Chapter 95
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95
At the entrance to Ishtal’s Grand Stadium.
A minor commotion broke out amidst the murmuring crowd of early arrivals.
“U-unregistered vehicles are not permitted to enter the Grand Stadium grounds.”
“What are you talking about? I already registered at the Union entrance. Besides, no one in this Union has the authority to block my path.”
“We haven’t received any word about that…”
“I told you, I already spoke to Freya. The longer you delay, the worse it will be for you. The opening ceremony is starting soon, isn't it?”
I had led a caravan of carriages loaded with supplies for the Athletic Festival to the stadium entrance, only to be barred from going any further. It was all thanks to these overly zealous members of the disciplinary committee.
I sighed, resorting to a thinly veiled threat.
“We’re running out of time. Are you prepared to take responsibility for the delay?”
I tapped my wristwatch and scowled. The expressions of the committee members blocking the gate gradually hardened.
“W-well…”
They were only following orders, but they were still standing in my way. The fear of potential retaliation was clearly visible in their eyes. After all, what subordinates fear most is being the one held responsible when things go wrong.
Fortunately, the pressure worked. The steadfast resolve of the committee members began to waver. The gate would open soon enough.
It was just as I was finishing my wrangling with them that a voice cut through the air.
Step—.
“No, responsibility falls not to them, but to their superior.”
A calm, steady voice broke the tense standoff. Freya emerged, the group of committee members parting to let her through.
With a troubled look, she asked coolly, “What brings you here, Roen?”
“What do you mean? Just as I said yesterday, I’ve brought a gift out of pure goodwill. We don’t have time to waste, so let’s get moving.”
“A gift? Don’t tell me…”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.”
I gestured toward the endless line of carriages stretching out behind me.
“One thousand large tents, fifty thousand folding chairs, and eight thousand portable desks. Enough for the fifty thousand people the Grand Stadium can hold.”
“...!”
For a moment, the eyes of Freya and her aides went wide.
“H-how on earth did you…”
It was a natural reaction. They had spent the past few days scouring the entire port and found nothing, yet here I was with everything they needed.
I shrugged.
“I have my ways. But what’s important right now isn’t how I got them. There’s only one hour and forty-five minutes until the opening ceremony. We’re out of time.”
“…”
Freya nodded, the gravity of the situation sinking in. The top priority now was to quickly unload and arrange the supplies I had brought.
“I brought as many workers and students as I could, but we’re still short on hands.”
“…I see.”
Setting up massive tents in tiers and arranging fifty thousand chairs was no small feat. That was why I had contacted Elena beforehand and requisitioned three hundred students from Izelin Academy as support staff. Ciel should be arriving with them shortly, bringing our numbers to five hundred.
But even that wasn't enough to finish the installation in a flash.
I gestured with my eyes toward the disciplinary committee members standing around gawking behind Freya.
“Gather the executive committee, the disciplinary committee, and all the volunteers. We need to finish this immediately.”
*
“Tents! Ten more over here!”
“Grab the legs! One, two!”
“Check the height! And don’t forget to secure the anchors!”
“Arrange the chairs in three rows per tier!”
The students and workers moved with perfect coordination, filling the stands of the Grand Stadium. Even the spectators who had arrived early and laid out their mats joined in to help.
Freya, who had been hauling supplies alongside them, climbed up to the reviewing stand to catch her breath.
She looked out over the Grand Stadium. The once-empty seats were being transformed. Sturdy steel-poled tents with wide awnings now provided shade. Beneath them, folding chairs offered comfortable seating, and portable desks were being laid out for water bottles and personal belongings.
It was a gift from Roen, delivered at the eleventh hour.
The original order had been canceled due to the bankruptcy of the merchant guild that was supposed to handle it. Roen had somehow procured the exact same quantity from elsewhere, filling the void perfectly.
“…”
With this, she could finally realize the vision she had originally planned for the festival: to provide shade and comfort for everyone, equally.
It might have seemed like a simple matter of self-satisfaction, but as long as the students could enjoy the festival in comfort, that was all that mattered to her.
Freya silently gazed down at the white tents filling the stands. Or rather, she was watching Roen, who was directing the various teams from a distance.
“You, over there. Don’t just stand there like an idiot. Follow the orders of the team leader from the merchant guild.”
“Carry only three chairs at a time or you’ll hurt your back. Desks, teams of four. Tents, teams of ten.”
“Ciel, go help those guys spacing out. We’re burning daylight.”
His tone was harsh, but Roen continued to direct the installation with surgical precision, deploying people to the right places at the right times.
Freya watched him for a moment, then bit her lip and lowered her head.
…I’m so ashamed.
She was ashamed of her own incompetence—for being unable to procure the supplies he had prepared so perfectly, even after running herself ragged. She was ashamed of her judgment, for dismissing Roen and rejecting his offer based on mere speculation. And she was ashamed of her current position, being on the receiving end of his one-sided help after treating him with such hostility.
“…”
Just as Freya was sinking into dejection, she sensed a presence behind her. From the aura and the sound of the footsteps, it was one of her aides, Diona.
Freya quickly composed herself.
“What is it, Miss Diona?”
“President, didn’t you say the negotiations with Roen fell through?”
“That is correct.”
“Then why is he helping us like this?”
At Diona’s question, Freya slowly shook her head.
“To be honest, I don’t know either.”
What was Roen thinking? Which side of him was real, and which was a mask? Why had he committed such evil deeds in the past, and why was he acting like a changed man now?
Even Freya, who had known Roen for over a decade, couldn’t comprehend his actions.
“…”
But for now, she decided to simply be grateful for this stroke of luck—and to express her gratitude to Roen for giving her such a gift with no strings attached.
Of course, she knew full well that there was no such thing as pure goodwill in this world. If his eventual demands were reasonable, she would accept them.
And so, forty-five minutes before the opening ceremony, the setup was complete.
By then, students from every academy began to flock to the Grand Stadium, gradually filling the spectator seats. Seeing the endless wave of people was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking.
“President. It’s almost time. The Chairman and the rest of the faculty have arrived.”
At her aide’s report, Freya, who had been watching the crowd, stood up.
“Yes. I’ll head to the waiting room.”
*
The Grand Stadium was filled with a low, constant roar. Tens of thousands of people were already seated, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin. The heat and energy radiating from the massive crowd reached all the way to the waiting room.
“Hoo.”
Freya took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She was usually confident in her ability to maintain a calm mind through constant training, but giving a speech in front of such a massive audience was a different kind of pressure.
She clenched her hand over her chest, trying to relax.
Thump—.
The sound of heavy footsteps came from behind her.
“Oh, this is quite magnificent.”
A familiar, rich, and pleasant voice followed. It was Hengard, the Chairman of the Union—a man with a benevolent face and billowing, cloud-like hair on either side of his head.
“Ah, Chairman. Good day.”
“Yes, it’s been a while, Miss Freya. Please give my regards to Lord Wodanaz at the Winter Castle.”
“Yes, I will be sure to pass them on to my father.”
Freya bowed her head deeply.
“Excellent.”
The Chairman smiled brightly and looked around the Grand Stadium.
“What an interesting sight. I’ve been Chairman for over a decade, but this is the first time I’ve seen an Athletic Festival that feels like this.”
A wave of massive tents surrounded the stadium. The tiers of shaded canopies and seats had transformed the typically plain stadium into something resembling a grand domed arena. The only other stadium capable of providing such shade and seating for tens of thousands was the imperial chariot racing stadium, the ‘Circus Cassandra.’ And even there, desks weren't provided except in the VIP sections.
The Chairman shrugged and continued.
“Miss Freya, whose idea was this? I heard you ran into some trouble during the preparations.”
“I wanted all the students to be able to enjoy the festival comfortably, so I came up with this seating arrangement. The planning was done by our entire executive committee. However…”
“However?”
“As you know, we failed to actually implement the plan. It was my failing. We were forced to proceed with a simplified version, but just before the opening ceremony, we received help from Roen.”
“Oh?”
It was an admission of her own incompetence, but the truth was the truth. Freya stated the facts without embellishment.
“So, Mr. Roen played a part here as well?”
“…It was due to my own shortcomings.”
As Freya blamed herself, the Chairman gently patted her shoulder.
“Miss Freya, there’s no need to be so hard on yourself. The fact that Roen cooperated with you is also one of your strengths. Knowing how to leverage the talents of those around you is one of the greatest virtues of a leader, you know?”
“Pardon…?”
The idea that using the abilities of others was a skill in itself didn't quite resonate with her yet, but she could clearly feel the Chairman’s intention to comfort her. Perhaps it was a lesson from his own experience, having risen to such a high position through social grace and connections.
“Are you feeling a little less nervous?”
“Yes.”
For some reason, talking with the Chairman had put her at ease.
“Good. Everyone is waiting for you, Miss Freya.”
As the Chairman pointed beyond the waiting room tent, the aides who had been waiting outside approached.
“Lady Freya, it is time.”
“Yes, I’m on my way.”
Hoo—.
Freya took one last deep breath and stepped out of the waiting room.
“Waaaaah—!!”
The moment she stepped out from behind the tent, a roar like a crashing waterfall poured over her. The heat felt like it was pressing down on her entire body. Her heart pounded, and her vision swam for a split second.
But the position of Student Council President demanded that she overcome such pressure. This position, with its great authority, came with commensurate duties.
Freya calmed herself and stepped up to the podium.
“It is a pleasure to meet you all, students of the Union. I am Freya Gunhild, the Student Council President of Ishtal and the host of this year’s Athletic Festival. I look forward to your cooperation.”
As Freya bowed, another fierce roar erupted from the stands. Amidst the cheers that seemed to vibrate through her entire body, she lifted her head and looked at the sky.
“First, I give thanks to the gods for granting us this joyous day. I also pay my respects to the hard work of all the executive committee members and volunteers who worked alongside me. And…”
Freya glanced briefly toward the VIP section as she spoke.
“I would also like to thank Student Council President Roen for his special efforts in making this Athletic Festival possible.”
*
As Freya’s clear voice finished echoing across the Grand Stadium, a thunderous roar of cheers and applause erupted once more. The heat and shouts of the students reached all the way to the VIP section near the reviewing stand.
Elena, sitting near me, clapped lightly and spoke.
“Miss Freya is as popular as ever. I’m almost jealous.”
“Weren’t you ranked higher in the popularity polls?”
“Oh, come on. That’s just because I’m always out doing external support activities. My situation is different from hers.”
Elena nudged my shoulder and asked cautiously, “So, what did you get up to this time? I heard you brought dozens of carts this morning and staged a protest at the stadium entrance.”
“…Something like that.”
She was asking even though she already knew. Even without me explaining, someone with ears as sharp as Elena’s would have heard the whole story. Besides, Freya had just mentioned me in her speech.
Instead of a detailed explanation, I slyly changed the subject.
“The torch relay is starting.”
After the delegations had entered, the final runner appeared carrying the torch. It was a knight in light armor, with striking dark blue hair and eyes.
Felicia Ardion, the 492nd president of Ishtal.
She was also the current Vice-captain of the Blue Rose Knights, the very tip of the Cassandra Empire’s sword. She ascended the platform to light the flame.
Fwoosh—.
With a flame that soared high into the air, the Athletic Festival officially began.