[Uh… Uh. Can you hear me?]
The waiting room was empty except for Raze—strictly enforced to prevent cheating. Knowing this, someone had just accessed the magic stone’s communication function.
The voice, high-pitched yet somehow stiff, belonged to Major Julius Harley, who was assisting with tournament security.
After double-checking that no one else was nearby, Raze spoke up.
“I can hear you. Is this a private channel?”
[Yes. The person you’ve been letting run loose just moved after seeing the match results. Thought you’d want a report.]
Julius’s words snapped Raze out of her earlier funk over the failed operation.
“What did they do?”
[They were shocked—radiating pure killing intent. My detection went haywire in that spot. If I hadn’t been briefed beforehand, I’d have ordered their immediate arrest.]
Julius’s detection ability didn’t just track physical movement—it reacted to a person’s aura. Her detection net, spread like fine threads, gave her a rough sense of their emotional state. It was an incredibly handy skill, making her highly sought after for guard duties like this.
“I see… Got it. Thanks.”
With this, the suspect—previously only under suspicion of trying to discredit Carne—was now practically confirmed. Raze’s expression grew complicated as she pictured the culprit.
(People really aren’t what they seem, huh…)
Though, honestly, she wasn’t one to talk.
True, she’d fought to protect her country—but during the defense war, she’d slain countless Imperial soldiers. Cyan’s doctrine held that “the best defense is a relentless offense,” and she never let intruders slip through. None of the students here knew that their classmate was the very same “Head-Severing Phantom” feared by the enemy nation.
[Things might get messy from here on out. They’re probably getting frustrated that nothing’s going their way.]
“I’d really prefer they wait until after I graduate. But knowing them, they’re impatient. If they do anything, I’ll personally go take their head off. I don’t want the students’ fun school life disturbed.”
[Eek! That’s scary! When you say stuff like that, it doesn’t sound like a joke at all—cut it out!]
Well, it’s understandable—after all, the nation’s top soldier just casually declared she’d go decapitate an enemy commander. Raze herself was only half-joking… and knowing her, she might very well follow through.
“Anyway, negotiations are definitely broken off now. All we can do is watch their next move… Though first, I need to figure out what to do about my next match.”
She let out a heavy sigh, already dreading what lay ahead.
[Ah, speaking of that—I’ve got a message for you.]
Julius had initiated the call specifically to deliver this. Raze immediately felt a bad premonition.
[From the Prime Minister: “Go all out, no holding back.” And from his wife: “Please take good care of my son.”]
At those words, Raze closed her eyes tightly.
(“Take good care of my son”?! What the hell is that supposed to mean!?)
She barely restrained herself from shouting aloud: “I’m definitely NOT taking good care of him!”
Seeing Raze fall silent, Julius gently continued, sensing her inner turmoil.
[I get how you feel, but I think it’s better if you win. If the Prime Minister’s son climbed this far specifically to alter the plot of that “Otome Game” you told me about, then he might become a target. To that Seeress of Foresight, anyone who knows the story is a direct threat—someone who devalues her very existence, right?]
The mastermind behind the scheme to cast Carne as the villainess—or rather, to revert the story back to its “original” path—was almost certainly the Seeress of Foresight in the Magenda Empire. The spy embedded in the academy was likely acting under her orders, and Ruben was originally meant to win this Battle Festa. Now, with the plot altered, scrutiny was inevitable—someone would surely investigate who changed the script.
“You’re absolutely right… It already feels too late to fix anything, but at the very least, I should win to divert attention elsewhere.”
During this security detail, Raze had already briefed Julius on the basics of the otome game scenario, securing her cooperation.
Carne’s precognitive ability had already been reported to Harrens, and they’d done everything possible to shore up their defenses.
[Your job’s literally to stand out now. It might feel weird, but the task itself is simple, right? You might never get another chance like this—might as well enjoy it!]
Encouraged by Julius, Raze gave a wry smile.
“You’re right… Actually, I feel a bit lighter now. Thanks.”
[You’re welcome! I’m rooting for you—go get ‘em!]
“Yeah.”
Glancing at the clock on the wall, she saw it was nearly time.
She ended the call and rose from the bench, feeling just a little less weighed down.
Raze, who’d had her mission’s glory shamelessly stolen from her.
“Did you really want to fight me that badly? If so, you should’ve just said so sooner~”
She was in a worse mood than ever before.
“…Are you sure you’re the same person?”
Addis, meeting her in the arena, flinched at her obviously forced smile.
“Of course I’m the same! But honestly, I’m more surprised that you’d go so far as to hold back His Highness just to advance~”
(How dare you turn all my hard work into worthless bubbles!) She beamed at him with a deceptively sweet, yet utterly sinister grin.
“I won’t hold back this time, you know?”
Raze twirled her tournament short sword once before gripping it firmly in her right hand.
She’d brought a weapon specifically to ensure the referee would unmistakably call it a critical hit.
And what that meant was simple: she was dead serious.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“Whoa! Representative’s actually serious about winning!”
Harul, one of her subordinates, cheered excitedly at Raze’s provocation.
“I thought she’d throw the match since the mission’s already done—but go, Representative!”
His face lit up with joy as he turned to Cross, seated beside him.
“…That smile looks exactly like when she’s about to snap…”
Cross, Raze-Shess-Orphan’s deputy—renowned for reading her expressions—replied with a wry smile.
“Doesn’t matter why! Just crush ‘em, Representative! Anyone who might make us bow down to them in the future—smash ‘em to bits!”
“Dude… We’ve got soundproofing, but still—don’t say stuff like that out loud.”
Cross sighed, exasperated by his partner’s unrestrained shouting.
It was a bizarre scene, considering Raze was supposedly undercover at this academy to protect her target.
“Aaah…”
Then Cross suddenly realized something.
“Wait… Representative never seriously injures students because she sees them as people she’s supposed to protect, right?”
“Cross, you’re only noticing that now? Obviously! Just remember how she trained us.”
Harul gaped at him, then paled as memories of their training flooded back.
“She definitely doesn’t hold back…”
“Yeah, that’s for sure.”
Harul nodded grimly, and Cross agreed.
Her training sessions were, frankly, more brutal than actual combat. Whenever they got injured, she’d cheerfully say, “Don’t worry! The healers will fix you right up—and your recovery rate’ll improve too!” Once, she’d even claimed, “Suffering horribly now means you’ll handle real battles just fine!”—which they’d all dismissed as utter nonsense.
In truth, though, Raze hadn’t been entirely wrong—which was precisely how their unit earned the nickname “Cyan’s Hundred Demons.”
“She probably thinks pulling her strikes just enough to leave light wounds—not full stop—is her version of holding back. That’s why seeing her in this tournament actually put my mind at ease.”
At Harul’s words, Cross couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’ve got a point! But that also means Representative’s been deliberately going hard on us all along.”
“Yeah, well—this isn’t a practice match. It’s only natural she’d be strict.”
“Match is starting,” Harul cut off the conversation.
The arena now held only one match.
All eyes were on Raze Granoli and Addis Lag Zarth.
No one dismissed Raze’s earlier victories as mere luck anymore. Predicting the winner was impossible—but a select few were utterly certain of Raze Granoli’s victory. To them, betting on the outcome seemed foolish.
“How much longer until that kid can actually beat Wolf Fang-chan, I wonder?”
“…Vanessa. The match hasn’t even started yet…”
Among those certain of Raze’s win were the Grim Reaper Prime Minister and his wife, watching from the VIP seats.
Wellrain, hearing his wife’s comment, gently tried to defend his son.
But—
“Huh? Do you seriously think Addis can win?”
His wife shot him a look that questioned his sanity, leaving him utterly defeated.
“Well then, I guess it’s time for a strategy shift. We’ll just have to equip Wolf Fang with enough intelligence and authority to surround her. That’s your department. We’ll hold a strategy meeting as soon as we get home.”
“But I…”
“What?”
“…Never mind. I’ll finish my work quickly so we can discuss it…”
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