Chapter 614: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Award and Ending Ceremony

The next day arrived much faster than people had noticed.

Perhaps it was because everyone had been waiting so eagerly for this particular morning to arrive.

From the moment the sun began to rise over the Royal Academy, Britannia already seemed to be moving toward the same destination.

The morning sunlight shone brightly over the streets surrounding the Academy, washing the buildings in a pale golden light as people made their way toward the arena. Merchants had opened their stalls early, and the streets were already crowded with people wearing Academy colors, noble family insignias, and clothing decorated with the names or symbols of their favorite Young Alchemists.

Some people had even spent their morning buying the final pieces of merchandise from the Combat Festival.

Small banners.

Badges.

Cloth ribbons.

Even Miniature toy weapons modeled after the firearms used during the matches.

Even small figures of the First-Year students had become popular enough that some merchants had barely been able to keep them in stock.

Many spectators treated the items like treasures rather than simple festival merchandise.

After all, there was no guarantee that they would ever get another chance to see these young Alchemists at such a close distance.

Perhaps, years from now, some of these children would become famous figures throughout Britannia.

Perhaps they would become Duke House leaders, Royal Alchemists, War Alchemists, Grand scholars, Grand inventors, or names that would be written into the history of Alchemy itself.

And if that happened, the people standing in these streets today could point at the merchandise sitting inside their homes and say that they had owned it back when those famous figures were still students.

That thought alone was enough to make many people spend a little more than they originally planned.

By the time the morning had fully settled in, hundreds of thousands of spectators had already begun filling the arena.

The huge structure was packed from the lower seats to the highest sections, with people squeezing past one another to reach their assigned places. Conversations moved through the crowd like waves, rising and falling as different groups discussed the previous matches.

Some were still talking about Vera.

Others talked about Maxwell.

Ezra’s name continued to appear in conversations as well, especially among spectators who had watched his fight against Maxwell.

And, of course, there were still people arguing about the First-Year rankings.

Inside the arena, huge banners bearing the crest of the Royal Academy hung from the walls.

The Golden Crown and the golden sword attached to the center of the crown were displayed proudly across the banners, their designs catching the morning light that entered through the open ceiling.

The sight alone made the arena feel different from the previous days of combat.

There was no sense of an upcoming battle.

No bloodstained platform.

No shattered weapons.

No students waiting nervously for their opponent to enter.

Instead, the entire place carried the feeling of an ending.

The fight platform had also been widened slightly, giving the First-Year students enough room to stand together during the ceremony.

The damage from the previous battles had been completely repaired.

There were no cracks left in the ground.

No melted sections.

No broken pieces of stone.

The staff had worked through the night to restore the arena to its proper state, adding some updates to some sections of the arena, and now the platform looked almost as clean as it had before the Combat Festival began.

Many important guests and high powers of the Kingdom had already taken their seats.

However, not everyone who had attended the previous rounds remained for the Award and Ending Ceremony.

Some important guests had already left after the semifinals.

Among them was the Melodious Scholar of the House of Melody.

A few other important guests had also departed, having business waiting for them elsewhere in Britannia.

Even the Count of Evermont was not present for the Award and Ending Ceremony of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival.

Still, the absence of a few important figures did little to reduce the size of the gathering.

There were more than enough nobles, students, families, merchants, Ministers, and Non-Nobles left inside the arena to make the entire structure feel alive.

A few minutes passed.

The conversations gradually became quieter as people settled into their seats.

At the Third-Year and Second-Year seating section, however, several students were still talking among themselves.

Bella Ashenlocke sat among a group of Ashenlockes and those aligned with the Duke House, her gaze moving toward the empty First-Year seating section.

She shook her head with a displeased expression.

"To think there were wild rumors about my dear little step-sister and that young Child of Ashenlocke, Ezra."

She paused for a moment before adding,

"People must have really been jealous and envious."

"Yes, I agree with you on that."

"Lady Vera proved every one of them wrong, Lady Bella."

"Even Sir Ezra Ashenlocke also showed them how good he is."

The other members of Ashenlocke and those aligned with the Duke House agreed with her.

Some nodded.

Others smiled.

A few leaned back in their seats while remembering the battles they had witnessed over the past weeks.

The Combat Festival had certainly given the Ashenlocke name plenty to talk about.

Harlan Ashenlocke, Lewis Ashenlocke, and a few other Ashenlocke members quietly watched the cheering Ashenlockes around them with faint complicated expressions.

Frances Drakes looked at Bella and the rest of the Ashenlockes with a grin.

"Why are the Gun Alchemists making a lot of noise today?"

Trevor Galehart, who was sitting nearby, glanced toward Frances.

"You know, a Drakes shouldn’t actually be talking. I mean, your best First-Year, Drakes, Lady Fatima, lost to an Ashenlocke in the first round of the Combat Festival, meaning she will be amongst the best of the lower thousands of First-Years."

Frances immediately turned toward him.

"What?! Are you trying to defend the Ashenlockes by mocking my family?"

She pointed at Trevor, a little annoyed.

Trevor raised both hands slightly, wearing an innocent expression.

"I’m just telling the truth, though."

Frances narrowed her eyes.

Trevor simply shrugged.

Before Frances could answer, another voice entered their conversation.

"You all seem to be enjoying yourselves, discussing our juniors."

Lucien Derlis walked toward them with a group of people.

Eleanor Tempest.

Wilfried Evermont.

Three members of the House of Derlis.

And Lydia Bergwyn.

They were all among the Top Fifty Third-Year students.

Their presence alone caused some of the surrounding conversations to quiet down.

Lucien, Eleanor, and Lydia were especially noticeable.

Lydia Bergwyn was the No. Ten of the Third-Year ranking and was a Meister Alchemist.

Eleanor Tempest was the No. Five.

And Lucien Derlis was ranked second among the Third-Years, surpassed only by Drax Drakes.

He was also an Arcanist Alchemist.

That combination was enough to make the atmosphere around them slightly different.

The presence of these people made many of the other Third-Years and Second-Years quiet down, even though several other highly ranked Second-Years were already seated among them.

The sudden change in the atmosphere was noticeable.

A moment ago, several students had been freely discussing the Combat Festival, but the arrival of Lucien Derlis, Eleanor Tempest, Lydia Bergwyn, Wilfried Evermont, and the other Top Fifty Third-Year students caused many of them to lower their voices.

Lucien noticed the sudden silence and looked around at the students.

"Don’t be silent, guys. We can all continue to converse with each other."

Lucien said it with a gentle smile.

Several of the young ladies nearby quickly looked away.

His face had a certain charm that made it difficult to keep looking at him without being noticed, especially when he smiled like that. A few of the girls lowered their eyes while quietly whispering among themselves, though some still stole another glance at him from the corner of their eyes.

"Always making the atmosphere weird, Senior Lucien."

Catherine Bergwyn walked in with Preston Sailor and a few of the other Top Second-Years.

"The only person making things weird is the one using the word in the first place."

Eleanor replied before Lucien could, her expression displeased as she looked toward Catherine.

"Huh?"

Catherine frowned.

She clearly did not understand what Eleanor meant, or perhaps she simply did not like the answer.

"Hey, now... Catherine."

Preston Sailor placed a hand on Catherine’s shoulder and began dragging her toward where they usually sat.

"Let’s not fight with our seniors."

Catherine followed Preston, though her gaze remained locked on Eleanor’s mocking stare.

Even while being pulled away, she did not stop looking at her.

Preston eventually managed to guide her toward their seats before the situation could become any stranger.

Lucien watched the two Second-Years leave, then turned his attention toward Eleanor.

"You shouldn’t bully every Junior you speak to, Eleanor. No one would like you."

Lucien said it calmly, without sounding particularly concerned about the argument.

Eleanor did not even look bothered.

"Many people already adore me."

She lifted her navy-blue hair and brushed it toward the back before walking over to take her seat.

Her movement was simple, but it still attracted plenty of attention.

Many of the Third-Year and Second-Year boys could not simply take their eyes off the Flower sitting among them.

Some stared openly.

Others quickly looked away whenever Eleanor’s gaze moved in their direction, pretending they had been looking somewhere else.

Eleanor, however, seemed completely used to it.

Lucien and the others followed her and took their seats.

The conversations around the Third-Year and Second-Year sections slowly returned.

More Third-Years and Second-Years continued making their entrance, filling the remaining empty seats as the morning progressed.

Students moved through the rows, greeting their friends and finding their families.

Some carried small bags containing food and drinks.

Others had banners or pieces of merchandise from the Combat Festival resting beside them.

The noise continued for a while longer.

And soon...

All the students were completely seated.

The same was true for the whole arena.

Everyone was now seated.

The enormous arena gradually settled into silence.

Then...

KZZRAK!

A loud sound of Alchemy Ignition echoed through the whole arena.

Many spectators immediately looked upward.

The opened ceiling of the arena began to close as earth moved into place, filling the enormous space above them.

Large sections of earth shifted with the support of Alchemy, sliding together until the outside world was slowly sealed away.

The bright morning sunlight disappeared.

The whole place suddenly became dark.

For a moment, hundreds of thousands of people sat beneath the darkness, their faces barely visible in the fading light.

Lit!

Lights switched on from different directions, spreading across the arena.

One after another, the illumination reached the seats, the banners, the walls, and the central fight area.

The Royal Academy crest became clearly visible again.

A single spotlight switched on at the center of the fight platform.

The beam of light struck the empty platform, making it the only place in the arena that seemed to matter.

The spectators became quieter.

Then Professor Liliana Galehart’s voice came through the arena speakers.

"Today, we of the Royal Academy thank every one of you who came from different regions of this glorious Kingdom to watch your children, siblings, nieces, nephews, or cousins fight hard to display how far they have grown since joining us in the Royal Academy, and now, after a long set of weeks of rounds and fighting, we have come to the end of the Combat Festival."

Her voice spread through the arena, reaching even the highest seating sections.

Professor Liliana paused.

Some people looked around, trying to see where she was standing, since she wasn’t standing on the platform.

Others simply remained seated, listening.

The spotlight stayed fixed on the center of the fight platform.

Then Liliana Galehart’s voice echoed through the arena once more.

"Now... let’s give a round of applause to all of the First-Year students of the Royal Academy!"

Her voice became louder as the lights around the fight area brightened.

"Wooooaahhhh!!!"

The crowd responded almost immediately.

The sound shook the arena.

Many spectators stood up from their seats and began clapping.

Some shouted the names of their children.

Others called for their favorite Young Alchemists.

A few parents raised their hands and shouted toward the entrance, already knowing that their child would soon appear.

Then the right entrance of the arena opened.

The First-Year students of the Royal Academy walked out.

They entered in different rows and columns, moving together in an organized formation as they made their way toward the fight platform.

The students all wore the full Royal Academy uniform.

The black military cap with the Royal Academy crest on the center.

The long military black and gold coat.

The black and cream gloves.

The cream shirt.

The black trousers for the boy, and black skirt with leggings for the girls.

And black shoes for both boys and girls.

Although, some girls wore black short-heeled shoes with little cream color on the edges.

Their footsteps echoed across the arena floor as they moved forward.

Some students maintained serious expressions, while others looked toward the crowd when they heard their names being called.

A few smiled.

Some waved subtly toward their families.

Others simply kept their eyes forward, perhaps feeling awkward under the attention of hundreds of thousands of spectators.

After spending weeks fighting against one another, arguing about who would advance to the next rounds, standing together like this felt strangely different.

There was no opponent waiting for them.

No countdown.

No weapon in their hands.

No need to gather Cognis.

No need to ignite their Alchemy.

For the moment, they were simply First-Year students of the Royal Academy.

The rows continued moving toward the platform.

One student after another stepped onto it.

Their shoes and short-heeled shoes touched the repaired surface of the fight platform, and they continued walking until every student had reached their assigned position.

The platform that had been covered in destruction during the Combat Festival now held hundreds of students in complete uniform.

Once everyone had finally climbed onto the platform, they stopped.

They all faced the direction where the High Powers of the Kingdom sat.

The sight made the arena even quieter for a brief moment.

Professor Liliana’s voice echoed softly from the arena speakers.

"Let’s all rise, and begin the recitation of the Royal Academy Anthem, and the Britannia Anthem."

The crowd gradually settled.

Those who were still seated began to rise.

The students on the platform remained in formation.

The bright lights continued shining down upon them as the enormous Royal Academy crest remained displayed behind the platform.

The noise of hundreds of thousands of people slowly faded away.

For the first time that morning, the entire arena became almost completely silent.

The Award and Ending Ceremony had officially begun.