Mendelstone's Crowded Gates
Kain stepped out of the taxi at the entrance to Mendelstone Indoor Gymnasium and let out a massive yawn as he stared at the swarm of people packed around the venue. 'I already want to go home.'
He had only just arrived, yet the urge to turn around and head straight back was already surging violently. It was just the opening ceremony for some kids' tournament—why on earth were there this many people? He had expected a decent crowd, but this level of chaos was beyond anything he had imagined.
Among them were not only spectators like himself who had come to watch the matches. Representatives from magic towers, various large corporations, and even small-to-medium enterprises Kain had never heard of were all present. Watching their eager efforts to scout promising talent, Kain clicked his tongue in displeasure.
'Well, I guess I have to go in.'
Since he had already come this far, there was no turning back without entering. He had told the kid he would be there, and disappearing now would surely disappoint her. 'Though whether she'll even spot me in this crowd is another matter.'
With that thought, Kain shuffled forward through the throng, his slippers from the capital dragging noisily across the ground. Whoosh! His shadow stretched long behind him. Thin layers of dimensional mana wrapped around his skin, while wasted mana scattered into the air, dyeing his vision pitch black.
Dark magic. Opening a simple sub-dimension.
All color drained from the world, leaving behind a monochrome landscape. In the silent gap where even the noise of the crowd had vanished, something suddenly appeared before Kain as he walked forward. Perhaps pushed by the surrounding people, someone's back came tumbling toward him.
"……."
Kain ignored the man completely. His body passed through the stranger as if he were a ghost. The man, apparently unable to see Kain either, simply lifted his head and looked ahead without offering any apology. Kain continued walking in silence, disregarding the man's soundless outrage directed at someone else behind him.
Like two sides of a coin, they existed in the same space yet no one could perceive or interfere with Kain. Isolating himself in an entirely different dimension, he slipped gracefully through the gaps between people. In a way, it was an excessive waste of power. Yet the exquisite control of dimensional mana was so masterful that any dark mage would have been left in awe.
"Here."
The moment he cut ahead of every line and reached the very front, the isolated space merged back with reality. Kain casually handed his entrance ticket to the staff member. Normally, people would have been startled by his sudden appearance or complained about him cutting in line, but surprisingly, everyone around him accepted his presence as completely natural.
The reason was simple. The moment Kain released the sub-dimension, the world had re-recognized his existence, which had been distorted by dark magic. It was a form of coercion. Just like when an inexplicable scene suddenly appears in a movie and the audience is forced to accept an explanation for it, the system had altered everyone's perception to make Kain's presence feel natural.
In a sense, it was a large-scale hypnosis. Unless one was an expert or higher, they would not even realize what had happened inside their own minds. This was perhaps the most terrifying aspect of dark mages—they could casually twist the very laws of the world with their own brand of coercion.
"Yes, you're confirmed."
With the staff member's approval, Kain entered the gymnasium and let out a small sigh. 'Do I really have to go through all this trouble just to watch some kids compete?'
Annoyance welled up inside him. But there was an even bigger problem. As far as Kain knew, the Academy Tournament lasted a full week, including the opening and closing ceremonies. That meant he would have to repeat this farce for another week.
'At least the seats are spacious. That's one thing I like.'
The first hint of satisfaction Kain showed amid his constant grumbling came after he found the seat Pride had reserved. Typical of Pride. If he had been forced to sit squeezed among the crowd, Kain's stress would have reached its absolute limit. Anticipating Kain's temperament, Pride had reserved a VIP seat with enough space between rows to rival a single bed.
"……."
As Kain walked toward the VIP section, people's gazes gathered on him. It was only natural. His unkempt black hair, the unfashionable thick horn-rimmed glasses, the plain white short-sleeve T-shirt, black tracksuit pants, and black slippers made him look exactly like a lazy unemployed man stepping out to the convenience store. Each detail dragged down his otherwise decent looks.
No one would ever guess he had come all the way from the capital just by looking at him now.
"Haaah."
Completely ignoring the murmurs around him, Kain flopped down into his reserved seat with another yawn. The staff had clearly put some thought into the seating. Instead of hard plastic, the chair had a pleasantly soft cushion that embraced his rear.
'Alchemy, huh.'
The armrest featured adjustable cushioning, temperature control, and even texture adjustment. Far too luxurious for a gymnasium spectator seat. It had probably been specially prepared for the VIPs who visited every year during the Academy Tournament.
Kain lounged halfway back in the oversized seat that could easily fit two or three people, gazing down at the arena with a bored expression. He pulled out his smartphone to check the time and frowned deeply.
'Current time: 9:35.'
Still twenty-five minutes left. He wished they would just start already, even if it meant rushing through it.
'Come to think of it, I haven't booked a hotel yet.'
Should he make a reservation now? Just as Kain was pondering this, a perfectly timed message arrived from Pride.
—Here are the reserved hotel and a list of nearby restaurants. The restaurants were selected with the young lady's tastes in mind, so any of them should be fine. The timing was so perfect it almost made him wonder if Pride was watching through CCTV.
More importantly, how did that guy even know the kid's food preferences? They had never eaten together even once.
'Don't tell me he figured out her entire palate just from tasting the side dishes I gave him last time?'
He was ridiculously, unnecessarily competent. If Pride had been standing in front of him right now, Kain might have instinctively smacked him on the head out of sheer irritation.
'The thought of him savoring the kid's side dishes one by one is even more annoying.'
The image of Pride closing his eyes in deep concentration, analyzing the seasoning ratios down to the milligram, chewing each side dish with utmost seriousness while tears of emotion streamed down his face, flashed through Kain's mind. One bite, a prayer, another bite, another prayer. The mental picture sent a chill down Kain's spine.
At the time, he had given the food away without thinking, simply because he did not want to waste it. Looking back now, it had been a terrible decision. He should have given it to Gluttony directly instead.
'Why was that guy the first one who came to mind?'
Perhaps because Pride had left such a strong impression on him. Kain resolved that the next time they met, he would definitely smack the back of his head.
"Waaaah!"
While Kain was lost in thought and fiddling with his phone, time had flown by. It was now 10:02. Hearing the crowd's cheers, he set his phone down and rested his chin on his hand, watching the students enter the gymnasium with an indifferent gaze.
As expected, the first to enter were the representatives of Benedict Academy, founded by Majoan, the symbol of the Ellemental Kingdom. Holding a flag bearing the academy's emblem—a thick book with a golden eagle spreading its wings—Aaron Dice appeared before the spectators. Behind him walked Silvia Cristel, Baraki Nepiri, and Amy Pewter, who took their designated positions.
Proving they stood at the forefront of their generation, Benedict Academy had emerged before any other academy to greet the audience. Following them came students from Sirionella Private Academy, Dominic Academy, Lorelai Academy, and others, filing into their assigned spots one after another.
'Looks like they're entering in last year's ranking order.'
The eyes of the scout sitting next to Kain sharpened at the students' entrance. Judging by the VIP seat, he was probably from a major corporation. Unlike smaller companies that had to be extremely selective, large corporations with deep pockets could extend offers to anyone with potential.
In other words, to that man, the arena was like a display case full of uncut gems. Of course, none of this mattered to Kain, who had only come to watch Arina's matches.
"Senior, are we sending offers to them as well?"
The man beside the scout, who appeared to be his junior, asked while looking at him.
"No."
The scout shook his head, still staring at the arena.
"Those kids already have their futures decided."
Aaron Dice would obviously join the Dice Baron family, and Baraki Nepiri would return to the Nepiri Duke family after graduation. The chances of such high-ranking nobles joining another house or company were extremely low. For the same reason, Silvia Cristel was also off the table. The only one with any possibility was Amy Pewter, but…
"Word is the magic tower already snatched her up."
Although the Academy Tournament served as a massive job fair for countless companies, the top performers usually already had their paths set. Therefore, what companies truly sought were talents whose abilities had not yet been fully reevaluated.
"I heard first-years are participating specially this time. That's probably why everyone's here."
The scout advised his junior to keep a close eye on them.
"Especially that girl who entered Benedict Academy as the top student. I think she'll be the joker card of this tournament."
According to his investigation, she was apparently somewhat estranged from her family's Grant Trading Company. While she occasionally exchanged greetings with the head, Huren Grant, the chances of her joining them were extremely slim. She was the finest gem among those still undecided—an absolute must-have talent if possible.
"Even if she joins Grant Trading Company after graduation, we should still make an offer. Our company can handle clashing with them."
Of course, that was assuming the rumors about her talent were true.
"Understood."
The junior nodded in agreement.
'He has a decent eye.'
The scout's assessment pleased the ears of the person sitting beside him—Arina's guardian, Kain. He did not know which company they were from, but their insight was worthy of a major corporation's scout.
"Ah, there they are."
Right on cue, Arina's team entered the arena last. Leading them while holding the same golden eagle flag as Aaron Dice was Jeon Raydel. Behind him came Togun, Marily, and Arina, who walked with an awkward, stiff gait like a golem. Kain let out a small chuckle at the sight.
'She must be nervous.'
After all, this was the first time she had stood on such a large stage and drawn this much attention since taking the oath as the freshman representative. Given her personality, her mind had probably gone completely blank.
Click.
Kain pressed the shutter on his smartphone camera. Her reaction when he showed her later would be quite entertaining. Feeling that this alone made the trip worthwhile, a mischievous smile spread across his lips.
