Chapter 111

The Plain of Sorrow where the mock battle between the first and second years is held.

Unlike during the preliminary inspection, a high platform had been set up there.

A platform high enough to clearly see the Plain of Sorrow from above.

On top of it, professors, including the mock battle supervisors, were seated.

“Hmm.”

Among them, Gerhardt Lautmann, the vice-chancellor, stood up and walked to the front of the platform.

Below the platform, the first and second years were lined up separately.

The first-year students’ faces were filled with confidence, and an undeniable momentum exuded from them.

On the other hand, the second-year students’ faces were heavy and serious, appearing somewhat intimidated by tension.

It was obvious which side had higher morale.

“Students, I know you have made relentless efforts and preparations for today. Show the results to your heart’s content. I wish you good luck.”

vice-chancellor Gerhardt announced the official start with a short speech.

“Everyone, final check!”

Professor Lawrence, who was below, shouted.

Then, staff members walked around checking the students’ attire and equipment.

Whether they were properly wearing protective gear.

Whether they only possessed authorized non-lethal weapons.

And whether they had a bracelet that detects mana movement on their wrists.

Beep beep beep beep!

At that moment, an alarm sounded from somewhere.

It was from the first-year Royal Class side.

“Student Slane, you must wear the bracelet properly.”

The staff member said in a businesslike tone.

“Oh, I wanted to see what would happen if I took it off.”

Slane replied with a grin.

“If you do that in the mock battle, you will be immediately disqualified. The supervisors will be instantly notified, so never take it off.”

“Yes, yes.”

Slane answered half-heartedly and this time infused mana into the wooden chain scythe he was holding.

Then.

Beep beep beep beep!

The bracelet sounded the alarm once again.

The staff member’s expression turned weary.

“Mana practice is already over, Student Slane.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know.”

“……”

“The standards are too strict. I don’t like it……”

Slane muttered.

The bracelet was the last device to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

It was a bracelet that immediately sounded a disqualification alarm if it detected a certain level of mana movement in the body.

In other words, it was a restriction on mana.

The academy was full of students who could kill or seriously injure someone with non-lethal weapons if they wanted to, so it was an unavoidable measure.

“Student Slane.”

“Well, isn’t it fine now? You can just leave.”

“……”

The staff member, frowning in contemplation, eventually moved elsewhere.

Although he was in a bad mood, he had eventually equipped the gear according to the rules.

After all the students’ final checks were completed.

“Check complete!”

A staff member reported in a loud voice.

“Good, activate the magic circle!”

Professor Lawrence shouted again.

Then, a thick wall of fog was erected in the center of the Plain of Sorrow.

It was the pre-prepared fog magic circle being activated.

Its role was to obscure the placement of the first and second years from each other.

Reconnaissance is also a part of war.

Such aspects were also faithfully applied to the mock battle.

“Everyone to your positions!”

At those words, the first and second years finally began to move.

Gerhardt, who was watching them, eventually returned to his seat.

“This mock battle is more anticipated than ever.”

As soon as Gerhardt sat down, Isaac the vice principle spoke to him.

“Why is that?”

“Because Her Highness the Princess is here.”

Isaac smiled.

Both Gerhardt and Isaac were from the Empire.

Especially Gerhardt, the second-in-command of the academy, was a figure symbolizing the Empire’s position within the academy.

So he spoke without hesitation.

However.

“Her Highness the Princess is just one student within the academy. Focusing too much attention on one student is not the right attitude for an educator.”

Gerhardt said with his characteristic stern expression.

Isaac’s face instantly stiffened with embarrassment.

“That……”

Isaac, who was about to say something, closed his mouth.

It wasn’t wrong, so it was difficult to argue against it.

‘How did such a man become the vice-chancellor?’

Isaac clicked his tongue inwardly.

But he didn’t know.

That it was because he was such a man that he could be elected as the vice-chancellor.

Being a man who adhered to principles to the point of being rigid, the neutral professors who disliked political colors cast their votes for him.

“Hoho, the vice-chancellor is right. We shouldn’t favor just one student.”

Professor Karen, who had approached unnoticed, interjected.

It was a remark clearly intended to irritate Isaac.

Isaac’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Gerhardt immediately noticed that something had happened between the two.

‘Even as a professor, some things don’t change.’

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Gerhardt spoke up.

“Why don’t you look at yourself first?”

“Huh? What did I do?”

Professor Karen opened her eyes wide as if she didn’t understand.

But it didn’t work on her former teacher, Gerhardt.

“I remember it wasn’t long ago that you caused trouble and received a severe warning.”

“Oh, no… Why bring that up…”

“If you understand, go and properly do your job as a supervisor.”

“Ugh, yes, yes.”

Professor Karen moved reluctantly.

She was indeed no match for Gerhardt.

Finally, Isaac’s face showed a sense of relief.

‘How long will that composure last? It’s obvious that the second years will suffer a crushing defeat.’

Isaac’s conviction was unshakable.

***

“Everyone, hide as best as you can.”

Said the leader of the second-year Common Class.

They had chosen the rear forest.

It was full of hiding places.

That’s why they chose it.

A frontal confrontation was impossible, so they planned to hide and ambush to earn some points.

They had no scouts.

They thought it was pointless.

They knew their forces couldn’t do much even if they learned the enemy’s movements a bit early.

That made it easier for me to move secretly.

“Hurry up!”

“Quickly!”

Everyone was busy moving before the mock battle started at exactly 2 PM.

To secure the best positions.

Most settled in the forest, but some even brought shovels to dig in.

They took advantage of the fact that shovels weren’t considered lethal weapons.

“Heh, I knew this would happen, so I checked for soft ground in advance.”

A student who had achieved the feat of digging into the ground burrowed in like a mole.

Then he said to his friend.

“Cover me up well.”

“Annoying, really.”

Watching them, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

They were doing their best, but it looked ridiculous.

Tap.

Someone poked my side.

It was Riviera.

She meant it was time for us to move.

I had already planned to do so.

“Let’s hide over there.”

I said naturally, moving with the other two.

No one paid special attention to us.

Seeing the three of us always together, they probably thought we were just finding a place to hide.

And so, we slowly moved away from the forest.

***

The face of the second-year Royal Class.

Their expressions were solemn.

They acknowledged their disadvantage but were determined not to go down easily.

They had a strong will to show their pride as seniors.

“Block all paths except for the one in front!”

Brett, the leader of the Royals, commanded forcefully.

Wooden barricades surrounded the sloped hill.

Students brought large stones to fill the gaps between the barricades.

The intention was to narrow the entrance and hinder progress as much as possible.

Of course, given their opponent, it wouldn’t be highly effective, but even being a nuisance had its value.

“Scouts, stop helping with the work and quickly move to your assigned positions!”

“Got it.”

The students who had been helping with the work quickly ran to their designated spots.

Brett spoke again.

“The enemy might rush in confidently. So, finish all preparations as quickly as possible. Everyone, put in a bit more effort!”

“Yeah!”

“Got it!”

Energetic responses came forth.

At least the second-year Royal Class was preparing for the fight with proper momentum.

And the person who should be at the center of it all.

Elaine was in a small room inside the fortress with Lana.

“Ugh.”

Elaine groaned with a pale face.

“Are you okay?”

Lana, looking worried, was at a loss.

She didn’t know what to do, concerned for her friend.

“…I’m sorry. Of all times, why now?”

“You idiot! Why are you apologizing? Is it a crime to be sick?”

Lana’s eyes welled up with tears.

The outcome of the mock battle didn’t matter.

What in the world is more important than health?

“…Shh.”

Elaine, looking pained, put a finger to her lips.

“Huh?”

“They’ll hear. Please don’t tell anyone that I’m sick. It will lower morale.”

“What?”

Lana was surprised but soon understood her friend’s feelings.

Elaine was an absolute presence even among the second-year Royals.

If it became known that such a presence was sick and in terrible condition, morale would undoubtedly plummet.

Despite being in pain, her friend was worrying about the mock battle and her peers.

She couldn’t betray such heartfelt concern.

“…Alright. But how?”

“If anyone asks, tell them I’m meditating here.”

Meditation.

If a warrior fights using their body, a mage fights with their mind.

So it wasn’t strange at all to meditate to focus the mind before a big battle.

“Meditation… got it.”

Lana nodded firmly.

“…Then I’ll rest now. I’ll recover my condition as much as possible and come out, so don’t worry too much.”

“Y-Yeah. Don’t push yourself too hard!”

Lana reluctantly left, forcing her feet to move.

Elaine was left alone.

“Phew…”

She let out a deep sigh.

‘Deceiving a friend… It pricks my conscience.’

But she convinced herself that it was all for the victory of the second years.

Yes, as Max said, war is a place where you must make the best possible move.

And this was the best method.

With determination in her eyes, Elaine slowly activated the magic she had prepared in advance.

A teleportation spell, Blink.

* * *

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

At exactly 2 PM, the bell announcing the start of the mock battle rang loudly.

The wall of fog also began to clear.

“Ugh, we’re not even halfway there yet…”

Allen groaned.

“You worry too much. We have plenty of time, so just walk quietly.”

I said leisurely.

All calculations were complete.

Walking at this angle, the chance of being spotted was 0%.

Just walking at this pace, we could comfortably arrive at the promised location.

Then.

“Wait.”

Riviera suddenly spoke up.

“What?”

“Don’t feel like walking.”

“…”

Did she suddenly get lazy here?

…She really is a quirky one.

“Just walk. What’s the point of legs if you don’t use them?”

“Don’t want to. Let’s fly.”

“What?”

The flying magic she showcased at the Infinite Tower.

She meant to use that.

“Hey, are you kidding? That’s not it, man. Are you advertising our presence here?”

But this time, I hurriedly stopped Riviera.

It was a crazy idea in two ways.

First, flying high would make us extremely visible.

Probably two-thirds of the students would see us in the sky and think, ‘What are those guys doing?’

The other reason was that, although Riviera made flying magic look easy, it was actually an advanced spell, not a beginner one.

Especially flying three people at once was even more difficult.

It meant significant mana consumption.

If we weren’t careful, we could exceed the allowed mana limit and get disqualified, which would be a foolish move.

“It’s fine.”

But Riviera was nonchalant.

…She’s always been like this.

“Huh?”

“We’ll fly low.”

As soon as she said that, our bodies floated up.

No… should I even call this floating?

We were hovering just about 10cm above the ground in a prone position.

“Hey, this doesn’t seem right?”

“Put us down!”

Even Allen was begging to be put down.

Probably because it felt like we’d be in trouble if we hit any slightly protruding rocks or obstacles.

It wasn’t a joke; if Riviera messed up the height adjustment even a bit, we’d be scraping our faces on the dirt.

“Hey, listen to me. Just listen to me.”

I tried to persuade.

“I’m sorry! It’s all my fault!”

Allen pleaded pitifully.

But neither method worked.

“No need to worry. I’ll drive well. Let’s go.”

Vroom!

“Hey, hey, hey. Oh, come on.”

“Ugh… mmph.”

“Allen, let’s at least be quiet.”

…The unwanted low-altitude bus ride began.

* * *

“…Doesn’t that look strange over there?”

“Where?”

“Over there.”

“Huh? What is that? Something’s crawling.”

“It looks like students to me.”

“Oh, come on. Students crawling like moles? No way.”

“R-Really?”

The professors exchanged words, noticing something odd.

Beside them.

“…”

Lapit pretended to look at the distant mountains.

There was no dignity in that sight.

At times like this, it’s best to act like you don’t know.

Even if you know, act like you don’t.

“Oh my, they are students.”

Someone interrupted.

Of course, it was Professor Karen.

Why do you show up wherever I am?

“They really are students?”

“Those are students?”

The professors spoke simultaneously.

“Yes, a splendid low-altitude flight.”

Professor Karen smiled.

…You think that’s splendid?

What’s wrong with your aesthetic sense?

“Oh, low-altitude flight?”

“Such magic exists?”

Does it?

How could mages, who care so much about appearance, fly in such an ungraceful manner?

Only someone as quirky as her would do that.

Just as Lapit’s thoughts confirmed, the magic professors around had sour expressions, like knights looking at something disdainful.

Except for Professor Karen.

“Yes, well.”

She continued with a smile.

“Keep an eye on them. I have a feeling those students are going to do something interesting.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Hmm, we’ll keep an eye on them.”

None of the professors agreed with her words.

Their expressions said it all.

But Professor Karen was convinced.

‘They seem like they’re planning something very interesting.’

At that moment, a professor ran over and shouted.

“Hey, Professor Karen! You’re a supervisor! How can you leave your post?”

“Come on, I can do my job from here…”

“What?”

“Yes, yes. I’m going.”

Professor Karen walked away with a bored expression.

* * *

“were here.”

Exactly at 2:02 PM.

Somehow, we arrived at the promised location much earlier than expected.