I Quit Being The Male Lead’s Rival

After the friendly match, Annabelle and Ian were asked to be interviewed by a magazine called .

was a monthly publication purchased by children interested in swordsmanship at bookstores.

Since the readers were children, there was not much content, and they used to compile various contents of swordsmanship books or simply publish the history of famous swords.

And one of the things Annabelle and Ian had in common was that they didn't read in their childhood.

Annabelle couldn't read it because Caitlyn didn't buy it, and Ian didn't read it because he knew it anyway.

"Interview?"

Ian tilted his head as he looked into the interview request letter.

"I haven't had any requests since I was 18, but all of a sudden…"

In fact, he had previously been interviewed by .

Ian was the idol of all children who had the books, so it was natural to want to include him in another interview.

Ian didn't want anyone's attention, but he willingly accepted the interview because he thought it was for a growing child.

If it were another magazine or newsletter, he would have refused at once, but he was weak at the word 'children'.

But since then, he had never been asked to do so.

Ian himself didn't know why, but the truth was that the interview was terribly dull.

He couldn't tell whether he was in an interview or reading a textbook.

Children got with hope, but lost interest after reading less than half of it.

Adult swordsmen, who bought even though they were not children themselves, also quietly changed the book to a pot coaster.

「It is important to work hard every day with a posture that is not proud, and to refine yourself with a mind that is not compared to others.」

It was all about that, and the children were very disappointed and said to themselves, 'I would rather read an ethics book than read this'.

'At least you're studying in front of your parents.'

Of course, at that time in , they contacted not only Ian but also Annabelle, who was in second place, for the interview.

"XX, Ian, you're so cheeky. I'll do XX next time. XX, XX…"

However, an employee who had a word with Annabelle canceled it at the end.

It would be more interesting than Ian's interview, but the content wasn't really for children.

Four years later, once again planned an interview to commemorate the friendly match.

It was because there were rumors in the capital that Annabelle had found her biological parents and became a new person, so they decided that she would not act the same this time.

In the meantime, except that one was too common sense and the other was too clueless, the interview itself was actually a great plan.

Both were the best swordsmen in the empire who fought off black magic, so it was symbolic, and Annabelle capturing the top spot in the friendly match was enough to stir the entire empire.

"No matter how boring Ian Wade is, the situation is fun, so it should be fine. When asked about the feeling of defeat for the first time, he said, 'Don't be proud and work hard every day'.

"No matter how strange Annabelle Rainfield may be, she won't be bashing her lover after winning. I think it's pretty good."

The people in charge of asked Annabelle and Ian for an interview under reasonable judgment.

Of course, there was one variable.

"But Ian… Turns out he was a little out of his mind. Will it be okay?"

The editor-in-chief thought for a moment and then replied coolly.

"If you think it's weird, you can cut it out. After all, even the darkest parts are cut out anyway. For this interview, I have to go personally."

And the interview request was immediately accepted.

In addition to , Annabelle responded gracefully to all requests for interviews from numerous news and daily newspapers.

"I like getting attention. You can ask a lot of questions in detail."

Ian also said, "If it's for children…I'll accept it the same way as before."

That was how the special interview between the two began.

"Now, you can answer comfortably."

The editor-in-chief, who conducted the interview in person, instructed the staff next to him to record the interview from now on, and asked a question lightly.

"In the meantime, Annabelle has done her best to beat Ian. Can you give me an honest review of the past?"

She did her best to not give up, and as a result, she finally won.

"I would like to know what lessons we can learn from this series of events."

Ian, who had been immersed in reminiscences for a moment, opened his mouth.

"…Back in the days when she was madly obsessed with me, swearing at me, and rushing at me recklessly, the time when Annabelle came to visit every day, even if she didn't have to…"

After choosing words for a while, he spoke with a more serious expression on his face.

"Come to think of it now, to be honest, those were really good days. But back then I didn't know it was that good."

The editor politely nodded, but inwardly vowed, 'I'll cut this.'

However, Ian's expression was so serious that he couldn't stop talking in the middle.

"This is where I learned the lesson that I should be grateful for familiar things."

In the meantime, Ian even faithfully complied with the demand for a lesson.

The editor then thought, 'It's true that he's a little crazy. Still, he answered the question.' and smiled a business smile.

"Well, then… Now, Miss Annabelle. Please tell me how you feel after beating your opponent when you have been obsessed with winning."

The editor-in-chief continued to Annabelle this time.

"You've always followed the words of Caitlyn and Reid, and I heard that you finally got the nickname of the strongest. How do you feel about ending Ian's era? And, one day, your time will come to an end, so can you explain the lesson to the children readers?"

The editor-in-chief was quite proud because it seemed like a pretty in-depth question to someone who had ended one's time and had risen to the new strongest.

It was a good question to hear honestly about the feelings of winning, the loneliness of the strongest position, and the sense of despondency that one day they should go down.

"Oh."

Annabelle answered brightly and cheerfully.

"There's nothing forever in the world. For example, would you have thought that Ian would lose to me in the last eight years? That's why he must have been quiet without even boasting about his metals. How stupid."

"…What?"

"I don't know when I'll come down from the strongest position, so I have to do as much as I can while I can show off. Of course, as rice grows riper, the lower it bows its head." (tl/n: the expression meant humans should still be humble about their achievements as time goes by.) Read only at pm tl.

The editor-in-chief again vowed to cut this.

In the end, the interview for was much shorter than the original plan.

~*~

"Whoah."

On the day of the release of , which featured a special interview between Annabelle Rainfield and Ian Wade, there was a person who woke up early in the morning and had his eyes sparkling.

"Did you get it right? Even though it's the first day of release, did you check that it was the first edition?"

"Yes. Here, I've got everything right."

The five volumes of were dedicated to the Emperor from dawn.

The servant had been in line in front of the bookstore since last night under the order of the emperor.

"Well, it's thinner than I thought. That's not a lot. I think I've heard that they were interviewing for a long time, but it must have been a rumor…"

The emperor carefully took out four books, one for Emperor, one for decoration, one for emergency, and one for boasting, and then carefully opened the remaining one for reading. (tl/n: he basically bought 4 copies of the same thing oml)

"I wonder if there's a saying that people like me can do it if I try! There have been many sayings that I have no talent since I was young, but after all, it is probably never too late in life. Just as Annabelle defeated Ian in the end, even from today, if I work hard every day…!"

The Emperor took the decorative wooden sword that was on his desk sternly in his hand and began to read the interview carefully.

The Emperor, who read hard, finally got to the question he was looking for, and even gave strength to the wooden sword he was resolutely holding.

「Q. Lastly, what would you say to children who are frustrated because they lack talent?

A. (Ian Wade) Since swordsmanship is not everything in life, there is no need to be frustrated. Life is ultimately up to you. Rather than get hurt by the lack of talent, you just have to live every day with the mindset that you want to grow better than you were yesterday.

A. (Annabelle Rainfield) Keep in mind that even if you do your best and grow more than you were yesterday, you may eventually grow up to be an adult without talent. And if you don't have talent, you can get hurt really badly if you hold a sword for no reason, so don't do it as a hobby if it's like that. If you're aiming to shoot over a tree where you won't make it after ten shots, put aside the poor tree and keep in mind that your arm would hurt afterwards."

Anyways, Ian's interview answers were not that interesting, so the Emperor skipped his parts and read Annabelle's answers and quickly became depressed.

"…Right. Anyways, my knee has been bad lately…"

He muttered gloomily, and quietly put his wooden sword back into place. (tl/n: oh to dream…)