Chapter 330 - 330: Closing of the Academy Martial Arts Tournament

It was the instant Rigel's shout shook the arena.

Amelia did not even reply and stepped in as if entrusting her body to a path of wind.

She had not discarded her sword.

But her stance had quietly switched to that of one who chose "fist" over blade.

"Here I go! Daaaaah!! Super Ultra Royal Punch!!!"

The name of a finishing move that flew from the princess's mouth.

An "eh?" air spread like a wave.

But that wave was immediately swallowed by cheers.

The fist ran.

Air split, shadow was left behind.

And then a dry sound.

Amelia's fist was driven into Rigel's face without an inch of error.

Even so Rigel did not move.

He did not fall.

He did not even sway.

"…Is this your full power?"

Rigel's voice was low and slightly pained.

At that question Amelia averted her gaze.

Then she lowered the corner of her brow slightly and answered.

"U-um… For now… yes."

The two's conversation was a small voice of only the mouths moving.

It should not have reached even the nearby referee, still less the audience seats.

The spectators could not understand, and a stir began to wriggle again.

The heat of a moment ago showed signs of changing to suspicion.

When that "doubt" was just about to touch the critical point.

"Guaaaaaah!!!!!"

Belatedly, Rigel's body jumped.

As if shock burst centered on his face and his body floated into midair.

While shouting he went over the edge of the stage and was blown out of bounds.

"W-what happened!?"

"There was time after she punched, right? He flew at this timing!?"

"It came late! It came late!!"

Confusion changed to joy.

They could not understand.

But that was fine.

People can go into a frenzy at a phenomenon they cannot understand, still not understanding.

On a stage called the final, all the more.

Amelia puffed her chest, opened her eyes wide, and stood still proudly.

On that forehead one line of sweat shone.

But even that looked like a medal of victory.

While her voice cracked a little she declared imposingly.

"D-did you see! Th-this is that… by packing special magic and fighting spirit into the punch, I loaded a time lag into the shock!!"

While saying it she herself tilted her head a little.

But there was no one who noticed such a fine point.

The spectators raised cheers not at reason but at "interestingness."

"O-ooooh!!!"

"Amazing!!"

"A time lag!?"

The spectators shouted.

The shouts chained and spread like ripples.

The princess's words became a primer and painted over everything of the place.

"This is my ability! Amelia the Fifth Princess is me!!"

Those words were high, clear, and straight.

The woman in the commentary seat drew a breath vigorously as if she had been waiting.

The voice rang through the sky via the mike-type magic tool.

"W-what a conclusion! Lord Rigel who is the hero of the Valstine campaign is defeated before Amelia! Even a hero could not win against the noble bloodline of royalty!!"

The reasoning was sloppy but the force was genuine.

The heat the words held surpassed logic.

The audience seats were pulled by that, and voices praising the winner pressed in as a wave.

"Ooh! As expected, Lady Amelia!!"

"Long live Princess Amelia!!"

"Princess! Princess! Princess!!"

The cheers showed no sign of stopping, and a vortex of joy swallowed the whole arena.

In a corner of that clamor Rigel, who should have fallen, quietly stood.

He brushed off dirt and quickly brushed the mud on his knees.

On his face there was neither pain, nor anger, nor even surprise.

As if it had been a planned harmony, as if nothing had happened, he returned to the stage.

The spectators were in great excitement, and there was no one who paid attention to Rigel's movement.

He approached the winner just like that.

Then with a face that even erased the smile he brought his lips to her ear.

"Right away. Within a few days I'll go violate your ass hole. Loosen it yourself properly every day."

That voice was low, quiet, and carried a strangely raw ring.

Amelia's spine stretched taut.

Under the winner's mask a color of agitation ran.

"U… um… Understood…"

While standing at the center of the cheers Amelia nodded meekly.

Still with a winner's face.

But only her eyes swam a very little.

"Don't forget. This is a 'loan.'"

"I-I know… That… I'll prepare…"

"If you understand, that's fine."

Throwing it short he stepped one step back.

Contrary to the result of the final, that part alone also looked like an exchange of master and servant.

But the spectators did not notice.

They could not notice.

What they wanted was not truth but the winner's story.

And the story was closed in the form the people understood most easily.

"Now now! The champion is Fifth Princess Amelia!! The Academy Martial Arts Tournament hereby closes!!"

Confetti danced, flags were waved, names were shouted.

Amelia did not break the winner's posture and raised her hand proudly.

She raised her fist this time not as a "technique" but as a "symbol."

There was no one who noticed that fist trembled a very little.

Thus the Academy Martial Arts Tournament lowered its curtain.

Several days after the closing of the Academy Martial Arts Tournament.

The Royal Academy began to turn as if nothing had happened.

Peace.

At least on the surface.

"Hey, did you see? The courtyard this morning… Lord Rigel was there again."

"Don't say 'Lord'! Emphasizing status inside the academy is forbidden!!"

"No, it's not status, I'm just respecting his strength."

The students gossiped.

Rigel. Among the students attending the Royal Academy, he was an existence that stood out as heterogeneous.

"That's the guy who dies if you get close."

"I don't think he'll die… probably…"

"What's 'probably'!"

"Hero of the Valstine campaign, Lord Rigel…"

"That's why don't bring up merits outside the academy that much!"

"Right right. There's also the discipline issue, but simply our mob feeling increases."

"You were a mob from the start."

"Stop! I'm still the legitimate son of a baron house!!"

Rumors fell everywhere like raindrops.

Behind the classroom, a corner of the library, and the corridor of the club building.

The person at the center of that, as if avoiding such rain, today too walked one step outside the flow of people.

Averting his gaze, quietly dropping his footsteps, touching no one and touched by no one.

"…Haa. What a pain."

Rigel muttered small.

Closer to words mixed into a sigh than a soliloquy.

That voice that seemed to assimilate with the air reached no one's ears and sank into his inside.

"Not standing out is hard. After all yielding the win to Amelia was correct. At this rate with runner-up… If I had won, what would it have become…"

Distant gazes stabbed.

There was no one who met his eyes.

But he certainly felt only the presence.

It was thin like mist, yet certainly clung.

Goodwill, respect, fear, awe.

Occasionally, disgust.

Rumors continued spreading at a pace far exceeding his prediction.

Just walking raised reputation, and even staying quiet became a topic.

As if existing itself were an incident.

"The Opening Generation, they say."

"I heard. A lineup of talent that makes up until last year look hazy."

"They say even among past generations it's one of the best."

"Isn't it scary that first through third year are all bumper years?"

"Scary. This year's first years were called the 'Miracle Generation,' but it's already not that level."

To the Royal Academy excellent personnel gathered from various places in the Wistaria Kingdom.

In name and reality the highest educational institution for those who would bear the nation's future.

Nominally status was not asked.

Royalty, nobles, great merchants, sometimes commoners too.

Every year they produced personnel called "geniuses," and "excellent student" level existed beyond counting.

But even so.

The current students' "protrusion" and "numbers" were clearly abnormal.

Far too excellent, and far too many.

As if some omen.

As if arranged by fate.

Elerora of the Illusion Eye.

Rebecca of Awakening.

The eccentric alchemist Nino.

The dummy Lizia.

Delinquent girl Luwin.

Evangelist of cherry blossom magic, Rose.

Magical girl Nesis.

Sadistic discipline committee member Serena.

Discipline committee, demon vice-chair Valeria.

Kendo club ace Ruby.

Fuser of fire magic and martial arts, Rim.

Fuser of fire magic and observation eye, Homura.

Martial arts girl Lucia.

Super recovery Anita.

Heavy-armor warrior Noah.

Health Committee ace Evelyn.

E-class's star of hope, Char.

Condemnation Execution Aria.

Martial girl Testarossa.

Fifth Princess Amelia.

And hero of the Valstine campaign, Rigel.

"There are all kinds of people, but after all—"

"Lord Rigel and Lady Amelia are the top picks, right. The heads of the 'Opening Generation'!"

Someone's casual words.

Even if they reached his ears Rigel did not move his face.

Just like that he advanced his steps matter-of-factly.

He picked it up with only his ears, without moving his expression, and only looked ahead.

"…Opening Generation, huh."

The words muttered small resembled self-mockery.

A voice that seemed to vanish mixed into the air, but there was a certain thorn there.

When he chewed the words, the bitterness increased a little.

"Personnel who open the kingdom's future. Well put, but… troublesome."

The grandiose name tangled around his feet like a chain.

At this rate he could not enjoy a carefree rape life.

Having academy life made into a mere "place of learning" was something he declined.

If there was strength, use it for freedom.

Otherwise, what was the cheat skill for.

"I need to do something. But…"

A concrete plan would not come out.

Crawling up from the bottom was easy.

If there was ability, you silenced them with force and it ended.

But deliberately tumbling down from the peak was unexpectedly difficult.

Even for Rigel who possessed the cheat skill [Rape]. No, exactly because it was him, all the more.

If he showed a gap it was converted into "resolve" or "anguish," and if he slacked he was enshrined as "caliber" or "composure."

Whatever he did was conveniently made into a story.

He could see such a future.

Then what to do?

Before that answer came out, a voice burst beyond the corridor.

An unfamiliar someone's voice called Rigel's name.

With that alone he understood the air stirred and gazes flowed this way.

…After all, it seemed he had no place of rest.

He declined trouble.

With an appearance as if wanting to say that, Rigel left quickly.