Chapter 74
After the sparring ended, Eriksen said he still had a schedule to keep and left the training grounds, while I headed to the cafeteria to eat dinner after taking a quick rinse in the showers.
“…….”
Perhaps because it was peak alti, the cafeteria was crowded.
When I entered, the noisy din quieted a little.
Feeling the gazes pouring in from all sides, I walked forward with a calm expression.
‘The level of attention’s gone up even more than before.’
Up until now, I had drawn eyes because of the top student title and the trouble with upperclassn.
But today, the density felt especially thicker.
Still, what could I do? Even if they harbored bad feelings toward , there wouldn’t be anyone bold enough to pick a fight with
head-on.
“Pile it on.”
I was hungry after having moved my body thoroughly while grappling with Eriksen.
So I loaded up my plate and looked for a suitable table.
Every guy whose eyes t mine trembled and turned his head away, making
feel as if I’d beco so kind of monster.
‘This isn’t so delinquent from my school days.’
Of course, my current situation couldn’t be compared to that.
If I felt like it, I could actually take their heads.
“Over here!”
Just as I was looking for an appropriately empty seat, feeling sorry about inconveniencing others, a familiar voice called out to .
Turning my head, I spotted people occupying an entire table.
“Ostia.”
Alice, Leysias, and the others waved at .
When I approached, Werner made an empty spot for .
“Ostia, is it true you’re participating in the Academic Festival?”
“So word already got out.”
When I looked at Leysias, she clasped her hands apologetically, as if saying it couldn’t be helped.
Well, I had planned to tell everyone anyway.
When I nodded that it was fine, they all let out impressed murmurs.
“Isn’t it unprecedented for a first-year to participate in the Academic Festival?”
Yuria looked at us with sparkling eyes.
Elysia and the others wore similar expressions.
“I didn’t expect to get an opportunity like this either.”
Leysias also looked proud.
Since the rules would be revised starting next year to allow first-years to participate, I wondered if it was really that big of a deal, but judging by their reactions, it seed I’d been mistaken.
“There’s not much ti left if it’s next month.”
“It’s held for a week, right?”
“With classes during the weekdays, it’ll be hard to go watch.”
“Werner, isn’t that your hotown?”
Alice looked at him as if she’d just realized it.
In response, Werner thumped his chest and spoke proudly.
“That’s right. It’s a bit far from the Empire, but it’s still a great place, you know?”
“So which field are you competing in?”
Elysia asked with an interested expression.
“I’m participating in the Sagittarius Seat tournant as the representative of the Swordsmanship Departnt, and Leysias is participating as the representative of the Magic Departnt.”
The Sagittarius Seat tournant was a competition where participants from four fields—martial combat, magic, spirits, and others—each tested their strength.
It took up the largest portion of the Academic Festival events and was also the most renowned competition.
“If you both win in your respective fields, you’ll end up fighting each other, right?”
“Ah, that was a thing too.”
Among the Sagittarius Seat tournants, the winners of each field also fought a final match among themselves.
That determined the winning field of the year, which then beca the the for that year.
For reference, last year’s the was ‘magic.’
“Even if Ostia might, the chances on my side are slim. There are already many upperclassn who are better than .”
“Really? I think you’ve got a chance.”
At Leysias’s humble words, I smiled faintly.
The Sheffield Count Family she belonged to was a prestigious magic house.
In particular, Leysias specialized in high-speed chanting and parallel operation of magic.
In other words, she was a mage specialized for real combat.
Her level could likely contend with not only her own year but even those a year or two above.
At the very least, she’d probably rank high in the Academic Festival.
‘Then as for …….’
If we were to discuss my opponents at this point, they’d be those evaluated as strong figures of each nation, like Arthur of Britain.
Excluding the hero-class monsters who only appeared later, I had no equal among my peers.
‘Those guys hole up in so remote mountain valley or their own abode and do nothing but train until the demon realm army appears, so this is my world.’
“…For , well. Winning would be easy.”
When I nodded confidently, they laughed with expressions that said, of course.
“Ostia, it feels strange because nothing you do seems strange anymore.”
“Everyone thinks that. You’re not an ordinary person.”
Werner responded to Yuria’s words with a aningful smile.
Diark still looked carefree and impressed, but Werner’s remark rubbed
the wrong way.
‘Look at this guy?’
Judging by the way he spoke, it seed he’d figured out my identity to so extent.
Well, considering he’d been constantly frequenting the information guild from the beginning to keep tabs on the Empire’s movents, it’d be harder not to know.
‘Then was his approach to
on the first day of the sester, bringing up Alice and all that, part of his plan too?’
After that, I didn’t think I’d seen him trying to appeal to Alice again.
Not that it mattered.
I’d wanted to get close to him as well.
If he approached first, it saved
the trouble, so I was rather grateful.
“A first-year winning in the very first year they participate. That’d be sothing to see.”
Elysia smiled as she spoke, as if imagining the scene.
The others wore similar expressions.
By next year, most of the people here would probably be able to participate in the Academic Festival.
Wouldn’t that make it even more interesting?
Ti flew by like an arrow.
That said, it wasn’t like I did anything particularly special.
I simply attended classes, trained, and prepared for the Academic Festival like everyone else.
And now, on the day before departing for the Kingdom of Dedrio for the Academic Festival, I was sparring in the training grounds with two girls.
“Ha!”
A rigid sword strike, reminiscent of her father, swung steadfastly.
She still lacked strength, but her montum and spirit were no lesser.
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to face , but as if to make up for the shortcomings, Alice’s sword stealthily followed from behind.
If compared, it was a collaboration between an orthodox knight’s sword and an assassin’s.
The attack was no easy matter to deal with.
“It’s decent, but.”
Technique against power, steadfastness against sharpness.
I twisted my wrist and deflected Elysia’s sword, which was coming down head-on, to the side.
Still lacking in proficiency, she fell for my technique, her sword’s trajectory going astray and striking the floor instead.
Alice’s attack ended the sa way.
‘It might actually be better if she fought alone.’
Perhaps because she was an assassin, she excelled at fights that made use of others, but when it ca to coordinated attacks, she was close to failing.
She rely used Elysia’s attack as a discarded card, failing to properly bring out the subtlety of coordination.
As a result.
Tap.
“Ugh?!”
After nullifying all the attacks coming at , I slipped in between and lightly pushed their chests.
They let out groans and rolled helplessly across the floor.
“…Haa, the gap just doesn’t seem to be closing.”
The sparring that had gone on for hours ca to an end.
Lying on the training grounds floor, Elysia complained with a tired sigh.
Alice, sprawled beside her, pressed her face to the floor and mumbled sothing.
Neither of them had gone all out, but the sa was true for .
Even if we used the sa level of power, the effectiveness differed by more than double, so from their perspective, they couldn’t help but feel a wall.
To put it taphorically, they were still growing sprouts.
If they continued to grow slowly like this, they’d eventually beco far stronger than in the original work.
“So work harder.”
I truly looked forward to that day.
The day to depart for the Kingdom of Dedrio arrived.
After lunch, we held a send-off ceremony, receiving farewells from all the students, like an army heading off to war.
Chris, the dean, gave brief advice in a solemn manner to us, including Carius.
In the end, she even winked at
slightly so that only I could see, and I wished she wouldn’t do cute things with that elderly appearance.
After leaving the Academy, we headed to the teleport gate on Beatrice’s Road.
With Carius at the head, everyone entered, and we soon transferred to the Kingdom of Dedrio.
“…Oh.”
I closed my eyes briefly and opened them, and the surroundings had changed.
If the Empire’s capital, Polfoardel, was a refined dieval Baroque-style city, then the Kingdom of Dedrio was filled with angular, towering Gothic-style buildings.
‘Working as an editor really did increase my stock of odd knowledge.’
In truth, I’d just picked that up roughly while giving manuscript feedback.
I didn’t even know the ‘art’ in art, but if you threw out nas that sounded plausible like Baroque or Gothic, didn’t it seem like you knew sothing?
“Welco, Bayern Academy. I am Gareth, the student council president of Madrid Academy of the Kingdom of Dedrio.”
After exiting the teleport gate, a person who’d been waiting greeted us.
Unlike those I’d seen in the Empire, Gareth was a dashing handso man drawn with bold, strong lines.
If I had to compare, he’d be of the sa type as Arthur.
His short, dark brown hair left a strong impression.
He smiled and exchanged a few words with Carius, the leader of our delegation.
We boarded the prepared carriages and headed straight for Madrid Academy, where the Academic Festival would be held.
In our carriage sat three people in total: myself, Leysias beside , and Eriksen sitting across from her.
“Normally the Swordsmanship Departnt and Magic Departnt are assigned separately, but since you’re both first-years, Senior Louis was considerate. You seed pretty close when I saw you last ti.”
Eriksen looked at her with curiosity.
I wondered if he’d switched targets from Elysia to Leysias this ti, but she responded with a thin smile that said not a chance.
“I take the sa classes as Ostia.”
“Ah, you said you’re double-majoring. It’d be tough with just the sword, but magic too. You work hard.”
“The world’s a harsh place.”
When I shrugged and said that, Eriksen burst out laughing.
“The Academic Festival really starts tomorrow. Since it’s also a festival, today’s probably free ti for individual activities. Got any plans?”
“Not really.”
Since I hadn’t planned anything for today, I glanced at Leysias.
Her eyes shone as she said there was sowhere she wanted to go.
“If nothing cos up, I’ll probably be with her.”
“…Damn youth.”
When I shrugged again to that effect and looked at Eriksen, he muttered with a gloomy expression.
Then he crossed his arms and sighed, saying he might as well go hunting on his own.
Eriksen was handso too, so he’d probably manage just fine.
Soon enough, the carriage arrived at Madrid Academy.
It was less flashy than Bayern Academy, but its antique atmosphere stood out.
“Welco to Madrid Academy, the greatest pride of the Kingdom of Dedrio.”
As we stepped down from the carriage and admired it with murmurs of awe, Gareth greeted us with a smile.
“…….”
However, the fact that his narrowed eyes briefly swept past
was probably sothing only I noticed.
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