achieve a high ranking but would forgo any additional points earned through participation in battles.

Second, there was the strategy of participating in fights when advantageous, and running away when not.

This strategy aimed for both additional points through battle performance and a high rank by removing potential threats.

Beyond that... there wasn’t much else.

"Judge! What’s going on there? That person’s bleeding heavily—shouldn’t we remove them from the match?"

"We only intervene if the injury is unmanageable. Continue the match."

"What!? How are we supposed to fight that monster?"

I hadn’t seen anything like it before.

With bruises all over and blood dripping from her body, Yuria confidently walked out.

Soon, Yuria touched her wounds, and they healed as if washed away.

"Everyone, we need to take her down first!"

"Are you crazy? You want me to fight Yuria?"

"We can only take her down if we work together!"

Students were shocked by this sight.

They made eye contact, nodded at each other, and then, as one, began to launch an attack on Yuria.

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‘Fighting against all the students...’

The assistant clicked his tongue in disbelief.

It was a strategy I had never seen before—fighting as many people as possible to earn extra points while trying to exit the match early.

I thought it was an interesting strategy when I considered it, just then.

"She’s still standing!?"

"She keeps healing no matter how much we hit her! How do we take her down?"

"...!?"

As the smoke cleared, the students saw Yuria standing firm, surrounded by the scorched arena floor, looking stronger than ever.

Yuria dashed forward, swiftly hunting down the students who had lost the will to fight.

It was like a scene of hunting, no, of violation.

The other students had completely forgotten the battle royale rule and were just running for their lives.

Only Yuria remained, attacking relentlessly, determining who would be eliminated, and deciding the ranks.

For the first time, the students in the arena felt ‘true fear.’

The fear that prey feels when it is about to be devoured.

They had never experienced anything like it before.

Previously, Yuria had been strong, but not like this—how had her mood changed so drastically over the break?

The arena became chaotic as students, overwhelmed by the fear in Yuria’s gaze, couldn’t think straight anymore.

"I should have thought more carefully... This is almost a rejection of my feelings..."

"Y-Yuria? I don’t understand what you’re saying! I-I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’m so sorryyy!!!"

Meanwhile, Yuria, who was ruthlessly knocking out students, felt an intense inner turmoil.

She thought about how she had been told to reconsider her feelings, to doubt whether they were real or just a misunderstanding.

And the thought of waiting until after seeing each other’s faces to talk about marriage felt like a rejection of everything.

She gripped her fists tightly, seething with frustration.

There was no time to spare to think about the first day of class anymore.