It was true that the roster utilized the cla.s.s’ talents to the fullest, but it was impossible to make up the difference in individual ability between the top-performing students. Glen understood that. At the very best, the roster was enough to be compet.i.tive in each of the events. If he really wanted to secure victory, then he would probably have to a.s.sign all the top-performing students to every event.
…But that’s obviously against the rules huh… Well, it can’t be helped I guess, I do my best to use these forty people and challenge myself to maximize my chances of winning…
As Glen was thinking that—
“My my… Sensei, can you cut it out already?”
One of the students relaxedly stood from their seat. It was Giel.
“You keep saying that ‘We’ll win using full force’, but there’s no way we can win with this roster right?”
“Hm…?”
Could it be that you thought of a roster with a higher chance of winning?
‘If that’s true, then I’ll definitely use it’— For Glen, this was no longer a problem of an instructor’s pride and dignity, it was the difference between life and death.
“Oho? Gibel. That means you have a roster in mind that has a higher chance of winning? Alright, let’s hear it.”
“…Uhm, sensei, are you seriously saying that?”
Unable to hide his irritation, Gibel spouted those words.
“Isn’t that obvious!? Just have the top-performing students partic.i.p.ate in every single event! That’s the standard for each year, and all the cla.s.ses are doing it too aren’t they!?”
“………Eh?”
Glen froze.
Eh? What? That’s alright? Although his body was frozen, his thoughts continued to ceaselessly flow. Anyhow, it seems that he now realized that he had made a terrible mistake.
Ah, the heck? So you could use the same person multiple times, and it’s a standard? Then let’s do just that. Heh—, yes—, oho—, hmm—…
Having heard that, Glen was fist-pumping on the inside.
Alrighty…. Guhehe, the current roster is sly enough as it is, but since the opportunity presented itself, I won’t hold back. I’ll take the slyness one step beyond…-!
In particular, I won’t hold back on using Sistina. This white cat girl might be cheeky, but she’s still excellent without a doubt. As cheeky as she is, if I put her into as many events as I can, then my chances of victory will definitely jump.
“Hmpf… I guess you’re right, if we do that…”
As Glen was about to approve of Gibel’s suggestion—
“What are you saying, Gibel!? After all the thought that sensei put into it, you’re trying to pick it all apart?
The girl that reb.u.t.ted Gibel was none other than Sistina.
Hey-, yo-, wh-, why are you objecting Gibel—!?
Without a clue of Glen’s unease, Sistina faced the entire cla.s.s, and pleaded to the them with a sincere expression.
“Everyone, look! Look at the roster than sensei has thought up! He has fully considered our strengths and weakness, and given each and every person the chance to play an active role in the festival!”
In response to Sistina’s pleading, the cla.s.s entered a commotion.
‘Now that you say that…’, ‘It’s true that…’. From everywhere in the cla.s.sroom, such whispers could be heard.
Hey… You guys… don’t get persuaded… I beg you…
“Despite all the thought that sensei put into it, are you all just going to shrink back and do nothing!? Are you going to give a meaningless excuse such as ‘I don’t want the empress to see my unsightly appearance’ to back away from partic.i.p.ating!? Is that in itself not unsightly!? If you really believe that, how could you even possibly dare face the empress!?”
Whatever with being unsightly or unable to face her, just please stop saying such unnecessary things…
“To begin with, if we win by only having the top-performers compete, then what’s the point of this festival? Sensei said ‘We’ll go full force, and I will guide all of you guys to victory.’ had he not!? There is only a meaning to what he said if we all do this together!”
Then, Sistina turned and said.
“Right, Sensei!?”
The expression on her face was one that was rarely shown to Glen – A rare, impregnable, refres.h.i.+ng smile.
“Y-, Yeah….”
He had no choice but to say this. If he were to say ‘nope’ at this moment, then he would become nothing short of a supervillain.
“I-, It’s just as Sistina says….”
“Ah, that’s right… Even we….”
And then, the cla.s.s’ atmosphere clearly indicated that they would follow Sistina.
Ah, don’t back down—!? Hey, wait a second you guys! This is a problem of life and death you know!? I’m gonna die of starvation you know!? Do you guys even understand!? G.o.dd.a.m.nit!
At this point, he can only bet on his final safety net, Gibel.
Give it your best! Don’t lose Gibel-kun! Make the white cat eat your dust with a super-comeback!
Glen sent an imploring gaze towards Gibel, but…
“Fu, my my. You never change do you, Sistina… Well, fine, if the cla.s.s all agrees on that, then do whatever you like.”
Gibel reseated himself, a cynical smile on his face.
You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, aren’t you a bit too weak you little herbivore of a boy—!?
“Well, let’s see what you can do then, Sensei?”
This annoying little—! There’s nothing that I can show you!
In response to Gibel’s provocation, Glen could do nothing but scream internally.
Then, to Glen—
“Ahaha, everything turned out great didn’t it? All according to sensei’s plan, right?”
Saying that, Sistina let a chuckle slip.
T-, This girl… Is she mocking me!? Me of all people!? She’s really means it doesn’t she!? Not only that, she’s. .h.i.tting me with irony where it hurts…-!?
Glen could see nothing but the devil’s smile on her face.
C-, Could it be, that this girl… grasped my plan!? If that’s the case, then what a despicable person you are, blight cat…-!
“Well, since sensei seems to be finally be motivated for once, and even gave it his all to think of this roster, let’s do our best everyone. I’ll look forward to what you can do, sensei~”
“Y-, Yeah… Just leave it to me….”
Sistina, who was in a particularly rare good mood, showed a somewhat eerie smile towards Glen.
Hm… I can’t help but get the feeling that they’re not on the same wavelength… I wonder why?
Lumia gazed upon them with a wry smile.
In the week leading to the Magic Games Festival at Alzano Imperial Magic Academy, there was a practice period allotted specifically for the events.
Fundamentally, there were only three lectures during this period, the first and second cla.s.ses in the morning, and the third cla.s.s in the afternoon. After these cla.s.ses ended, the rest of the time was devoted to magic practice under the supervision of the instructor.
“Hah….”
Afterschool, at the courtyard that was filled with growing gra.s.s and surrounding by coniferous trees—
Glen leaned his back against a suitable tree, and gazed at his students, who were practicing for the Magic Games Festival, from afar. He seemed to be rather exhausted.
There were students that chanted their spells and practiced flying in the skies.
There were students that used long-range telekinetic-type abilities to play catch ball.
There were students that chanted attack-type spells, and struck the trees with beams of electricity.
On the other side of the courtyard, Sistina and Lumia spread a spellbook open on the bench, and – with troubled expressions – wrote something on the sheep skin paper. The various students surrounding them seemed to be discussing something. It seemed that the girls were organizing the magic techniques that they would use for the compet.i.tion.
As of now, Glen’s cla.s.s was silently fired up about the Magic Games Festival that was set to happen a week later.
“Geez they sure are pa.s.sionate… they don’t even consider my feelings…”
As if his pa.s.sionate yesterday was a lie, today’s Glen was nothing less than downtrodden.
Since he saw it. The members that would partic.i.p.ate in the other cla.s.s that is.
He used the summoning magic [Call · Familiar] to summon a rat, which he used to scout the other teams, but as expected, all of the other cla.s.ses seemed to have excelling or even famous students partic.i.p.ating in multiple events. Against a team filled with outstanding talent, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the students of Glen’s cla.s.s didn’t amount to anything… Well, it wasn’t quite that exaggerated, but simply said, there was a great difference in individual abilities. No matter how he looked at it, it wouldn’t be easy to win.
Glen’s fate of ‘death by starvation’ was no longer just a joke, it would soon become a reality.
“d.a.m.nit, how unfair… Using nothing but excelling students. Do these people have nothing but winning on their minds!? There are things that are more important than winning right? d.a.m.n!”
It was true that he wanted to fill his roster with nothing but top students, but that thought had already been long lost.
“Tch… Should I do what I must and change up the roster? Within the bounds of a supervising instructor…”
Right now, the devil was whispering into his heart.
However, Glen glanced at his students.
Everyone seemed to be having fun. Yesterday they did nothing but cower away and back down, but now, none of them seemed to sweat the small things, and were probably looking forward to partic.i.p.ating in the festival. It was because of their liveliness that they were intent on practicing for the events that they would appear in.
Seeing that, visions of his past seemed to flash through his mind.
“Magic Games Festival… ah, now that I think about it…. When I was still a student here… there was something like that wasn’t there…?”
Seeing the happy looks on the students as they practiced, Glen finally remembered. It seemed that the academy has a tradition that was something like the Magic Games Festival, but he had completely forgotten about it until now.
“Well, let’s not force it too hard. When I graduated from this academy, I spent three years doing nothing noteworthy… On top of that, I didn’t ever partic.i.p.ate in the festival did I…?”
His memories as a student of this academy seemed to drift through his mind.
At that time, the malpractice of separating partic.i.p.ation in the Magic Games Festival by students’ grades had already begun. Although only those who were below average were cut from consideration, Glen, who was a below average student, was automatically disqualified. Thinking back, Glen, who was three to four years younger than the students of his cla.s.s, was most likely treated as an outsider by his cla.s.smates and friends.
That’s why, despite the high-spirits of the cla.s.s and the students, Glen only spectated from afar, all alone. For Glen, these were boring and lonely memories, and as a result of having been treated the same for three years in a row, not a single shred of interest in the festival remained.
Since they were such dark memories, it was more or less a given that they would be forgotten. If he wasn’t in charge of a cla.s.s that was partic.i.p.ating in the games festival, he probably wouldn’t have ever remembered.
“Tch… Making me remember such things…”
Hatefully murmuring to himself, he once again looked at his students, who were all giving it their best.
“Hah… Geez, what an underhanded bunch… Ah, it’s impossible like this, for real….”
Winning is probably impossible. What can I do in a week? I can’t think of anything.
I can’t think of anything, but—
Amongst the students that were practicing, there was not a single one that was lonesome, nor was there anyone that merely spectated.
“Hah… My oh my.”
Glen scratched his head and stood up.
“…Well, whatever I guess.”
Murmuring to no one in particular, Glen showed a refreshed expression.
“In any case, I just gotta deal with the food problems first don’t I? I can’t look forward to the prize money, but I’m gonna politely decline the option of starving to death. There are shroty trees growing in this academy aren’t there… If it’s branches from those, then I can figure something out until the next payday…”
He hadn’t filled his stomach with anything but water since yesterday. With no other recourse, Glen decided that he would search through the academy’s forest for edible wild gra.s.s or sticks. It was then—
“You guys have been nothing but selfish this whole time… Just quit it already!”
Suddenly, angry voices could be heard from the distance.
“…What?”
In a bout of annoyance, Glen turned towards the direction of the voices. It seems that the students of his cla.s.s were arguing with the students of some other cla.s.s, and started a dispute in the courtyard.
“…Oi you guys, what happened?”
Since he couldn’t leave it be, Glen sighed to himself, and walked towards the source of the disturbance. The students in question were grappling one another, and both of them seemed like they would burst at any time.
“Ah, sensei!? These guys came after us, but they’re telling us to move away—”
One of the students of Glen’s cla.s.s, Cashew, agitatedly ranted.
“Shut up! Seeing your oversized group messing around is an eyesore! We’re going to be practicing now, so go somewhere else!”
The student that was fighting with Cashew seemed to be just as agitated.
“What did you say—!?”
“Alright alright, STOP~”
Glen grabbed Cashew and the other student by the nape of their necks, and forcefully pulled them apart.
“Ack ack… O-, Ow…. My neck…”
“Uoo… I-, I can’t… breathe….”
“Christ, don’t fight over such petty things alright…. Your EQs are way too low.”
Confirming that the two of them were now obedient, Glen led go of his hands.
Having been released from Glen’s hold, the two of them fell to the floor and gasped for air.
“Erm, you over there… Judging by that badge, you’re from cla.s.s one right? Are you guys gonna practice now?”
“Eh… Ah, yeah. That’s right… Uhm… this is where Harry-sensei told us to go…”
After being suppressed by Glen’s brute force, the two fairly large-framed students seemed to grow timid. The students of cla.s.s one took a step back, and tackled the situation in an admirable manner.
“Hmpf, I see…”
Glen scratched his head, and looked around the area.
“Mm, well, it’s true that we’re taking up too much s.p.a.ce… Sorry ‘bout that. We’ll move ourselves to one side, is that ok with you guys?”
“I-, If you can clear some s.p.a.ce, then that’ll be fine…”
It seems that everything was wrapped up somehow, and the students who were observing the situation unfold were relieved.
“What are you doing, Craise!? Didn’t I tell you to secure a spot!? So why isn’t it clear!?”
A man in his mid-twenties entered the stage, together with infuriated cries. He was a bespectacled, sensitive man that wore the robe bearing the mark of an owl, which showed that he was an instructor of this academy. His name was—
“Ah, Yu-ray-senpai, wa.s.sup?”
“It’s Harry! Harry! It’s not Yuray or Harem-! It’s Harry Astray-! Glen Ryders, just how many times do have I have to tell an imbecile like you my name until you remember it!? Rather, you haven’t remembered my name at all have you!? Not in the slightest! Am I right!?”
The two of them gave the impression of being old friends.
Towards Glen’s lighthearted greeting, Harry showed an astounding reaction.
“…So? Is, erm, Ha-… something-senpai’s cla.s.s is coming here to practice for the festival?”
“…You little… can you really not remember my name?”
With clenched, trembling fists, Harry moved on to the main topic, not wanting to waste time with idle talk.
“Hmpf, well fine, you asked whether my cla.s.s is practicing for the festival right? The answer should be more than obvious. Not to mention, my cla.s.s will be taking the victory as well. Under my guidance, anything other than victory is unforgivable! Furthermore, the empress will be present as a special guest this year, and will be the one to present the medals. The only one suitable for such an honor is none other than myself!”
“Ah-ha-ha! d.a.m.n, you’re so pa.s.sionate about this! Well, give it your best, senpai!”
Faced with Glen’s playful att.i.tude, Harry disdainfully clicked his tongue.
“More importantly, Glen Ryders, I heard about it. Do you really intend to have everyone in your cla.s.s partic.i.p.ate in the festival?”
“Eh? Ah, mhm, yeah, well, it happened didn’t it… it’s not exactly what I had in mind though.”
“Hah! Are you throwing away your chances of winning already? Actually, have you thought of what you’re going to say when you lose? Or are you just afraid of the cla.s.s that’s under my guidance?”
Glen awkwardly shook his head.
For some reason, this Ha-something guy is really hostile towards me. I didn’t really do anything, but he’s just flaming me in a one sided manner. Well, it wasn’t much at first, but now that I think about it, I feel like that he started being hostile when I started to teach my cla.s.ses seriously… I don’t really get the cause and effect behind this.
Well, it’ll probably be fine if I just give him a suitable response.
“No, that might actually be true you see— I mean, after all, Ha-… something-senpai’s cla.s.s is filled with top-performing students you see— And my—, it’s pretty much decided that senpai’s cla.s.s is gonna win you see— Ah—, I’m so jealous of the empress’ medal you know—”
Seeing that Glen was set on playing the fool, Harry irritatedly grit his teeth.
“Tch… what a coward. Well, fine, just hurry up a clear out of our practice area.”
“Ah— yes yes, immediately. Erm, would it be fine if we just moved to the s.p.a.ce over by that tree?”
Glen took the s.p.a.ce that each of their students needed to practice, and proposed a fairly proper distribution of s.p.a.ce, but—
“What are you saying? I’m telling you and the rest of your cla.s.s to move out of the courtyard.”
Hearing what Harry said, all the students of cla.s.s two froze up.
Even Glen couldn’t help but press his fingers against his temples and protest.
“Senpai… no matter what, that’s a bit too much isn’t it… You’re being a tad unreasonable.”
“What’s unreasonable about this?”
Harry spat those words.
“If you’re being serious about this, then I have no problem with evenly distributing the practice grounds with you. However, you’re not motivated at all are you!? Not to mention, you let these poor performing students… You’re planning to work with these hindrances after all!”
“—!?”
“To begin with, your cla.s.s has no plans to win, but to take over the practice s.p.a.ce with a mob of useless small fry is nothing short of an annoyance for everyone else! If you know what I mean, then hurry up and get lost!”
Hearing such terribly demeaning words, the expression of the students from Glen’s cla.s.s darkened…
—There’s no way we can let a failure like you partic.i.p.ate in the glorious festival right? Glen.
—If you know what I mean, then hurry up and scram. You’re nothing but a burden!
The way the students overlapped with someone, from somewhere, from sometime…
“Ah… geez, come on. It’s just one thing after another today isn’t it? …Ah—, I’ve had enough of this…”
Glen, who suddenly said such things, ignored the students, who were unable to hide their troubled feelings, and suddenly pointed his finger at the dead-center of Harry’s nose. In conjunction with that movement, he flipped the robe that rested over his shoulders.
“About what you said, senpai, this is the best a.s.signment for my cla.s.s. You’re saying that I’m motivated? That I’m throwing away my chances of victory? Fu-, don’t talk bulls.h.i.+t would you? Of course we’re after it as well. Victory, that is. Well, feel free to belittle us however you like, just try your best to not let us blindside you alright?”
Curving his lips into a sneer, Glen showed a daring smile.
In response to Glen’s mysterious pressure, a sweatdrop formed on Harry’s forehead.
“…Ku, you can say whatever you like, but in the end you’re all talk. However, in reality, all you’re doing is that you’re making the excelling students of your cla.s.s such as Sistina and Gibel play around aren’t you…-!”
“Hm? I see… Basically, erm… Ha-? Something-senpai thinks that my cla.s.s’ composition is just for show, flimsy, or something like that right…?”
“E-, Exactly… what else could it possibly be!? Repeatedly using your top-students is practically a formality! It’s not just my cla.s.s, all the other cla.s.ses in every single year are doing it as well!”
“Ku-Ku-Ku… So it seems that it’s not just you. Rather, it seems that all the instructors at this academy are useless blockheads… No—way, no way, could it be that you thought that you could win just by putting top-performing students in every single even…? Fuha—HA-HA-HA-! I’m dying over here!”
Said Glen. His laughter was somewhat villainous.
“Alright senpai? We will win with everybody. Everybody, got that? If we’re all moving towards the same goal, then say anything you want about ‘who’s the main force and who’s the hindrance’, none of it matters. It’s all for one, and one for all. The feeling of unity is the best strategy you know? You understand me?”
“Ku-… you think that kind of illogical, spiritual theory will work…!?”
However, in response to Harry’s reb.u.t.tal, Glen stuck out his chest proudly and replied.
“Three months of wage.”
“Wh-, Wha-!?”
“My cla.s.s will win, and you will give me three months’ worth of wages.”
In response to Glen’s announcement, not only Harry, but even the surrounding students were bewildered.
In particular, the students of Glen’s cla.s.s looked at him with open-mouths.
“A-, Are you serious, you imbecile…-!”
“Now then, whatcha’ gonna do senpai? Will you take this bet? My, perhaps three months is a bit too much? If you lose then your research is gonna get stalled for a while isn’t it…?”
“Gu…u…-!”
To instructors, wages had a special meaning. Compared to professors, the amount of budgeting they got for research was nothing more than a drop in the ocean. As a result, in order to make some achievements, and for the sake of advancing their own research, instructors of this academy had no choice but to fund their research out of their own pockets. Although magic instructors had a fairly high payline, they were often just barely sc.r.a.ping by.
Of course, Harry too, would like to avoid the risk of losing three months worth of pay. If he were to lose it, then during that period, Harry’s magic research would undoubtedly be slowed.
I don’t believe that I would lose, but it’s still a matter of chance. No one knows how it will turn out.
Furthermore— this Glen person’s strangely confident expression, and nonchalant att.i.tude.
Does he have some sort of strategy in mind—?
“Ku… fine!”
However, before the students, there was no way that Harry could back down.
“The same applies for me! My cla.s.s will win, and you will give me three months worth of wages!”
With sweat trickling from his face, Harry disdainfully announced such.
“Fu-… As expected of you, senpai. You got guts. I like that you know? It wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t like this… Ku-Ku-Ku-… My, I’m extremely grateful, se—n—pa—i.”
With unmatched composure, Glen showed a intrepid smile.
“Tch-…-! I-, I’ll make you regret ever messing with me…-!”
With a hateful sentiment, Harry stared intently at Glen.
The students observed the two with bated breath.
Then—
…Now I’ve done it ––––––!
Although he held a firm, daring smile on the surface, on the inside, Glen already had his arms around his head.
I felt a bit irritated for some reason when he was making fun of my students, but I’ve actually done it this time! Oi oi, what am I gonna do? This ain’t a joke anymore! There’s no way I’ll be able to survive for three months without real food! I’ll die you know? It’s not like I’m the sage of the east or something…-!
Simply put, Glen’s att.i.tude might be imposing, but he was frightened to the core.
Strategy you say? Of course that doesn’t exist.
“d.a.m.n you Glen Ryders… An imbecile of a man like you…-! As mere third-rank third-rate magician who doesn’t have a single speck of pride as a magician, you dare belittle me…-!”
Uwah—, he’s angry now… He’s really really angry now…. A-ha-ha, s.h.i.+t. What am I gonna do!?
Right now, Glen had nothing but regret for his reflexive words and provocations.
Alright… dogeza it is. In this kind of situation, I have no other choice. Right now, I will desperately and sincerely beg for forgiveness and mercy— Now, bear witness to my special original magic [Moonsault · Jumping · Dogeza]—
As Glen was about to make a world record for throwing vanity, pride, and embarra.s.sment—
“That’s enough, Harry-sensei.”
A calm, cool voice interrupt Harry from saying anymore before Glen could prostrate himself.
“I will not forgive you if you belittle Glen-sensei any more than you already have.”
The one who spoke was none other than Sistina, who had arrived on the scene at some point.
Why do you have to appear with such timing, you little white cat—!?
Glen was on the verge of tears.
“You are Sistina Phebell!? The prestigious house Phebell’s… ku-!?”
Harry was visibly shaken by Sistina’s intervention.
“To start with, the way in which you dealt with the matter regarding the practice grounds was far from reasonable. However, you contempt att.i.tude towards Glen-sensei is unjust! If you plan to continue any further, then a problem may occur with the higher-ups in the academy regarding your unfit morals as a magic instructor. Would you like that?”
“Ku-…!? Y-, You little smoocher…-!”
In contrast to Harry’s bewilderment, Sistina showed a composed smile.
“Even if you didn’t result to such vulgar methods, Glen-sensei won’t hide or run away. At the Magic Games Festival a week from now, my cla.s.s will compete fair and square against yours…”
Sistina, who was overjoyed for some reason, turned to face Glen with eyes full of expectation.
“Right, sensei!?”
“Y-, Yeah…”
He had no choice but to say this. If he were to say ‘nope’ at this moment, then he would become nothing short of a supervillain.
“d.a.m.nit, remember this, Glen Ryders! I’ll make sure to crush your cla.s.s first at the combined events! Wash your face and get ready for it!”
Why does the hurdle keep rising? Someone save me…
Tears began to flow from his heart—
“Don’t ever come here again.”
In contrast, he gave Harry a thumbs down, before running his thumb across his throat in a threatening gesture. Something such as ‘an inevitable series of events’ existed in this world.
Harry loudly exhaled from his nose, and angrily turned to leave.
Although he avoided one disaster, another super-mega-bomb was about to drop directly on Glen.
“… I misjudged you, just a little bit.”
Said Sistina to Glen. The silver-haired girl combed her hair upwards, and absentmindedly turned her eyes around the area, unsure where to look. Her face seemed to be somewhat red. Perhaps she had a cold?
“I didn’t think that you would go that far to protect our practice grounds…. Although I know that you’re someone who will push comes to shove, but… I mean, sensei is… you’re usually like you usually are and… seeing it once again… uhm…”
“It’s not like I did it for you guys or anything…”
“Fufu, you’re being modest?”
Of course, it was not modesty, but rather, an undeniable truth.
“To stake a price and compete using their own skills is a magician’s’ art…. Mhm, in the end, sensei is a magician at heart!”
Why is she happy? This girl…
“It’s fine, just leave it to me, sensei! Since sensei has this much faith in us, we will definitely win! Hey, isn’t that right, everyone!?”
In response to Sistina, everyone strongly nodded their heads.
What’s the basis for that response you guys…. You’re only having fun cause you guys have nothing to lose, d.a.m.nit….
In the end, he was merely reaping what he sowed, but he tried his best to pretend that he didn’t know it.
On this rare occasion, Sistina showed a happy smile towards Glen.
And to Sistina, Glen returned a patient, but resentful smile.
“Hm… I can’t help but get the feeling that they’re not on the same wavelength… I wonder why?”
Lumia gazed upon them with a wry smile.
The days leading to the Magic Games Festival continued to pa.s.s.
In the end, (due to an inevitable series of events) everyone that wanted to partic.i.p.ate in the festival was now partic.i.p.ating. Glen, who (appeared to have) fully considered each and every one of the students (on the surface), was a stronger unifying force for the students than anyone had expected.
The students of Glen’s cla.s.s were all in high spirits, and for the sake of winning, they all desperately practiced and studied. They were already at the point where they had no fear of losing to the top-performing students of other cla.s.ses, nor the fear of embarra.s.sing themselves in front of the empress.
For the sake of the once-in-a-lifetime, 2nd year Magic Games Festival, everyone gave it their best.
On the other hand, Glen also responded to the student’s pa.s.sion (as there was no way he’d sit idly and allow himself to starve to death). Although his pa.s.sion seemed a bit ghastly, he worked hard to help the students practice and study.
“Erm, ‘Grazia’… is a three-person event this time around huh. If there are the same number of teams as there are cla.s.ses, then there are a total of ten teams. However, given the scheduling of the games festival, there’s no time for a tournament style bracket. On the day of the event, lotteries will be drawn to decide thee matches, and the rankings will be calculated based on the score difference… Hmpf.”
Holding the rulebook to this year’s games festival, Glen murmured to himself.
Today, Glen was in the cla.s.sroom giving strategic guidance to the students that were partic.i.p.ating in ‘Grazia’, a traditional team-battle game that involved creating barriers.
“With those conditions… Alright, listen up you guys. Use a conditional activation sequence.”
Glen turned his eyes away from the booklet, and faced the students that were partic.i.p.ating in the event – Alf, Bicks, and Shesa.
“In ‘Grazia’ the most important aspect is the speed at which you can construct the barrier isn’t it? That said, I used a familiar to observe the other cla.s.ses a little bit, but… their speed is undoubtedly faster than yours. Each cla.s.s is putting everything they can into practicing barrier formation speed. If we fight them directly, then our zone will be invaded and that’ll be the end of the story.”
‘Then what should we do?’. The students showed such questioning expressions.
“The way to fight against that is a conditional activation sequence. What I mean by conditional activation sequence, is a pa.s.sive magic-sequence that activates when certain conditions regarding the corresponding field or object – which are set at the beginning – are met. We’ll be using this for our strategy.”
“A conditional activation sequence… right?”
Hearing about that, the students furrowed their eyebrows with bitter expressions.
Most magicians had pretty poor impression regarding conditional activation sequences.
“Well, it’s not going to make you look cool I guess, since it is a conditional activation sequence after all. As I said in the lecture a little while ago, it’s a wretched, ancient sequence that’s infamous for being used in curses and geises. ‘If X and Y isn’t done, then you will die’ kind of feeling… Well, forget about that.”
Composing himself, Glen returned to explaining.
“Let’s review conditional activation sequences then. The strengths of this technique is that, if it’s completed, it will automatically activate. Since it doesn’t emit any magic power while it’s dormant, it’s also extremely hard to detect. The weaknesses is that you are unable to choose the timing at which you activate it, and the timing at which it activates is completely dependent on the action that your opponent takes.”
Glen wrote the strategy on the whiteboard.
“In a three-man ‘Grazia’, the standard is to have two people on offense and one person on defense, where the two-man group occupies a position, while the one-man group destroys the other’s encampments right? However, all three of you will be on defense. Focus everything into destroying the opponent’s encampment using ‘Field · Break’. Compared to creating one, destroying is a lot simpler after all.”
“But, if we do that then we can’t win…”
“That’s right, if we do that, then no matter how hard we try, we can only force a draw…”
“The goal is to make them think that we’re going for a tie”
‘I don’t really want to play this kind of dirty strategy, but well…’ thought Glen, as he scratched his head.
“I don’t want to say this, but compared to your opponents, you guys are weak. Our opponent’s pride will not allow them to accept a tie, and since the rankings are based on point differences, they will try everything they can to win with a big point margin. Thus, if the stalemate continue for long enough, they’ll definitely try to use ‘Absolute · Field’.”
“That’s the type of barrier that’s complicated to construct, but can’t be destroyed once it completed, right?”
“Ah, yeah. To add onto that, since they want to score big, they’ll definitely go for a huge scale one. That’s where you guys come in. You guys will create a super-broad field that will completely control the entire area, and the condition for its activation is ‘if the opponent creates an Absolute · Field that is beyond a certain size’… in order to obstruct the opponent. Our opponents will never suspect that a team that seems like it’s going for a tie, would try to turn the match on its head for a dominating victory… probably.”
With a slip of the tongue, Glen revealed his slight lack of confidence.
“Could it be that we’re going for a ‘Silent · Field · Counter’!?”
“For us, such a high-level strategy is…”
“But, you guys don’t have any other choice right? If we don’t try this then we’re going to lose one-hundred percent.”
Faced with the harsh truth, the students turned silent.
“That said, if the opponents are calm then we’ll lose either way. If our opponents go for a small ‘Absolute · Field’ to guarantee their victory, then we’re out, since the activation conditions won’t be met. However, we can’t set the activation conditions to apply on such a small field either. The strength of the sequence’s effect goes hand-in-hand with the difficulty in which the conditions are met. If we go for something too simple, then the tables will be turned in the remaining time after the field activates.”
Clicking and clacking the chalk against the blackboard, Glen wrote out the details of the strategy.
“The key is to force our opponents into using this large-scale skill. Thus, the deciding factor of this strategy is how quickly we can destroy their ‘Normal · Field’s. That’s why you guys need to put extra practice into ‘Field · Break’. Rather, let’s just say that that’s all you guys need to do. Got it?”
“U-, Understood, sensei!”
From a distance, Sistina and Lumia were gazing at Glen.
“He sure is pa.s.sionate about this… Does he really plan to win with all forty of us…”
“Hey Sisti. From the side, sensei’s serious and hard-working expression actually looks pretty cool doesn’t it?”
Sitting beside Sistina, who seemed impressed, Lumia happily laughed.
“…Not really. To start with, given how he is usually, it would be troubling if he wasn’t at least serious every so often.”
“Fufu, how dishonest~”
“…W-, What do you mean?”
Regardless of that, however, the two of them had an unresolved question.
“But, why is sensei… growing paler with each pa.s.sing day?”
“Mm… maybe he has a cold?”
This was the greatest mystery of the Magic Games Festival.
Like this, a week pa.s.sed by in a flash.
Today was the opening day of Alzano Imperial Academy’s Magic Games Festival.
And the day that the Alzano Empire’s empress, Alicia the seventh, would arrive at the academy—