Ch.202Chapter 8. A Toast to Your Patriotism (3)

[Congratulations. Student Ymir, you are now D-rank.]

“……Phew.”

Though she was actually classified as EX, but officially categorized as S+ to the public, Ymir decided to be satisfied with her elevated rank as herself, not as Platinum Sun.

“Congratulations.”

“Aren’t you busy? Shouldn’t you be…”

“Yeah, I should be heading out now.”

Yoon Yi-seon had come to congratulate Ymir, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much time for a lengthy conversation.

[Next match is the A-rank finals. ‘President’ Yoon Yi-seon…]

“Wow, amazing. So you just need to win now?”

“I’d like to win, but my opponent isn’t going to be easy.”

Yoon Yi-seon smiled bitterly and lamented.

“Besides, winning something like this doesn’t really help. Even if the winner reaches the very top, they’re just number one among students here on Sejong Island.”

“But it still counts as a credential when applying for a hero license later.”

“It’s a credential alright. A credential of losing to Hayabusa, an S-rank who’s younger than me.”

“……”

It was a somewhat bitter statement, but that was reality.

Even if the age difference wasn’t much, there was still a clear 2-3 year gap between them.

“Hayabusa is strong. She’s probably ranked among the strongest teenagers worldwide. Students can’t beat her unless an S-rank steps in.”

“But S-ranks…”

“Princess Bari won’t participate. She probably doesn’t want to fight either, but would the government carelessly ask Princess Bari to fight? If she were to lose…ugh.”

Yoon Yi-seon turned her head toward the VIP spectator seats.

There, the principal and S-rank heroes were sitting in red chairs overlooking the arena.

Hayabusa wasn’t there.

As if unconcerned with whatever battles were taking place in the arena, she had gone alone to the waiting room to prepare for the upcoming fight.

Surely she was waiting not for a battle with the A-rank winner, but for a potential confrontation with the Goblin.

“Ymir. Just in case, I wanted to ask.”

“Yes?”

“…Do you think the Goblin will appear this time?”

“I think he will. Everyone’s saying so. We talked about it last time too.”

“…It’s hard to believe.”

Yoon Yi-seon clenched and unclenched her fist, smacking her lips.

“If the Goblin really appears, I might fall for him again.”

“…Fall for him?”

“As a fan.”

Yoon Yi-seon’s cheeks turned pink as she patted her face with her hand.

“I might have been mistaken about the Goblin all this time. I thought the Goblin was a perfect ‘executioner’ who only existed in novels or comics.”

“Hmm, you mean someone who only appears when villains or demons show up?”

“Yes. But if he appears this time to fight Hayabusa, it means the Goblin is more human than I thought. Not just a machine-like ‘being that only appears when there are villains,’ but someone who responds to people’s aspirations.”

“…You mean he understands fan service?”

“That’s one way to put it. Sigh… really, such a tsundere…!”

“Tsundere…”

It seemed somewhat accurate yet not quite right, but Ymir had no intention of saying more in front of others.

“Well, if the Goblin does appear, it’ll be big news. The whole world is watching this place right now, wondering if the Goblin might show up.”

The spectator stands weren’t just filled with casual onlookers.

Scouts from around the world, Hero Association officials, and reporters dispatched from various countries with their camera crews were broadcasting the Sejong Island sports festival live to the entire world since the preliminaries.

“There’s a reason for the high ratings right now. Look at this. All these comments are just looking for the Goblin.”

“That might be a bit of a side effect…?”

“It could be. But it’s strange that someone would try to be the main character when the main character has already been decided. This sports festival might have been prepared from the beginning to draw out the Goblin.”

Yoon Yi-seon sighed and looked up at the sky.

“…That’s why I didn’t want the Goblin to appear. It feels like he’s being manipulated by the higher-ups using his patriotism. Above all, if he steps up like that, wouldn’t his Korean identity be revealed?”

“Because it’s a Korea-Japan match?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m even more grateful. Even though it’s obvious that the balding old men at the academy are using Hayabusa and the Goblin to cover up issues at the academy, he still steps up.”

[President Yoon Yi-seon, President Yoon Yi-seon, please come to the waiting room within 5 minutes. I repeat…]

“…Tsk.”

Yoon Yi-seon clicked her tongue and turned her head.

“I guess I should go. Congratulations on becoming D-rank. Let’s go eat together next time. Your treat.”

“I’m paying?”

“To celebrate your D-rank promotion. I’ll pay for dessert.”

“What if you get first place in A-rank?”

“Then… I’ll pay for the meal.”

“Looking forward to it, Yi-seon.”

Ymir grabbed Yoon Yi-seon’s shoulder.

“Fighting!”

“…What did you just do?”

“Huh? Nothing, I didn’t do anything?”

“…I don’t like cheating. I’ll just take your good intentions. Whatever they were.”

When Yoon Yi-seon tapped the back of Ymir’s hand, Ymir withdrew her hand with an embarrassed face.

For a moment, golden magical power flickered in her hand, but no one saw the color of that magic.

“I’ll be back. I’ve done my best, so I won’t regret it even if I lose.”

“…That’s really cool. But hey, how about this? You make it to the finals, fight Hayabusa, and if you lose, the Goblin comes to avenge you.”

“…What’s that about? Still, it makes me feel good just hearing it. Alright. I’ll go and beat even Hayabusa.”

Yoon Yi-seon clenched her fist and headed to the waiting room.

Watching Yoon Yi-seon’s back as she went to compete fair and square, Ymir worried that she might have put unnecessary pressure on her.

“…I wonder if I gave her false hope.”

Though she had tried to infuse magical power but was stopped by Yoon Yi-seon who noticed, Ymir had instead instilled a strong will in Yoon Yi-seon.

She fervently hoped that will wouldn’t lead to something strange.

Like Platinum Sun stepping in.

Or the Goblin coming not to participate in the Korea-Japan match, but to deal with a “demon.”

“…It’ll be fine.”

Ymir had an eye for people.

According to her intuition, Yoon Yi-seon was definitely not the type to become a demon.

Rather…

“……”

Ymir turned her eyes to the VIP spectator seats.

Hayabusa had already returned to her seat, sitting there with a composed face.

“…I’m probably worrying for nothing.”

She just hoped everything would end safely.

* * *

Whoosh!

Pink flames blossomed in midair.

The incorporeal flames began to swirl around Yoon Yi-seon, then rushed toward her opponent.

“This is the end!”

Boom boom boom!

The ghost flames Yoon Yi-seon summoned flew like missiles.

“Grrrr!!”

Yoon Yi-seon’s finals opponent, [The Marksman] Ray Huang, fired his pistol wildly at the flames while creating distance.

Ratatata!

The pistol contained bullets, and they weren’t magical bullets but real ones.

If someone were hit, they would surely face death, but the bullets merely cut through the air or melted into the magical flames.

“Give up. The match is decided.”

“No, it’s not…!”

Ray Huang loaded a new magazine into his pistol and fired toward the sky.

“If anything is decided, it’s my victory!”

Ratatata!

The bullets fired into the sky exploded in midair.

The casings turned into small metal fragments that scattered everywhere, and Yoon Yi-seon leaped backward while raising magical power in front of her.

Swish!

The flaming tail behind Yoon Yi-seon deflected all the bullets to the sides.

The scattered casings merely dispersed left and right, and Yoon Yi-seon very easily evaded Ray Huang’s attack.

Flicker.

The fox tail still attached to Yoon Yi-seon’s back continued to shimmer without losing its light.

The battle had lasted about 10 minutes, but Ray Huang’s magical power was starting to hit bottom.

The very fact that he was using real bullets instead of magical ones from his pistol clearly revealed that he was at his limit.

“Give up.”

“I can’t…! Damn, you’re nothing special except for your absurdly large mana pool…!”

Perhaps because he was pushed to his limit.

Ray Huang didn’t hesitate to curse at Yoon Yi-seon even in front of everyone, in front of the whole world.

“So what? What’s wrong with me having more mana than you?”

“Just being born in Korea gives you much more magical power than others…!”

“Well. That’s a hasty generalization. I don’t want to argue with you about that. If you want to debate that, come at me during liberal arts discussion class. Right now is the time to show skill.”

“Aaaah!!”

Ray Huang infused magical power into his gun.

That magical power had a somewhat dark energy to it, and emotions began to boil like anger being infused.

“I’ll kill you!”

“……!!”

“I’ll show you! My ‘ultimate technique’!!”

When Yoon Yi-seon saw where Ray Huang’s gun was pointing, her heart sank.

“What-“

“Come forth, War God!!”

Ray Huang…

“Divine Manifestation!!”

Put the gun to his temple and fired a magical bullet.

Soon.

Rumble rumble.

“No way…a summon…?”

“Not a summon!! A god!!”

Behind him, a massive magical entity revealed just its upper body.

The appearance of a general with antennae like a grasshopper on his head made viewers involuntarily gasp in surprise.

“This is the divine spirit! War Emperor, Martial God Yeo Bong-seon!!”

[Wow.]

I thought only Riders were trendy.

[I didn’t expect this to be copied too.]

It seems I’ve unleashed another trend upon this world.