The sun rises. It was the same yesterday, the same last week, and the same last month.
And it will continue to be so.
The last day of the Grade-by-Grade Duel at the Caldera Imperial Academy has dawned.
“Wow… Head Priest! The audience is packed!”
As Sub-priest Sofia said, the practice field was crowded. Previous duels had seen many students and academy staff fill the stands, but nothing like this.
Professor Esther approached and explained the reason.
“I’ve heard that many students from Bruytni Branch School have come.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I was told that Bruytni Branch School has declared a school holiday today. They did this to watch the students from the main school duel…”
After hearing Professor Esther’s words, I scanned the buzzing audience.
Now that I think about it, the students I saw in the stands were not wearing the main school’s uniform. Their uniforms, a blend of white and blue, matched well with the refreshing colors of the seaside Bruytni Branch School. They even resembled the sailor outfits of crew members on a ship.
In contrast, the uniforms of Caldera Imperial Academy’s main school were a bit dull. They consisted of close to black uniforms and smart ties in different colors according to the grades. Overall, it was a neat and polished appearance.
Though the overall design and structure of the two academy uniforms were similar, the strikingly different color schemes made it very clear who belonged to which school.
“It looks like it’s about to start.”
Just as Professor Esther finished her sentence, the lights in the practice field began to dim. The stadium-shaped practice field slowly fell into darkness.
We waited silently in the dark. A moment later, the lights that illuminated the practice field all focused on the center.
– Bang!
The solidly compressed dirt floor, already soaked with countless students’ blood and sweat, revealed itself as a stage for the contenders.
– Everyone! Welcome!
The monitor hanging from the ceiling in the center of the practice field began to project Professor Andres’s face enormously. All the students in the audience focused their gazes there.
– The Grade-by-Grade Duel of Caldera Imperial Academy! I am Professor Andres, your host!
Applause erupted from all around. Students from both the main school and Bruytni Branch School mingled, and soon the practice field was covered by a massive sound of clapping.
As the thunderous applause gradually subsided, Professor Andres continued.
– Today is finally the day we put an end to the Grade-by-Grade Duel! I sincerely congratulate all the students who have worked hard to hone their skills to get here!
Several students sitting in the audience nodded their heads. They had achieved the best results, and that deserved respect.
Professor Andres’s microphone boomed out.
– Also, I would like to acknowledge the professors of the academy who worked diligently to ensure the smooth progression of the Grade-by-Grade Duel! Please continue to bear with us a bit longer! Hahaha!
This time, the professors nodded as well. I noticed a few students sitting close to me glance at me. Most of them were the ones that Sub-priest Sofia and I had healed.
– By the way, today the audience is packed to the brim! The students participating in the duel today are going to need to be a bit more nervous in front of this crowd!
Indeed. Now, the remaining students were eight from each grade. A total of 24 students had survived among the 960 students from 1st to 3rd grade to be here.
Among the surviving 1st graders, there were seven students from Class A. One lucky student from Class B had managed to make it this far, but would likely not progress any further.
Suddenly, Chloe’s face from last night came to mind.
The reason I had suddenly asked Chloe to go for a night walk was that her restless, sleepless figure reminded me of myself.
The memory of the night walk with Priest Peter came back to me. I recalled my own figure wandering the courtyard at midnight, unable to sleep. That was all there was to it.
I wasn’t good at empathizing with or comforting others, nor did I have any knowledge about the magical troubles Chloe was facing…
– Anyway! Now, let’s officially start the duels! Students participating in the duel, please rise!
Still, in the end, I had made Chloe smile, and wasn’t that enough?
Watching Chloe stand up in the audience with a nervous expression, I thought about that.
Whether I believe in myself or not.
That was a problem she had to solve on her own, in the end.
I snapped out of my thoughts and turned my gaze towards the practice field. Professor Andres shouted with a face that seemed ready to burst.
– The Grade-by-Grade Duel of Caldera Imperial Academy! I will begin the final duel—!!
The stage to conclude the Grade-by-Grade Duel was about to begin.
Eight students. And three grade levels.
The duel time limit was set to 10 minutes per duel, just like yesterday. It was a time that could feel long or short, depending on how one viewed it.
Of course, this was not an issue for Laura von Adelheit. Laura glanced briefly at the 3rd-year seniors who were about to start their duels and then turned on her heel to head to the waiting room.
The waiting room located in the corridor leading into the practice field. Laura walked toward it with no hesitation. Though she maintained her dignity, she was inwardly quite nervous.
It wasn’t because of the upcoming duel. The reason she was nervous was simple.
‘Professor Antorelli will… surely be in the infirmary, right?’
It was because of Professor Antorelli. Laura still remembered the praise he had given her. No, it would be more accurate to say she couldn’t forget it.
Her magic teacher, the professors of the magic department at Caldera Imperial Academy…
And her father, Maximilian von Adelheit, who was also a great mage and received people’s respect and admiration.
Though people considered Laura a genius and had high expectations of her, no one ever acknowledged the results she had produced.
When Laura succeeded at something, people merely nodded as if it were obvious, seeing only the label of “genius” that followed her.
Until recently, Laura had felt like she was blocked by a wall. Her father often pressed her to overcome that inexplicable wall, expressing frustration whenever he looked at her.
– Laura. Approach magic more slowly and comfortably. You are an Adelheit, after all.
The truly frustrated person should have been Laura herself.
Yet, it was none other than Professor Antorelli who had helped her break through that wall.
His theology classes provided profound insights that were both astonishing and mysterious. They were markedly different from the theology classes Laura had previously taken as general education. The Professor running those classes was entirely different from the person her father had spoken of.
– Laura. Be careful of the new theology professor who has just taken office. He is in a very unstable mental state. I don’t understand why Dean Damian has hired someone like that…
‘What does he know…?’
Recalling her father’s words, Laura scoffed and moved on. She had already walked up to the very front of the waiting room.
Right beside it was the infirmary. Then, she caught sight of a familiar back, and without realizing it, she broke into a smile and moved to approach.
“… Huh?”
But she stopped in her tracks when she noticed a group of students chatting beside him.
The first familiar faces that caught Laura’s eyes were two 2nd-year seniors she had observed during yesterday’s duel. One was a boy named Daniel, and the other was the daughter of the House of Vallerge.
They were the ones who had gotten acquainted with her after the finger incident that had occurred at the beginning of the semester. As Laura watched them for a moment, her gaze shifted.
Pink hair. Pink eyes. And a comically large chest.
The student her gaze met was one named Chloe, whom Laura had interacted with during the finger incident. Laura gazed blankly at her.
Chloe, looking awkward and shy, fidgeted beside Professor Antorelli. The professor silently gazed at her, then nodded in acknowledgment.
As soon as he did, Chloe started to bow apologetically in surprise. Every time she did, her chest jiggled, causing Laura to subconsciously frown.
‘How crass…’
And then, suddenly, she felt something odd. An unfamiliar feeling began to stir within her.
‘This is…’
As Laura felt that faint, peculiar emotion and wore a strange expression, she was about to step toward Professor Antorelli when—
“Laura.”
A voice she never expected to hear here echoed in Laura’s ears.
Her body froze. Her slightly parted mouth trembled, and her alarmed eyes wandered around, lost.
Swallow—.
Laura gulped and slowly turned her head towards the source of the voice.
“Ah, Father…?!”
Dressed in a smart and neatly tailored suit, holding a cane in his right hand, he had white hair and a beard that resembled Laura’s, along with glowing red eyes.
At the end of her gaze, there stood…
The head of the Adelheit Ducal House, a man celebrated as a war hero from the last Great War.
“I congratulate you in advance on your victory. I am proud of you.”
Maximilian von Adelheit. He stood before Laura’s eyes.
The members of the Occult Research Club came to find me shortly after the duel of the 3rd-year students had begun.
“Professor! We’ve come!”
“Hello, Professor Antorelli.”
Daniel and Vivian were the first to greet me. I lightly responded to their greeting and turned my gaze to Elin and Chloe, who followed behind them.
Elin greeted me with a nonchalant expression, while Chloe hesitated, looking shy and reluctant to step closer.
Feeling a bit mischievous, I called out to Chloe.
“Student Chloe.”
“Y-yes?!”
“I would appreciate it if you could use your handkerchiefs more cleanly from now on.”
“Ah…!”
Chloe’s eyes seemed to shake as if there was an earthquake, and she quickly bowed her head and started apologizing.
“I’m sorry…! I’ll make it up to you for the handkerchief…!”
Professor Esther, Sub-priest Sofia, and the other members of the Occult Research Club seemed unable to grasp what was happening in our conversation. I held back a laugh that was trying to escape and calmed Chloe down.
“Student Chloe. It was a joke. It’s alright.”
“But….”
“It really is alright.”
“Ugh…!”
Chloe seemed reluctant, but in the end, I managed to convince her.
“Ah, Father…?”
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from somewhere. I instinctively turned my head towards the source of the sound.
However, I shouldn’t have done that.
Where my gaze landed, there was…
“I congratulate you in advance on your victory. I am proud of you.”
There stood a man who looked just like Laura.
A man I despised more than any other, unchanged from the last time I saw him….
“Maximilian von Adelheid…”
Standing there with a kindly smile and leaning on his cane.
In that moment, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my heart, as if my chest was being squeezed.
A truly, unbearably painful agony.
