The Second Cheat Player
The middle of August. The time when summer, pushed aside by the approaching autumn, burned its final heat in one last blaze.
“……”
The scorching heat created the illusion that the space beyond the glass window was melting away. Jeon Raydel sipped his cold iced Americano while watching people sweat profusely as they passed by outside.
They said cold things are still bad for my body, but…
He had been discharged from the hospital, but his body wasn’t fully recovered yet. He could manage daily life without issue, yet he still had to visit the hospital regularly to monitor his progress. There were all sorts of precautions—avoiding food that was too cold or too spicy, among other things.
Originally, like Togun Masao, it might have been better for him to stay in the hospital until the academy reopened and focus on complete recovery. Nevertheless, the reason Jeon Raydel had chosen to discharge himself and head straight to the capital was simple.
It was because of the Academy Tournament that Julia Evergreen had proposed. They needed to quickly decide on the team members who would participate.
The Academy Tournament isn’t a competition you can win just by being good at magic.
The Academy Tournament evaluated students' abilities across a wide range of disciplines. While some events directly assessed magical prowess, many others tested analytical skills, such as spell formula deciphering and magic circle analysis.
No matter how talented Jeon Raydel was, competing against first-years in those areas would be quite the stretch.
And there isn’t enough time left to study from scratch and raise my skills.
He was confident he stood at the top among his peers, but he still fell short of making a name for himself in the Academy Tournament. Among the current students, there were those who deliberately delayed graduation to learn more at the academy, and several possessed talent equal to or greater than his own.
One of the most notable was the current student council president of Benedict Academy. From what he’d heard, the man hadn’t even postponed graduation yet and was already on the verge of reaching 5-star. If talent could be measured numerically, he would likely be on the same level as Arina Grant, the top first-year.
If he hadn’t had the variable called Togun Masao as a cheat up his sleeve, no amount of effort would have let him aim for victory.
To win, I need one more trump card.
And Jeon Raydel knew of another cheat—someone different from Togun, who could sweep every non-combat, magic-free event.
This was a person he absolutely had to recruit if he wanted to win the tournament.
Ding.
While Jeon Raydel was lost in thought, the café door opened and someone entered. The girl glanced around briefly before walking straight toward him. Only after she arrived in front of him did Jeon Raydel finally notice her presence.
“How rude. To summon the princess of this nation and order her around as you please.”
Golden hair that sparkled under the sunlight streaming through the window, and beneath it, clear blue eyes like the sea. Though she frowned with clear displeasure, it did nothing to diminish the noble aura that naturally radiated from her.
Marily Raymond. The princess of this kingdom and a genius girl whose name was already widely known among magic researchers. She was the second cheat player Jeon Raydel absolutely needed to bring on board to secure victory in the tournament.
“I heard you were badly injured, but you look surprisingly fine.”
The moment she spotted Jeon Raydel, Marily walked over to the counter and ordered a sweet green grape ade. She then sat across from him and gave him a quick once-over.
She’d heard he’d gone through something dangerous in Vivaldi Territory and had been hospitalized. For someone who’d been through that, his complexion looked better than expected.
“Has the rumor already spread all the way to the royal family?”
Since this was a private meeting and not an official one, he spoke casually. Marily answered his question in a voice laced with mischief.
“The scale of the incident was rather large, after all. Still, you needn’t worry. I made sure not to pass the news on to Arina.”
She had no idea that Jeon Raydel had been at Ariaadna Square, nor that he had been dragged into a fight and nearly died. This wasn’t so much consideration for him as it was for Arina. If she had known, she would have been sick with worry.
“That’s a relief.”
“So, what did you call me here for?”
Even though their drinks hadn’t arrived yet, she dove straight into the main topic, staring at him with those blue eyes. What lay within them was pure curiosity and puzzlement. No matter how she racked her brilliant mind, she couldn’t figure out why Jeon Raydel would call her.
He’s not the type to make trivial requests.
He wasn’t someone who would ask for favors or make pointless demands. In fact, they weren’t even particularly close. Yet here he was, suddenly contacting her directly to ask for a favor—through the royal family, no less, since he didn’t even have her contact information. The fact that he’d gone through such trouble suggested that whatever he wanted was extremely important and urgent.
“Thanks to this recent incident, I managed to get acquainted with Julia Evergreen from the Special Investigation Unit.”
Jeon Raydel explained the situation plainly, as if he had nothing to hide.
“She seems to think well of me, so she offered me a rather good opportunity.”
“A good opportunity?”
“You know about the Academy Tournament, right?”
At those words, Marily pressed her lips together. She seemed to fall into thought for a moment. After about ten seconds of silence, she opened her mouth as if she had pieced it together.
“I see. The team leader of the Special Investigation Unit would have the authority to grant individual participation rights. So she offered that to you? She must think rather highly of you.”
Living as royalty meant hearing all sorts of information. She couldn’t reach conclusions from nothing using insight like Kain, but assembling the information in her head like puzzle pieces to find the answer was child’s play for her.
“So you’re asking me to participate with you?”
She had also figured out what favor Jeon Raydel wanted. There was only one condition for entering the Academy Tournament: whether or not you attended the academy in question. Since he had earned individual qualification, he had no particular reason to recruit from one specific academy, but anyone who wasn’t a current student could not participate.
And within the academy, Jeon Raydel’s connections amounted to little more than a few first-years he was acquainted with. Given his personality, it was obvious he would aim for the championship, which meant he had almost no usable cards.
Hmm, what should I do?
She pondered for a moment. No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason for her to accept such a request. And since Jeon Raydel knew that, he must have brought conditions that could persuade her.
“The Raymond family never forgets a favor.”
As if that were the answer, Jeon Raydel continued without pause.
“If you help me in the Academy Tournament, I will definitely repay you accordingly.”
“You haven’t decided on anything specific?”
It was essentially a blank check. He would give her compensation equal to the value of her help, within the limits of what he could do. It was a declaration akin to a slave contract—tell him anything she wanted and he would do it.
“It won’t be a bad deal for you either. Participation in the Academy Tournament is treated as external experiential learning.”
Even if you missed classes due to practice or other necessary activities, it would still count as attendance. Similar to the sick leave Marily had used at the beginning of the semester. She would probably make good use of it to dodge Professor Scape’s classes again, just like last time.
“After all, you enrolled at Benedict Academy not to learn magic, but to experience it, right? The Academy Tournament would be perfectly suited to that purpose.”
It would be far more fun and exciting than tedious classes. Jeon Raydel’s persuasion was tailored precisely to Marily’s personality. His words carried such conviction that it was clear he had thought them through carefully before coming here.
It does sound fun.
Favors or wishes aside, what truly piqued Marily’s interest most was exactly what Jeon Raydel had mentioned—the fun of it. A mere first-year freshman participating in the Academy Tournament was a special experience that no one could easily have.
“Would it be acceptable to add one more condition?”
Her thoughts were leaning toward acceptance. But there was no way she could enjoy something this interesting all by herself.
“If you let Arina participate as well, I will gladly join your team. She has reached 3-star now, so she shouldn’t be a burden.”
“3-star?”
Arina Grant. Setting aside his feelings for her, he had already planned to ask her to participate anyway, so it wasn’t an unreasonable condition. What made Jeon Raydel pause, however, was the word “3-star” that had slipped from Marily’s lips.
“Yes. I heard she reached 3-star after her little trip. Apparently it broadened her horizons or something?”
Her tone was almost teasing, as if mocking Jeon Raydel, who had only reached 3-star after nearly dying. However, his expression remained unexpectedly calm.
“She reached 3-star as well?”
There wasn’t a trace of jealousy on his face. Most people would feel a sting of envy hearing that someone else had reached the same realm more easily than they had. Was this what a magnanimous person looked like? He even seemed genuinely pleased that they had gained another strong asset for the upcoming Academy Tournament.
“If that’s the case, then by all means.”
“Good. I’ll handle the persuasion.”
Arina would probably light up with excitement when she heard about it. She had always harbored a certain romantic longing for doing activities with her friends.
“Has the last member been decided?”
“Togun Masao.”
“An excellent choice.”
Although they hadn’t received Arina’s approval yet, the four-person lineup for the tournament was now complete.
“What’s the concrete plan?”
“First, we need to build up our basic skills. Since there are team events, we’ll also need to work on our teamwork.”
This was precisely why the academy gave special privileges to tournament participants. Meeting after school wouldn’t provide enough time, and it would add too much fatigue to the students.
“Since there are aspects that are difficult for just four people to handle, I think creating a club would be the best option.”
A club. It was a type of after-school activity students could participate in outside of regular classes. First-years could join starting from the second semester, and it was also an opportunity to build connections between upperclassmen and underclassmen.
Of course, it wasn’t mandatory.
“It’s rare for first-years to create a new club, but this is a special case.”
“Indeed. If we form a club, they’ll assign us an advisor professor, which will make receiving feedback much easier.”
Since the club’s purpose would be preparing for the Academy Tournament, getting approval should be relatively simple. The problem was finding a professor willing to take on the role.
“Professor Magnus is probably out of the question.”
He was already in charge of two clubs. Since their goal in forming this club was to receive feedback, it would be far better to have a professor with more free time.
“Do you have anyone in mind? If you’re thinking of Professor Scape, I’ll withdraw from the team right now.”
“There is one person. Though he’s someone I’d really rather not ask.”
At Marily’s words, Jeon Raydel answered in a slightly reluctant voice. The person he had in mind was Professor Karlsen. As a new professor, he likely wasn’t in charge of any clubs yet. Although he had reached his level through dark magic, he was a rare 7-star mage even within the academy, so his feedback would undoubtedly be a tremendous help. Most of all, if Jeon Raydel asked, he seemed like the type who would gladly take on the role of club advisor.
The only issue was that he was a professor one would genuinely prefer to avoid getting too close to. But that was something Jeon Raydel could simply endure on his own.
“I’ll let you know once that part is finalized.”
“Understood.”
He had successfully recruited Marily without a hitch. Only then did Jeon Raydel let out a deep sigh, finally able to relax a little.
Preparing for the Academy Tournament. At least for now, the process was proceeding smoothly without any setbacks.