Fiis mocking turned their faces bright red.

Hmph! I act modestly to give you face, and look at you getting ahead of yourself!

Yeah! Look at this scrawny thing.

Hmph.

Fii had no recollection of him ever acting modestly, but given that these boys were broken track records, she had concluded that it was stupid to spend any more time on them.

She turned away.

Can you get out of my way already? Talking here is a waste of time.

Fii had no intention of spending any longer on them, but because their bodies were in the way, she was finding it hard to leave.

Although the two glared at her, they didnt have the nerve to actually attack.

It was at that time that a large shadow appeared behind them.

The hell are you two doing?

A muscular body unthinkable for a boy, and a scary face like a gorilla. It was Gorms.

The moment they caught sight of him, the expressions of the duo turned joyful.

Gorms-san! This midget is acting cheeky even though he lost to you in the first round. Hes getting all ahead of himself because he entered the 18th!

Thats right! Please teach him his place!

Despite saying all that, in the end they were too afraid to act themselves, and pathetically borrowed somebody elses strength. Fii was astounded that they made it through the entrance exams.

But as expected, with Gorms here she wouldnt be able to win.

She had planned on giving her best if the argument with the boys had turned into a scuffle, but she already knew how strong Gorms was.

Not only that, the other two would be able to surround her.

Well, she was still going to struggle as best she could though.

(Is he going to attack?)

Or so she was wondering as she looked straight up, when she found Gorms looking right at her as well.

Gorms went for the collars. Of the two boys, that is.

Why the fuck do I have to listen to you? Fuck off.

Glared at by his scary face, the two boys ran away in tears.

Fii stared at him blankly.

Just like when they first met, Gorms gave another mocking smirk.

Honestly, you find their type everywhere, huh. Making fun of you because youre small even though they dont know the first thing about you.

You know, that sounds a little familiar

Seeing Gorms talk to her so familiarly, Fii raised her eyebrows, and narrowed her eyes into an astounded stare.

Dont be silly. I made fun of you because I was strong. It wasnt because you were tiny.

I see. Well you certainly are.

That wasnt something she could deny.

Because of various coincidences, she had managed to put up a long fight, but it wouldnt have been strange had he taken her down right at the beginning. And even with luck on her side, and even after she had given her all, in the end she couldnt win against him.

Hahhahha! So you admit it too. Im fucken strong. Its natural that I was the overall champion, laughed Gorms with his arms crossed, with the cold compress still on his forehead.

Under the compress was the bruise that Fii had given him with all her might.

But the hardest fight I had was the first match with you, yanno. You were slippery, and annoying, stubborn and cowardly too. Honestly, it was the worst.

From his words, Fii could tell that he had acknowledged her.

I see. So I was the one that gave you the hardest fight.

Thats how it is. Dont pay any attention to those idiots.

Mn. Ehehe, she laughed happily.

Gorms sat down on the chair next to hers. His expression turned serious.

Im sorry for telling you to go home. You were desperately giving your all. And you had balls too.

Nah, dont worry about it. Im sorry for calling you a gorilla too.

Im begging you, dont make me remember that

Having the gorilla thing brought up again, Gorms looked seriously depressed now.

Fii really did feel guilty, so seeing that, she tried to cheer him up telling him that she was just getting him back, and that he didnt really look like one.

(And even if you do look like a gorilla, youre a very cool gorilla) she thought in her heart.

After his expression returned to normal, Gorms turned to Fii with a clenched fist.

Well, next time things wont go your way, so prepare yourself. This time Ill really send you flying in a hit.

Then Id better think of a new tactic to confuse you the next time as well.

Put some of that effort into your sword first, dammit muttered a pale Gorms.

He couldnt feel even a little chivalry from her reply.

By the way, if you claimed the overall victory, does that mean that youre the strongest out of all the apprentice knights?

Having completely put Gorms into her friends category, Fiis tone was without reserve.

Obviously! Or so I wanna say, but were actually divided into blocks, so its hard to say. A total of 11 other guys made it in their own blocks. Well, Im probably still the strongest though.

I see~ So even youre still just the top 12 huhh.

OI!

Gorms glared at Fii for so easily demoting him in her eyes.

Ahaha, looks like the two of us are going to have to work hard, Gorms.

Yeah. Youre right.

Fii and Gorms smiled at each other.

By the by, the reason this chapter came a little later is because I was waiting for a response from NEET-sensei. I wasnt quite sure about the line,

Gorms gave another mocking smirk.

but surprisingly, the reply came with not only a detailed explanation, but a picture as well.

Let us all bask in the glory of not only Senseis writing skills, but illustrative wonders as well.

Since this is a rare-ish case of the author actually giving permission, if you have anything you want to say, feel free to let me know, and Ill pass the message along. I probably wont be able to translate it though. Alternatively, you can register an account at syosetu and message NEET-Sensei directly.