Chapter 122
The combat tournament proceeded smoothly according to Ban’s plan.
Two days ago, Drenner had failed to advance to the main round, while Seres had advanced without issue. And yesterday, Resta and Reina had secured spots in the quarterfinals.
Reina’s opponent was a third-year, but not a well-known one, so it was easily overlooked. Resta’s situation, however, was different.
His opponent was Kron Dout, a third-year in the Holy Division, called the next Crusader.
People expected their battle to be fierce, but the Crusader fainted after taking just two hits from Resta.
An unquestionably one-sided defeat. Even a day later, it was still the topic of conversation.
“Isn’t that senior, Kron Dout, overrated?”
“Are you saying that after watching yesterday’s match? He was rendered completely incapable before he could even react to Resta’s attack. Lightus’s skill was just overwhelmingly superior.”
“So the rumor that Lightus is the academy’s strongest wasn’t false…”
“In my opinion, even against a professor, Lightus might come out on top.”
“Eh, that’s going too far.”
Amid the chatting students, a man passed by.
It was unusual for him to be wearing black in broad daylight, hood pulled deep over his face, but no one paid him any attention. Or more accurately—they didn’t see him.
He was wearing clothes imbued with a top-tier stealth enchantment.
Even the keenest senses would not easily detect such high-grade concealment.
The man had been tailing Reina for some time. In one hand, he held a sword; in the other, a mana stone inscribed with a top-tier barrier spell, ready to activate at any moment.
“The previous seniors failed, but I will not.”
He had prepared thoroughly for this ambush. He had previously infiltrated the academy to analyze Reina’s movement patterns and gathered information about those around her.
Using this information, he had perfectly dispersed the attention of all eight people—Ban, Drenner, Redipin, Seres, Sonia, Resta, Pina, and Lia—creating the current situation.
“In about three minutes, Reina Serenia will be completely isolated. At that moment, I’ll shatter the mana stone, deploy the barrier, and deal with her as quickly as possible.”
A flawless plan.
As he followed Reina in an area with few people around, he threw the mana stone to the ground.
But just before it hit the floor, someone appeared and snatched it.
“……?!”
Before the man could react, the person grabbed his neck and moved him swiftly.
“Ugh!”
He managed to swing his sword reflexively to free his hand, but someone shattered the mana stone, deploying a barrier.
Inside the barrier were the black-clad man and the one who had intercepted him.
As he touched his neck and looked forward, an unexpected figure was there.
“H-Hazen Rousser…!”
The hero of the East-West War, the so-called Blue Spear, symbol of martial might during the trial.
The man clenched his teeth, recalling all the titles Hazen carried.
“Damn it! How did he notice…?!”
He couldn’t understand why Hazen had appeared. His plan had been perfect. The only variable had been one detail—a rather large one.
Hazen pointed his spear at him.
“You’ve been tailing Reina Serenia. You’d better explain exactly why, or today will be the day of your death.”
Before the Combat Tournament
Hazen had called Ban to his lab, intending to give him the participant list before the matchups were decided.
Ban looked over the list and copied it into a small notebook.
“Professor, you said you’d accommodate some unreasonable requests, right?”
“Is this more extreme than tampering with the tournament matchups?”
“That depends on your judgment.”
Hazen paused, then replied,
“Go ahead and tell me. Sometimes I’ve said I’d help but couldn’t, so consider this me paying off the leftover cost for the Vesta weapon you got before.”
Ban smiled faintly. “He must really like that sword.”
In any case, it was good news for Ban.
“Then, could you protect Reina throughout the combat tournament? Stay close, but don’t let her notice.”
Hazen chuckled lightly.
“So that’s what you meant by ‘depending on my judgment.’”
By ‘throughout the tournament,’ Ban meant every moment. He was essentially asking Hazen to watch Reina day and night.
Agreeing would also prevent Hazen from attending to his personal duties during the tournament. It was even more demanding than tampering with the bracket.
Yet Hazen surprisingly agreed immediately.
“Very well. I’ve always kept watch during battles, and I can leave my other tasks to Castro.”
“Unexpected. I thought you’d be the least likely to trust your uncle.”
“He looks lazy usually, but when he acts, he does so properly. His talent is wasted by his laziness, which is irritating.”
“Ahaha… I apologize on behalf of my uncle…”
“You don’t need to apologize. If he were truly hopeless, I would have cut ties long ago.”
“Good to know.”
Hazen thought to himself:
“How could he have anticipated an ambush? Or is it just that major academy events always have ambushes?”
Ban had impressed Hazen. Even if Hazen had noticed the ambush, he wouldn’t have been able to take effective action. Ban, however, not only planned to use the professor and seniors strategically, he had executed the plan flawlessly.
“Too bad he wasn’t in the Martial Arts Club. I would have trained him intensively.”
Meanwhile, the ambusher was panicking. Still, abandoning the mission was not an option. He infused his longsword with a dark green aura. Hazen did the same with his spear.
“Are you invoking the right to remain silent?” Hazen asked.
“……”
“Change your mind, and speak. If you answer my questions honestly, I may let you pass quietly.”
“Just answer quickly. Controlling power against a human might be tricky otherwise.”
After Hazen and the ambusher disappeared, Reina looked back, sensing something.
I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed Hazen had taken the ambusher away. Since Hazen was diligently handling my request, my role was to assist.
I approached Reina.
“What are you doing here alone?”
“Oh, Drenner? Didn’t you say you were busy earlier?”
“They called me to celebrate my advancement to the main round. They said it hadn’t happened since Seren Astrea, so it was a big deal.”
“Eh? But you came so quickly?”
“To me, advancing to the main round isn’t worth celebrating. No celebration needed.”
Reina gave a wry smile. In truth, I had pretended to be Drenner, unable to remain unnoticed, and fled here. Also, the celebration didn’t exist in the original story. Only those in Seren’s faction who won would have a celebration.
I came worried something might happen to Reina, but fortunately, Hazen had handled it.
Even manipulating students, huh? I thought Beryl was immobilized, but Lost Paradise seems to have other connections.
Lost in thought, Reina spoke:
“Still, it must have seemed amazing to others that we advanced. Around me, everyone except Ban made it, so it didn’t feel real. But in two years, that’s still rare, right?”
“Two years ago, the only first-year to reach the main round was Seren Astrea. Before that, no first-year had done so in twenty years.”
“Wow… twenty years?”
Seren was an exceptional talent. Normally, first-years couldn’t advance. Seres had the skill, but no reason to participate. Reina and I could use artificial aura from the first year, thanks to Resta’s training, nullifying experience gaps. Normally, someone like Drenner would fail.
“Besides, you’ve secured the quarterfinals, so be proud. Even Seren Astrea fell at this stage.”
“So winning the quarterfinals would really be record-breaking.”
“You said you’d win, but has your momentum dropped?”
“My goal is still to win! I just thought, ‘It’s fine~’ for now!”
“Who said anything? I only asked.”
“Ugh…”
Reina, frustrated, pointed at me:
“You’re just like Ban. Since he hasn’t teased me lately, you’re doing it instead.”
I flinched, trying not to show it.
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Oh, calling you Ban is a compliment for you.”
Was I supposed to be happy that I was better than Drenner, or sad that ‘like me’ was used as an insult…?
I hid my mixed feelings and retorted:
“What’s a compliment? Being like Ban is a compliment to him, not me.”
“Well, at least you admit you two are similar.”
“Who said we’re similar? I’m definitely better than him!”
Ah. I’d spoken honestly. Luckily, Reina didn’t notice and laughed.
“By the way, where’s Ban Astrea?”
“Hmm~? You hate being told we’re similar, but you still look for him.”
“He has some business to attend to.”
“Oh~ okay~.”
…What? Something strangely familiar and irritating.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier
The ambusher lay beaten, and Hazen pressed his spear against the man’s neck.
Hazen asked again:
“Can you swear that everything you said is true?”
“Why would I lie when it could get me killed?”
The ambusher genuinely didn’t want to die and revealed everything he knew to Hazen.
It was reckless, but he trusted Hazen to understand.
“Senior, I believe you’ll make the right decision.”
“……”
“And since I’ve told you everything, I’ll move the spear now…”
As the ambusher tried to push the spear away, Hazen exuded a killing aura. The ambusher couldn’t move.
“Was my judgment wrong…?”
Logically, Hazen was correct, but people are not always guided solely by logic.
Feeling the danger of imminent death, Hazen recalled something Castro had once said:
“If you had to choose between a single student and the fate of the world, which would you pick?”
At the time, it sounded absurd, but now Hazen understood the gravity of those words.
“I….”
Hazen made his decision and withdrew the spear.
“…Leave.”
“Thank you.”
“And remember, when I arrive there at year’s end, you should prepare either the means to stop me or a detailed explanation.”
“…Understood.”
The ambusher, fearing Hazen might change his mind, used top-tier stealth to escape the barrier.
Inside, Hazen gazed at the academy’s tallest building. Castro had already made his choice; Hazen believed he knew what it was.
And he had already conveyed his answer to Castro:
“…I will stop you, even if I have to throw everything away.”
As always, the two men remained at odds with each other.
