West District Dreams

Mendelssohn Grand Territory, West District. This area was filled with an unusually high number of elevated highways stretching across the sky in long, unbroken lines. As a result, less light reached the ground compared to other districts, giving the place a somewhat dim and gloomy atmosphere. It was the worst possible environment for constructing buildings, yet surprisingly, a single low structure stood there—one with a crude design that looked as though two shipping containers had simply been stacked on top of each other.

"……"

The interior of the container building was even more crude and desolate than its exterior suggested. Thin curtains fluttered in the breeze drifting through an open window. In the center of the room sat a massive king-sized bed, and aside from that, there was not a single piece of furniture to be seen. The room's decor was utterly devastating in its simplicity.

"Mmm."

Lying on that king-sized bed was a single girl. A purple blindfold covered her eyes. She was wrapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a lovely blanket patterned with yellow chicks hopping about. Hugging a frilly, pale-pink pillow tightly to her chest, she wore matching pale-pink pajamas. She appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, with an adorable appearance. The silver hair splayed messily across the bed and the drool trailing from the corner of her mouth spoke volumes about her sloppy personality, while the gentle rise and fall of her modest chest confirmed she was no doll, but a living person.

"Hup……!"

The girl, who had seemed as though she would never wake, suddenly bolted upright. Still half-asleep, she blinked blearily and looked around. Through the half-slipped blindfold, her jewel-like purple eyes shimmered mysteriously.

"Was it… a dream……?"

For some reason, she had felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Master's presence. Clutching the pale-pink frilly pillow to her chest, she sat on the bed for a moment, blinking repeatedly, before letting out a long yawn. Smacking her lips, she pulled the purple blindfold—matching her eyes—back into place and flopped back down onto the bed. If Master wasn't here, there was absolutely no reason to leave this comfortable, fluffy bed.

"Mmm, this is nice."

The cool autumn breeze blew in through the window. Thanks to the generous spritz of Febreze she'd given everything before bed, a pleasant scent still lingered in the blanket. Even the distant honking of automatic carriages high in the sky sounded like ASMR, sweetly lulling her back to sleep. It was the perfect condition for deep rest. She had already slept for several days straight, yet sleep was a cursed thing—one that made you want to sleep even more no matter how much you got. I love you! Marry me and give birth to beautiful children called dreams!

'Come to think of it, what did Pride say he was doing under our house?'

Just as she was halfway stepping into dreamland, a memory suddenly flashed through her mind. Her eccentric friend—who would drive Master mad—had called some time ago and said something or other. Since she had been half-asleep when she heard it, she couldn't quite remember what Pride had told her. Actually, she might have fallen back asleep while listening. She vaguely recalled something about doing work in the basement of her house.

'Well, does it even matter?'

It was too bothersome to try remembering, and Pride would handle everything anyway. As far as she recalled, he hadn't asked her to do anything specific, so ignoring it should be fine.

"Mnya… Master…… Let's sleep together……"

With that thought, the girl buried her face in her beloved pillow, soaking it with drool, and began drifting back into deep sleep.

Academy Tournament, Day 2.

If Day 1, which began with the opening ceremony, had been nothing more than a taste of how the tournament would unfold, then Day 2 marked the true beginning of the competition. Unlike yesterday, when only one match had been held in the morning and one in the afternoon, multiple matches were now being thrown at the competitors without mercy from the very start of the day. Hiding aces the way they had yesterday was no longer an option. With only four members, they were forced to make choices—deciding which matches to win and which to concede, placing their people in the right spots.

While the spectators in the stands selected which of the simultaneously unfolding matches to watch through the holograms, there were still standout individuals who drew everyone's attention.

Shwaaaaak!

The first was Chris, the representative from Sirionella Private Academy. Perhaps yesterday's defeat had lit a fuse. Unlike the calm, methodical way he had handled matches the day ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before, he now scattered beams of light in every direction, turning the entire arena into a wasteland. The full power of a 4-star mage. As he displayed his dignity without restraint, countless spectators found themselves gasping in admiration.

Fwoooosh!

The second was the only competitor who could rival Chris. Aaron Dice, also a 4-star mage and Benedict Academy's representative, who had not participated on the first day. Wreathed in ultra-high-temperature flames in a different match, he crushed his opponents, proving with his own body why he represented the continent's most prestigious academy, Benedict Academy of the Ellemental Kingdom.

Monsters. The two strongest competitors of this tournament, proving with their own hands that no one could match them. Just as everyone's fighting spirit began to wane, one team refused to give up against them.

"Goaaaaaah!"

In a way, this was the team that had drawn the most attention throughout the Academy Tournament. All first-years, yet the team that had shown the most activity alongside Chris on the first day. On Day 2, they hadn't taken first place like the other two teams, but they had seized top rankings in both matches, earning them a spot among the championship contenders alongside the other two squads.

"Haaaaah!"

The team that had captured everyone's interest purely because of how unconventional it was—unofficially called Benedict Academy Team B. Togun Masao, one of its members, stepped onto one of Arina's magic circles and leaped high into the air. The shapeless, fluid magic circle formed an intangible bridge that swayed in the empty sky. Like the legendary tale from the Fan Empire, where a crow and a magpie created a bridge for lovers to cross.

Using anti-gravity magic, Togun dashed toward the opponent who had been rapidly launched into the air and drove his sword straight through the man's forehead.

"Got it!"

The opponent, unable to even scream, vanished into polygons with a bewildered expression still on his face. Togun smiled at the fluttering headband caught on the tip of his blade before plummeting back to the ground.

Along with the artificial intelligence's announcement, the massive hologram screen in front of Togun—who was falling through the air—collapsed. Though they continued to rack up small points and maintain their lead like this…

"The gap keeps widening."

Marilyn frowned as though even that wasn't good enough. No matter how consistently they stayed in the upper ranks, the difference with first place only continued to grow. The one silver lining was that Sirionella Private Academy, which had earned the second-highest score after them on the first day, was essentially a one-man team led by Chris, so the point gap wasn't too large. The real problem was Benedict Academy's Team A, whose members were all exceptionally skilled even without Aaron Dice.

'Now I understand why Benedict Academy has won the tournament every year.'

In crude terms, the team had no weak points. Any match Aaron Dice participated in was an automatic win. Even the matches where the other members competed guaranteed at least an upper-rank finish. With the gap steadily widening like this, it was only natural that other teams had no chance of winning.

'Why do those two only enter separate matches and never face each other?'

If the two had competed in the same match, they might have been able to narrow the gap by aiming for an opportunistic victory. But since they entered separately, closing the distance was proving impossible. At least Jeon had earned a lot of points by defeating many monsters during yesterday's maze escape, which was fortunate. Without that, even aiming for the top ranks right now would have been impossible.

'They're probably avoiding each other on purpose.'

Judging by the situation, the side avoiding the fight was likely Benedict Academy's Team A. In Sirionella Private Academy's case, since they were essentially Chris's one-man team, they would need to directly confront Aaron Dice and keep chipping away at his first-place position if they wanted to win. There was no need to play into that opponent's strategy.

'Is this Professor Frankhorn's doing?'

Predicting in advance which matches the opponent would likely enter and assigning the perfect players for each situation. A systematic and thorough victory plan. It was a stark contrast to Professor Karlsen, who had only his title as representative professor and did nothing else.

'Still, we can't keep going like this.'

Continuing this way wouldn't be a problem for securing a safe victory. However, the Academy Tournament wasn't just about the honor of the magic academies across the kingdom—it was also an opportunity to appeal to the countless scouts gathered here. If they kept running away like this, it would damage Aaron Dice's personal reputation. More than anything, earning the label of "the one who tucked his tail and fled because he was afraid to fight a 4-star mage" was a disgrace Benedict Academy, the kingdom's most prestigious institution, could never accept.

'Besides, I don't think Aaron Dice would actually lose if they fought.'

Chris was certainly a terrifyingly skilled mage. Even so, in Marilyn's judgment, Aaron Dice held the advantage.

'Well, setting those two aside, the most amazing one is still our Arina.'

Perhaps the switch had been completely flipped after yesterday's battle with Chris. Arina's growth today was frighteningly rapid. The previous match had been the same. While Togun had delivered the final blow, the path leading up to that moment had been paved entirely by Arina's skill. Without her, they never would have achieved the feat of taking second place behind Aaron Dice.

'Her talent really is extraordinary.'

The only thing she had gained from being born a princess was an eye for people. In that sense, Arina was truly remarkable.

'Talent on par with Aaron Dice? Don't be ridiculous.'

Just wait and see. Right now it might be impossible, but in the distant future, the one whose name would be on everyone's lips would undoubtedly be their Arina.

Watching Arina walk toward them alongside Togun with a tired expression after finishing the match, Marilyn's eyes filled with affection and love.

"……We can't just sit back and take it like this."

It wasn't only Sirionella Private Academy that needed to chip away at Aaron Dice and claim first place. Though they were maintaining their position in the upper ranks, what they ultimately wanted wasn't just a good score—it was victory in the Academy Tournament. To achieve that, they needed to bring down Aaron Dice and Chris, both of them if possible.

'It's not entirely impossible.'

Yesterday had already proven it. Even mages with monstrous dignity weren't invincible. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the goal was simply to aim for first place rather than winning through pure skill, then it was more than possible.

'The next match is our chance.'

And the next match—one of the afternoon events scheduled right after lunch—was "Boat Racing," one of the events Marilyn was most confident in during this tournament. She would make up for yesterday's mistake and drag either Aaron Dice or Chris down from first place in this match. Her blue eyes burned with fiery determination as she clenched her fists tightly.