Chapter 148: End of the First Round

「Hmph, a smokescreen like this will be useless――puwah!?」

Immediately after the stage was covered in darkness, the prideful noble, Noct Noland, flew out of the darkness with great force. After he bounced off the grass and rolled several times, he finally stopped. He is unconscious, but it seems that he is holding his new staff firmly.

「Thank you very much!」n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As the darkness on the stage cleared, Haruna appeared and gave a cheerful post-game greeting. Then, the time in the venue started to move again.

「T-This time is out of the stage again! The match is over. Winner, Haruna Katsuragi…!」

「I-I knew it! I’m glad that we prepared the stretcher in advance! Medical team, hurry!」

The medical team was already waiting near the stage, probably because of the lessons learned from the qualifying. The initial response was slightly delayed, but after a quick first aid, Noct was carried on a stretcher to the medical office. The 3rd ranked Karua was being toyed around and the 6th ranked Noct was defeated instantly. The top rankers of the Golden Generation were defeated one after another. As a result of this, a commotion spread around the people watching the match.

「…Hey, wasn’t this match supposed to be an equal match? That girl is too overwhelming… And that Chinatsu girl, she had the previous match in her palm. This is too unexpected, isn’t it?」

「Don’t be silly, nobody can predict this…! Karua Iruku was said to be one of the few talented students who could compete with Weerel, the candidate top student, you know!? And she was lost like that… Damn, who the hell are these girls!?」

Among the spectators, many have already come into contact with students who are scheduled to graduate and some are involved in their career paths. The ones with excellent grades enough to participate in the graduation festival are especially very popular.

However, at this graduation festival that is the last event of the students’ school lives, the power structure changed instantly. The match of Haruna and Chinatsu in the qualifying attracted a lot of interest from the spectators. However, their opponents were lower ranked students who were just barely qualified to compete in the graduation festival, and moreover, Haruna was using a smokescreen to obstruct the view. No one was able to accurately assess their abilities at that time, so they were considered to be equal or lower than the top ranked students.

Then, as the first round began, their predictions began to go amiss. The first three matches went smoothly as predicted that the winners were all top ranked students. However, starting from the match between Chinatsu and Karua, unexpected developments occurred one after another. ‘Will Weerel win, or will Karua show a totally unexpected result?’ Just like that, Karua was expected as the top candidate. However, Karua was overwhelmed by Chinatsu and lost. Even though she was not defeated instantly right after the match started, the difference in ability is clear if you look at the content of the match. As for Noct, Haruna’s opponent in the next match, even though he’s not as good as the top ranked students, he’s still a promising student who is ranked 6th in the Golden Generation. Such him was defeated instantly by Haruna, and now the Golden Generation is losing its position.

‘Who are those two? If they are not here, let’s ask the principal.’ While exchanging such words, the people who seem to be the headhunters started to move without hesitation. And then, there’s another person who is surprised that Haruna’s power is more than expected. It’s the Mage Prime Minister Joseph.

(This is bad. That power is bad news…! Fighting against the 3rd ranked student who should be a level 4, her movement was as if she was warming up instead of getting tired. If she wanted to, she could win instantly just like Haruna. Can Weerel win against those two? If she loses, Deris will surely involve them in the post in the royal castle! If that happens, I have to cooperate with each country to gather strong people, and even ask the Hero Alliance――)

Taking the opportunity that there’s nobody else in the room, Joseph started to ponder. Joseph’s plan, which originated from the fact that Knight Leader Nell was not interested in subduing the Demon King, is undoubtedly shattered by Haruna and Chinatsu. If only he hadn’t handed Haruna over to Deris at that time. If only he had kept Chinatsu out of Nell’s sight. He can’t help but think about it.

「Grandpa… is something troubling you…?」

「W-Weerel!?」

It seems that Weerel had entered the room before he realized it. She looked at her grandfather, who was looking troubled, and tilted her head in concern.

「A-ahh, sorry for showing you something unsightly. I’m just a little tired from all the work I’ve been doing at the castle lately. Sorry for making you worry.」

「… Are you thinking about Haruna-san and Chinatsu-san?」

「――!?」

Joseph didn’t expect that it would be pointed out, so opened his eyes wide. Convinced by it, Weerel nodded.

「Haruna-san and Chinatsu-san are very strong… To be honest, that physical ability is a threat… So, were you worried about me…?」

「Ahh, well―― Fumu, I can’t hide anything from Weerel, huh… Actually, yes.」

Joseph begins to speak up as if he gave up hiding it.

「As I told you before, they are the disciples of Deris and his supporter, who are threats to our country. If they win at this graduation festival, it will surely cause disaster. That’s how dangerous they are.」

「But, Grandpa… Haruna-san and Chinatsu-san were good people… Aren’t you doubting them too much…?」

「Even if they are good, the ones above them are not. Deris is wicked and Nell is too vicious. In the past, I was expelled by Nell from my position as the leader of the Knight Order. I managed to keep my position as mage prime minister, a position that governs the civil servants and royal magicians, but that was a close call. If this position is taken away by Deris, the Magic Kingdom Adelheit will be completely under their control. Right now, I’m trying to improve my authority as the mage prime minister, but I’m too old. That’s why I want Weerel to win the graduation festival and work as my assistant. I want you to take over my position someday.」

There was no lie in Joseph’s words. He didn’t say that he would do dirty works if necessary, but that’s because Weerel is still young. He decided that he will tell her when she’s old enough. As a big shot, probing each other is an everyday occurrence for Joseph. However, he seems to expose his true self only in front of Weerel.

「Honestly, I’m not sure if they are bad people, but… I have no intention to lose… Even if I lose in strength, I have my magic that I’ve cultivated… When it comes to magic, I won’t lose…!」

「Weerel…!」

The match went on and the first round ended. The number of players was reduced from 16 to 8. In the second round, Haruna’s opponent is the 4th ranked Dry Van and Chinatsu’s opponent is the 5th ranked Therese Batten. The match is going to be extremely fierce… probably.