The Class Rivalry Tournament
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Isis realized her mistake and began babbling incoherently.
“S-sorry. Did your big sister say something weird? Right. Of course I wouldn’t talk about that with Regina here. Yeah, it was just my misunderstanding. I’m really sorry. But you did stay out for two whole days recently, so I just wondered… Ah! It’s not like I was deliberately digging into your business! It just happened to reach my ears, so, um….”
Her face was flushed crimson. It looked so hot that touching it might cause burns. Finally, Regina, who had been watching, let out a sigh and grabbed her by the shoulder.
“Isis. Calm down. No one is thinking that far into it.”
“Ah….”
Only then did Isis regain her senses and freeze stiffly. Regina turned to us.
“Right? Young Master Luan.”
“…Yes. Well.”
“And you’re Deborah, correct? You’re okay with this?”
“Ah, y-yes! I’m fine!”
“See?”
After Regina made them confirm it multiple times, Isis finally calmed down completely and slowly bowed her head.
“Sorry. For misunderstanding.”
“No, it’s fine. That kind of thing can happen. Anyway, about the important matter I wanted to discuss…”
“Ah, yes! Go ahead. You’re Deborah, right? What did you want to say?”
At the question, Deborah met my eyes, nodded, and opened her mouth.
“Lady Isis, do you happen to know about the Witch of Starlight?”
“……The Witch of Starlight? Why are you bringing her up….”
Were they personally acquainted? The moment the Witch of Starlight was mentioned, Isis’s face hardened instantly.
Does that even make sense?
The Witch of Starlight had died twenty years ago. Isis would have been nothing more than a one-year-old baby back then. Even if they had met, she shouldn’t remember anything.
Isis glanced at me before awkwardly averting her gaze.
“You do know about her, then? The Eye of Prognostication that the Witch of Starlight possessed… I have it now.”
“You’re the current Witch of Starlight?”
“I didn’t want to put it so dramatically, but yes.”
“And? You didn’t see Luan’s future or anything like that, right?”
“Y-yes?”
Isis’s aura sharpened dangerously. If Deborah answered yes, I was genuinely curious what she would do next. Deborah let out a flustered sound and shook her head.
“N-no. I didn’t see Luan’s future.”
“Then? What did you see?”
“W-well… I happened to see a friend’s future, and there were bombs planted throughout the academy. I came to ask for help… Did I do something wrong?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Deborah’s face crumpled as she shrank back. Only after noticing her tearful eyes did Isis seem to realize how she was acting and soften her intensity.
“Sorry. I have some bad memories, so I slipped up. More importantly, bombs planted in the academy? Can you explain in detail?”
“Ah, yes. So basically….”
Deborah’s explanation wasn’t much different from what she had told me. At sunset, a magic circle would unfold in the sky, and at the same time, bombs hidden throughout every section of the academy would detonate. It was a simple yet incredibly threatening description, and Isis’s face grew grave.
“This is no ordinary problem. If this is true, we need to cancel the class rivalry tournament immediately. But… if we stop it abruptly, the ones behind this might notice and detonate the bombs early. We have to dismantle them in complete secrecy…. Regina, could we possibly get support from the knight order?”
“Of course. The knight order was dispatched for the academy’s safety in the first place. If I order a search, they’ll have no choice but to comply, whether they believe it or not.”
“Then please request support from the knight order right away. And Jenny, relay this to every member of the student council. If they find anything suspicious, tell them not to touch it and report everything immediately!”
“Yes! President.”
Isis quickly came up with countermeasures and took control of the committee members. I observed the situation for a moment, gave a nod in farewell, then led Deborah out of the operations tent.
On the way back, I asked, “Deborah. Couldn’t we ask the Gray Magic Tower Master for help?”
“Huh? My master?”
“Yeah. The Gray Magic Tower Master already knows about your Eye of Prognostication. She might be able to help with the bomb search too.”
The academy was also Roxana’s alma mater. There was no way she would welcome the idea of her old school being turned into a wasteland by the Dark Church. Especially when her beloved disciple was here.
At the question, Deborah made an awkward face.
“Um… actually, my master told me never to use the Eye of Prognostication. Even if it was an accident, if she finds out I looked into the future, she’ll be furious.”
“You’re not saying anything because you’re scared of getting scolded?”
“It’s not just that. The truth is, my master has been really busy lately. She won’t even tell me where she’s going. She barely answers my messages. And right now, she’s completely unreachable. It looks like she set up a mana-blocking barrier.”
“Ah, I see.”
If Roxana was so busy she couldn’t even tell Deborah, it meant the matter was highly confidential. Not answering communications likely meant she was in a space completely isolated from the outside world. Putting it all together, there was only one conclusion.
She must be repairing the Illusion Maze Barrier.
The Illusion Maze Barrier in the depths had been destroyed during summer break, so she was probably fixing it while reinforcing it so the same method of destruction could never be used again. It was truly ironic that even though she was right nearby, we couldn’t ask for her help.
While we talked, we eventually rejoined Class 3. Questions poured in about why we were so late and what the girls were scheming, but I ignored them appropriately. Since I didn’t react, the other side ended up suffering, but that wasn’t my problem.
Time passed, and Deborah and I headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Just as we received our food and were looking for seats—
“Over here! Hey! Luan, Deborah! Come this way!”
Yas, who had already secured seats, waved his messy beard and called us over. The gathering stares were embarrassing. I briefly considered ignoring him, but then remembered the conversation I’d had with Deborah earlier and walked over.
“Hey, keep it down. Why are you even louder today?”
“Hahaha! Am I? Actually, right after I took first place, Professor Caelin told me she saw me in a new light. What do you think? Isn’t it about time we start dating?”
“Nope. No hope.”
“Come on! I’m asking seriously!”
“Shut up. You’re spitting everywhere.”
I pushed away the persistent Yas and sat down. Deborah took the seat next to Alissa.
Come to think of it, when are those two going to make up?
After the rumor spread, they had a huge argument, but I hadn’t seen them speak to each other since. They didn’t run into each other often anyway, but the way Deborah only answered Yuni and Pernia so openly made me hope they would reconcile at least a little. Not that I particularly wanted them to get along, but it was awkward to watch.
In that atmosphere, we quickly finished our meal. After leaving the cafeteria, we headed to a bench with a good view of the training grounds. As we sat there chatting, Deborah gathered her courage and spoke up.
“E-everyone. I have something to say!”
“Huh? Something to say? What, what?”
“Oh! This is the first time Deborah’s spoken up like this~nyang! Tell us, tell us~nyang!”
With Yuni and Pernia’s enthusiastic responses, Deborah carefully revealed her secret.
“A-actually… I can see the future!”
“Th-the future?”
“Nyang?”
“What the hell is this bullshit?”
“Yas! Watch your language!”
“…….”
Everyone showed different reactions. Aside from me, they all had question marks floating above their heads. Deborah explained step by step. I had no idea how many times she’d had to explain this today. Just watching from the side was exhausting.
Once the explanation was over, the group seemed to accept it.
“S-so that’s what it was. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Hmm… that’s amazing~nyang!”
“Deborah. Then can you see my future too? Will I end up marrying Professor Caelin? Huh?”
“Yas. Calm down! She said she has something to tell us!”
“……Future.”
After giving the group enough time to process, Deborah got to the main point.
“So here’s the thing. Could you all help me? I can’t just sit still and leave everything to the student council. I want you to help me search for the bombs. Please!”
Deborah bowed deeply. No matter how close they were, dragging friends into danger couldn’t be easy. Of course, the group gladly accepted.
“No, no. It’s fine!”
“If you’d kept it a secret, I would’ve been disappointed~nyang.”
“That’s right! As a man, I can’t ignore a crisis at the academy!”
“Yeah! Deborah! Let’s find them together!”
“…….”
“Thank you, everyone!”
It was a genuinely wholesome sight. Sensing that the annoying parts had been skipped, I stepped forward.
“Explanation’s done? Alright, let’s split into teams. We’ll search in pairs, each taking a section. Sound good?”
“Perfect! Who wants to team up with me?”
“Abel! Let’s search together!”
“Okay, Yuni!”
As if they’d been waiting for it, Abel and Yuni immediately paired up. While no one paid any attention to Yas, Alissa surprisingly approached Deborah.
“Team up with me.”
“Uh, y-yeah? With me?”
“Why, you don’t want to?”
“It’s not that…”
Deborah looked troubled as she denied it, but her eyes secretly sent me a glance. It was a clear cry for help.
What should I do?
After thinking for a moment, I turned to Pernia, who was watching the situation like it had nothing to do with her and had taken a step back.
“Pernia. How about you team up with Alissa and Deborah?”
“Me~nyang?”
“Yeah. It’d be weird to put a guy in a group with two girls. Sorry to ask, but I’m counting on you. If they start fighting, mediate for them.”
“…Understood~nyang.”
Watching people fight was always the most fun. Getting involved was truly the worst thing you could do. Even if Pernia didn’t want to accept, she probably felt guilty about spreading the rumor and couldn’t refuse.
That left me paired with Yas.
“Yas. Let’s go.”
“Yeah! Let’s be the first to find them!”
“Take this seriously. This isn’t a game.”
“I know that! Let’s go!”
I gave Deborah one last look before following after Yas.
Well, she’ll figure it out.
Ten minutes after the search started.
Alissa and Deborah walked in complete silence. Pernia shook her head as she watched them.
If they’re going to be like this, why even team up?
From what she’d heard, Alissa had badmouthed Luan, Deborah had defended him, and that led to a huge fight. When Alissa suggested teaming up, Pernia thought they would either have it out once and for all or reconcile, but nothing had happened yet. Thanks to that, she was so bored she felt like yawning.
Then, as if reading Pernia’s inner thoughts, Alissa spoke up.
“Deborah. I have something to say.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“…About what happened last time. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Yeah. I think I went too far with my words.”
“Ah……”
Deborah let out a soft gasp. The corners of her previously drooping mouth curved up into a small smile. Seeing that, Alissa added as if making an excuse.
“Of course, I still think that gu… that bastard is trash. I just came to understand that you must have had your reasons too.”
“…That’s enough for me. I’m sorry too. For butting into things between you and Luan.”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”
That was obviously a lie. If she had truly gotten over what happened with Luan, they would have reconciled long ago. Alissa read the room and subtly changed the subject.
“By the way, you said you can see the future, right?”
“…Yeah. Why?”
“Have you seen my future too?”
Alissa stared intently at Deborah. There was clear desperation in her red eyes. Depending on Deborah’s answer, she could either gain hope or fall into despair. Deborah slowly shook her head.
“No, I haven’t seen it. And I won’t look in the future either.”
“What? Why?”
“What if you knew the future but couldn’t change it? If I told you your fate is already decided so you should just give up on everything. Would you accept that?”
“That’s…”
“I hate that. So I won’t look. I’ll live without ever seeing it. That way, at least I won’t feel powerless.”
Alissa was momentarily speechless. Not because she had nothing to say. Rather, one word kept echoing in her throat.
That’s just running away.
And even though Deborah hadn’t said it out loud, she immediately understood what Alissa was thinking.
“You’re right. It is running away. But I’d rather run than fall into despair. I’ll be a coward. So I won’t look.”
“…I see.”
Alissa’s shoulders slumped. Deborah smiled bitterly at the obvious disappointment and comforted her.
“Don’t be too disappointed. Your fate is something you can carve out for yourself. So don’t give up.”
“…You sound a lot like that person.”
“Huh? What person?”
“Hyeon. No, I mean Eun-rang. During the practical training, when he saved me, he said something similar. Don’t look back, look forward. Don’t give up.”
Recalling that memory, Alissa smiled warmly. In contrast, Deborah’s expression hardened the moment she saw that smile. She knew that Eun-rang’s true identity was Luan. And since Luan was in a good relationship with Roxana…
“Um, Alissa. Do you like Eun-rang?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Your expression gets so bright when you talk about him. Are you in love with him?”
Alissa’s eyes darted around. She was diagnosing her own feelings. Then, as if she’d reached a conclusion, she waved her hands dismissively.
“It’s not like that. I just owe him my life, so I want to repay the debt.”
“Really? You’re sure?”
“I told you! Anyway, it’s a shame. I was actually going to ask you to look at Eun-rang’s future too.”
“Huh? Why him?”
The relief that had just begun to settle on Deborah’s face was replaced with worry again. She suspected Alissa might be dreaming of a future with Eun-rang. Of course, it was just a misunderstanding.
“Because I want to know who he is. He’s hiding his identity so tightly. Of course I’m curious.”
“…That makes sense. Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
Not knowing what Deborah was really thinking, Alissa was rather bewildered by the apology. Pernia, who had been watching silently, chimed in.
“She’s right~nyang. Deborah doesn’t need to apologize~nyang. The one who should apologize is Alissa~nyang.”
“What? Me? I already apologized, didn’t I?”
“That’s exactly the problem~nyang. You only apologized to Deborah so you could ask about that, didn’t you~nyang? You have no conscience~nyang.”
“What? Th-that’s not true! Don’t make things up. Anyway, let’s hurry up. Lunchtime is almost over!”
As if changing the subject, Alissa hurried the group along and walked ahead. The tips of her ears were slightly red.