漫画大王

Chapter 288

Of course, most of the visitors were parents coming to see their children. Since students came from all over the continent, many parents took this opportunity to visit, while other residents of the capital simply came to enjoy the festivities.

Even so, the safety of Temple students was the top priority. There were restricted areas, and security was significantly heightened.

Even with the heightened security, the Temple would still be incredibly crowded. The Temple was at its most vulnerable during this festival period, when it was open to the general public.

While there were not supposed to be any incidents during this year’s festival, the festival held in the following year, just before the Gate Incident, would see parties taking advantage of this vulnerability and causing chaos.

But that was a distant concern, and I wasn’t sure if that incident would even materialize. In fact, since I had already altered the trajectory of this world significantly, incidents could theoretically occur this year as well.

If the Black Order decided to come after me, this would be the easiest time for them. However, they still seemed to be deliberating their next move internally, as they hadn’t made any moves yet.

If they did appear, I would deal with them accordingly. I was fairly certain they wouldn’t try to kill me, at least.

Anyway, it was Monday.

Although it was the festival period, it wasn’t vacation time yet. Cliffman, Ellen, and Riana had all returned to the dormitory.

All the Royal Class students were gathered in the main hall, as per the student council’s instructions. Standing on the stairs in front of the gathered students was the student council president, Ceres van Owenne.

“The Gradias Temple Festival will be held for one week starting from today,” she announced formally in front of the entire student body.

She continued, “Normally, the Royal Class and Orbis Class would participate in the opening ceremony at the Great Stadium, but as you all know, due to various incidents this year, all official events for the Royal Class during the festival have been canceled.

“Therefore, in a very unusual move, the Royal Class has been granted unlimited free time during this festival period. Students who wish to participate in the tournaments or festival events may do so freely.

“Normally, I would relay various precautions for official events, but this year, you are simply to enjoy the festival. Participate in activities to ascertain your progress over the year, or take a well-deserved rest.

“While there are no precautions relating to official events, I will relay some general precautions.

“There are currently a significant number of civilians within the Temple. They come from various backgrounds and statuses. I urge you not to provoke or engage in unnecessary conflicts with these members of the public.

“Conflicts between students and members of the public frequently occur during the Temple Festival, which can arise because of mistakes committed by either party. If an unidentified person exerts undue pressure on you, seek assistance from nearby guards, who will respond immediately. Security has been significantly increased, so you should see Temple guards everywhere. Likewise, if you act belligerently or use force, you will also be dealt with accordingly.”

In short, don’t cause trouble, and don’t get into trouble.

After she finished her speech, Ceres van Owenne swept her gaze across the students.

“As the president of the Royal Class student council, I hope this festival will be a successful end to your year.”

The festival was an event to be enjoyed by all Temple students after a year of hard work. They could play and have fun, then enter the winter break with a relaxed mind.

Of course, for me, this felt less like a break after a year of hard work and more like the final hurdle that I needed to cross.

The tournament would show me just how much my skills had improved since the beginning of the semester.

If I won the first-year tournament, I would see how far I could go in the Open Tournament finals.

Then there was the Miss and Mister Temple contest.

And the damned cross-dressing contest.

I just needed to get over this hurdle, then take a brief moment to breathe.

“Enjoy the festival. That’s all.”

The students broke out into a round of applause. The festival officially began.

Some students rushed out of the dormitory as if they had been waiting for this moment, while others, as always, showed little interest in the festival and returned to their own dormitories with indifferent expressions.

Harriet was walking with several others as part of a group.

They were members of the Magic Research Club.

The first-year members of the Magic Research Club had gathered around Harriet.

—You guys go have fun. I’m fine by myself.

—No, it’s gonna be okay. Let’s go, quick!

—But I’m really alright...

—There’s still a lot to improve. The final rounds are coming up soon, so you’re going to need to refine some things.

Even Rudina joined in.

—Hey, freshman! Practicing again today? Not going to see the festival?

—Ah, yes... I’m planning to. You can go to the festival, senior...

—No, no, this is more fun for me!

—Um... well...

It seemed the Magic Research Club was heavily supporting Harriet, who had entered the Open Tournament. She hadn’t told me exactly how she’d done it, but she had topped her group in the Open Tournament preliminaries and advanced to the finals.

Honestly, even I wasn’t confident of pulling off such a feat, but Harriet had done it.

If Harriet’s practical magic abilities were at that level, that meant her combat capabilities were at least on par with mine, if not higher.

After being knocked around here and there and growing frustrated, Harriet had developed a desire to become skilled in combat, and she was succeeding.

Instead of enjoying the festival, Harriet was focusing all her efforts on preparing for the Open Tournament, and the members of the Magic Research Club were helping her with that.

They were gelling together as a group beyond the tasks I had assigned them, which was a good thing.

Before heading towards the Magic Research Club, Harriet made eye contact with me. It was possible that she would come to watch me, but she would be busy with her own matters.

She looked at me with a somewhat apologetic expression before leaving the dormitory.

I didn’t think it was a big deal, so there was no need for her to feel sorry.

Harriet left the dormitory.

I was at the very back of the line of Class A students, and Ellen was at the front.

She had to have tried on a ton of outfits over the weekend and racked her brain with Riana and Cliffman to prepare for the Miss Temple contest.

Ellen turned her head to look at me.

She’d left the Temple on Friday and only returned late last night, so it was the first time I had seen her in a few days.

Although she might have tried on some makeup at the Granz ducal house, she was, of course, bare-faced now, and dressed in her school uniform.

Ellen tilted her head as I stared at her.

‘What... should I say? Why does she... look the same as usual, but somehow prettier?’

—Ellen! Come to my room. The new makeup I ordered just arrived this morning.

—Oh, okay.

Ellen looked at me for a moment before being dragged away by Riana.

—And you! Do I always have to call you to come?

—Oh, uh, yeah... okay...

—Isn’t it about time you started acting on your own? Why are you so slow?

—S-Sorry...

Riana dragged her two charges away, Ellen in her right hand and Cliffman in her left. Even as she was being pulled along, Ellen kept looking back at me.

Was she debating whether to watch the tournament?

Honestly, I did not have high hopes that they would come to watch the tournament, but seeing everyone busier than usual during the festival instead of taking the time to enjoy it made it feel less like a festival.

It was a festival that wasn’t really a festival.

Wham!

“Reinhart!”

Olivia suddenly jumped on me from behind and enveloped me in a hug, making me jump in shock.

“What now?!”

“Let’s hang out! There’s so much I want to eat and do!”

Olivia looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“I’m busy. The first-year tournament finals are today.”

“Oh, right! Then can I come watch you?”

“Do as you please.”

Olivia, while talking, made eye contact with Ellen, who was being dragged away by Riana.

“She’s participating in Miss Temple, right?”

“Yes... That’s what I heard.”

Olivia released her arms from around me and looked back and forth between me and Ellen.

“Are you going to vote for me?”

I couldn’t answer, and Olivia pinched my cheek.

“You can’t even lie, can you? You dummy,” she said, then ran off laughing.

***

It was Monday, and while numerous events, performances, and activities were happening all over the Temple, the glamor and bustle of the festival couldn’t feel further away for me.

It was the day of the first-year tournament finals. The finals for each grade would be held in the same arena, which was filled with spectators.

I was in Group A, and my match was first.

There were a total of 32 first-year finalists.

It would be the round of 32, the round of 16, and then the quarterfinals.

I would have to fight in three matches that day, and the semifinals and finals were scheduled for the next day.

I went with Ludwig and Scarlett to prepare for the first-year tournament.

Needless to say, both Scarlett and Ludwig had made it through the preliminaries.

Ludwig looked at the bracket and smiled.

“We’re all in different groups by chance? That’s lucky.”

I was in Group A, Scarlett in Group B, and Ludwig in Group C. We wouldn’t face each other until the group winners were decided.

If we ended up facing each other, it would only be in the semifinals of the tournament at least.

“Do you really think it’s a coincidence?” I asked.

“Are you saying they arranged it like this on purpose?” Ludwig responded.

‘Ludwig... I’m sorry for making you like this... I truly am.’

“Of course. If they put all the top contenders in one group, there wouldn’t be anything exciting to watch later on.”

“Oh, I see...”

The organizers had deliberately arranged the bracket this way to ensure that the most exciting matches would happen later on in the tournament.

The finalists were divided into four groups.

Groups A, B, and C each had a Royal Class student.

And then there was Group D.

There was a familiar name in that group—Gladen Amorel.

Although the Orbis Class had been disbanded, he had transferred to a general class and was participating in the tournament. There could be other former Orbis Class students in the bracket whose names I just didn’t recognize.

While it was possible that there were others I didn’t know, I confirmed that Gladen Amorel was in Group D.

If we each won our respective groups, one of us would eventually face Gladen Amorel.

For now, I did not know who it would be.

We were heading to the arena where the tournament finals would be held. We each had a maximum of three matches that day.

Ludwig was grinning.

“The others said they’d all come to watch later. What if I get nervous?”

There were two finalists from Class B, so most of them, with the exception of a few, were going to watch the tournament to see Ludwig and Scarlett in action.

It seemed like everyone except the members of the Magic Research Club would be there.

What about my side?

‘Ellen and Harriet probably wouldn’t be able to come...’

At most, Olivia might come. However, she seemed a little upset earlier on, so perhaps she wouldn’t show up either.

What about Charlotte? Since the Class B students would be attending, she could show up. But then, she wouldn’t necessarily be coming to see me.

Why did I feel a little sad about this?

Why did I feel like the only kid whose parents did not show up for the school sports day?

Perhaps it was because I’d been living as a kid for so long that I wasn’t that much different from a real child.

“Reinhart! Let’s do our best!” Ludwig exclaimed.

“Yeah,” I replied rather stiffly.