Chapter 168: Winner

The darkness cleared up and the clear blue sky spread out. There’s not a single cloud in the sky and the sun is shining brightly. A pleasant coldness of the ground can be felt on the back. There were flames in the surroundings, but that scorching hell can’t be seen now. With that in mind, Haruna slowly took a breath… and then smiled at Chinatsu.

「――I lost. Chinatsu-chan, congratulations.」

Haruna is lying on the ground. Above her, there’s Chinatsu with a lot of tears in her eyes.

「…Hey, Haruna. Am I strong?」

「Ehh, are you asking me that even though I lost!? If Chinatsu-chan isn’t strong, then I will lose my face, you know!?」

「Fufu… Right. I can do it if I try, huh…」

The battlefield of the final of the graduation festival is now just a wreckage of the stage that’s scattered here and there. Looking at the girls hugging each other at the center, the people in the surroundings finally began to understand the situation.

「I-It’s over! The match is over! We have confirmed that Haruna Katsuragi is out of the stage! As a result, the winner of the graduation festival will be Chinatsu Rokusai!」

After the slightly delayed announcement, an overflowing cheer erupted. The spectators, the students, the teachers, the administrators, the stage-restoration team―― everyone kept giving applause toward Chinatsu and Haruna for their amazing battle.

「It was an exciting, thrilling, and yet full of friendship match desuwa! I’m deeply moved!」

「Oh, did you understand all of it, Therese-ojousama? We just kept being surprised by the shock and the roar. Still, we at least understand that they are on a completely different level.」

「Fufu, don’t try to see their battle with your eyes. You have to feel it with your heart!」

「Eh? Ah, I-I see…?」

Most of the spectators probably didn’t fully understand the content of the match. However, such a thing is a trivial matter. When they are shown the flashy battle, the stage being destroyed that much, and the friendship of the two, nobody is going to complain. Even Deris and Nell were applauding.

「You did it. You did it, Chinatsu…! As a disciple, this is the best present…!」

「Whew… It’s like we won the battle but lost the match, huh. It was so close. Well, it was a good match. For now, let’s praise them.」

「Fufu, Deris~. Keep your promise, okay?」

「I know. We will move after the ceremony.」

「Ara, you are surprisingly obedient, huh? I thought you would argue a bit.」

「You don’t need to doubt me that much, you know? We will properly move to your mansion.」

「……Is that so?」

Even though she feels something is a bit off, Nell believes in Deris’s words for the time being. Well, while planning to imprison him for several days if he tries to do something, she once again engraved the brave figure of her proud disciple in her mind.

「Hnnnh…!」

「Haruna, are you okay? Ah, that’s right. I haven’t canceled the magic. Wait, I will release you now.」

「No, I’m fine…! I feel like, I can break it, just a bit more!」

――――*Shatter*!

Haruna begins to forcibly break the restraints on her arms and joints. It takes time, but it seems that this degree of restraint can be broken barehanded. Chinatsu smiled bitterly, thinking that she would have lost if it was not a match but a serious fight without rules.

「Phew, that’s refreshing!」

「Y-You are unexpectedly energetic…」

「After all, that’s my good point! Chinatsu-chan, are you not going to heal your arm?」

「Well, you see… during the fall, I used up my magic power to break Haruna’s magic…. To be honest, I’m tired…*flop*」

「Ehh!? S-Sorry! The stretcher, please come quickly!」

The Golden Generation students, who are said to be the best in the history of the academy, and the winner, who were carried by the stretcher, could not attend the awards ceremony.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a certain private room after the match.

「W-well then, Joseph-sama, I’m going to attend the closing ceremony, so I will take my leave…」

The one who left the room as if trying to run away was Principal Hao. Without looking at him, Joseph was just staring at the match venue.

「The winner is Chinatsu, huh. It’s somewhat better than Haruna’s victory, but it’s just a small difference. They defeated Weerel and keep first and second place for themselves… For me, no, for the country, it’s the worst possible scenario. Don’t you think so, Deris?」

In a room where there should be no one but Joseph, he called Deris’s name in his talk. He didn’t even turn his face, but he clearly said it knowing that someone was there. Then, in a corner of the room, Deris actually appeared from the shadow.

「You noticed, huh? As expected of the person who wears the title of Mage Prime Minister, you are still in great condition, huh.」

「I wonder which brat that leaked his presence so that I could notice him? So, what do you want? Did you come to take this senile old man’s head?」

「No, I was about to get caught by Nell, so I came to take refuge. I can be your talking partner, so please hide me.」

「Hmph… If anything, it would be better if you and Nell just start killing each other.」

「Oi oi, if we seriously do that, the country and various things will get involved, you know?」

「…… That being not entirely a joke is what makes my head hurts.」

There, Joseph finally faced Deris and urged him to sit down. Deris obediently obeyed and sat on the chair.

「Deceiving Hao, appearing in the graduation festival, and snatched away the overall victory. That sure is a bold move. Is national politics your next target? Is it the position of Mage Prime Minister?」

「Aah, I’ll decline it. I’m not interested in national politics after all.」

「What are you talking about… I still remember the time when Nell robbed me of the position of knight leader, and when you were trying to take the position of mage prime minister at the same time. At that time, if I didn’t desperately defend that position, this Adelheit would have been controlled by you. And now, you are saying that you are not interested? Don’t make me laugh!」

Joseph hits the table between Deris and stands up spontaneously.

「If you are so worried about that position being taken, how about giving it to Weerel? If it’s her, she won’t lose against the remaining heroes in the castle. If she has your recommendation, her results this time will be enough, right? Since she’s young, talented, and cute, the morale of the officials will increase. I think it would be even better if she has a little more charm, though.」

And if she has breasts too, Deris thought so, but he read the air and didn’t say it.

「… What is your aim?」

「I told you that I’m not interested in national politics, didn’t I? I just want to fulfill the wishes of my disciple. Also, I’m a citizen of this country. Wanting this country to be a better place to live is normal, right?」

「I’m troubled because you are not normal. I know it’s not for free. ……I lost already anyway. Say your conditions. I want to reduce the burden on my granddaughter as much as possible.」

「Is that so? Then, I won’t hesitate――」

Deris began the negotiation. Outside the room filled with dangerous air, a watchdog in armor (fully motivated) was guarding in front of the door while looking sideways at the awards ceremony that was being held at the venue.