I’m Not Becoming a Graduate Student! – Chapter 35

The next day.

Sion stepped out of the dormitory later than usual for breakfast.

It was a day with no classes.

As Sion rubbed his eyes, Patrick, who was beside him, laughed.

“What’s up? What did you do with the top student that you’re so exhausted? Huh?”

“I told you it’s not like that.”

“Come on.”

Patrick, grinning while sniffing his nose, kept teasing him about his meet-up with Serenne after school.

Letting his friend’s jokes flow in one ear and out the other, Sion walked through the academy campus.

‘It wasn’t as bad as I thought.’

Serenne Camileya, who had her own quirky personality.

Going out with her was more fun than he expected.

After finishing a meal at a couple-only restaurant they stumbled into.

They traded photos taken with magical tools, each taking one.

Then, Serenne suddenly pulled out Sion’s student ID from her pocket.

“S-Serren?”

“Stick this on. I’ll stick one too.”

“Huh…? Stick it?”

“Photo.”

With a flick,

Serenne attached the photo to the back of Sion’s student ID.

It was a photo of the two awkwardly posing together, stuck there like a sticker.

“Suddenly…?”

“I’ll stick mine too.”

“Oh, okay.”

Saying that, Serenne stuck a photo on the back of her student ID as well.

Thanks to that, the backs of both their student IDs ended up having the same photo.

Afterward, they casually entered a café that was known for delicious desserts and talked about various things—magic, martial arts, hobbies… and more.

Sion realized that they actually communicated better than he thought, making for a nice day.

“Hey, why so quiet? Are you thinking about Serenne again?”

“…Isn’t it boring?”

“Considering you’re not denying it, I guess I’m right~.”

“Oh, come on…”

Ignoring Patrick, who relentlessly teased him, Sion walked for several minutes until they finally reached their destination.

Byzantium Park, one of the academy’s tourist attractions.

It was currently packed with crowds.

“The Magic Club is performing! Come take a look!”

“If you come now, we’ll give you snacks made by the Baking Club for free! Just listen to our explanation.”

Many promotional booths made of makeshift tents dotted the beautiful park.

That’s right. Today was the ‘Club Promotion Event’ day.

It was an important event where numerous clubs at the Byzantium Academy welcomed new students.

“Patrick, where did you say you were going?”

“To the Tea Ceremony Club. It’s good for networking.”

“Really?”

“Why? Want to tag along? But what about Serenne?”

“Just go.”

“Got it~.”

Sion waved him off, and Patrick, smiling, headed towards the Tea Ceremony Club’s booth.

Having made up his mind, Sion felt that he was beyond hanging out with Patrick today.

‘It feels a bit odd to wander alone… but it might be fine.’

Patrick seemed oddly fixated on Serenne today.

At this rate, he might not shake off yesterday’s exhaustion either…

Wandering around the booths leisurely alone didn’t seem like a bad idea.

‘In the past, it was so noisy, and I would have to go a roundabout way because of all the haggling.’

Sion shifted his gaze busily and observed the club booths.

Each club had different colors, promotional methods, and appearances, but…

He felt something sparkling in how passionately everyone was promoting.

As he was enjoying the club event while looking around,

someone abruptly placed a hand on Sion’s shoulder.

“Hey! Freshman brat.”

“…Huh? S-Senpai?”

“You forgot my name? It’s Michelle. Michelle Fontas. Long time no see.”

With her dark violet hair and somewhat mischievous grin,

Michelle Fontas, a third-year student from the Magic Department who had saved Sion in the past, appeared.

“Did you come to see the club promotion event?”

“Yes… oh, are you here too, Senpai?”

“Are you stupid? Why would I come to watch? I’m obviously here to promote.”

“Promote?”

“How about visiting our club’s promotional booth?”

Her grin revealed somewhat sharp teeth.

To an outsider, it might look like she was about to extort him, but…

“Sounds good. Where is it?”

“Alright! Follow me. I’ll show you an awesome booth.”

With a smack! to his shoulder, Michelle started pulling Sion along.

Her booth wasn’t far away.

It was significantly larger than the others.

The reason was the ‘Dojo.’

“Ah! That’s a fail! But you held on for quite a while. Here’s a participation prize.”

“Th-thank you!”

On a mat about the size of a small apartment,

two people in training uniforms were exchanging greetings.

What… kind of club is this?

“Welcome to the Judo Club, kid.”

“The Judo Club?”

“Yeah. It’s a sport that came over from a far eastern country. Pretty cool, right? I’m part of it too. I’ve been here for three years since my first year.”

Michelle Fontas was part of the Judo Club.

Wearing a gi and tied with a belt certainly made one think of judo.

“A far eastern country, you say? Who brought it here…?”

“Hmm? As far as I know, it was the former principal from Byzantium who brought in martial arts from the east.”

“……”

There it is again.

The former principal of the Byzantium Academy.

The one who modified student IDs with magic phones and brought in judo from a ‘far eastern country’…

‘This is definitely a modern-day setting. Judo means Japan…? Or it might be a Korean person.’

While the fact that the ‘phone magic’ used in student IDs could be a coincidence,

bringing in judo was no longer a coincidence, but a certainty.

“What are you thinking so hard about? Are you not fond of judo?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that I dislike it…”

“I won’t force you. Just participate at least. Just participating gets you a notebook with the Byzantium Academy logo!”

Ta-da! Michelle made a sound with her mouth and displayed a notebook.

The cover was a sloppy drawing of the academy’s emblem.

Staring at it, Sion whispered.

“The notebook is nice, but… isn’t this just a drawing of the academy logo?”

“…Huh? Is it that obvious?”

“A bit… The person who drew this might not be very artistic. Maybe it would be better to leave off the academy logo….”

At Sion’s whisper, Michelle Fontas quickly hid the notebook behind her.

Noticing this, he saw her face turn slightly red.

…Could it be that the person who drew it is…?

“Uh… I’m sorry, I didn’t know that—Ack!”

“It’s fine, just hurry and participate!”

With a thud, her emotionally charged fist struck Sion’s back.

Pushed forward a couple of steps, he found himself at the dojo.

There was a woman wearing a white gi.

Her red hair was tied in a ponytail, and her well-defined muscles and curves made her presence known.

She certainly exuded the vibe of an ‘athlete.’

She noticed Sion and grinned.

“Nice to meet you, boy.”

“Um, n-nice to meet you…?”

“Have you come to participate in the event?”

“Yes…”

“Then let me explain briefly.”

She handed over a one-size-fits-all gi and a piece of paper.

The paper had a sloppy drawing along with explanations of the event and the rules of judo.

…It seemed that the same person who drew the academy logo on the notebook had illustrated this as well.

The rules for the event were simple.

“As you can read on the paper, to win the ‘Defeat the Upperclassman’ event, you just have to take me down.”

“…Take you down?”

“Yeah. Just do it in accordance with judo rules. However, I will only use one hand as a handicap.”

With her right hand hidden behind her back, she said.

To take down someone in judo using only one hand is quite a statement of confidence.

At the same time, it was a clever promotional strategy that made one think, ‘That doesn’t sound too hard!’

“For participation, you’ll receive a notebook. If you score a half-point against me, you get a coffee coupon for a café near the academy, and if you score a full point, you get a meal voucher. And if you can beat me in a two-minute match….”

With a sly grin, she pointed at a large transparent container beside the dojo.

Inside, there were quite a few coins stacked up.

“This is the participation fee of one silver coin. I’ll give you all the money collected here.”

“E-all of it?”

“Yep. So, what do you say? Hand me one silver coin.”

Sion’s eyes were glued to the transparent container.

It looked like there must be over a hundred coins in there.

It might not cover tuition but was definitely tempting enough.

Sion pulled out one silver coin from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Alright. Here’s your gi.”

“Wait a moment.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Sion looked at Michelle Fontas, who was muttering something while touching her drawing.

Sion pointed at Michelle.

“Could you show me what it’s like to fight with Senpai? I’ll give you one more silver coin instead.”

“…Huh? Me?”

“Oh, what’s the reason?”

Sion replied immediately.

“Just once, if I can see it, I think I could win.”

“W-what did you say?”

“…!”

That could sound arrogant to some.

Yet Sion’s expression was calm,

as though stating what he thought was a matter of fact.

“Are you crazy? Even if I’m fighting with one hand, you look like you would fall over at any moment….”

“No, I’m serious.”

“…Wow, newcomers these days are really bold.”

Michelle laughed in disbelief.

In contrast, the woman in the gi just grinned widely.

“Michelle, come here.”

“Yes? But, president…”

“That confidence is quite nice to see. There’s no reason to refuse just because he’s paying one more silver coin.”

“Tch, I don’t want to sweat….”

With a swift motion, Michelle donned the gi handed to her by the judo president.

As she securely fastened her belt and got into stance, she looked quite impressive.

Before long, another club member appeared to act as the referee.

Sion stood right next to the dojo, his eyes glued to them.

“Match start!”

“Whoosh!”

“Ha!”

The bout between the two commenced.

[Technique Name: Thigh Throw]

[Style: Judo]

[Attribute: None]

[Hierarchy: 2nd Circle]

[Description: A technique that throws or knocks down an opponent.]

You have discovered a combat skill identical to that of your circle!

A new skill has been registered in your combat encyclopedia.

You can use the Thigh Throw.