Hope We Meet in the Finals
A few days had passed since Riel said everything she'd needed to say to Alan. It was lunchtime, and I was at the academy cafeteria with Riel and Emilia.
Meals at the academy were provided free of charge, and the food itself was more than decent, so nearly every student ate there. Riel, though, had always been uncomfortable in crowds. Ever since we'd started taking our meals together, the two of us had been eating in the Grand Library's secret room, from boxed lunches Phyllis packed for us.
"Riel, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. I think I'm fine."
Holding Emilia's hand, Riel stepped into the cafeteria and glanced around. She looked a little tense, but her color was good, and she seemed all right. We picked our lunch, placed our orders, and carried our trays over to an empty table.
"Oh."
Just as we were about to start eating, a voice called out. I turned to find Iris standing there with her tray in hand.
"First time I've run into you juniors in the cafeteria."
"Hello, Iris."
I offered her a casual greeting, and she sat down across from us, in the empty seat beside Emilia.
"Hey, you two. And, uh...?"
"N-nice to meet you! I'm Emilia Silvrate!"
"Iris Reiknear. Nice to meet you."
Iris's gaze lingered on the hat Emilia wore for a moment before she looked away. Well, sitting through a meal with someone who never took their hat off would be a little distracting. She sat down and started eating.
...Somehow, this was the first time all four of us had gathered like this. Riel and I had talked with Iris a few times, and Riel had mentioned Emilia to her — and the other way around. But this was the first time Iris and Emilia had actually met.
"Come to think of it, the Martial God Festival is right around the corner."
Iris said it offhandedly as we ate. She was right. The days of training had flown by, and the festival was almost upon us. The preliminaries for every division were already over, and the main-bracket competitors had been decided. Iris and I were both among them.
...Not that I'd wanted to know, but I'd overheard some of the girls in class gushing about how they hoped Alan would shine in the main round, so that bastard had made it through as well.
"You'll definitely take the championship, Iris."
That wasn't politeness. I meant it. During the past few days of training, I'd sparred with her several times, and I'd felt it clearly: she was nowhere near the kind of fighter who'd lose to Alan.
The swordsmanship Iris used was the same Kingdom Military Swordsmanship as Alan's — a more systematic, refined version of the style once wielded by Calidos, the God of War, and the swordsmanship used by most of the kingdom's swordsmen. I'd dueled Alan about a month ago, so I could vouch for it: Iris was several cuts above him.
...I honestly had no idea how, in the original story, Alan had ever managed to beat her.
"Aren't you competing too? You sure you should be saying that?"
"Haha... well, it's not like I want to lose, either."
Iris sounded faintly incredulous. I'd give it my all, of course, but if it came down to swordsmanship alone, I couldn't see myself beating her. Among the fighters of our generation I'd met, she was probably second only to Her Highness Princess Aine. I'd learned that the hard way, sparring after sparring. If I ran into her in the tournament, I'd lose. One hundred percent.
"You'll do great, Kyou! I'll be cheering for you!"
"...Yeah!"
...Well, giving up like that wouldn't do. I might as well give it everything I've got!
"Haha, a girlfriend's cheer really is the best motivation, huh?"
"W-we're not there yet!"
Iris grinned as she teased, and Riel shot back with a face gone scarlet. Caught in the middle, Emilia had no idea what to do with herself.
Come to think of it, in the original story these three had traveled together at times, but they'd never been tangled up quite like this. As a reader of the original, it was a surprisingly fresh sight. But original story or not, watching Riel — who'd once struggled so much just to be around people — laughing and chatting with friends in a crowded academy cafeteria was a truly wonderful thing to see.
"Over three hundred years ago, when the Demon King invaded the entire world, every nation united as one..."
Hauser's droning voice — the kind that made your eyelids heavy just from listening — filled the classroom. I was forcing my leaden eyelids to stay open when I felt someone's gaze. I lifted my head and looked around.
The gaze vanished almost immediately, but I'd already caught who it belonged to. Alan Ludwig. He'd looked away in a hurry, but it was definitely him.
I had no idea what he was plotting, but I'd better keep my guard up. I glanced at Riel, who was nodding off in the seat beside me, and made that resolution.
"Eep!"
And I didn't forget to poke her in the side while I was at it. Hauser was glaring at us. Better wake her up.
Time passed, and the day of the Martial God Festival arrived.
The academy was closed for the duration of the festival. The event itself was held on the Martial God's birthday, already a public holiday, and for convenience they'd simply shut the academy down for the whole celebration.
I met Riel and Phyllis — who was attending her — in front of the dormitory, then joined Emilia and Iris at the agreed meeting spot. Everyone was in casual clothes, Emilia with her hat pulled down low. Unlike Riel and Emilia, who'd dressed up a little, Iris was in athletic wear that was easy to move in. Which made sense. She was competing in the festival, same as me.
"Let's go to the venue!"
Riel took the lead, her voice bright with excitement. Honestly, I'd been a little worried — the festival would be even more crowded than the academy cafeteria. But watching her stride ahead, so clearly thrilled, I felt that worry melt away like snow.
Looking at the four of them walking ahead, listening to the joy in Riel's voice, I found myself hoping the rest of our academy days would go this smoothly.
As I quietly followed behind them, a group caught my eye. Alan Ludwig and his companions — though, among them, there was no sign of Phelis Valtreia. But the blond boy walking with him was a face I knew.
The First Prince of the Kingdom of Pallazinia, Julius ibn Fallazinia. A major character in the original Child of Yggdrasil, and Alan Ludwig's greatest patron. Pushed down the line of succession by his half-sister Princess Yuril, he nevertheless seized the throne at the end of the original story.
And now, he'd made contact with Alan Ludwig after all. An uneasy feeling settled over me, but there was no way to insert myself into that situation right now.
"Kyou, what are you doing?"
Riel was calling from up ahead. Swearing to myself that I'd be more careful from here on, I turned and ran to her.
The Student Division of the Martial God Festival was being held at the Royal Outdoor Theater.
"There are so many people."
"It's only the first and second rounds of the Student Division. How can there be this many?"
As Riel and Emilia talked, Phyllis pointed somewhere with a finger.
"I believe that is the reason."
Following her gesture, we found a notice posted.
"Let's see... ah. Yeah, no wonder it's packed."
Iris murmured it after reading the notice. I had to agree. Once the first day's matches wrapped up, a concert was scheduled to take the outdoor theater's stage — and the performer was Ilina Nortie, currently the most popular singer in the kingdom. At this point, the Student Division's opening day was nothing more than an appetizer for the crowd.
"The bracket's posted over there, too."
The Student Division bracket was posted large on the theater's bulletin board. A sixty-four-competitor single-elimination tournament. About three spots in from the left, I found my name.
"...Hmm. If this bracket holds, I won't get to fight you until the finals, Kyou."
"Yes, it does look that way."
Iris's name was at the far right. Neither of us recognized our first-round opponents.
"Yes! Let's both do our best!"
At that same moment, Alan Ludwig was at the Royal Outdoor Theater.
The girls who usually followed him around were with him — and so, for some reason, was a blond little boy. The kid had probably gotten lost. One of the girls had insisted they couldn't just stand by and do nothing, and she had a point, so Alan had agreed to look after him.
But the boy, who'd given his name as Yuri, absolutely refused to go home. Forcing a kid who'd come out to see the Martial God Festival onto the soldiers didn't sit right with Alan, so he'd ended up bringing him along to the theater.
The theater was far more crowded than he'd expected. From the boy with him, he learned that a popular singer was scheduled to take the stage. Alan didn't particularly care about singers, so he let it go and turned his eyes to the bracket.
His name was in the right-hand half. Having confirmed his own, Alan searched desperately for another.
Kyou Ventus. The name of the one he'd sworn to crush at the Martial God Festival.
It didn't take long to find. Starting from the left, the name was right there, easy to spot. If they fought, it would probably be in the finals.
Having fought him once, Alan knew. He would definitely reach the finals.