Chapter 54

The first-year Knight and Magic Division preliminaries were held simultaneously.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been this alone.”

Albedo had been half-confined to the dormitory since Fel appeared, and since then, I had always been accompanied by someone.

Amidst a strange mix of emotion and tension, I loosened up my body as much as possible.

I stretched my legs and arms wide. As the stretching finished, a loud voice echoed from the sky.

[Hello everyone! I’m Kalen from the 2nd year, and I’ll be commentating on the Flowering Festival preliminaries!!]

A few students seemed to frown at the sound echoing from the megaphone-shaped magitool floating high in the sky.

It was certainly a bit loud. But that was also part of the fun of these kinds of competitions.

[The Flowering Festival is a historic event that has been with the Academy since its opening.

I will now explain the rules of the competition!]

[Attacks against students are prohibited in the Magic Division! Combat between students is possible in the Knight Division, but please note that one-against-many is not allowed!]

[From now on, an anti-cheating magitool will follow each participant in the preliminaries! It will detect all cheating during the preliminaries and, in case of emergency, cast a powerful protective magic to protect the student!]

[This is the number one contributor that has ensured there have been no casualties in the Flowering Festival to this day! The safety of the participants is guaranteed by Lapis Academy, so we ask all spectators to enjoy the competition with peace of mind!!]

As the explanation continued, a magitool identical to the one I saw during the exam flew over my head.

It seemed the way the preliminaries were conducted for the Magic Division hadn’t changed.

In that case, I should be able to make full use of the plan I had set up.

[The preliminaries will take place in a forest-type dungeon! You can rest assured that the professors have taken care of all the dangerous monsters, especially the bosses!]

[The preliminaries will last for a total of two hours! The goal is to catch as many monsters as possible within the time limit!]

[Only the top 32 students from both the Knight and Magic divisions will advance to the main competition!!]

In any case, the overall first place for the first years is Lucian.

For me, who wasn’t even overall first place, to get a medal, I had to get an overwhelming score in the preliminaries beforehand.

In any case, I had an advantage over Lucian, who had to share his score with Zephyros.

[Of course~ There’s a hidden rule for a little fun, but that’s a secret! It will be reflected in the score after the preliminaries are over?]

[Then, let the 1st-year preliminaries of the Flowering Festival begin now!!]

It was the grand opening of the festival.

* * *

“This damn human─”

“Long time no see, Tan!”

Ferdiel smiled brightly and waved at the man who was rushing towards him.

‘Tan’, who was rather dumbfounded by the sight, sat down next to Ferdiel and let out a sigh.

“So, the holy relic?”

“I brought it and am using it here.”

It was a holy relic of the Church that prevented others from hearing their conversation.

Though it was just a sound-blocking magitool that the Church had bought from magicians, which they just called a ‘holy relic’ to make it sound plausible.

“Why on earth did the person who disappeared for three months after leaving only a note saying, ‘I won’t be in touch for a while, sorry,’ call for me?”

“I wanted you to do some commentary.”

“Commentary… sir?”

‘Tan’ looked at Fel with a bewildered expression, as if he had heard something bizarre.

Did you really call me for just that reason?

At Tan’s souring expression, Fel just smiled rather than saying anything.

At that, Tan bluntly asked for the truth.

“Who on earth are you out here at Lapis Academy for?”

“Who do you think I’m here for?”

“Do you think there’s a Heretic Inquisitor who wouldn’t be astonished to hear that their superior who disappeared for three months is at Lapis Academy?”

In the end, the Church and the Imperial Family are bound to clash, but publicly, they are in a cooperative relationship.

The hero who received the Holy Sword from god and was the first emperor to establish the Empire. That in itself was proof of god’s existence.

The same went for Lapis Academy.

If the hero’s bloodline was passed down through the Imperial Family, it was no exaggeration to say that the hero’s spirit of ‘protecting the world’ was passed down through Lapis Academy.

“Who on earth do you see as a heretic?”

“Theo Lisitoel.”

“…Are you perhaps talking about the Lisitoel County?”

His expression crumpled even more.

Wasn’t the Lisitoel County a renowned noble family that it would be a pain to even explain?

Above all, the current head of the family was a professor at the Academy, the Emperor’s teacher, and the strongest magician.

“The moment he is accused of being a heretic, he will become a heretic regardless of the truth.”

If one were to pick the magician that the Church, which hated magicians enough to rename a magitool a holy relic, hated the most, it would be Evan Lisitoel, no matter what anyone said.

The genius magician who deciphered holy magic, which was originally exclusive to priests, and made it possible for other magicians, albeit a very small number, to use it.

It was the current Count Lisitoel who delivered the final blow to the Church, which was already losing its power.

If you were to ask the current Pope, Caelus Belluan, to pick the person he hated the most, he would pick Count Lisitoel without hesitation.

“But what if he really is a heretic?”

The color of Ferdiel’s pure white eyes gradually darkened.

From light gray to gray, and finally from dark gray, the eyes that had regained their complete black color captured the white-haired man.

“Fel!”

However, that fleeting moment was broken, and Ferdiel barely swallowed a pained groan.

“Are you crazy? Do you want to not see at all for a few days?!”

Hartain hurriedly covered Fel’s eyes with his palm.

Using holy power to restore one’s sight put a strain on the eyes along with consuming a vast amount of holy power, so he usually adjusted it to see only blurry shapes.

The price for momentarily focusing holy power in his eyes to see normally was harsh.

It would be impossible to use holy power for a few days, and he could suffer from a terrible fever.

Of all things, to do such a thing while infiltrating the Academy, which was difficult for a Heretic Inquisitor to approach in the first place, was truly a crazy act.

“Why are you speaking so informally?”

Fel pushed away Hartain’s hand with some annoyance and closed his eyes.

“No! Ha, Captain. What on earth are you thinking?”

“I think he’s figured out my identity.”

“…What?”

That was something even Hartain hadn’t expected, and his expression crumpled.

“Is that true?”

“Well, it’s just a gut feeling.”

A gut feeling close to a conviction that Theo Lisitoel would know his identity.

“Just because he knows that doesn’t mean he’s a heretic, does it?”

“That’s true.”

As heat rose to his eyes, Fel covered them.

But he had a feeling that there was something big behind Theo, who was going around practically reeking of suspicion.

“So please tell me the real reason you called for someone.”

He might not know now, but now that Hartain was here, he couldn’t overlook the possibility of being discovered.

At Hartain’s question, Fel, who had recovered from some of the pain, leaned back in his chair and said leisurely.

“I already told you to explain how the competition is going.”

“What?”

He crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“Explain how the preliminaries are going.”

“That… you can just listen to the competition commentary.”

“There’s no way the commentating student will only explain one person. Explain properly what Theo Lisitoel is doing.”

Just for that, you risked getting caught and called Hartain all the way to the Academy. Is that what you’re saying?

“…He’s my captain, but he’s definitely crazy.”

Hartain muttered softly.

Thanks to that, he got hit by the smiling Fel for no reason.

* * *

Along with the shout that signaled the start of the Flowering Festival, I closed and opened my eyes, and I was in the middle of a forest.

Just a moment ago, I was standing perfectly fine in the Academy’s training ground.

“It’s so bright.”

The sun was glaring. I frowned and placed my palm over my eyes, looking at the magitool above my head.

That would probably also be the magitool that broadcasted my situation to the outside. At the same time, it would check my score and also monitor if I was breaking the pre-announced rules.

“It’s multi-purpose, isn’t it.”

Efficient.

To think that my father made that, I felt like I wanted to wipe my nose in pride.

That aside, there’s no time to waste.

“Well then, shall we get moving?”

For reference, my agility was still 7.

In that state, if I tried to run, I’d just use up all my already low stamina and wouldn’t even be able to catch anything properly.

So what I need right now is─

inline skates!

Using wind magic!

I created the shape of inline skates with four circles of wind attached under my shoes.

Alright! This is what it takes to escape this pitiful body.

Next is the ‘I Am the Writer’ skill’s turn.

I wrote down the words in order on the parchment that appeared inside my cloak.

「See the enemy’s weakness.」

「Detect enemy attacks.」

「Strengthen the circle of fire.」

And, the final special move.

「The circle of fire ignores all defense.」

The golden letters scattered into particles of light and seeped into my body.

I could feel my mana draining away, but it was manageable.

“Well then, shall we hunt?”

From now on, it was officially hunting time.

* * *

The performance of the temporary inline skates made of wind circles was certain.

The rocks, grass, and tree shadows under my feet receded like smoke. In an instant, the surrounding scenery receded, and the wind brushing against my cheeks was refreshing.

The moment I detected the presence of a monster not too far away, a circle of fire appeared at my fingertips.

Zap!

The circle of fire, strengthened by the skill, flew in a straight line with the wind at its back.

Crack!

The circle of fire directly hits the monster’s core.

The monster’s body swayed a beat later, and the heat and shock tore through its insides simultaneously.

The monster fell without even having time to scream.

Ding, ding, ding!

“The score is going up properly too.”

Though there must be hidden points as well.

I’d like to rack up the hidden points too if possible.

“But doing that first is a bit shameless.”

If I start too openly, the other guys might notice, and I might get suspected for no reason. So let’s not do that.

“Let’s monopolize it all by myself!”

It’s time for a massacre.

The goal is the medal! To avoid the crappy debuff and win the special title!

At that moment, a tingling sensation, as if an electric current was flowing through my whole body, came over me.

Detecting the enemy’s attack, I immediately created a circle of fire and shot it.

“Ugh─”

But the enemy was not a monster. I hastily controlled the circle of fire and changed its trajectory.

Thanks to that, the circle of fire ended up hitting the wing of another student’s magitool that was floating in the sky.

“Hey, didn’t you hear that attacking students is not allowed?”

“Of course I did.”

The guy who appeared from the bushes had trembling fingertips, but he awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth.

Hmm, it seems your business is not with the monster I was about to destroy, but with me, right?

“Well, there are always meddlers.”

If a student wants to win, they would want a more certain method.

If they could sacrifice one person to eliminate another, there’s no way they wouldn’t be bribed.

Especially with the downgraded magitool that can only detect cheating during the competition time because various functions were added.

Catching cheaters is important, but in the end, the most important thing is the students’ safety.

“So, how many of you came?”

Ever since the guy appeared, my heart has been pounding.

It’s pounding so much that I’m starting to get confused whether it’s the detection from the skill or my own heartbeat getting faster.

“Who knows? Do we have to tell you?”

“You don’t really need to.”

Actually, it doesn’t matter how many of you there are.

“I was just curious how many people Ignatz Schreiden bribed.”

As I muttered, the guy flinched.

“Looks like I was right?”

Well, he wouldn’t have given up on revenge just because he was expelled. It would be plausible to say he became even more vicious.

Even if he’s rotten, he’s still from a noble family. Golden bribed a few students, so a marquis family would have more than enough to bribe some.

“You can only afford to smile like that for so long.”

“Ah, did I look like I was smiling leisurely?”

I decided to correct his misunderstanding.

“I’m smiling because I’m happy.”

How could I not be happy when points just came rolling to me on their own?

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