Chapter 51

Pausing for a moment before slowly nodding, Jenkins let go of her chin and finally retracted his wings.

My Lady, you should come down now.

Tilting her head in confusion, she hummed after realising he wanted her to stop squeezing him like she was riding a steed, and quickly descended. Taking care not to knock either of his arms.

Once she was firmly planted on the ground, Delphina could finally see the extent of the damage to the surrounding area.

“Wow, we really did a number on the floor! Those wings are insane… I kind of miss having a pair myself…”

Twitching her fingers, she began to trace the outline of the gouges in the air- reenacting the battle in her head. Half entranced, she was about to take a step forward when she felt a gentle touch on the back of her head.

Leaving her hand hovering in the air, she looked at the hair Jenkins was currently rearranging.

You didn’t hear what I just said, did you, my Lady?

Ah? Had he spoken to her? How had she missed that?

It was then that Delphina realised the peculiarity with herself; she was acting like someone who was half out of their mind. Startled, she checked to see if she’d accidentally damaged any of her Dantains, or even the Life Circuits in her head- but everything was fine.

“Sorry, Jenkins. Give me a moment, I feel a little… Disorientated.”

Of course, my Lady.

Briefly thinking back over the battle again, she tried to pinpoint when this issue might have begun- tucking her outstretched hand under her chin and letting Jenkins continue to fix her hair as she pondered.

Delphina slowly came to the realisation that there was something heinous afoot.

There was a stereotype that sometimes popped up in raunchier reading materials, and even some Otome games, but she didn’t remember it being present in Lovers of Mareveil.

The dreaded skill penalty or backlash.

Whilst it wasn’t actually related to skills (at least not in her case), it was a condition that could occur when a person used their own energy to influence themselves, or the World outside.

Unfortunately, the problem could manifest in many ways, including becoming the equivalent of a walking time bomb.

The sigh that Delphina let out was closer to an anguished moan than anything else. Now, it wasn’t far from ridiculous for this trope to pop up, but last she checked, ‘Sentinels’, ‘Espers’, and ‘Guides’ weren’t a thing in this World.

All she could do was cover her face with both hands out of embarrassment as she reflected on her behaviour towards Jenkins only moments ago.

“At least it looks like the only side effect of using my energy on Delphina’s body is just… I don’t know, she gets horny for battle? By the Gods, what a typical 19+ thing to happen.”

Removing her hands from her face, Delphina realised the skin was still somewhat sensitive to the touch, though it was quickly fading. Silently tutting, she knew the implications went further than just that.

“Thank you for waiting for me to collect myself. I haven’t actually sparred with anyone yet, and it just… Affected me more than I thought it would.”

Letting out a depreciative chuckle, she patted the ‘hand’ that was still tidying up her butchered hair tips.

Just a moment. Luckily, I didn’t take too much off my Lady.

“Sure, sure. Speaking of, don’t you think it was a bit mean? I noticed you can use your right arm just fine after all.”

I was hoping it would make you overconfident, my Lady.

Jenkins, like a killdeer, had tried to use his ‘broken’ arm as a means to lure her closer, ultimately so he could win the fight with ease. However, he had no way of knowing how fast she could really move.

“Tch, no wonder you didn’t concede defeat in the first bout. Sneaky.”

********

Time leapt forward after their conversation.

Jenkins left to inform the Soldier Captains of their guard duties (and to get himself quickly repaired) after promising her he would be back before the mid-stage of the Tournament at the latest. With a new weapon for her of course, he didn’t forget about the ruined Estoc.

Whilst she herself had finally had lunch with the two love-birds. However, she kept spacing out throughout the meal- earning a few new snide comments from Hayle, though Pietro retaliated for her with his favourite kidney punch.

Delphina was too busy marvelling at how the damage she had caused could be fixed in such a short space of time, but ultimately chalked it up to not knowing enough about the technology of this World just yet.

She was still concerned about how much carnage she was able to cause in just one blow. The Estoc was a sword that had no true cutting edge; in theory, it should have been closer to bludgeoning damage. Yet the sword cut through him so quickly…

Bringing herself back into the moment, Delphina looked over to Pietro, watching as he strode around, checking in on the different Velasques Knights

The set-up for the Tournament was almost complete.

The three of them had come straight over after having eaten, to give some reprieve to the staff who had sacrificed their lunch breaks; without them doing so, they wouldn’t be able to ensure everything would be set up in time.

However, Pietro had insisted that Delphina ‘stand aside’ so he could do the legwork for her.

“Well, it seems to make him happy at the very least.”

Scratching the back of her head in mild embarrassment, as she was the only one who seemed to just be lingering around while everyone worked hard. Delphina guiltily decided to go admire the arena that was now almost at completion.

The Silverwraiths had chosen the Plaza as the location for the Tournament; even with the addition of the Burgess’ Knights, there would still be plenty of space for onlookers. In testament to this, stacked benches were now being arranged to give a near-perfect three-hundred and sixty-degree view of the arena.

“And to think I’ll be getting a prime view of all the action, I can’t wait…”

The exuberance she felt disappeared just as quickly as it came, as she remembered Pietro’s shock and confusion at her ability to heighten her senses with her Life Energy. She had the feeling she was going to be underwhelmed by the so-called ‘ability’ of the Knights.

“And maybe even the Sword Masters I’m supposed to be going up against later today… Oh dear…”

Struggling to stop her face from twisting in pre-emptive disappointment, Delphina opted to give her face a gentle pat or two- as if somehow that would straighten it out. This didn’t go unmissed by Hayle, who was on his way back from the task he had been assigned by Pietro.

As the two awkwardly made eye contact, Hayle began to snigger quietly, until he was almost outright guffawing- realising he was being a little too rude in public. He placed a hand over his mouth to cover his grin.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Delphina knew that no one was close enough to stop her if she went for him.

Perhaps sensing her brief murderous intent, Hayle coughed a few times before waving.

“I have to say, Your Ladyship, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone actively fight against their own face before.”