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Translator: Nonon
Proofreader: Silavin
POV: Violet
“— Woosh!”
“Here I come!”
“Carbuncle!”
“— Haa!”
Chartreuse, Silva and Ash, my former classmates, who became clear enemies with me during the duel at this arena about 4 months ago, all won their matches smoothly. I feel like the pairings are arranged in a way that would make the tournament more exciting, but in any case, the people that not only I, but also Lord Clo and others knew won smoothly. By the way, His Highness won too.
But the most surprising of them all was…
“I’d heard that Ash had made a contract with the Wind Spirit – Carbuncle, but looks like it was true.”
The fact that Ash made a contract with a Spirit.
Moreover, it was Carbuncle, a high-ranking wind Spirit which nobody had made a contract with in over a decade. I’ve had rumors of it, I never imagined it would actually be true.
And from what I’ve seen so far, they seem to have a good relationship. Ash’s wind magic, which was already excellent, has become even stronger and now he’s probably one of the strongest at the academy.
“Speaking of which, have you not made a contract with Spirits, Lady Apricot? I have heard that many high-ranking mages do so.”
“It might be good for improving your magic, but forcing a contract will only incur resentment. The right time will come. If it does not, it just was not meant to be.”
“Is that how it is?”
“That is how it is.”
Hmm, that’s surprising. Knowing Apricot, I thought she would say something like ‘I am worthy of a more powerful Spirit!’, but she didn’t seem to be interested that much. Certainly, when it comes to making a contract with a Spirit, you can’t do anything if it’s just not meant to be.
“…”
“What’s wrong, Lord Clo?”
If anything, Lord Clo, who was observing strangely closely after he saw Carbuncle, seemed to be more interested. Or perhaps he’s simply envious or fascinated, because he’s not good at magic.
“… Nothing, I was just envious that he seems to have a good relationship with his Spirit. I was also thinking that I would be in trouble if Sir Ash ended up being my opponent. I can’t move faster than that wind, after all.”
Is he… envious?
Was it just my imagination that it seemed more like he was reacting to Ash making a contract with Carbuncle?
Still, although Lord Clo is saying that he can’t move faster than Ash’s wind, I have a feeling that he could.
“— The seventh match begins!”
Then the next match began.
I looked at the participants, but I couldn’t see her. I heard that she would be taking part in the tournament, so I think it’s about time I saw her. From what I can see, there are no noteworthy participants, but it’s possible that someone might have improved their skills while I was away. I should still watch just in case.
“Become earth, become earth…”
“Hey, that participant suddenly started sinking into the ground! What is he trying to do?!”
“Kukuku… come on, my retainers, unleash your powers!”
“That participant looks suspicious, but what he’s doing is just black magic!!”
“Here I come. I shall release my sealed powers!”
“Hmm, he’s the one from before… As I thought, the bandages on his arm meant that he was somebody from my side.”
“I want to win— and become somebody that cute shotas can look up to!”
“What’s with that vigor? It seems that there’s something she wants to accomplish by any means.”
… Um, how do I put this?
“… Lord Clo.”
“… Yes, what is it?”
“… Is it just my imagination that they’re all people who came to Shiki for the investigation?”
“… I would like to think that it’s just your imagination.”
Seeing them, Lord Clo put his hand to his forehead, as if his head was hurting.
For the time being, the people involved seemed to be having fun and their mana seemed to have increased from before from what I recall, so it’s fine I guess… Yeah, I’ll consider it to be a good thing.
“Well then, the next participants, please gather around.”
The match ended safely(?), and the participants who would be competing in the next match gathered.
I can’t stay like this. All the participants strangely worry me, but I have to move on–
“… Ah.”
I looked at the participants and saw her.
The girl, who starred in a play yesterday and the day before yesterday, which became a hot topic and who was also attracting attention in this tournament as well.
The moment she appeared, the nearly full house of spectators erupted in excitement. Some people looked at her like an idol, only being interested in her appearance, some people were curious about how she, who’s famous for using rare alchemy magic, would fight after seeing Kriemhild earlier. Under the watchful eyes of many people,
“———–“
“…”
She found us and waved at us while smiling.
I don’t know what she’s thinking about. Or the reason why she still treats me kindly even though I haven’t apologized yet. Or why she’s smiling at me. I really… don’t understand her.
“…—Now then, the eighth match of the first year division will begin!”
After the standard vow and opening words of the duel, everyone except for her, launched either magical or physical attacks at her.
To those who didn’t know, attacking one person with many would seem bizarre and be looked at with disapproval. However, to those who knew, it was understandable that this was done in order to win.
And most likely all of the participants this time understood this. Although she was beautiful and saint-like, making you want to protect her, at the same time–
“—-[Samsara] (high-level mixed magic of light and darkness)”
—- At the same time, she also possessed an aptitude for magic, as if she were beloved by God. They must have been painfully aware of this.
A name of the magic I’ve never heard of.
A visual effect I’ve never seen.
An unfathomable power.
All that is clear to me is that she has once again created magic using a new perspective and imagination.
“— Mr. Judge, it’s over, right?”
“… Eh, ah, t-the match is over! The winner is Mary Sue!”
The match ended before I knew it.
The spell from earlier didn’t end it, but she casted multiple spells afterwards, displayed combat technique that could only be called amazing and ended the match without a single scratch on her.
The audience was also captivated, with many of them cheering and applauding.
“… I see. I think I know why Chartreuse praised her so much in front of me now.”
“…Lady Apricot.”
“Fear not, my disciple. I’ve simply understood the reason and have no intentions of being on her side. However, it is also true that her magic is excellent.”
In fact, Apricot was also genuinely praising her magic and the combat abilities.
… Her magic is truly amazing. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to admit it, but there’s no other way.
“Samsara, huh?… I wonder if it was on purpose.”
However, what made me wonder was the fact that when Lord Clo saw that magic, he didn’t seem surprised, but just watched it as if he was observing it.
——
Author’s note:
Regarding the way Violet refers to Ash:
When they’re meeting in person, she makes a conscious effort to call him by his family name, but sometimes she impulsively ends up calling him by his first name.
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