190 – Farce
My face feels itchy, so I’ve been worried since before. This is because I had to put on makeup early in the morning for the opening of the last triathlon. It feels like something is covering the skin. It was an unfamiliar experience, so I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
There is a temporary stairway in the middle of the stadium. I worry unnecessarily about whether the inside is empty, or whether there is a safety problem with the thumping sound when stepping on the stairs. Well, there are many wizards, so even if they collapse, they will take care of themselves.
Sitting down on the high steps leading to the ceiling, I yawned profusely. Ellie, sitting in front of me, looked over her shoulder at me and copied my yawn with a bored expression.
We have been struggling since the morning to meticulously rehearse for the last event hosted by the imperial family. At least, those of us sitting on the stairs and posing are on the better side. Under the stairs, when I look at the other academy participants who are acting to burn their will to climb these stairs, I unknowingly put on a look of satisfaction with the current situation.
“What’s wrong with you today?”
Unable to bear the boredom, Ellie turned her body to me and asked. I scratched my chin and put on a puzzled look at her sudden question.
“I think you will know when the game starts. It changes depending on the situation.”
If Eunice had prepared well for the final match, she wouldn’t have needed Ellie’s help. Eunice, who is regarded as a bookmaker who reads the market, would have come up with a clever strategy to bring down the champion. As I was thinking about that, Ellie put her chin on my lap, not paying attention to the eyes of others. Its appearance was similar to that of a stray cat that was not wary of people. It is equivalent to the shamelessness of suddenly appearing and inspecting the top of the thigh.
It felt like the eyes of the seniors sitting in the car above me were being pierced into the back of my head by Ellie’s action without a sense of distance, so it was uncomfortable. In that gaze, Ellie’s boyfriend and my older brother, Roel, must have been included. She didn’t seem to hide her expression, but she cutely pouted her lips as if she didn’t know anything about Ellie, who was usually quick-witted.
“I, Ross’ words. I am listening.”
Obsidian’s eyes shine. It looks like you want something. I thought about whether I would pretend to be ignorant like Ellie, but…. It was hard to ignore Ellie’s gaze on my lap. She had a strong desire to get rid of it as soon as possible.
I asked in a voice mixed with a sigh.
“… Shall I buy you some sweets?”
When she looked at her face asking if that was enough, Ellie leaned her upper body towards me even more with her bright smile. I involuntarily and reflexively pulled her leg back slightly at the soft, squishy feel of her shin.
“Really? Can I choose myself?”
It seemed like they were accepting my intention to eat and fall differently, so I quickly corrected it.
“… I meant to buy it for you.”
“I guess you know what I like?”
I was speechless at Ellie’s playful smile. Based on my experience that it is best not to talk at times like this, I kept my mouth shut and looked elsewhere, but I had no choice but to look away again at Ellie’s behavior of rubbing her legs as if she were a stray cat.
Faced with her gaze, Ellie pouted at her with her bewitching expression, sticking out her lower lip.
“Why don’t you answer me?”
There were many options to answer that question. Among the many options that I noticed that you were deceiving me and that being with you like this is very uncomfortable, the option I chose after thinking about it was to avoid answering.
“I haven’t forgotten that I have no memories of the past, have I?”
Whispering softly, Ellie slightly opened her mouth as if she had just remembered, then pressed her chin to my knee. As if thinking of something about her, she lowered her eyes for a moment. Ellie asked with obsidian-like black eyes that stood out even more thanks to her fair skin.
“Don’t you want to get your memory back?”
“I don’t have the bad taste of deliberately recalling gloomy memories yet.”
At my sarcasm, Ellie chuckled at what was funny and moistened her lips with her tongue.
“Your memories with me won’t be gloomy, right?”
I managed to swallow the words “It can’t be that way” That came out reflexively. Yet Ellie does not know that I have noticed her own lies. Gias’ restrictions related to Ellie are a lie detector for Ellie. If Ellie finds out about my limitations… It would be like falling into a swamp she can’t escape from.
Before she could bring out a belated reply, the voice of a staff member who was in charge of rehearsal came from beneath her.
“The crowd entry has begun. Everyone, please prepare!”
After saying that, the staff raised their hand and signaled, and the staff waved their staffs and covered the stadium with a curtain.
Ellie, who had a sad expression on her face, slightly looked away from her, waved her hand at Roel, and then turned her body back to her posture. She glanced over her shoulder at her Roel, who met her gaze and mouthed her.
―Going!
She turned her head away without answering the odd feeling. Now the farce is coming to an end. She yawned and waited for the curtains to be removed.
***
Beyond the hustle and bustle, the inside of the stadium could be described as being noisy. People’s attention was more focused on this triathlon in that Transcendence Academy, which had a low winning dividend, was only 220 points away from second place Elasium Academy.
In the last match, the team match, you could get points in all kinds of ways, and conversely, you could concede. That means that the reverse double can explode enough. It was only natural for the craftsmen of the continent to gather after smelling the sweet scent of Yeokbae.
As the lights that illuminated the inside of the arena, where families, academy students, gamblers, lovers, and thieves gathered to cheer for the participants, went off, the clamor naturally subsided.
Dung-! Ridge-! Ridge-!
The sound of drumming came from somewhere and filled the arena. The curtains covering the arena are removed, and along with it, yellow lights symbolizing Elasium lightly fall in the corner of the arena.
Eight Elasium participants crossed their arms and all looked up into the invisible sky. The spectators who followed that gaze discovered Arcadia Academy, which appeared with green lights on.
To the beat of the drums, the eight Arcadian contestants who beat their chests raised their heads as well and looked away. If you follow that line of sight with the sound of drums getting faster and faster, Mujion raises one hand and points somewhere where the red light has settled down.
Dung-dung-! Ridge-!
The eyes of the three academies converge. The sound of the drums got faster and faster, raising people’s expectations. Center of the arena. Along with the eyes of all the spectators, the lights on the stage lit up the seemingly endless staircase.
The sound of drums has disappeared. And all the spectators go crazy for the champion who shows up. The figure of a champion sitting on the stairs, waiting for a challenger with an arrogant and arrogant attitude. Appearance of Transcendence Academy overlooking other academies from above resonated with cheers in the arena.
The three academies turned their backs to the crowd and met their eyes with the champion on the stairs. Colorful magic firecrackers covered the arena. The cheers of the audience soar as each academy participant gathers under the stairs and the Transcendence participants rise to greet them.
Cheers cheering for each academy started bursting out from all over the stadium without anyone saying it first.
– Mujaion of the East!!! Show me, Mujion!
– Best Academy! Elasiooooo!!!
– Ar, Ar, Arcadia!!!
– Show me, Champion!!! Transcendence!!!
The lights that had been lighting up the stadium went dark one after another, and as it became dark again, the cheers gradually lost their strength and disappeared. After the voice of a man who shouted Elasium until the end, silence came again.
A melody that sounds like someone is humming fills the arena. While the audience was listening to the sound they heard, the students of Transcendence Academy who were sitting in their seats suddenly rose from their seats as if they had received a signal. The audience seated next to them gave a bewildered look, but the eyes of the Transcendence students were fixed on the stage.
As the spectators, who had not yet grasped the situation, looked at the students standing up with dumbfounded faces, Transcendence students started singing along with a melody that seemed like someone was humming. Numerous voices merge into one and become one song.
Welcome, Transcendence.
This is an academy where swords and magic coexist.
The cradle of those who defend the empire and face evil.
The tomb of those who put their fate first and don’t look back.
Let’s cover malice with justice.
A place where wisdom and knowledge become one.
Under the conditions of equality, a place where people grow regardless of means and methods.
Order here! Order of the world!
Let’s deny limitations and dream of transcendence.
Transcendence!!!
After the singing of the school song, which is a privilege of the Champion Academy, the audience’s applause was so huge that it shook the stadium, and Caster I.N’s voice resonated throughout the stadium.
The 31st! Imperial Triathlon… Last team match! Start now!》