Chapter 488: Secret
The stronger person received the opportunity, while the weaker one was expected to step aside with a smile and accept that they had not worked hard enough.
But she had worked hard enough.
That was what angered her the most.
There had not been a single morning when she had allowed herself to sleep longer than necessary.
She trained before sunrise, attended every lesson she could afford, completed dangerous assignments for the Alliance, and returned to the training grounds even when her muscles screamed for rest.
There were nights when the skin across her palms split open so badly that she could barely close her fingers around the hilt of her sword, yet she wrapped them in cloth and continued anyway.
Everything she possessed had been purchased with her own blood and effort.
Her first sword had been a cheap, poorly balanced thing bought from a traveling merchant who had clearly overcharged her after noticing that she was unfamiliar with the local currency.
Her first room in the city had been so small that she could stretch out one arm and touch both walls.
For several months, she had survived on little more than stale bread, thin soup, and whatever food was provided after completing Alliance missions.
The few coins she had left were always spent on training, better whetstones, healing salves, and mana supplements.
She had struggled, and yet, none of that seemed to matter.
All it took was one unusually powerful newcomer for the higher-ups to look at her place and decide it would be better given to someone else.
Mayumi’s hand tightened around her glass. Yaana noticed the movement and stopped eating for a moment.
"Big Sis Yumi?"
Mayumi lowered her head, staring at her faint reflection within the drink.
"I left home because I wanted to prove that there was more to the world than what my people believed," she said quietly. "They told me I would regret it. They said outsiders were cruel, dishonest, and corrupted by greed."
Yaana listened without interrupting.
"My father said I would return within a year, begging them to forgive me, and my own mother did not even come to see me off."
Mayumi’s fingers unconsciously moved toward the white chrysanthemum kanzashi in her hair. "She gave me this before that, though. On my eighteenth birthday."
Her voice softened.
"I still do not know whether she gave it to me because she loved me or because she expected it to be the last gift she would ever give her foolish daughter."
Yaana’s gaze shifted toward the ornament. "It is pretty."
Mayumi smiled faintly. "She always liked chrysanthemums. She said they represented endurance and dignity."
"That sounds like you."
The comment caught Mayumi off guard.
She looked at Yaana, who had already returned to her cake as though she had said nothing of note.
Mayumi released a quiet breath.
"I thought that once I became strong enough, I could go back and show them that leaving was not a mistake."
"You want to return home?"
"Someday."
Mayumi hesitated before continuing.
"I want to return when no one can look down on me anymore. I want the elders to hear my name before I arrive. I want my parents to know that I survived without them."
She looked away. "And perhaps I want them to feel a little ashamed."
Yaana nodded seriously. "That is understandable."
"You are not going to tell me revenge is bad?"
"No."
Yaana scooped another piece of cake onto her fork. "Sometimes making people regret looking down on you is good motivation."
Mayumi stared at her. "That does not sound like something a cheerful girl like you should say."
Yaana smiled brightly. "I can be cheerful and petty."
Mayumi laughed lightly before she could stop herself. The soft laugh helped soften the heavy weight on her chest.
Yaana swallowed her cake and leaned forward slightly. "But entering the Legacy World is not the only way to prove yourself."
"I know." Mayumi sighed. "But it might be my only opportunity for a long time. The resources inside could help me advance several stages. Some people return with rare techniques, powerful weapons, or artifacts that completely change their futures."
"And some people do not return at all," Yaana added.
Mayumi smiled wryly, "That is not helpful."
"I am just saying it is dangerous."
"I already know that."
"Then why are you acting like losing your place means your life is over?"
Mayumi opened her mouth, but no answer came out.
Yaana tilted her head. "You are strong now, right?"
"Of course I am."
"And you will be stronger next year?"
"Yes."
"And even stronger after that?"
Mayumi frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"That you still have time."
Yaana’s voice remained light, but her eyes were surprisingly serious.
"You worked hard because you wanted to become strong. The Legacy World might help, but it is not the reason you became strong in the first place."
Mayumi remained silent.
"You said shortcuts never work," Yaana continued. "So why are you treating this one opportunity like it is the only path forward?"
The words struck harder than Mayumi expected. She looked down at the table again.
It was annoying to hear her own beliefs used against her, especially by someone who still had cream at the corner of her mouth.
Mayumi reached across the table and wiped it away with a napkin. "You are unexpectedly wise when food is involved."
Yaana smiled. "I think better when I am eating."
"That explains why you always have something in your mouth."
Elion had already missed the appointed day for their duel.
Marilyn had told Mayumi that she would be allowed to keep her place if he failed to return by the end of the week, but after everything Yaana had said about him, she doubted it would be that simple.
He would probably return.
Late, perhaps, whenever he felt like it.
Like some entitled brat who believed time itself should bend around him and the rest of the world should simply wait for his arrival.
Strong or not, the man clearly had no sense of propriety. How could someone be late for something this important?
Then again, perhaps it was not important to him.
Maybe the duel was nothing more than a minor inconvenience in his eyes, an annoying formality forced upon him before he could claim a place that the higher-ups had probably already decided belonged to him.
But to Mayumi, it meant everything. This was not some meaningless spar; it was a life-changing opportunity.
Mayumi clicked her tongue and tightened her grip around her glass. "If he does show up," she muttered, "I am going to make him regret keeping me waiting."
Yaana looked up from her cake. "You know he might have a good reason."
Mayumi scoffed. "What kind of good reason makes someone disappear for a week without sending a message?"
Yaana opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped herself.
Mayumi noticed. "You know something."
"I do not."
"You just made the face of someone who knows something."
"What face?"
"That face."
Yaana raised both hands to her cheeks. "This is my normal face."
"No, it is not."
Mayumi leaned closer across the table, her narrowed eyes studying the younger girl. "Where exactly did you meet Elion?"
Yaana froze. "I already told you. Another city."
"Which city?"
"A distant one."
"What was it called?"
Yaana’s gaze dropped toward her plate.
"It had a very complicated name."
Mayumi’s suspicion deepened.
"And this complicated city is where you, Uta, Manfred, and Maya all fought him together?"
"Mhm."
"What were you doing there?"
"Training."
"Training for what?"
"The big event, you know, the hidden legacy world!"
Yaana shoved another piece of cake into her mouth, clearly hoping that chewing would save her from answering.
Mayumi stared at her. Yaana stared back with her cheeks puffed out. Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Mayumi finally sighed and leaned back. "Fine. Keep your secrets."