Passed, and Even a Victory.
Passed, and Even a Victory.
[ Defeated in the Combat Event... Knight Department: "Irrelevant." ]
*Plans to exceed expectations at the 2-Discipline Subjugation Festival.
[ 'Victory for the Magic Department'... The Sword Demon Festival Became the Magic Sword Grand Festival in an Instant ]
[ The Looming Subjugation Festival Preliminaries... Will the Magic Department Fail Again This Year? ]
[ The 2-Discipline Subjugation Festival: 'The Magic Department Isn't Even Qualified to Participate' ]
After Plan seized victory in the first match of the Magic Sword Grand Festival, the Merhen Daily granted no respite to mages or knights alike.
That was only natural.
The Knight Department had a defeat to dissect, and the Magic Department had a victory to celebrate.
Because of that, every day was a war. The two factions were locked in a fierce daily struggle to plaster the front pages with their own narratives.
"...Ugh."
Sepia stretched. A sharp-eyed junior reporter immediately held out a coffee.
"Deputy Chief, please drink this. Are you all right?"
"I'm tired. My throat hurts...."
The other mage-born reporters sitting nearby offered snacks, but Sepia waved them all away.
"That's fine, enough. Let's work. Work."
"I'm overflowing with motivation to work, but... this isn't getting any easier."
The junior reporter let out a deep sigh.
"I thought if we just won the combat event, I could mock them to my heart's content. The pressure is no joke. The Knight Department is trying so hard to cover it up with stories about the other knights...."
"That's just how this field works. Which is exactly why we're trying to change it."
Sepia tapped her own shoulder with a fist. The junior reporter clearly still had plenty to say.
"But Deputy Chief, talk about the Subjugation Festival is coming up like crazy now."
"Of course. The 2-Discipline Subjugation Festival window is closing in."
"It's bound to come up during today's interview. I wonder how Plan will answer...."
At those words, Sepia quietly rubbed her chin.
That absolute self-assurance, always brimming over. That unshakable sense of self, no matter the situation. The bearing of a seeker walking the path of magic.... As those images surfaced, she found herself certain.
"Hmm~ He'll give a very Plan-like answer, won't he?"
Whatever question he got, Plan would only ever give an answer that suited him.
The junior reporter scratched his cheek.
"A very Plan-like answer.... He might even declare war and say he'll participate in the Subjugation Festival."
"Yep~ I expect he'll do exactly that."
"Isn't that a problem in its own way? It's true Plan is amazing, but the Subjugation Festival requires a team of four...."
"Exactly. That's the key point."
Sepia nodded quietly.
The Subjugation Festival, an event where four students team up to compete.
At a glance, an exceedingly straightforward event. And yet, the Magic Department had rarely produced any noteworthy results in it.
"Because victory is never guaranteed in this event just because one person stands out."
"Ugh, even if all four are excellent, it's brutal.... If opinions can't be coordinated, it turns into an absolute disaster."
Skill, personality, attitude.... Enormous differences existed among four people. For four to grow together and coordinate with each other was a task far harder than anyone imagined.
The junior reporter continued, his expression grim.
"Knights get military-style training, so at least they're used to group action.... For mages, the learning methods change completely depending on their type."
"That's right. Because of that, they naturally end up acting individually."
Eliminated in the preliminary round every year.
That was the current state of the Magic Department in the Subjugation Festival.
"Well~ shall we watch and cheer them on for now? That's our job, after all!"
Sepia patted the junior reporter's shoulder.
It still wasn't easy, but thanks to Plan, a great number of mages had developed tremendous motivation and interest toward the Magic Sword Grand Festival.
That alone was already a massive change.
He had given his best in the match and won, and that alone was already magnificent. The rest would be up to each individual.
The junior reporter spoke up tentatively.
"Um, Deputy Chief. Also, it still doesn't feel real."
"What doesn't?"
He glanced around, cupped a hand beside his mouth, and asked very carefully.
"To have this many people swarming in just to interview a single mage student.... Has this ever happened before?"
"It hasn't."
For a solo interview with just one person, they had rented out an entire large auditorium.
At the very front, a single desk had been placed for Plan, and facing it, desks for the reporters were arranged at regular intervals.
Five minutes before the solo interview began, there were no empty seats left among the reporters.
Sepia spoke with a markedly serious expression.
"Things like this need to keep happening from now on. Start getting your materials ready. Double-check your questions."
The junior reporter nodded, his face resolute.
"Understood. I'll give it my best too."
"Good. Let's get this right, starting today."
Step─ Step─
Just then, exceptionally clear footsteps began to echo from the hallway. The bustling movement and chatter of the reporters died in an instant.
Sepia added one more word.
"No, starting right now."
◈
Plan's demeanor held no hesitation.
Even in this situation, surrounded by countless reporters, that fact never changed.
Dejection, tension, fear.... He wasn't swayed by any negative influence.
If anything, in his eyes, which seemed to be lost in recollection, there was a strange sense of leisure. A calmness and confidence, as if he were enjoying himself.
...And at last, the interview began.
One reporter raised a hand sharply.
"Derek, Knight Department reporter. I'll ask directly. What did you mean by the remarks you left after the match?"
"A mage naturally wins against a knight. Exactly what it sounds like."
"What...?"
Derek let out an empty laugh. This time, another reporter raised a hand.
"Pin, Knight Department reporter. There are dozens of events in the Magic Sword Grand Festival.... I wonder if you think it isn't premature to say such things after just one match."
"No matter how many matches I fight, that thought isn't going to change."
"So your thoughts won't change? Fine. But that statement — did you consider the opinions of other mages?"
Pin's gaze shifted toward the reporters who were former mages.
On the faces of those mage-born reporters, tension outweighed exhilaration.
Because every single word Plan uttered caused an uproar not only within the Knight Department but elsewhere too. And because of that, they all looked as though they were sitting on pins and needles.
Plan opened his lips quietly.
"I'm simply saying things that are fitting for a mage. If you can't relate, well.... I'll have to make you."
"So if we can't sympathize with these incredibly arrogant remarks, we're not even mages? Is that how we should understand it?"
Silence hung for a long moment.
The atmosphere was murderous; a single wrong word felt like it could cut skin.
"Don't bother trying to understand. You'll come to accept it on your own soon enough."
Pin's face flushed bright red.
Murmur─
At the same time, the sharp exchange set the room of reporters churning. Finally, Sepia hastily raised her hand.
"Sepia, Magic Department reporter."
Sepia put on an awkward smile.
"Ah, aha hah.... Plan is a student of conviction, and he achieved an excellent result in the combat event. It would be nice if you could tell us about your future course of action!"
"Until a mage's miracle becomes a given. Until the point where a press conference is unimaginable, and a joke carries no weight whatsoever. I'll prove it."
It was a question meant to de-escalate... but it ended up only pouring more oil on the fire.
Not missing the opening, the Knight Department quickly raised a hand.
"Hugo, Knight Department reporter. Your ambition is admirable, but the Magic Department has failed to even pass the Subjugation Festival preliminaries every single year. Are you aware of this?"
"I'm aware, and that's in the past."
"You should be concerned. Do you think the Magic Department hasn't made an effort to participate in the Subjugation Festival until now? Looking only at the results, wasn't the Magic Department incapable no matter what it tried?"
"And one more thing. I don't believe good results come just because you try hard. So...."
Plan gave Hugo a nonchalant look.
"Why don't you worry about the knights?"
The reporters began to stir once again.
It wasn't just angry murmuring anymore. Some reporters were so dumbfounded they outright burst into hollow laughter.
But Plan's thoughts remained completely unchanged.
The orchestra.
Strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboards.... A melody born from the beautiful entanglement of those varied elements.
A mages' cooperation is just like that. No, beyond that.
Hugo opened his lips again.
"Plan, I hope you take some responsibility for your words. Whenever something you can't prove arises, it's the Magic Department that has to bear the consequences."
"The Knight Department's first-year supernova, Ivan."
"...?"
At the sudden mention of Ivan's name, invisible question marks appeared above the reporters' heads.
Plan continued flatly.
"The name of a knight I defeated. From now on, the list of names I can rattle off will grow longer. For instance.... Scarlet, the Knight of Embers. A name like that."
"...!"
Shock spread across the reporters' faces without exception.
Where before there had been silence born of taut tension, this time no one could so much as open their mouths from sheer shock.
For a moment, it was as if time had stopped.
But in that instant, one reporter quietly raised her hand.
A few reporters' heads turned toward her, and soon hushed whispers began to ripple through the room.
"Eliza.... Is that her?"
"What the? Is that really her? Eliza came? The Grim Reaper?"
The owner of a jet-black bob cut and pitch-dark eyes.
Even her shirt and skirt were black — a reporter from the Knight Department.
"Yes.... Well, I just wanted to ask one thing."
She didn't state her affiliation, nor her name. Eliza simply asked.
"Are you confident you'll pass the Subjugation Festival preliminaries?"
The question no one else had dared to ask openly. The very moment silence and tension stretched tight.
Plan straightened his collar and answered all too easily.
"Qualified, and on top of that, victory."
With those words, he left.
"The Subjugation Festival.... He says he'll break through the preliminaries?"
"Has this been discussed inside the Magic Department?"
"Scarlet. He definitely mentioned Scarlet earlier, didn't he?"
"W-wait a moment. Shouldn't we be detaining him?"
The commotion left behind was the reporters' problem.
◈
Violet's office was reminiscent of a witch's workshop.
Dark and damp, with spider webs and spider props deliberately arranged in the corners, plus an array of witch's cauldrons and potion bottles so numerous it was enough to keep people at a distance.
But now, for the first time in a while, the place was bustling with human presences.
"...What is it, all of you."
Muttering that, Violet took in the sight before her.
A-Grade students had crowded in. And with expressions that clearly said they had a great deal to say.
Just then, one of the students thrust a scroll at Violet. It was Jenny.
"Um, Professor. Is this really my grade?"
"What's written there is obviously your grade."
"No.... Please just check the evaluation sheet once. It's practically outright insulting me."
The other students mostly wore expressions similar to Jenny's. Which meant they'd come for similar reasons.
Violet took her scroll and looked it over.
...It was precise.
She could feel through the paper just how deeply this student had been observed. Not only had he written biting criticism, he had even suggested which points she should reference to improve.
'Was there someone like this among the Sapour staff?'
Violet read Jenny's evaluation sheet once more.
Which parts he had focused on, how he had approached giving advice.... There were even parts that Violet herself could learn from.
But then, someone else spoke up.
"Right. Professor Violet, are we doing the Subjugation Festival?"
"The Subjugation Festival?"
That single word became a spark, and suddenly the office began to grow very noisy.
"Oh, right! There's a rumor that the Magic Department is participating in the Subjugation Festival?"
"Professor! Is this for real?"
"Tell us too!"
The students' fervor was outright bewildering. It was clear that something must have happened.
Just in time, Violet's Trivia lit up.
[ *Audrey Highfen ]
[ ▶ Professor Violet. To the conference room, immediately. ]
[ ▶ I think you need to come right now. ]
[ ▶ Plan went and mentioned the Knight of Embers too.... ]
[ ▶ No, just come first. Come and we'll talk. ]
...What now.
A single bead of sweat ran down Violet's forehead.