---

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On the next day, every match in the C block but the last was over. The last match was scheduled after lunch.

After lunch, when they reached the arena, they could see a lot of new faces. Most likely, they came from the other blocks.

Amongst them, you could find Aruna and co.

「Try your best, Seiya-kun」
「We passed to the final block」
「Let’s meet in the finals」

It seems that Aruna, Glenn, and Connie advanced to the final block.

「Ah, I will work hard」

Seiya left these words and headed inside the barrier together with Yua and Lily.

Once inside, the three confirmed their strategy once again. The announcement followed soon after.

「It is starting」

Said Seiya, hearing the announcement.

「I’m counting on both of you」
「Un….」
「Un!」

Seiya separated from them and moved independently.

At this point, Seiya was already using『Mantle of Light』, although very weak. It was his countermeasure against their surprise attack.

Seiya moved through the treetops. It looked like he wasn’t using any magic to do that, so the participants and the bystanders were quite amazed.

While moving through the treetops, he found a figure of a person. It was the silver-haired girl, Elen.

She was holding the ice blade, Bliss, and was scanning the surroundings.

Seiya stopped and observed her. In the end, he couldn’t find anyone else around her.

However, he was able to confirm that she was the decoy very soon. If it was anyone else but Elen, he wouldn’t have been able to figure it out.

But as long as it is Elen, the story is different. Seiya already defeated her once. That’s why, if Seiya saw her, he would have relaxed his guard and attacked her.

Seiya speculated as such.

「Trying to make your opponent lower your guard, troublesome strategy」

If Seiya guessed right, Sunir came up with this plan. The plan that was built on confidence to be able to deal with Seiya.

However, he decided to thwart their plans.

Seiya jumped from the tree and landed in front of Elen.

Once she noticed him, she took a stance with the Bliss, but Seiya didn’t summon the Hollins.

「Is it okay to not summon your weapons?」
「Regretfully, I’m too afraid of the girls hiding over there」
「I do not know what you are talking about」
「I see」

Without looking at Elen, he summoned the Hollins, while watching the grass by the side.

「Hollins」

When he tried to summon the Hollins, suddenly, the brown-haired girl jumped out of the grass and fired a spell.

「Now, with my power『Arms Block』」

In the next moment, the Hollins, that was supposed to land in his hands, turned into dust.

Elen’s Bliss crumbled too, but she didn’t panic and summoned it anew.

The brown-haired girl who destroyed his weapon and Elen stood before him.

「So your countermeasure was to destroy my weapon?」
「That’s right. I had properly watched your previous fights. As the result, the theory that you can’t use any spell of the water attribute was born」 [¹] 「I see」

Seiya didn’t use any spell in the previous matches. He only used a pure mana attack in the first match and fought with the Hollins, wrapped in the water mana, the rest of the time.

In other words, they mistook Seiya for a magician that couldn’t cast spells and thought that once the Hollins was destroyed they will be able to win.

「Such an amusing fellow. Come to think, what is your name? 」[²] 「I didn’t introduce myself, isn’t it? I’m Pikarunina Edelrunanits. It might be hard to pronounce, so you can call me Pika」

The brown-haired girl said as such and smiled.

「I see. Let me tell you something good. Your theory is right. Without those twin swords, forget about casting spells, I can’t even control my mana properly」

Unrestrainedly lied Seiya. Without being aware of this, Pika made an understanding face.

「So we were right. Will you retire then? 」

Pika asked Seiya as if it was natural to retire in this situation. However, he had no intention to retire.

「Why?」
「But you can’t do any…..」
「Pika!」
「Eh?」
「Sorry, that was a lie」

While Elen was screaming her name, Seiya suddenly accelerated and moved to her front. In the next moment, his hand penetrated the area around her heart. [³]

Pika became dust as she was and retired. Elen, who was left behind glared at Seiya.

「As expected you reacted to my movements. With this, your trump card should have been rendered useless, am I right? 」
「True. But I’m different from before. This time, I will definitely scatter you」
「Interesting」

The curtains were lifted for the battle of Elen and Seiya.

On the other side, Sunir stood before Yua and Lily.

「Greetings, Yua-sama. I do not want to fight Yua-sama if possible」
「Too bad……It’s impossible…..」
「I see. Tonight’s wind in my palm『Creastnuts』」[⁴]

When Sunir cast her spell, a whip appeared in her hand. With this whip, she immediately assaulted Yua and Seiya.

Yua and Lily dodged the whip by retreating backwards.

「Lily, continue to hide your power for now…..」
「All right!」

Saying so, Yua created the rapier Yuriel.

「I gathered a lot of intelligence on you, Yua-sama. Please give up」
「Impossible…..」

Sunir tried to coil the whip around her foot, but she jumped and deflected it with Yuriel. However, the whip suddenly bent and wrapped around Yua’s foot while she was still midair.

Once she caught Yua, she pulled her closer. But Yua twisted in the air and lunged at her, trying to pierce with the Yuriel.

Sunir released her foot and moved to the side to avoid the attack.

「As expected of Yua-sama, but I won’t lose」

Sunir cast a spell with her free left hand.

「Maiden of the wind, blow and dance upon this land『Wind Fang』」

The strong wind assaulted Yua, but she cut it in two and came attacking Sunir.

Sunir channeled the wind mana into her whip to harden it and accepted her strike.

And the moment they collided, she dispelled the effect and made the whip coil around the Yuriel, stealing it from Yua’s hand.

「Yua-sama, you should be aware. You have bad compatibility with me. I also know your spells and fighting style. You won’t be able to break my wind attribute with your light attribute」

Sunir told her to give up, holding the Yuriel in her left hand.

「Yuriel」

Yua created the Yuriel once again.

As she was told, Lily watched everything from far away. She didn’t even consider the possibility of Yua losing and wasn’t worried in the least.

Yua attacked with the Yuriel, but she accepted the blow with the Yuriel in her left hand. Two Yuriels scattered sparks once collided.

At the same time, as she received the blow with the Yuriel, Sunir attacked with the whip in her other hand. However, Yua successfully blocked it with『Wall of Light』.

Sunir let go of the Yuriel and leaped backwards to create some distance.

「『Triple Length』」

Towards retreating Sunir, Yua casted『Triple Length』and extended Yuriel.

And with the elongated Yuriel, she pierced Sunir’s thigh. At that moment Sunir a painful expression.

Yua dispelled『Triple Length』, put power into her legs, accelerated, and pierced Sunir’s heart.

After being pierced by the Yuriel, an astonished expression appeared on her face.

「Why? Yua-sama didn’t fight like that before」

Sunir was surprised at the fighting style she didn’t see before. Before, Yua was fighting by moving at high speed and using martial skills. But today, it was different

However, Yua saw Seiya fighting in the Great Dalis Canyon and found it suiting her.

「Thanks to the person I love…..」
「To this man?」
「Yes…..」
「Kuh」

Sunir became dust and vanished.

With the Hollins being destroyed, Seiya fought Elen, who wielded the ice blade Bliss, bare handed.

Seiya could create the Hollins any time, but he never did so. The reason is, he anticipated the final block.

If there are other people capable of building theories like Pika, it might become needlessly harder. That’s why he wanted to spread some misunderstandings around.

「Even if you do not have a weapon, are you still going to only dodge?」

Said Elen towards Seiya who was dodging all of the Bliss’ blows. Right now, Seiya didn’t have a weapon, but by using weak『Mantle of Light』he was able to cope with her movements.

But of course, you can’t win by dodging.

「All right, I’m about to fight back」
「I won’t lose」

Elen was on guard against Seiya. Still, it was meaningless.

There are differences between Seiya, who experienced the Great Dalis Canyon, and Elen, who grew up in the academy.

It is the attitude towards the battle.

Elen, who was fighting in the academy, thought that if she lost, it is fine to try harder next time.

However, Seiya, who had been through the real life and death fights, didn’t have such thoughts.

At this point, the victor was decided.

In the next moment, Seiya strengthened 『Mantle of Light』for a second and cut her neck with bare hands.

「Eh!?」

Elen wasn’t able to comprehend what happened. She was just surprised at her line of sight getting lower and scattered into dust, thus retiring.

The people outside the barrier didn’t seem to understand what happened. However, the teachers, Seran and Najenda, although weren’t able to see, still felt something.

But the looks they were giving him didn’t contain any positive emotions. It was the opposite, they were blaming him.

Seiya, who didn’t know anything, looked towards the approaching aura.

「Seiya….」
「Seiya!」

There, he found Yua and Lily.

「How was it on your end?」
「Big sister beat her!」
「I see. With this, we are in the final block」
「Un…..」

Just like that, they advanced to the final block.

---

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---

---

「Number 86 is the winner」

Together with the announcement, Seiya, Yua, and Lily came out of the barrier. When they appeared outside, the audience was staring at them in awe.

「Did they win again?」
「They should be in the first place, together with the royal guard」
「The royal guard had three people, but the blond guy was the only one who fought from the other team」
「The other two didn’t fight even once」
「Isn’t he a bit too strong?」

The participants were slowly whispering to each other.

On the fourth day, Seiya’s team had won 14 times and lost 0 times, their winning rate is one of the highest.

There were only a few matches left. The teams that could enter the final block from the C block at this point were number 86, Seiya’s team, and number 12, Yua-sama’s royal guard’s team, only those two.

Team 86 won every single match with only Seiya taking the field.

He defeated his opponents with the Hollins, wrapped in the water mana, or by using pure martial skills, there were plenty of variations.

That’s why Yua and Lily were just waiting in the shadows. So their skills and spells are still unknown, especially Lily’s.

The reason why they continued to fight this way could be attributed to Seiya’s mistake in the first fight.

It seems that his first opponents were intermediate magicians and were considered quite strong. And Seiya, who defeated them in a moment, became the center of attention in a blink.

Therefore, Seiya used it to gather the attention only on himself and continued to fight in this way.

「It was easy….Seiya….」
「You were amazing! 」

Yua and Lily hugged his arms and praised him.

「Thanks」

Seiya thanked them and they stuck to him even closer.

Seeing the three, the male part of the audience enveloped Seiya in the jealous stares. Apparently, an appearance of the blond guy being hugged by the silver-haired and the blue-haired beauties was a sore in their eyes.

The three were looking for a place to sit when the three girls approached them.

「You are quite relaxed, Kiritsuna Seiya」

The strong-looking black-haired girl with a ponytail said to Seiya. There were the silver-haired and the chestnut-haired girls next to her.

The silver-haired girl was Elen, Seiya’s classmate. The black-haired and the chestnut-haired girls were standing there looking down on him somewhat, while Elen was awkwardly fidgeting by their side.

「Who are you anyway?」

Seiya asked the black-haired girl, disregarding the courtesy. She didn’t care too much and introduced herself. [¹]

「The captain of the royal guard, Sunir Chronicle. Yua-sama, be at ease, the royal guard will erase any man who approaches you 」

The girl named Sunir knelt like a knight pledging her loyalty, but Yua just silently hid behind Seiya’s back.

「You became quite close with Yua-sama. However, you will be defeated by me」
「We, the royal guard, are your last opponent in this block」

Following after Sunir, the brown-haired girl said to Seiya.

「I see. Sorry, but we will be the ones who will advance to the final block」

Said Seiya, as if it was a natural outcome, and Sunir said while flashing a small smile.

「Sorry to disappoint you, but we will be the winners. We are different from the teams you have been fighting until now」
「Our winning rate is the same」

The girl with the brown hair seemed convinced of their victory.

「Well then, I’m looking forward to our fight, Kiritsuna Seiya」

Sunir said so and left somewhere. The brown-haired girl and Elen followed after her, but Elen didn’t look that energetic.

However, Seiya wasn’t in a mood to care much.

「You are a source of trouble, Yua」

Said Seiya towards Yua, who was hiding behind his back.

「I’m bad around them……But with Seiya here I am fine…..」

Yua said with a relieved face while hugging him from behind.

「There is also me!」

When she energetically said so, a smile appeared on Yua’s face. After that, the trio sat on the nearest bench.

It was getting late, most likely, the current match will be the last for today.

And when that match was concluded, the teachers, Seran and Najenda came to declare the end of the matches for today. However, it didn’t end with just that.

「Eh, the next is about tomorrow. The teams, capable of getting to the final block, are only number 86 and number 12. And since the winner will be decided only after they fight it out, I want to have this fight to be the last one tomorrow」

Following the Seran’s declaration, the audience became agitated. They were hyped up for things to come.

「That is all. Dismissed」

After Najenda’s words, the students started going back.

During the qualifiers, everyone gathered in the hall instead of the class, after that, matches are being held. There is some time for a strategy meeting, but it is mostly matches all day long.

Seiya goes back with Yua and Lily.

Because of the qualifiers, they were unable to meet with Nari often, so they decided to go home as they were. After the three ate dinner, they gathered together in Seiya’s room.

Of course, it was for a strategy meeting.

「About tomorrow’s match, most likely, it will be too much for me alone」

Seiya opened the meeting.

「Judging by their words, they might have a countermeasure against me」
「Un…..」
「Seems likely. Does that mean that it is time for my debut? 」

The two agreed with his opinion.

During such strategy meetings, Lily spends her time in the adult form. Recently, she was in the adult version every night. And when the meeting ends, she assaults Seiya before Yua’s eyes as it is.

Rather than stopping her, Yua takes advantage of the situation and joins the attack. That was his current daily routine.

「That might be so. They call themselves Yua’s royal guard. It is to be expected of them to have the information about Yua. If that happens, I will either use the unknown『Mantle of Light』together with the Hollins or it will be the time for Lily’s water attribute」
「Sorry….I’m dragging you down…..」

Yua apologized for the lack of use in the qualifiers.

「Don’t dwell on it, Yua」
「That’s right, Yua-chan. You just need to do your best in the final block」
「Thank you….」

Yua thanked the two with a smile. Then after the strategy meeting and Lily’s temptations, the team was ready for a fight that will decide the C block representative in the finals.

---

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The faces of the men entering the barrier reminded Seiya of Zach’s trio in the Senabia Magic Academy, who used to call him Unknown and bully him.

The insides of the barrier were full of giant trees, the light had a hard time to reach the ground. It was a deep forest where grass grew on the ground.

It was slightly cold inside the forest since the trees obstructed the sun, so Yua and Lily were glued even closer to him than before. However, besides the cold, there was another reason. The three people from before were just too disgusting.

Seeing their behavior, Seiya said.

「You two, can you leave this match to me?」

While they were struggling with an answer, Seiya explained the reason.

「Those three are irritating, so I want to punish them. So please watch over me from the shade of a tree」
「All right….」
「Un! 」

Yua obediently agreed. If there was killing intent in his eyes, Yua would have stopped him. However, when she looked at his face, she immediately understood.

Forget about killing them or not, he wasn’t even viewing them as his opponents. When you find a rock blocking your road, you just need to remove it.

And when the trio entered the barrier, a loud voice resounded across the forest.

「Start」

This voice was probably Seran’s. He probably used a reverberation magic to transmit his voice across the forest.

While Seiya was thinking about that, he slowly walked through the forest. There was no weapon in his hand.

In places such as this forest, it was important to locate the enemy before everything. That’s why Seiya started looking around for them.

But Seiya thought it was troublesome to search for them all by himself. Therefore, Seiya decided to walk around without any weapon to lure them out.

If an attack flew your way, there should have been an enemy on the other side.

However, maybe the enemy thought it was suspicious or they simply didn’t find him yet, there were no attacks coming his way.

Without any other choice, Seiya leaned on the closest tree and sat down. If the enemy doesn’t want to attack, I will just sit and wait. If it fails, I will just search on foot.

Other participants, who saw this happening before their eyes, raised a startled voice. However, in the next moment, their surprise multiplied. Seiya closed his eyes and began napping.

Looking from the outside, Seiya was definitely sleeping. Of course, Seiya won’t actually sleep during their important first match.

Instead of his sight, he concentrated on his sense of smell and hearing.

For that purpose, he channeled the mana of the light attribute into his ears and concentrated on the sounds close by. His appearance somewhat resembled Kair, his former classmate.

Approximately three minutes after he focused on the surrounding sounds, he opened his eyes.

「I know you are here. Come out」

When he said that, the four-eyes and the baldy appeared from the tree shadow.

「Good job noticing. I’m surprised」

Said the four-eyes, stretching his hand towards Seiya.

「What about the other two? Did you leave them behind, since they aren’t able to become a reliable fighting force? Or did you came here to show off? 」

Following after the four-eyes, the baldy said his piece.

「Who knows, maybe you are right」

Seiya’s attitude underwent a sudden turn. The four-eyes, apparently dissatisfied with his attitude, said.

「Where is your previous respect? Were you showing off before the girls? 」

Towards the four-eyes’ statement, the baldy laughed. However, Seiya spoke his real intentions.

「You show respect towards those who you actually respect. right? Why do I need to give any face to you? The last time was only because of the teachers, I never respected you in the first place」
「You *******! 」

The four-eyes raised his voice, hearing Seiya’s real intentions. At that time, a big fireball flew towards Seiya from behind.

The four-eyes and the baldy aren’t doing anything. It seems it is the brown-haired man. The big fireball flew towards him at tremendous speed.

Seiya immediately summoned the Hollins in his right hand and wrapped it in Lily’s mana of the water attribute.

And the Hollins, covered in the mana of the water attribute, easily cut the approaching fireball in two.

「So your attribute is water. Let us show you the power of the seniors」

The three men simultaneously lifted their right hands and started chanting.

Using the power of the light attribute, he could defeat them before they finish their chant, but he decided to properly wait to the end.

「「「The heart of the maiden of fire, burn in flames『Flaming  Needle』」」」

They created a myriad of needles and launched them at Seiya.

The three thousand needles, created by the trio, attacked Seiya. They probably wanted to weaken him first, only to slowly torture him later. There were no signs of them making a follow-up move.

Seiya summoned the Hollins in his left hand too and wrapped it in the mana of the water attribute. Following after that, he channeled the mana of the light attribute towards his brain and arms.

He raised the power of his arms, the nerves transmission speed, the processing speed of his brain and his vision.

After that, he spun the twin swords Hollins and calmed the needles one by one.

Seeing the figure of Seiya cutting down all those needles, you can’t think of it as humanly possible.

The three people inside and the audience outside saw an incredible sight before them. After all, Seiya erased all of the three thousand needles in just three seconds.

Seiya calmly walked towards the men.

「Damn, stay away. Monster」
「Waaaaa」

The baldy and the brown-hair tried to escape while pathetically screaming. Against the two, Seiya threw the Hollins and accurately pierced their hearts.

The stabbed people fell to the ground and became the dust particles, thus retiring.

In front of Seiya, there was the four-eyes feeling weak in his knees and sitting on the ground, Fear was painted all over his face.

「You, what are you? A human couldn’t possibly move like that」

Asked the four-eyes with as if seeing a monster, but Seiya answered unconcernedly.

「There are plenty of magicians that can do that」

Seiya answered as a matter of course. Although visually impressive, there were people that could replicate it. However, to the four-eyes, Seiya’s movements were outside of his comprehension.

「There is no way a student can do that. Even if he can, it would be a thousand at most」
「I see」

At this point, Seiya already lost interest in the four-eyes.

「What was that, what was that, what was that? I do not understand」

The man raised his voice, failing to understand a thing. Towards this man, Seiya launched the water mana at him.

「This is the end」
「Damn…..」

With just the mana of the water attribute, his heart was pierced and he vanished.

「The match is over. Number 86 is the winner」

And following their victory, Seran’s announcement resounded across the forest.

---

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When Seiya returned home, he told Raiga about his participation in the qualifiers. There, Raiga said with a difficult face.

「Even if it’s you, you would have to struggle quite a bit without the dark attribute, right?」
「Kind of. It is troublesome to include the chant」 [¹]

As Seiya said, chanting is necessary. If he intends to discard the chant, he will immediately draw attention to himself.

If that’s how it ends, it wouldn’t be strange to attract the attention of the Holy Church.

However, those ideas were quickly discarded.

「If it is about that, then you don’t need to worry. Yua is doing it chantless too. No one will make a fuss because of it at this point」
「Really….」

Seiya was stunned by Raiga’s reasoning. He was surprised that Yua was casting chantless even in the academy, but he was even more surprised at Raiga’s casual attitude. Bagil, an apostle, was picked because of his ability to shorten the chant. In this case, chant omission, which is a notch above, should be a pretty important skill. However, Raiga didn’t even try to hide it.

Seiya couldn’t understand what he was thinking.

However, if omitting the chant was acceptable, it couldn’t be any better.

「Chant omission is all right?」
「Yeah. Also, your student council seems to be strong, be careful」
「I know」
「I see, then it’s good」

Once he finished reporting to Raiga, he left the room.

「Well then, I wonder what will the Emperor do?」

This voice resounded across the room, but only Raiga was there to hear it.

In the next morning, the blocks were announced during the homeroom. In Seiya’s class, this responsibility naturally fell on Yayuna.

「With this, the announcement about the qualifiers blocks is over. The matches will start in the afternoon, so do your best. There will be the time to discuss your strategy before each fight, use it wisely」

Just as Yayuna said that and left, the orange-haired girl next to Seiya said to him.

「Ne, ne. What is the number of your block? 」
「We are in the C block」
「I see. We are in the H block, so we might be able to fight each other in the finals」
「That’s true」
「Let’s meet in the finals, Seiya」
「Because we will do our best」

Following after her, Glenn and Connie also said such things. Apparently, Aruna, Glenn, and Connie are in the same team.

「Yeah, let’s meet in the final block」

Seiya said so and left the classroom.

And following after him, Yua left too.

After that, they met up with Lily and opened a strategy meeting on the roof, as usual. Nari was also invited to participate, but she wanted to do the self-training to become at least a little stronger, so she refused.

Therefore, there were three people on the roof today.

「First things first, all teams are divided into 8 blocks, with each block consisting roughly of 16 or 17 teams」
「We will meet them all in due time…..」
「Such a bother」
「Yeah」

As he said, there were 8 blocks, and in the C block, there were 16 teams. Thinking about that, Seiya noticed a strange thing.

「Mn?」

Seiya found the conversation turning strange, the reason is, he heard a strangely erotic voice.

Looking in the direction of the voice, he found there the bewitching adult version of Lily, instead of her usual child-like appearance.

「Why are you even here?」
「Oh, Seiya-kun is terrible~ You do not need to say such cruel things~」

Wearing the bewitching atmosphere, Lily spun around. Her two hills were about to escape their confines.

Lily’s school uniform, when she became the adult version, weirdly changed its form too.

Usually, Lily (little girl) wore her uniform according to the school regulations, but the adult version could make your heart beat fast. The combo of the black stockings and the deep cleavage was very arousing to Seiya.

However, Lily switched to the serious face and answered.

「It was a joke. It will be easier to explain the plan to me, right? I will tell her everything later in the simple terms」
「I see, this would be nice」
「Right? 」

Lily directed a lewd smile towards Seiya, as a countermeasure, Yua moved next to him and clung to his arm. Looking at Yua’s antics, Lily said「Arara」, and pressed her breasts onto his other hand.

Without minding the two, Seiya proceeded to explain the strategy.

「The qualifiers are held in the giant forest behind the academy, which is split into seven different areas, am I right?」
「Yes….」

Yua nodded to his inquiry.

The seven forest areas and the training grounds make for a total of 8 areas. The forest in quite vast.

「Does that mean that we will have to fight continuously?」
「Yes, that’s right. Apparently, if you finish you match fast, there is a possibility of the next match happening ahead of time」
「That means that the pacing is important」

While Lily and Seiya were discussing this, Yua said.

「The match is observed using the reflection magic….」
「I see. We need to think of our fighting style too」
「Isn’t it quite difficult? We will fight fifteen times, and there is also the final block」
「Of course we will be studied」

The matches can be viewed be everyone through the reflection magic of the light attribute. It will provide some information to your opponents, as well as serve as a reference to trainees.

「What should we do….Seiya….? 」
「For now, Yua will fight most of the time together with me. Lily, try to avoid the fighting, and if you can’t, just use some weak water spells and hide your power」
「All right」

Seiya wanted for Lily, who wasn’t well known in the academy to hide her power and make Yua, whose magic was already known, to engage the opponents.

「I will put power into the Hollins and become a speed type of fighter. I won’t use 『Mantle of Light』, so it will be hard. That’s why I will count on Yua for support」
「All right…」

Seiya’s strategy was to hide his power in the qualifications.

「Next is the battle arrangements. Yua, try to circle behind the opponent’s back and attack with the Yurial. With the bow, Yurial, you should be able to become a ranged attacker. If you aren’t able to defeat the opponent, I will draw their attention to create an opportunity for you to escape. Make sure to deal with at least one opponent before entering the close quarters. Lily, as mentioned before in on the standby」
「All right…」
「I got it」

Then, the three people prepared for the upcoming qualifiers, while discussing additional strategies. Three people ate early lunch and assembled in the meeting hall.

As they arrived, people were already gathered in the C block area. Amongst them, there were the figures of the royal guard.

By the way, Lily already returned to the child version. She was an adult version until the lunch, but any more than that will be troublesome.

The child version of Lily properly understood the strategy.

When the chime rang, two teachers appeared in the hall. One was a young tall man and the other was a cool woman in her twenties.

The young man stood before the students and started explaining.

「Eh, hello everyone. I will preside over the C block qualifiers this year. My name is Seran」
「Same, Najenda」

Once the introduction ended, Seran took out a small box and continued the explanation.

「There are your competition cards in this box. I, together with Najenda will draw them and the said teams will enter the barrier. Then, after I give a sign, the fight will start」

Seran demonstrated everyone the box.

「This will also test your luck. In the worst case, you will fight fifteen times consecutively. Luck is important in a fight, so do your best」
「Only the team with the highest winning percentage can participate in the finals, do your best, everyone. Well then, I will announce the first fight」

Seran put his hand into the box to draw the first cards. Once he did so, he announced the teams.

「C block, number 27 and number 86. Each team is to enter the barrier」

Seiya was surprised at the sudden development.

「Oi, oi. That happened too sudden」

While complaining, he brought Yua and Lily together with him and entered the barrier.

Their opponent was a team of men, apparently of the third year. There was a man with glasses, bald one, and a brown-haired one. They looked quite capable.

「Look, they have a trainee」

Bald man said with a loud voice.

「This would be easy」

Said the brown-haired man, following after him. And the man with glasses approached Seiya and extended his hand.

「Nice woman. Are you here to make some memories together in the tournament? Do your best and become a stepping stone for your seniors」

Once the man in the glasses said it, the royal guard released their killing intent. Towards this man, Seiya said, while shaking his hand.

「Well, kind of. Please, do not hold back and do you best」
「Fu fu, I see」

The man with glasses grinned and looked at Yua and Lily. The bald man and the brown-haired man approached him from behind.

「How about playing with us instead of this man? After this match is over, that is」
「It is better than being with this blondie」 [²]

Four-eyes and brown-hair said so towards Yua and Lily.

The baldy didn’t say anything, but his eyes were full of hidden intentions. The members of the royal guard were looking at them with the stares that could kill. At this moment, Yua and Lily answered.

「Seiya is good…..」
「Lily too!」

They said as such and hugged Seiya from behind as if trying to hide behind him. Seeing their behavior, the men stared at him.

「They seem to be greatly attached to you」

Said the four-eyes while staring at Seiya. At this time, Najenda said to the six in a strong tone.

「You guys, are you going to start or not? I will just disqualify you」

When Najenda was about to get angry, the three men moved to enter the barrier. Just before entering the barrier, they said to Seiya.

「You won’t die fast. I will make you beg for forgiveness in front of the woman. Look forward to it」

The men said so and entered the barrier. [³]

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As soon as it was break time, Seiya approached Yua.

Every day, during this time, they were staying on the rooftop. Students weren’t supposed to be there, but using the mana of light attribute to jump, they were able to come here every day.

They also did their 3rd and 4th hour training here. The reason is, they were able to escape from the others’ eyes here.

After he dominated Brick during the practical training, the classmates showed even more interest in his persona.

And if the target of their attention is always with the first beauty of the academy, they just couldn’t let it go.

「Listen, Yua. Will you participate in the qualifiers of the Leiria Magic Tournament? 」
「I won’t….But if Seiya wants to, I will….」

Yua’s answer was the same as Seiya’s. There, Seiya asked about the previous tournament.

「What did you do in the previous year?」

After thinking for a while, Yua answered.

「Didn’t participate….」
「Why so?」
「I didn’t have any teammates…..」
「I see」

Seiya felt a sense of affinity with Yua, who didn’t participate because of the same reason. Thinking that it is a big chance, Seiya told his intentions.

「I’m thinking of participating in the qualifiers, will you participate with me?」
「Un….」

Yua immediately accepted the proposal. The first teammate was secured, the next was Lily.

The two immediately departed for the trainee’s classroom, once it was a time for the lunch break.

In the trainee’s classroom, Lily, together with Nari, was already waiting for them.

Once Lily noticed Seiya and Yua, she swiftly ran toward them, following after her, Nari too approached them with a greeting.

「Seiya! Big sister! 」
「Ah, senpai, Yua-san. Greetings」

Lily cheerfully called out to them, while Nari greeted them politely.

「Yo, how about a lunch together?」
「I’ll go!」
「Is it fine for me too?」

Seiya invited them for a lunch. Lily answered at a light speed, but Nari seemed to be holding herself back. To such a Nari, Seiya said.

「Don’t worry. This way, Lily will have a good time too」 [¹] 「Understood. Please allow me to accompany you」

Nari answered with a formal attitude. Apparently, she was still nervous before Seiya, who was older than she was.

Directed at these four, were the jealous gazes of the male trainees.

There was no one who wasn’t aware of Yua’s beauty, and Lily as well was a once in a generation beauty.

If only this was the end, but there was also the cute neighbor girl Nari.

And the blonde blue-eyed youth was about to have lunch with them. Not just that, the beauties seemed to be well behaved around him.

From the standpoint of a male, you couldn’t not be jealous of him.

However, ignoring the gazes of the male audience, Seiya went away with them to have a lunch.

The four came to the same restaurant as the last time. Although it was a lunch break, there were precisely four vacant seats, so they managed to find a place without a problem.

Seiya took his seat first, Yua sat next to him, Lily sat across and Nari next to Lily.

Four people ordered as soon as they sat down. Seiya and Yua ordered pasta, Lily and Nari ordered a hamburger. The waiter received their order and swiftly left.

While Seiya waited for the food to be brought, he asked Lily about the Leiria Magic Tournament.

「Lily, do you know about the Leiria Magic Tournament?」
「What is that?」

Sure enough, Lily didn’t know anything. She just recently left the Great Dalis Canyon, her lack of knowledge is understandable.

That’s why Seiya briefly explained about the Leiria Magic Tournament.

「It is a tournament to decide the strongest student magician in this kingdom」
「Hee~」

Lily answered as such, she clearly didn’t understand a thing. Seiya thought about explaining it to the adult version and proceeded with the conversation.

「Me and Yua are going to participate, will you join us?」
「Big sister too?」
「Un….」
「Then I will too!」

Hearing that Seiya and Yua were participating, she immediately responded positively. With this, the team members were decided, while Seiya thought that, Nari, sitting next to Lily, asked a question.

「Is it fine, senpai?」
「With what?」

Seiya, who didn’t get what she mean, asked for the details.

「Etto, I was asking if it is okay to include a trainee」
「Are they prohibited from entering in the Arsenia Magic Academy?」

Seiya, who knew Lily’s real strength, thought that he understood what Nari meant. Nari however, thought that she was getting weird and worriedly said the reason.

「Wrong. You have the ability to finish off Brick-senpai in a second, and also Yua-san by your side. Maybe you aren’t willing to join the others’ teams? 」

Hearing her, Seiya understood that the rumors already reached the trainees. At the same time, he finally comprehended what she meant.

Nari thought that they approached Lily because of lack of people.

Nari didn’t know about Lily’s identity as an Undine, as well as her ability.

That’s why Seiya dissolved her misunderstanding.

「You are wrong, Nari. We do not want her to fill the numbers, we want her because of her ability. Lily is unexpectedly strong」
「That’s right! Lily is strong! 」
「So it was like that. Please excuse me」

Towards the apologizing Nari, Seiya said to not worry about it. This time, Seiya asked Nari.

「By the way, Nari. Is the rumor about me still spreading? 」
「Rumors about Brick-senpai?」
「That’s right」

Seiya had no choice but to worry about the rumors. If there are some strange rumors around, he needs to resolve it fast.

「Yes, it spread pretty fast. In the Arsenia Magic Academy, Brick is considered an outstanding individual, some people in the fan club even call him a teacher. Senpai, who destroyed such a Brick in a second, is greatly admired amongst the trainees」
「I see…」

Apparently, part of the trainee boys considers Seiya a hero. Most likely, some of them experienced the same as Connie.

At the same time, he was convinced. Amongst the stares back then, there was adoration mixed with jealousy.

After a while, the food arrived. The four had a fun lunch and returned to the academy.

「Sorry, senpai. I was treated again」
「Don’t mind. Don’t slack off in the afternoon, you two」
「Yes」
「Un! 」

Having said so, they spit up, and Seiya and Yua headed for their classroom.

「Hey, Yua. Is it fine if we finish with the registration today? 」

On the way to the classroom, Seiya made a proposal.

「Un….」
「Then, let’s finish it after school」
「That is fine too….」

She said so and entangled her arm with Seiya’s. The afternoon classes continued.

After school, Seiya, Yua, Lily, and Nari, before going home, successfully finished their registration.

Qualifications entry number 86
Kiritsuna Seiya, second year
Yua Arunia, second year
Lily Arunia, trainee

Just like that, their registration on the Leiria Magic Tournament qualifiers has ended.

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After the holidays, a new day started in Arsenia Magic Academy.

Between the first and the second class, Seiya noticed that the classmates were strangely agitated around him, so he asked the orange-haired girl next to him.

「Everyone is weird today, did something happen?」

When he asked his neighbor, Aruna, she laughed and immediately told him the reason.

Although a lot of things happened on his first day, he felt rather good-willed towards Aruna, Glenn, and Connie.

Besides, he is able to properly converse with the rest of the classmates.

The members of the fan club avoid him and the members of the royal guard only stare daggers when he tries to approach Yua. They only stare and do not complain or attack.

He also became considerably friendlier with the other students.

「What do you mean what? It’s about the time for the Leiria Magic Tournament. Haven’t you done it in your previous academy? 」
「Come to think of it, it is those times」[¹]

While staring at the ceiling, Seiya remembered the time he was in Senabia Magic Academy.

Leiria Magic Tournament is a kingdom-wide tournament aimed to decide the strongest student across the whole Leiria Kingdom.

There are 10 academies across the kingdom, and their representatives will decide the outcome of the tournament.

In the Leiria Kingdom, there is one academy in the Central Kingdom, and Aquaristan, Windistan and Freestan have three each.

The only magic academy of the Central Kingdom, St. Lucifer Magic Academy, is located in the capital city of Reinz. After graduation, most of the students assume a position in the Holy Church or at the top of local churches. You can say that instead of battling, they are more proficient in strategizing.

That being said, sometimes the strategy is more important than combat capabilities. In this academy, students are cultivated to become future leaders.

In the city of Cald, in the northwestern part of Freestan, there is the Sarahditius Magic Academy. Being where it is, it’s rather close to the dark territory. There are even classes where students have to subjugate the monsters nearby. [²]

The Sarahditius Magic Academy is the only one that does the suppression of the magical beasts as a part of the classes across the whole Leiria Kingdom. Taking advantage of their own experience in the dark territory, they often assume command over the subjugation squads after the graduation.

Located in the center of Freestan, in the city of Wokka, there is the Kamarina Magic Academy. With the strong people from the church nearby, the atmosphere of competitiveness is strong there.

For that reason, there are often duels in the Kamarina Magic Academy, it is said that it is the most battle-focused academy out there.

That’s why they had a loose security, if someone wants to kidnap then he will be easily able to enter, but won’t be able to leave, or so people say.

In the southeast of Freestan, in the city of Redeca, there is the Crenias Magic Academy. With the academy being close to the one in the Central Kingdom, they divert a lot of their attention from the combat power to technique.

That includes swordsmanship, spearmanship, and archery. A lot of martial arts fanatics gather there.

There are many dojos in Redeca city, martial arts practitioners like to gather there from around the kingdom.

In the north of Windistan, in the city of Orna, there is the Senabia Magic Academy. This academy is particularly famous in Windistan, many members of the intermediate and advanced magician clans attend it.

After the brilliant performance in the last Leiria Magic Tournament, it became even more famous. [³]

In the center of Windistan, in the city of Kurokure, there is the Elenspia Magic Academy. There is a church in this city and the students are deeply entangled in its affairs.

In the south of Windistan, in the city of Erununita, there is the Fujirong Magic Academy. In the south, Windistan is connected to Aquaristan through a small sea.

In this sea, situated between Windistan and Aquaristan, there is not only the fish but also the sea monsters.

Being near the sea, a sea breeze often hits the academy, as such, people consider this academy as one with a harsh environment.

However, as if to compensate for that, there are plenty of tough students out there. [⁴]

In the north of Windistan, in Wonder city, there is the Holkinaru Magic Academy. Because this academy is situated in the north, there are a lot of joint lessons with the Sarahditius Magic Academy.

The reason is the proximity of the Great Dalis Canyon.

There are strong monsters in the Great Dalis Canyon, in the case of an invasion, the two academies will stand united to repel the threat.

While they engage the magical beasts, the reinforcements from the church, or sometimes the Holy Church, will come to their aid.

In the center of Aquaristan, in the city of Moru, there is the Arsenia Magic Academy, which Seiya currently attends. There is a church in Moru city, but it is separated by a great distance from the academy.

The reason is, Moru city is a famous tourist spot.

As a result, a lot of people visit Moru city. Of course, there are some who come here for other purposes.

With the church and the academy being on different sides of the city, it helps to identify the suspicious people in the crowds. [⁵]

Besides, even if one institution receives an attack, it will be difficult for the perpetrator to simultaneously launch an attack against the other.

In addition, the students of the Arsenia Magic Academy have considerable fighting power, you need to think twice before causing an incident.

Thanks to all these reasons, the tourists can freely enjoy their stay.

In the south of Aquaristan, in the city of Mognadiara, there is the Kristenius Magic Academy. Same as the city of Erununita, Mognadiara city is close to the sea. However, in contrast, it is a calm port city with nice weather.

With that at their disposal, the Kristenius Magic Academy secured a part of the sea to create something like a pool to train.

That’s why the students of the Kristenius Magic Academy are specialized in the underwater battles.

From the ten of above, the representatives will clash in the tournament and decide the strongest student of the Leiria Kingdom of this year.

According to the rules, the fights will happen between teams of six. That’s why, if you gather a team from strong people, disregarding the compatibility, you might lose.

For that reason, the academies will pay attention to the teamwork during their final decision.

The ten teams of six people will be transferred into a special dimension to decide the winner.

Although it is called a special dimension, it’s just an island surrounded by the strong barrier maintained by the big number of experts.

That’s why the insides are pretty safe, the representatives can fight to their heart’s content.

They will never let the barrier expire. It will be maintained as long as needed until the winner is decided.

A lot of students aspire to be selected, but Seiya never even participated in the qualifiers, forget about being a representative.

The reason is simple, no one wanted to form a team with Seiya. Usually, no matter the grades or status, everyone can participate in the tournament.

The same applied to the trainees, and each team that was short on members was picking from the trainees, completely ignoring Seiya.

The representatives from the Senabia Magic Academy were the winners of one of the previous tournaments. The six trainees, who just enrolled into the academy, completely steamrolled through their opponents.

The members of that team were Kair Denas, Chris Haniat, Jin Heint, Lanya Arun, Ryuka Tinamo and the leader Real Christopher. [⁶]

Despite the age of sixteen, they obtained the title of the strongest.

Seiya vividly remembered that time. His classmates became the kingdom’s strongest, and the academy, as if being stimulated, increased the training regime.

By the way, the winner of the recent tournament wasn’t the Senabia Magic Academy. Real left the Senabia Magic Academy, and the representatives became pathetically weak.

Real’s performance during that tournament was so outstanding, that he managed to instill awe and fear upon the audience.

That’s why people said that it was not the Senabia Magic Academy that is the strongest, but Real.

He was proclaimed the strongest magician of his generation. Just as Seiya, he was of a completely different class.

While Seiya was reminiscing, Aruna asked him.

「By the way, Seiya-kun. Are you going to participate with Yua-san? 」

Aruna asked Seiya about that, but he didn’t feel like participating.

There is a fact that he never participated before, but the biggest reason is the lack of people. To participate in the qualifiers, you, of course, need to gather a team of six.

However, with Seiya, Yua, and Lily, the trainee, they only have half the number.

There is an option to accept some other people, but it’s not that easy to find a magician that can match their ability.

With the situation as it is, there was no choice but to abandon the thoughts of participation.

「No, I won’t. I’m not able to gather a team」
「Eh? 」

Seiya intended to say an obvious thing, but Aruna made an「What is this guy saying? 」face.

Seiya wondered where things have gone wrong, and Connie explained to the two.

「Our academy is a special one, Aruna」
「Aah, I see」

Hearing Connie saying that she seemed convinced of something.

「Sorry, Seiya-kun. Different from the other academies, our academy’s qualifiers are in the teams of three」 [⁷] 「Three? 」
「Yes. The academy will pick the rest to suit the winning team, thus creating the strongest team」

As Aruna said, the qualifiers in the Arsenia Magic Academy were different from other academies.

The teams are divided into the 8 blocks. Then, the teams fight each other and the teams with the highest win rate will enter the final round.

The final round is in a tournament style, the winners will be appointed as the representatives.

Then, from the rest, the academy picks three students to supplement the weaknesses of the winning team, creating a total of six.

「So it was like that. Then I might as well participate」

Seiya thought that if it is Yua and Lily, then it will work out.

Until now, he never participated, even in the qualifiers.

The thought of participating was born inside of his head at this moment.

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The ice dragon, that suddenly appeared, had quite the presence.

Unless you have some power to your name, you won’t be able to endure the pressure that covered the whole field. Fortunately, there were no weak people here.

「Oi, oi, you just unleashed an outrageous thing here」
「Not really, I won’t be able to defeat Raiga-dono unless I do something like that」

There were no lies in his words, the same goes for flattery. Those were his true thoughts.

He seriously thought that he wouldn’t be able to defeat Raiga unless he unleashed the ice dragon. However, this spell was clearly an overkill.

「Try releasing this monster on the streets. It will result in a panic」

As Raiga said, once the ice dragon appears on the streets of Moru city, a great panic will occur. However, Bagil didn’t feel like winning without this.

The ice dragon, that was far more powerful than Lily’s Gedo-chan, moved.

The ice dragon opened its mouth and released an ice breath towards Raiga.

Gurururu, gugyaaa

The snowstorm-like white-colored breath enveloped Raiga and enclosed him in the ice.

But in the next moment, the lightning around Raiga destroyed the ice, and he just stood there like nothing happened.

「This is?」

At this time, Seiya felt his body getting heavier. Together with Raiga, they looked at their own hands.

「Hee, calming, right?」
「Correct. The breath wasn’t an attack; its purpose was to spread the ice attribute mana in the atmosphere」

As Raiga said, what Seiya felt earlier was a calming effect from the ice attribute. As a matter of course, the ice attribute, being derived from the water attribute, inherited the calming effect.

And every time you take a breath air, the ice mana particles calms your body from the inside.

It was his trump card. But at the same time, he was in the area of the effect himself. Bagil too felt his body getting heavier.

The more you breathe, the heavier your body gets. The rest is the battle of attrition. Just who will be able to last longer?

「So this is the power of the thirteen apostles」

Raiga looked at the ice dragon and said that.

With every breath, your body will be getting calmer and will stop moving in the end. That being said, you can’t just abandon breathing. Under such circumstances, Raiga must fight the ice dragon and Bagil.

From Seiya’s point of view, Raiga was in a pinch.

However, you can understand from his expression that Raiga still had some leeway. That is because he still had a trump card to play.

「It’s about the time for me to become serious」[¹] 「Serious?」

Hearing his words, Bagil scratched his neck. But he understood the meaning very soon.

「Unite, together with my lightning soul, the sword of the maiden of lightning, I dedicate『Lightning God Strengthening』」

In the next moment, the lightning around him distorted and changed. The armor made from lightning appeared shining with the green light.

This armor covered Raiga’s whole body.

「So this is the Thunder God’s true form……」
「That’s right. With this, I won’t receive the calming any more」

Bagil looked at his Raiga’s appearance and lost his words. After all, Raiga’s appearance in the lightning armor is an appearance of the Thunder God, renowned across the whole Aquaristan. Bagil never expected to lay his eyes on this form.

It’s said that this armor won’t ever break. It’s said that this armor is the strongest armor. It’s said that you can’t win against armored Raiga.

Seiya remembered the legend about the Thunder God.

「This is Raiga when he is serious」

It was the first time for Seiya to see the Thunder God’s true strength. Seeing his appearance, the desire to fight him was born in Seiya for a moment.

Gugyaaaa

With a loud roar, the ice dragon released another breath toward Raiga, but facing this attack, Raiga only swung the Thunder God Oni once.

The green lightning flew from the Thunder God Oni with a bun and stopped the ice breath.

Gugyaaaa

With its breath deflected, the ice dragon prepared for another one, but Raiga wasn’t kind enough to wait for it. [²]

「Fun!」

The Thunder God Oni moved again. The lightning, far more powerful than the previous one, pounced on the ice dragon.

Gyaaa

Being hit by the lightning, the ice dragon raised a scream. However, there was no way Raiga would let it go.

「I will end it with the next one」

To put an end to the ice dragon, he launched his final attack. This was Raiga’s ultimate; you can call it the secret technique of his.

「The divine protection of lightning, the maiden of lightning, it is time to manifest in this world, your great existence…..」
「I won’t let you. The wrath of the ice god. 『Absolute Zero Barrier』」

Immediately after the chant, the barrier of ice appeared around Raiga.

This spell is a unique spell of Bagil’s Naveria family. At the same time, it’s Bagil’s finishing move.

Raiga’s arm was getting heavier by the second. At the same time, the strongest calming came attacking at him. Even the strongest armor was of no use.

Simultaneously, multiple ice vines wrapped around Raiga’s body and restrained him. In addition, thorns appeared on the vines and touched the armor.

The thorns didn’t pierce the armor, but just touching was enough.

「This is the end. Unless you managed to disrupt its activation, there will be no opportunity to escape. The thorns will gradually suck away your mana. You lost」

Bagil was convinced of his victory.

Even if he somehow breaks out of 『Absolute Zero Barrier』, the lost mana won’t return. There is no chance to win against the ice dragon in this state.

It was clear even from Seiya’s viewpoint.

Multiple vines with a myriad of thorns wrapped around him, these thorns even sucked at his mana. Truly a desperate situation.

Despite the armor, the calming effect of 『Absolute Zero Barrier』was still applied.

This fight is Raiga’s lose. Seiya though like that.

But only Raiga himself thought differently. His expression was still unchanged.

「I will be troubled if it ends like this」
「What!?」

The change came abruptly. The color of the lightning armor suddenly started to change. The green armor gradually became red, and the vines restraining him evaporated in a flash.

「So you raised the ratio of the fire attribute」

Seeing Raiga’s change, Seiya quickly determined the reason.

Raiga’s lightning attribute is a compound attribute of fire and wind attribute, just like the lightning beast from the Great Dalis Canyon. Usually, it is proportioned one to one, however, in Raiga’s case, the ratio has changed.

As far as Seiya could see, the ratio between wind and fire attribute changed into three to seven. Basically, the lightning armor became closer to the fire attribute.

As a result, the degree of activation increased accordingly. Thanks to that, he was able to break out of『Absolute Zero Barrier』.

「I never expected for you to use such a method……」
「This is the power of special magician」
「Sorry to interrupt, but the next one will finish it」
「Ho, try it」

The atmosphere around the two instantly changed.

Their aura became much sharper. From their aura, you can understand that they planned to end it with the next exchange.

Bagil moved all that was left of his mana into the ice dragon and prepared for the final attack.
Raiga too increased the quality of his armor and assumed the most serious attitude yet.

「This is…..」

The two’s aura twisted the space around them. As soon as Seiya noticed it, he thought that this was bad.

However, the two were too focused on each other to notice.

If their attacks collide, the barrier will collapse and Moru city will be implicated. Is this happens, it will be a calamity.

「Damn it, I have no choice」

Seiya lifted his right hand and created a purple magic circle. However, there were no symbols on this circle, he didn’t have time to properly construct it.

「Go, Dark Cannon」

As soon as the magic circle took form, he immediately shot his mana. This was just mana, not a spell. In the same way as Lily’s Water Cannon, it was launched towards the two.

And the chaotic mass of darkness erased the ice dragon and lightning around Raiga in a second.

「This is!?」
「Seiya?」

The two were still surprised after suddenly being shot at. To such two, Seiya said.

「Just stop already. Did you want to blow Moru city up? 」
「What?!」

And then Bagil noticed. If they continued as they were, Moru city would have been destroyed.

There would have been no problem for ordinary magicians. But they are a special magician and an apostle respectively. The barrier won’t be able to endure their full strength.

「I’m sorry. Please accept my gratitude」

Once he realized his mistakes, Bagil swiftly apologized. The duel didn’t matter at this point. If Moru city, his hometown, is safe then it’s fine.

「Well then, what should we do?」

Raiga asked Bagil. He meant, of course, what they should do with the duel.

However, Bagil had no intention to fight any longer.

「you can count it as my loss. I inconvenienced you today. I will go home」
「I see. Melena! 」
「Yes」

Once called, the servant, Melena, appeared and escorted Bagil away.

And once Seiya couldn’t see his figure anymore, he asked Raiga.

「In the end, did you force me to erase it on purpose?」
「Who knows. However, an apostle now owes you a favor. Isn’t it fine? 」
「Haa」

Towards grinning Raiga, Seiya assumed a troubled expression.

For an experienced magician like Raiga, the lack of control, in the end, is impossible. In other words, he forced Bagil all out and made him owe Seiya a favor.

And since he owes Seiya a favor, he will protect his secret. You can say that he unknowingly entered Seiya’s camp.

「How frightening」

Seiya thought, looking at Raiga’s back, who was at the time returning to the mansion with the Thunder God Oni in his hand. And at the same time, he decided to morally prepare for future developments.

Then, after the girl squad returned, he was forced to watch a fashion show until dinner.

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In the open area, at the Arunia estate, stood three people.

This big place had the size of a football field. In such a place, the duel between the special magician, Raiga Arunia, and the apostle, Bagil Eight, was going to be held.

Of course, the barrier that can convert the physical damage into spiritual covered the field. No matter what happens, no one will die.

Everything was set for two people to fight with all power.

「Are you ready?」

Between the two stood Seiya, playing the role of the referee. Although, everything he had to do was to declare the start of the duel.

「Yeah, I’m ready」
「No problem」

Raiga and Bagil answered to Seiya.

「All right. Then, start! 」

After he declared that, he immediately distanced himself. He didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire.

「Come out.『Brunak』」

Bagil moved first. He summoned the ice spear, Brunak, and closed in on Raiga.

「『Lightning Rod』」(TN: Previously known as Lightning Needle. I decided to change that after some deliberation)

Against the closing Brunak, Raiga deployed a green magic circle and released the lightning.

The green lightning pounced on Bagil with the crackling sound, but Bagil immediately released a spell to avoid that.

「Hear my call.『Ice Wall』」
「So you aren’t called Quickmaker just for show」 (TN: Something tells me that your chant was even shorter, Raiga)
「Thanks for that」

In the next moment, the ice wall appeared before Bagil and protected him. Seeing that wall of ice, Raiga thought that the level of an apostle is high after all. But Raiga wasn’t a man who could be intimidated by just this much.

「Sharing the bonds of divine protection of lightning, manifest in my hand『Thunder God Oni』」(TN: Left Oni as it is, hope you don’t mind)

Once his chant ended, a big battle ax appeared in his hand. Holding the battle ax, that easily exceeded one meter, he swung it at Bagil as it was.

「Fun!」(TN: Exertion sound)
「This is!?」

Bagil tried to deflect the battle ax by his Brunak. However, the moment before the Brunak touched the Thunder God Oni, Bagil changed his intention from blocking to dodging.

The Thunder God Oni landed on the ground where Bagil was a moment before. And after a slight delay, the ground below the Thunder God Oni shuddered.

「Is this a type of pursuing lightning?」
「Good job noticing」
「Yeah, there is no way a person like you will use ordinary attacks」

Said Bagil with a small smile on his face, but his face didn’t relax in the slightest.

「That’s why it seems that I can’t afford any leeway. Change.『Ice Change』, 『Brunak』」

As soon as he acknowledged that, he immediately cast a new spell. But this time, the target of his spell wasn’t Raiga, but the Brunak in his hands.

When the spell was completed, the Brunak showed a change.

The tip of the spear became longer and it assumed the form of the spiral. In addition, a little below the spear tip, an ice blade in the form of the shark’s dorsal fin appeared. Finally, in the middle of the spear, the beautiful ice rose bloomed.

Seeing the transformed Brunak, Seiya thought of an ice dragon. He also thought that this spear was produced for the sole purpose of penetration.

（This is an apostle….）

Seiya honestly admired the power of the thirteen apostles, at the same time, he also became worried about Raiga. (TN: Do not underestimate the power of the doting father)

After he saw the transformed Brunak, Raiga’s expression tightened.

「Again, an incredible weapon you brought out here」
「Yes. This spear is in possession of the ice dragon’s soul. Even if you are the special magician, once it pierces through, it will be the end」

Bagil took a stance with his spear and looked at Raiga, you can find that Bagil’s face relaxed at some moment.

However, Raiga too had some strength to spare.

「True, this will be the end once pierced, but only if you hit」
「You mean?」
「My name is Thunder God, right?」
「It can’t be!?」

Bagil looked at Raiga with astonished eyes. The same was true for Seiya.

「Yes, it’s precisely that. The divine protection of the thunder god is by my side, envelop me in your power『Thunder God』」

In the next moment, Raiga’s body was wrapped in lightning. This appearance reminded Seiya of the now dead lightning beast, but the nature of lightning was different this time.

The lightning wrapped around Raiga. That form in itself was the manifestation of his second name, Thunder God. (TN: Thunder God is using the form of the Thunder God, while holding the Thunder God Oni in his hand, wow)

Seiya never expected to bear witness to this spectacle.

「Here I go」

Raiga said those words, but the moment they reached Bagil, his figure was already nowhere to be found.

「I’m here」
「!?」

Bagil hurriedly looked in the direction of the voice only to find the figure of Raiga with the battle ax in full swing.

「Crap….」

Bagil desperately tried to parry the blow with the Brunak, but all he achieved was to avoid a fatal wound. He was blown away by the Thunder God Oni and fell to the ground.

「Not yet」
「What!?」

However, in the next moment, Raiga already appeared next to the fallen Bagil and swung the Thunder God Oni with the same amount of force.

「Hear my call.『Ice Wall』」

Bagil immediately tried to defend himself with the wall of ice, but the moment the Thunder God Oni touched the ice wall, it evaporated in a blink.

「Damn, drifting ice maiden『Ice Rock』」

The ice wall evaporated and the resulting fog worsened the vision. Using this opportunity, he attacked Raiga with a new spell. Below the fallen Bagil, the water-colored magic circle appeared. The magic circle produced innumerable ice shards, which then flew at Raiga.

「Tsk」

To avoid the attack, Raiga distanced himself from Bagil.

Seiya, who watched their fight, couldn’t produce any words.

The speed of the Thunder God Raiga was comparable to his own, to master such a complicated spell, that’s what you should expect from the special magician.

But Seiya didn’t notice. Being able to track Raiga’s movements was a proof of ability on its own.

An average magician wouldn’t have been able to track his movements at all. Even if he is conscious of them, he won’t be able to discern them.

That’s why, Seiya who was able to follow him, could be considered a person of ability.

Seiya also admired Bagil’s movements. His action against the fast-approaching Raiga showed his impressive decision-making ability.

It was indeed the battle between two powerful people.

Betraying Seiya’s impressions, Bagil was struggling quite hard. Although he had some methods to fight his high speed, it was nothing concrete.

He thought that, since he didn’t know from where Raiga will attack, it was fine to attack in all directions at the same time.

That was his plan of actions, and he was able to make it a reality.

But he couldn’t say that it will allow him to win.

Raiga’s defense, that was hard to overcome in the first place, became even tighter with the appearance of lightning. To break it, there was a need for a concentrated attack.

However, doing so will create the openings for Raiga to take advantage of.

Truly a great pinch. Even with the power of one of the thirteen apostles, it was difficult to stop Raiga.

「You suddenly became so quiet」
「Damn it…」

He could only stare at Raiga, who held the Thunder God Oni with a relaxed expression.

Strong defense and movements that he couldn’t perceive. The attack is said to be the best defense, but it won’t work in this situation. No, there is no point to think about it in the first place.

（It seems I have no choice but to use that….）

Bagil thought in his heart of the spell that can instantly reverse the situation. Due to the great power of this spell, there were risks involved.

He usually hesitates to use it, but right now, there was no hesitation. In the beginning, he proposed the duel to have a chance to talk with the daughter of Thunder God, Yua. However, at this point, it didn’t matter any longer.

As of now, I’m just enjoying the fight with a strong person, and I want to win, thought Bagil.

That’s why I will dedicate my all to win.

「Draconic Transformation, release!」(TN: Temporary)

Gugya———–

In the next moment, with a loud roar, Brunak in Bagil’s hand changed its shape into a dragon.

---

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The apostle came and Raiga decided to greet him, so Seiya tried to leave the room.

「Wait, you should come with me」
「Me too?」

Seiya wondered why he should attend. But he soon figured out the reason.

「That’s right. He is here for you」
「Me? 」
「He probably found the traces of dark magic in the dark territory. It’s no wonder that he knows about its existence. There is also a rumor that Arunia family sends their juniors to hunt the magical beasts. He might have heard that too」
「So it’s like that」

Seiya’s mood switched in a moment. The two headed to the room where the apostle waited.

When the two entered the room, they noticed the silver-haired man sitting there. Raiga sat across from him and Seiya sat next to Raiga.

When the servant, Melena, placed the tea and left, the silver-haired man spoke.

「We’ve seen each other multiple times, but it’s the first time we are speaking. I’m one of the thirteen apostles, Bagil Eight. Thank you for approving of my unexpected visit」

Bagil introduced himself and lowered his head, it was Raiga’s turn to follow suit.

「A special magician, Raiga Arunia. It’s indeed an unexpected visit, but there is no problem. And he is…」
「I already know. Kiritsuna Seiya-kun, right? 」

Raiga was about to introduce Seiya, but Bagil beat him to it.

Hearing his words, Raiga smiled wryly.

「So you know about Seiya. Are you here because of the kidnapping incident? 」
「Yes, I was asked by the seven sages to look into this case」

Bagil immediately answered Raiga’s question, so Raiga continued to ask.

「How much do you know?」
「Only that he is a student from Windistan」

Bagil gave an honest answer. However, Raiga thought that he knew more and asked another question.

「Anything else?」
「He is suspected of using the dark attribute and destroying the kidnapper’s facility. He also possesses an ability to pass through the Great Dalis Canyon. That’s about it」
「Good work figuring it out」

Raiga bitterly laughed.

Bagil removed his gaze from Raiga and looked at Seiya.

「By the way, you are Kiritsuna Seiya, right?」
「Yes. I’m Kiritsuna Seiya」

Since his opponent was an apostle, Seiya used the polite speech.

When Seiya affirmed it, Bagil made a convinced expression. At that moment, Raiga asked a question again.

「So, did you report to the seven sages about Seiya?」

Asked Raiga with a serious expression.

「Please be at ease. I’m here not as an apostle of the Holy Church, Bagil Eight, but an individual, Bagil Naveria. Besides, the seven sages have already closed the case」

Raiga narrowed his eyes at Bagil’s answer and asked the next question.

「What do you mean by that?」
「It’s a simple matter. I just want to know the truth behind the incident. If you tell me the truth, I will go home satisfied」
「I see」

Bagil didn’t report, but it can be treated as a threat. If he didn’t tell the truth, Bagil might report it to the seven sages.

「Well then, Seiya-kun. Can you enlighten me on what happened in that facility? 」

Seiya looked at Raiga seeking an advice, but he said that he would leave it to Seiya.

In the end, Seiya decided to tell what happened in that facility.

「The top of this facility was the man in the white coat, I think he wasn’t a magician. The moment before I was about to be killed I used the magic of the dark attribute to erase the man and the whole facility. Then, I met the daughter of this house and, I’m currently staying here」
「The daughter of this house was kidnapped? I didn’t receive such a report」

Bagil looked at Raiga with a surprised face, and Raiga calmly answered.

「Relax. I didn’t report that」
「Why? 」
「Because I used our information network」
「Was it the association?」
「That’s right」

Bagil glanced at Raiga with the tired eyes and returned his gaze to Seiya.

「By the way, you said that you erased the facility, didn’t you think about the criminals and other people?」
「No, not really」

Bagil lagged for a moment.

「Classmates too?」
「A didn’t really care about their fate at that moment anymore. They always used violence against me and even abandoned me in the end. I’m not strong enough to help those kinds of people」

The eyes of Bagil became somewhat harsh. [¹]

「Don’t you regret it? There might have been other people there」

Bagil raised the volume and stared at Seiya, not losing to him, Seiya also looked back.

「I do not regret it and do not plan to. It’s their responsibility for being caught. I didn’t have the leeway to save those that obediently waited for the rescue」

Seiya revealed his true thoughts.

This isn’t wrong from the standpoint of a magician. The moment you start to learn magic you should learn to protect yourself. If you got yourself into trouble, you are on your own.

You can’t approve of a magician that just waits for the rescue, even if the magic seal stone binds him.

However, Bagil didn’t agree with his opinion.

「You!」
「Calm down」

Bagil stood up and roared and Raiga said that in a deep quiet voice.

「Excuse me」
「It’s not like you can’t understand what Seiya is saying. You should know his grades in the academy」

As he said, Bagil knew his grades since he looked through them for the reference.

「At the bottom of the class…..」
「That’s right. Did you want him to fight the kidnappers and rescue everyone? 」
「What if you hid your power?」

Asked Bagil while looking at Seiya instead of Raiga.

「No, I learned how to use it the moment before I was killed」
「I see, sorry」

Bagil and Seiya abandoned the polite speech at some point, but they didn’t bother.

「So, why are you letting him stay, Raiga-dono?」
「Because he is my daughter’s fiancé」
「Fiancé?」
「Yeah, that’s right」

Bagil couldn’t understand what he was saying. Usually, a special magician won’t pick a user of the dark attribute magic as his daughter’s fiancé.

「Did you aim to obtain a dark attribute magician?」

Bagil thought that there was an ulterior motive so he asked, but the answer was different.

「Wrong. My daughter wanted him as her fiancé and Seiya agreed. The dark attribute doesn’t really matter」
「So it was like that」

Bagil took a deep breath and changed the topic.

「By the way, I heard that there was one more girl who returned from the dark territory. Who is she? 」
「She is the fairy from the Great Dalis Canyon. I contracted her and brought her back」

Instead of Raiga, Seiya answered his question.

「You mean complete contract? How did you do it? 」

Seiya’s answer was too shocking so he froze with a stupid face. If the people outside saw his face right now, they would have been disappointed in the thirteen apostles.

「The method is a secret. However, even I say, only I can do it anyway」
「Who on the earth are you? Wielding the power of the dark attribute and making the complete contracts with the faeries…」

Looking at Seiya, Bagil lost his words. But Seiya wanted to know the answer even more.

「That, I want to know myself the most」
「Did you lose your memory?」
「Kind of」
「Sorry」

Bagil thought that it was untactful of him and apologized. However, from the standpoint of Seiya, who heard a lot of thing about himself in the Senabia Magic Academy, it didn’t amount too much.

「So, will you tell the seven sages that he is the dark attribute user and can contract the faeries?」

Raiga asked for a confirmation from Bagil.

Raiga was the most afraid of the Holy Church becoming aware of this matter and taking Seiya away.

If that happens, Yua’s new trustable companion will go away.

After Yua met Seiya she had completely changed and was radiating happiness. That’s why he didn’t want for her to revert to her previous self.

「Rest assured. I don’t plan to report unless something happens, but I will be grateful if you grant me an opportunity to talk with your daughter」

Bagil won’t report about Seiya, but he wanted to hear the story from Yua’s standpoint. Raiga’s answer to that was already decided.

「That might be impossible」
「Why so?」
「Because I don’t want her to remember the time she was kidnapped. She is enjoying her life right now, so I won’t forgive anyone who messes with her」

Raiga said his true thoughts, but Bagil couldn’t retreat at that point.

「And If I say that I will report about Seiya-kun to the seven sages?」
「In that case, I will erase you」

Although he didn’t release his killing intent, he still put Bagil under considerable pressure. To counter that, Bagil released the pressure of his own.

When a special magician and one of the apostles clash, normal people usually lose their consciousness, but Seiya was as natural as ever.

「Do you know what will happen if you kill an apostle?」

In case Raiga really kills Bagil here, he will become an enemy of the Holy Church, the apostles, and the association.

If that happens, you can’t continue to live peacefully in the Leiria Kingdom. However, Raiga just laughed.

「In this case, I will just fight. Alter all, I’m the special magician and Seiya has the power of the same level. My daughter is strong. We even have a fairy. Do you have the confidence that you can start a war? 」

Raiga looked convinced of his words. Although the numbers are pitiful, he thought they would win. He held a strange confidence in them.

Bagil thought of such a Raiga as weird and thought of a compromise.

「Raiga-dono, how about the duel with me?」
「Duel?」
「Yes. If you win, I won’t report to the seven sages and give up on talking with your daughter. If I win, I want you to grant me an opportunity to talk with her」

True, if they duel, they will both survive. And the method of「the weak will listen to the strong」is often used in Freestan.

「Fine」

Just like that, a rare duel between a special magician and an apostle started.

---

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The next morning, after they returned from the Aquamarine festival, for some reason, Seiya woke up in Lily’s bed instead of his own.

Next to Seiya, there was the child version of Lily quietly sleeping.

「Why am I inside Lily’s room?」

Seiya was wondering why he awoke inside her room.

Lily’s room is the farthest, it is further then Seiya’s and Yua’s room. That’s why it is difficult to make a mistake.

However, Lily was still inside the dreamland and he had no way to know.

「I thought I should be in my own room, but why…」

Seiya decided to thoroughly investigate his memory of the last night.

「Come to think of it….」

Last night, when he was about to fell asleep, the door opened. And the bewitching adult version of Lily entered the room.

「What’s happened, Lily?」

When he asked that, she proactively approached him.

「Ufufu, night crawling」[¹] 「Don’t joke with me」

Seiya made a troubled face and Lily responded with the puffed cheeks.

「Seiya-kun is terrible. I was working hard at Amacon today, don’t you have a reward for me? 」

Lily approached the place next to Seiya with her bewitching atmosphere exponentially increasing. Any male will have his reason crumble before her.

However, Seiya answered as usual.

「For that I’m grateful, but Yua worked just as hard」
「That’s true, but I don’t have much time for myself. I spent this time for your sake and you refuse to give me a reward, Seiya-kun is so terrible~」

Lily gazed upwards at Seiya with bewitching and tragic eyes.

As she said, the time for the adult version to appear is limited. And since she spent her precious time to help him, he thought to satisfy her request.

「All right. So, what do you want to do? 」
「Thank you, Seiya-kun. Can you come to my room right now? 」

Lily made a happy face and brought Seiya to her room. And the moment they entered the room, she immediately pulled him on top of the bed.

「Seiya-kun. Sleep with me today」

Different from the usual, Lily’s expression was serious. At that moment, Seiya figured out what she wants.

What Lily wanted was an exchange of mana required by their contract. And exchanging the vast amounts of mana required time.

That’s why it happens during the night.

When Seiya obediently lied on the bed, Lily embraced him from behind and gently whispered into his ear.

「Thank you」

Seiya’s consciousness was cut off at that moment.

The time passed and he found himself in her room.

「What happened after that?」

Seiya tried to recall it but didn’t succeed. At that moment, Lily, who was sleeping next to him opened her eyes.

By the way, Lily was naked and somewhat tired, despite sleeping.

He asked such a Lily about the last night, but Lily made a “What about it?” expression.

Apparently, only adult version knows about the events of the last night.

After that, the two headed to the dining room to have breakfast.

When they reached there, Yua and her parents were already there. They seemed to have waited for everyone to gather before starting.

For breakfast, there were pancakes, eggs, sausages, and salad. As for drinks, there were fruit juice, coffee, tea, milk and so on.

After the breakfast started, Kana, Yua’s mother, spoke to Lily and Yua.

「Yua-chan, Lily-chan. How about we go shopping today with just us women? 」

To her words, Yua and Lily made a questioning expression, so Kana explained to them.

「It will be hot soon, right? Let’s buy some clothes for that. How about a one piece that will make Seiya-kun melt? 」

Kana grinned while looking at Seiya, who was troubled how to react. And Yua and Lily immediately answered.

「I’ll go…」
「I’ll go!」

Answered Yua and Lily with serious expressions. Kana watched the two’s behavior with「Ufufu」and said to Seiya.

「Seiya -kun is a blessed person」

Hearing her words, Seiya didn’t know how to react again. Seeing such a Seiya, Kana laughed with「Ufufu」again.

Seiya thought that she might be an S deep inside. [²]

After the breakfast, the female team left and Seiya was called by Raiga.

When he entered the room, he found Raiga sitting on the sofa, so he sat across him.

The conversation started soon.

「First, about yesterday. Everything was solved without a problem」

Yesterday is about the case when Seiya made the berserk audience unconscious. After that, Raiga acted as a witness and there was no accusation directed at Seiya.

「I see. I bothered you」
「Don’t worry, you’re my future son after all」

Raiga said while laughing, but soon his expression turned serious. Seeing this, Seiya also became serious.

「But the members of the association have their eyes on you」
「Association? Ah, the special association」
「That’s right」

Association is an organization of special magicians, it’s completely independent of the Holy Church.

They wield great power and even have some influence on the church’s actions. This organization has a freedom to move around uninhibited.

For example, if Aquaristan’s church wants to inquire something from Windistan’s, first things first, it needs to send the request to the Holy Church. Then, the Holy Church will receive the answer from Windistan.

Then that answer will be relayed to the Aquaristan. If the answer is positive then they can act.

This procedure alone takes a lot of time.

However, the special magicians association can act without those bothersome procedures.

You can say that the existence of the special magician association restrains the Holy Church and the Holy Church restrains the association.

This mutual restraint brings peace to the Leiria Kingdom.

Still, Seiya couldn’t help but ask.

「Why are they interested?」

Seiya couldn’t figure out why the association had its eyes on him.

However, Raiga’s answer was unexpected.

「Because I have the two of you staying with me. Lily is no problem since she is adopted, but you are a freeloader. There seem to be some guys that think you have the potential to become a special magician, so they are investigating you」
「I see. So it was something like that」

Raiga was meeting with important people of Aquaristan, but at the same time, he met a few other special magicians.

「There are currently 12 special magicians in this country. All of us wield tremendous power and if we ever fight each other, the damage will be enormous. Just like that, every clan tries to recruit the promising talents to strengthen their ranks, and I’m no exception」
「And that’s why they have their eyes on me? 」

That’s the story you can believe. Special magicians are powerful and influential. If there is a new special magician to appear, it is natural to investigate.

「That’s how it is. From the standpoint of the other special magicians, you can become a big existence one day. That’s why they will launch a thorough investigation」
「Oi oi, please spare me from this annoyance」

I finally obtained a peaceful life, there is no way I’m participating in some association, thought Seiya.

「I thought to stop them, but hiding things will make them even more suspicious. Therefore, I chose to ignore it」
「Hah, understood」

And after their conversation has ended, a green-haired servant girl, Melena, entered the room.

「Excuse me, there is a guest wishing to see you」
「Me? I didn’t receive any notice」

Facing such a person as Raiga, most of the people will make an appointment first. But he had no appointments scheduled for today.

But he still came. He either mistook the time or is an insane person.

However, Melena’s reply was something he didn’t expect.

「He is one of the thirteen apostles and he is aware of his behavior」
「One of the thirteen apostles? All right, let him in, I will meet him soon」

The atmosphere surrounding Raiga changed in a moment.

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When Seiya arrived at the spectators’ seats, there were already plenty of people.

Their numbers exceeded five hundred; they took all of the seats. Just as Seiya thought to watch the contest while standing, he discovered an empty seat in the center.

Even though the seat was empty, no one approached it. For some reason, everyone chose to stand.

When he looked around, he discovered someone he knew.

「Did you come to greet some people in the beauty contest, Raiga?」[¹] 「So it’s Seiya. What is happened with Lily and Yua? 」

Sitting there was a special magician as well as Yua’s father, Raiga Arunia.

The spectators took their distance from Raiga, but Seiya didn’t bother and sat next to him.

Seeing him sitting next to Raiga and casually starting a conversation, everyone around got suddenly agitated.

Some of them said「What is this brat doing!?」,「Do you want to die!?」,「Are you an idiot!?」, but Seiya didn’t hear that.

「Those two are participating in the beauty contest」

Without any care for his surroundings, Seiya answered Raiga’s previous question.

「I see. Is your target the melon bread? 」
「Kind of. By the way, what about Melena? 」
「As for her, I handed her some money, so she is sightseeing the festival right now」
「All right」

It seems that Melena is enjoying the festival. [²]

However, why is he in such a place, though Seiya. How does the greeting of important people lead him to be here? Besides, a person of Raiga’s status should usually be in the section for the important guests.

「Are you here for a job?」
「You can say that. There is a possibility that the winner will be kidnapped. I’m a countermeasure」
「I see, you are the special deterrent」
「That’s about right」

Apparently, Raiga uses his presence to deter any possible kidnappers from an action. Raiga is famous not only in Aquaristan but across the whole kingdom. He is perfect as the deterrent.

While the two were talking about those things, the beauty contest finally began.

There were nine participants. Of course, Lily and Yua were among them, but they were on a completely different level from the rest. To be honest, it’s on the level when you can only pity other participants.

And Seiya noticed something. That is, Lily’s body was bigger than usual in certain places.

Instead of the little girl, she changed into the enchanting adult version.

When she became aware of Seiya’s gaze, Lily showed him a smile. While Seiya was smiling in response, the host woman said loudly.

「All right, this year’s aquamarine beauty contest, in short「Amacon」, starts now」
「「「「「「「「「Woaaa!」」」」」」」」」

When the woman said her piece, the audience erupted in loud cheers.

First is the interview, in order from left to right.

Yua is third and Lily is fifth. The interview included questions about motivation, melon bread and so on and so forth.

When the first two’s interview has ended, it was finally Yua’s turn. The host asked Yua:

「Entry number three, such a cute girl. What is your name? 」
「Yua….」
「So you are Yua-san then. Why are you participating in the Amacon? 」
「For my fiancé……」
「Eeh, so you have a fiancé?」
「I have…」

The hall became quiet. The host big sister was troubled how to react too, adding to that, the atmosphere in the hall became somewhat weird.

「So it is for your fiancé, how wonderful. By the way, is he present in the audience right now? 」
「He is….」

The audience was looking around with  「Who is it? Who is it?」 question in their eyes. For some reason, their stares also contained bloodlust.

Not caring about the audience, the host asked Yua「Where is he? 」. And Yua, without any hesitation, pointed at Seiya with her finger.

「Seiya….」
「Eh?! You mean, the one next to Raiga-sama?!」
「Yes….」

The host, as well as the audience, stared there. There, next to Raiga, was the figure of Seiya with the troubled facial expression.

The audience eyed Seiya with killing intent and blood thirst, but thankfully, Raiga was there, so no one pounced on him.

At that time, Seiya though that Raiga is quite convenient. Of course, he never said that aloud.

The host gathered her courage and tried to approach Seiya.

While looking at Raiga next to him, the host woman approached Seiya step after step. And when she finally reached him, she immediately asked a question.

「Fiancé-san. Can you please say something to Yua-san? 」

Being asked that, Seiya honestly answered.

「Do your best, Yua」
「Un….」

When Seiya showed his support, a broad smile appeared on Yua’s face.

Her smile was dazzling. Everyone who saw her smile sent the hateful stare at Seiya, but he didn’t care.

Yua’s turn has ended and it was the turn for the next one. The fourth woman was somewhat nervous after Yua, but she tried her best.

And after her, it was the adult version of Lily’s turn. The host woman handed the mike to her and started asking questions. [³]

「The next one is number five. What is your name? 」
「It’s Lily」
「Why are you participating in the Amacon, Lily-san?」
「For the person I love, I suppose」

Answering the questions, while wearing a bewitching atmosphere, she immediately stole the attention of the males in the hall.

And after hearing Lily’s answer, just like with Yua, they started looking around with frenzied eyes.

Of course, they were looking for the person she loves.

The audience thought to vent the anger from Seiya’s case on this person instead.

「Is the person you love your boyfriend?」

The host proceeded with the questions.

「That’s wrong. We have already passed that step」

Lily answered while emanating the bewitching atmosphere. The audience perked their ears and the host asked further.

「Could it be, a fiancé?」
「That is also different」

The host tilted her head at Lily’s answer.

Further than a boyfriend but not a fiancé, just what was the answer, she thought. Without reaching any conclusion, she asked Lily.

「Then, then what is your relationship?」

Hearing the host, the audience held their breath and waited for an answer. And Lily, radiating even more allure than before, answered.

「A Mistress」

After her answer, the host froze, the same applied for the audience.

Only Seiya was making a troubled face. Lily laughed as if she was enjoying it.

「Eh?」
「As I said, a mistress」
「A mistress? Not a fiancé? 」
「Can’t be helped. My lover has a fiancée after all」

At her answer, the audience gets even more agitated than before.

In their eyes, you could read「This beauty is a mistress!? Who is this idiot!?」. If they ever find their target, they will immediately pounce on him.

You should stop searching for that lover, thought Seiya. However, the idiot host proceeded with the questions.

「Where is that fortunate lover of yours?」

Why did you ask?! Seiya screamed in his heart. After all, he could already tell what will happen after that.

Lily flashed an evil grin and quietly pointed at Seiya.

「There, it’s Yua-chan’s fiancé. Nee, Seiya-kun♡」

In the next moment, the people in the audience became berserk.

「「「Kill……Kill…Kill him. This harem *******」」」

While shouting that, the berserk audience assaulted Seiya.

Seiya stood up and looked at the berserkers, coming at him at full power.

Seeing his plight, Raiga said.

「Don’t hurt them too much」
「Sure」

Raiga wasn’t worried about Seiya, he was worried about the audience.

Facing the pouncing berserker, Seiya gathered his mana.

「Mana release」

The moment Seiya muttered that the berserkers started to fall one after another. Also, the rest of the audience, excluding Raiga and Seiya, have all fainted.

What Seiya did was mana release that he used in the first day in the new academy.

Although he released only about a tenth, so no one got hurt.

The host was troubled, looking at the fainted audience.

「Etto, what should we do about the Amacon?」

The winner is determined by the votes of the audience, but everyone except Raiga and Seiya has fainted, so the total number of votes will be just two.

In that moment, Raiga proclaimed.

「I vote for Yua」
「Then I give my vote to Lily」

Raiga gave his vote for Yua and Seiya for Lily.

The troubled host looked around, but everyone except those two has fainted, so she had no choice.

「Etto, the winners are number three, Yua-san, and number five, Lily-san. You are free to receive a melon bread….This year’s Amacon ends at that. Wai…」

The host declared the results with hollow eyes.

Yua and Lily received their prizes with happy expressions, but other entries, especially from number six, had a dissatisfied expression.

With that, the Amacon with the least number of votes in history has officially ended.

「I will deal with the aftermath. Seiya, take the two and return first」

Said Raiga.

「Sorry, you have to deal with annoying things」
「Don’t worry」
「Thank you」

After thanking Raiga, he met up with Yua and Lily, who was already in her child version.

After that, just as Raiga said, they headed home.

On the way home, Yua and Lily passed their prize, the melon bread with cream, to Seiya.

「All right. Let’s eat it together」
「But Seiya wanted it…」
「It’s fine. Might as well eat some」

Yua stared at melon bread with the distressed face, then, as if being enlightened, she tore the bread in two and handed one part to Seiya.

「Like that, each can get a piece」
「Thanks, Yua」
「Un….」

Having said that, he received a half of melon bread from Yua.

「Lily will give a half too!」
「Is it fine?」
「Un! I got it for Seiya in the first place! 」

Lily handed a half of melon bread to Seiya with a smile!

「Thanks」
「Un!」

The three headed home while eating the delicious bread.

There was a man looking at the trio from afar. It was a silver-haired man in the white armor.

This man wasn’t looking at Yua and Lily. He was looking at the blonde blue-eyed young man between them.

「As I thought, the incident hasn’t ended yet. I need to question this youth about the facility」

The silver-haired man, Bagil Eight, said that with determination.

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At the dinner after his first day, Seiya asked Raiga about the plans for tomorrow.

「Come to think of it, do you have something planned for tomorrow?」
「Nothing….」
「Right」
「Un!」

Since it was the day off, they didn’t plan anything yet. There, Raiga came up with a proposal.

「Then how about going in the central district tomorrow?」
「Central district?」

To Seiya’s question, Raiga swiftly provides the answer.

「It’s about time for the water maiden festival, Aquamarine」
「I have heard of it before」
「Well, it is famous after all」

Aquamarine is the famous festival held each year at the end of June; it is famous across the Leiria Kingdom

Seiya heard of this festival, but he never thought that it is held in this city.

The content of the festival is basically a parade.

They parade to show the appreciation and gratitude towards the water maiden, lots of palanquins proceed through the main street, while people perform ceremonies involving the water attribute on them.

「Shouldn’t it be held later?」

As Seiya said, there were still three weeks until the Aquamarine festival.

「The festival itself is. However, there are already shows and stalls on the main street. You can say that this is a really long festival」
「Quite long for a festival indeed」

As Raiga said, there are already people setting up stalls on the main streets, the central district is gradually turning lively.

「I don’t mind, do you?」
「If Seiya will then I will too….」
「Lily wants to go! It seems fun! 」
「Then it’s decided」

With than, the trio decided to go to the central district.

In the next day, Raiga brought the trio to the center of Moru city.

Yua’s mother, Kana, is absent since she had some things to do at home.

When they reached the city center, Raiga said.

「I will go greet some important people. Here we will split up. Feel free to play to your heart’s content」
「And you just leave us」

Complained Seiya, but Raiga said with a laugh.

「That’s because I trust you, Seiya. Properly protect Yua and Lily」
「I know even without you telling me」

When Seiya said that, Raiga went off somewhere.

The trio, who were left behind, discussed their plans.

They decided their first destination rather quickly.

The trio first went to the stall that was selling the cotton candy. That’s because Lily was too excited seeing it.

When Lily received the cotton candy from the stall owner, she started eating it with sparkling eyes. And Yua also delightedly tasted it.

Looking at the two gleefully eating the cotton candy, Seiya showed a smile.

When Yua notices his gaze, she looked alternatively between the cotton candy and Seiya and gave him just a little.

「Are you giving it to me? Thanks」

Seiya said his thanks and tried to take the cotton candy, but Yua withdrew her hands for some reason.

「Wrong, a~n…..」

Yua tried to feed him with cotton candy.

Doing it with lots of people present was quite embarrassing, but in the end, he lost and obediently complied.

「Delicious?」
「Of course」

Hearing his answer, she delightedly returned her attention to the cotton candy.

When Lily saw this, she tore off some of her candy and handed it to Seiya.

「Seiya, a~n!」

Facing Lily, he just resigned and ate it.

「Seiya, tasty?」

To her question, Seiya, of course, gave a positive answer.

「Yeah, it was tasty. Thanks, Lily」
「Un! 」

Lily nodded with a blooming smile.

Seeing him being surrounded by the beautiful girls, people stared at him with jealousy, but Seiya didn’t mind.

After that, the trio went around different stalls, and then, Seiya noticed a signboard and stopped.

Yua asked the reason Seiya stopped.

「What’s wrong….Seiya…? 」
「Nothing, just though that it’s nostalgic」
「What is….?」
「That signboard」
「Melon bread?」

What Seiya was looking at, was the signboard with melon bread written on it. However, it wasn’t just the melon bread, it also had the cream inside of it.

「Seiya, what is melon bread?」

Lily didn’t know what melon bread was, and Seiya was troubled how to answer. For now, he said.

「It’s tasty bread」
「Hee~」

It seems Lily is unable to imagine melon bread. Well, not surprising.

「What do you mean by nostalgic….Seiya….? 」

Yua was filled with questions at his statement.

「When I was still in the Windistan I ate my lunch in the bakery. This bakery had limited sales of melon bread once in a month, a thing to look forward to. The owner always left some for me, so I was able to eat it once a month」

「Bake John」produced 30 pieces each month and Seiya was always able to eat it, their taste was superb.

When he went to the store, he was always able to receive 2 pieces, one for himself and one for Edward. [¹]

Melon bread was Seiya’s and Edward’s favorite, but since he was kidnapped, he was unable to eat it any longer.

So once Seiya noticed the signboard he felt nostalgic.

「Do you want it, Seiya? 」

Asked Lily.

And Seiya earnestly answered.

「Sort of」
「Then Lily will go and get it! 」

Once Seiya affirmed, she puffed her chest out, giving off “leave it to me” feeling, but he swiftly stopped her.

「Lily, read the signboard to the end」
「Etto, contest? 」
「Yeah, that’s right」
「What’s that?」

There was:「The winner of beauty contest gets two pieces of melon bread with a cream」, but Lily had no idea what that contest was.

Therefore, Seiya earnestly gave up. But there was a concerned person close to him. That was of course Yua.

「Leave it to me, Seiya…..」
「Eh, are you going to participate?」
「Un…..For Seiya’s sake…」 [²]

Apparently, she is motivated. And if Yua is going to do it than Lily will also go.

「Lily too!」

As Lily said that she would participate too, Seiya tried to stop her.

Because if these two beautiful girls participate, the audience will flock and something will happen.

To avoid the trouble, he tried to stop them, but his persuasion was absolutely ineffective.

「You can’t think of participating today?」
「It’s fine……..It says that today is okay…」

There was a「It’s okay to apply today! It’s time to display your beauty! 」written on the signboard.

「But it will take a lot of time….」
「It’s all right! I will end it swiftly! 」

Although Lily didn’t know anything about a contest, she was filled with confidence for no apparent reason.

「Leave it to me, Seiya…..」
「Leave it to me!」

If it has escalated up to this point, Seiya couldn’t stop them anymore. [³]

「All right」

Seiya decided to give up and leave it to them.

After that, having finished their registration, he proceeded to his seat.

Yua and Lily were taken to the dressing room to change clothes. Just what would they be forced to wear, worried Seiya.

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As the sun rose above the second district of the Dakuria, the girls were present in the dining room of the inn.

The breakfast before them included some of the finest dishes of this inn and was quite delicious. The five girls, missing one particular person, started eating breakfast first.

The dining room had several long tables in it and the girls took one for themselves.
The seating order is considered free in the dining room, so when the male customers from the same inn tried to take a seat beside them, they were turned down by Yua.

Normally, there should have been Seiya in that place but, regretfully, he wasn’t present.

The male customers, who tried to approach them, were rejected and took different seats in frustration.

By the way, the reason behind Seiya’s absence was that he told everyone to eat breakfast ahead of him and shut himself in the room.

Seiya stayed back in the room because he had things he had to do. That is to relay the gathered information to Bagil, who was on his way here.

Once he was left alone in the room, Seiya took out a tennis ball sized blue stone from his pocket. That was a telepathy stone with a direct connection to Bagil, quite a valuable article.

Seiya injected his mana into the telepathy stone and tried to establish a connection with Bagil.

Tsu——-nnnn

The telepathy stone kept swallowing his mana with such a sound. After a few second, the link was established.

「Is this Kiritsuna Seiya?」

Tried to confirm his identity Bagil. That being said, he was sure that it was Seiya so he skipped right to the business.

「Yeah」
「How is it? Where are you right now? 」

Bagil’s voice seemed somewhat restless. While having a bad premonition, Seiya told Bagil his location and the information he gathered.

「I’m staying in an inn in the second district of the Dakuria. The location of Moka Fenix is mostly confirmed」
「I see. What kind of place this second district is? 」
「To be honest, the technology is much more advanced compared to the Leiria Kingdom. The gap is just too wide」
「Technology? 」

Bagil couldn’t understand what he said. When talking about the technology, Bagil could only think about the magic technology and not about the machinery.

Thus, he didn’t know how to reply to that statement.

「Yeah, can you believe it? I’m in the room on the 8th floor from the ground right now. It’s surprising how people can build such structures without relying on magic」
「On the 8th floor?!」

Although Bagil was at a loss of words hearing such a number but as an apostle, he immediately recovered and talked about the plan of action.

「So, where is Moka Fenix located?」
「You need to leave the second district, cross a mountain and reach the place called the Demon King’s mansion, where she is supposedly imprisoned. I don’t know the details about this Demon King’s Mansion but it seems like a problematic place」
「I see……」
「So when will the reinforcement arrive? 」
「About that….」

Bagil’s speech suddenly became hesitant. Despite it being a telepathy, an image of Bagil’s face with a distorted expression appeared in his mind.

「What’s wrong? It’s about the time for them to cover at least a half of the distance」
「It might be hard on you but the reinforcement are likely to take a while」
「What do you mean?」

Seiya’s face hardened.

「There is a triple amount of tourist on because of the Aquamarine this year, the control over exiting and entering the dark territory became much stricter. That’s why there is a need for us to regroup in another city and start from there. We need at least three more days to reach you」

In other words, by the time he arrives, the most of the 「safe」week will be spent.

「What? What about the other apostles? 」
「The seven sages dispatched two more apostles in addition to myself but ,regretfully, they are already on the move towards the Moru city, which will take some time. Most likely, two days in they are in a hurry」
「Two days? 」

Seiya failed to hide his surprise at an unexpectedly long wait.

In Seiya’s mind, there was a plan to join with Bagil today and launch a night raid on the Demon King’s mansion. However, hearing about the two days, he didn’t know what to think anymore. This number will make things hopeless.

「Two days is too long, no matter how you look at it. Can’t you do anything? Go through the Aquamarine somehow」
「I want to do so as much as you but there are too many tourists in the Aquamarine. There are as much problems as there are tourists, we can’t leave the city in the middle of it」
「I see. Why are there so many tourists in the first place? 」

Seiya’s question didn’t came out of nowhere. The sudden increase in a number of tourists is just too convenient. Bagil was of the same opinion.

「Most likely, this is also a part of the enemy’s plan」
「Just how did they?」

This time’s crime was staged by the people of Dakuria. It should be difficult for them to move a large number of people in the Leiria Kingdom.

In that way, there is a possibility of the people of high standing in Leiria being involved. Doubts about the people of Leiria appeared in Seiya’s mind.

「This I do not know. However, there is no doubt that we stepped right into the enemy’s trap」
「Damn it…..」

At that time, two choices appeared inside of Seiya. However, both of they come with a big risk.

「What are you going to do, Bagil?」
「You should be on standby in your inn. In two days at the fastest, one of the apostles should be able to join you. After that, we will immediately launch the rescue operation」

Bagil’s choice was the best for a person, who is in charge of everything. It is important for a captain to take care of his subordinates’ lives first and commence the operation with minimal risks.

However, at the same time it increased the chances of the hostages being harmed.

After coming to this city, Seiya had a vague feeling.

The safe margin of a week involved a lot of his wishful thinking while in reality, even a second of delay was dangerous.

The level of technology in this city demonstrates it. His common sense isn’t applicable to this country. For a country that can overrun their magic horses, it’s doubtful whether they will leave Moka alive for long.

That being said, she might be still alive. That thought swirled inside his head.

「Listen, you are just an advance party, not the main force. Do you think that you need to rescue her with your current members? Do you understand, Kiritsuna Seiya? 」

Bagil received a bad premonition faced with Seiya silence and tried to nip it in a bud but it was already too late. The answer was already clear in Seiya’s mind.

「Sorry. We shall commence the operation with just a six of us. It doesn’t seem like I have a leeway to wait for your team. Every second matters」
「Wait! This is suicide! You don’t even know anything about your opponent. Besides, leaving something like this to the students of the magic academy」

Bagil’s words made sense. However, Seiya couldn’t afford to shrink back.

「Waiting for you will put Moka Fenix in peril. Besides, I’m not doing it as the student of the magic academy. I’m doing it as a friend of the Fenix family」
「That’s unforgivable. Do you mean to say that the advance team is going to abandon the mission? It’s an order from your superior, standby」

Bagil tried to stop Seiya with all his efforts.

He even went as far as to use his position as a captain to issue an order, which wasn’t like the usual him. However, Seiya, who was aware of it, made a statement to lift the responsibility for their actions from Bagil.

「Presently, Kiritsuna Seiya and his team of six shall act independently from Bagil Eight, a member of the Thirteen Apostles」

They weren’t under his command in the first place but he made sure to proclaim it just in case.

With this, there is no need for them to listen to Bagil’s orders anymore. At the same time, he made it possible for Bagil to avoid a part of the responsibility.

「Bye, I’ll contact you later」
「Wait! Kiritsuna……」

Said Seiya and one-sidedly cut off the transmission. After he controlled the stone to ignore calls from Bagil, he got down to the dining room and joined the rest.

「All right then, how should I proceed from now on」

Said Seiya while heading to the cafeteria.

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At 3 A.M., under the quiet and comfortable sound of the wind, Seiya opened his eyes. Next to Seiya, there was Lily, who comfortably slept with Seiya’s arm as a hugging pillow.

Looking at her appearance, Seiya made an exasperated expression.

There were four semi-double beds in Seiya’s room in the inn. Normally, three people can have one bed for each of them.

However, these three, for some reason, used the same bed.

Going back in time a little, when Selena and Seiya returned to the hotel, the night was mostly spent.

Even if it’s Seiya, after the fight with the magical beast in the morning, a fraud attempt in the guild, and gathering information in the night he made his way straight to the bed.

Due to the fatigue, he collapsed onto the bed right in his tuxedo, and, once Yua saw him in this condition, she attempted to undress him.

She did it skillfully, and in a few minutes, Seiya’s clothes changed to the ones suitable for sleeping. Seiya thanked her for her efforts and wanted to immediately fall asleep.

However, a problem occurred.

Yua stripped her black uniform, which can’t be worn by anyone except the apostle’s subordinates, and appeared before him in her pink underwear.

Seiya was on the verge of losing consciousness and didn’t see her appearance but from the rustling sounds, he understood that she changed her clothes.

In a moment when he was about to fall asleep, he felt something soft and warm touching his right arm. Seiya squeezed the last bits of power in his body, opened his eyes, and looked at his right arm.

There was a figure of Yua in pink underwear hugging his arm with a happy face. When he tried to tell her to sleep in her own bed, this time he noticed a warm feeling on his left arm.

That warmth felt even more intense, and, fighting a desperate fight against his sleepiness, he looked at his left arm.

There was a figure of Lily hugging his arm in her birthday suit. As she didn’t wear anything, the warm feeling of her breasts was directly transmitted to his left arm.

Seiya thought that a semi-double bed won’t be enough for three people but, maybe because Yua and Lily were slender, it didn’t feel that cramped.

With things as they were, Seiya decided that he didn’t have much of a choice and decided to fall sleep as it is. However, the feeling on his right hand suddenly vanished only to become warmer and softer a moment later.

Confirming his thoughts, he turned to look at his right hand once again. There he saw Yua in her naked form without her unexpectedly pink underwear.

Seiya is a man. No matter how fatigued he was, a certain part of his was bound to become active after being embraced by two peerless beauties in their birthday suits on both sides.

However, thinking about the next day, he had to rest. Such Seiya pleaded with the two in an exhausted voice.

「At least…..wear something…….」

Hearing his near-death voice, the two didn’t ignore him and decided to wear a babydoll that they were supplied with by the hotel. [¹]

The two’s appearance in their babydolls was, for some reason, even more erotic than before forcing Seiya to desperately suppress the lust inside of him. They wore the clothes but it looked as if they didn’t wear anything at all.

And currently, Lily slept in her light blue babydoll on his left arm. However, there was no Yua on Seiya’s right.

Seiya surveyed the room but couldn’t find her figure. However, he did notice that the door to the verandah was opened.

He pulled out his hand in a way that won’t disturb Lily and got up from the bed.

Once he got up, he headed to the verandah as he was. As expected of a suite room, the verandah was quite spacious and provided a nice view on a part of the city.

He noticed Yua as soon as he stepped into the verandah.

She wore a cardigan on top of her pinkish babydoll and her beautiful white hair swayed under the gentle wind.

It seemed as if she was overlooking the city but she immediately noticed Seiya’s appearance. Seiya stood next to her and looked at the city.

As expected of the night, there weren’t a lot of light sources but there were some creating a beautiful scenery.

「Can’t sleep?」

Seiya said as he looked at the night view. However, there was no reaction from Yua. That’s why Seiya decided to express his gratitude first.

「Thanks」
「For what….?」

Failing to understand the meaning, Yua tilted her head. Seiya found her appearance quite adorable.

「You recovered my fatigue, right?」
「So you noticed…..」

When Seiya woke up, he mysteriously didn’t feel tired. Even though he slept for a while, his fatigue wasn’t something that could vanish in a few hours.

At that time, he discovered some weak traces of Yua’s mana in his body. Then Seiya understood that he recovered thanks to Yua.

「Yeah, although weak, I felt your mana inside of me」

Hearing these words, Yua’s expression turned somewhat happier. Seeing Yua’s attitude, Seiya remembered a certain something.

To be precise, he felt this since the morning. Seiya felt that there was something on her mind. That’s why he asked Yua.

「Are troubled with something?」

Yua trembled at his words.

「Why….?」
「But you know, it’s strange for Yua to compete against Lily. Besides, you were somewhat more proactive」

Seiya felt a difference in her attitude.

If it was Yua from before, she wouldn’t have minded Lily and proceeded to touch Seiya at her own pace. You can explain it as the confidence of the legal wife.

However, this time she didn’t feel at ease and was even desperate.  This made her attitude stand out and felt weird to Seiya.

「No problem……」
「Don’t lie. Talk to me. I’m you fiancé after all」
「Seiya……」

Yua planned to return to the room with a dismissive attitude but Seiya’s words made her stop. Although Seiya was only presented with her back view, he noticed something small and sparkling falling on the floor.

It was Yua’s tear reflected in the night’s illumination.

「Yua…..」

Seiya gently hugged Yua from behind. Being hugged by Seiya, Yua released her pent-up tears.

「Tell me, Yua. What is troubling you?  What makes you cry? 」

Hearing his words, Yua said with a sniff.

「Do you love me….?」

Seiya couldn’t understand these words at first. I love Yua from the bottom of my heart. Those are no doubt Seiya’s true feelings.

However, he became worried whether it reached Yua or not. Seiya shared his true thoughts.

「Yeah, I love you from the bottom of my heart」

Those were undeniably his true feelings. True feelings from the bottom of his heart without any lies or deceptions. Yua made a surprised expression for a moment but immediately continued.

「More than Selena?」
「Why are we talking about Selena here?」

Seiya was surprised at the sudden turn in the conversation. Faced with such a Seiya, Yua let her inner thoughts out.

「But you are acting together with Selena…….Selena was happy to accompany you too……..Even though I wanted to go, I couldn’t but Selena could…….
I’m of no help to you……I started to think of myself as a burden…….The more I thought about it the more I became proactive…….
I don’t want to be hated by you even more…..But my heart longs for Seiya, I ended up competing with Lily on a spur……..」

It was rare for usually quiet Yua to speak so much. However, Seiya felt how much Yua cornered herself and blamed himself.

Why didn’t I notice it sooner, he asked himself.

「Yua!」

Seiya turned Yua around and stole her lips. Yua was surprised at his sudden action. Her ruby-like eyes opened wide.

When Seiya released Yua from the kiss, he quietly said.

「Sorry, Yua. I’m a failure of a fiancé」
「Eh……」

Failure of a fiancée. Those words were the same words that Yua thought in her head but at the same time, the words that she didn’t want to hear the most. At this rate, I may be discarded by Seiya.

This worry appeared inside of her.

「I avoided acting together with you precisely because I treasure you, to think that this hurt you instead」
「Seiya……」

Yua didn’t know when he would tell her to break up.

I can’t live without Seiya anymore. I don’t want to part with the first youth in my life that I truly love. However, with me as I am…….

Yua’s heart was enveloped in a storm. This might be my last opportunity. She thought this on her own convenience and told Seiya.

Yua told him her true thoughts, even if it will make him hate her even more.

「i want to stay with Seiya forever…….I don’t want to lose my dearest person……..I don’t want to hand Seiya to anyone…….I want you to look at only me…..If it’s Lily then it’s okay, a little……..But I want you to love me the most…..These are my true feelings……..」

Hearing her real feelings, Seiya became surprised for a moment but immediately followed suit.

「I too love Yua, who accepted me with my heretical power. I can’t imagine you being with another man. That’s why stay beside me forever, Yua」

Those are Seiya’s true feelings.

「Seiya……thank you…….」

Tears disappeared from her eyes to be replaced by a cute smile.

Seiya touched her cheek with his right hand. After that, they kissed each other in a natural manner. This time’s kiss was gentler and deeper that the previous one. As Seiya tried to strip her of her cardigan, he was stopped by Yua.

「Lily would wake up………」
「it’s all right. She is sound asleep, she won’t wake up that easily」
「Seiya….bold…..」

Saying that Yua released his hand and left herself to Seiya. After that, a cute voice and lively sounds resounded on the verandah for a while.

There was a certain girl on the supposed-to-be-empty verandah. To be precise, she was on another verandah separated by a thin partition but she still heard the voices.

The girl couldn’t calm her heart and fall asleep after all that happened, so she decided to go to the verandah to relax.

However, forget about calming down, the voices and sounds from the verandah next to hers made her even more excited.

The girl tried to block the sounds by stuffing her ears with her smooth red hair.

(What are those two doing this late at night? They are even doing it outside……)

Thought Selena as she tried to block her ears. However, she didn’t even try to return to the room and stayed at the verandah.

The movements of her hand at that moment were secret to everyone.

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Thank you for reading. This time I wrote about Yua’s true feelings, she became much more complicated than before. Yua keeps deviating farther and farther from her original setting…….
Well, leaving that aside, next time they will get out of the city and head to save Moka. (Maybe I’ll do another episode about the city) stay tuned for the next episode if it’s okay with you.

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After practical training, Seiya and his classmates returned to the classroom and waited for the homeroom teacher, Yayuna, to come.

When Seiya was preparing to go home, Aruna called out to him.

「You are awesome, Seiya-kun」
「What do you mean?」

Suddenly being praised by Aruna, Seiya couldn’t catch up. Facing such a Seiya, Connie delivered the answer from the left seat.

「You dealt with Brick in a second」
「Brick? Ah, that guy from the fan club」
「That’s right. Brick is considered to have a top-class ability in this class, and you defeated him in a moment」 [¹]

Looking at Connie’s exited appearance, Seiya though that he might be entangled in the fan club one way or another.

While he was thinking these things, from the front seat, Glenn asked.

「By the way, Seiya, how did you do that?」
「It’s a secret」
「Well, of course, that’s the case」

Although was a secret, Glenn won’t hold it against him. After all, it’s normal for people to have their methods.

Insisting on an explanation is considered bad manners. In the worst case, you might even be captured by the church.

「Anyway, you are still hiding your power, right?」
「Why do you think so?」

He listened to Aruna’s question without any changes in his facial expression but was inwardly surprised.

What if she knows about the dark attribute, though Seiya and got nervous. But it was dispelled in the next second.

「I can understand after your fight with Elen. You should have seen through her movements since the beginning, am I right? 」
「Kind of」

Seiya was honestly surprised at Aruna’s observation powers. He had indeed seen through her but tried to conceal it.

But all of this was useless in front of Aruna.

「Easily dodging, getting Elen stressed and making Brick look down at you at the same time. You can’t do that if you aren’t on the completely different level from them」
「I see」

Aruna was right. He had indeed seen through Elen’s muscle movements since the beginning and she also guessed the reason for his dodging.

Seiya was already thinking on how to make his next opponent let down his guard in the first fight. Seiya though that it is the right fighting method, after his adventures in the dark territory, you can’t learn that in the magic academy.

Seiya recognized Aruna’s ability and decided to be vigilant from now on.

But it seems he shouldn’t be wary of only Aruna alone.

「The thing you used against Brick, did you learn it from somewhere?」
「No. It’s my original」
「This’s amazing. The technique you used to cut his head off is really something! Without useless movements, and unless you know the right way to cut, it is impossible! 」
「I-I see」
「That’s right!」

Although he is speaking while being overexcited, his observation skill is worth taking note of.

When Seiya cut off Brick’s head, he moved at the speed that should be impossible to perceive with human’s eyes. However, Connie was speaking as if he had actually seen it.

Aruna and Connie, there are plenty of able people around, thought Seiya.

For such a Seiya, Glenn comes forward with a proposal.

「Seiya, can you duel with me next time?」
「Why?」

Glenn suddenly said such a thing. Facing his unexpected proposal, Seiya asked for a reason.

「Because I have a feeling that I will be able to understand something if I fight you」
「What do you want to figure out?」
「The important thing for me to progress」
「I see. All right, let’s fight in the next time」
「Ou! Thanks」

It seems there is no need to be vigilant against Glenn, thought Seiya.

Then, the topic changed.

「But if you are this strong, shouldn’t you be scouted by the student council?」
「Come to think of it, it’s possible」

Connie agreed with Aruna’s statement. Seiya thought that this was a good opportunity and decided to ask about the student council in detail.

「What kind of people are there in the student council? 」
「Oh, Seiya-kun is interested?」

Aruna looked pleased for some reason, but Seiya answered with a disinterested face.

「Sort of」
「So it was like that. Etto, I will leave the explanation about the student council to Connie」
「Eh? 」

Connie was surprised, suddenly receiving the baton.

「Explaining is bothersome, so Connie, I leave it to you」
「Can’t help it then」

Connie looked at Aruna with dissatisfied face and started explaining. Seiya thought that he reminded him of a certain previous classmate of his.

「At present, the student council consist of three people」
「Three people?」

Even Seiya was surprised at that number.

In Senabia Magic Academy, there were more than 10 people in the student council. Compared to that, the three people is not that much. Seiya thought that he could work with that.

「Yup. Third-year president, second-year vice president, and first-year secretary」
「I met the vice president just recently」
「Did they scout you? 」

Aruna immediately reacted to that statement, but he couldn’t give her the desired answer.

「Wrong. I was treated as a suspicious person because of my new face」
「So that’s what happened」

Aruna suddenly lost interest, hearing his answer.

「They are also very strong. It is said that they are a head above other people here. They are powerful enough to defeat everyone without even fighting seriously」
「That’s scary. How about having a duel with them then, Glenn? 」

If he wanted to figure out something then it’s fine for his opponent not to be me, or so he thought. Although his real intention was to avoid unneeded fighting as much as possible, as to not accidentally reveal his dark element.

「Can’t laugh at that joke. Please excuse me of getting close to them」
「Is it so? 」
「Aah, if you want to enjoy your academy life, you better stay away from them」
「I see」

With that, he understood the reason why everyone stayed away from Selena back then.

There are sure plenty of groups that you should stay away from in this academy.

While we were talking about that, Yayuna came into the classroom and dismissed everyone. According to her, tomorrow and the day after there will be no classes, and we are to rest properly.

In the end, Seiya and Yua went to pick Lily up, the fan club and the royal guard didn’t say anything and stayed silent.

When they met up with Lily, Nari also tagged along and they ended up walking her home.

With that, Seiya’s first day after the transfer was over.

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