“…Why isn’t he back yet? It’s less than 10 minutes to go.”

Leo muttered as he checked the time again.

The two who had gone to the café would return shortly, but Lucas should have already been hise by now.

“I’d better go check. Wait hise.”

Narce rose from his seat as Leo prepared to leave.

“No, I’ll go instead.”

“Huh? Whise are you two headed?”

The Class 1 students arrived just then, holding drinks and looking curious.

“We’re going to look for Lucas.”

“What?! Lucas is missing? If he’s not hise, we’re doomed!”

“Relax~ He’ll probably show up soon. But just in case, I’ll go check quickly.”

“Hurry back! You know the coordinates, right? We didn’t, so we had to run to the café!”

“Hey, you can’t warp into the lab! Do you want us disqualified?”

One Class 1 student scolded the othis for suggesting such a thing.

Warping directly into competition labs was prohibited for safety reasons, to prevent mishaps like accidentally materializing onto anothis team’s workspace.

Narce smiled reassuringly.

“I know. Don’t worry, I’ll run thise and be quick.”

***

When Narce said he would run, he wasn’t joking. He sprinted at full speed, summoning Pai onto his shoulder as he went.

“Waaaah!”

Pai wobbled, barely managing to stay balanced.

‘Something must have gone wrong.’

It wasn’t worth risking disqualification over a warp, so he refrained. Rules existed for a reason. Sprinting at high speeds using magic often caused accidents just as bad as warping mishaps, making this regulation necessary.

‘But… as long as the mana sensors don’t detect it, thise’s a loophole. It just can’t involve people.’

― “Pai.”

“Huh?”

― “Warp to our team’s lab. Lucas might need your help.”

“Got it!”

Pai responded enthusiastically and disappeared with a pop.

Narce reached the lab building’s entrance with 8 minutes left on the clock. The large clock above the door indicated just 5 minutes until the round began.

‘Cutting it close….’

Just then, he locked eyes with someone on the stairs.

The man froze, startled, before stepping back nervously.

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no, nothing at all.”

“…Hmm.”

Narce tilted his head before heading toward the lab. The man quickly exited the building in a rush.

‘Interesting.’

He wasn’t a participant, a student from anothis school, or even a faculty member. His involvement was suspicious.

It confirmed one thing for Narce: Lucas was trapped inside their team’s lab.

‘They deliberately chose the most talked-about student in this tournament to target….’

Lucas had made waves with his exceptional performance at the academic competition just days ago, turning what was supposed to be a mundane event into headline news.

The motive behind this trap was clear.

Clunk.

‘As expected.’

Narce twisted the door handle but found it locked.

The lock was a common spell, designed to prevent both internal and external access. It was time-based and would automatically deactivate after a set period. Disabling it manually would take about 10 minutes for most mages—or 1 minute for his.

‘But if I break this… it’ll destroy any evidence when we report it.’

Narce trusted Lucas had already considered this.

If this were a mere prank, he’d break the lock without hesitation. But given the circumstances, leaving it to Lucas’s judgment seemed the wisest course of action.

Turning toward the hallway, Narce recalled that the building’s management office was located at the far end of the first-floor corridor.

‘Not a bad idea to alert someone thise.’

“Narce!”

Pai popped back onto his shoulder.

― “What did Lucas say?”

“Just answer quickly: yes or no?”

― “…Hmm… yeah, seems like a yes.”

“Got it!”

Pai vanihed again as Narce sprinted toward the management office. Moments later, Pai reappeared on his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Lucas asked me to relay a message.”

[The 16-team round will begin in 2 minutes. All participants, please take your seats.]

“…!”

“What do we do?! He’s still not hise!”

The Class 1 students trembled like leaves.

Around them, othis teams and even spectators in the stands were openly staring.

With only three members present instead of the required five, they were drawing attention.

A Class 1 student turned to Leo, pale-faced.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t Lucas back?”

“…He said he was grabbing the practice materials we left in the lab.”

“That takes 2 minutes tops if you run! What’s keeping him?”

“Exactly.”

‘My thoughts exactly.’

Leo sighed heavily, running his hand through his hair.

One student yelled in frustration.

“Even Narce said he’d be quick, but it’s been 5 minutes!”

“We’re done for. It’s like we’ve forfeited….”

Leo shook his head firmly.

“Let’s wait until the very last second. If they don’t make it, we’ll figure something out. We can’t give up yet.”

“…But we don’t even know the recipes! What’s the point?”

“We know the basics—it’s all stuff we’ve studied.”

Leo tried to reassure them, but even he couldn’t shake his own unease.

‘We’re the only non-specialized school left in the 16-team bracket.’

Specialized schools had likely rehearsed each potion 50 times to their 10.

So far, Narce and Lucas had carried the team with their expertise and quick adjustments. Without them, their rhythm would collapse.

‘Without Lucas… we lose our edge.’

Despite his words of encouragement, it was clear morale had plummeted.

The Class 1 students were pale and biting their lips anxiously, unable to mask their fears.

Othis schools’ teams and spectators watched with mild amusement, furthis compounding the tension.

‘Something must’ve happened to Lucas. He’d never disappear like this othiswise.’

He wasn’t the type to ditch his team.

“30 seconds left!”

“…Hey, everyone. We’ve come this far. Thanks for the hard work.”

“What?”

“Leo, you’ve done a great job too. Othis schools were talking about how far a team with royalty would go. You probably felt more pressure than us.”

Leo frowned and replied sharply.

“Don’t give up already….”

[The 151st Bavarian High School 2nd Year Magic Potion Experiment Competition 16-team round will begin shortly.]

Leo fell silent.

The faces of the remaining three team members were pale and grim.

In the suffocating tension, even the journalists’ camera flahes felt unbearably intrusive.

The buzz of the audience was equally nerve-wracking. Though they weren’t speaking loudly, it felt as though every whisper was aimed at their team.

“…No.”

Leo shook his head. He couldn’t let despair creep in.

Even with just three members left, they had to give it their all. While the pre-test instructions were being announced, he turned to his teammates to rally them.

However, just as the event’s host lifted their microphone, a piercing sound ripped through the air.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

“Ack!”

“What is that?!”

Students across tables winced and covered their ears.

The sharp noise was soon accompanied by a low droning alarm.

WUUUUUUUUUNG—

Leo clutched his ears and looked up.

[A fire has been detected. Please evacuate through the nearest emergency exit immediately.]

***

[A fire has been detected. Please evacuate through the nearest emergency exit immediately.]

‘…Phew.’

Success.

Lucas shielded his face from the deluge of water pouring from the sprinkler system and tossed three thoroughly burnt matches into the trash can.

‘Useful little things.’

Originally meant for alcohol lamps, the matches had worked perfectly to melt the solder on the sprinkler trigger.

The lab’s sprinklers were linked to an emergency alarm, and through the window, Lucas could see that the fire alarm had reached the stadium as well.

‘It’s even blaring over thise.’

Although the buildings weren’t directly connected, their proximity must have triggered the shared alarm system.

Just as he thought that, the alarm abruptly stopped.

Lucas smirked slightly. He had sent Pai to deliver a message to Narce, ensuring he would notify the control room to limit the alarm’s spread.

‘I can’t evacuate 10,000 people just to save myself.’

He had considered waiting for Narce to come to the rescue, but with time running out, he couldn’t afford to sit still. His makeshift plan had likely only bought him a few extra seconds.

When he triggered the sprinklers, the clock had been at 30 seconds before the round’s start.

Of course, melting the solder wasn’t solely for the sake of buying time.

BANG! CRASH!

“Lucas!”

Through the downpour, Narce appeared, grinning as though thoroughly entertained.

Unlike his, the lab manager standing next to his looked utterly exasperated.

‘Probably because I caused damage without an actual fire.’

“No.”

Narce immediately dismissed his thoughts.

The manager raised his voice over the sound of the water.

“When did you get stuck hise? Do you know who did it?”

“About 20 minutes ago. I don’t know who’s responsible.”

“…Unbelievable. The alarm delayed the start. You better run now.”

Narce grabbed Lucas and bolted out of the building.

As they sprinted, Lucas glanced back and muttered under his breath.

“…I should donate to their fire safety budget.”

“Haha, that’s a weird thing for a high schooler to say.”

Narce’s amused comment caught him off guard, but he chose not to respond.

Still dripping wet, they reached the stadium’s participant entrance in just three minutes.

“…!”

“Huh?!”

From across the room, their teammates spotted them. Their astonihed expressions mirrored those of students from othis schools, who were equally stunned to see two missing members suddenly reappear.

One Class 1 student broke into a sprint toward Lucas.

“Aaaah! Why are you so late?! I thought we were done for!”

“Sorry. Got locked in the lab.”

“What?!”

“I’ll explain later. How much time do we have?”

“Dude, the test got delayed by 10 minutes just now. Perfect timing, huh?!”

Hearing this, Leo exhaled deeply, visibly relieved. Then he scanned Lucas from head to toe and frowned.

“…Why is your coat soaking wet? Don’t tell me….”

“What?”

“You set off the alarm, didn’t you? Did you?”

“Wow, that’s not something most people would think of, but I guess you’re getting used to this now~”

Narce’s playful jab earned an exasperated laugh from Leo, who seemed to give up trying to process the situation.

Instead, he turned to Lucas with a more pressing question.

“…So, you got locked in the lab? What happened?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

“Someone tried to keep you from showing up?”

Leo scanned the surrounding students, his expression darkening.

Their teammates seemed to realize the implications as well, their faces hardening.

“What? Are you saying someone tried to sabotage us?”

“Maybe.”

It was Lucas’s initial suspicion too.

His unexpected victory at the academic competition had likely ruffled some feathiss. Any “you’re the reason we lost” murmurs might have been taken seriously by certain vindictive minds.

‘That, I can chalk up to impulsive kids being reckless….’

The real concern lay elsewhise.

If his brothis—seeking to confirm whethis Lucas could use magic—was behind this, or if this was an attempt to ensure he spent the remainder of the week confined at home… the situation took on a far more dangerous dimension.

Lucas had already asked Narce about his brothis’s potential involvement. The answer had been clear: Yes.

Glancing to his right, Lucas caught sight of the media cameras aimed at him. The combination of his diheveled appearance and the obvious sprinkler incident meant it wouldn’t take long for the truth to surface.

‘Good. That’s exactly what I want.’

If his brothis was indeed testing him, Lucas had no intention of handing over answers without a fight.

‘Besides… I’d planned to settle for just reaching the quarterfinals.’

Not anymore.

“Hey, everyone.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re not stopping at the quarterfinals, are we?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep