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“Uh… wh-what in the world is going on here…?”

Johnny, apparently deprived of his microphone, held a spare one in hand, wearing a bewildered expression. Ignis and the vice principal, faces twisted in rage, were striding toward the center of the colosseum—toward the very podium where we stood.

Perhaps deeming the matter serious, Count Felix, who had already taken his leave once, returned to the arena and positioned himself at Johnny’s side.

“…It’s Ignis…”
“He took that attack directly, and he’s already recovered!?”

The sight of Ignis walking firmly under his own power drew voices of confusion from the audience. The murmurs spread quickly, and the air shifted from a mood of celebration to one of unrest.

Ignis halted his steps, glaring at us, then slowly swept his gaze over the audience before shouting:

“Calling that a victory is outrageous fraud! The judges turned a blind eye to their foul play!”

A shrill feedback squeal rang out from the microphone with his outburst. The crowd’s murmuring grew louder, and the judges who had been waiting near the announcers’ booth stepped into the colosseum, their expressions sour.

“Oooohhhhhh! Even after the awards ceremony has ended, accusations of foul play! Foul play has been raised at last!!”

The first to speak out in response to Ignis’ accusations was Johnny, the host. It seemed partly out of Count Felix’s consideration to keep Ignis from running his mouth unchecked, but judging from his expression, Johnny himself found Ignis’ claims difficult to stomach.

“…Ig… Ignis… Ignis!”
“Ignis! Ignis!”

Perhaps mistaking Johnny for an ally, voices began rising from the audience in support of Ignis.

“Ignis! Ignis!”
“Ignis! Ignis!”

As the cheers swelled, Johnny extended his left hand horizontally at shoulder height, gesturing for silence.

“As the host who has witnessed every battleeeeeee—! I hereby lodge a formal proteeeeest!! First and foremost, we demand proof of these alleeegations of foul play!!”

Johnny thrust the microphone toward Ignis, pressing him to present his evidence. With a sharp snort, Ignis seized the mic and spoke.

“The delay in declaring Lemures down—that is everything. I heard that Lemures took such a severe hit from Estea’s technique that it embedded it into the wall. At that point, it should have been ruled a total loss. Yet despite that, Lemures still moved and activated magic. I was caught up in it and judged to be downed, and as a result, the student council team lost cohesion and suffered defeat. If that isn’t foul play, then what is!?”

Ignis’ tone was calm. He wasn’t shouting in anger but spoke as though laying out a logical argument. No doubt it was a performance meant to sway the audience to his side.

The proof was in the expression he turned toward us—triumphant, laced with scorn and mockery.

“…A half-breed should know its place and lose to me.”

Even without the mic, the derisive words carried clearly to our ears.

“Enough, Ignis.”
“Yeah, exactly! If Alfe’s unit had really been totaled, there’s no way she could’ve withstood that magic in the first place.”

While Estea and Melua voiced their protests, Hom watched silently. But from the way her clenched fists trembled, I could tell just how furious she was.

“…Was it… my fault…?”

Alfe murmured faintly and gripped my hand tightly.

“No. It’s not your fault, Alfe. It’s thanks to you—because of you, we won. That won’t change.”

I squeezed her hand in return, smiled at her, then gently let go.

“Ignis! Ignis!”
“Estea! Estea!”

Perhaps sensing that a reversal of the decision might mean victory for the student council team, voices now rang out from the stands not only calling Ignis’ name but also Estea’s.

The referees and Johnny seemed to be consulting with Count Felix. Yet their firm expressions made it clear they had no intention of overturning the ruling.

“Let us object, Leafa. Ignis’ words are an insult to us, who fought honorably.”
“Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.”

Estea’s face was set in determination as she spoke. I nodded, and together we stepped forward.

“Master and Estea are both absolutely fuming, huh~! Well, I’m the same, but I’ll leave this to you two.”

With that, Melua cast an amplification spell on us.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please forgive this unsightly scene. As leader of the Canalford Student Council team and as Student Council President, I hereby testify that no foul play occurred, contrary to what the vice president has alleged.”
“Hey! This is about your team’s victory or defeat! You’ve no right to butt in when you didn’t even see it from the ice wall!”

Ignis snapped, his brow furrowing in anger at Estea’s protest.

“You couldn’t see from the ice wall either, Ignis. And besides, from the results, it’s clear Lemures was not downed when it took my strike. The announcer testified that it was still moving, even if only slightly. Considering there was ample time before it activated its magic, it’s unthinkable the referees failed to confirm the condition of its critical sections.”

“If it wasn’t ruled a total loss right then, that’s just referee negligence!”
“That’s not true.”

As Ignis revealed his true temper and shouted at Estea, I interjected as calmly as I could.

“You don’t seem to realize what you’re saying. Alfe never received a total-loss ruling. Lemures was judged defeated due to pilot incapacitation.”
“Ah…”

At my remark, Ignis and the vice principal exchanged looks. It was clear now that they had both been under the mistaken assumption of a total-loss ruling.

“Indeedyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! Lemures was ruled down by pilot incapacitationnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!! Thereforeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! That claaaaaaiiiiimmmmmm!!! Is hereby deemed incorreeeeeectttttttttttttttt!!!”

Johnny bellowed the correction, declaring Ignis’ objection invalid, while beside him Count Felix nodded gravely. The audience, too, seemed convinced by our explanation; the colosseum fell into a hushed silence.

“…Excuse me.”

Taking the microphone from Johnny, Count Felix cleared his throat and fixed a severe gaze upon Ignis and the vice principal.

“There is a phrase—a beautiful finish. Estea, left to fight alone, stood her ground with honor and gave us a splendid match. So too did Reinforce, the victors. Even if neither side achieved the precise outcome they sought, we took pride in having witnessed such an excellent battle. That is—until you, Ignis, defiled this sacred colosseum. And you, Sir Karlman, chose to abet him.”
“C-Chairman… I… that is…”

Under Felix’s cold eyes, Vice Principal Karlman fidgeted and stammered in panic. Ignis, perhaps wishing to avoid further trouble, clammed up in sullen silence.

“Appropriate disciplinary measures will be considered. You would do well to learn shame.”

With those words, and with no intention of hearing further excuses, Count Felix handed the microphone back to Johnny and turned his back on them, walking away.

Relieved to have the mic returned, Johnny let out a small breath and glanced around, then cast his eyes toward me and Estea.

“Let’s hold hands. I want to show the audience our gratitude.”
“That’s a wonderful idea.”

At Estea’s suggestion, I called Hom and Alfe over, and Melua hurried to join us.

I clasped hands with Alfe and Hom; Alfe held Melua’s hand, while Hom took Estea’s. By chance, I ended up standing at the center, but I didn’t mind—it felt rather nice.

“Reinforce! Reinforce!”
“Reinforce! Reinforce!”

The spectators chanted our team name in unison.

“Once more, ladies and gentlemennnnnnnnnn!! Give a thunderous round of applauseeeeee to the glorious champions of this year’s Zersteller – Canalford Cup—REINFORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRCE!!”

With Johnny’s heartfelt cry of blessing and the storm of applause that followed, we took our leave of the colosseum, at last bringing our long battle to an end.