Every eye in the room turned toward Ruite. However, his classmates didn’t seem to have any objections to Harold’s decision; they merely grumbled about their own disappointment at not being picked.
“Then, for Class 3, these four will be the team. Just gather at the East Entrance at the scheduled time on the day of the festival. The subjugation will take place on the same mountain where you took your practical exam.”
By the time Ruite snapped out of his daze, Harold had already finalized the team.
In the end, without even getting a chance to open his mouth, Ruite found his name on the list for the Magic Beast Subjugation War.
The more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
Surely there were plenty of kids in class with better practical scores and skills than him.
“Why me…?”
“Maybe the professor chose you because you have the skills to back it up?”
Ruite was slumped over his desk, clutching his hair, when a shadow fell over him.
Startled, he jerked his head up.
“Ah, Lucia.”
“This is the participation form. Please fill it out. Professor Harold asked me to take them to the committee right away.”
“Oh, uh, sure.”
Lucia’s face was as blunt as ever.
While Ruite signed his name on the application for an academy event he hadn’t even planned on attending, she waited in front of him silently, without a single change in expression.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
She had approached without a sound, and she vanished just as suddenly after collecting the forms and leaving the classroom.
“Lucia is really cold…”
“But Lucia is pretty,” Lona interjected from the side.
As expected, she was holding an illustrated botany book in her hands.
“Lona, you’re pretty too.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, thanks. Anyway, why the long face about the Subjugation War? It’s a festival everyone enjoys together.”
“Well, just because…”
“Is there a reason you’d hate it that much?”
In any group, there are those who actively participate and enjoy everything, and then there are the passive ones who just do what they’re told and prefer to relax and look around.
Ruite, if he had to choose, was the latter.
He didn’t like exerting himself for events.
But right now, that wasn’t the only problem.
“…”
Ruite stared at the back of Chester’s head in the front row.
Since the start of the new semester, Ruite had been trying his best to keep his distance.
There were moments when it was almost dangerous—like when Chester offered to help with assignments or bought him his favorite bread—but thanks to their separated seats, it hadn’t been too difficult.
In the beginning, Chester had tried to talk to him quite often.
Ruite wondered if he was overdoing it despite the family pressure, but then he remembered Benger’s fiery temper from the last banquet and figured Chester had his reasons.
However, as the midterm testing period approached, the frequency dwindled, and now Chester no longer approached him or tried to start conversations.
Finally, they had returned to their original distance.
He just had to wait like this until graduation.
But now that they were set to move as a team for this festival event, it weighed on his mind.
“But what can you do? Ruite, the moment the professor designated you, you lost your right to choose.”
“…Yeah, I guess so.”
The day of the festival dawned.
From early morning, a boisterous atmosphere swept across the entire academy grounds.
Thanks to the colorful decorations placed everywhere, the academy felt quite different from its usual stiff environment.
Booths for each year and department were operating successfully, and students eager to participate in various events held their pamphlets, busily planning where to go first.
Since it was an event where all years except the seniors participated, it was naturally more vibrant.
Many had been looking forward to this festival even more because there was usually little interaction between the different grades.
Ruite had also stepped out of the dorm in a relaxed manner and was wandering around various places with Dylan.
“Come and experience the Haunted House!”
‘Oh, that sounds like it would be fun to do with Magnus.’
“The Manufacturing Department exhibition opens at 1:00 PM! Please come join us!”
He was curious about that exhibition too.
The Manufacturing Department always came up with ingenious magic tools.
“Don’t you want to color your dull academy life with pink? We’re holding a couple-matching event! Come quickly and meet your fated partner!”
“Hey, Dylan. You should—”
Before he could even suggest it, Dylan had already sprinted to the front of that booth.
“I want to find my fated partner right now.”
Dylan, having filled out his basic info like name and department, clutched his fluttering chest with sparkling eyes.
“If it were that easy to meet a fated partner, would everyone in the world be with theirs?”
“Don’t be a buzzkill. Why don’t you go do it too?”
“No thanks. I’m going over there.”
Ruite headed toward the cafeteria booth run by the 2nd-year Magic Department.
“One Power Potion and one Crystal Ore, please.”
“There are four types of Crystal Ore properties. Which would you like?”
“Hmm… give me the Luck Crystal.”
The ‘potion’ was just a drink with food coloring, and the ‘Crystal Ore’ was simply a fluffy bread shaped like a mana stone.
They were being sold under names fitting for the Magic Department.
“Oh, does eating this power you up?”
Dylan, who had caught up, chuckled and tore off a piece of the bread.
“This isn’t Power; it’s the Luck Crystal.”
“Then you’ll need it even more. You definitely need luck on your side today.”
Ruite immediately turned gloomy at Dylan’s remark.
At that moment, several rectangular crystal magic tools floated into the sky above the academy.
Familiar to Magic Department students, these tools had the ability to transmit energy signals and show specific situations to people in real-time.
Ruite knew exactly why they were appearing.
“The Subjugation War must be starting soon!”
“This is going to be fun!”
“The Magic Department events are always the most interesting.”
“Hurry up! They say you can see it on a bigger screen in the Great Hall!”
Voices full of anticipation erupted from all around.
Ruite downed his potion in one go and stuffed the Luck Crystal into his mouth.
“I’m off.”
“Good luck, buddy!”
With a farewell from a jubilant Dylan, Ruite headed toward the East Entrance.
“Rui!”
He saw Colin waving from a distance.
Beside him were Lucia and Chester, along with other Magic Department students participating in the event.
“Hi.”
“Our class is all here. Let’s do our best. Ideally, let’s win!”
“Colin, winning isn’t that easy.”
“Haha, Lucia is as blunt as ever today.”
Ruite somehow ended up standing next to Chester.
Standing side-by-side like this, the awkward atmosphere felt even thicker.
“Well, let’s do our best.”
Unable to withstand the heavy silence, Ruite eventually threw out a cliché remark.
He felt a lingering gaze from the side, but he didn’t turn his head.
He only heard Chester’s low voice reply, “Yeah.”
“Whoa, the members for Class 3 are no joke, huh?”
At the sudden voice, Ruite’s group turned their heads simultaneously.
“The top student and the runner-up of the Magic Department. Isn’t this a bit much? How are we supposed to compete if we’re this intimidated?”
A male student with black hair similar to Chester’s shrugged his shoulders boldly.
His eyes were sharp yet clear.
He gave off a strong vibe of a handsome troublemaker who liked to play around.
“If you’re scared, there’s always the option to forfeit.”
Lucia threw out the remark after thinking it over.
“No, Lucia. He probably didn’t mean it that way.”
Ruite tried to stop her.
She probably thought the student was genuinely terrified and wanted to kindly suggest a solution.
However, most people could easily tell that this student was being incredibly sarcastic.
“But you guys know, right? Test scores and actual combat are different things.”
Ruite took the opportunity to check the name tag.
His name was Harrison.
Ruite wondered where he’d heard it before, then remembered Leah mentioning that there were several handsome celebrities in the Magic Department, grouping him with Colin and Chester.
He was definitely from Class 1.
“Anyway, I’m well aware of Colin and Chester, but…”
Harrison’s gaze then landed on Ruite.
“I don’t recognize your face. Ah, I get it now. Class 3 used you to balance things out?”
Essentially, he meant that since Class 3 already had the powerhouse duo of Colin and Chester, they must have thrown in a random, nameless student to keep the average on par with the other classes.
It was a blatant insult to Ruite.
“Well, think whatever you like. Actually, I—”
Ruite was about to say he didn’t even want to participate, but Chester stepped forward abruptly.
“Isn’t there a saying? The less confident you are, the more you talk.”
“What?”
“I know you’re trying to provoke us before we even start, but the tactic is so obvious it’s hard to play along. If we win after all this, how are you going to show your face out of sheer embarrassment?”
As Chester pushed back without pause, Harrison’s smirking face crumpled.
The broad back guarding the front completely blocked Harrison’s gaze and words toward Ruite.
Behind them, Lucia muttered, “I’ve never seen Chester talk that much,” while Colin looked like he was hoping the professors would arrive quickly before the atmosphere overheated further.
As if answering Colin’s wish, the Magic Department professors arrived just in time.
Naturally, the spark of conflict between Harrison and Chester was slowly extinguished.
Just as they turned around to gather in front of their respective professors…
“Acting all high and mighty when you’re just living as your brother’s sidekick.”
Harrison’s whispered remark reached Ruite’s ears clearly.
Ruite reflexively looked at Chester standing beside him.
Because if he had heard Harrison’s voice, there was no doubt Chester, standing right there, had heard it too.
But Chester only glanced back at Harrison for a moment, his expression not changing once.
He acted as if the remark were a simple fact of life, which made Ruite feel even more uncomfortable watching him.
Amidst that strange tension, the curtain rose on the Magic Beast Subjugation War event.
