Chapter 146: Cheerleading Squad (2)
by fnovelpia
It was somewhat unexpected, but in any case, the goal was achieved.
After all, she managed to join the cheerleading squad under the guise of someone else’s recommendation without losing face.
However, results do not always justify the means.
“Princess, have I been too soft on you all this time? Hmm?”
“AAAAAHHHH!!! IT HURTS! IT REALLY HURTS!!! PLEASE, SPARE ME!!!”
Sion grabbed Isabella’s head with one hand and lifted her into the air.
Caught in an iron claw grip, Isabella screamed in agony and flailed desperately.
In a frantic attempt to save herself, she started blurting out excuses.
“T-There’s a reason! A perfectly valid reason! Please, just hear me out!!!”
“Oh? Then go ahead and explain.”
“W-Well, you see, if you participate as a competitor in the sports festival, the whole event will— AAAARGH!! Can you at least put me down first?!”
Moved by Isabella’s tearful plea, Sion let her down.
Then, she decided to at least listen to whatever excuse Isabella was about to spout.
The princess’s argument was as follows:
Simply put, if Sion were to compete, it would completely break the balance between the Blue and White teams.
Obviously, there wasn’t a single student capable of beating Sion.
How could any of them stand a chance against someone who could slice through the neck of a demon king’s general without even leaving a scratch?
Tactics and strategies only work up to a certain point.
Against someone like Sion, who existed on an entirely different level, no amount of trickery would matter.
No matter what scheme they tried, she would simply crush them with raw power.
“As a result, any event you participate in would be completely one-sided.
The opponents would immediately lose their will to fight and give up. And that’s no fun at all, right?
So, I figured it would be best if you didn’t compete and instead took a neutral position.
That way, you’d also attract less unwanted attention.”
“……”
The reasoning itself made sense—at least, the reasoning.
In fact, Sion had already considered this issue herself.
No one would be pleased to see an adult twisting a child’s arm just to show off their strength.
It would only invite resentment.
In the end, Sion let out a quiet sigh and said,
“If that’s the case, I can understand your reasoning… but I really would have appreciated it if you had informed me beforehand.
Handling things like this without saying a word is quite disconcerting.”
“Heh… hehehe… sorry about that…”
Isabella laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck.
Now, here’s an important fact:
To verify Isabella’s true intentions, Sion had used a thought-detection spell.
While its duration varied from person to person, it generally lasted between 10 and 20 minutes.
In other words, since the effect hadn’t worn off yet, Sion could still read Isabella’s thoughts.
And through that faint mental connection, Sion heard the following inner monologue.
‘Yes! This worked out perfectly! It was absolutely the right call to just go for it first and ask for forgiveness later! Huhu~♬’
“…….”
Without a word, Sion once again grabbed Isabella’s head in a tight grip.
“!?! W-What now?! Why does this hurt again?!?!”
“As I thought, Princess, a little punishment might actually be good for you.”
Sion resolved to take this opportunity to give Isabella a thorough reeducation.
Meanwhile, as Sion was in the middle of retraining Isabella…
“I’m back, Master.”
“Ohh, Philia!”
Dorothy greeted Philia warmly as she returned from scouting the faculty office under the pretense of cleaning.
“So? Which event is the Hero competing in? You checked properly, right?”
“Well, about that…”
Uncharacteristically, Philia hesitated with an awkward expression. Seeing this, Dorothy frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you failed to find out?”
“No, I did find out. He’s only participating in one event.”
“One event? Which one?
As I expected, it must be the individual sprint—”
“The cheerleading squad.”
“…What?”
“The cheerleading squad.”
Dorothy blinked.
“Cheerleading? What the hell? That was an event?”
“It was. It’s listed at the very end of the pamphlet you received.
Since it wasn’t a mandatory event, I assume you must have overlooked it.”
“Ohhh…”
Now that she thought about it, she vaguely recalled seeing something about that.
Something about singing and dancing to cheer on the students or whatever.
She had skimmed past it since she had no interest.
But now… the Hero was competing in that?
“Out of nowhere, a cheer squad? Did she even like singing?”
“I’m not sure about that, but from what I’ve heard, she chose to do this because if she competed as an athlete, it would break the balance.
After all, if she participated, the Blue Team would win that event no matter what.”
“…….”
It was an irritating kind of confidence.
Of course, Sion probably hadn’t meant it that way, but from Dorothy’s perspective, that’s how it felt.
A small vein bulged on her smooth forehead.
“Arrogant brat. How dare she talk about winning and losing as if it’s a given, right in front of me?”
She had been waiting for this chance to properly crush that high and mighty pride of hers.
Yes, after three consecutive failures, Dorothy had been looking forward to this sports festival, anticipating it with every fiber of her being.
A competition stripped of skills like swordsmanship or magic, a pure test of physical ability.
In a battle like that, there was no way a dragon like herself could lose.
She had even investigated the events Sion was planning to participate in, intending to enter them herself.
By completely overturning everyone’s expectations and utterly defeating her one event after another, she would finally get her sweet revenge for all the humiliation she had suffered.
And yet… she ran away to a cheer squad? She dared?
“Damn it! Now I won’t even get the chance to redeem myself!
Cowardly brat! Winning and then running off—where does she get off?! Is she playing games with me?!”
Furious, Dorothy stomped and kicked the rock beside her.
With a loud CRASH!, stone fragments scattered in all directions.
The rock caved inward as if it had been punched by a giant.
After a moment, she turned toward her attendant and shouted.
“Philia!”
“Yes?”
“Sign me up for that cheer squad or whatever it is!”
“…Are you serious?”
Philia’s eyes widened.
“Master, do you even know what a cheer squad does? Are you sure you understand what you’re saying?”
“Hmph. It’s basically a military band, isn’t it? If they support battles with performances, it’s obvious what they do.”
“That’s not it…”
Philia hesitated for a moment before pulling out a notebook and pen.
She quickly sketched something, then showed the completed drawing to Dorothy.
“They’re a group that wears revealing outfits, exposing their midriffs, and dances provocatively. Are you really okay with this?”
“W-What…?!”
Dorothy’s eyes widened in shock at the image.
What the hell is this insane outfit?!
“You mean… they actually wear something like this and dance? Seriously?”
“Why would I lie to you, Master? And the dances are extremely suggestive.
The skirts are already short, and they sway just enough that you’re never sure if you’ll catch a glimpse of what’s underneath.”
“Kgh…!”
Dorothy shuddered in horror.
Does the hero have no sense of shame?
She’s actually willing to wear something like this and flirt with their male classmates?
No, more importantly—how is this kind of crazy culture still a thing?
What kind of school is this?!
For someone like Dorothy, who still held onto the conservatism of 500 years past, this was pure cultural shock.
“Anyway, I’ve warned you. This time, if I just stand by and do nothing, I feel like you’ll really hold it against me later.
So… are you sure you want to do this?”
“Ugh…”
Dorothy groaned, crumpling the pamphlet in her hands.
If she had to say whether she wanted to do this or not, of course, she didn’t.
As a proud dragon, how could she shake her hips in front of a bunch of kids?
And in these… rags that barely even qualified as clothing? She would rather die of embarrassment.
“Let me confirm one thing. The hero really joined this cheer squad, right?”
“Yes, without a doubt. I confirmed it with my own eyes.”
“……”
Dorothy shut her eyes tightly. Then, after taking a deep breath, she yelled:
“Fine!!! In that case, I’ll sign up too!!!”
“Are you sure? You won’t regret this?”
“Yeah!! If I back down just because it’s embarrassing, that’s what I’ll really regret for the rest of my life!!
I can’t just keep losing! Before this semester ends, I have to win at least one thing!”
She clenched her fist tightly.
“Besides, there’s no way she has much experience with dancing either!
That means we’ll both be starting on the same level—
A perfectly fair competition!
This time, I’ll make sure she understands the true power of a dragon!”
“…….”
…The direction of her determination seemed slightly off, but Philia didn’t bother pointing it out.
The reason was simple—it was entertaining.
Watching her master get swept up in her ridiculous pride and make a fool of herself was always amusing.
Dorothy, dancing in an outfit that fully exposed her thighs… just thinking about it made Philia drool a little.
“Alright, Philia! Hurry up and submit the application! Before I change my mind!”
“Understood.”
Philia suppressed a laugh and gave a solemn nod.
Her mind was already filled with vivid images of Dorothy screaming in humiliation.
Of course, neither of them—nor even Sion—realized it yet.
The embarrassment they were about to endure was only just beginning.
Once Dorothy and Sion’s misfortune combined, the situation would spiral completely out of control…
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