Chapter 67

How do you write a good battle scene?

There are only nine people left in the swordsmanship tournament.

I thought, "What do we do with an odd number?" but it seems they will fight in three groups of three.

During the lunch break, the VIPs will move to a lounge where they can eat.

As expected, the king is carrying me, but is this really okay?

In the lounge, the students who have made it to the final round are called as a reward, but since most of them are familiar faces, I'm not particularly nervous. However, when I thought that, the secretary senior and three others whose names I don't know were extremely nervous.

They were gaping in shock at the sight of the king carrying me, but when the king spoke to them, they bowed respectfully.

Though they were stuttering.

Everyone took their seats, and I was allowed to sit in a child's chair that had been prepared for me. The maids from the castle, led by Duran, brought the food.

When the king sat at the head of the table, everyone else took their seats as they pleased.

Miss Eliza sat next to the prime minister, and Ingrid sat next to her.

Since a chair was set next to the king for me, I sat there, with Arshayn next to me, followed by Yegram, Digray, and Jus.

At first, the others were confused by our seating arrangement, but they timidly took the remaining seats and started eating.

Ingrid kept talking to Miss Eliza, and the king, the general, and I were grinning at them. When Arshayn and the others noticed, they also started grinning.

Miss Eliza seemed uncomfortable but not entirely displeased.

Is there a chance? When I looked at the prime minister, he had a face that seemed unamused but a little hopeful.

In this world, the age of marriage is much younger than in my previous life, and many young ladies get married right after graduating from school.

In a world where you're considered a late bloomer if you're over twenty, it's common to look for a fiancé at school.

When I secretly listened, I learned that Ingrid had a fiancée from another country before, but their personalities didn't match at all. Moreover, the princess from another country was secretly dating a painter who was allowed to enter the castle and was even pregnant. She was planning to marry into this country without telling anyone, but this was discovered.

This almost led to a war with the country that had mocked us, but the other country quickly apologized and paid a large sum of compensation. The other country's reputation suffered, and it lost credibility with the surrounding countries.

Since Ingrid didn't get along with the fiancée anyway, he didn't care, but apparently, he still doesn't have a fiancée even now that he's an adult.

The meal ended with everyone grinning, and the stage was set for the afternoon.

The stage was a bit smaller, but when the three people chosen by the lottery appeared, a loud cheer went up.

The three on stage were Yegram, Digray, and the secretary senior.

As soon as the starting bell rang, the secretary senior attacked Yegram, but was blocked by Yegram's barrier and received a light counterattack, losing his balance.

Digray took advantage of the opening to attack, but Yegram dodged and counterattacked.

As expected of the third-year student known as the strongest, it wasn't easy.

Yegram and Digray continued to attack together, but Yegram, who couldn't use magic, was pushed out of the ring with his barrier, and Digray couldn't get close enough to attack with his hidden weapons, which lacked power. In the end, he was cut down.

When Digray was carried away, his family let out a cry, but he raised his hand to show that he wasn't seriously injured.

The secretary senior bowed to the royal seats and left the stage, and after a break, the next group came on.

Two unknown seniors and Miss Eliza.

I heard during the lunch break that usually only third-year students make it to the final round, and this is the first year with so many first-year students, which is causing the third-year students to be upset.

The four surviving third-year students are under a lot of pressure.

As soon as the starting bell rang, the two third-year students attacked Miss Eliza together.

Having seen the previous match, they realized that while they couldn't break through the barrier, they could push her out of the ring with it, and they intended to do so.

Miss Eliza, of course, didn't let them, and a loud cracking sound echoed through the arena.

The two third-year students pushed against the barrier while defending themselves, and the barrier's edge began to protrude from the stage.

The two, gaining momentum, pushed harder, and finally, Miss Eliza was pushed out of the ring and lost.

The audience applauded Miss Eliza, and the two began their one-on-one match.

The match was evenly matched, but the spear senior had the advantage in reach and won.

After a break, the final group came on.

Arshayn, Jus, and a third-year senior.

The bell rang, and the match began.

The three stood still, sizing each other up.

The third-year senior was the first to move, charging straight at Arshayn and engaging in a fierce battle.

Although Arshayn was giving him a hard time, he managed to hold his own.

However, in the midst of the intense battle, the third-year senior seemed to have forgotten about Jus and was cut down from behind without reacting.

The match between Arshayn and Jus became a magic sword duel, but Jus, who had only recently started learning, lost due to his lack of practice.

Arshayn was greeted with a loud cheer.

After a ten-minute break, the three who advanced to the final round took the stage.

Arshayn, the secretary senior, and the third-year senior with a spear bowed to the royal seats and stood in the center of the stage, greeting each other.

They stopped with their weapons crossed.

As soon as the bell rang, they took a step back, and the secretary senior was the first to move, attacking the third-year senior.

However, the third-year senior kept his distance with his spear, and the secretary senior couldn't get close.

Arshayn tried to attack the third-year senior from behind, but he dodged by swinging his spear.

The general said, "Hm," as he watched the two-on-one battle continue.

The two couldn't get through to the third-year senior, but after a few exchanges, Arshayn managed to cut off the tip of the third-year senior's spear.

Seeing only the handle of the spear left, the third-year senior conceded, and the match between Arshayn and the secretary senior began.

The two took a step back and faced each other, sizing each other up.

They moved at the same time.

The sound of their swords clashing echoed through the arena.

The secretary senior took a step back and relaxed his shoulders, inviting Arshayn to attack, but it was a feint, and Arshayn was knocked off balance.

Before Arshayn could recover, the secretary senior delivered a powerful blow, but it was blocked by Arshayn's barrier, leaving his side exposed.

Arshayn attacked and ended the match.

As the secretary senior was carried away, he asked Arshayn for a handshake, which Arshayn accepted, and the audience applauded loudly.

Thus, the swordsmanship tournament ended with Arshayn's victory.

The king, his father, hung the medal around Arshayn's neck, and Arshayn had a shy but proud look on his face.

After the tournament, the students gathered in the auditorium for the announcement of the practice results.

Many parents in the audience would attend a reception according to their status, and it seemed they would be talking about today's events.

The results were not announced for everyone, but only the names of the top 50 team leaders from all three grades were read out.

The scores and purchase amounts were told to each student by their homeroom teacher to prevent trouble.

A large screen was placed in the center of the stage, and the names of the team leaders flowed from right to left.

The top 50 names were usually filled with third-year students, but this year, there were many first and second-year students.

Eliza and Jus's names were in the 20s.

As the names in the top 10 were read out more slowly, Digray was getting anxious that Yegram's name hadn't appeared yet.

The teacher reading out the names said,

"This year's top team is, for the first time in the school's history, the first-year team led by Yegram!"

The auditorium erupted in cheers, and the first-year students gave a loud round of applause.

Yegram, with a blank but smug face, and Digray, raising his fist, and Arshayn, patting my head, the ceremony ended.

As we left the auditorium, many students congratulated us, and I was patted and jostled.

By the time we got back to our room, my clothes and hair were a mess, and I was very tired.

If this is what it's like for Arshayn and me, I wonder if Yegram and Digray, who got separated, are okay?

After drinking the tea Shell made and resting, I took a bath, changed clothes, and went to the cafeteria.

When we arrived at the cafeteria, we saw a scene we hadn't seen in a long time.

Cavendish and the student council president were standing in the middle of the cafeteria, glaring at each other.

Even without the two-timing girl in between, they were arguing about today's results.

We went to our table, where Yegram, Digray, and Jus were sitting.

Jus, who had done well in both the swordsmanship tournament and the results announcement, had come to our table to avoid being jostled by his friends.

After placing our orders and congratulating each other, a shadow approached.

It was the secretary senior, who bowed to us from outside the barrier.

When we let him in, he asked if he could eat with us, and Arshayn allowed it.

"Unusual, isn't it, O'Connell senior, not being with the president?"

"Recently, we haven't been together much."

"Is that because of the charm spell?"

"That's part of it, but not the only reason."

Digray, who had asked the question, didn't seem very interested.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about today?"

"Yes, Prince Arshayn, may I ask about the magic sword you used in today's match with Tacticus?"

"I don't mind, but I thought you weren't interested in magic swords?"

"True, I once declined an offer from a teacher, but it wasn't that I wasn't interested. My grandfather said my sword wasn't ready to learn new techniques. But after seeing the magic sword you used today, he was very moved and said if there's a chance to learn, I should."

"But shouldn't you talk to the teacher about that, not Prince Arshayn?"

"Of course, I will, but I thought it would be proper to get Prince Arshayn's permission first."

"Ha, O'Connell senior, you're too serious! If you're talking about permission, shouldn't it be with Keita, who developed the magic sword?"

"Did Prince Arshayn not develop the magic sword?"

"Keita here did."

Yegram also pointed to me, and the secretary senior looked confused. When he looked at Arshayn, he nodded, and the secretary senior's eyes widened in surprise.

When our food arrived, everyone started eating, and the secretary senior, as if by reflex, started eating too.

Finding this amusing, Shell burst out laughing, and Digray and Jus joined in, making the secretary senior's face turn a little red.

After the meal, the secretary senior bowed to me to ask for permission.

"Sure, go ahead."

When I said this casually, the secretary senior looked suspicious again, and Shell burst out laughing.

Everyone else laughed too.