Chapter 156: A wild and crazy sports festival (4)

Traditionally, the highlight of any sports festival is, without a doubt, the sprint.

A pure and fundamental event where victory is decided solely by one’s two legs, without any fancy tricks.

Especially in individual sprint races, rather than relay events, a single person can earn up to 50 points on their own, making it the perfect stage for the birth of a hero.

When competition is fierce, it’s not uncommon for the winner to be determined by the sprint results.

In other words—

“This is the perfect opportunity for me to make my grand declaration of victory!”

Standing on the track, Therese boldly proclaimed her intentions.

Ever since she learned that she carried the bloodline of the Demon King, Therese had always lived a life brimming with confidence.

To put it nicely, she was full of self-assurance—though, to put it bluntly, she was just an over-the-top, delusional teenager.

The ability she inherited was nothing more than strengthening her arms, which wasn’t particularly impressive, but that didn’t bother her much.

After all, it was a universal rule that the protagonist’s powers start off weak in the beginning.

She figured she’d awaken some new abilities when faced with a crisis later on.

Anyway, because of her innate personality, Therese enjoyed making grand spectacles out of everything.

That’s why she was the first in her class to sign up for the individual sprint.

It was the only event where she could become the undisputed star of the sports festival.

There was no way her attention-seeking instincts would let such a golden opportunity slip away.

Fortunately, while she might not be the smartest, she had confidence in her physical abilities.

She had trained diligently since childhood to become someone special.

She wasn’t on the same superhuman level as Sion, but at least among the students, she was strong enough to be a top contender.

That is, if she didn’t have another serious competitor standing in her way.

“I had a feeling, and I was right. You’re the one representing the Ratatosk class, huh, Lancia?”

“Yes. Speed is my pride, after all. It’s only natural to compete in what I excel at.”

Lancia nodded with a faint smile.

Lancia de Granfil.

Excluding the obvious outlier, Sion, she was considered the most promising first-year student.

There were even rumors that she had recently received private training from a Hero, making her even stronger than before.

She had already been ahead of the others, and now the gap had widened even further.

As if to prove those rumors true, Lancia had already led her team to victory in two other events she had participated in.

It was almost as if she was declaring to the world that she was the ace of the first-years.

A genius swordswoman who had captivated everyone’s attention.

Especially when it came to speed, she was second to none.

An ideal opponent for a true competition.

“Heh, good, good. If I’m going to face someone, it should at least be Lancia!”

Therese muttered with a burning sense of determination.

After all, the stronger the rival, the greater the thrill of defeating them.

Lancia was an opponent more than worthy of facing her.

Therese was determined to overturn everyone’s expectations, claim victory, and carve her name into history.

Technically, they were both on the same White Team, so the total score wouldn’t change no matter who won.

But that detail didn’t really matter to her right now.

“Let’s have the best match ever! Winner buys lunch this weekend!”

“Sure, sounds good. Please take care of me.”

“Okay! Then let’s—ugh, one, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four!”

With her side ponytail swaying, Therese enthusiastically began her warm-up routine.

Her condition was perfect. The track was in good shape. The weather was pleasant. And her opponent was the best she could ask for.

She was certain—today, she would become the star of the sports festival.

She could already picture it clearly: her defeating Lancia and securing those 50 points.

The only thing bothering her was—

“Kyaaaa~!! My baby is so cute!! So cool!! You’re the best!!!

I LOVE YOU, THERESE! MILKY-WHITE THERESE! FIGHTING!! NEVER LOSE TO SOMEONE FROM SALEM!!”

—her ancestor, screaming at the top of her lungs in the stands.

If she at least looked dignified, it might have been tolerable.

But at the moment, Nelia was strapped into a restraint suit for safety reasons.

From a distance, she looked like a giant cocoon wriggling around.

Honestly, it was quite an embarrassing sight. Very much so.

“I really wish she’d quiet down a little…”

Stretching, Therese sighed while glancing at Nelia out of the corner of her eye.

She had wanted attention, but not like this. She had to resist the urge to sprint over there and physically gag her ancestor.

“Alright, everyone, take your places at the starting line!”

The teacher, holding a flag, signaled the four first-years.

At his cue, Therese, Lancia, and the other waiting students lined up on the starting line.

For a brief moment, everything fell silent.

And then—

“─Start!!”

At the signal of the teacher raising his flag, the runners simultaneously kicked off the ground and sprinted forward.

Thus began the 500-meter race.

“Let’s gooooo!!!”

Therese charged ahead with a fierce battle cry.

As expected, the two members of the Blue Team were no match for her.

Even though they had barely run 10 meters, the gap between them and Therese had already widened significantly.

Of course, that was only natural.

She wasn’t just calling herself a martial artist for show—there was no way she’d lose to ordinary people in terms of physical ability.

The real problem was the other competitor.

The one Therese had arbitrarily declared as her rival and was burning with competitive spirit against—Lancia de Granfil.

Her current position was—

“?!? What the hell?! How is she that fast?!”

Seeing Lancia already ten steps ahead, Therese was utterly shocked.

She’d heard speed was her trademark, but seeing it firsthand was a whole different level.

It wasn’t just her stride length—her entire rhythm of pushing off the ground was different.

It was almost like a woodpecker drilling into a tree, her feet striking the ground at an unbelievable speed.

Yet, despite that, she didn’t even seem to be exerting herself.

Her breathing remained completely steady, as if she were just standing still.

With a casual glance back at Therese, Lancia spoke.

“Hmm, is it okay if I go on ahead, Lady Therese?”

“Tch, don’t get cocky…!”

Lancia had said it without much thought, but to Therese, it felt like a massive provocation.

Fueled by burning determination, she pushed herself even harder.

However, no matter how much she tried to break her limits through sheer willpower, the gap between them was something that determination alone couldn’t overcome.

Even Sion, who had the highest of standards, had acknowledged, “Her speed is impressive, at least.”

In any other event, Therese might have had a chance, but in a pure test of sprinting ability, her odds of beating Lancia were practically zero.

It was like a child competing against an adult.

The idea of Lancia losing was as absurd as the Demon King suddenly deciding to become a pacifist.

“Raaahhh!! SHEER WILLPOWER MODE, ACTIVATED!!!!”

Therese clenched her teeth and ran with everything she had, but despite her overwhelming spirit, the gap between her and Lancia only continued to grow…

“Ahhh! No!! Therese!!! My baby!!!”

Meanwhile, from afar, Nelia let out a heart-wrenching scream at the sight of Therese falling behind.

Like any parent, she couldn’t stand to see her child humiliated in front of others.

It was bad enough that Therese might end up in second place by a close margin—but getting outright crushed in a complete hierarchy-defining defeat? Unacceptable.

She had to do something.

But what?

‘There has to be a way! Something I can do to secretly support my precious little one…!’

Nelia bit her lower lip, racking her brain for a solution.

Magic was out of the question.

Unlike Sion, she couldn’t cast spells without incantations, and even the slightest misstep would be immediately detected by Mana, who was keeping a watchful eye over the entire stadium.

Using physical strength to interfere was also impossible.

Her movements were restricted by the restraint suit, and even if she could move, blatantly stepping in would just be outright cheating.

That left only one option.

‘The power of my succubus blood—Charm!‘

A crimson glow flickered in Nelia’s eyes.

Charm wasn’t a skill she had learned or trained—it was a natural-born ability of a succubus.

That meant it wouldn’t be detected as a spell.

Moreover, it required no noticeable movements or vocal cues, making it the perfect ability to use without leaving any evidence.

The real question was—who should she charm?

She could hypnotize a spectator and make them run onto the track, causing an interruption.

But that would immediately expose outside interference, leading to a rematch where Therese would inevitably lose again.

Similarly, charming Lancia into stopping was also a no-go. It would be far too obvious.

That left only one viable target…

‘…Oh!’

As she scanned the surroundings for a suitable “pawn,” Nelia’s eyes landed on the perfect candidate.

Someone she could use to indirectly boost Therese’s speed while making it appear completely natural.

‘Yes… That one.’

A sly grin crept onto Nelia’s lips.