Chapter 74

I am currently walking through the school grounds with Safina and Tütte, my steps heavy as I head towards the carriage stop to go home.

(Haa... Why did I have to make such a bold declaration? Now, I can't afford to lose.)

I recall the events of just a few minutes ago and sigh deeply.

"Still, when you think about it calmly, Lady Mary is truly impressive."

Safina, walking beside me, looked at me with an admiring face and said something I couldn't quite understand. I stopped and looked at her.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

I tilted my head, not trying to feign ignorance at all. Then, Safina looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"Because, when considering the combinations, you naturally came up with a combination that wouldn't cause any trouble. If it had been me and Magilka, and Zaha and Lady Mary, the class masters might have fought, and the relationship between Solos and Areyos could have become strained."

Hearing Safina's words, I, who hadn't thought about anything, had to admit she was right.

"To avoid that, the young lady put the two of them together. Impressive, Lady Mary. I thought you chose Safina just because of the words exchanged."

Tütte's words were spot on, but she looked at me with a deeply moved expression, making me speechless, and I averted my gaze.

"Besides, if we win, the positions of the two class masters will be in jeopardy, and if we lose, it won't be a problem. Everyone will understand that the class masters are teaming up. Impressive, Lady Mary."

Safina continued to praise me.

"Yes, by having the class masters team up, it eliminates the gap in the excitement between the classes. And the opponents are the fastest swordsman in the school, Safina, and the White Princess or the Silver Knight, the young lady. Everyone will be satisfied. Impressive, Lady Mary."

Tütte also continued to praise me.

"Moreover, with that bold declaration, the two of them can fight without feeling guilty about teaming up with their class masters. To think of and guide that in such a short time, it's really impressive, Lady Mary! I'll follow you wherever you go!"

I, who hadn't thought about any of this, felt a pain in my heart from their praise. I looked at the ground to avoid their intense gazes and said in a small voice.

"No... Did you figure it out? It's a secret between the two of you."

(Ah, I've been dragged into this! But I can't say I didn't think about anything now! I want to save face, too, you know!)

I felt a reverse anger in my heart and ended up affirming their deductions.

"Still, the main goal this time is to show everyone the charm of a mixed battle of swords and magic, not just the win or loss. I'll do my best for Lady Mary!"

"Y-Yes, let's discuss the details tomorrow."

I felt my reputation rise even further, making my steps even heavier.

---

The next day.

The activities for the school festival began. The organizers from each class gathered, and discussions centered around the prince started.

"Huh? What did you say, Reiforce-sama?"

"Ah, I'm very sorry, but I want Mary to be in charge of security for the school festival. This is the wish of all the organizers."

"Wait, isn't that Zaha's job..."

"Can you do it?"

The prince and I were interrupted by Zaha, who boldly asserted himself, and I looked at him with a deeply exasperated face. I sighed heavily, placing my finger on my temple.

"You aim to be the head of the knights in the future, so you should start working hard now."

"That's one thing, but this is another. Besides, I'm magnanimous, so if there's someone more suitable, I can gracefully step aside."

"That's not something to be proud of! It's not about magnanimity or being magnanimous, it's just that!"

The prince chuckled and added, watching my exchange with Zaha.

"Well, Mary is better known in Solos and Areyos than Zaha. Since students from these two classes are assigned to security and surveillance, you are very suitable. This is all new, so we want to avoid unnecessary trouble as much as possible."

(Security... It's a position that might or might not be noticeable. If nothing happens, I'll be completely behind the scenes, but if something big happens, I'll be in the spotlight. Hmm, this is a problem.)

Still, the prince had a point, and I hadn't heard of any major disturbances or problems in previous martial arts tournaments, so I might be able to stay behind the scenes this time. I decided to take the chance.

"Understood, I'll take the position."

The prince responded with a relieved face. The discussion then progressed rapidly.

---

With the selection of the committee members complete, I was at the individual training facility I used in my first year.

"I never thought I'd be using this place again."

I looked around the room surrounded by stone walls. Now, only Safina, Tütte, and I were here. Zaha and Magilka were assigned to a different location.

The teachers were very enthusiastic about the tag team battle proposed by the prince, and it was decided to keep it a surprise event until the day of the festival. The students were only told that we were preparing some kind of event.

(Still, do we really need to keep it a secret even among ourselves? This way, we can't even think about how to lose.)

"Lady Mary, what should we do? I've never fought with a magician before, so I don't know what to do."

"Right. Let's start by setting up a hypothetical enemy and analyzing our combat capabilities."

I answered Safina, who asked anxiously, with a smile and switched my mindset.

(Well, it's a matter of going with the flow. I made a plan for my tournament and failed, so...)

"First, Safina, your style is based on the quick-draw technique, right?"

"Yes, I will protect Lady Mary with all my might!"

"Then, logically, the basic stance would be for me to cast magic while Safina uses the quick-draw technique to defend."

"That's right... Let's start with the positioning."

Safina stood in front of me and took a quick-draw stance. I drew the legendary sword (laugh) and took a casting position.

"..."

The two of us looked ridiculous from the outside.

"I don't quite get it. We really need an opponent..."

Safina turned to me with a wry smile.

"An opponent... Tütte, can you stand opposite us and be our opponent?"

"Understood."

I appointed Tütte as our opponent based on Safina's suggestion. She walked a few steps away from us and took a stance. We tried to take our positions again.

"Bu fu!"

Tütte, watching us, burst out laughing rudely.

"Hey, take this seriously! I'll cast an attack spell."

"But... When I face you, I can't help but laugh..."

Tütte's shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her laughter. Then, Tütte started moving to find a position where she could control her laughter. Safina followed to face her, and I hurriedly moved behind Safina. Seeing this, Tütte changed her position again, and Safina followed, and I hurriedly followed them.

Waddle, shuffle, waddle, shuffle, waddle, shuffle...

"Stop waddling and shuffling!"

Unable to bear the ridiculous scene, I screamed from the back, and the two of them froze in shock.

"Ha, ha... This won't work. We need someone to be the hypothetical enemy to make any progress."

We realized the immediate problem and decided to look for a practice partner.

Thank you for reading this far. I am pleased to announce that this work will be published as a book. For more details, please check the activity report, and I hope you will continue to support me.