Sleep as usual, wake as usual, and the time arrives all the same.
No tension to be born.
A match whose result is visible from the start is nothing more than a ceremony.
In the waiting room I’d been led to, it was just me and Karen.
The Council President and the Headmistress had stopped by earlier, but they’d said “Leave the post-duel cleanup to me” and gone right back out.
Alice and Mashiro had come to give me encouragement and had already moved to the spectator seats.
After that, Karen had come in, a bit timidly……
“Ouga, how are you feeling? Did you sleep well last night?”
“Right back at you.”
“Hahaha……”
A dry laugh from Karen.
“If you’ve got bags under your eyes, that pretty face is wasted.”
“Eep——! …… Ahem. R-right. I’ll redo my makeup later.”
…… No, that’s understandable.
If you think about it being the day your future gets decided, of course you can’t sleep.
And on top of that, the man you’ve entrusted your future to has magic aptitude of zero.
Anyone who could sleep soundly under those terms has too much gut.
“Don’t worry. Have you ever seen me lose?”
”…… No, never. I remember from way back — Ouga always drove off all the bullies.”
“Right? Oh, that reminds me — sounds like betting’s open. Want to give it a try? Bet on me and you’ll make a profit.”
“Ahaha. Maybe I will. I should try to recover at least a little of what I’ve lost.”
Karen shrugged with that.
A bit of conversation seemed to have loosened her up.
After the duel, Karen has a critical job: comforting the (idiot) Crown Prince.
If she has bags under her eyes at that moment, he won’t feel his heart skip.
He’s an irritating man, but I won’t spare effort to make the plan succeed.
Course corrections of this scale are nothing.
”…… Hey, Ouga.”
She gripped my hand tightly.
She was pressing her face into my back, so I couldn’t see her expression, but the force in that grip was strong.
”…… Since when have you been thinking of doing this?”
The Crown Prince Reformation Plan, she means?
If you asked me where the whole thing started, I’d hesitate……
“Probably since I met you again.”
“That far back…… happy. Same as me.”
So Karen had also been trying to use me as a decoy to bring Arnia to his senses.
Otherwise there’d have been no reason for her to make contact with me at all.
The shape may not be the one she imagined, but she’s pleased to be reaching the result she’d drawn up.
”…… I agonized over it yesterday. I agonized…… and I chose. Even if it means throwing everything away, I’m going to do what I should do.”
“You don’t need to brace yourself that hard, I’d think……”
If you use the winner’s rights from the duel, you can make Arnia listen, after all……
“No. I can’t just leave it all to Ouga. We have to walk together. I talked to the Headmistress, too. She said she’d happily lend her strength.”
She does put effort into raising the next generation.
Her voice carries weight too — she’ll be a powerful ally for Karen.
“I’m going to do my best, too (so I can end up with Ouga). No matter how brutal the thorny road…… because I’ve decided not to run anymore.”
For now — relieved that Karen, too, is fully fired up.
Good for you, Arnia.
It looks like she’s going to support you in all sorts of ways even after you’ve lost.
The reformation route is secured.
The rest is — I win, and we have a happy ending.
“See you out there.”
“Yeah. Off I go.”
We bumped fists, praying for each other’s good future.
“And now — let us welcome both contestants! First, the misfit who, lacking any magical aptitude, nevertheless secured admission! Ouga Veret!!”
Sounds like I got in by connections, the way they’re putting it.
But for now, I’ll forgive it.
They’ll be revising their understanding shortly.
So summoned by the announcer, I strode out into the sun-drenched battlefield.
”…… Right. To get my engagement to Ouga acknowledged, I have to go to the Headmistress’s office to convince Father.”
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
The arena, wrapped in fervor.
Normally there wouldn’t be a crowd of this scale, but today’s matchup featured two highly attention-grabbing individuals.
Crown Prince Arnia, possessed of the talent to enroll at the Magic Academy and assured of the throne in the future.
Lord Ouga, who, despite being born of House Veret, has rumors flying about activities that seem the very embodiment of “justice.”
Perhaps deciding it was a chance to profit, the students were running large-scale betting.
It’s the kind of thing only Lichberg Magic Academy — populated almost entirely by ducal and noble children — could host. With no teachers stopping it, this must be a customary event.
“Look, look, Miss Alice! I bet every coin I have on Ouga!”
The slip Miss Liche held bore an amount that, for a commoner, is far from trivial.
True to her word, she’d bet her living expenses too. From the outside, she’d look like a gambler.
But, given her connection to Lord Ouga, it’s a natural action.
I don’t care for that sort of thing personally and would never partake — but for her, this is a rare chance at a large sum.
There’s no point in pouring cold water on her excitement by lecturing her.
“That’s wonderful, Miss Liche.”
“Yes! With the winnings, I’m going to buy clothes and things — to go out with Ouga. I don’t have many nice outfits, you see……”
A single word to Lord Ouga and he’d buy them for her, but she refuses to rely on him; she insists on managing under her own power.
This sort of steady, earnest spirit must be what Lord Ouga finds endearing about her.
It’s a good thing Lord Ouga was able to take her into his inner circle. Compared to the Crown Prince’s entourage, the quality difference is night and day.
“Then let us invite Lord Ouga and go shopping in the city together sometime. We are in the Royal Capital. There are many shops with fine selections.”
“Yes! I’ll be sure to find out what Ouga’s tastes are!”
“Fufu. There may yet come a day when I call you Lady Mashiro as well.”
“M-mou! Miss Alice! Don’t tease!”
I was finding the puffing-cheeks fury of Miss Liche heartwarming when the heat of the crowd surged.
Lord Ouga and the Crown Prince must have entered.
The Crown Prince’s bearing speaks of considerable composure.
He clearly lacks any talent for reading people. The blood of that King is in him, after all.
What springs from the rotten is only the rotten.
“There isn’t another bet whose outcome is as foregone as this one.”
I needn’t watch to know — Lord Ouga will win.
The conclusion may come so quickly that even the crowd cools off.
“Putting aside that Ouga will obviously win — what sort of fight do you think it’ll be, Miss Alice?”
Unlike me, sitting in my chair, Miss Liche was leaning forward, eyes fixed on the arena.
She may be excited at the prospect of some grand magical exchange — but sadly, the high-level battle she’s imagining will not be on display.
”…… Yesterday, Lord Ouga sensed the truth — that the Crown Prince was weaker than I’d estimated — before I could even say so.”
There’s no way someone of Lord Ouga’s caliber would have misjudged his opponent’s strength.
“Miss Liche, you know what kind of training I’ve been overseeing for Lord Ouga, yes?”
“Um…… combat that lets you defeat a magic user without using magic……”
“Exactly. Taking that into account, Lord Ouga said he would fight at full strength.”
What he actually said was pulverize, but the meaning is the same.
If he shows his real strength here, anyone foolish enough to come at him afterward will vanish.
“That means……”
“Yes. Without resorting to [Magecraft Funeral (his trump card)], the match will be decided in an instant.”
◇ Next chapter — the Crown Prince dies! Duel, on standby!! ◇