Chapter 202
『Translator: RainTL』
༺ A Perfect Plan (2) ༻
Time flew by until it was Friday.
“Uwahhhhhh…!!!”
The exams were over.
Cheers and sighs of relief could be heard all around the campus. The smiles blooming on the faces of the students weren’t solely because it was the end of the official courses.
Although the exams were over, they still had to complete their compulsory missions before the winter holidays, but even that couldn’t take away the excitement of the upcoming festival.
Merkarva Academy was going to be open to the public on a scale incomparably bigger than last year. Parents who were here to see their kids, tourists, and the citizens of the city – all of them would be stopping by the Academy for this enormous event.
Which means there will be a loophole in their otherwise perfect security.
Thinking about all the incidents that would hit us throughout the Autumn Festival put me in a jittery mood, but I was doing my best to prepare for it already.
But would it be okay to do it the same as the last iteration?
I was slightly skeptical because the current situation at hand was incredibly different from how it was in the last iteration during this same period of time.
Whatever the case, the preparations were all in place. It was hard to predict all the butterfly effects that might occur, but all of our strongest cards were already in play.
I returned to the dormitory with such thoughts running through my mind. Everyone was already back home by the time I came back, which I noticed after going to the sunroom as previously ordered by Lady Josephine.
I went into the sunroom and saw Marie waving her hand.
“Korin! Here…! It’s empty here!”
She shouted while tapping on the sofa she was sitting on. I was about to sit next to her as usual but…
“...”
That was when I felt a glare from behind.
It was Hua Ran.
Ignoring the gaze, I sat next to Marie. Then, Hua Ran followed suit and sat next to me.
“Kuhum…”
I ended up having a flower in each hand against my will, and it was by no means a positive occurrence. Having the two of them glare at each other in silence made me break a sweat.
“What wonderful teamwork you are demonstrating already.”
Lady Josephine clicked her tongue and gave a sarcastic comment the moment she walked into the sunroom.
“...Please help.”
“You reap what you sow. Deal with it yourself.”
She raised her glasses with her fingers and cold-heartedly dismissed my plea for help. Unfortunately, I was stuck in that uncomfortable state until Ren and Ron came for my help.
“Looks like everyone is here.”
“Hmm? What about Princess Estelle?”
Two of the tenants of the dormitory, the two princesses, were nowhere to be seen. Miruam was in the capital so that was natural, but Estelle had taken the exam today with everyone else, so where was she?
“Student Estelle said she will apply for the Tournament today. This does not apply to her so we will go straight to the topic at hand.”
It seemed that everyone that needed to be here was here. Josephine started to speak before the tenants.
“The preparations for the Harvest Festival start today and so will the qualifying rounds of the Tournament.
“Normally, we wouldn’t speak separately to a group of students like this, but there is still a leftover uproar from the recent demi-human incident.
“Everyone here except for Student Korin are referred to as ‘demi-humans’ by society and are feared by them. Unfortunately, this is an undeniable fact and reality.
“And as you know, Student Hua Ran and Student Marie had to be under severe surveillance last year during the 1st semester, with restrictions on leaving the campus.
“There are no longer any restrictions and you are free to participate in any contest you wish to but…
“As you know, there will be a large number of normal civilians in the Harvest Festival, and combined with the free, outgoing atmosphere surrounding the Academy, it is bound to result in several incidents. All types of people will gather including those with impure intentions and prejudices so please avoid having unnecessary conflicts.”
It was a long speech but she was basically telling us to not create a commotion. It reminded me of the time when I was going on a vacation in the military and was told how fighting against a civilian would do me no good and only bad things would sprout from such a bout.
“Well then…”
Near the end of her speech, Lady Josephine scanned through the audience before closing it off.
“Everyone, please enjoy a fun and happy festival. That’s all.”
Autumn Harvest Festival.
This would mark the end of the “sophomore episode” of ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱. In turn, while it was a festival for everyone else, it was an event that I couldn’t let my guard down against.
Only after this was all over and we hit the winter would I finally be able to take some actual rest.
Plus, I had to seriously prepare myself for the festival. The Hunting Contest, Auction Contest, Food Sales Contest, Magic Exhibition Contest, and the Mock Trial… I also double-checked to see if there were other contests I would partake in, but it was difficult because some of them overlapped with others.
There was one though – the Crossdressing Contest. It was an unpopular contest that took in participants until the very date of the contest but…
Wait, am I setting up a flag for myself?
For some reason… I was getting some uneasy vibes about it. It was also because my plans, which should normally be perfect, would sometimes go haywire in the most unexpected places.
“Wow~. The festival really is just right around the corner. How do you feel, Korin? This is the first Harvest Festival you’re having in Merkarva, right?”
“Yeah.”
Marie said she wasn’t participating in any other contests except for the Lady of Autumn Contest. Most people would rather choose to be part of the audience than participate in many of them, so that made sense.
“I have friends that are attending the Tournament, so I have to cheer for them.”
“I see. Should we go together?”
“Sure. Oh, by the way.”
Just in case… I decided to ask just in case. Like, I wasn’t going to do it but…
“Senior. How do you think you’ll feel if I crossdress?”
“Haht…!”
Marie suddenly lost her words in a fluster.
“Uhh, mhmm…! I understand! P, people all have their own set of hobbies! Yes! T, there’s nothing wrong with that! But… you’re not… going to do that with a male after that, right? That’s not right! That is one thing I cannot allow!”
“Why would you even ask that? That’s weird.”
“Phew… Thank goodness. Nn. Even if you crossdress… Mhmm! I can understand!”
Hmm, I knew it. As a southerner, it seemed that Marie was quite conservative.
It was a fun contest though, so that was a shame.
Again, the time flew by until the first qualifying round of the Tournament.
***
There were many different events in the Harvest Festival, but the highlight of the festival, the Tournament, required some qualifying rounds before the actual start.
It was unavoidable because of the sheer number of contestants, and they cut the number down all the way until the top 32 were decided.
“Korin, are you going to watch the Tournament? Ah, this is something I made by the way.”
“Ohh~. Potato chips.”
Marie handed over her homemade potato chips. I took a bite into it as a salty and crispy flavor filled my mouth.
“I’m a little busy but I do need to go have a look. There are a lot of them attending from our side, after all.”
Including Alicia, there was also Dorron, Kranel, Yuel, Ren and Ron, Rashid, and Germain… The prizes were decent even if one only reached the top 32, so half of the entire Academy usually went in for it.
“That’s true. I’m the deputy master so I will go cheer for them too!”
She said that while stealing glances at me, so I asked her for her company.
“Should we go together?”
“Sure! I have some snacks that we can have while we’re watching!” Marie said while showing me her favorite basket. She appeared quite excited.
The arena for the Tournament was set in the so-called Colosseum, which was located at the center of the campus. It hosted all sorts of events including the recent interim and the final exams so it was a familiar venue for all the students.
“If I remember correctly, there are 8 different qualifying rounds, right? Two per grade, was it?”
“Yep. I also did it once back when I was a freshman.”
“That would have been exciting to watch. Did you win?”
“Hehe. I was 2nd from our group!”
“Was Senior Beazeker 1st?”
“Yeah. He excels in fights like that, after all.”
Beazeker.
He was one of the named characters that would serve an important role in next year’s episode, whose half-giant tribe I met by pure coincidence during the Tower of Mages incident.
Well, I was quite close to him in the last iteration, and he even tried to introduce his sister to me.
By the way, I actually participated in the Tournament last iteration but came 15th from Group 2 and failed the qualifiers. I was semi-Grade 1 and quite strong back then, but there was an unfortunate course of events.
In any case, I was walking into the arena with Marie when a familiar set of steps as well as an energetic shout struck me from behind.
“Korin-dongsaeeenggg!”
Estelle gave a tight hug from behind, leaving not even a millimeter of gap between us, which inevitably made my back touch something incredibly soft.
“...I told you not to do that when we are in front of everyone.”
“Hehe! Are you here to cheer for your noona?”
“That too.”
She rubbed her cheek on my face while smiling like a fool and I heard voices saying, ‘That son of a bitch,’ from all around.
“Korin… Are you smiling?”
“Kuhum…!”
Marie’s voice was so cold that I immediately freed myself from Estelle’s hug. After letting go of me, Estelle looked back and forth between me and Marie.
“Ms. Junior Marie. You are not attending the Tournament, are you?”
“What a shame,” Estelle added with a smile. Even I could tell the provocative tone behind her smile.
“I will be winning today so cheer for me!”
She immediately darted off after saying that.
“...”
Marie remained silent for a while after that. It might be just me… but she seemed like a volcano ready to erupt any time soon.
………
……
…
There were 8 different qualifying rounds. It was two rounds for each grade, with about 100 of them fighting at once.
“So Alicia and Kranel are in Group A of the 2nd-years!”
I recognized a lot of the names of the people in our grade.
Alicia, Yuel, Dorron, Kranel, and Jaeger. I took monopoly of all the key talents with promising futures when founding the guild, so all of them were affiliated with Korin Guardians.
They were pretty much the strongest from our grade and were all strong enough to reach the actual Tournament but…
“Hmm~. Do you think Alicia will come 1st?”
“Who knows.”
Alicia was indeed the strongest from our grade except for me, and in terms of close combat based on pure skills, no one came close except for maybe Dorron and me.
“She might get disqualified in a flash though. And it’s highly likely that Kranel will lose in the first 10 seconds.”
“...I guess that’s true,” Marie nodded. She knew the nature of this qualifier. Well, she did experience it firsthand in the previous Tournament.
As for me, I was also aware of its nature due to experiencing it firsthand.
『The participants of the 2nd grade qualifying Group A. Please enter the stage.』
2nd-grade students started crowding the arena immediately after the announcement until there were roughly 110 students inside the arena. There were around 220 participants from our grade alone, which meant Group B would have a similar number of students.
“Ah~ I found Alicia and Kranel. Good luck, both of you!”
It seemed that Dorron and Yuel weren’t in the same group as them. Alicia, who stood out even amongst her peers inside the arena, waved her hand after finding me.
“Ah, now’s not the time to care about us though.”
“...You’re right.”
Marie and I watched the innocent smile blooming on Alicia’s face with the same line of thought running through our minds. Her innocence was in stark contrast to everyone else around her… and it was even more evident from a distance.
All of them were vigilant of her.
Unlike the “Festival”, the cultural interchange with another academy, the Tournament of the Autumn Harvest Festival put a lot of emphasis on efficiency and saving time. It was because there were a lot of other events apart from the Tournament that warranted the same amount of effort.
That was why the qualifiers were done swiftly and efficiently, and that was achieved by putting more than 100 contestants into one area for a battle royale.
Losing consciousness and leaving the arena would immediately have them disqualified.
Only 8 people from each grade were able to reach the actual game. For the 2nd year students, there were 220 divided into two groups of 110, which meant only 4 would make it out of Group A.
It would go on until 4 were left on the stage.
So, what would they do first when 110 people were standing in the arena?
The answer to that question was straightforward.
“Take him down first!”
“Beat him up before he can summon his golems!”
“Huh…?”
Gang up on the strongest people.
It was the most rational and obvious plan for them.
The first to be disqualified was Kranel.
It was so quick that it seemed extremely cruel.
***
Before the start of the match, Alicia vowed to herself that she would come out victorious from this Tournament and give the prize to Korin.
The Saintess is participating as well, isn’t she…
Alicia didn’t want to lose to her. Korin had asked her to do it, so she really wanted to win.
Of course, a battle against the Saintess would only happen if Alicia were to pass the qualifiers but she wasn’t concerned in the slightest because she couldn’t imagine herself failing at the qualifying rounds.
Fortunately, Mr. Dorron is in the other group! And I know how to play around Mr. Kranel! He can’t use that Super Golem without Ms. Yuel, so I can do it!
There was a time when she had such innocent thoughts running through her mind.
“Get Alicia first!”
“Gang up on her!”
“Huaaang…! Stop following me! What have I done wrong!?”
The qualifying round of the Tournament was a battle royale of more than 100 students crammed into an arena that went on until there were 4 standing. In other words, anyone could pass as long as they survived the longest.
However, most of the participants were either Grade 3 or Grade 4 guardians, and they knew very well that they had no chance in the actual rounds against higher-grade guardians in a 1-on-1 battle.
Right.
Therefore, the qualifying rounds were the only place where they could defeat the higher-ranked guardians, and everyone had a similar line of thought in their minds.
If we deal with Alicia Arden here…
If we deal with Kranel Luden here…
Maybe I can become one of the last four?
That same rule applied to other groups as well, therefore, it was harder for higher-grade guardians to reach the actual stage surprisingly.
It was because they were the common enemy of every participant of that group.
“You guys are so mean!!”
Thanks to that, Alicia had to run around the entire round and barely pass as the 4th.
“Huek… Hueeek…! That was scaryyy…”
Korin in the last iteration got disqualified by them ganging up on him, but it appeared that Alicia was better than Korin at running away.
………
……
…
After that round of shock and horror, Alicia became a part of the audience and watched the next qualifying rounds unfold.
『Next up is the 3rd grader’s Group B! Everyone, please enter the stage.』
3rd grade Group B. There was someone in that group who immediately gathered the eyes of others.
“Hello everyone~”
Standing nonchalantly despite the vigilant and cautious gazes of everyone around her was Estelle Hadassa El Rath. Her lofty status and appearance made her the target of awe and admiration, but it was a different story inside an arena.
Not many people knew about the Saintess’s ability to fight.
She was a prayer rather than a fighter.
She was the one closest to the Lord, who had the power to bring forth miracles like healing the sick and recovering polluted lands.
Was she strong? She must be, right? The only answer they had for that question was, “I heard she’s strong but…”
Beazeker was in Group A so…
Marie’s not here either, so the Saintess is the only one to be wary of from this group.
Whatever. Let’s just attack her first.
The Tournament had an appealing prize for the winner, but there was a rather decent reward given just for reaching the top 32. The 3rd year students, who were blinded by those rewards, weren’t willing to show respect, even to the Saintess.
“Unfortunately, Saintess, this is a formal battle and it cannot be helped.”
Everyone was looking at the Saintess even before the start of the round.
Back when Alicia started her round, there were around 50 of them that pounced at her at once, and the same appeared to be true for the Saintess. No matter how strong, it was hard for anyone to deal with a large group running in at once unless one had a large AOE skill like Korin’s Sun or an overwhelming defense like Hua Ran.
“I didn’t bring my weapon so that you don’t get hurt by accident,” the princess said in a light tone.
『Ready yourselves!』
“Please last more than 10 seconds.”
『Start!』
Immediately, a powerful and sublime energy started to gather in the Saintess’s hands.
“No trials will be given except what is common to mankind.”
The 3rd-year students all ran in at once, not knowing the future waiting ahead of them. Meanwhile, the Saintess continued “praying to herself”.
“The trials I give might be a little… difficult to overcome.”
Her fingers closed one by one. It was a natural course of action to form a fist, but the air around her was being compressed along with her grip.
“This is the will of not the lord, but myself.”
Sacred Energy — A Slightly Strong Punch
She slammed down her fist towards the ground of the arena. As soon as the unimaginable compression of energy collided with the ground—
———————————————!!!
The world lost its sound.
“Ehk?”
“...Heh?”
Silence befell the crowd.
An unimaginably destructive explosion was followed by a thick layer of dust covering the arena. Soon, the dust settled back down and revealed the shocking state of the battlefield.
“What the heck… is that?”
“Like, what in the…”
The arena was completely destroyed as if it had been struck by a grand spell. It was useless to even talk about who was disqualified and whatnot.
Most of the qualifying contestants who had been running towards her were blown away just like the arena itself.
Alicia, thanks to her incredible eyesight, witnessed Estelle scratching her head in the midst of the thinning layer of dust, whispering to herself with her tongue sticking out.
“Amen~”
Can I… beat her?
I don’t think I can…