World 300th Anniversary: Reido Academy Cup Tournament Opens

Bon… bon, bon…

Fireworks were launched. Daytime fireworks weren't very visible, but…

Magic-style ones could do anything and would shine brilliantly even in daylight; these appeared to be gunpowder-type.

Well, the goal was to make noise, so this was fine, I guess.

The Lasburg great arena was packed and bustling, and currently a marching-band parade was being held.

Such opening ceremonies were apparently going to run for about two hours from 10 AM, with the actual tournament starting at noon.

For something thrown together in a single week, the event was quite grand.

That probably had to do with Aqueria's skill in running the tournament, but this world as a whole was used to festive events like this.

We competitors had been told to arrive at noon, but Shaina and I had properly come from 10 AM.

"Well, the festive atmosphere is exciting… Until I became S-Class myself, I never had anything to do with such flashy tournaments, but…

"But somehow… it feels close to the image of festivals from old times. Somehow fun."

Shaina, eyes sparkling, looked cute.

… Hmm, if she were my lover, the only option here would be to hug her and kiss.

But she was strictly a best friend. I limited myself to holding her hand.

Then…

"N…"

Chu, Shaina kissed my cheek.

"Today, let's both do our best."

"… Yeah!"

All right, my fighting spirit was now thoroughly fired up.

We watched the show for a while. Acrobatic acts like a circus troupe, songs by idols…

Various shows were performed.

So my TriAngel's song would start too… well, it would be revealed soon enough, but for now I'd keep it under wraps.

Watching for two hours got tiring, so I excused myself partway through to use the restroom.

"… Y-you bastard… what are you doing!?"

… And was hailed by Zeiros.

"Yo, Zeiros. Be good to me today."

"'Be good' my foot! Y-you bastard, what were you doing, looking so close with Shaina Fervey…!"

… Oh, he'd seen us. Thanks to the no-contact order, he hadn't been able to come complain.

"Y-you, you… I-I doubt it, but… with Shaina, you…?"

I see, from his perspective, he must've been terribly jealous…

Well, I could say I hadn't done the act he'd be most jealous of.

But there was no obligation to tell him that…

Maybe no need to answer at all. I'd stay silent.

"U-unforgivable! Unforgivable! With that cuteness reigning over the coveted futanari-Garumon ranking at 2nd, Shaina Fervey too…!

"The crime of angering us futanari aficionados deserves ten thousand deaths!"

Even with me silent, he ballooned his delusions on his own and got angry.

What a pain…

Well, I couldn't deny I'd done enough to drive him mad with jealousy.

It had felt great.

With Ursula and Shaina, that's about twenty thousand deaths.

… What rank was Carla, I wondered.

"Fu… fufufu… ha-ha-ha-ha! But you're getting ahead of yourself only this far!

"… You probably don't know, you bastard, but in this world there exist the four heavenly mercenaries, stronger than any half-baked S-Class Master!"

Why did he decide I didn't know someone else's knowledge?

Well, if he'd read me as an isekai-origin guy out of the information loop, it wasn't a bad read.

No, at least the stuff Ursula had taught me, I'd know. Still a bad read.

"Today, that power of justice shall smite you!"

… Time to give some sort of reply.

"… A glorious S-Class Master borrows a mercenary's power instead of fighting with his own?"

I didn't feel any shame about it myself, but did this guy who looked prideful actually accept it?

"Sh-shut up! In the first place, this tournament is a one-day tournament, with consecutive matches presupposed!

"True, an S-Class Master can hold up to 24 Garumon and is calculated to be able to fight consecutive matches to a degree.

"But in reality, consecutive matches are difficult!

"How to prepare the necessary fighting strength there. That depends on each Master's resourcefulness!

"Borrowing mercenaries is a privilege granted by my house name — nothing to be ashamed of!"

… So Zeiros, armed with theory, was justifying borrowing mercenaries.

"Well… if you're satisfied with that, it's fine, but…"

I hesitated a moment over what to call Zeiros.

You? Pretty rude.

Kid? Rude to an older man.

Sir? Don't want to honor him…

Difficult… lots to ponder. Human relationships were a hassle.

"Fufufu… well, allow me to introduce. The veteran mercenary who will slaughter you!"

Oh, was he spoiling it before the start?

… However you sliced it, this was a bad move. If I knew who I was fighting, countermeasures got easier.

Well, with a strong opponent on the level of the rumored Wanderer Servi, the intimidation effect might be bigger.

So, had Wanderer Servi actually come for me?

I looked over with high expectations following the Griera precedent, but…

That expectation ended in disappointment.

Silver wings on the back… Surely not Melvis's high-probability pick Beast Demon Gaian; this one had come instead.

"… I, from twilight have come…"

Wearing silver armor with silver wings, with long grey hair.

His eyes had a triple-white-eye bad look, but he was fairly handsome and the monotone aura suited him.

He seemed a cut different from your Japanese chuunibyou patient.

"My name is Jakes. People call me Silver-Winged Fallen Angel…"

But clearly there was something self-intoxicated about him.

"Fu-fu-fu. Jakes is a top-class mercenary with S-Class ability!

"With this, Shaina is mine. Fu-fu-fu…!"

Zeiros got arrogant with borrowed power. Hmm, if he'd brought Servi, sure, but…

To get this puffed up over Jakes…

… No, I shouldn't take Jakes lightly just because I didn't know his ability. He was the opponent Melvis had acknowledged as her equal, with her own edge coming only from the attribute matchup.

… I'd thought of introducing Melvis here too, but showing off my battle strength before the fight was foolish.

Without doing extra things,

"Is that so. Amazing."

I stopped at that.

"… Luna. That's the angel who should descend to my silver wings…"

Jakes continued his words.

"… When I am victorious, I shall receive Angel Luna. That is my reward."

Bishi, he thrust his finger out.

So he wanted Luna.

… Sure, Luna was strong. And beautiful. But why Luna instead of Cellas or Suzanne?

… Maybe he liked TriAngel.

"Ah, in the opening act, TriAngel sings."

"What! … My angels' singing voices… I can't miss it…!"

"Ah, S-Sensei! Please wait, Sensei!"

Jakes ran off toward the venue. Zeiros followed after him.

So he was a hardcore TriAngel fan after all…

If I asked Farida, his name might be in the fan club member registry.

(→ He was member number 7. Out of about 50,000.)

… I should also hurry up and finish my bathroom break.

And then, the grand finale of the ceremony just before the start was…

"TriAngel!"

Doon!

Out walked Luna, Seika, and Setsuna under flashy lighting.

Waaaa, dowaaaa…!

Massive cheers rose. Thanks to my activity too, their popularity was further skyrocketing… they'd really become indisputable top stars.

"Hello… we are TriAngel."

Waaaa…!

Huge applause.

Lunaaa!

Seikaaaa!

Setsunaaaaa!

Waaaa…!!

Some fans, hot enough to suggest they'd come to the venue for this alone, blazed.

In every place, there are diehard fans.

"Please listen to our new song… Holy Snow."

Aaaah…!

And they performed a clean and beautiful song.

The transparent harmony of Luna and Seika. Setsuna's violin coloring it.

… Aah… beautiful. I think it clearly surpasses idol music. Wonderful.

If these three had done entertainment activities in Japan, they could have broken big.

Well, in Japan that combination might have been impossible.

Thanks to the isekai transfer, this was a miraculous combination.

Sharara-n

And, finishing the last note,

Waaaaaaaaa…!

The audience's loud applause. The voltage seemed to have peaked.

The three waved and exited. Yes, they were cute. Wonderful.

"… I mean, the fact that three top stars like this are Naoto's comrades… it's an incredible story…"

Shaina marveled.

"What, we always do mock battles together."

"True, but seeing them like this, they really feel like the stars I admire… I get a bit intimidated."

"Shaina, you're strangely meek at times… You're cute too, so just be more imposing."

"Uuu—"

Tsuntsun, I poked Shaina's cheek and teased her.

Now, at last, the tournament was beginning.

The venue fell silent.

And the announcer and commentator who appeared were…

Anneroese-san and Silvana-san, again.

Two peerlessly beautiful princesses in white and silver stood on the stage.

"Hi, everyone, hello-. I'm Silvana-chan, and…"

"I'm Anneroese."

Waaaa…!

Huge applause. As expected, super popular… I could feel it. So beautiful, cute, fun, and the commentary was accurate and perfect. The best, really.

"Mou, Anneroese-chan, you're stiff～"

"Quiet, please."

Shutting Silvana up sharply, Anneroese-san calmly began the explanation of the tournament.

"On this commemorable year, 300 years from the start of the world, this is being held on an emergency basis.

"The 300th Anniversary tournament, the Reido Academy Cup.

"The currently-trending isekai, the mass-transfer incident from Reido Academy on Earth.

"The many Masters who had transferred over fought among themselves.

"Among them, the one who especially distinguished herself was S-Class 17th, Eclair Feradria.

"Among the other members, the ones who distinguished themselves were those formerly led by Yumi Tsuchiya, and those formerly led by Kanan Kazami.

"Yumi Tsuchiya's team coalesced around Shogo Shiraki, pushing Shogo Shiraki up to A-Class.

"Kanan Kazami's team had Naoto Akai, who acquired Kanan Kazami, and others trying to take her from him, forming a competitive structure… eventually Naoto Akai won and reached A-Class.

"Last year, the duel between Shogo Shiraki and Naoto Akai was held under the direction of Eclair Feradria… Naoto Akai won.

"On that occasion, Naoto Akai promised that once he ascended to S-Class, he would settle things with Eclair Feradria.

"And last month, Naoto Akai secured promotion to S-Class 24th.

"As promised, he sought approval at the S-Class meeting for a duel to decide who would stand at the top of the Reido Academy isekai-transferees.

"But then objections came. The voices of other S-Class Masters saying, 'If you challenge Eclair Feradria, let me challenge you too.'

"S-Class 21st Fergus, S-Class 23rd Zeiros. S-Class 16th Julian.

"Naoto accepted these head-on.

"Unable to overlook the outnumbered situation, the one who stood on Naoto Akai's side was S-Class 22nd Shaina Fervey.

"First, it was decided that a tournament would be held among them, with Naoto Akai's right to challenge Eclair Feradria at stake, and that afterwards he would settle things with Eclair Feradria.

"… This tournament is a one-day tournament, with all matches held in one day!"

Waaaa…!

When explained this way, somehow there was a sense of me being painted as the good guy, the protagonist, by image manipulation.

Well, the strongest impression was of Shaina. Truly a saint. Well, Shaina actually being great was the truth.

Fergus and the others came off as villains who'd barged in to harass my fated showdown with Eclair.

Well, that was actually the truth.

But Sairas's "Why don't we make it a festival?" counter-pitch against Duras's objection, with everyone jumping on it with "me too, me too," did help in a sense, so it might be wrong to one-sidedly cast them as villains.

Well, Fergus and Julian had a reputation for being greedy characters from the start. They probably didn't care about being painted as villains.

Zeiros on the other hand was indignant. He probably thought of himself as a knight saving Shaina and Ursula from me!

… I was aware too that I was fighting for selfish reasons.

I wanted to save Sonya, but that too was my selfish desire.

For my selfish desires, they were throwing such a grand tournament…

This was one of the good things about this world, I thought.

By Earth's sensibilities, you'd get yelled at, "Cut it out."

He's hogging this many cute girls and still wants Eclair too — show some restraint with the greed.

… But in this world, my desires were affirmed. No one called greed bad.

If you were strong and showed your power, you'd be acknowledged.

This tournament felt like this world's welcome party for me.

… Of course, that was only if I won. Saying I'd just be on the guillotine to hell if I lost went without saying.

"To reintroduce, the host and announcer of this tournament is myself, Anneroese, and…"

"Commentary will be brought to you by Silvana. Be good to me-"

Waaaaa…!

Just as expected, the two were massively popular. They drew more applause than even the competitors.

"This tournament was decided suddenly, but I think it's an interesting attempt.

"The S-Class tournament's style of fighting up the ladder one rank at a time has the merits of making rankings easiest to understand and removing unfairness in matchup luck or misfortune, but matchups get fixed and lack interest.

"With some randomness, being able to see various combinations of fights is more fun, you know."

Silvana commented.

"Then first, let's look at the tournament bracket."

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Ze Sh Fe Na Ju Ec

iro ai rgu oto lian lair

s na s

"Round 1: Zeiros vs Shaina

"Round 2: Naoto vs Julian

"Round 3: Round 1 winner vs Fergus

"Semifinal: Round 3 winner vs Round 2 winner. Will not be held if Shaina vs Naoto.

"Final: Semifinal winner vs Eclair.

"That's everything."

"Oh dear… despite the random draw, it doesn't feel very fresh. Well, if the draw came out like this, it can't be helped.

"We saw Zeiros vs Shaina last year too, Shaina vs Fergus the year before too — those kinds of matchups, you know?

"Well, the result doesn't have to be the same.

"If Shaina wins here, she lives up to her role of the knight who stood on Naoto Akai's side.

"Conversely, if she loses, she becomes a captured princess, and that's delicious in its own way.

"Many are probably looking forward to a re-creation of two years ago's public rape by Fergus, no?

"Well, how it'll turn out this time, who knows.

"Naoto vs Julian is a first-time matchup… if things went normally, it's a match you could've waited to see by year's end.

"… That's probably not a great thing to say about a new Master's prospects, though.

"Well, for Naoto, Julian is going to be quite tough as an opponent to fight at this timing.

"As you know, S-Class can be divided as: 17-24th lower S-Class, 9-16th middle, 1-8th upper.

"8th is the wall of upper, 16th is the wall of middle — they're considered milestones.

"16th Julian is a Master who has held that middle wall for quite a long time.

"… How many years was it?"

"It's his 4th year as 16th. Before that he was 15th."

"Ah, since he slipped down when Sairas jumped him.

"… Well, even 17th Aldis and Eclair aren't quick to challenge him — Julian properly has the strength suited for S-Class middle.

"Mm, well, Julian, with the aliases Plunder King and Bandit King, would be hard to challenge anyway.

"From a lower S-Class Master's perspective, the strength of S-Class middle is always spoken of as a tier above. How well promising Naoto can fight is worth seeing."

"Silvana-san, you're being quite explicit today about focusing on Naoto."

"Well, this fight is the Reido Academy Cup, right?

"Originally about Naoto Akai and Eclair Feradria settling things, with this and that piling on…

"However you slice it, the main topic is Naoto.

"Normally, this Silvana-chan tries to see each S-Class Master as a fellow competing player without too much favoritism, but…"

Eeeh? Doubtful voices rose. The audience knew well.

She bit onto cute girls clearly more eagerly.

"Quiet over there.

"Just this once, it's fine to follow Naoto as the protagonist, no?

"Things are getting interesting now thanks to the Reido Academy transferees.

"Fight alongside the heroine and battle-comrade Shaina, with the final boss Eclair!

"In that vein, let's hype things up well.

"… Well, by the same token, if Naoto loses partway through, it'll be a buzzkill, so please give it your all."

"… Understood. As it's a special tournament, this once I'll allow it.

"In the event Naoto Akai loses partway through, extremely harsh conditions are imposed on him.

"No matter who beats him along the way, Naoto Akai becomes Eclair Feradria's slave.

"Kanan Kazami, Yumi Tsuchiya, Maika Yukishiro, Setsuna Akai, Haru Midoriya, Sawako Aozawa — the Reido Academy member group — also become Eclair Feradria's slaves no matter who beats him.

"Furthermore, in the event Naoto Akai wins, all six members of Eclair Feradria's team become Naoto Akai's slaves."

"Mhm, mhm… isn't that nice. A battle staking all of one's dignity.

"At the meeting it was contentious, but I think this sort of thing is good.

"A losing Master's loss of fighting strength is smaller than the winning Master's gain in fighting strength, I think too."

"Continuing Naoto Akai's defeat conditions.

"If a Master other than Eclair Feradria defeats Naoto, all Garumon other than the aforementioned Reido Academy members are available to do as they please with."

"My, that's a luxurious reward.

"Naoto's Garumon include Demon Lord Ursula, Seraph Suzanne, Cellas, Angel Luna…

"Bull Demon King Patty, and my Yuria, top-class Garumon are lined up.

"With the chance to grab them all in one bunch, everyone would change color and go all-out."

Silvana commented.

"Why are you bringing up my name there… and 'my Yuria' too… doting parent…"

Yuria sighed.

But the slightly happy look was cute.

"What about the Shaina match — what's the reward?"

"Zeiros vs Shaina: if Zeiros wins, Shaina becomes Zeiros's slave.

"If Shaina wins, 1 billion G, ten times the usual."

"If Shaina becomes Zeiros's possession, Carla and Shita come along too…

"1 billion is cheap. But beyond that, they probably figured Zeiros's assets are about 10 billion at best."

"Also, the future no-contact order extends +10 years, apparently."

… Anneroese-san didn't hold back from revealing the side conditions.

"My, well, if Zeiros stays in S-Class for ten years, that'd be a shocker."

Silvana wasn't merciful either.

… These two's commentary was fun too.

"Now then, let's prepare for the first round.

"First round: S-Class 23rd Zeiros vs S-Class 22nd Shaina Fervey."

"Then, I'm heading out! Well, the one fighting this time isn't me though."

"Yeah, do your best. Say hi to Melvis."

At last… the tournament was opening.