“Naomi…”

Why was Naomi here? And why was she restraining Jacob and his goons with her [Gravitation] talent?

It’s almost as if she was…helping me?

While I was surprised by the gravity princess's sudden appearance, Naomi herself walked over to us with a very dignified and graceful stride. It was like she was walking down the red carpet or something.

Once she got close, she glanced at me for a moment before glaring at Jacob and his gang. Her cold eyes practically pierced through the mirage Savior.

“You’re pathetic, Foyer,” she stated to Jacob. “Getting all these people to try and jump someone is unfit for someone that wants to be a Savior. Those are the actions of Villains. Of Rogues.”

“M-Matsumoto…!” Jacob grunts as he glared at Naomi.

This caused her eyes to glow a brighter purple as she then increased the gravity on Jacob, sinking him further into the ground. He was now on his knees and kept going down.

I watched as his head smacked against the floor from the force.

“Glaring at me like that will only make this situation worse for you, Foyer. You should’ve just kept your head down and submitted.”

I could hear Jacob grunting in anger as he continues to try and pull himself up. His goons on the other hand, simply stayed in their place and didn’t move.

“I have business with Monroe, so I suggest you and your group leave the moment I release you. If you don’t…then you’ll be waking up in the infirmary.”

To prove her point, she increased the gravity again, slamming Jacob’s entire body against the floor. Not only that but a small dent in the impression of his body was created from it.

The thing to know about Naomi is that she means what she says. Which means if Jacob doesn’t listen to her…she really was going to put him in the infirmary.

It would be easy for her as well because all she has to do is increase gravity enough to either break or crush Jacob’s bones. That’s how simple it is for her thanks to [Gravitation].

“What’s your answer, Foyer?” Naomi asks.

“…” Jacob says nothing as he continues to strain his body to get it up.

This idiot…

I sighed along with Naomi who continued glaring at Jacob.

“Have fun in the infirmary then, Foyer.”

As Naomi said this, she once more activates her talent on Jacob. The Mirage Savior was then forcibly pressed against the floor, the dent from before getting bigger and deeper.

Thanks to my senses being a lot more heightened thanks to my stats, I could already hear Jacob’s bones slowly breaking.

Then…

“Wait, Naomi. Don't.” I spoke up, causing her to look surprised as she turned to me.

“Are you serious, Monroe?” She says, annoyed. “Showing this bastard any mercy isn’t going to work. You saved his life, and he still behaves this way towards you.”

“I know…”

I knew what I was doing was a bit risky, but I also knew that Jacob wasn’t going to quit messing with me after Naomi did all of this. I needed to handle this situation my way.

Since Foyer was my bully now instead of Luke’s, I needed to deal with this on my terms. Since saving him from the Manticore wasn’t going to work, then let’s try another method.

“Release Jacob and his group and let me handle this. Please.”

Naomi looked hesitant, probably thinking that whatever I was planning to do wasn’t going to work. However, she soon faltered as she lowered her head in defeat.

“Fine…” She submits while releasing her [Gravitation] on the others, causing them to be free.

Jacob and his group then gasped and groaned in pain after enduring Naomi’s Talent. Meanwhile, I walked over to Jacob while he was still on the ground.

He then looked up at me with eyes filled with anger. I’m pretty sure they were a little bloodshot as well…

Regardless, it was time to end this.

“You want a rematch with me so bad, Foyer? Fine, then. We’ll do a rematch. I, Ethan Monroe, challenge Jacob Foyer to an Agoge Duel!”

Upon saying this, Naomi, Jacob, and his friends all looked at me with shocked expressions. Their eyes widened with surprise after hearing my declaration.

Agoge Duel. This is a term to describe a match between two Agoge Students. And it only happens when one student declares this to another.

However, this type of duel is a bit different…

“We’ll fight one month from today,” I declared. “This will prepare both of us, and I’ll inform the instructor as well to make this official. Now…get lost.”

I then motioned Jacob and his group to leave by pointing at the door. They didn’t do anything for a few moments before Naomi cleared her throat while glaring at them, telling them with her eyes that they should leave before it was too late.

They took the hint and got up to run away. None of them even looked back as they ran with their tails between their legs. Not even Jacob.

And then, it was just Naomi and me in the training hall. It was silent for a few moments, making this really awkward.

But…

“You do realize what you just did, right?” Naomi said, giving me a serious look.

“Yeah, I challenged Jacob to a duel,” I said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, an Agoge Duel! Do you have any idea how serious this is?!”

“I mean…”

I knew how serious this duel was since it was in the novel.

So, An Agoge Duel isn’t just some regular match between two people. This was something close to an actual fight of life or death.

Because of Agoge and its spartan traits, the academy always takes things to the extreme. And this match is one of them.

In the Novel, there were a few Agoge Duels that were written and described where one or both students of the match are severely injured and practically close to death. In fact, Luke is declared into a duel later on in the story, and as the Main Character, he obviously wins and brutally beats up his opponent.

They were no joke and were taken very seriously to the point that if someone declares a duel, the attention is all on them and their opponent.

It’s even worse when the top students do an Agoge Duel against one another. That shows how serious they are, and what is about to happen.

Still…

“This duel is the only way to make this idiot stop. If I fight him in a duel and defeat him, then everyone will see it, and they'll witness his defeat. The humiliation of being defeated in front of so many people, by someone of the lowest rank, will shut him down immediately.”

“But this is an Agoge Duel, Monroe. This isn’t going to be a fair fight. He will use whatever means he can to hurt you. Any methods that other duels deem cheating, will not work in this. Plus, you made the declaration, so he has even more freedom to do so!”

“Yeah, that’s the point.”

So, there’s actually a bit of a little-known rule about Agoge Duels, and that’s if one student declares it, the other student being declared into it will have some advantages during the match.

This was mainly used when stronger students challenge weaker students into a duel, but this case was different since the roles are reversed…or so it seems to others.

Anyway, since I declared it, Jacob can make a few terms or do something to gain an advantage in the fight. And I want him to so that even with whatever help he got, he will still lose and that will be the end of it.

I didn’t make this duel in the heat of the moment. I know what I’m doing.

Obviously, I considered [Absolute Misfortune] causing me trouble, but that was to be expected, and that wasn't going to stop me. Plus, I knew Jacob wouldn't declare the duel so I had to do it myself.

“Just because you won against the Manticore doesn't mean this is going to be easy,” Naomi warns me.

“I know what I’m doing. Also, are you really that worried over this?”

I don’t know why, but Naomi was really concerned about what I just did. I can tell with how strained her expression is out of stress.

When I asked this, I noticed Naomi’s face flushed as it turned slightly red. She was muttering a little bit.

“W-wha…I’m only telling you this because it’s stupid! I-I’m not that concerned!” Naomi crosses her arms before turning her back to me. “If you want to do this duel so bad, then fine!”

She then proceeds to walk away, or in this case, march away as she stomped her feet against the floor as she left.

Before she did though, I called out to her.

“Even if you’re not concerned, I’m grateful, anyways.”

Naomi stopped in her tracks after I said this. Her back was still turned to me as she stood there motionless for a moment. Although she said nothing, for some reason, I could tell that I didn’t offend her.

Then she spoke up…

“If you’re confident in this fight, then fine. I won’t convince you otherwise. Also, my debt to you from the Group Training Session is paid after listening to you and letting you handle this…”

Wait, is she talking about when I saved her from the Manticore? Could that be why she was here to talk to me before?

I know from the Novel that Naomi isn’t the type to owe people favors, so maybe she came here to see what she needed to do to clear her debt to me, then. This situation would definitely fit with it.

“That’s fine,” I said.

Though I said this, in my head, I’m a little dejected that I missed the opportunity to use Naomi’s debt to me to my advantage. If I had the chance, I would’ve used it somehow to get closer to her.

Hell, this would make things a lot easier for me to be her ally if I could. Unfortunately, I missed my chance.

Naomi then starts to walk away again before stopping once more. This time, though, something felt different.

“Also…”

As she spoke, I felt a slight pressure on my body like something was pushing against me. It was a familiar feeling like with the instructor or Isaac. Then I heard this…

Naomi was using her Talent on me…that wasn’t good. She was angry, or at least a little annoyed with me.

Hearing this, my body slowly loosened up from [Gravitation], but I made sure to act like I was still under its influence. I didn't want to risk getting on her bad side even more.

As I did, Naomi continued.

“Although we were on a team before, we are not close to each other…” She said in a cold tone. “Next time we see each other, you must address me as Matsumoto, not my first name. Understand?”

As she turned to look at me, I saw how menacing and distant her eyes were as they bored into me. She was making it clear from the start that we were not friends.

“U-Understood,” I said, faking a strained voice.

“This will be your only warning. Try not to forget next time…”

After saying this, she then walked away officially without looking back. I did my best to pretend that my body was released from her [Gravitation] Talent as I breathed a little heavily.

Once she was gone, I then laid down on the floor while looking up at the ceiling, sighing while doing so…

“Right, I called her Naomi instead of Matsumoto…”

I forgot that when you talk to Naomi, you need to address by her last name, like in her homeland. Plus, it’s a way to show your respect to her.

She takes formalities very seriously, and unless you’re close to her, you can’t address her like that. I’ll need to be more careful next time, or I’ll face her wrath.

Still…I can tell that Matsumoto is somewhat lenient with me. She’s usually very cold and haughty, but she didn’t feel that way when we spoke just now.

Looks like saving her life closed the distance between us a little bit. That makes things a little easier for me since I can use it to my advantage.

I once again sigh while wracking my head around all the things I had to do now. I got the second event, the Mid-Term exams, the duel, and getting close to Naomi and the others…

…I’m going to be quite busy now, aren’t I?

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