Inter-Year Showdown: A Princess's Wager
Aren's hand had groped the derriere of Veronica's biological father—no, the Duke of Adel Adler himself—yet the man showed zero reaction. It was like he was staring at a roadside rock with cold eyes, treating him as some utterly worthless, unrelated nobody. I hadn't expected such complete indifference, no matter what.
I didn't touch her just to test his reaction, though.
Really, no. No matter how you slice it, I wouldn't use a woman's feelings(?) like that. I touched her purely because I wanted to...
He's even more detached than I imagined.
No wonder Veronica hated him so much. With a father like that, a stepmother-like mother (she actually is the stepmother), and on top of that, a rude asshole of a brother. Ugh... I'd want to escape that family too.
On the flip side...
Agnes the princess was giving me a look that felt oddly meaningful.
... Or not.
Maybe it was just the gaze of someone enjoying a trashy drama. Hmm. Ambiguous.
Whatever happened at the opening ceremony, the inter-year showdown kicked off as scheduled. First up: first-years versus second-years, followed by third-years against fourth-years. The winners of each matchup would face off in the finals. Statistically speaking, though, the fourth-years had the highest odds of taking the crown.
That's probably why they paired first against second from the start.
They were matching groups with similar skill gaps right off the bat. They still had to put on a show, after all.
But there are always exceptions. I figured the first-years would be that exception.
"So, between the first- and second-years, which side do you think will win the first half?"
"Hmm... Obviously the first-years, right?"
"Oh ho?"
I answered impassively to the princess, who was propping her chin on her hand and watching me from the side. Her signature crimson eyes sparkled as she shot back.
"And why's that?"
"Because of Veronica, obviously."
Agnes the princess's eyes went wide.
"Hmm? Unexpected."
"What's unexpected?"
"This lady figured you'd indulge in some self-praise and say, 'Because of me.'"
I stared at her steadily and tossed out a single line.
"What do you take me for?"
"Let's see... The arrogant commoner who declared war on the nobles at the entrance ceremony? The serial confessor from who-knows-where? The lunatic who dives in face-first whenever he sees a frail, pretty girl? The scoundrel groping girls' asses in places where people might see?"
"......"
I was at a loss for words.
How does she know every damn detail?
"It's not like that."
"Sure it isn't."
The princess smirked and smacked my shoulder. It didn't hurt much, but it felt loaded with some real force.
Or maybe not.
Considering she was a top-tier swordswoman, maybe she was holding back.
Unaware or uncaring of my thoughts, the princess continued nonchalantly.
"Don't worry. This lady will keep what she saw earlier a secret."
Keep it a secret?
"Why?"
"Because it looks fun?"
"?"
...Huh?
"A commoner and a duke's lady in love—now that's a heart-pounding tale. Of course, you don't seem like just any commoner coming from the Eastern Blaze... but that makes it even more entertaining."
"......"
What the hell.
Fine, whatever—she knew I was from the Eastern Blaze. I hadn't hidden it, and the Empire's intelligence network would sniff that out easy. But...
Our princess is a real character.
Who would've thought the princess of a nation was a dopamine junkie? It's common knowledge that the elite often go off the deep end in one direction or another, but I never pegged her for this type.
My favorability toward the princess was skyrocketing—
"But no matter how I think about it, you're still a lunatic."
"...?"
Why the sudden turnaround?
"I thought it at the entrance ceremony, but yeah, you're no ordinary madman."
She kept muttering "madman" at me.
"......?"
"How the hell do you even think to grope a duke's daughter's ass? Is love really that powerful? It's fun to watch, sure, but I don't get it."
"......"
I suddenly had the urge to flick her forehead.
Wanna smack that smooth brow of hers.
Just toss her on the bed and slap her cheeks with the club hanging from my lower half—
Whoops.
Nope, not that. I quickly changed the subject.
"...Anyway, is it okay for us to be chatting here like this?"
That was the thing from the start. Why was I even talking with the princess right now?
"Even if it's the first half now, we'll have to throw down in the second half. Doesn't this count as cheating?"
The top firepower from each team: Agnes the princess and me. As the aces, we were restricted to the second half per the rules. We'd been escorted to our respective waiting rooms... but then she showed up, and here we were chatting.
And yet...
"It's fine. No one dares complain to this lady."
"...Ah, got it."
That tracks.
"Anyway, putting that aside—why the hell have you been talking like that since earlier?"
Like some lofty archaic noble straight out of a wuxia novel.
Okay, sure, she's a princess, so she is lofty...
But it kept making me think of a Heavenly Demon. Swap her gender, and it'd be "this seat" all day.
Unfazed by my thoughts, she replied in that same calm tone.
"This is how this lady speaks."
"But on the platform earlier and at the entrance ceremony, you were just using polite speech."
"Those were official occasions."
Hmm...
"Official occasions... As a princess, don't you get to ignore that stuff?"
She stared at me.
"That's up to this lady. I switch it up whenever I feel like it, so quit yapping and watch the first half."
"Ah, sure."
She's just doing whatever she wants, huh.
Confirmed.
Our princess was pretty free-spirited. Maybe it was the pretty face, but even that felt charming.
With that, the two of us fell silent and started watching the first half.
As rehearsed, Veronica and the magic department students from the first-years unleashed a barrage on the enemy camp—the second-year lines.
KABOOOOOM———!!!
The massive explosion rocked the air, and the second-years deployed defensive spells. Their melee forces, who had moved first, found themselves pinned down. Nobody charges through endless magical bombardment. Even with mana or aura body reinforcement, one wrong hit could mean instant retirement.
But...
...this batch of first-years was the exception.
".........?"
The princess tilted her head.
"What do you think? The power of the aces I trained myself."
"...Aces?"
"Ah, warriors. Warriors."
I nodded toward the first-year students darting through the magic barrages.
This was all thanks to sweat and blood in training. I'd hammered them with spells all day to desensitize them to pain—make them numb to everything but dizziness. The result: fearless, valiant warriors.
"How about a little wager while we're at it?"
"...A wager?"
"Whether the warriors—no, aces—I raised win, or your second-years do."
I eyed her provocatively. Would the princess let that slide? In my book, no way.
And...
"...Fine."
She bit.
"Let's see who wins."
"Loser grants the winner one wish?"
"Fine."
And so, the bet with our dopamine-addicted princess was on.
The first half progressed at a faster pace than expected. Bolstered by Veronica's magic support, the first-years closed in on the second-year frontlines. Now they just needed to push them out and hold the enemy camp for five minutes...
"Hmm..."
The issue: they'd reached the front, but the push failed. Thin threads had shot out from somewhere, binding the first-year students.
And the owner of those threads...
Sara-senpai?
Sara. I'd sensed she was no slouch as a mage, but seeing her in action firsthand? She was even stronger.
"Hmph! As expected of the Clement lady. Overkill for that worthless brother of hers."
I ignored the princess muttering beside me.
At this rate, the first-years who'd gotten that close might retire en masse soon. A few standouts were breaking free of Sara's spells to fight, but... it wasn't enough.
In this do-or-die moment—
"Onahahahahahaha!!"
The four-man squad appeared riding spirits in the sky: Zeke and the romance novel male leads.
"...What?"
Only then did the princess realize they weren't among the ground forces battling it out.
The first-years' core firepower—where the hell had they been hiding, only to drop from the sky...?
"Impressed?"
"...What are those?"
"Spirits. Spirits."
"Spirits?"
"Yep."
Now they were riding those spirits to infiltrate the rear. Then...
They'd dive into the student melee below and seize momentum.
Right on cue, Veronica's magic support rained down. First- and second-year spells tangled in the air, perfectly splitting enemy attention.
And then.
"Oahahahahahaha! Here I come!!"
Zeke leaped first toward the ground, kicking off the assault.
Agnes the princess, seeing it...
"!?"
Her jaw dropped.
"Why the hell are they jumping from there...!"
"That's the strategy."
"Madmen!"