The Tournament's Two Giants
The Academy Tournament had been dominated by two teams from start to finish. Benedict Academy's A Team held a commanding lead with an overwhelming score advantage, while Sirionella Private Academy's team, fueled by Chris's explosive performance, stayed hot on their heels. 'And that gap has narrowed quite a bit thanks to our efforts.'
The boat racing event had been a major blow. Even with Aaron Dice competing personally, they hadn't managed to score a single point, and that failure weighed heavily. It was no wonder Benedict Academy's A Team had pulled out all the stops in the survival treasure hunt to keep Chris from taking first—perhaps even swallowing their pride and teaming up with other groups.
They had even predicted that Amy Pewter from Benedict Academy's A Team would join forces with Ennya Dexspin. A sly grin spread across Marily's lips. 'The better they pin down Chris, the higher our chances of winning become, even if only slightly.'
Unaware that the situation on the other side had nearly concluded and that Chris and Togun were about to settle the survival treasure hunt with a decisive duel, Marily's smile grew increasingly sinister.
'What the hell does that crazy princess find so amusing? She's grinning like a pervert.'
Jealousy's eyes narrowed as he watched her from right beside her. At the same time, a single thought crossed his mind. To think someone like her is this country's princess. This nation is truly doomed...
'My lady, you really should have chosen your friends more carefully.'
It wasn't something an irredeemable personality like himself should say, but seeing this made him seriously worry about his lady's social circle.
"Stop that idiotic laughing right now."
Jeon, who had been watching the same scene from beside them, scolded Marily with a deep frown.
"Who are you to lecture me? Have you grown too comfortable lately and forgotten? I am the princess of this nation!"
"If you're a princess, then act like one and maintain some dignity."
It was obvious that the person who forgot Marily was a princess the most was Marily herself. Otherwise, she wouldn't be making such a ridiculous face in front of all these spectators.
"Focus on the match. Don't tell me you've already given up?"
Jeon's eyes narrowed as he stared at her.
"As if that could be the case."
At his suspicious gaze, Marily flared up as if offended, clenching her fists tightly. "Did you really think I would dump all the burden on Togun and just sit back doing nothing?!"
What nonsense! The royal family of this nation was not so shameless as to shove all responsibility onto their subordinates. On the contrary, even amid the rampant corruption among the nobility, they maintained integrity under the watchful eye of the Majoan. As a member of that royal family, Jeon's words had struck a nerve with Marily's pride.
"Don't worry! I have absolutely no intention of giving up on securing a high ranking in this event either!"
"That spirit is certainly admirable."
He respected her motivation. But even Jeon, who had sparked that drive, couldn't see even the slightest chance of victory in this particular match.
'I never expected the upperclassmen to stoop to such petty tactics.'
Whale hunting. The event involved defeating a massive whale-shaped monster that appeared over a lake so enormous it resembled the sea itself, located in the middle of the forest. Points were accumulated based on the damage dealt to the monster, similar to an arcade punching game that ranked players by cumulative damage. Naturally, it was overwhelmingly favorable for Aaron Dice, who wielded devastating firepower. Not a single participant believed Aaron Dice could lose this event.
Yes, the winner had already been decided. But Aaron Dice didn't stop there. Taking first place was merely the baseline. It seemed he had decided to completely crush Benedict Academy's B Team, as he unleashed fierce attacks on them before even targeting the main objective—the whale-shaped monster.
'He can't even tolerate the tiered scoring system?'
Was this revenge for the boat racing event? Or simply part of his victory plan? Whatever the case, it appeared they no longer saw them as mere underclassmen but as legitimate rivals.
Damn it all.
'What should we do?'
It had been fortunate to find a hiding spot while fleeing their attacks. But they couldn't just stay hidden forever. To score in this event, they had to deal damage to the whale somehow.
'There's no way!'
Their options were far too limited. All they had was herself, who couldn't use a single spell, and the guy disguised as Arina who had declared he wouldn't participate at all. The only real combatant was Jeon. Asking him alone to break through the encirclement of two 3-star mages and one 4-star mage to damage the whale? No matter how much of a genius Marily was, she couldn't solve a problem that had no answer to begin with.
'Even if Pride came, this would be impossible.'
No matter how capable Pride was, he couldn't defeat three queens with just a single pawn. Jealousy watched in silence as Marily bit her lip and fell quiet, then turned his head away indifferently.
'Hm?'
Suddenly, something caught his eye, and a spark of interest lit up in his pupils.
"Jeon! Watch out!"
Jealousy dramatically shouted in an imitation of his lady's voice, as if he'd just made a grand discovery. At the same time, a small fireball flew toward Jeon from the bushes.
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning from Jeon's fingertips shot down the incoming flame in midair. The explosion echoed farther than expected. Frowning at the noise that surely everyone nearby must have heard, Jeon turned his gaze toward whoever had attacked him.
"Hahahaahaha!"
What appeared was a boy wearing the uniform of Dominic Academy. A face full of noble elegance. An existence radiating overwhelming self-love.
"So this is where you were hiding!"
Leon Nenphil. With a confident laugh, he pointed directly at Arina—or rather, the one disguised as her—and shouted, "Arina Grant! Did you really think I wouldn't find you if you hid here?"
"Huh? Me?"
Arina—no, Jealousy disguised as her—looked around in confusion at the accusation. He glanced back and forth between Marily and Jeon, taking a small step left and right as if to confirm he was indeed the target. In the end, following Leon's pointing finger, he had no choice but to acknowledge that the person being indicated was himself.
"From the very first day of the Academy Tournament, when I faced you in the maze and we fought on equal footing, I knew it immediately. You are destined to be my fated rival!"
Weren't you just getting completely crushed by my lady back then? Is my memory wrong?
"I suffered a disappointing defeat in the boat racing event, but this time I won't lose!"
Disappointing? No, no—my lady didn't spare you even a second of attention. She was too busy desperately fighting Aaron Dice or whoever for first place. By now, she's probably forgotten you even participated in that event.
Leon Nenphil, lost in his own delusions and distorting his memories to fit them. Why had someone like him become a mage instead of a dark mage? If he could project such self-hypnotic nonsense onto the world, he would have achieved far greater success as a dark mage.
"Wait, setting aside this rivalry nonsense with Arina, why are you attacking us too?"
While Jealousy was left speechless by Leon's words, Marily, who had been quietly listening, voiced the obvious question. Aaron Dice had attacked them with the clear goal of preventing them from taking first, but Leon Nenphil had no such reason. Wasting time here was far less productive than dealing damage to the whale. That way, they could at least aim for second place behind Aaron Dice.
"Hehehehe."
At Marily's question, Leon nodded as if she'd asked exactly the right thing and widened his eyes. "I, Leon Nenphil! The man who calls forth victory! The reason I attacked you is simple! Because victory belongs wherever I am!"
"......"
What the hell kind of bullshit is that?
When Jealousy shot Marily a look that asked if she understood, she simply shook her head. It wasn't that she hadn't understood—it was that understanding such idiocy made her feel so pathetic she could barely stand it.
Leon Nenphil, the self-proclaimed man of victory. Just as Marily said, he was the kind of man who would use any means necessary to win. The type who could proudly join the side of seventeen in a seventeen-versus-one fight.
'My lady...'
That's why I keep telling you to choose your friends more carefully...
From the perverted-smiling princess to the appearance of this delusional self-proclaimed rival who was several degrees more unhinged. Jealousy was starting to feel the serious need to report on his lady's disastrous social relationships. Of course, he would report it to Pride, who could at least imitate some semblance of normal behavior—unlike their master, whose relationships had gone beyond ruined and straight into total annihilation.
"Now, let's settle this! Arina Gran—Gah?!"
A small bolt of lightning struck down on Leon's head as he made his bold declaration.
"How long do you expect us to listen to that garbage?"
The one who had cast the spell, Jeon, turned his back on them indifferently and spoke to the other two. "Hurry up. The student council president will be here soon."
Jeon casually ignored the collapsed Leon. Marily and Jealousy followed suit, turning their backs on him as well.
"Tsk, are we already too late?"
But as something rose from the ground—fingers like whips wrapping around their bodies—Jeon clicked his tongue. Grotesquely wriggling fingers. It was a spell they'd seen so many times during the past month's practice matches that it made them sick.
'This is the end.'
Jealousy nodded as he watched. With Baraki Nepiri's magic binding both Marily and himself, rendering them immobile, the only one who could fight the 3-star mage was Jeon, another 3-star. But that wasn't the real problem. The fact that Baraki had arrived meant Aaron Dice would be here any moment as well.
"Hahahaahaha! This time, victory is mine! Arina Grant!"
The moment Jealousy resigned himself to defeat, something unexpected happened behind him. Leon Nenphil, who should have been eliminated after taking Jeon's spell directly, proved to have tougher endurance than expected. He endured the attack and launched a spell toward Jealousy, who was bound by Baraki's magic.
'Damn it?'
The magic flying toward him. To the eyes of an 8-star martial artist, it was so slow it was yawn-inducing. A thousand thoughts flashed through Jealousy's mind. And at the same time, his body moved naturally.
He was going to be eliminated. He planned to do as little as possible. But for his lady's honor, he couldn't allow himself to be eliminated by this insane bastard at the very least. Because if that guy managed to eliminate his lady, he would definitely spread ridiculous rumors everywhere, boasting, "I am the man who defeated Arina Grant!"
'I absolutely cannot allow that to happen.'
While bound by Baraki Nepiri's fingers, Jealousy desperately twisted his entire body. He barely managed to dodge the fireball Leon Nenphil had sent. Then, moving his legs, he planted his feet firmly on the ground.
'Even if I can't use magic, my acting is top-tier!'
Like a striker aiming for the goal, Jealousy kicked a pebble rolling on the ground. A fake magic circle, drawn to mimic the real thing. The pinnacle of spirit arts, so perfectly disguised that even an 8-star transcendent would struggle to recognize it up close, rode the pebble and struck Leon Nenphil squarely between the eyes.
'Serves you right!'
Watching Leon Nenphil transform into polygons, a sly smile spread across Jealousy's lips. He inwardly praised himself for once again protecting his lady's honor.