Chapter 81
Chapter 81
The Sagittarius Tournament progressed smoothly.
Since it was an event omitted in the original work, I didn’t know in detail how the results would turn out, but looking at the participants, the general direction of victory and defeat became clear.
The most likely candidates for the championship were me and Darius, along with two students from other academies.
From a purely skill-based perspective, Bertrand could also have easily placed within the rankings, but because he lost in his match against me, he was eliminated from contention.
The tournament took place over a total of three days.
Most days had two matches in the morning and two in the afternoon, and since I had already finished my two matches, I was watching Petra’s match from the stands.
“Ha!”
Her match was drawing even more attention than the men’s.
Perhaps because of her outstanding looks, she drew countless gazes, and combined with the fact that she was from Bayern Academy, she received tremendous interest.
Every time Petra’s sword swept gracefully through the air, exclamations of admiration spilled out from the stands.
From all around, I could hear people trying to find out her name and family background.
Meanwhile, I leaned back comfortably in my seat, leisurely appreciating Petra’s skill.
‘Her sword feels lighter than before.’
Whether it was because she had cast off the shackles that once bound her, or because she had gained a companion in me, I didn’t know, but her realm had advanced another step.
Freed from what had restrained it, her sword gained even more elasticity, pressing her opponent relentlessly from start to finish.
When Crimson Lotus left a vivid arc in the air, the spar finally came to an end.
At this level, I thought she should be able to place within the rankings without much trouble.
“Phew…….”
As if to cool the heat of the match, she exhaled deeply and stepped down from the stage.
I had been waiting beside the platform just before the match ended, and with a look that said “good work,” I handed her a towel.
Petra accepted it with a gentle smile.
“To think the Third Imperial Prince would personally attend to me—guess I’ll live a long life.”
“You shouldn’t be surprised by something this trivial.”
When I shrugged and replied, she let out a small laugh and wiped the sweat from her face with the towel.
At that moment, I felt the gazes around us.
They were probably trying to figure out what kind of relationship Petra and I had.
But she seemed unconcerned, calmly speaking to me.
“What are you thinking of doing for lunch?”
“The academy cafeteria doesn’t really suit my taste, so I was thinking of going outside. Ah, Leysias can come along too, right?”
“Of course.”
Leysias, like me, was participating on the magic division side of the Sagittarius Tournament.
Since her matches started later than Petra’s, we would have to wait a bit.
Without delay, we headed toward the venue where the magic division tournament was being held.
Unlike the sweaty atmosphere of the swordsmanship division, the magic division venue felt much brighter.
Perhaps it was because of the flashy spectacle of the matches, along with the higher ratio of female participants.
“Ah, there she is.”
Unlike the swordsmanship matches, which simply measured strength head-on, the magic division filled the air with dazzling effects.
Since it would be difficult to land powerful spells directly on each other’s bodies, it seemed they placed designated targets on the stage and fought by alternating between offense and defense.
At a glance, it looked similar to chess.
Dolls with distinct roles were positioned on the stage in fixed formations, and the mages commanded them, using enhancement, attack, and defense spells to gain the upper hand.
‘It’s a perfect field for her to shine.’
It seemed that not only precise spell usage, but also instantaneous judgment on which spells to use in which situations, as well as command and tactical ability, were all part of the competition.
Anyone participating in the Academic Festival undoubtedly possessed outstanding talent, but the Sheffield family that Leysias belonged to was known as a prestigious magic lineage.
If they had only shut themselves away to research in isolation, they could never have earned such a reputation.
The Sheffield family specialized in the war mage position, excelling in battle and warfare.
On top of that, Leysias’s talent lay in high-speed chanting and parallel casting.
Abilities perfectly suited for small-scale combat like this.
Indeed, she flawlessly defended against the spells fired by the opposing mage, then launched a counterattack.
Several magic circles floated in the air, and a baptism of fire with power unbelievable for such a short chant swept across the area.
The overwhelming display of skill decided the match.
“She’s impressive.”
Petra, being a swordsmanship major, didn’t know magic in great detail, but she had basic knowledge.
Even though Leysias was only a first-year, her level was clearly higher compared to the others participating in the Academic Festival.
“Waaaaa—.”
As Leysias finished the match decisively and stepped down from the stage with a triumphant expression, loud cheers erupted from the stands.
When I casually waved at her, she seemed to notice me and approached us with a bright smile.
“That was flashy.”
“The real game hasn’t even started yet.”
“Still, at this level, doesn’t it seem like you could place in the rankings?”
“Well. There are plenty of people better than me.”
Her words were humble, but her face was full of confidence.
Indeed, Leysias performed steadily through the early and middle stages.
After that, though, she tended to get overshadowed by others.
Soon, we left the venue to have lunch.
Eating at the academy cafeteria was an option, but as I said earlier, it didn’t suit my palate.
The Bayern Academy cafeteria was delicious, but this place’s food was generally too bland.
Being born a prince had refined my taste, so we entered an upscale restaurant.
With the Academic Festival in full swing, reservations were fully booked, but after placing a suitable gold bar in the manager’s hand, he bowed deeply and immediately arranged a table for us.
“If you worked hard, you should eat something good.”
The meal was quite enjoyable.
Petra and Leysias said they had seen and felt many things through the Academic Festival events.
Since I felt the same, I thought that when I participated next year, I might be able to progress through the story more smoothly.
“Oh, right. Alice’s group said they’re coming as soon as classes end the day after tomorrow.”
“They’re impatient. If they just wait one more day, it’ll be the weekend anyway.”
“I guess they want to come early and have fun. Exams aren’t far off, either.”
They were hopeless.
Especially Alice—she was probably bored without me.
As I gave a wry smile, Petra casually asked us,
“How did you meet Alice?”
“We ate together during the entrance exam. Back then, I had no idea she’d turn out to be such a tomboy.”
I really had no idea.
Who would have thought she was an assassin who had snuck in aiming for my life? Realizing that was already half a year ago gave me a strange sense of nostalgia.
As I reminisced about those faint memories, Leysias let out a small sigh.
“Do you remember when you first met me too?”
“Of course.
The way you were trembling in fear was exquisite.”
“T-trembling in fear?”
When Petra asked with a puzzled expression, I roughly explained what had happened.
I had visited the magic department to scout a mage for dungeon exploration.
Leysias had jumped to the conclusion that I had come to recruit her and approached me, only to get teased.
“…I didn’t know anything back then, so it couldn’t be helped.”
Leysias, her face bright red, cleared her throat and made excuses.
Finding that amusing, I let out a laugh without thinking.
“Well, in the end, it turned out well. We’re even eating together like this now.”
That much was my honest feeling.
One way or another, things had flowed smoothly up to this point.
And unless something major happened, I thought it would continue that way—until I made eye contact with two people passing by outside the window.
“……?”
Two men in ridiculous clown makeup were walking down the street, as if they had come out to perform at some circus.
By itself, it wasn’t anything special.
With the Academic Festival’s influence, various events were happening all over the streets, so seeing one or two clowns wouldn’t be strange.
But some peculiar sense of déjà vu pricked at my senses.
As I pondered what exactly felt off, a bizarre tattoo running across the left side of their faces entered my view from their eyes.
‘…You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’
My mind snapped alert, a light flickering on in my head.
I lowered my trembling hand beneath the table, then kept my expression as calm as possible, turning my head with an indifferent look as if to say, what are clowns doing here?
Hoping desperately that they would just pass by, I smiled and chatted with the companions on either side of me.
The gaze fixed on me lasted for several seconds.
‘Please just go.’
But perhaps they found nothing noteworthy beyond making eye contact, because their presence soon faded away.
‘Phew.’
Only then did I quietly let out a sigh of relief, unseen by the others.
Clowns themselves weren’t the issue.
The problem was the markings etched into their faces—what those symbols represented.
‘Why are Majin here?’
When the world fell into chaos, it wasn’t only heroes who appeared.
Those known as Majin were people who had directly contracted with demons, far worse than someone like Gawain, who had fallen of his own accord, or Bertrand, who had been seduced and had his body stolen, as in the original work.
Those two had offered themselves as sacrifices in exchange for some price, but the Majin worshiped demons and fully accepted their power.
Thus, they secretly built their forces beneath the surface, stockpiling strength until the time came.
However, they weren’t supposed to reveal themselves until at least the end of Part Two.
In terms of timing, this was still only the early stages of Part One—absolutely not when they should be roaming around.
Fortunately, perhaps because my acting worked, they disappeared into the distance, but it wasn’t a situation I could be optimistic about.
They sought only chaos and destruction.
If they had shown themselves here, some kind of incident was bound to occur.
‘Are they connected to the anti-imperial faction? I don’t remember anything like that…….’
“…Is something wrong?”
As I fell silent for a moment, Petra, who had been savoring her post-meal coffee, asked with a puzzled expression.
I hesitated briefly, then made my decision and spoke to them.
“You two head back first. Something came up that I need to take care of.”
At my words, the two nodded with bewildered expressions.
I had no intention of courting danger, but the fact that they had appeared here bothered me too much.
So I hurriedly left the restaurant and followed their trail.
“They didn’t go far.”
Perhaps because of their conspicuous outfits, I could spot them even in the crowded streets.
I moved my steps discreetly, trying not to draw their attention.
“……?”
A side alley branching off from the bustling district.
Since it was a stretch where foot traffic thinned out, I kept a comfortable distance from them.
Then I entered to follow them again, but no matter how far I walked, I couldn’t sense the presence that had been ahead of me.
‘Is there a secret passage? Or…….’
“That’s strange. I’ve never seen that guy before.”
“No, look at his face. He’s the guy we locked eyes with earlier on the second floor of that restaurant.”
“……!”
At the sudden voices from behind me, I kicked off the ground and spun around in haste.
I lowered my stance with my hand on the hilt of my sword, only to find that the two clowns had somehow positioned themselves behind me.
“You—what are you?”
Within their white-and-red ridiculous makeup, two pairs of crimson eyes gleamed with a sinister light as they stared at me.