Chapter 25: Chapter 25. Rookie Tournament (2)

Once the scores had been tallied, the top four were announced.

Helios and Charlotte from the advanced class, and Senia and me from the top class.

Our current rankings, however, were not made public.

“I made the top four… I can’t believe it.”

“From what I saw, you did pretty well.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Eriol. Thank you.”

As Senia and I talked in the waiting area, Charlotte, who had been watching beside us, spoke up.

“Hmph. What wonderful camaraderie.”

Her venomous tone made even the mild-mannered Senia frown.

“That seems rather uncalled for.”

“This is hardly the time for it. You two could be enemies now.”

“We’ll only be having a mock battle. Calling us enemies is a bit…”

Just then, the professors approached the waiting area.

Professor Horizon stood in the middle.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes.”

Senia, Helios, Charlotte, and I nodded.

“The matchups have been decided.”

“…”

“Senia and Charlotte will fight the first match, Eriol and Helios the second. The winners will face each other in the third match to determine the final rankings. There will be no separate match for third and fourth place; those two students will be tied.”

Apparently, they wanted to avoid having students from the same class face each other in the first round.

“Good luck, then.”

Tension settled over the waiting area.

---

“Whew…”

Senia took a deep breath as she put on her sparring equipment.

Apparently, it automatically activated defensive magic, so she wouldn’t be injured no matter how many attacks she took.

But measurement magic was also constantly active, tallying the damage she received from her opponent in real time.

Take more than a certain amount of damage, and I lose…

She wasn’t used to this format, but she would have to give it a try.

“Senia, was it?”

Charlotte, who had finished putting on her equipment beside her, spoke up.

“You only seem capable of ordinary magic. Why waste your energy? Just forfeit.”

“Um… why are you so hostile?”

Honestly, this was going too far.

“I heard you have a complex about not getting into the top class… but even so, I don’t think that justifies this attitude.”

“You…!”

Charlotte started to raise her voice, then shut her mouth, perhaps conscious of the people watching them.

“Ugh, honestly…”

After a sigh, she glared at Senia again.

“Let me make one thing clear. I don’t have an inferiority complex. I simply don’t like you people who got into the top class ahead of me.”

“Why? Once enough time passes, being in the top or advanced class won’t mean anything anyway.”

“It will for me.”

Charlotte swept back her blond hair.

“If I don’t get excellent grades here, I have to withdraw.”

“What?”

“I made a promise to my parents. If my grades aren’t good enough, they’ll drag me home and marry me off for the family’s benefit.”

“A marriage of convenience? That’s so old-fashioned…”

“Aren’t you from the Artian family, famed for its swordsmanship? All the great families have their old-fashioned ways.”

“…”

Senia had no reply.

“I’m not going to apologize for being prickly with you. I’m desperate in my own way. I can’t afford to be nice to my rivals.”

With that, Charlotte walked ahead to her position.

Watching her stride away so proudly, Senia was overcome by conflicting emotions.

She’s… like me.

Senia had made a similar promise to her parents.

Fortunately, she had done well enough on the entrance exam to enter the top class. If she had ended up in the advanced class or lower, she would have had to cancel her enrollment and return to the Artian family.

So she could understand how Charlotte felt.

What will happen to her if she loses to me here?

From what Charlotte had said, it didn’t seem as though she would be dragged home immediately if she lost.

But if those results piled up, she would eventually have to leave the academy and enter a marriage of convenience.

Then perhaps I should let her win…

At that thought, Senia hastily shook her head.

No!

Doing that would insult Charlotte.

Charlotte had maintained her proud bearing even while admitting that her hostility was unreasonable.

If Senia deliberately handed victory to someone like that… she would be furious.

Fighting her properly is the respectful thing to do.

With that thought, Senia moved into position.

She took a deep breath as she faced Charlotte’s resolute gaze.

For Eriol’s sake, after all the time he’s spent teaching me… I have to give this everything I’ve got!

With that resolve, Senia clenched her fists.

“It seems you’re both ready.”

Professor Horizon’s voice carried from a distance.

“Then… begin!”

Senia immediately raised her hand.

Using the technique Eriol had taught her, she gathered energy from the fire elements, then launched it as though throwing a ball.

But this time she cast much faster than before, prioritizing speed.

“Hmph. Too hasty!”

Charlotte’s mocking voice rang out.

Even as she spoke, she was already casting her spell.

A spear of ice closed the distance in an instant, piercing the sphere of flame as it hurtled toward Senia.

But—

“…!”

Senia had already moved.

Using the flames scattered by the spear’s passage as a smokescreen, she darted toward Charlotte’s flank.

“Wha—?!”

Startled, Charlotte tried to turn, but she was already too late.

Born into the Artian family, famed for its swordsmanship, Senia had undergone rigorous training since childhood.

Charlotte might have been a gifted mage, but Senia was overwhelmingly superior when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

Dodging the ice spear and slipping around to Charlotte’s flank were easy when Senia put her full strength into it.

“…!”

Senia reached for Charlotte’s throat.

She felt a defensive barrier blocking her hand, but seized her anyway.

“Ah!”

SLAM!

She slammed Charlotte into the ground.

Perhaps because of the barrier, it sounded different from an ordinary person hitting the ground.

“Whew…”

Senia steadied her breathing and straightened up.

Charlotte was already unconscious.

Her life wouldn’t be in danger, and there would be no lasting effects… but she was completely out of the fight.

“Wooo…!”

Cheers rang out.

Senia turned to see her classmates from the top class cheering in the stands.

“Well done!”

“That was amazing!”

It wasn’t just Kane, Karis, and Milia, whom she usually spent time with. The other students were cheering too.

She had never experienced anything like this before. She felt as though she might cry.

“Th-thank you!”

She bowed, and the cheers grew louder.

Her heart swelling with emotion, Senia was about to run over to Eriol.

It was all thanks to his help that she had been able to launch her flames quickly enough to deceive Charlotte.

Eriol, I did it!

Just as she was about to run over and share her joy with him—

“Senia Artian loses by disqualification.”

Professor Horizon’s pitiless voice rang out.

“What am I supposed to do when you land the finishing blow with martial arts instead of magic? Have you forgotten this is a magic academy?”

“Oh…!”

Now that she thought about it… that was true.

“If you’d won by strengthening your body with magic, that would be another matter. But this is grounds for disqualification. Your loss by disqualification is final.”

“Ahh…!”

Senia felt her face turn scarlet.

She wanted to crawl into a hole.

---

The professors found the result just as bewildering.

“Well, now I’ve seen everything…”

Inies, the professor in charge of the advanced class, muttered in disbelief.

“Klein, was this your strategy?”

“Of course it wasn’t…”

Klein sighed, clutching his head.

Having two students from the top class qualify had been good, but one had lost by disqualification in the very first match.

“Ugh. If only Kane Trigger had made it through, this wouldn’t have happened…”

Like Senia, Kane was skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Unlike her, however, he was shrewd enough that he wouldn’t have caused a mishap like this.

“If only Monark Orson had qualified… Or Karis, or his sister Milia…”

“Stop muttering to yourself.”

Inies chided the groaning Klein.

“The other professors seem quite impressed.”

“What?”

He looked where Inies pointed. Several of the professors who had served as judges were talking excitedly.

“Did you see those movements? Just what you’d expect from the Artian family!”

“We must get her into our department! Combine those superb martial arts with our magic, and the synergy would be tremendous!”

“I’d like to bring her into the Necromancy Department and have her dance in the darkness alongside the undead.”

“Enough! How could you try to drag such young talent into the darkness? We must let her shine in the Radiance Department!”

All they could talk about was Senia, who had lost by disqualification.

“Charlotte won on paper, but Senia won the actual fight. If this had been real combat, Charlotte would already be dead.”

“But she didn’t win with magic…”

“What does it matter whether you use magic or something else, as long as you win? She did use magic for that initial misdirection.”

“Hmm…”

“Actually, what impresses me more than her martial arts… is her ability to think on her feet and come up with just the right strategy to subdue her opponent.”

Klein was at a loss for words.

He hadn’t considered it from that perspective.

“Still…”

Inies frowned slightly.

“Charlotte may have won, but I doubt she’ll be able to compete in the final.”

“What?”

“She still hasn’t gotten up.”

Klein craned his neck and saw Charlotte being carried out on a stretcher.

“Ah. Then that means…”

“Yes.”

Inies turned to look toward the waiting area.

“Their match will decide the champion.”

---

“I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Neither was I.”

“Still, it works out well for me.”

Helios smiled at me.

“I didn’t think I’d feel particularly motivated to fight Charlotte or Senia after beating you.”

“So beating me is already a certainty?”

“I have no intention of losing.”

“We’re alike in that respect.”

“What?”

I looked at the puzzled Helios and spoke calmly.

“I have no intention of losing either.”

“…”

Helios stared at me.

“I knew it… You’re no meek little nerd.”

“A nerd? What do you know about me to call me that?”

Now, if he’d called me a bookworm…

“Very well, Eriol Valencia.”

Helios’s eyes blazed.

“Then prove it against me. Prove you’re not just a nerd riding on Professor Kaisel’s coattails, but someone with what it takes to become a proper mage.”

“For the record.”

I turned my back on Helios and headed for the center of the sparring arena.

“I’ve never ridden on my uncle’s coattails.”

The match to decide the Rookie Tournament’s champion began.