The volleyball—I mean, Sky Ball—game went… surprisingly normal.

Well, normal might be a bit of a stretch. I mean, we were playing a sport called Sky Ball, of all things.

But aside from all that?

It was fun, genuinely fun. Not the “I guess this passes the time” kind of fun either—actual, honest-to-goodness enjoyment. The kind that made me forget I was supposed to treat this like training.

The game had been going on for several rounds now, and thankfully, I was on the winning side. There wasn’t a referee to help us keep count, but there were noticeably more ball-shaped etchings on Ricent’s side of the field, so I’d take that as a win.

I can get surprisingly competitive at times, huh?

“Ha! Got it—!”

I stepped into position as the ball arced down toward me, its shadow stretching across the dirt as it fell. I raised my arms just in time to bump it upward into a smooth spin.

Nice!

Ricent scrambled on the other side, nearly tripping over his own feet as he lunged forward. He barely managed to get his arms under the ball before it hit the ground, sending it back over in a sloppy, uneven return that wobbled midair.

A chance!

I moved.

A quick step forward. Then another, adjusting my position as my eyes tracked the ball’s descent.

The ball hung just high enough, lingering in that perfect sweet spot.

I bent my knees and jumped, pushing off the ground with ease.

With a swift motion, I swung my arm down, my hand making contact with the descending ball with a resounding smack.

The impact rang through my arm as the ball shot downward at a sharp angle, cutting through the air before slamming into the ground on Ricent’s side, lifting a noticeable amount of dirt around it.

“What the—?!”

A perfect spike.

I landed back on solid ground and let out a sigh of relief, along with a dramatic wipe of sweat from my forehead. “Phew. Almost missed it.”

“Wha—HEY!! How did you do that?!!” Ricent shouted, pointing at me as I had just murdered someone. “I barely had time to react!”

I rolled my shoulders slightly as I turned towards him with a smile.

“Easy, really. You just gotta jump and hit the ball. Simple as that~”

Ricent froze, his eyes wandering as if he was deep in thought.

“Hmm, sounds easy enough!” he claimed to himself. “Alright then, I’ll do the same thing! Be ready!”

I chuckled ever so slightly under my breath.

“Be my guest.”

“Alright!” Ricent called out, gripping the ball with renewed determination, his earlier frustration already replaced with stubborn resolve. “This time, I’m scoring!”

“Won’t let that happen!” I readied myself to receive his spike.

He shot me a glare, the kind that tried very hard to be intimidating and didn’t quite get there, before stepping back into position.

Then, he tossed the ball into the air.

It rose higher than before, spinning slowly as it caught the last golden rays of sunlight.

Ricent ran forward, eyes totally locked onto the floating ball.

Then he jumped, his arm raised up high.

Oh.

He’s actually doing it.

His form was a bit rough, but the momentum was clear. He raised his arms higher, mimicking what I did earlier.

In response, I steadied myself for a spike.

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At that exact moment—

Something felt… off.

An abnormal sound reached my ears; it sounded like… swirling.

I couldn’t pinpoint what could possibly produce that kind of sound, but eventually… my focus snapped back.

Unfortunately, it snapped back too late. My eyes focused on what was in front of me.

All I could see was the ball, moving fast, rapidly enveloping my field of vision.

That ball is fast, huh?

Before I knew it, the ball kissed me in the face with a sharp thwang. Slowly, one half of my vision was consumed by darkness.

…

The pain echoed loudly straight to Carine. I jolted in surprise in my seat, nearly falling over as I held my head, trying to ease the phantom pain.

“L-Lady Carine?” Leila said in a surprised tone. “Are you alright?”

I held up my free hand, shaking it gently. “I-I’m quite… alright. Just… a sudden bout of headache.”

Leila stepped back, eyes blinking slowly. “If that is true, then we must head to the infirmary at once and contact a doctor.”

I held my head for a couple of moments longer. Slowly, the phantom pain dissipated as my body realised it wasn’t hurt. Still, I was missing half of myself, and it was quite disorienting.

I slowly turned my attention to the window of the lounge, overlooking a decent chunk of the academy grounds. Through reflections of other windows, I could see myself lying down in the field where we were playing, with Ricent in the middle of lifting me up to his shoulders. Eventually, he got a good grip and headed straight for the main building.

He’s dragging me to the infirmary, I guess.

Disoriented aside, I couldn’t believe I got knocked out by Ricent’s spike, after all that internal scoffing I did, too. But it was not the time for jokes or pondering about karma. I needed to make sure I was okay first.

Slowly, I rose from my seat, turning to Leila behind me. Her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was slightly agape as she blinked slowly at me.

It’s been a while since I last saw her so concerned.

“I suppose a visit to the infirmary wouldn’t hurt… Could you lead the way, Leila?”

She nodded instantly. “Right away, My Lady.”

…

..

.

—

After seeing my unconscious body being hauled off by Ricent, I immediately made my way over there as Carine to check up on myself. It was a rather fast walk, even Leila seemed to be caught off-guard, but she matched my pace without question.

Thankfully, when I got there, a nurse was already tending to my injuries, with Ricent not being able to shut up beside her.

“I swear, it was an accident! I really didn’t mean to punch it that hard—!”

Meanwhile, the nurse was doing her best to ignore his ramble as she applied some sort of salve to my forehead.

They hadn’t noticed my presence yet, so I quickly snuck a look with Carine’s eyes at the point of impact on Feyt’s forehead, and after a moment of observation, I concluded that it wasn’t anything serious.

But, to really make sure, I approached the nurse with, admittedly, no warning, which startled her as she turned to face me.

“L-Lady Carine?” she said, staring up at me from her seat. “H-How can I help you?”

Ricent turned to me as well,

“Is he fine?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“Is Feyt doing fine?” I repeated my question, my tone slightly hurried.

Don’t blame me, alright? I was still in mild-panic mode.

The nurse blinked rapidly before opening her mouth. “Well, he should be fine, I believe. There’s no sign of heavy head trauma, and he should be waking up soon…”

“I see… that’s good to hear.”

As if confirming her verdict, I could feel myself fluttering awake on the bed right in front of me.

Now knowing I was fine, I let out a sigh of relief as I calmed down. With my business done, I turned on my heels and prepared to leave. Then, I met Leila, who stood before me in silence, blocking my path.

“Lady Carine? Aren’t we here to check up on your headache?” Leila asked, her tone decisive. It felt almost like an order rather than a question.

To be honest, I was more concerned with not being seen with myself for longer than necessary, especially after that incident.

“How about we do it in another infirmary? I wouldn’t want to bother Feyt’s treatment,” I said as convincingly as possible.

Leila remained silent for a few moments. I sensed a small sigh coming from her before she relented. “Very well, there should be another infirmary in the opposite wing. Shall we head there, Lady Carine?”

“Of course, lead the way.”

…

I—Feyt—had woken up not too long after my other self left. I was greeted by a rather calm nurse who looked like she had seen far worse than a student getting knocked out by a ball. She checked my head, asked a few questions, and made sure I wasn’t seeing double or forgetting my own name.

In the end, the verdict was simple.

I was fine.

No fractures.

No internal damage.

No need for extended rest.

Just a nasty bruise that would probably last a while.

“I’d recommend taking it easy for the rest of the day,” the nurse added, stepping back slightly. “You may continue to attend class, but try not to get yourself into more trouble for a while.”

I gave a small nod. “I’ll do my best.”

That was reasonable enough. At least, I hoped it was.

Thankfully, aside from the lingering ache and the faint tenderness whenever I so much as thought about touching my forehead, I felt… fine.

No dizziness.

No weakness.

No nothing.

Thank God.

The nurse gave one last glance over me before turning away. “I’ll go prepare some additional salve for you to take. Call if you need anything.”

And just like that, she left.

The room fell quiet.

Well, mostly…

There was still the presence of one very conspicuous individual sitting on the bed beside mine.

Ricent.

He had been completely silent up until now, which, in itself, was already concerning.

The moment the nurse stepped out, he sprang to his feet.

“Feyt! I’m glad you’re alright!” he blurted out, rushing over like a man who had been holding that in for way too long. “I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to hit it that hard, honest!”

He clasped his hands together tightly, eyes squeezed shut like he was praying for forgiveness.

I stared at him for a second as he continued to profusely apologise.

There was a lot I could say.

About how that ball had no business moving that fast.

About how he didn’t tell me he had a Talent for hitting balls.

But instead, I pondered.

Man.

I really got knocked out by a ball, huh?

If being countered by Instructor Liz didn’t hurt my pride… this surely did.

…

Let’s… not play Sky Ball against Ricent for a while.