Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 25

Twenty-Fifth Chapter 

The Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament 

The annual Seven Nations Friendship Magical Tournament was popular not just among Magicmasters but the common folk as well. 

It was being held in the eastern nation of Iblis, the nation that had the largest surface area. The neighborhood around the tournament stadium was a massive sightseeing district built by the seven nations together. 

The stadium could seat 50,000 and had been repurposed from a huge building that was built before the international collaboration, with fitting decorations attached to it. 

Nearby were all kinds of commercial facilities, as well as hotels and other accommodations dotted about. 

It was standard for the tournament’s contestants and staff to reserve an entire large hotel. The hotel also had dedicated facilities that did not accept regular guests during the tournament. 

Finally, it was the day before the tournament. 

Alpha’s contestants gathered at the Institute’s front gates early in the morning. Every year, they would arrive at the hotel a day before the tournament began. 

Considering the crowd that had gathered, there was no way they were all contestants. In fact, it was mainly supporters, with large flags and banners here and there. 

Although today was a holiday, the students weren’t allowed to see the contestants off. Because of that, the line of people related to the Institute who were seeing them off was surprisingly short. And at the front of the line was the principal herself. 

Alus and Loki hadn’t arrived yet. It wasn’t until after the farewell that they came to join the rest. By that time, the other contestants had already loaded into the two large magic buses prepared for them. 

Alus was carrying something long wrapped in cloth. It was about the length of his arm and looked like a massive matchstick. 

“You’re late!” Tesfia shouted, poking her head out of a window. 

Alus answered with a big yawn. Of course, this was just by instinct and not meant to provoke her. If he were to redo it so as to not invite misunderstanding, he’d say that he made it in time for the gathering itself, which was true so long as one ignored that they’d just barely showed up on time. 

“I knew we should have gone to wake him up.” Alice, sitting next to Tesfia, also stuck her head out the window. 

“Just hurry up and get on,” Sisty rushed them in a scolding tone. 

Alus couldn’t exactly say, “It would be faster to run there, so go on without me,” considering the atmosphere. 

Most of the luggage had been sent to the hotel ahead of time, but quite a few contestants were holding onto their AWRs out of enthusiasm. 

As Magicmasters, it wasn’t strange for them to always be carrying their precious AWRs with them. Tesfia had of course brought hers, and Alice had brought the one she’d borrowed from the Institute, leaving them in the space made for them at the rear. 

Though Alus wasn’t one to talk though... 

“Oh? What’s that?” Sisty, who’d just rushed Alus, asked him this before he could get on the bus. 

The students inside the magic bus also looked out the windows in curiosity. Even Felinella, who’d been waiting outside the bus as the contestant representative, had an interested look in her eyes. 

They all stared at the huge matchstick-like item that Alus was carrying. The primary reason for the interest was because it was covered in white cloth. Because of that, it was impossible to determine any fine details or guess how it was used. 

“That’s a secret. I was late because of this, but you’ll find out soon enough,” Alus said with a cool face, as he entered the magic bus with Loki. 

Once aboard, he looked towards the very rear of the passage. Seated on the five-seat row against the back were Tesfia and Alice, patting the empty seats next to them. It wasn’t like all the other seats were full, but Tesfia had a patronizing look like she’d done them a favor by reserving the seats. 

While it didn’t sit well with Alus, he and Loki sat down next to them. 

Seated on the row was Alus by the window, followed by Loki, then Alice, with Tesfia sitting by the window on the other side. 

Ciel apparently got motion sickness easily so she was sitting at the front, and Felinella sat next to her with a worried expression. 

“What is that?” Tesfia asked, as soon as they sat down. She was of course looking at the item wrapped in cloth in Alus’ hands. 

It was a pretty rude attitude, but since it had been the reason he and Loki were late, he decided to tell her. “It’s Alice’s AWR.” 

“—!!” “—!!” 

Tesfia and Alice gasped in surprise, while Loki, who’d been with Alus the entire time, already knew what it was and looked uninterested, if not even a little unhappy. 

“Huh? Uh, but...” Alice waved her hands in a fluster, and while happy, she hesitated to accept it. 

AWRs were especially expensive things. Alice didn’t have her own AWR and was borrowing one from the Institute, mostly due to financial reasons. There were also quite a few other students borrowing AWRs from the Institute. 

“Well, if you don’t want it, that’s fine. But know that you’re the only one that can use this.” 

“Uhm, I’m happy about that... but I don’t have any money.” 

“Don’t worry about the money. It’s partly an experiment too.” 

Even though he said this, Alice knew that Alus had no sense for money and couldn’t help but worry. The more she thought about how much it must’ve cost, the harder it was for her to accept. 

On a side note, the AWR had cost an astounding 34,000,000 Deld. 

Seeing Alice be so reserved, Alus pondered what to do. “It’s an apology for something? ...Or rather, a birthday present.” 

“Uh, but my birthday was in June.” 

“If it’s already past, then that’s all the more reason. Sorry your present is late.” Alus thought a little more and then decided to make the final push. “Alice, you really are the only one that can use this. So if you don’t accept it, all my efforts will have gone to waste.” 

“... Are you sure?” 

“Well, just consider it an investment in the future.” 

That prompted not only Alice, but also Tesfia to smile wryly. 

Thinking about it, this was all so Alus could take it easy in the future. And he honestly felt 34,000,000 Deld was a cheap price to pay for that. 

“Thank you, Al.” Alice finally accepted it. However, it was only about as long as an adult’s arm, about the same length as Tesfia’s katana, and it was quite different from the naginata that Alice specialized in. 

“Don’t worry, it has a new kind of mechanism that extends it, it’ll get longer. Besides, I think a spear suits you better than a naginata. Also, if you’re going to thank someone, it should be old man Budna.” 

“Yes!” Hearing that, Alice gave Alus a smile of gratitude. 

“I’m just glad it made it in time for the tournament. I also need to explain some things, so keep the cloth on for a while as you listen.” Alus pointed to the space for putting belongings at the rear of the bus. Tesfia’s katana and Alice’s naginata were already there. Of course, the naginata’s blade was covered by something similar to a scabbard. 

“Well, it’s a little flashy to show here,” Loki noted. 

“A little, is it?” Alus tilted his head at Loki’s words. 

“I would say it’s sublime.” 

“I guess... anyways.” But before he could continue, gravity closed Alus’ eyelids. He looked like he was about to nod off. 

“Are you okay?” Alice asked. 

“The tournament’s tomorrow, and you’ve skipped out on sleeping again?” Tesfia said. 

Both girls looked concerned. 

“I’m fine... is what I’d like to say, but I guess that won’t work.” Alus wanted to surrender to the drowsiness that was relentlessly assaulting him. This was exhaustion from having finished his job, and the bags under his eyes said the same thing. Loki had accompanied him for most of it, so her exhaustion was on a similar level. 

“You can save the explanation for later. So why not just get some sleep, okay? We’ll be all right, so just take a rest,” Alice said. 

Alus was already dozing off as Alice spoke, and he gave her a feeble answer, “Sorry.” He then leaned against the window next to him. 

The first leg of the trip was estimated to take four hours. On the way, they’d be using a transfer gate and change over to a different bus. There was more than enough time to catch some Zs. 

Also, since the magic bus floated above the road, there was next to no shaking during the journey, so nothing would get in the way of his sleep. 

Or nothing should have... 

“By the way... my birthday is in October...” A soft whisper reached Alus’ ears. Perhaps it had been aimed at slipping her message into his subconscious as he was falling asleep. 

Based on the distance, or even the tone for that matter, Alus could easily tell who the voice belonged to, and his eyes snapped open. “What kind of a person makes demands like that herself?” 

“Hey! I wasn’t really making any demands, I was just letting you know in advance so you wouldn’t forget!” 

“That’s what you call a demand. In that case, I’ll get you an extra-heavy textbook as a present. I can already imagine you crying tears of joy as you study.” 

“What? A textbook?! ...Well, if it’s a heartfelt present from you then I’ll gladly try to put some effort into it.” 

“Effort, is it...” 

Tesfia was putting up a brave front, but she couldn’t hide her disappointment, and Alus himself sounded fed up with it. 

Loki smiled wryly as she listened to the two. She would be overwhelmed with emotion no matter what if Alus gave it to her... While entertaining that thought, she touched the pendant hanging down from her neck. However, she could also understand how Tesfia felt, albeit just a little. 

She shouldn’t expect anything more. She’d already tasted enough happiness. Asking for any more would be greedy. But she couldn’t help but think what if. Expectations and restraints... two contrary emotions whirled around within Loki. What would happen if— 

“Oh yeah, Loki, when was yours?” 

Loki felt like her heart would leap out of her chest at Alus’ sudden question. “M-Mine...?! It’s... in October too.” 

“Really? When?” Alice immediately jumped onto the birthday topic. 

“The 20th...” 

“That’s close to Fia’s!” 

“Mine is on the 16th!” Tesfia said. 

Loki found herself exasperated by her brazen attitude. 

Following this, Tesfia carefreely threw another question at Alus. “When’s your birthday, Al?” 

That was something Loki could never ask, so despite her surprise and panic, she strained her ears to pick up what he said. 

“What? ...Are you going to give me something?” 

“W-Well, I can at least do something like that! Besides, a birthday is a wonderful day celebrating when you were born, and it’s a means of showing gratitude for the people you’ve met and a way to experience the joy your parents felt when you came into this world.” 

“... And who taught you that?” 

“I’ll get angry, you know.” Tesfia had tried to say something nice, only for Alus to put a damper on her, and while she looked mad on the outside, surprisingly, she was thinking about something else. 

Though she was simplistic, she hadn’t posed the question without thinking. She felt like Alus’ birthday would be a good opportunity to show her thanks for everything he’d done. Or rather, considering how awkward she was, that was about the only time she could be a little honest about it. 

The truth was that she actually quite liked events like that. Ever since childhood, she’d gone to a lot of birthday parties for noble families that also served as debuts into noble social life, but they’d all felt a bit empty and boring. 

Meanwhile, the small birthday party for Alice with just the two of them had been incredibly fun. Of course, that was in part because Alice was her best friend. 

Alus was unaware of those kinds of feelings, and he furrowed his brows in hesitation. He had never once in his life had anyone ask him about his birthday like this. He didn’t have to go out of his way not to tell her, but he didn’t really have any reason to say it, either. 

When he’d been in the military, he had memories of his birthday being celebrated, but he had felt like it had been a waste of time that would be better spent on research. 

To Alus, a birthday was something the adults around him forced upon him for their own purposes. To put it bluntly, it was a day for the adults to play with him like a toy. 

Eventually, he made his decision. “It’s on the second of April...” Or at least that’s what had been decided, but Alus kept that bit to himself. 

Next to him, Loki gulped as she furiously committed the date to memory. 

Tesfia, meanwhile, smiled and said, “Okay, I got it. Let’s make it a grand celebration!” 

“It’ll be next year, but let’s all celebrate together. Okay, Al?!” Alice followed up, and it appeared that it was a unanimous vote that a birthday party would be held. 

A single glance at Loki made it clear that she was in agreement as well. 

Alus sighed as he thought about it. It might be a little troublesome, but it was something that accompanied a peaceful life. To be honest, he’d forgotten all about his birthday when he enrolled at the Institute, but now it had come back again. 

“I’ll think about it.” With that, Alus closed his eyes. Having already fallen asleep, he had no way of knowing what kind of expressions the girls had. 

Next to him, Loki was blushing, and while she felt it was unsightly, she couldn’t help herself. She knew it was still far off in the future, but her expectations were ever growing. Seeing this unexpected result, she reconsidered her opinion of the bold redhead. 

Meanwhile, Tesfia felt something similar, as she smiled and reflected on what he’d said. As someone who enjoyed giving presents, she immediately got to work on secretly considering what to give him. Ignoring price and usefulness, she found joy in thinking about what to choose, and it even made her feel giddy. 

Strangely enough, Alus seemed to have touched on an unknown part of a woman’s emotions. Though it wasn’t like he’d done it on purpose... 

Eventually two hours passed. 

Alice was having a conversation with Tesfia in a quiet voice. They’d been concerned that they wouldn’t be able to sleep last night because of their nerves, but it had been a needless worry. The reason they were whispering was because Alus and Loki were sleeping next to them. 

Alus was leaning against the window with his arms crossed and eyes closed. The position he was in looked like it would be uncomfortable. 

The silver-haired girl was leaning against him, asleep, with her head resting on his shoulder. 

Hearing Loki’s soft breathing, Alice lowered her tone a little more. 

Tesfia was enjoying the idle chat when she suddenly turned to look at the AWR behind them. “... That’s bothering me a little.” 

“I know, right?” Alice’s answer was immediate. Of course she would be very interested in it as well. 

The two were overcome with a child’s curiosity to want to see something that was forbidden. They exchanged awkward smiles. 

Alus had fallen asleep without explaining the new AWR, but with it being within arm’s reach, it was only natural that they’d want to take a peek. 

“Say, why don’t we just sneak a look...” Tesfia said. 

“That’s true, if it’s just a quick look...” Alice said. 

As they whispered, they felt a little guilty as they looked over at Alus. He wasn’t moving a muscle, still fast asleep. They’d never been told they couldn’t take a look at it, but they still moved cautiously. 

Without making a sound, they turned around, kneeling on the seats and unconsciously gulping as they looked at the rod covered in a white cloth. 

Tesfia had been the one to suggest it, but it had been given to Alice, so she was the one that reached out towards it. 

“I’m opening it, okay?” Alice said, still feeling a little guilty. 

The redhead nodded in response. 

Alice took the cloth and slid it to the side to remove it. 

“—!!” “—!!” 

She slid the cloth back in reflex, hiding the AWR behind it once more. After taking a deep breath, she moved the cloth away once again. 

At the same moment, a dim light began to overflow. Like Alus said, just looking at the handle made it clear that it was a spear. It wasn’t bright, but it had an impactful golden sheen. 

The handle had grooves in a mesh pattern for an easy grip. The two girls stared at it with wide-open eyes. They also understood now what Loki had meant by ‘flashy.’ 

Alice gave up on sliding the cloth off any further, and put it back where it had been with a relieved sigh. 

Once they’d properly sat back down in their seats, they started talking again. 

“T-That looks expensive, doesn’t it?” Tesfia breathed. 

“Y-Yeah...” 

Alice was happy, but she felt even more nervous about accepting it now. “It can’t be made out of that ingot he bought in Folen, right?” She recalled the price of the ingot and shuddered. 

“S-Surely not...” Tesfia tried to play it off, but there was a tremor in her voice. 

Alice recalled Alus saying it was a special kind of metal that could be used to make an AWR. And that memory began turning her suspicion into conviction. “But if it is... then this is definitely custom-made.” 

“Probably...” 

At this point, just thinking about its worth gave Alice a headache. The pressure would crush her if she thought about it anymore. She’d feel a lot better if she was just borrowing it, but as a Magicmaster she still felt elevated over handling an AWR like this one. 

Unsure of what to do, Alice ended up repeatedly telling herself that it was just an experiment.

The magic bus continued on, and they passed Alpha’s border and entered the neighboring country of Clevideet. 

The road along the way wasn’t fully maintained, so the magic bus couldn’t head in a straight line but instead had to take a large detour. Because of that, they passed through several transfer gates, and at Iblis they switched to another magic bus. 

The students didn’t reach their destination until evening was almost upon them. 

At the hotel parking lot were several magic buses already. By now the hotel was no longer accepting regular guests, so they must have belonged to the other contestants. 

The hotel looked luxurious and gorgeous, as Alus gazed up at it. Around the six-story hotel were seven buildings, one for each nation, as a means of keeping contestants from different nations from running into each other. This was intended to stop any fights from breaking out between overzealous contestants, and also to prevent them from spying on each other. 

That said, the tournament consisted mostly of one on one battles, and since affinities played a big part in it, the nations were going to gather information on the promising Magicmasters of other nations. This time, Felinella, who excelled at gathering information, should have made her move so that Alus and the others could take it easy. 

Incidentally, these kinds of investigations were considered part of allowable strategy, so the tournament headquarters made no moves to stop this. 

In the hotel lobby were a number of guests from foreign nations. While the lodging areas were split up between the nations, the lobby itself was a shared space. Positioning people here would only let them confirm that the contestants had arrived, but all the same, appraising stares passed over each contestant. 

There was an unspoken agreement to overlook any magic being used to investigate others, but surprise attacks went against the point of the tournament and were forbidden. If someone was discovered even attempting to do so, they would suffer massive penalties, so nobody went that far. 

Ignoring the stares from people in the lobby, Alus headed for his own assigned room, Loki following behind him as usual. 

“Just so you know, we’re not sharing a room, Loki.” 

“What?!” 

Loki froze on the spot and tried to conceal her shock with a vague smile. At the Institute they’d been living in the laboratory together, and Alus had a lot of say, but this was a hotel in a foreign nation. As an official event, the rooms needed to be separated between boys and girls for the sake of appearances too. It was also unavoidable as this was a gathering of educational institutions. 

“Loki dear, you’re in the same room as us on the third floor,” Alice called out to the frozen Loki with a gentle smile. She then grabbed hold of Loki’s hand and pulled her away. 

“Apparently there’s a big public bath, so let’s go together,” Tesfia joined in, and along with Alice, she had a firm grasp on Loki. 

“Sir Aluuus.” Loki looked at Alus with puppy eyes crying for help. 

“This is a good opportunity for you to enjoy yourself,” Alus bluntly said, and used his key card to step into his room as Loki was dragged away. 

The higher-ups must have shown some consideration, as it was a room for one. The other students had three-person rooms. Inside was a single bed, and a compact table and chair set that could serve as a small study, though it was at least as large as a double room. 

In the corner of the modern room was the luggage that had been sent ahead. That included the black attaché case that contained his AWR, Night Mist. 

Other Singles could rather easily hold back against students, but Alus’ strength was extraordinary. Mock battles were one thing, but if he was going to fight in the tournament he’d need his AWR in order to hold back. 

For the time being, he lay down on the bed and reconfirmed the schedule. If he recalled correctly, it was free time until dinner. After dinner was a strategy meeting, but since Felinella was in charge of countermeasures against the other nations’ contestants, it would be less of a meeting and more of a briefing. 

“Now then...” Perhaps it was because he was alone, but the room felt oddly too big. Alus lounged around on the bed and smiled wryly as he wondered when being alone had stopped feeling normal. 

* * * 

The Seven Nations Friendship Magic Tournament used a slightly odd match-up method. 

The 70 contestants in the first-year classes were divided into four blocks where they would fight one on one. What made it special was that the contestants for each match were decided just before the start. The only thing determined ahead of time was the allotment of each block and which institute they would go up against. 

In other words, Alpha’s Second Magical Institute with its ten contestants would have ten slots. At the moment, they only knew the name of the institutes they would be up against. 

Since the victors of each block would advance to the main tournament, each student was planning for how to get the most slots over to the main tournament. 

The strengths and weaknesses of attributes in a battle between Magicmasters played a big role in the results. Those who lost even a single match also lost the right to participate in future matches. That was why all of the institutes actively gathered information on promising Magicmasters from other nations. Information was just as important here as it was in real battles. 

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Felinella making her move, as the leader of the Second Magical Institute contestants, meant that the battle had already begun. At times like these, the more famous the students were—such as nobility—the easier it was to pick up on their affinities. 

After dinner, the contestants gathered at the strategy headquarters decided ahead of time. 

Inside the briefing room, Felinella stood in front of the screen, with the contestants’ serious eyes fixed on her. The tournament was starting tomorrow, and the contestants were tense, aside from a certain couple of them. 

Alus received the same documents as the others, but he didn’t really bother looking through them. 

“Make sure to rest properly tonight so that you’re ready for tomorrow. Now allow me to explain how the tournament will work moving forward one more time, for good measure.” It was all in the papers they’d gotten, but with people like Alus around, Felinella decided to explain it anyway. 

She stepped to the side so that everyone could see what was shown on the screen. “The tournament will have contestants in each class year go through a preliminary round before the final round. For each class year there are four different blocks, and those who continue to win will go through four or five matches per person. The winner of each block will move on to the final round of the tournament, and those four winners of each class year will fight. This way, the first through fourth places will be decided for each year. 

“Moreover, each nation’s rank will be calculated by using each class year’s ranking points, as well as each individual contestant’s cumulative winning points.” 

As Felinella said this, a first-year student raised his hand and asked a question. “How are the points calculated?” 

“A match win is 5 points, while in the final round a total of 100 points is required for the championship. Second place is 75 points, third is 50, and fourth place is 35 points. That might fluctuate a little depending on penalties or special circumstances, but it’s important to win as many points as possible.” 

As Felinella paused, the names of all of the Second Magical Institute’s contestants were displayed on the screen. “The match-ups look like this, so please confirm it and try not to write it down. Please commit this to memory. On the day of the tournament, the waiting room assigned to our institute will serve as our headquarters. And once more, please make sure you look over the match-ups.” 

In total there were three screens, one for each class year, and the pathway of the grid was displayed for each of them. 

Felinella deciding who would fight and when was something that was accepted when she was made the leader. Since the contestants could be chosen just before each match, with the same applying for the opposing nations, most match-ups were pretty much random at this point. But if they continued winning, it was clear that Institute contestants would have to fight each other. 

That said, everyone was ready to represent the Institute, so no one was complaining about that. 

Alus confirmed that his name was in the middle of Block 3, meaning he’d probably be fighting in the third match of the block. 

“Matches for all class years will be held on the first day. After the opening ceremony, assume that you will have to fight at least once. And since only contestants can enter the venue, it’s not over even if you lose. Please look over each block, and check on the matches to gather information. Let’s all work together to ensure the Second Magical Institute’s victory.” 

Felinella had been gathering information on her own, but so far had only obtained information on the nobility and the already famous contestants. It was very likely that each institute had an ace hidden up its sleeve, and the true information war wouldn’t begin until the tournament did. 

The deeper into the tournament they went, the fewer contestants there would be, and the institutes would actively select contestants with an affinity advantage. 

Alus nodded to himself, remembering what Jean had told him. So this was what he’d meant when he noted that Alus was just one person. It was a little late for that now, and he’d never really bothered to listen or look it up. 

Regardless, the biggest hurdle came at the start. If they could rack up more victories in the first stage, it would greatly influence how many points they would end up getting. If everyone won their first match, that was 50 points secured right there, half of the points needed to win the tournament. 

“The greatest threat right now is Rusalca’s First Magical Institute. They’ve won three years in a row, so I’d like you all to focus on gathering information on them.” 

The briefing now over, Alus called out to Alice who was looking down at the table. Something seemed to be on her mind, but he chose not to pay any heed to that. “Alice, come to my room later.” 

“—!!” “—!!” “—!!” 

Alice, as well as Tesfia next to her, opened her eyes in astonishment. 

As did Loki, who looked like she might faint at any moment. 

“If you don’t want to, I’ll come to your room. I have to tell you about your AWR.” 

“Oh, r-right.” 

Oh, so that’s what he meant, the three girls thought and sighed in relief, and so it was decided that it would take place in the girls’ room, which was bigger than Alus’ room. 

“Then let’s get going,” Alus said, and headed for the third floor where the female contestants were staying. 

Just because that was where the girls were staying didn’t mean it was off-limits for the boys, and it wasn’t even nighttime yet, so there were no issues with Alus boldly entering the floor. 

“But to think we’re going to fight in a tournament between institutes,” Alice muttered on the way to their room. 

“It’s also a place for nations to put on a show of force,” Alus said. 

“The first years have Al and Loki, and besides we’ve been training all this time, so we should be able to move on to the final round, right? It would be fun to fight against friends without any fear.” Tesfia put on a brave front, trying not to think about her promise to her mother, but she knew that matches wouldn’t be decided by ability alone. 

That said, Tesfia and Alice had quite the skill advantage over most novice Magicmasters in the seven nations, and that went double for Loki. But Alus knew that it wouldn’t be that simple. 

“That would be nice. But Rusalca apparently has a first year who’s equivalent to a Triple Digit. And according to the Governor-General, they have a very solid lineup.” 

“No way! Equal to a Triple Digit? So, like Loki?” Tesfia exclaimed. 

“That’s right. Supposedly their rank is even higher, but you should assume they’re at least on Loki’s level.” 

“How are we supposed to beat that?” Tesfia was praying that she wouldn’t come across that Magicmaster early on. 

“But to think there is someone like Loki dear elsewhere...” Alice said. 

“Well, you guys are skilled, and depending on the strategy you can probably win. In other words, it depends on how you fight. Alice in particular is skilled at fighting people, so you have an advantage and might be able to pull it off,” Alus said to motivate the two girls, but since Jean was involved, then it was possible that the opponent wouldn’t be simple-minded enough to overestimate their own power. Either way, he should at least warn them. 

Alus wanted to take it easy and win his way through the tournament, but if he wanted to win the tournament overall, that wouldn’t be enough. He was sure Loki could win with her wealth of experience in the Outer World, but he couldn’t say for certain as he’d never seen the opposition fight or even what they looked like. “You’ll just have to be perfectly ready so you’ll manage no matter what when you face them.” 

“That’s obvious,” Tesfia answered with a frown. Though Alus just wanted to present the winner’s trophy to the Governor-General, so he didn’t particularly mind. 

“I will deal with anyone who would stand in the path of your victory, Sir Alus.” 

“Don’t you launch any sneak attacks on them, okay?” 

Loki put on a sour face when she heard Alus’ warning. “It’s a matter of enthusiasm. I’ll defeat them in an instant!” she declared with an unconcerned expression. She never doubted her victory, but she wasn’t overestimating her abilities either. 

“Anyways, Felinella is the one who’s deciding the match-ups. So just prepare yourselves so that you don’t lose no matter who you’re up against. And an explanation on Alice’s new AWR is necessary for that.” 

After a short time, they were in the girls’ room, and Alus placed his hand on the cloth wrapped around the AWR. He removed the clamp around the handle and the cloth fell off. 

Alus worked the mechanism, extending the handle and causing a split spear tip to appear. In his hand was now a golden spear saturated with a bronze color. Even he had felt like the spear would look too flashy as pure gold, and he’d had Budna tone the color down a little. It wasn’t dull, but it no longer reflected light. 

Tesfia and Alice were too busy admiring the AWR to remember to act surprised. 

Noting this, Alus had a hard time believing this was their second time seeing it. He had of course observed them sneaking a peek at it on the bus. Though since he’d given it to Alice, he let them be since he didn’t really have a reason to stop them. 

“That golden color really stands out,” Alus said. 

“That’s true, but it feels less so now than before,” Loki noted. 

Alus and Loki ignored the dazed girls and gave their own impressions. 

If one were to describe Alice’s new AWR, they might say that it looked like an upside-down khakkhara. However, it was still a spear, and the sharp tip was double-edged, and at the bottom of the handle were three bracelet-sized circles. But unlike a khakkhara, they were firmly fit so that they wouldn’t jingle. 

“Go on, give it a try. It might be a little sudden, but you should be able to use it.” 

Once Alus urged her on, Alice finally took the AWR in hand. When she did, she felt the hefty weight of the metal. That sensation made her realize that she’d finally gotten her personal AWR that she had only dreamed of. 

The same magic formula was engraved on both sides of the spear tip. Moreover, the three circles had a different magic formula engraved on them. 

“The magic formula has the basics of the light attribute, but I’ve messed with it a little. Well, simply put, it’s for advanced users now. But with your skills you should be able to handle it.” 

Alice had no way of knowing what he meant by ‘messing with the formula,’ but being told she was an advanced user put a smile on her face. 

“Mana will pass through it far easier than the AWR you’ve been using so far, so you should end up using less mana when casting spells. There’s also a couple of special traits, but it would be more fun if you found out about them in the midst of battle.” Alus had an evil smile as he explained this, but nobody raised any complaints. 

If anything, Alice wanted to hurry up and try it out, so it was almost like his voice didn’t even reach her. 

Tesfia sighed. “Don’t tell me a gap has opened up between us...” She sounded worried. Her katana was a fantastic AWR that was a family heirloom, but Alus had made this one, so perhaps it was unavoidable. 

However, it was said that an AWR’s performance wouldn’t explosively increase a Magicmaster’s ability. There was a slight difference in the two girls’ ranks, but lately they’d been evenly matched in mock battles. Though now they both had personal AWRs, so one could say they were more evenly matched. 

Though Tesfia was envious of her best friend, she didn’t hold any negative feelings. For better or worse, this redhead was simplistic, and she rejoiced that her best friend had received her own AWR. These girls were able to share each other’s joy. 

Alus looked at the two and continued, “And one more thing. This has a certain secret, and it’s related to the material that was used. That’s why I thought about using the material in an AWR.” 

He walked up to Alice and removed the clasp on the rings, causing a metallic sound. “These rings are actually an AWR on their own.” 

“—!!” Alice was astounded. 

Considering the rings had a magic formula engraved on them, it had been clear that they weren’t just for decoration. They weren’t just parts of an AWR either, but individual AWRs, which was something nobody had expected. That said, the girls didn’t know what that meant. Alice, Tesfia and Loki all had questioning looks on their faces. 

Finally, Alus got to explaining the material that had been used to make the AWR. As they had expected, the strange ingot Alus had bought from Budna had been used. Unlike other materials, it had traits that were unique to it, making it worthy of the name of meteor metal. 

For example, Alus’ own AWR was made using meteor metal as well, which was why his AWR could be engraved with formulas of all the attributes. Normally, AWRs were engraved with only the basics of an attribute. However, engraving different attributes would cause them to interfere with one another, affecting any spells cast. The unique structure and material of Alus’ AWR had resolved that problem. 

Alus had a fearless smile as he explained that the mechanisms in this new AWR were very elaborate, and that he was confident it was a masterpiece. 

His calling the AWR an experiment when he gave it to Alice wasn’t all that wrong. A more common material with similar characteristics to the meteor metal he’d already used did exist. So while this AWR was special, it was possible that technology that used the same ideas could come into existence in the future. For that sake, this tournament that gathered interest from the entire world as well as Magicmasters with all kinds of affinities was the perfect testing ground. 

However, like Alus had said, this AWR was very much meant for an advanced user. Generalizing the technology so that any Magicmaster could use it would require a lot of work. 

Alus got rather passionate as he went through the explanation, but he himself didn’t notice this. Moreover, the only one that intently listened to his long explanation was Loki. 

Not even Alice fully understood the explanation full of technical lingo. But even then, she could tell how much time and passion Alus had put into making this golden spear. 

Alus wrapped things up by telling the girls the name he’d given the AWR: Shangdi Fides. 

He puffed up his chest as if to boast, but Alice and Tesfia thought he might be going a little overboard, though he was able to push the name through after telling them it had Budna’s approval. 

* * * 

At the massive stadium where the Seven Nations Friendship Magic Tournament would be held, the contestants from each of the nations were lined up with tense expressions. 

They were currently in the middle of the opening ceremony. As festive music played, a single contestant took the podium and stated an oath. Based on his name and place of affiliation, he was the representative of Rusalca’s First Magical Institute, last year’s winner. 

Alus was at the very back of the line of the Second Magical Institute’s contestants, yawning. 

Looking up, he could see that the spectator seats were filled. At this distance it would be extremely difficult to make out any faces, but for a Magicmaster at Alus’ level it wasn’t impossible. 

At the top above the spectator seats were seven VIP rooms that protruded out towards the center of the field. Covering their front windows was reinforced anti-magic glass. It was clearly very thick, speaking volumes of its high level of defense. The area surrounding these rooms was cleared of seats, instead being replaced with a heavy guard detail. Considering the security, there had to be big shots in all of them. 

It’s like they’re asking for someone to notice. 

Alus glanced to the right and furrowed his brows at the mana leaking out from the VIP room. There was no hostility in it, but it was like they were trying to tell everyone their location. 

After staring through the thick glass, Alus turned his eyes back to face forward, feigning ignorance. He hadn’t seen his face, but he noticed his presence and that he was waving at him. That physique and flowing blond hair were very familiar. 

That’s Jean all right. The mana Alus was picking up was pretty much Jean’s way of saying hello. Which means the ruler’s there too... And if Rusalca’s big shot is here, then our princess will be too. 

Talk about being passionate about her work... Of course, Alus felt no urge to live up to her passion. I just hope nothing bothersome happens. 

Alus had his misgivings, but he was more or less aware that it was because he had chosen to participate in this tournament. 

Of course, he knew the true meaning behind Balmes’ proposal to recruit students during the conference. It was intended for them to secure future outstanding talent. It wouldn’t be strange for not just the nations’ rulers, but those of the rank of Governor-General to be present. 

That said, unlike at the rulers conference, Singles weren’t plentiful enough to accompany them here, aside from Rusalca and Alpha who had two each. Alus couldn’t help but wonder what the point of Singles was, if they couldn’t move freely when something happened. 

Incidentally, Alus wasn’t the only one to notice the tense atmosphere. There were plenty of whispers wondering about the heavy security. Even so, the enthusiasm coming from the spectator seats seemed to reach the center of the field where the contestants were lined up. 

However, the ceremony was dragging on in spite of their expectations. Alus couldn’t think of anything more boring than a speech by someone important, and it seemed he wasn’t alone in this. A couple of the other contestants were clearly bored as they fidgeted in line. 

Once the long, long speech finally reached its end, Alus let out a sigh. 

And the start of the 40th Seven Nations Friendship Magic Tournament was declared. 

As the contestants began to leave, massive displays descended in all four directions. On the displays was the tournament bracket that showed which institutes would face off in the first round. 

The same table was also displayed on the monitor in the Second Magical Institute’s waiting room and headquarters. Felinella and the other contestants were staring at it with extraordinary intensity. 

“The matches will start with the first years, so please get ready... second and third years, please scout the other institutes,” Felinella ordered, and the contestants all turned to look her way. 

They sighed, in recognition of their leader’s overwhelming abilities. Even Alus felt like Felinella had the qualities of someone who stood above others. Once she joined the military, she’d surely lead a squad of her own and earn plenty of achievements. As expected of the apple of Vizaist’s eye, even when working under someone, one could expect much from her. 

Alus needed to go prepare as well, but he had something he had to do before that. And that was to give final advice to the girls he’d been instructing. That said, it was clear that he was going to attract unwanted animosity when he said anything. He already tended to stand out, and got envious glares from a number of the boys. 

Loki was already at his side, so he waved Tesfia, Alice, and also Ciel over and spoke to them. “I think you guys already know this, but make sure you think things through when you’re fighting. It’ll take three days to work your way to the top of the bracket.” 

“You mean to adapt to the situation?” Tesfia asked him. 

... Prompting Alus to sharply criticize her. “Are you an idiot?! You should always be adapting to the situation. I mean that you should pace yourselves against someone below you and not shoot off any spells pointlessly. Your mana will recover within a day, but spells will drain you mentally. Once you’re exhausted mentally, it won’t be easy to recover from it. If you’re up against someone strong then you don’t have a choice but to go all out, but against some weakling, make sure you finish them off quickly. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you that you should underestimate anyone.” 

To the girls, nobody in this tournament was really a weakling. Tesfia and the others couldn’t immediately accept his advice, but ultimately nobody objected because they realized that if they thought about it, Alus was probably right on the mark. 

“Contestants in the first round, please gather at the match venue.” 

A feeling of tension filled the waiting room as the announcer’s voice rang out. The same applied to the three girls in front of Alus. To him and Loki this tournament was a spectacle, but that feeling wasn’t shared by Tesfia, Alice, or Ciel. 

“Okay everyone, get to your positions. Contestants that will be scouting, don’t forget to report between matches,” Felinella finished with vigor. This seemed to influence the contestants, as their fighting spirit could be seen on their faces. 

And so the curtain rose on the Second Magical Institute’s battle.

In the center of the massive stadium, the area formed a big circle, and on it was a stage for matches. The way it was covered in a special magical barrier was reminiscent of the Institute’s training grounds, but its scale was on a different level. 

The stage was split up into four divisions, one for each block of the tournament. 

Alice’s first match in Block 1 came up right away. The order of contestants had already been submitted by Felinella, so there weren’t going to be any changes now. Well, even if she wanted to change it, she wouldn’t be allowed to do so just because she was nervous. 

She sighed. “Why am I first?” 

Her golden spear, Shangdi Fides, was in its short form, kept within a scabbard at her waist. She had to make her way over to the first block from the waiting room, feeling a big lump in her stomach. 

“Whether you’re first or last, nothing’s going to change ,” Alus observed. 

“Don’t be like that, geez,” Alice retorted. 

Tesfia was also nervous, but she felt she was holding up better than Alice who was trembling next to her. “You just got a new AWR, so now’s your chance to try it out!” she said with a mischievous smile, then continued, “And while you’re at it, you should go grab a bunch of attention, too.” 

It was clear what Tesfia meant. Not only was Alice’s AWR custom made, but it had a deep golden color that stood out whether she wanted it to or not. 

She’d be barking up the wrong tree if she complained, but Alice couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Isn’t your match the second one, Fia?” 

“Yeah! So I can’t watch your match, but we’ll win our first matches. We’ve done a lot of training in the best circumstances possible.” 

There was no guarantee of victory, but Tesfia’s words sank into Alice’s mind. They would beat anyone when it came to the amount of training they’d endured. 

At the same time, the pressure of having to win disappeared, and her steps became lighter, despite knowing that it was pretty much just self-suggestion. 

“The time to put our training to the test has come. If we lose, then let’s go complain to him!” 

“But if you say that, he’s just going to work you over again.” Alice gave Tesfia an exaggerated shrug, but the grin on Tesfia’s face didn’t go away. It was clear that she hadn’t truly meant it. In other words, she was trying to get Alice to relax. Her attempt was awkward, but her intentions reached Alice. 

“It’s fine. It’d just be a waste of energy to worry,” Tesfia said, and pushed Alice’s back. 

Alice recalled all the hard training she’d put in. She was sure that she would put it to good use in the upcoming matches. She was resolved to display her abilities to their fullest extent. 

She then turned back to Tesfia and spoke in a slightly subdued tone. “Let’s both win our matches and aim for the final rounds of the main tournament.” She had given them both an ambitious goal, and Tesfia answered her with a fearless smile. 

Alice figured that two guys would probably bump fists now, but she reconsidered this as Fia would probably get too embarrassed. 

The next moment... “—!” 

Instead of a fist, Tesfia held her katana in front of her. The suddenness of it made Alice give her a perplexed look. “Come on, you too, Alice...” 

Thinking it was some kind of ritual, Alice did as Tesfia said, and held up her AWR. When she did so, Tesfia did indeed turn red and look away. 

They clanked their weapons together. 

“L-Let’s do this!” Tesfia said. 

“Excuse me? Is this some kind of ritual?” 

“T-That’s right! It’s a ritual to fire yourself up!” 

“Wow, I didn’t know there was a tradition like this. Did your mom teach you?” 

“Uhm...” Tesfia hesitated. “I plan on introducing it to my future squad.” 

“Hm? ...Fia, don’t tell me...” 

“Yes! I just thought of it, okay?!” Tesfia turned beet red and desperately made excuses. Alice couldn’t take it anymore and covered her mouth with her hand. But even then her laugh leaked through. 

“What’s wrong with it! I thought it was pretty good... are you seriously laughing?” 

“It’s not like you’re a boy.” Alice wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes with her finger. 

Tesfia puffed up her cheeks like a child and turned her face away as if showing how upset she was. She looked adorable, but at the same time, Alice was grateful for her consideration. 

She did her best to try and figure out how to show her thanks, and quickly used the simplest and fastest method... “Thank you, Fia!” She hugged Tesfia from behind, no longer caring if anyone was watching. 

Tesfia blushed as she looked at the arms around her neck. “Geez... Alice.” She shrugged, and Alice gently looked at her. 

The other contestants couldn’t take their eyes off of the two beautiful girls. 

Having parted ways with Tesfia, Alice made her way to the first block’s match venue with steady steps. She told the official her name and institute and was allowed to pass. 

Once the match began, it would be shown on the screen hanging above them, but until it actually began the screen only showed the time left until the match. The time was getting ever closer, and there was no longer any sign of anxiety on Alice’s face. 

As she sat down on the waiting bench, she removed her scabbard and belt, taking out her AWR. She wouldn’t need her scabbard. She was going to fight with her AWR drawn from the beginning. She wanted this match to be as close to her usual mock battles as possible. 

Alice took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. 

Tesfia had already gotten rid of everything holding her back, leaving behind only a proper amount of tension. 

Taking a look at the grounds, it stretched 50 meters in every direction and was covered in a magic barrier. 

Alice confirmed the start time once more, and closed her eyes to calm her beating heart. She then opened them with new resolve and lightly swung her golden spear. Matching her movements, the handle extended and the blade popped out, transforming into a spear the same length as the naginata she usually handled. 

“Contestants, please step forward,” the official said, and Alice finally headed for the stage’s entrance. When she got close enough, the door slid open. 

The moment she stepped in, she could feel countless stares. She could hear the commotion from the audience better than she’d expected. But perhaps because of the barrier, when she calmly stepped up onto the stage she didn’t particularly mind the noise. 

The cheers she heard were almost certainly directed towards the golden AWR in her hand. Perhaps it was being shown on the big screen right now. Reaffirming her grip, Alice glanced at Shangdi Fides again. Even she had had her breath stolen away by its mystical appearance. If told that it was a sacred spear from a myth or fairy tale, she might have believed it. That was just how dazzling this spear was. 

Before long, the sound of another door opening caused Alice to return to her senses. Looking up, she could see a male student in front of her wearing the uniform of the Sixth Magical Institute. This was a novice Magicmaster from Hydrange. 

Alice closely observed his equipment while moving up to her starting position in the center of the stage. She figured that Alus would be able to immediately tell what his affinity was based on the engraved formula. But that was something only he could do, and she had no chance of copying him. 

In his hand was a drawn double-edged sword. Alice noticed something and frowned. In the handle of the sword was a large red gem, and more confusing, despite his stepping up onto the stage with his sword drawn, the adorned scabbard was hanging off of his waist. 

The boy had a medium build, and his hair was neatly arranged. He had dignified facial features, but with traces of youth in them. His manner of walking was less graceful than disciplined. 

A noble, maybe? Alice thought. 

Her opponent was observing her as well, but he suddenly looked at her with ridicule. Seeing Alice so peaceful, he must have underestimated her, as he clearly saw her as inferior. 

But his expression turned bewildered when he got close enough to see her AWR. He’d brought in a fine AWR of his own, but seeing that sublime AWR, his self-respect as a noble was hurt. His scornful attitude completely changed, being replaced by frustration. 

Eventually both parties reached their assigned positions. 

Alice lowered her hips, getting ready to fight. The few seconds of waiting until the buzzer sounded off felt like an eternity. 

One second, two seconds... the signal wasn’t coming no matter how much time passed. 

Just when Alice started to feel strange about it, a different sound rang out, and the word WARNING was written out in red on the screens in the center. 

“One point penalty to the Sixth Magical Institute. Undo your mana and prepare for battle,” the announcer said. 

But it was the male student who was more surprised by this. He had already started pouring mana into his AWR. Considering how panicked he seemed, that must have been an unconscious action. In other words, he’d had a false start. 

Unbeknownst to Alice her shoulders had gotten tense, but this event helped her relax again. She felt like she finally understood what Alus meant by being able to measure an opponent’s abilities through their enchantment. 

Through her mana control training, she’d come closer to its essence. Unconsciously letting mana leak like that was a sign of the opponent’s inexperience. It wasn’t uncommon for mana to leak out when excited, but not even being able to control that in the tournament was careless. 

Her opponent was going back to square one and took a deep breath. 

Meanwhile, Alice was perfectly calm, having seen through his abilities. She was neither underestimating him nor fearing him. She simply stayed cool. 

Finally, the starting buzzer rang out, a little later than the other blocks. 

Alice swung her spear around at a high speed as if to warm up. She felt the AWR cling to her hands, kicking up dust from the sharper swing than usual. 

Even her opponent recognized her skills as worthy of that AWR. He no longer looked at her with ridicule, and instead carefully watched her with his sword at the ready. 

Before long, the tip of the spear pointed downwards and stopped. Alice fixed her eyes on her opponent and attacked at a high speed. 

“Here I come!” 

The opponent looked shocked for a moment, perhaps because of the speed at which she was stepping. He hurriedly cast a spell. The magic formula on the blade weakly lit up, and an exaggerated fireball formed in his free hand. 

Normally, the fastest and most effective way would be to create that at the tip of the sword. Of course, you could specify the coordinates and have it appear at your hand, but why not use your AWR when you have it? 

Alice suspected he might have some ulterior motive, but what he fired was a normal Burst. But as expected of a contestant chosen for the tournament, he fired off one Burst after another without a break. 

As Alice saw that it wasn’t some form of trap, she used Reflection to fire them all back. If possible she wanted to avoid wasting mana, but she wanted to get a proper feel for her new AWR during this match. And she was sure Alus would agree with this. 

“—!!” 

She began feeling that something was wrong after reflecting the third Burst. There were no problems with her accuracy, and Reflection was working properly as well. Yet she wondered if she was using an excessive amount of mana. 

Moreover, the area covered by Reflection wasn’t just the tip of the spear like usual. Instead, it spread out, leaving afterimages and drawing a trail of light after it. 

I’ve never seen it be this effective when using the same amount of mana! 

In other words, if she had tried to do something similar before it would have used far more mana. At this rate, her common sense telling her that Reflection required more mana than the spell it was reflecting might be turned on its head. 

Alice was getting increasingly excited. She knew that being overconfident and proud of her AWR was foolish, but she still felt that she’d gotten stronger. 

The tension she’d felt before the match was already long gone. In its place were confidence and focus. Not even the thunderous cheers reached her ears. 

Seeing his fireballs so easily reflected back at him, the opponent jumped backwards with an astonished expression, and Alice used that opening to close in. She swung down her AWR from an overhead position. 

The opponent managed to block it with his sword, but a metallic screech sounded, along with a creaking noise. 

To think the difference in mana control was this big... It was clear from the opponent’s face that he’d only just barely been able to block that exceedingly sharp swing. His face turned red as he desperately tried to fend off the attack using both hands. 

Even during her attack, Alice measured their difference in abilities and concluded she was sure to win as long as she didn’t let her guard down. At the very least, she wasn’t going to lose in close combat, and even if a distance opened up, Reflection should deal with most of it. 

She hadn’t seen all the spells her opponent could use, but looking at his mana control, any ace up his sleeve couldn’t be all that powerful. 

Putting his back into it, the opponent was able to knock the tip of the spear away, but Alice skillfully used it to attack from overhead once more. 

Her opponent got flustered, easily fell for feints, and was stuck completely on defense. Eventually he began getting scratched up. 

However, Alice didn’t have any interest in tormenting her opponent. So she retreated for a moment. 

Her opponent’s face was pale, and he seemed well aware that he was losing. The contempt had already disappeared from his expression, and instead Alice could catch glimpses of anguish from all of his efforts to win ending in vain. He must have been making a desperate calculation of how high his chances of winning would be if he went on the attack here. 

Meanwhile, Alice fixed her clothing that had gotten rumpled after jumping backwards and landing. 

Seeing her be so composed, the boy gritted his teeth. And he squeezed the AWR in his hand hard. 

He still had a stubborn will to fight in his eyes, but his sword was pointed downwards, and he showed no sign of counterattacking. While he looked frustrated, he wasn’t moving, and he even seemed to have stopped observing Alice. But that was all the more unsettling since it didn’t look like he’d given up on the match. 

For a few moments, Alice cautiously raised her spear. What was he planning? 

Suddenly, she noticed the clumsy flow of mana to his AWR. It lacked any accuracy, but it was a large amount of mana. She was still cautious of the AWR pointed downwards, but when she looked up, she could see the edges of his lips rise. 

“...!” 

Alice immediately looked back to his AWR. 

In the next moment, as if to show off his trick, he’d purposefully only shown one side of his sword, and now turned it to show the other side. The magic formula was glowing red. 

A shiver ran down her spine. She hadn’t tried to let her guard down, but she realized her mistake in accidentally giving him the time he needed. 

I have to dodge... no, he’s still doing something!! 

Alice felt heat coming up from the ground, and she saw that it had turned glowing red and was rising up. Something was about to be spat out. 

“You’re too late!! ‹‹Burn Pillar››!!” the male student declared. 

Using the AWR pointing downwards, he’d set the coordinates so that Alice was in the middle of it. With his preparations complete, he unleashed his fire spell. 

Alice immediately concluded that she had no way of evading the attack unharmed. Reflection... won’t be as effective beneath me! That’s why she moved by muscle memory rather than any deliberate consideration. 

She kicked off the ground and jumped into the air. Turning around in a somersault, her eyes fixed downwards, she swung her spear at the ground as hard as she could. 

“‹‹Shiylereis››!!” 

The crash between magic spells caused an explosion that shook the ground. 

The slash of light split the pillar of flame and carved out the ground, as a thunderous sound rang out. It was a rather forceful method, but with this much difference in the power of their spells it became possible. 

The fire grew visibly weaker and the split pillar shrank in size. 

The light had blown the fire out. 

“What?!” 

Alice could see her opponent standing still in a daze, but even she was astonished by what had just happened. She stared at the scar in the ground that her slash had left. 

I did use my full strength, but this is... 

The bottom of the tear was shrouded in darkness. It clearly ran deep. In fact, it might even reach her own height in depth. Rather than feeling joy from the power, she was feeling a little worried about it. 

Her opponent was still spacing out from the power of her attack. The attack he was so confident in had been destroyed. 

Alice had enough composure to recall how something similar had happened to her before. But thinking about it right now was pretty dangerous, and she felt a chill run down her spine. Al probably said to finish things up quickly because he knew something like this might happen. 

It appeared that everyone at this tournament had an especially strong spell that could turn the tables as the ace up their sleeve. And keeping that hidden for as long as possible was another part of the strategy. 

But cornering an opponent and leaving them no other choice wasn’t a wise idea. Especially when two opponents were on a closer level. 

“Then I guess... I should go all out.” 

Alice smiled at her opponent. She hesitated whether she should use it here, but thinking about the future, she realized that getting a grasp of it now would be for the best. 

She removed the clasp on the handle, and set the three circles free while recalling what Alus had said. First, all coordinates should be in parallel... instead of trying to set them in detail, I position them relative to me... and then fix them in place! 

First, the freed circles were fixed in the air around her. Then she used her senses to make minor adjustments to their positions. 

Before long, they stopped as if to protect her, with the circles pointed towards her opponent. Thinking back on it, this must have been the point behind Alus training her to recognize coordinates and set them in greater detail from time to time. 

The three circles, one to each side of Alice and the third above her head, moved with her, automatically adjusting their positions and directions slightly. These circle AWRs used the synchronized reaction from the special magnetic field created by meteor metal properties for their movements. 

The problem was the next step in the process... Trying to keep the flow of mana clear in her mind, Alice thrust her free hand forward. 

The three circles shook, and then transformed, increasing their diameters. But in the next moment they snapped back to their original size like a rubber band. 

They’d been given the property to change their shape to a certain degree by passing mana through them. That didn’t apply to the spear itself, but the circles were making full use of the meteor metal properties. 

“I can’t maintain the shape the way I am now...” Alice kept an eye on her opponent with a vexed expression. With no other choice, she passed mana through the spear. 

The magic formula glowed faintly. It linked with the circles floating in the air. Mana flowed through the spear and circles. Alice lowered her center of gravity, pulled the spear back, and readied her attack. 

Her opponent was blankly staring at her, wondering what was happening, when he suddenly realized he was being cornered. With a frightened expression, he hurled a fireball at random. 

However, Alice no longer needed to use Reflection. She made her run up and swiveled her spear around while saying the spell name. 

“‹‹Shiylereis Quartet››” 

A slash created from the blade scattered the fireball. Another three more slashes were unleashed around Alice. 

The circles had perfectly replicated the same magic formula, casting Shiylereis in parallel to the main slash. The circles being able to trace magic and cast it individually was another reason Alus had called them distinct AWRs. 

With his fireball easily cut apart, the opponent covered his face with his arms by reflex. The next moment, all the slashes assaulted him. Without so much as a moment to shout out in anguish, the male student collapsed, and— 

“The opponent is unable to fight. The winner is the Second Magical Institute, Alice Tilake,” an announcer said. 

Shortly after the announcement, the audience that had fallen silent due to the powerful attack gave Alice a standing ovation. 

Finding herself the focus of the crowd’s attention, Alice’s face turned red from embarrassment and she hurriedly walked out of the arena with her eyes cast down. Seeing her blush and make her exit as she hunched her body up after such an intense fight only added to her charm and fired up the audience. 

* * * 

Alus’ turn wasn’t until later, so he was currently scouting out the matches from the spectator seats. On the surface he was observing his future opponents, but he actually had a different, personal reason. 

“Well, it was more or less a success,” he appraised, after Alice’s match ended. She still couldn’t make full use of the circles, and he found himself amused as he discovered new homework for her. “... I suppose I should give Alice more work on space manipulation.” 

This match had been something of a practical run for the new AWR. All tests on its performance had already been made, and he hadn’t been worried that it would malfunction or anything. He’d even scrupulously checked Alice’s flow of mana, after all. 

But he had been unable to do any tests on the light element, so Alice had to actually use it herself as a test. There shouldn’t have been any problems, in theory, but Alus still let out a small sigh of relief over the results. 

“Oh, Alpha’s on a pretty high level.” Carefree words of praise suddenly came from the side. 

Alus flat out ignored the voice, letting Loki respond to it instead. “Those two have been trained by Sir Alus directly, after all.” 

“What? Seriously?!” The blond young man, Jean Rumbulls, a Single from Rusalca, was the one speaking. He was someone known to Alus, and at some point he’d left the VIP room to come down to the spectator seats. “So did you give her that spear AWR, Alus?” 

Alus looked over at Jean and affirmed it with his eyes. As it happened, the AWR he had given to Alice had similar properties to Jean’s own AWR. 

“Ms. Loki, was it? To think Alus would accept a partner. He never mentioned a word of it at the rulers conference. And you’re such a beauty, too.” Jean wore an honest smile and stuck out his hand to Loki with a “Nice to meet you.” 

Loki quietly shook his hand. 

After finishing his greeting, Jean leaned on the railing and looked down at the girl wielding the golden spear who was leaving the arena. “As expected from someone Alus is teaching, she’s pretty good... I’d want her to come over to Rusalca if you hadn’t called dibs on her already.” 

“I don’t mind. I’ve only taught her the basics, but I’ll gladly let you take her.” 

“I think I’ll pass. I’m scared of what would happen if I did.” Jean flashed a wry smile as he rested his elbows on the railing, glancing over at Loki again. They’d only just met, but Jean couldn’t help but wonder about it. 

When Alus was in the military, he’d always seemed like a lone wolf. That hadn’t changed much now either. “To think that Alus would take a partner. I still can’t believe it... Did the Governor-General put you with him? Well, I guess everyone is constantly changing. I’ll need to watch out so you don’t overtake me.” 

“Oh, surely not. Sir Jean has been chosen as the ranked No. 3 Magicmaster, and...” 

“Who are you kidding? The higher-ranking Singles don’t change ranks that often. How many years have you been at it?” Alus cut Loki off, speaking to Jean in a curt tone. The upper half of the Singles, Jean included, hadn’t shifted in their rankings for over two years. The bottom ranks aside, Jean had held onto his ranking for more than three years. 

“I can’t take it that easy. I told you, didn’t I? Our institute has someone promising.” 

“Hmm, so who’s this hope of yours?” 

“You’ll see. I’ll introduce you sometime.” 

Alus sighed inwardly. He’d hoped Jean would just blurt out their name, but he wasn’t going to tell him that easily. Since it would be a student from Rusalca’s First Magical Institute, he’d wanted to be able to switch up the match-ups and take care of this person as quickly as possible. He and Felinella were in agreement on that... then suddenly Loki poked his back. 

“Sir Alus, I think you should return to the waiting room now.” 

Looking at the screen, Alus could see that the second match in Block 3 had come to an unexpectedly early end. The matches were proceeding faster than anticipated overall. Which meant that Loki had a good point. 

As for Alpha’s contestants—once Alice’s match was over, Tesfia was already standing on a different stage ready to go. Considering how Alus’ turn might come up soon, he wouldn’t be able to see all of Tesfia’s match. 

He glanced over at her opponent. At any rate, she probably wasn’t going to struggle against someone on that level. With just a first glance, he could tell that Alice’s opponent had been stronger. He didn’t know if this one had an ace up their sleeve, but there was probably nothing to worry about. 

Talk about a lot of unnecessary work, Alus thought to himself, and sighed. 

Seeing this, Jean smiled at him and called out to him jokingly, “What’s the matter, Alus, not in top shape? I’d warmly welcome it if you had to give up on the tournament!” 

“Keep talking... that said, the possibility is there.” 

“...” 

Jean wasn’t sure how to interpret that statement. For a moment he looked at Alus with a serious expression, but quickly returned to a more gentle one. He patted Alus on the back. “That’s good to hear. But try not to drop out in the first match. Now, get going,” he added, with a wink at Loki. 

Alus headed towards the waiting room, and carefreely waved his hand. He didn’t know how Jean reacted, but he was probably smiling dryly. 

Jean moved to make his way back to the VIP room where Lithia was waiting, but he stopped dead in his tracks. He could feel something from the audience... the adoring eyes of many of the women seated there. 

Since he’d been speaking with a rude Magicmaster, he didn’t know how many had held back from calling out to him. The truth was that Jean, with his good looks and strength, had many passionate fans. And it appeared they weren’t just limited to Rusalca. 

With Jean stopping in place, the crowd began to murmur. “Oh, it’s Sir Jean.” “It’s Jean Rumbulls!” “There’s no doubt. How dreamy!” Many such excited statements were coming from the women in the audience. 

Jean turned around to see a couple of them starting to stand up. At a closer look, they all seemed entranced. It was only a matter of time now. Once someone worked up the courage to call out to him, the ladies would come in droves. 

“I suppose my own match is about to begin,” Jean muttered to himself, and scratched his cheek. 

He reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a pen with special ink that he skillfully spun around in his fingers. As it used mana as a catalyst, it wouldn’t run out of ink that easily, or at least that was the shady catchphrase that he’d been sold the item on, and he was glad he’d brought it with him just in case. 

Jean then put on a service-minded smile, and elegantly spoke out with a refreshing voice. “Okay, form an orderly line, please.” As expected of a veteran, with just that one line he seized control of the situation. 

That said... he was secretly astonished by the length of the line that immediately formed, and noted that he should wear a disguise the next time. 

* * * 

Alus’ footsteps were heavy. 

Unable to let that pass unnoticed, Loki pulled on his hand. But upon closer examination, there was a slight smile on her face. 

The truth was that she wanted the general public to acknowledge Alus. So far, information about him and his achievements had been kept secret. So while Alus’ existence was kept out of the public eye, Loki was a little proud that the time had finally come for him to step into the limelight. 

There was no longer any point in standing by in the waiting room, as it was only a short time before the announcer would call Alus’ name out. According to Alus’ calculations, he would just barely make it in time, but that carefree calculation would be frowned upon by those around him. 

When they reached the waiting room, Loki dashed into the locker room and returned with a black attaché case in hand. A small girl like her carrying it made it look quite heavy. 

She pulled at Alus’ hand and they headed for the venue. His slightly bent over posture was because of their difference in height. Passing by the other contestants, they finally arrived at the arena where two girls were waiting for them. 

“You’re late!” Tesfia roared. 

Like Alus had predicted, her match had ended quickly. And from the looks of it, it had been an overwhelming victory. 

“Oh dear,” Alice greeted them. She had wrapped her AWR in cloth so that it wouldn’t stand out, and smiled softly. 

“Why are you complaining when I made it in time?” 

“Because you made us worry for nothing!” Tesfia replied. 

“A... Al, you will need to speak with the official.” Since they were in public, Loki spoke to Alus like they were just classmates, but she was beside herself. 

“Good luck! We’ll cheer for you too,” Alice said at the end, and Alus headed for the passage leading to the stage. 

“Take care,” Loki resolutely said to his back, and Alus responded with another carefree wave. 

Before long, the buzzer signaling the start of the match rang out, and the three girls rushed over to the seats set aside for those with a connection to the contestants. 

“Aaaargh!!” 

Suddenly, they heard a scream alongside the cheers. Tesfia and Alice flinched, and looked around, but they didn’t see anyone that could have screamed. “What was that...?” Tesfia asked. 

It was too extraordinary a sound for them to have misheard it, and while they gazed around, Alice noticed that Loki had stopped. “W-What is it? Is it some kind of incident...? Like terrorists?!” 

“No...” Loki muttered. She then turned back the way they had come. 

“Huh? What? Where are you going?” Tesfia shouted. 

Looking at the entrance, they saw a familiar face come back out, and everyone stared at him in wonder. 

Tesfia ran over to him and timidly spoke. “D-Don’t tell me you didn’t make it in time?!” she said, her face turning pale. Alice covered her mouth in shock. 

But the boy in question carelessly replied, “Of course not. I’m back because the match is over.” Alus pointed at one of the screens above the stage. 

It clearly displayed the Second Magical Institute as the victor. However, the problem wasn’t with the result, but the process. More specifically, the timer in the bottom right of the screen. 

A 00:05 time was displayed. 

A match finishing in five seconds was completely unheard of. 

So the only thing the audience expecting a fierce fight got to see was the opponent being immediately blown away. And the scream Alice and the others had heard belonged to said opponent. However, nobody had been able to tell what happened, and the audience fell silent for a moment. 

At some point, someone quietly said, “F-Five seconds...” but because of the silence their voice carried far. 

Following that... “Seriously, five seconds?!” a different voice exclaimed. 

And that excitement spread like a wave across the audience. 

The speed of Alus’ match would be a hot topic, but Loki’s match would be another one worth watching. 

The people watching didn’t see much more than a flash on the stage. And after the blinding flash, the sound of thunder rang out. And then they could see a fallen opponent and Loki turning around to walk away. 

Seeing that, Alus honestly regretted his own match. He felt like he should have at least given his opponent a chance to show off. 

To reveal the trick, he’d simply shot out a bullet of mana to blow his opponent away, but defeating his opponent in an instant on the big stage made him stand out too much, and the mental damage he caused his opponent might be bigger than when fighting normally. 

He couldn’t just tell his opponent that he’d had bad luck, so he decided that he should at least win the entire tournament in the end. 

After the match, Loki grouped up with Alus and they wordlessly returned to the waiting room. With the second years’ matches coming up, they were in the waiting room preparing for battle, but with the victors returning the atmosphere flipped. 

The waiting room had screens where those waiting could observe all the matches taking place, so Loki and Alus were showered in congratulations. Of course, the ones aimed toward Alus were a little awkward... but a victory was a victory. 

Incidentally, Tesfia and Alice weren’t there, but that was because they had been sent out to gather information. 

Alus and Loki headed over to Felinella to report, but as the leader she was already aware of what they’d done. “Good work out there. Those were wonderful matches worthy of the Friendship Magical Tournament!” 

The two awkwardly cast their eyes down when faced with Felinella’s bright smile. Had they really lived up to the audience’s expectations with those instant battles? And rather than showing ‘friendship,’ they might have given their opponents serious traumas. Thinking about it that way, they had been a little immature. 

That’s when Felinella turned to the second-year contestants and spoke out as if to encourage them. “The first years have brought us excellent results. As their seniors, we can’t let them down. So let’s brace ourselves.” 

The second years responded with cheers, and any pressure they might have been feeling was replaced by a burning fighting spirit. 

“Phew, I somehow managed to win.” A slack voice that threatened to extinguish the excited atmosphere spoke up. 

Felinella kindly called out to the girl who had appeared, using her staff AWR as support. “Good work, Ms. Ciel.” 

“What, did you struggle that much?” Alus asked with a surprised look, after seeing how she’d just barely managed to secure a win. 

Ciel scratched her cheek with a troubled expression, and slumped down onto a chair. “I was too nervous to cast spells... when it turned into close combat I was able to fight like usual, but it was close.” 

Frankly, it wasn’t something to make light of. Not being able to cast spells was a failure as a Magicmaster and a sign of her inexperience. So her victory was nothing short of a lucky one. 

That said, aside from Alus and Loki, who else could claim that they wouldn’t make any mistakes from the pressure they felt? Any kind of upset was possible. So with that in mind, while Ciel’s victory might have been due to sheer luck, it was still a precious win. 

“So five out of the ten first-year contestants moved on to the next round,” Alus whispered, but that was actually wrong. He’d made full use of the screens around the stadium and had gathered information on most of the matches. It was a mistake he’d made on purpose to remind the contestants of the situation. 

Felinella picked up on what he was doing and politely corrected him. “Actually, Mr. Alus, there’s still one more match among the first-year students, and they’ve secured eight wins so far.” 

“Oooohh!!” someone cheered. And the realization that they might actually win spread among the contestants. They all shared a sense of unity. 

Suddenly, a strange silence befell the waiting room. 

The reason... was Ciel. 

Because she’d worked up a sweat, Ciel was pulling down her shirt and fanning her chest, exposing her white skin. Her out of place innocence made quite a few of the male students swallow nervously. As a result, a different kind of excitement was mixed in with the waiting room’s atmosphere. 

“Ms. Ciel, why don’t you go wash off for now.” 

“Huh? Ah, okay!” 

Felinella had spoken to Ciel in an admonishing tone while looking around, causing a couple of the male students to jump. 

“Will the upcoming contestants please get ready?” the announcer said, making the atmosphere in the room turn on its head again. 

Once there were fewer contestants in the waiting room, Alus took the opportunity to approach Felinella. “So, have you found them, I wonder?” 

Felinella put on a forced smile at Alus’ out-of-character polite question. But she knew that it was just because of their current positions, so she quickly changed gears. “No, not yet...” 

“So I guess they haven’t come out then? Maybe they’re saving them for the seeded position.” 

They were of course talking about Rusalca’s so-called hope. Suddenly, the image of that blond-haired man’s refreshing smile popped into Alus’ mind, and he cursed him under his breath. 

During these tournaments, it was standard to send in the most powerful contestants with the highest chances of winning to score as many points as possible. Moreover, as last year’s winner, Rusalca had a seeded position. But it was common to leave that seed for a weaker contestant. 

The problem, however, was if Rusalca figured out that there was a powerful contestant like Alus around. In those cases, a more promising contestant would be given the seeded position to keep them from being eliminated early on. 

Unless they were really pressed for options, they’d do what they could to keep them from facing the Second Magical Institute. That was all the more likely since the contestant Alus had immediately eliminated was from the First Magical Institute. Of course, there was no way that had been Rusalca’s hope; it was probably just some sacrificial pawn. In other words, it was very likely that the First Magical Institute was aware of Alus’ existence and was keeping their promising Magicmaster away from him. 

“I guess it can’t be helped, but they should appear from the second round onwards,” Alus said. 

“We will be counting on you when the time comes,” Felinella said. 

Alus, of course, had a say in the match-ups for the first years. 

With no more scouting missions for the time being, Alus took Loki with him and left to put his free time to good use. In other words, he had somewhere to go. 

The two used the stairs to climb up to the top floor, before going through a passage behind the spectator seats and climbing up even further. 

Alus was heading for a rather large private room. At the end of the passage was a door with two skilled Magicmasters guarding it. He wasn’t exactly expecting that they’d recognize him and let him through. So before calling out to them, he pulled his license out in advance and waved it in front of them. 

“Go ahead.” 

Perhaps because they’d heard about him before, they let him through with tense looks on their faces. There was a bit of fear mixed in with the reply, but that was likely because of Alus’ reputation in the military. 

Lettie was another Single, but she was known for her amiability, a clear difference between her and Alus. 

Alus lightly waved Loki over. 

Climbing up another set of stairs, a sturdy iron door now stood in their way. Like before, there was another guard outside, and after he confirmed Alus’ license, he knocked on the door. Shortly thereafter, a plucky voice responded. 

The door opened, and beyond it... was a VIP room somewhat lacking in beauty, but a red carpet had been laid down, and it had been reinforced with anti-magic glass. 

This was one of the seven rooms surrounding the stadium. It was possible to observe all the matches from here, and the results were likely written in full on the massive screen here. 

The atmosphere in the room was rather refreshing. There was a world of difference between this room and the heated lower floors. 

Four waiters stood by at the wall, with two high-ranking Magicmasters standing tall nearby. Both of them were familiar faces to Alus, subordinates of someone he knew in the military. 

Finally, there were three leather-covered chairs positioned in front of the glass. And of all things, a person was dozing off in one of those chairs, its backrest thrown back, her braid hanging off the side of the chair. 

Alus felt she was being a little bold, but he had to admit that was just the kind of person she was. 

“So, you’re here.” A dignified, yet somewhat hoarse voice called out to Alus. It was a sturdy voice he was very familiar with. He was the reason Alus had come here. 

“You didn’t come here to spectate, did you?” 

“Well, that was out of the blue. Here I came to watch your valiant fighting...” Alpha’s Governor-General Berwick jokingly said, with a slight smile on his lips. 

It had been a while since they last met, but Alus spoke to him in his usual manner. Even though he was the Governor-General, Alus would only ever use a respectful tone when he was being cynical. “I doubt you have the time for that. And if she’s here, there’s something big going on,” Alus said, and kicked the chair, but the person in it showed no signs of waking up. He walked up to her then and flicked her forehead with his finger. 

“Whoa?! What?” The woman finally woke up, and blatantly rubbed her reddened forehead with tears in her eyes. “That’s just mean, Allie.” 

She stood up, bending over a little and rubbing her face against his abdomen like a small animal. That said, she was far too tall to be called that. 

“Cut that out, Lettie.” 

“Oh, come on. It’s been a while.” 

This was Lettie Kultunca, one of Alpha’s Single Digit Magicmasters. Loki was silently burning with jealousy at Lettie’s bold actions, noting that there was also another person present that should be treated with more respect. 

“Hello, Alus. How unusual for you to come here on your own,” said an unrivaled beauty with long, flowing black hair. Alpha’s ruler, Cicelnia, had her mouth covered by a thin fan, but her eyes were narrowed, and you could tell that she was happy even with the fan in the way. 

Alus figured she was up to something again, but he had no way to know that the smile on her face was purely from joy. 

“Allie’s here to meet me, you see,” Lettie said. 

“Not even close,” Alus coldly declared. 

However, the atmosphere in the room remained loose because of Lettie’s personality. The two guards by the wall were even stifling a laugh with trembling shoulders. But when Lettie glared in their direction, they hurriedly straightened their posture. 

“Oh? So this little shrimp is the girl who won the position of Allie’s partner.” Lettie then carefreely came over to Loki and crouched down a little to get a good look at her face. 

“I-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lettie. My name is Loki Leevahl.” Loki’s expression didn’t change much, but she spoke in a stiff tone that conveyed how nervous she was. 

“Li’l Loki, is it? Yeah, you’re a cute one, aintcha. You have a kind of indescribable adorableness that might put the geezers in a strange mood. Don’t do anything weird to her, okay, Governor-General?” 

“Don’t be stupid... if anything I’m old enough to be her grandfather,” Berwick said with a dry expression. 

“Loki, you don’t have to bother being respectful towards her.” 

“That’s just going too far, Allie. I’m older than her, you know? I have my dignity to protect here...” Pushing her braid that had shifted forward back to where it belonged, Lettie stuck out her chest in a somewhat pretentious pose. 

Seeing this, the two guards’ shoulders trembled with laughter again. 

“Yeah. Sajik, Mujir... why don’t we take this outside?” When she noticed their laughter, Lettie turned serious and stuck her thumb out. 

The two guards’ faces paled. They frantically shook their heads, and immediately straightened their posture again. And this time they made sure to not budge a muscle. 

After letting out a sigh, Lettie put on a small smile and dragged her thumb horizontally in a gesture for the two. It was a warning as to what would happen if they did it again, not that it would be necessary. 

“Let’s leave the farce there, Lettie.” 

“Geez, Allie, you’re always such a tease.” Lettie’s expression turned into a childish frown in an instant at Alus’ words. It was hard to believe she was Alpha’s other Single, but in the Outer World she was worth a thousand Magicmasters. Those who knew of this gap felt awe and fear. 

Her pushy attitude could still be brushed off with a wry smile considering her age. Though there’d be a different reaction if she was Sisty’s age. 

At times she gave off the atmosphere of a gallant Valkyrie. And because of her personality she was very popular in Alpha. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that everyone would find it an honor to go on a mission with her. In short, she had a personality that was easy to like. 

Moreover, the number of people that returned from missions she was assigned to was exceedingly high. 

Sajik and Mujir, the two guards, who happened to be her subordinates, also clearly idolized her. 

Alus put that aside and instead focused on the question on his mind. “Lady Cicelnia, I thought Lettie was meant to be on a mission in the Outer World, so why is she here?” 

“Oh? I thought you came to see me.” 

“You’re right in the sense that I came to see you.” 

Cicelnia’s voice sounded quite happy as she smiled behind her fan. 

But sensing that she was trying to feel him out, Alus completely overturned the mood. “I came to ensure that you don’t get me caught up in some troubles. Well, I hope that’s just some pointless worry on my side.” 

“Oh dear, there are no troubles... I simply came to witness your valor. Not to mention all of the important higher-ups from other nations that have come to see you.” 

“...” 

“Well, don’t be in such a rush. I can understand how you feel, but we are just here to enjoy the matches.” 

Seeing Alus start to get annoyed, Berwick stepped in to calm him down. “That said, even I pitied your first opponent. I can agree with not letting your guard down, but you could have at least let him cast a single spell to keep him from losing face.” 

“That’s true, but he seemed to enjoy talking over casting, and I wasn’t in the mood to listen to his complaints. But that’s nobility for you.” 

“Oh, that. I could hear him scream from here. Hehe,” Lettie said. 

Alus didn’t have the time to spare to listen to his opponent give a speech before they fought. In fact, after learning his opponent was nobility, he didn’t feel the need to hold back. “So what about you, Lettie, did you wrap up the mission in Vanalis?” 

“Not yet. I even spent so much time making preparations too, but I was still summoned here. If things go awry here, are you going to go out there yourself, Governor-General?” 

“Don’t be unreasonable. But if it comes to it, I’ll put in more men.” 

“There’s only going to be more deaths the more weaklings you send in, you know...” Lettie looked over towards Alus. “But it will be over in an instant if Allie joins. Right? Please? I think it will be worth it for you. I’m pretty hot, you know!” She looked at him with upturned eyes, and stroked his chest with her thin finger. 

Having decided to ignore her actions, Alus spoke out in a fed-up tone. “If I do that, your squad will never shut up about it! How do you think they’d feel if I showed up after all that preparation and swiped most of the rewards?” 

“They won’t complain. They’d accept it if you took 20% and we took 80%.” 

“Who’d do it for that cut?” 

“But I’m tiii-rrred. Then how about this?!” Lettie had a mischievous smile full of confidence as if she’d just had a brilliant idea. She looked at him with alluring eyes and wriggled her body, putting her arms around his neck. “I’ll pay with my body. That way you’ll jump at the offer even if you got 0 percent, am I right?” 

Loki’s face was turning redder and redder, but that was because of the overly strong stimulation. 

As two Singles they would make a suitable couple. Though there seemed to be a bit of reality mixed in, so it was impossible to say if Lettie was just teasing him. 

For an active Magicmaster who frequented the Outer World, Lettie had a surprising lack of scars. That was partially because she had the abilities of a Single Digit. Moreover, she never slacked on maintaining her good looks. 

She looked simplistic, but she’d sharpened the weapons needed to seduce a man. She had supple limbs, breasts that were neither too big nor too small, and wore a rather exposing outfit. Her lips were glossy, her skin almost translucent, and her big eyes gave off an innocent impression. 

Lettie had her quirks, but she was incredibly attractive. At the same time, she had a sense of innocence and naivety to her. 

“Why the hell would I accept zero percent? You’re the one who would jump at that offer. And I’d of course take 100%.” 

“Wait, seriously?! I can jump you if I give you 100%?!” Lettie acted surprised, and drooled. She was fully ready to keep Alus from taking it back, eyeing his body like a predator. 

The unexpected development made Cicelnia lean forward in her seat. 

But Berwick dispelled the current atmosphere. “Ahem! Leaving jokes aside...” he said, clearing his throat. He frowned a little, but remained calm, and indifferently thought that this would be fine as well. 

While he couldn’t endorse seduction, letting Alus make a child would be a useful method. And when it came to someone like him, you could expect plenty from his child, and if he had a wife and child, he wouldn’t be able to live as freely as he did now. The risk of him leaving this nation for another would also be reduced. 

That said... Well, I suppose it would be impossible for right now, considering that special ability of his... but it might not be all that bad, Berwick thought, as he imagined Alus walking down the aisle with a bride, forming a happy family with a cute child... The image made him smile a little. 

When Berwick realized it, his expression turned to a bitter smile, and he stopped his pointless fantasizing as he turned to give Cicelnia a signal with his eyes. 

“Incidentally, Alus... Are you aware that an interesting side show was added to this tournament a few years ago?” Cicelnia gave Alus an intense look as her long, black hair fluttered. 

“You mean the magical martial arts demonstration held by seven active duty Magicmasters?” If Alus’ memory served him right, it was an event that took place after the preliminary matches. Excellent Magicmasters from all the nations gathered to show off their spectacular spells. That said, it was just a sideshow, so there was no concept of winning, but he’d heard that it was still an exciting event. 

Alus, if anything, was interested in the AWRs that would be used during the event. They were unique, made using meteor metals, and packed full of all kinds of techniques from a civilization long gone. For that reason, they were left under the cooperative care of all seven nations, and there were few opportunities to see them. He had always thought about getting a close look at them. 

Cicelnia nodded and snapped her fingers. When she did, one of the waiters brought over a black case and left it by Alus’ feet. “This demonstration uses active duty Magicmasters from all the nations. And as I am sure you have figured out, I would like you to do it this year. Inside this case is a mask and robe... items you will need to disguise yourself.” 

Alus narrowed his eyes and stared at Cicelnia, who threw troubles his way without a care in the world. 

When he did, she seemed to be shocked and awkwardly averted her gaze. She hadn’t forgotten about Alus’ temperament, but she’d pushed matters along like she usually did out of sheer habit. And of course she would. With her unrivaled beauty and position of power, she could get her will through anywhere in Alpha. The only exception was with the extraordinarily powerful Magicmaster, Alus. 

Realizing her blunder, she bit her lip and blushed before exchanging looks with Berwick who was somewhat desperately sending her signals. 

After a few moments of silence, Alus sighed inwardly and held back his urge to complain. “And what would you like?” he bluntly asked. Now that he’d come all the way to participate in this tournament, he may as well go all the way. 

Relief overtook Cicelnia, and her expression brightened in an instant. “Completely overwhelm them!” That line didn’t suit the usual intelligent atmosphere she had to her, and instead reflected her innocence. 

Loki, keeping to the side, looked expressionless at first glance, but she’d ever so slightly furrowed her brows. Alus could more or less tell what she was thinking, so he didn’t ask about it. 

“That should settle that. By the way, how are you on time?” Berwick moved to wrap things up before Alus changed his mind. 

“Well, I’d prefer it if you didn’t pawn off anything more on me, so I think I’ll take my leave. Rusalca’s ace up the sleeve is probably not going to show up because of Jean’s scheming either, and the second and third years should be fine if left up to Socalent’s daughter.” 

Lettie frowned as Jean’s name was mentioned. Alus had heard that the amiable Lettie would lambast Jean from time to time, so he understood that they had a complicated relationship. 

“Hmm, Rusalca is it... however, they won’t be able to be so full of themselves this year,” Berwick mused with a pleased smile. He rarely showed an expression like this. So it appeared that all of the bragging Rusalca’s Governor-General had done must have gotten on his nerves. 

“And we will be able to deal a blow to Ms. Lithia as well,” Cicelnia added. A grin appeared on her face, hidden behind her fan. 

It was unusual to see those two share a common goal, and work together towards it. 

Alus himself only saw this as work, so he had no strong feelings on the matter. That said, he would be going through a lot of effort, so he expected a fair amount of recompense. For example, having them gather data to adopt and spread the technology that had gone into making the AWR he’d given to Alice. 

He was also expecting the reward promised to him by Berwick, and he’d even be able to lower the number of credits demanded of him by the Institute. And while he was at it, he also had an interest in the trophy that was made out of mithril. 

“Anyways, we just have to beat Rusalca, right? In the matches or the demonstration or both,” Alus asked to confirm, and Cicelnia and Berwick nodded. “I understand. Then I’ll do what I can... oh, and Governor-General?” 

Berwick gave him a questioning look, and Alus bluntly asked him, “Did you really come here just to enjoy the matches?” Alus’ stare was so cold that it felt like the temperature dropped by several degrees. 

But Berwick’s reaction was calm. “...” Complete silence, neither an affirmation nor a rejection. 

Nobody present knew how Alus took it. “Well, no matter. I’ll just pray I don’t have to come back here again,” he said with a sarcastic smile. 

“You’re going so soon? Why don’t we enjoy the matches together? You know, we’ll move away from here, just the two of us,” Lettie asked in an inviting tone, while placing her hand over his. And despite Loki’s worried look, Alus didn’t try to brush it off. 

In contrast to her joking tone, Loki picked up on how earnest Lettie’s eyes were. 

Eventually, Alus looked towards the door and gave Lettie a signal by nodding. “Then, I’ll be taking my leave.” 

“Oh, I almost forgot. Alus, have you received invitations from anyone?” 

“Not really, no. I only just arrived yesterday, nobody’s going to be that mannerless.” 

“I see,” Cicelnia said, satisfied with his answer. 

As far as Alus knew, recruitment tended to happen after the matches. It was especially common for recruiting agents to make their move during victory celebrations for the winning institute. 

Seeing the conversation was reaching its end, Lettie gently grasped Alus’ hand. 

“Then, if you’ll excuse me...” Alus said, and attempted to leave. 

“Alus, let Alice know that I’m cheering for her. And Lady Tesfia from the Fable family as well.” 

Alus casually waved his hand at Berwick. 

“Aww, you could stay a little longer. Oh, I know, I’ll see you off!” Lettie abruptly said. She ran up to the departing Alus’ side and wrapped her arm around his arm, an innocent smile on her face all the while as she paid no heed to Loki’s bewilderment. 

Alus and the others stepped out and were welcomed by the hustle and bustle of the stadium once more. The guards at the door saw them off, and after walking some distance, Alus spoke out to Lettie who was quietly accompanying him. Having come this far, Loki also picked up that there were some underlying circumstances. 

“So, what is it?” 

“Wait a sec. Sorry about this, li’l Loki, but ‘‹‹Silent Veil››.’” Lettie manifested a spell simply by saying its name rather than using her ring AWR, but that wouldn’t surprise anyone present. 

A transparent magical barrier was formed in an instant. Like the wind spell that Felinella used, it kept sound from entering or escaping its confines. 

Lettie gently removed her arm from Alus’ arm. “You haven’t heard anything, Allie?” 

“Heard what?” 

“You get it, right? Vanalis is the final resting place for a lot of my underlings. If we can reclaim the region from the Fiends, they can at least rest in peace. But if I’m stuck here for too long, the Fiends will spread again... if that happens, we’re back to square one. And I don’t even want to imagine how many will pay the price if we do it again. I can’t let their deaths be in vain... no matter what.” 

A serious expression was on her face. Her pride and sense of responsibility as someone who led others was the reason for that. 

However—“That’s nothing unusual. But I get what you want to say.” 

“Maybe it isn’t, but there are things I can’t compromise on.” 

Perhaps that’s why people take a liking to Lettie, Alus suddenly thought. She was hard to get a grasp on, but she had an unyielding strength and chivalrous spirit. And that was probably why Alus couldn’t hate her. “So you want to know why?” 

Lettie silently affirmed her answer with her eyes. Thinking about it, it was a strange situation. She probably hadn’t been told the reason why she’d been taken from the middle of an important mission to be here. 

Alus felt he was better off not talking about something he wasn’t sure about, but he gave up on that idea when he looked into those earnest eyes of hers. “I don’t know the details myself, but it looks like Balmes has run into some problems. You’ve probably been called over here because of that.” 

“... Is it a Fiend problem?” 

“I’d bet on that. And did you notice that despite Cicelnia being here, the person who should be with her wasn’t present?” 

“... Rinne Kimmel. That did bother me, now that you mention it.” 

“That’s right. No matter how you slice it, it’s unnatural that the ruler’s aide, Alpha’s Eye, isn’t with her.” 

“And I doubt she’s out on a pleasure trip.” 

“Considering the worst-case scenario, they’ll need your power. Although, considering that Berwick looks calm, it’s hard to imagine that the situation is that pressing. It’s also possible that they still haven’t gathered enough information to form a solid plan. In fact, how’s the clean-up in Vanalis going?” 

“It’s about 70 percent done. We were closing in on the territory the Fiends are using, too. Though our observers are picking up an abnormal number of weaklings. One S-class and two A-class are supposedly running things.” 

Alus shrugged. If they’d gotten that far, reclaiming Vanalis wasn’t far off. Having spent half a year on this, Lettie wasn’t willing to let it go. 

He didn’t really sympathize with her. This kind of thing happened all the time. If a retreat order came, you had to let a Fiend that killed your allies go as well. When acting as a unit, personal feelings only got in the way. But even then— 

“They must have decided that this has higher priority. But if you still can’t accept that... well, I wouldn’t mind working enough to cover for all the ones who died during the Vanalis operation when the plan gets put in motion again.” 

“—!! Really?! You’re the best!” 

In the next moment, darkness covered Alus’ eyes. “Allie!” Lettie had embraced him and pushed his head against her chest. Alus could feel a softness as his face was buried in her breasts. He tried to get away, but Lettie wasn’t letting him until she suddenly seemed to realize something and pushed him away herself. 

With a broad, mischievous grin, she said, “So you do want my body. Not that I hate lechers.” 

Loki, outside the still active barrier, froze as she looked on. Eventually she began moving awkwardly, putting her hands against her own chest as if to compare herself with Lettie. With the way she was closing her eyes, maybe she was trying to escape from reality. 

Leaving her aside, Alus grimaced. “What are you playing at...?” 

“Oh, come on, it was just a cute little joke. But are you sure about going to Vanalis with me? What about the Institute?” 

“That’s not a problem. Once I win here, I have an agreement with the Governor-General to lower the number of credits needed of me.” 

“Haha, what a monster student!” 

Baited by Lettie’s carefree smile, the edges of Alus’ lips also curled up. “Well, I just hope things work out.” 

Then the spell’s effects ran out, and the two could hear the cheering crowds again. 

“Allie, do your best at the tournament. I don’t like Rusalca either... especially not that creepy blond bastard!” 

It was clear that Lettie was speaking about Jean. They weren’t on the worst of terms, but they didn’t get along. They’d also had a lot that happened between them that further complicated their relationship. 

“Of course I will. I’m not going to get any reward or reduced credit requirements if I don’t win.” 

“That would be a problem. So you do your best too, li’l Loki!” 

“Y-Yes!” 

Lettie pulled at Loki’s hands and spun her around like she was a princess at a ball. Then she hugged her from behind like you would a stuffed animal. 

Alus thought it looked familiar, and that was because Alice did the same thing all the time. The only difference was that Loki was blushing right now. She was usually like a doll, so this difference was because she looked up to Lettie as someone truly strong. It might also be because she was looking at Alus as she was being hugged. 

Considering how the tournament was progressing, Alus decided that it was about time for them to return, and exchanged looks with Lettie. Lettie realized what he wanted and somewhat reluctantly released Loki. 

“I-If you will excuse me, Lady Lettie...” Loki ran up to Alus’ side before bowing once to Lettie with her cheeks still red. 

“Feel free to show your face whenever. You too, Allie.” 

Alus simply raised his hand and continued walking. 

“Lady Lettie is a wonderful person. But she appears to be a little too kind for someone who leads.” 

“Well, she’s an excellent superior officer in her own right. If you think she’s kind, then I guess she is.” When Lettie stepped out on missions in the Outer World, she was kind, but when she had to kill then she was someone that could suppress her emotions. 

Alus was well aware of this, and even felt like he should take after her at times. He didn’t find that side of her to be coldhearted or cruel. She had the resolve to inherit the feelings of those who died and still move forward. Her true strength was to use those prayer-like feelings she had gathered to push her onwards when the time called for it. 

He thought back as to whether something like that had ever happened to him... Nah. I don’t feel anything when I kill. That’s what I strove for. So I can’t become like Lettie. That was why he had chosen to be alone. 

When Alus scanned the depths of his memories, he found a dark haze. That was probably the linchpin that bound caution, resolution, determination, and regret together for him. And for each time something like that was driven into his heart, some part of him was cast away. 

Since when had he stopped feeling anything regardless of what happened...? But as he dove through his memories, he did recall something. 

There was one thing that I had to cast away no matter what. 

It wasn’t anything to get sentimental about. Compared to back then, his current state was completely different... but there was a reason why he’d stopped feeling anything towards death.