Chapter 179

(3)

4.

The next morning.

Professor Miel, who was organizing papers in the empty classroom, lifted his head to gaze out the window.

The schoolyard, usually bustling with students, was oddly quiet today.

But there was no reason to be surprised.

It was the day of the Sports Festival.

During this period, morning assembly was skipped, and gathering at the Grand Stadium was the rule. Of course, there were still a few students who forgot and wandered into the classroom.

“What’s that…?”

Just then, Professor Miel’s eyes narrowed.

He recognized a familiar face.

A girl with ash-colored hair.

It was Silfi Rudina, a member of his class 3. Despite being late, she didn’t seem rushed at all, prompting Professor Miel to yell.

“Silfi Rudina!”

“……! Yes, four!?”

The girl jumped, startled.

Even Professor Miel was taken aback by how she reacted.

“Huh? Why are you so surprised?”

“No! It’s just that, um, you called out suddenly…”

She stammered, looking flustered.

After taking a few deep breaths, she managed to calm down and gave a wan smile. Then, she glanced at Professor Miel and asked.

“W-what brings you here?”

He originally intended to tell her to hurry up because the opening ceremony was about to start. But Professor Miel shifted the topic.

“You don’t seem to look well lately.”

“……Huh?”

The reason was simple.

Her complexion really wasn’t good. And thinking back, it had been like that not just today, but for the past two weeks.

“Your face looks pretty pale. Is there something bothering you?”

“No! It’s just that, um…”

“If you have any worries, you can tell me. As your assigned professor, I have a duty to help.”

Professor Miel said seriously.

On the other hand, she seemed intimidated by his earnest demeanor, taking a step back. Meanwhile, she continued to ramble on.

“I-I’m just not feeling well! I’ll be fine if I rest for a few days!”

“Hmm, then it would be good to get a checkup at the infirmary. I’ll give you a form after the Sports Festival, so make sure to go.”

“Yes, thank you for your concern.”

She quickly bowed her head.

As soon as their conversation ended, she hurriedly dashed out of the Lion’s Chamber.

A little later.

When the surrounding presence lessened, Silfi let out a sigh she had been holding in.

“Huuuh.”

Her complexion darkened once more.

Just as Professor Miel had guessed, her health had sharply declined recently.

Her face was extremely pale, her expression gloomy, and there were heavy lines of worry etched across her features. But the reason wasn’t just poor health.

‘About two weeks ago.’

She had received a letter from one of her few friends, Ivella Elea’ad.

It looked like an ordinary envelope.

But as she tore it open and unfolded the letter, an immediate rush of panic gripped her. It was the two lines at the top of the letter that froze her breath.

“Silfi Rudrik.”

“I know who you are.”

Silfi Rudina’s real name.

Even more shocking was what followed.

The letter was filled with detailed information about her.

It included everything about the Desert Order and mentioned that she was one of the candidates to become the successor of that Order.

Just when she was panicking about that.

There was something that made her even more bewildered. It was the identity of the sender.

“Istan El Deorg.”

One of the five Masters of the Empire.

The commander of the Southern Battle Line, known for his destructive swordsmanship.

However, to the Desert Order’s followers, he was known by different names.

Ice Golem, the Slayer, Demon, and so on.

Istan was deemed the worst enemy by the Desert Order. He was a man who would go after anyone, regardless of age or gender, with his sword.

In other words, he was the being most feared and hated by the followers of the Desert Order.

When she read the letter with trembling hands.

There was a sentence that made her eyes widen even more. It stated that he would come to see her on the last day of the Sports Festival.

“I want to talk to you. Of course, I’ll guarantee your personal safety in the name of Deorg’s honor.”

He even kindly mentioned guaranteeing her safety. That was something she couldn’t imagine Istan El Deorg doing.

“However, if you refuse to meet or run away after all this, I’ll assume you have impure intentions and dispose of you immediately.”

Immediately after thinking of that last sentence.

Silfi shuddered. She realized she was in a tight spot.

‘There’s no escaping or avoiding this situation.’

As the date when she had to meet him approached, her mouth went dry with anxiety.

And the result of these emotions was clearly reflected on her face. After finishing her recollection, Silfi tightly closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.

“……Ancestors, and Great Priest.”

Please give me strength.

With a desperate whisper like a prayer, Silfi’s shoulders trembled slightly.

It was a tremor born from fear.

5.

Meanwhile, at that time.

The Grand Stadium was bustling with students preparing for the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, representatives from each class were waiting in their assigned barracks.

Ulan was one of them.

As he absentmindedly stared at the sprawling Grand Stadium, a calm voice suddenly rang in his ear from behind.

“……Cadet Ulan.”

A girl with sky-blue hair.

It was Iris Senior, who had invited Ulan to join the student council next term. When Ulan turned around, she spoke earnestly.

“I’ll ask you one last time. Are you really okay with me being the representative for Class 3?”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

Ulan nodded without hesitation.

About three days ago, during a meeting to decide the representative of Class 3, he had instantly yielded the position to Iris as soon as he saw her.

The reason was simple.

‘It’s bothersome.’

At that time, he hadn’t realized how much work came with being a representative.

From leading the students to selecting athletes, directing, and so on, it was all just a load of bothersome tasks.

It was better for someone like Iris, who was more adept at handling people and had a good reputation.

‘And…’

There was another reason.

From what Noa had told him, being a representative in the Sports Festival would earn bonus points for future student council elections.

Considering that, it made sense for Iris to take the role over himself. Though, 80% of the reasoning was just because he found it bothersome.

“Even so, being the representative comes with bonus points and could be really helpful…”

“It’s fine. I’m satisfied being the vice representative.”

A completely honest answer.

As mentioned, Ulan had given up the representative role but acquired the position of vice representative instead.

It was a role with far fewer responsibilities, merely acting on behalf of the representative. Hence, Ulan continued in his blunt tone.

“And I think it suits you better.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Just like during the friendly mock battle, you have a knack for leading people. So you’re the only candidate to be the representative.”

That wasn’t flattery.

Even though she couldn’t fully shine because of the student council’s interference, Iris had demonstrated sufficient leadership skills back then.

“Um, well…”

Iris’s eyes widened.

It was as if she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“Anyway, my opinion doesn’t change.”

Ulan replied firmly.

After maintaining his stubborn stance, Iris let out a brief sigh.

“Huh, alright. If that’s your wish, I’ll be the representative for Class 3.”

Iris finally gave in.

Ulan smiled satisfactorily.

With that, he thought he could throw all the bothersome issues onto Iris now. Just as their final discussion was wrapping up.

“Hey, um…”

Suddenly, someone poked Ulan’s waist with their finger. It was Kamila Tanesia, who had been quietly watching their conversation until now.

“I have one question.”

“……?”

“I’ve heard rumors that you’re super strong, so can I ask how strong you really are?”

An unexpected question.

Ulan looked puzzled and replied.

“Why do you ask that out of the blue?”

“You see, in some events during the competition, being strong can be an advantage. So I want to prep based on how strong you are.”

Ah, that’s why.

Ulan nodded silently.

To clarify Kamila’s inquiry, he quickly replied.

“I’m a bit stronger than average.”

“A bit? Specifically, how strong are we talking?”

“Um, that’s a bit hard to explain.”

He definitely was strong, but it was difficult to articulate just how strong. So while he pondered his answer, Kamila asked again.

“Then can I test it out? Oh, but it has to be without using aura.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Alright then….”

Kamila began looking around.

She was searching for something that could serve as a way to test Ulan’s strength. After a moment, her eyes lit up as she found something.

“Can you lift that?”

In the forest behind the barracks.

There were leftover materials from the Sports Festival just lying around. Kamila pointed at a cut tree trunk among them.

“Kamila, come on, that’s a bit…”

Iris frowned.

Of course, she knew Ulan was strong. During the friendly mock battle, he had even managed to slam the student council president into the ground.

However, the tree trunk Kamila pointed at was way too big. It was something that would require at least five adults to lift.

‘Unless he uses aura.’

It was impossible with raw strength alone.

Iris was confident of this. Yet her confidence didn’t last long as Ulan effortlessly lifted the wood above his head.

Whoosh! Thud!

The roots that were deeply embedded in the ground burst forth into the light. After that, Ulan hoisted the trunk over his head and slammed it into the ground.

Boom!

A deafening crash shook the ground.

Watching the cloud of dust rise, Ulan turned around to look at Kamila, who was completely dumbfounded.

“Is that good enough?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

“Huh? Not that?”

“Nope, I meant that!”

Kamila laughed awkwardly.

Just as she said, the trunk she had originally pointed to still lay there.

‘Meanwhile, Ulan has lifted…’

A gigantic tree rooted at the forest’s edge.

It was thick enough that it would take at least a dozen people to wrap around it.

To pull it out by himself…

It was a feat that was far beyond common sense, leaving Iris wide-eyed.

“……!”

Shock was clearly written on her face.

It made sense.

He had done something that couldn’t be claimed even with aura.

Meanwhile, facing the two bewildered girls, Ulan scratched his head, puzzled.

“This is unexpected.”

“W-what’s unexpected?”

“I just assumed that would be the thing everyone could lift, so I thought you meant that.”

Iris was left speechless.

Then she snapped back to reality.

‘Well, this is good enough.’

It guaranteed that he would win every event that required strength. In other words, there was no need to test his strength anymore.

But Kamila had different thoughts.

Perhaps due to her scholarly curiosity as a mage, her eyes sparkled as she asked.

“Hey, hey.”

“……?”

“Is it possible to break things too?”

“Of course.”

After responding, he reached out.

Bam! Crack!

His hands burrowed quickly into the giant tree.

Just ten seconds later, a huge hole was made. Kamila looked more excited than ever.

“Wow, really! You can break that too?”

“Then can you ask for that next?”

“Huh? You mean break that too?”

“……Huh?”

After that, both of them gradually became quieter.

Then, her complexion suddenly turned pale.

It was due to the realization hitting her late from her sudden curiosity.

The area had been decimated.

“……”

All the trees and rocks that had previously stood around were either uprooted or shattered. It was a scene that looked like it had been bombarded.

Meanwhile, Ulan, who had committed this act of destruction, was still searching for more things to break as if he was not satisfied.

“This doesn’t seem like enough to me.”

“No! Not enough at all!”

Kamila hurriedly waved her hands.

On the other hand, Ulan clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“What a shame. I wish there was something sturdy enough to show all my strength.”

“It’s really all good!”

“Oh, how about that?”

He pointed at a tower.

It was a commemorative tower built to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of Arsen Academy’s founding.

Constructed from a magic stone known for its durability, it was so tough that without aura, it wouldn’t even be possible to scratch it.

But because it was Ulan, the two girls desperately rushed to talk him out of doing it.

“L-Let’s not do that anymore!”

“This is more than enough! You’ll be fine for any event that needs strength!”

“I see. Understood.”

Fortunately, they managed to come to an understanding.

Both let out a sigh of relief as if they had dodged a bullet.

At the same time, they made a pact.

No matter the circumstances, they would never test Ulan’s strength again.

[Attention students.]

Just as they reached that silent resolve.

From the commentary booth set up in the center of the Grand Stadium, the Voice Amplification Device blared to life.

[The opening ceremony will commence shortly.]

[As a result, we ask that the representatives and vice representatives of each class gather at the podium in the Grand Stadium.]

Each class’s introduction?

Was that really necessary?

Ulan tilted his head in confusion.

Perhaps sensing his question, Kamila and Iris chimed in with explanations.

“They’re introducing each class’s representative and vice to discuss which class might be a strong contender for the championship.”

“Last year, among the professors, there were even bets on which class would win.”

“Well, that probably won’t happen this year.”

To be precise, there was no way bets would even surface this time. After all, they had a guaranteed winner right next to them.

Kamila shrugged.

On the other hand, Ulan looked puzzled.

“Why not?”

“……Do you seriously not know?”

“If I knew, would I ask?”

Ulan wore a blank expression.

Seeing that reminded Kamila of a new realization.

Despite possessing overwhelming strength, he was surprisingly dense.

[Once again, I’ll repeat.]

[Representatives and vice representatives of each class…]

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.”

“Sure.”

Nodding, Ulan turned around.

After that, he headed with Iris and Kamila towards the podium in front of the commentary booth.

A little bit later.

As all the representatives and vice representatives gathered, the opening ceremony began. Thus commenced the three-day Arsen Sports Festival.

Chapter 42. A Battle That Cannot Be Lost