Puhahahahaha!
"Puhahahahaha!" He was laughing way too hard. This bastard. It made me want to kill him for no reason at all. As Jealousy watched Professor Karlsen slamming the floor with his bony frame as if the limbs might snap, pounding away while roaring with laughter, a prominent vein throbbed visibly on Jealousy's forehead.
"Wow, you really disguised yourself exactly like Arina." After rolling around on the floor for a good while, what followed was pure admiration. Professor Karlsen spun around Jealousy in fascination, circling him slowly while inspecting every angle—front, back, top, and bottom—before bursting into exclamations and applause.
"Even the weight is identical!"
From behind, Karlsen slipped his hands under Jealousy's armpits and hoisted him high into the air. With a sharp twist, Jealousy's patience finally snapped. He spun in midair and drove a high kick straight down. The heel connected perfectly with Karlsen's face. The professor's frail body couldn't withstand the impact and toppled backward.
"Hmph." Jealousy looked down at him with clear disdain.
How does this guy know I've disguised myself as the young lady?
They had run into Professor Karlsen while the four members of Benedict Academy's B Team were chatting and heading toward the arena. He had cheered them on with his usual "Do your best" and "Fighting!" nonsense. Jealousy, playing the part, had simply smiled sweetly like a proper young lady and said thank you. That was all. Yet Karlsen's expression had turned strangely knowing, leading to this exact situation.
Jealousy had immediately realized the man knew his true identity. Did Master tell him? Or had that damn princess sent him a message in advance? That creepy bag of bones was still technically the advisor for Benedict Academy's B Team. He probably figured he should inform them just in case the situation got messy.
The latter seems more likely.
If she hadn't been a princess of this country, Jealousy would have smashed the back of her head already. That wretched woman. He shot a quick glare at Marily, who was cleverly hiding behind Jeon's back, then turned away from Karlsen, who was clutching his face and groaning in pain.
"......"
But before he had taken more than a few steps, Jealousy stopped, turned around, and marched straight back toward the professor still flailing on the ground.
"Hey. How the hell do you know our young lady's weight?"
"......"
"You crazy bastard!"
Jealousy stomped mercilessly on Karlsen's face. He ground his heel down like he was putting out a cigarette, repeatedly slamming it down again and again.
"Answer me! How! The hell! Do you! Know! The young lady's! Weight!"
"Because I'm a professor. I make sure to properly memorize basic personal information—not just for Arina, but for all the students."
"That makes it even worse, you bastard!"
Karlsen's face was now smeared with blood. Jealousy gave it one final savage kick, breathing hard with rage. He clicked his tongue at the blood-stained sole of his shoe, then took it off without hesitation and hurled it at the professor.
"Worthless piece of shit."
Because of that guy, he'd just wasted a perfectly good shoe. And it had been expensive, too.
Professor Karlsen being a professor is one thing, but how does that bastard know Arina's weight?
No, even beyond figuring out the weight, the creepy detail of adjusting his own body mass to match it sent shivers down the spine. Marily's eyes narrowed as she watched Jealousy pull a new pair of shoes from the spatial pouch hidden in his clothes and slip them on.
Whether it was Jeon, Professor Karlsen, or this guy—every single pervert who clung to Arina seemed to be a complete degenerate. I'll protect Arina. That resolve hardened even further in Marily's heart, strengthening her sense of responsibility.
"Everyone, gather over here for a moment."
Ignoring Jealousy completely, Marily called Jeon and Togun over. She continued speaking while mentally reviewing the matches scheduled for today.
"We're changing our strategy."
At minimum, first place in one event. And top rankings in the rest. That was the original plan they should have been following. But the current situation didn't give them enough hope to dream that big.
We should have accounted for this since yesterday.
Ever since Arina's combat power had been severely weakened. That was when they should have started rethinking their approach.
Still, it's better than the absolute worst-case scenario.
Yesterday had been completely hopeless. At least now they had some hope. The hope that Arina would grow stronger and return by the afternoon.
If she slacks off until the afternoon and doesn't meet expectations, I'm going to resent the hell out of her. That damn uncle of hers, too.
Of course, her growth might fall short of expectations. Honestly, expecting such dramatic improvement overnight was ridiculous in itself. Still, the difference between having even the tiniest sliver of hope and having none at all was larger than it seemed.
"We're putting everything on the afternoon 'Catch the Captain' event."
It was the match with the highest point value today. And if Marily's prediction was right, it would likely be the decisive battle of this entire Academy Tournament. The first clash between two 4-star mages—Chris and Aaron Dice.
And one more thing before that.
Because of Arina's absence, today's performance would be worse than expected. They needed one more decisive blow to close the score gap.
The one who can create that difference here is...
Marily's gaze turned to Togun. Not understanding the meaning behind her look, he simply blinked back at her.
"Togun." Marily clicked her tongue, as if it pained her to say it. She had wanted to save him for the Catch the Captain event if possible. It looked like they'd have to use their secret weapon to stop Chris sooner than planned.
"From today's matches onward, go all out. You need to take down Chris."
"......"
At those words, Togun glanced briefly at Jeon. His face darkened slightly when Marily spoke Chris's name. Seeing that, Togun flashed a confident smile.
"I've been waiting for you to say that."
The chance to take down a 4-star mage had come sooner than expected. As if trying to calm the tension rising from deep within, Togun's right hand slowly brushed the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Hey, Chris!"
At the sound of his name, Chris, who had been tying his shoelaces, turned his head. Something was flying toward him in a slow arc. He caught it naturally and saw that it was a blue can of ion drink.
What is this?
Was it a projectile meant to hit him in the head? It was certainly full, so it would have hurt if it had connected. Or maybe he'd made some verbal slip without realizing it again. Chris widened his usually half-lidded eyes and looked toward where the drink had come from. There, Yura Aquiz—the girl who had never particularly liked him—stood waving her hand a bit awkwardly.
"Do your best in today's match too."
"......"
Chris looked back and forth between the ion drink and Yura's face several times. Even someone as emotionally reserved as him looked visibly surprised and flustered.
"Don't drink it, Chris. I'm sure she laced it with laxatives."
Hearing Shubi's whisper in his ear, Chris finally seemed to understand the situation and nodded.
"No, I didn't? Can you stop making baseless accusations?"
Yura glared at Shubi with a pouty expression, apparently having heard the quiet whisper from that distance. Then she shifted that sharp gaze to Chris as well.
"And what's with that 'Oh, so that's what it was!' look of sudden realization on your face?"
"......"
She had read his expression. At her words, Chris quietly averted his eyes. It was a rare sight—Chris, of all people, reading the room. Shubi chuckled at the unusual scene and walked past Chris.
"Then what does this mean? You hated Chris, didn't you?"
"It's not that I hated him. I still hate him."
Neither of those were things you should say in front of the person himself. Chris blinked blankly as he watched the two of them converse, his gaze shifting back and forth.
Yura looked at Chris, then abruptly turned her head away.
"I just acknowledged it. To win, we absolutely need that guy's power."
For Sirionella Private Academy to take the championship in the tournament, Chris's performance was essential. So Yura had swallowed her pride for the sake of victory. After her conversation with Professor Repli yesterday, she had found a new direction to pursue.
"I even went so far as to cheer you on. If you ruin the match, I'll really hold it against you."
She forced a smile while suppressing her jealousy. Just like Professor Repli had said yesterday. She dreamed of the day when she could truly smile.
"......"
Chris stared at her for a moment, then chugged the ion drink in one go. He set the empty can on the bench and spoke.
"I'm going to win for Professor Repli anyway, so I don't need your useless cheering that won't help the match at all."
"......"
That insufferable bastard. Someone had gone out of their way to make peace, and he kicked her while she was down. Yura's tightly clenched fist trembled.
Ah, I really just want to punch him once.
Having apparently resolved all his questions, Chris completely lost interest in Yura. She, in turn, glared at him with such fury that her hair seemed to stand on end. The two of them were like fire and ice—complete opposites. Worried they might actually come to blows, Shubi smiled awkwardly and approached Chris. He draped an arm around his shoulder and whispered quietly into his ear.
"In times like this, just say thank you. Don't add any unnecessary comments."
Chris stared at Shubi's face for about three seconds. Then he turned back to Yura and opened his mouth.
"Thank you."
"Are you mocking me? What the hell!"
Even bowing and receiving thanks had its limits! He was treating her like an idiot! What a dog! Eventually, Yura stormed off in a rage at Chris's behavior.
"Ah, she's gone."
Shubi let out a long sigh as he watched Yura stomp away. Then he looked at Chris, who wore a face that clearly didn't understand why she was angry, and let out another deep sigh.
"That's strange. I said exactly what you told me to."
"The fact that you don't see anything wrong with this situation is the problem itself."
Looking at it this way, God really did seem fair. He had given his friend genius talent while simultaneously cursing him with the worst possible lack of social skills. Equivalent exchange. The saying that great power comes with great responsibility was probably meant for cases like this.
"Sigh, whatever. I'll figure out how to fix Yura's mood later, so you just focus on the upcoming match."
If they lost the match after all this, Yura would be absolutely furious. At Shubi's worried words, Chris began walking toward the arena and replied.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of losing any match from now on."
It was a calm declaration of victory. If he always acted like this, he'd be incredibly reassuring. Shubi scratched his cheek while watching Chris's back—cool enough to impress even another guy. Then his gaze fell on the drink can Chris had left behind, and he covered his face with the same hand.
"The one who drank it should clean up after himself, you damn friend."
Yura Aquiz had bought the drink. Chris had drunk it. And Shubi was the one cleaning up? It was an utterly selfish division of roles.
"......"
Shubi picked up the can and headed for the trash bin. From the side, Toko had watched the entire scene—from beginning to end—as the three athletes from Sirionella Private Academy walked off in different directions. She lowered her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
I wanted to talk to them too.
She hadn't been able to find a single opening to join the conversation. The sorrow of an extreme introvert who couldn't even muster the tiniest bit of courage. Toko simply stood there for a long time, eyes watering, until Shubi finished throwing away the trash and came back to speak to her first.