Discarded Setting

I snapped out of it at the sound of the voice and turned my gaze toward the arena.

Lily.

That title was given to her by Modest.

So, does that mean the owner of this voice is a member of Modest?

As if to answer my question, the woman’s voice continued directly.

[I’m the guild leader of Modest.]

If she’s the guild leader of Modest, that’s Estelle, whose heroine setting was discarded.

I haven’t actually met her yet, so I couldn’t confirm whether the discarded setting was still in place.

[There’s a cadre of the Order here.]

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at Estelle’s sudden words.

A cadre of the Order is here? That can’t be possible?

Roel’s second-year ranking exam ended smoothly without the intervention of the Order or the Demon King.

It was an episode where Roel, who had grown even more due to Ross’s death, once again became the top student in his grade with overwhelming force.

But why is there a cadre of the Order here? Can I really trust Estelle’s words?

[It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. The Order is watching you. Never use spatial magic.]

There was only one thing that directly connected me to the Order.

I used Roel to stop the black magician’s plan to massacre the village with mutated orcs.

The black magician had a core containing [Chaos] that the Order was developing, and he even attacked the academy to retrieve it.

So, has the Order been watching me since then? I swallowed hard without realizing it. If I get involved with the Order now, the plan I had in mind will be greatly disrupted.

[When the duel is over, come to the fourth floor of the main building. To the end of the left hallway, to the women’s restroom. I’ll explain everything.]

With those words, Estelle’s voice was no longer heard.

I asked myself a question.

Can ‘Estelle’ be trusted?

If her discarded setting is still in place… Estelle is currently in a position to receive orders from the Order.

The assassin group [Black Eyes] chose loyalty instead of extinction due to the overwhelming power of the Pontiff.

Estelle wants to escape the Order’s influence, but her entire clan is practically being held hostage, so she was forced to obey the Pontiff’s orders.

If Estelle’s discarded setting is still in place, then the words she said to me must be true. The very fact that she gave me advice lends credence to the setting being intact. But since I haven’t confirmed it with my own eyes, it was too early to be certain.

‘Let’s not use spatial magic for now.’

The reason the Pontiff subjugated the Black Eyes was because of Estelle’s ability, [Spatial Severance]. He planned to use this to collapse the world lines and eliminate the absolute boundary between the Demon Realm and the human world.

In the end, the eastern boundary is broken down by another method, not Estelle… If the Order is obsessed with magic related to space, revealing spatial magic to others could cause problems.

Fortunately, I have never publicly used spatial magic. I even used Rotten’s magic during the survival exam.

If they are only watching me because of the black magician’s incident, there was no need to reveal spatial magic and attract attention.

Fortunately, even if it’s not spatial magic, I have a new magic now.

-Rose player! Sadly eliminated by Lucia player’s magic!

-The winner is Lucia from the Department of Magic! Advances to the quarterfinals!

The cheers of the crowd shook the ground.

After the first match ended, while the destroyed arena was being repaired, an unknown faculty member approached me.

“Are you ready for the match? Good. Wear the artifact, and when the host signals, enter the arena immediately.”

After wearing the shock-absorbing artifact on my chest like during the survival exam, I avoided people’s gazes and took out the pouch containing the seeds from the spatial storage.

Just using the spatial storage could increase the Order’s interest. It was a decision made for my safety.

Before entering the arena, I thought of a new battle method in my head.

Growing beanstalk, Spear of Destruction. I have to combine these two to face the magician.

-We will now begin the second match! It’s a battle between the Department of Combat and the Department of Magic!

Along with the host’s voice and the faculty member gesturing for me to move, I moved my steps toward the arena.

Beyond the barrier, tens of thousands of cheers shook the ground as if asking me to show them an interesting duel.

If it weren’t for indomitable courage, I would have been crushed by the pressure contained in the gazes of the people and become nervous.

Revealing one’s abilities in front of everyone. It was a natural situation to be swept up in tension, excitement, and a strange heat.

Famian’s face, stopped in front of me, was exactly like that. Stiff facial muscles. The gaze that glared fiercely at me, thinking of releasing the tension and calming his mind, looked quite pitiful.

“Nice to meet you. You’re the top student of the Department of Combat, right?”

At Famian’s question, I gripped the spear shaft without answering. At my disregard, Famian’s gaze became even more stiff with tension.

-Starting the countdown! Three!

Famian, holding his staff, took a deep breath and raised one corner of his mouth as he looked at me.

-Two!

As he bent his legs as if to charge, I could see his hand, gripping the staff with a nervous expression, trembling slightly.

-One!

I put strength into my thighs and back, tilting my center of gravity forward so that I could run out at any time.

-Start!

No sooner had the host finished speaking than I dashed forward. As if he had anticipated my actions, Famian immediately swung his staff greatly like the conductor of an orchestra.

The arena floor vibrated as if an earthquake had occurred, and a huge rock soared from beneath my feet. Sensing the abnormality of the floor, I had already lifted my body into the air.

As if he intended to pour all his magic into the first match, Famian swung his staff without rest. Giant, sculpture-like stone pillars soared in various places in the arena, blocking my approach.

The cheers of the people were muffled as I stepped on the stone pillars in the air and balanced my body, just like Rakunta had often shown.

I let out a dumbfounded laugh at the sight of Famian, who had already built a fortress around himself with rocks.

Did he simply think that he could win by hiding between the rocks just because he was facing the Department of Combat?

If it were a one-sided situation, Famian’s method might be the right answer, but this was a duel in which the top students of each department participated.

It was an arrogant mistake to come up with a common response method for a duel involving special individuals who went beyond the ordinary.

I took out the beanstalk seeds from my pants pocket. As I concentrated magic on the seeds, I felt them wriggling in my palm as if they were alive.

When I threw it into the air, the beanstalk, which had grown huge in an instant, crashed into the rock fortress.

Kwaaang――!

“Ugh!”

Along with the thick dust, I heard Famian’s scream of panic. He probably never dreamed that his own actions to block the approach would become his grave.

As I continued to throw beanstalk seeds and destroy the fortress, I saw Famian, covered in dust and dirt, running out to avoid the beanstalk like a rabbit whose burrow had collapsed.

Whether the impact of the giant beanstalk falling from the sky was transmitted, Famian’s artifact had turned red.

Like a hunter waiting for prey to escape from its burrow, I waited for the right moment and immediately charged toward Famian.

The panicked guy swung his staff and lifted part of the arena floor to use as a shield, but.

A simple rock could not block the power of destruction that even destroys magic.

Famian’s artifact, which had been beaten all over by the stones that burst out like an explosion, could no longer absorb the impact and fell from his chest.

-Famian’s artifact can’t hold on any longer! The winner of the second match is Ross from the Department of Combat!

Cheers echoed in the arena at the host’s words. With a dumbfounded expression, Famian asked me.

“You, you from the Department of Combat… how can you use such magic…”

“…I had a good teacher.”

Famian dropped his face at my answer. In fact, if the opponent wasn’t me, Famian’s battle method would have been quite difficult for the Department of Combat.

Attacking an opponent who hides in rocks and blocks approach… It was a difficult task for a swordsman holding only a sword.

What can I do? The opponent is me.

The sight of the stone pillars soaring in various places in the arena and the giant beanstalk falling from the sky was certainly fun to watch.

There was no audience here who would not be excited by the huge destruction unfolding before their eyes. Even the children who liked giant magic looked at me with admiring eyes as they watched the giant beanstalk falling from the sky.

The arena was filled with huge cheers. In the meantime, I heard cheers mixed with my name.

Amid the cheers that did not diminish.

I waved to the audience and left the arena with a calm expression.

I put on a humble expression, and as soon as I was out of people’s sight, I immediately ran out and ran to the fourth floor of the main building where Estelle was waiting.

Fortunately, I didn’t lose my concentration during the match, but it was true that I was very concerned.

The end of the left hallway. Arriving at the women’s restroom, I hesitated for a moment in front of the door.

I glanced around and, after confirming that no one was watching, swallowed hard and entered the women’s restroom.

“Welcome.”

Turning my head at the sudden voice, Estelle, wearing a black cat mask, approached me.

A smaller physique than even Luna. And a black cat mask.

It was exactly the figure I had expected.

Then, is the discarded setting still in place?

Feeling a little relieved at the sight, as I recalled Estelle’s setting in my head. Estelle, who had approached me, suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Wh-what are you doing…?”

Without a word, Estelle dragged me into the toilet stall, closed the door, and pressed her body against me. A pleasant strawberry scent wafted over, tickling the tip of my nose.

“Were you nervous because it’s the Order? You idiot~ Getting scared~”

The setting of the discarded Estelle came to mind at the voice filled with mischievous playfulness.

The setting that I put in after worrying about what kind of character to put in so that it wouldn’t overlap with Roel’s heroines who had appeared so far was…

“Why~? Are you conscious because we’re alone in the women’s restroom?”

Unlike her usual self, who can’t even talk to men, the setting was that her personality changes to a *meusgaki* when she wears a mask…