The commoner girl scanned the nearby people who were all looking at her and gritted her teeth.
"It's not cowardly at all. It's survival! We have all learned what happens if we challenge the nobles. The nobles we challenge might leave us alone, but the bullies among those nobles would make our lives a living hell."
She wiped the tears slowly filling her eyes.
"The only way to survive is to forfeit and not challenge the nobles at all. I had applied last year too, and I'd seen the same thing happen back then. In a Phase Two duel between a noble boy and a commoner girl, the commoner girl forfeited the moment the match started, just like that boy did moments ago."
The people looking at her made a troubled face. And they all shared the same thoughts.
They felt that the boy who had forfeited was extremely pitiful. Despite reaching Phase Three at such a young age, he had to bow before authority just because he was a commoner.
***
