An Unexpected Challenger
"Young Master, am I... am I really seeing this right?"
"S-seems like it."
I never imagined Marine would participate in this tournament. It combined every single thing she hated. There were three main incentives for entering. First, an absurd amount of cola with four zeros attached to it. Second, the attention of the crowd. Third, the title of the academy's strongest.
As the daughter of the Northern Duke, Marine had more money than she knew what to do with. If she wanted cola, she could simply buy it. So the first reason was out. Second, the attention of others? Marine hated being in the spotlight with a passion. That was out too. Which left, by process of elimination, that she had entered aiming for the title of the academy's strongest...
Did Marine have a desire for glory?
Of course she was human and naturally craved recognition, but she'd never shown any sign of it in front of me, so it felt strange.
"Lady Marine..."
"Even the professor-level experts are joining..."
The spectators' seats buzzed with excitement at the unexpected participant's appearance. It seemed Marine's skills were well-known even among the students. That made sense—she was always named as a candidate for the next Sword Master.
"Alright then, we'll begin the first match! But first, let's enjoy a little performance~"
The academy cheer squad students appeared in what counted as extremely short skirts in this world.
"Waaaaah!"
The students roared with excitement. My own eyes widened, and I instinctively leaned forward to get a better look.
"Young Master..."
"Ahem."
I sat back down under Cani's sharp glare, but the cheer squad girls waved at the enthusiastic crowd. Until now, the cheer squad had been considered vulgar and avoided by nobles. But after last year's members got engaged one after another to high-ranking noble heirs, their popularity had skyrocketed this year. Parents who used to faint at the thought of their children joining were now actively encouraging it.
With that surge in popularity, the average appearance of this year's cheer squad members was exceptionally high.
"That was the cheer squad!"
I smiled warmly and gave them enthusiastic applause for their hard work. I should send them a ton of cola later as thanks.
"..."
Cani's gaze from beside me felt prickly.
"Young Master, do you like that sort of thing?"
"Uh... yeah? Their passion is nice to watch."
"..."
Cani pressed her body close to mine.
"Should I do something like that for you?"
What? I barely stopped myself from answering yes on instinct. Instead, I responded by lightly smacking her soft thigh.
"Stop teasing your master."
"Tch."
Cani pouted and crunched loudly on her popcorn.
"Hey. Where did you get that popcorn?"
The amount in the container was noticeably different from when I'd last seen it.
"Munch munch. Who knows? Maybe while the perverted Young Master was distracted by girls, a ghost decided to punish him?"
"...I'll let it slide this once."
After the usual formalities dragged on and things were starting to get boring, the host grabbed the microphone again.
"Thank you for waiting~ Let's start the first match right away!"
"Waaaaah!"
"The first match is a magic duel. It's second-year magic student Leni against third-year magic student Orly!"
A familiar face was competing right from the first round. I pulled out the telescope I'd prepared to observe more closely.
"Eek? I want to watch too!"
Ignoring Cani as she clung to me, I scanned the two competitors. Carden's victory using her demon power was expected, but you never knew what could happen in a real fight, and there might be something to learn.
"Is that Leni person strong?"
"Insanely strong."
"Compared to you, Young Master?"
"...Under certain conditions, she's stronger than me."
"Hmm... so she doesn't just eat red bean jelly."
It seemed Cani had permanently categorized Carden as "the girl who loves red bean jelly." Though watching her devour all of it had been shocking...
"The two mages! They carefully probe each other!"
If Carden used all her demon power it would end in one second, but fortunately she didn't seem planning to go all out.
"Hendel~"
Just then, a pink-haired bob-cut girl came trotting over to our seats.
"Who is this?"
Cani reacted sharply to the stranger. Thinking this was a good chance to help Cani make friends, I introduced Serina.
"This is Serina, a second-year in the knight department. She's so talented that the Second Prince and the next Blue Tower Master keep chasing after her."
Cani, who had been subtly wary of Serina, finally broke into a bright smile and greeted her.
"Hello, I'm Cani, the one who's taken care of the Young Master since the day he was born."
"Oh, hello!"
The two exchanged bright smiles. I nodded in satisfaction. Yes, this was the normal reaction. The Marine-and-Serina friend-making project might take some time, but the Cani friend-making project seemed like it would succeed quickly.
Serina plopped down in the empty seat beside me.
"The tournament atmosphere is pretty heated, right?"
Serina asked with an innocent smile. I'd originally planned to whine at her for not consulting me beforehand, but seeing that bright smile, I couldn't bring myself to complain. Well, it had turned out fine in the end.
"Yeah, thanks."
"Hehe."
Serina laughed cheerfully. Cani, sitting beside us, watched with a strange look in her eyes.
"Um, weren't you aiming for the Second Prince or the next Tower Master, Lady Serina? Sitting next to the Young Master might cause misunderstandings..."
"Haha, it's an honor that both of them have shown interest, but I feel it's too much for me... so I've been turning them down."
"Hmmm..."
As expected, when women got together they immediately started talking about romance. This was how friendships formed. I watched the two of them contentedly.
"Oh right! I packed lunch."
Serina rummaged through her bag and pulled out a lunchbox. Inside were appetizing sandwiches.
"Here, have one. You too, Cani!"
"Thanks."
"...Thank you."
The moment I took a bite of the sandwich, I was stunned. Crisp, fresh vegetables. A patty with a smoky grilled flavor that somehow came through. Even the sauce tasted homemade. I regretted ever thinking all sandwiches were basically the same.
Cani, who had also taken a bite, seemed equally shocked. Normally she looked happy whenever she ate delicious food, but this time she chewed with an oddly gloomy expression.
"Another... powerful rival has appeared..."
Cani looked deflated. I didn't know exactly why, but I decided to cheer up the depressed Cani with some good news.
"Cani, Serina, Marine, and I decided to have tea time together every Saturday. Want to join us?"
"Yes!"
Cani answered without hesitation. She'd been sulky when I mentioned having tea time last week without her—she must have felt lonely.
"I'll prepare the snacks for tea time!"
Come to think of it, Cani did enjoy cooking. Even if she wasn't very good at it yet...
"Ah... I was actually planning to prepare them..."
"Ah..."
I'd been hoping the two would get along, so I thought this was perfect timing and offered a simple solution.
"You two can make them together! Wouldn't it be better for Serina to have a friend in the kitchen instead of being there all alone?"
Cani fidgeted as she asked.
"W-would it really be okay to make them together?"
Serina beamed with obvious delight.
"Of course!"
"Yeah. Take this chance to learn some cooking from Serina. You couldn't even eat that pie you made last time, remember?"
"Tch..."
I gently stroked the pouting Cani's head.
I should negotiate with the academy about this.
Servants normally had a hard time getting access to the buildings, but if I used my influence I could probably get permission somehow. It would be a bit of a hassle, but if it meant helping Cani make friends, it was worth it.
"Leni takes the initiative! She launches a Fireball with tremendous power!!!"
"Orly counters with the advantageous 1st Circle Water spell, but astonishingly the Fireball pushes the water back!"
The two who had been cautiously observing each other finally began a proper fight with Carden's first strike. Judging by the power of that Fireball, she seemed to be using about twenty percent of her demon strength, yet she was completely overwhelming Orly—a skilled enough mage to reach the main tournament—with her magic.
"L-Leni's skills are incredible?"
Orly looked visibly flustered at being pushed back even with advantageous magic. She tried to stay calm, but her shaking was obvious. Gritting her teeth, she swung her parasol—an auxiliary tool.
"Wind Cutter!"
A Wind Cutter shot forward with a sharp whistle. Slice. It barely cut through the Fireball before it could reach Orly's body.
"Good, next—huk!"
Orly, who had destroyed the Fireball and was preparing her next spell, threw herself aside in panic. Leni, her body enhanced by demon power, had suddenly appeared from behind the severed Fireball.
Although protective magic for sparring covered them so there wouldn't be any pain from a punch, the timid mage Orly couldn't maintain her will to fight after seeing a fist cutting through the air right in front of her. How could a mage's fist make that kind of sound?
Having acknowledged the overwhelming difference in both physical ability and magic, Orly threw down her parasol.
"I surrender!"
"Whoa... her physical abilities are no joke?"
"How can a mage do that..."
"She looks stronger than me..."
Everyone in the arena gasped in admiration at Carden, who had displayed incredible physical prowess despite being a mage. Jidan Adena, a knight department professor who had been standing around like a handsome background prop, spoke up for the first time.
"I have no idea why she didn't come to the knight department."
I completely agreed.