Iris confrontation

"What do you mean, I don't understand what you want from me? If this is about Emilia, I didn't force her to decline your invitation or anything, it was all her own decision" I told Iris confused.

"This isn't about Emilia, you know what I really mean. But to explain it to a dimwit like you, for some reason Lisa has taken you as her disciple, which is something that has never happened to a first year before. It's especially weird because she carries the name of one of the colour families, which will make it almost certain, that you will join them one day too. This privilege isn't even given to most prodigies, so why you? You aren't even able to properly use celestial energy from what I have seen so far. Your technique with the sword is somewhat good, but still in development. That's why I want to challenge you to find out who is worthy to be Lisa's disciple. We will have a duel tomorrow before practice lesson starts, so I can prove your uselessness to her", Iris said, nearly starting to cry out of sheer anger.

"It- it's not like I know either. It was Lisa's decision, not mine", I said but Iris wasn't paying attention to a word I was saying and left stomping madly on the ground.

I felt worried and somewhat guilty, even though I wasn't the one at fault here at all. I didn't even know of the way the colour families worked, this wasn't something taught in class so far. Back in the orphanage, nobody even talked of those. Iris probably learned this from her family.

But that didn't matter now. What mattered was the fact, that I would probably get my ass beaten tomorrow by Iris. I knew I couldn't compare to her skill level, even after all the training so far. And a way to get out of this predicament was also nowhere to be seen.

We went back to our room and Emilia tried to comfort me, but it only helped little. Although I wouldn't suffer any lasting injuries because of the healing available from Emilia, the pain was still there and I feared Lisa would get disappointment if I get overpowered completely. It was quite a sleepless night for me, but in the end, I still managed to sleep.

The next day I didn't even want to wake up and open my eyes as the alarm was ringing. Maybe if I came late, I could avoid confronting Iris. Emilia however forced me to get ready for school and said: "Yoru, I know what your plan is but things won't work like that. If Iris officially challenges you to a duel and tells the school, you aren't able to avoid it anymore. The school encourages such rivalries between us students to fuel our growth, at least this is what I heard from Stephen back in the nurses' office."

"And what happens if I lose?" I asked Emilia nervously.

"Well, not something horribly but the loser has to submit to the winner and give them whatever they wanted from them in the first place. Most upperclassman use this to force people to join their teams or get their way with other people but the demand can't be something to unreasonable, else the school will intervene. They can't force you to join their team permanently for example. And Iris can't force you to give her your place as Lisa's disciple, as this is Lisa's decision in the end. She probably wants to prove her superiority over you to sway Lisa's opinion of you. I don't know what else she might want to get out of this. Duels between students are something which don't happen between first years usually, so it will be quite the uproar", Emilia explained, surprising me with her vast knowledge of the topic.

We went to breakfast like normally and I could tell the other students had all heard of our confrontation yesterday already, as they were staring at me and whispering behind my back as I passed by.

"This is going to be my worst day ever", I thought while trying to eat my breakfast in peace.

Emilia also noticed the stares but she didn't look like she knew what to tell me anymore. She obviously wanted to help me but she also struggled to get a solution, so she just ate her breakfast as well.

After finishing the breakfast we went straight to school without waiting for the rest of the class. It felt nice taking a breath of fresh air but the nervousness didn't go away even slightly.

We arrived at the classroom soon later and Mr. Black was already there for some reason. He told me to follow him to another room and let me leave Emilia back in the classroom.

"You surely attract trouble like flowers attract bees. Just what have you done to get that girl Iris so mad at you?" he asked, somehow knowing what happened yesterday.

"I don't really know either, she seems to be jealous of the fact that Lisa accepted me as her disciple. This time I didn't do anything to cause all of this, Iris suddenly approached me by herself yesterday. She never even talked to me before", I answered.

"Well, just try to get out of the duel without too much harm. You won't be able to go up against her at all but I think you are aware of that already", Mr. Black said and went off after that.

I headed back to the classroom and took my usual seat but I couldn't focus on anything. I didn't even notice the fact that Mr. Black didn't immediately come to the classroom and actually came late for the first time.

######

"This is going to be quite the interesting fight. If Lisa allows her to wield a magical sword, she might actually stand a chance against all odds. Maybe the pressure put upon her will allow her to break through her bottleneck. I will make sure to watch them closely. Oh and I should probably inform the headmaster as well, although I think that old sly guy already got to know everything by now", Mr. Black thought as he prepared himself for the afternoon. He was actually in a room behind the huge mirror in the training room, which was see through from one side. He would be able to watch from there without anyone noticing.