Episode 47: Academy Martial Arts Tournament (2)
"How on earth did the academy end up in this sorry state again?"
Watching the academy in turmoil amid the preparations for the Martial Arts Tournament, Lena let out a lament laden with a deep sigh.
Come on, seriously.
Could they not have even a few days of peace?
For heaven's sake, despite nominally being an educational institution, this damned academy couldn't go more than a few days quietly attending classes.
Some incident would occur, causing a ruckus, and after it was resolved, a few days later another disturbance would break out, and chaos would ensue.
And every so often, a large-scale event like this would take place.
This place wasn't some adventurer's guild or an army—it was an academy!
Was it really so difficult to go just one month without an incident?
'Is this... what an academy is...?'
The academy Lena herself had planned to attend was definitely not this kind of place.
How had it become so distorted?
'I shouldn't have mindlessly mentioned the academy to my brother back then.'
Why indeed.
It was all the fault of her brother, Wade—someone she could not tell whether to respect or resent.
The brief update about the academy that Lena had casually let slip.
As a result of Wade taking action after hearing those few brief words, the academy had been remodeled into something unrecognizable.
Seen that way, one could say Lena was also one of the root causes, but...
For Lena, it was an utterly unjust matter.
'How could I have predicted things would blow up this much from just a few words!'
She had known since childhood that her brother Wade was somewhat strange.
But never, not even in her dreams, had she imagined he would commit such a mad act as remodeling the entire academy.
If she had been able to predict such a thing, she would never have brought up the academy in the first place.
But words once spoken could not be taken back.
And the academy could no longer return to its former diligent self, all its renovations complete.
The problem was that the vast majority of students liked it.
Why, the Martial Arts Tournament currently being prepared was something the students had protested in the streets to have opened, was it not?
'I feel like the only human in a village of Cyclopes.'
That awkwardness of being unable to enjoy herself while all the other students enjoyed the event.
'If only I could cast my worries aside and enjoy it thoughtlessly too.'
But with the original creator being her brother, and knowing the full truth while watching everything unfold...
Even when she tried to enjoy it thoughtlessly, she couldn't help but feel an inexplicable awkwardness.
To borrow her brother's expression, was this not the curse of knowledge?
"Why is that girl Lena acting like that?"
"The Martial Arts Tournament where this great me will finally shine is about to begin, yet she looks more tired than usual."
"That's no fun at all."
"Well..."
"Mr. Joshua. You haven't caused some trouble and bothered Miss Lena again, have you?"
"Saintess, do you always assume I'm the culprit?!"
"You guys bother Lena just as much."
"Besides, I haven't done anything today!"
"This time it's really not Joshua's fault."
"She just doesn't seem to like the Martial Arts Tournament."
"What? Why? How could anyone hate such a fun event?"
"Mr. Bay, are you sure you didn't misunderstand?"
Meanwhile, Lena's friends also had a hard time understanding her.
The academy Martial Arts Tournament that had appeared as a story background in the recently released new volume of [The Genius Mage of the Slums].
It had attracted as much attention as the bloody battles with the Black Magician forces that had begun to appear in earnest.
And its charm, which intensely stimulated the students' competitive spirit and desire for honor, was enough to drive the students to protest in the streets demanding it be opened.
How could she hate it when she could actually enjoy such a Martial Arts Tournament?
"Come to think of it, Lena hated the other events held so far too."
"Now that I think about it, she certainly did."
"Did she? Anyway, she's a unique one."
In the eyes of the trio—Joshua, Bay, and the Saintess—Lena merely appeared to have a somewhat peculiar personality, hating alone what everyone else loved.
But that was by no means a bad thing.
If it were, they wouldn't have become friends in the first place.
Thus, they made a decision.
If she couldn't enjoy it, then teaching her how was what true friends were for!
To Lena, who could not enjoy this delightful Martial Arts Tournament, they would teach her the proper way to enjoy it as friends!
"Then shall we go submit the application to participate in the tournament, including that girl Lena?"
"Let's do that. If Miss Lena participates directly, she will come to enjoy the Martial Arts Tournament in no time!"
"Hmm. As expected, participating directly is indeed the best way to enjoy it properly."
"Great! Consider it done!"
"For Lena to enjoy it as much as possible, our goal is victory!"
"Don't hold me back, Bay, Saintess."
"Don't worry. My goal was naturally victory from the very beginning!"
"Hmph. You do your job properly, Joshua."
"Don't cause an accident during the tournament and get scolded by Lena again."
"You're the one who gets scolded the most out of the three of us."
As a result.
Lena ended up participating in the Martial Arts Tournament alongside the trio of troublemaker friends without even knowing it.
"Ah, what if Miss Lena finds out later and feels sorry for burdening us?"
"Hmph! There's no need to feel sorry."
"Because that's what friends are!"
"What's this? Joshua saying something sensible for once."
"That's right. Friends don't need to feel sorry over something like this."
"If Lena feels sorry later, let's all comfort her together and tell her it's fine!"
Had Lena known, she would have immediately exploded on the spot and torn the application to shreds.
Unfortunately, Lena was too busy muttering complaints full of dissatisfaction to notice this series of events.
While her friends were filled with pride.
Without having particularly intended to, she was forced to plunge right into the thick of the Martial Arts Tournament.
"...What? I'm participating in the Martial Arts Tournament too?"
"What do you mean? I never applied for anything like that?"
"You applied in my place? To help me enjoy the tournament?"
"....What kind of bullshit is that?! Aaaargh!!!"
That the justified goodwill of her friends was crashing down upon her—
was something Lena would only realize a little later, on the day the Martial Arts Tournament was held.
***
"So that chaotic mess just now was the preliminaries for the Martial Arts Tournament?"
"Yes. They introduced them to weed out participants because there were too many. It seems to have become a bit rougher than expected."
The chaotic free-for-all of frenzied students that Aria and I encountered immediately upon entering the Academy.
Learning that it was none other than the Martial Arts Tournament preliminaries, I could only reply with mixed feelings.
That mess was the Martial Arts Tournament preliminaries?
Strange. I didn't think it was like that in the novel I wrote...
Well, judging by the situation, it seemed to be an unexpected turn of events for the Academy side as well.
I wonder if they should be showing that to guests.
Or rather, would they like it even more because it's practical?
"Your chicken skewers and juice are ready!"
"Enjoy!"
"Ah, thank you."
"Thank you also for explaining the situation."
"Hehe. It's nothing. It's not hard to explain that much to a customer!"
By the way, the one who explained what was going on was the student vendor who had just handed me the chicken skewers and juice.
You know. The kind of stalls that students open themselves during school festivals.
I had bought some snacks to eat while walking around and asked about the situation, and they answered kindly.
From what I heard, students who didn't participate in the Martial Arts Tournament—meaning those who didn't learn magic or martial arts—opened stalls like this?
It was something that appeared in my novel, too.
It seemed they considered this their own way of participating in the festival.
Also, attending the Academy but not learning martial arts or magic meant they were mostly commoners without backing.
So they planned to earn some spending money to help with tuition.
As expected of a medieval fantasy world, everyone sure was tough and resilient.
Even some nobles had joined in because it looked fun.
Could this be called a heartwarming scene of people mingling without status gaps?
"Ah, youth."
Watching that scene, I was suddenly reminded of the university festival from my previous life.
The food stall earnings had been quite substantial back then.
"So this is what the Academy is like."
"It's much more lively than I expected, and the atmosphere between students is good too."
"The preliminaries I first saw were a bit much, but it certainly seems like a good place for studying."
Aria also seemed quite pleased with the Academy's atmosphere.
It was somewhat different from the usual academic atmosphere since the Martial Arts Tournament was in full swing, but...
Well, there was no need to nitpick if she liked it.
"Then shall we look around a bit more?"
"We still have time before the main tournament begins."
"I'll show you around the Academy."
"Huhu. I'd appreciate that."
"I'm looking forward to what sights await us."
So, while walking around the stalls a bit more for Aria and letting her experience the Academy atmosphere she hadn't known,
—Ahem! Attention, students and guests.
We shall now begin the main tournament of the Martial Arts Tournament. Those who wish to watch, please proceed to the tournament arena.—
The announcement for the start of the Martial Arts Tournament main round rang out.
Walking around the Academy and snacking at stalls was enjoyable.
But I mustn't forget my main purpose for coming today.
"Then shall we go?"
"Yes. I think we've seen enough of the Academy by now."
"Let's hurry before we're late."
Aria and I hurried to the arena with our purchased snacks, lest we miss the match.
"Oh dear. What shall we do? There are so many people that there don't seem to be any seats left."
"Don't worry. We have these invitations."
"They say there are exclusive seats separately for guests who received invitations."
We entered the exclusive seats with a better view, separated from the general seating.
"Oh. Isn't that Lady Aria?"
"Lady Aria came as an invited guest as well?"
"Who is the man beside her?"
"He doesn't seem to be a high noble, yet he's that intimate with Lady Aria?"
Among the nobles who had arrived early in the exclusive seats, some recognized Aria and were surprised.
They tried to approach her to greet her, but hesitated and held back for now.
As they should. It was still a bit early for full-fledged socializing.
We could do that during the break a little later.
For now, watching the main tournament was the priority.
So I boldly placed the snacks I brought on the desk in front of our assigned seats.
And entering spectator mode with Aria, I looked toward the arena.
"Huh?"
And I couldn't help but be bewildered immediately.
"Oh? Isn't that Miss Lena over there?"
"It seems to be her."
"Huh, that brat made such a fuss about not participating in the tournament, so what is this?"
My younger sister Lena was being dragged onto the field, slumped over with a dark complexion like a corpse.
Why is that kid there?