Chapter 60

At the same time, it wasn't just Shoko and the others who witnessed the two people in question being confronted by the staff.

"Isn't this completely unfair treatment?"

"Even though I was given a handicap, it's your fault for losing to those guys. But I can't really talk, since I've also lost to Kasahara over there."

The one who voiced her dissatisfaction with the unfair treatment was Aya, who had entered as the tenth-ranked student. The one who responded with a mix of consolation and self-deprecation was Natsuki, who had entered as the seventh-ranked student.

Aya, who belonged to the Fourth Division faction, and Natsuki, who belonged to the Fifth Division faction, were close due to their shared understanding that their respective divisions were overseas on expedition, and that their family members had suffered because of the Third Division's recklessness. They also shared a common dislike for the three students from the Third Division.

"Damn! If it weren't for the written test...!"

"No, that's not good enough for a cadet."

"I know, but still, you know?"

"I get what you mean. Being below them is tough."

"Exactly!"

"Still, it's better not to voice your complaints too loudly. Even though the Third Division caused a commotion, the final decision was made by the school and those above. You wouldn't want to be evaluated as 'tending to defy the organization's intentions,' right?"

Defying the organization is undoubtedly the worst evaluation for a soldier.

"...Yeah."

Especially since her family already points out that she lost to 'that person,' if she were to receive such an evaluation, she couldn't predict how her family would treat her.

Mali, who didn't want to further lower her evaluation due to them, decided to stop voicing her complaints, though she didn't hide her dissatisfaction.

(I understand how you feel. Really.)

Natsuki knew and understood that Mali was strongly dissatisfied with the current situation. Being placed under someone like Kenjiro Kobata, who was a disgrace to a military family, was humiliating.

Even the rumors were bad enough, but seeing the real thing and knowing the truth after half a year made it hard not to be dissatisfied.

One might ask, "What about losing to Keita, who is just a civilian?" However, Keita didn't receive any unfair advantages (in fact, his civilian background lowered his evaluation), and he had already proven his capabilities with solid achievements.

Therefore, Keita was not a target for resentment, jealousy, or envy.

...Except for the two people in question.

We'll discuss the dark interpersonal relationships among the classmates later.

(Not only did I lose to 'that person,' but I'm also treated as inferior. No wonder I'm in a bad mood.)

From Kobata, who always tried to assert his superiority, Mali, as the only official underdog, seemed like an easy target. Mali's daily treatment from him was excessively arrogant.

Natsuki, of course, knew that Kobata and the others constantly complained and acted superior to Mali, so she understood Mali's frustration with them.

There was something else that was aggravating Mali's nerves. It was the very content they were demanding.

"Give up your seed, what do you think?"

"There's nothing to think about."

The individual matches are held in a tournament format, but there are only ten students in each grade in Class A. Therefore, in a normal tournament, one group would be left out.

Thus, the tournament format for the mech battles is somewhat special.

The format is as follows:

- The first match: First and second place battle, the winner advances to the final.

- The remaining eight students compete in a normal tournament, and the winner advances to the final.

At a glance, it's clear that the first and second place students only need to win once to reach the final, while the others need to win three times. Whether one sees this as 'favoring the first and second place students' or 'forcing them to compete against each other' depends on the individual.

Let's return to the tournament.

The opponents in this tournament are generally determined by the ranking at the time of enrollment.

Specifically:

- First match: Third place vs. Tenth place

- Second match: Fifth place vs. Eighth place

- Third match: Sixth place vs. Seventh place

- Fourth match: Fourth place vs. Ninth place

However, if the usual pairing were followed, the fourth match would pit the fourth-ranked Shoko Itsukami against the ninth-ranked Kenjiro Kobata.

For Shoko, this was not just an easy match; in fact, Shoko would win against Kobata with ease.

However, even though it was a cultural festival, even though he claimed to be a military strategist, and even though the Third Division's reconstruction plan was frozen, the leader of the Third Division faction could not afford to show a poor performance in the first round.

The parents of the Third Division, who knew Kobata's abilities, desperately pleaded with the school to change the second match to fifth place vs. ninth place and the fourth match to fourth place vs. eighth place, to avoid such a situation.

Normally, such a request would not be granted, but this time it was an exception.

Why? Because they knew that the elite Second Division had recently suffered heavy losses in a battle against monsters and was being rebuilt at a rapid pace.

While it might seem unfair to compare the Second Division, which fought to protect the nation, with the Third Division, which had gone rogue during an expedition, the thought 'maybe we could end up like this' influenced those who received the plea.

Compassion is not just for others.

The relevant parties, in the end, accepted the Third Division's plea to protect their own interests, allowing the change in opponents.

With their request granted, Kasahara and the others breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, 'Now we won't lose in the first round.' However, an unexpected situation arose.

It was the 'seed.'

To their surprise, it was announced that Keita, who was supposed to compete in the first match as the third-ranked student, would not participate because he did not have a Kusanagi-type mech and a mixed-type mech would not be allowed to compete.

As a result, Aya, who was supposed to face Keita in the first round, was given a bye, or 'seed' status.

Kasahara was trying to take advantage of this situation.

Kasahara's plan was as follows:

- Aya and Kobata, who would have faced each other in the first round, would both get a bye.

- In the second round, Kasahara would face and defeat Aya, and then Kobata would defeat Kasahara after a tough battle.

- However, Kobata, exhausted from the battle with Kasahara, would lose in the final.

This way, Kobata would at least secure third place, maintaining his self-respect.

Additionally, if Mutoe Sayo defeated Fujita Issei in the first match, two out of the three students from the Third Division would advance, preserving the faction's reputation.

This was a highly advantageous plan for the Third Division.

However, the content of Kasahara's complaint about unfairness was not, as Kobata claimed, that Third Division students would face each other in the first round.

It was that they knew in advance that Keita would not participate but did not inform them.

In other words, Kasahara was arguing, "If you had told us during the negotiations, we would have changed the pairings from the beginning. This is a conspiracy to belittle us!" This was an extremely biased and gray argument.

Anyone would dismiss it as nonsense, but for Kasahara, it was a serious matter.

"That's right! The pairings should be fair!"

"Exactly! This is an insult to the Third Division!"

(What is fairness...?)

While Natsuki watched the two people spouting nonsense, she addressed Mali, who was glaring at Kasahara, who was claiming that if Kobata got the seed, he could reach the final, implying that he could definitely beat Mali.

"But it's good, isn't it? As long as you don't lose to Kobata, you'll advance to the final."

"…Yeah."

If she had lost to Keita in the first round, nothing would have happened, but fortunately or unfortunately, it was a walkover.

In the second round, if the current pairing remained, Kobata would be her opponent, as Kasahara would likely lose on purpose.

It was a good match for revenge, and with a walkover in the first round and Kobata in the second, Mali could advance to the final almost unscathed.

Depending on who advanced to the final, she might have an easy win.

If the top-ranked Mutoe Sayo and the second-ranked Fujita Issei were exhausted, she might even win the championship.

(If I can claim to my family that 'even though I was ranked tenth, I have the best skills!' maybe I can tolerate their nonsense.)

Mali had thought this at one point. But...

"Being the tenth-ranked is just a substitute! Since you'll lose in the second round anyway, you don't deserve the seed!"

"Exactly! Privileges should be given to the stronger ones!"

"Ah, this is impossible."

At that moment, Mali realized that the tiny bit of tolerance that had been forming in her heart had shattered and disappeared.

"I'll show 'that person' the fear of being a substitute."

She had no reason or kindness to tolerate the nonsense of a man who only got a substitute position because of a handicap.

"…Don't kill him."

Natsuki, who had a hint of something like malice in her eyes, warned Mali, who seemed to have awakened to something.

However, it wasn't just them. Even Shoko, who was listening from a distance, and the other girls, who kept their distance, had unhidden disgust in their eyes. Fujita Issei and Fukuhara Junji, who had been ignoring Kobata and the others, also had visible disdain.

Given this, it was clear that no one would stop Mali if she went too far.

It was a scene that confirmed that as long as these men lived, the Third Division's suffering would continue, like a man who adds fuel to the fire that burns himself, as in a certain male-oriented dojo where endurance is tested.

Thank you for reading.