Magic Maniac And Dragon Maniac

In the tournament waiting room, the second-year students of the basic course had gathered. Every one of them was a class representative and a capable fighter. Matches began one after another… until at last, it was time for Rudel’s class to face Luecke’s class. As both classes left the waiting room, Rudel and Luecke walked side by side.

“I’m coming at you with everything I’ve got, Rudel.”

“Yeah. I won’t hold back either. I’ll fight you with everything I have.”

From that point on, the two entered the arena without so much as looking at each other and waited until the captain’s match began. The team battle consisted of five representatives, and Rudel’s class won the opening match and the vice-captain’s match, bringing the score to 2–2. That meant everything would be decided by the captains, but both men were far more focused on the worthy opponent standing before them.

“Then let the captain’s match begin!”

At the referee’s signal, Luecke immediately tried to create distance so he could fight with his specialty, magic. Rudel, however, refused to let him and closed the gap. Luecke knew he could not match Rudel’s speed. He therefore swung his wooden sword to intercept Rudel’s attack, but—

“Kh…!!!”

The wooden sword Luecke had swung to block Rudel’s was skillfully caught and twisted away, sending it spinning through the air. Rudel immediately pressed the attack, but—

“I’m not finished yet!!!”

Luecke cast magic at point-blank range. Normally, using magic that way was far too dangerous… normally! Even so, it accomplished its purpose, forcing Rudel to retreat. Luecke had injured himself with his own spell as well, but he had succeeded in creating distance. From here on, Luecke could finally display his true strength.

He fired low-level spells at Rudel in rapid succession while preparing his trump card. It was nowhere near as easy as it sounded, and there was every chance he might fail. Even so, Luecke had already decided that he would give this match everything he had.

He attacked Rudel with wind magic, but Rudel evaded it using leg strength enhanced with mana. Even for Rudel, however, avoiding the attacks of Luecke, who specialized in magic, was no easy feat.

“Even so!”

Rudel moved to evade almost before the words had left his mouth. Luecke continued bombarding him with low-level spells one after another. Dodging them, Rudel once again moved to close the distance.

Like Luecke, Rudel attempted to advance while using low-level magic to keep his opponent in check… then stopped. By the time he had tried to close in, Luecke had already finished preparing. Sensing danger, Rudel leaped backward, and Luecke unleashed an advanced spell using nearly all of his remaining mana.

Rudel had jumped back because he was wary of another self-destructive technique like the one from earlier, but he immediately regretted it somewhat. He should have continued closing the distance.

For a student in the basic course, advanced magic was far too dangerous… and yet Luecke’s spell activated perfectly. Flames intertwined with a storm, engulfing the ring in fire.

“How’s that, Rudel!!!”

Luecke staggered unsteadily from exhausting so much mana and injuring himself with his own reckless technique. The arena erupted in commotion over both Luecke’s advanced magic and concern for Rudel’s safety. The referee was just about to hastily call a halt to the match when… the storm of fire was split cleanly in two and dispersed. Standing in the ring was Rudel, his wooden sword glowing faintly as he held it at the end of a downward swing…

Perhaps he had pushed himself too hard, because Rudel was breathing heavily as well.

“…Impossible. You really are impossible, Rudel!”

Laughing happily, Luecke launched another spell, determined to answer the first friend besides Unias who had ever faced him this seriously… but after using advanced magic and repeatedly casting low-level spells, his mana was almost completely depleted. Even so, he remained standing and refused to give up on the match.

As Rudel charged toward him, Luecke felt as though he were moving in slow motion. What came to mind was his childhood, an environment where he had never possessed anyone he could truly call a friend, coupled with a strict education. Luecke had loved magic since he was young and had always wanted someone he could discuss it with. He wanted to talk endlessly about the magic he loved. Yet even after coming to the academy, everyone kept their distance because of his position as the future grand duke.

Unias had been the exception, but he was so obsessed with swordsmanship that they had little in common. Whenever Luecke spoke about the magic he loved, everyone merely agreed with him… Eventually, they would even agree when he deliberately said something false. Every day had been painfully dull.

Then, for the first time, Luecke had found a friend with whom he could genuinely exchange ideas. Rudel. Naturally, Rudel could discuss the fundamentals of magic, but he could also keep up with far more advanced subjects, and above all, discussing magic with the earnest Rudel was simply fun. …Luecke still couldn’t accept that book called How to Pet a Dragon, though.

Rudel often spoke in highly intuitive terms, while Luecke discussed magic from a theoretical perspective, and the two would laugh as they exchanged ideas. To anyone watching, they might have looked like two boys talking nonsense, when in reality they were discussing highly advanced magical theory.

And now Luecke had challenged Rudel with complete seriousness. He had considered holding back to help him because they were friends. Rudel was his first real friend… and if possible, Luecke wanted to continue enjoying academy life together with him.

Even so… he knew Rudel would never be happy if he did that, and he could never bring himself to hold back against such a friend. Luecke’s vision began to swim, refusing to focus properly.

“Rudel, against you of all people!!!”

He gathered the last of his strength and tried to unleash one final spell, but it was never cast. …Rudel’s wooden sword had already come to rest lightly against his neck.

“V-Victor! Rudel Arses!”

After a brief pause, the referee’s voice echoed throughout the arena, and cheers and jeers alike erupted from the stands. Hearing them, Rudel, still breathing heavily, lowered his wooden sword. Luecke’s strength left him, and he collapsed to his knees… only for Rudel to offer him a hand and pull him back to his feet.

“Luecke, thank you.”

“…It’s not as though I let you win. Next time, I’ll be the one who wins… so don’t you dare lose before then.”

The royal family had watched their match from the VIP box, along with the Senior Knights serving as their guards… and the academy principal, who was also present.

“That was impressive… The heir to a grand ducal house has grown into quite the young man.”

One might have expected Fina to be pleased by her father’s words, but—

“Yes. Rudel-dono is strong… and so is Luecke-dono.”

(What the hell are you doing, Luecke!!! Were you seriously trying to beat Master? You’re his friend! This is where you’re supposed to let him win!!! And why is Master’s class stuck in a bracket filled with nothing but strong opponents…? Someone rigged this!!!)

…She was actually in quite a panic. Then she turned her gaze toward the academy principal. In Fina’s mind, the principal was one of her prime suspects.

“However… Principal, don’t you think there’s something slightly strange about this tournament?”

(Just admit it already! Say you’re trying to ruin my plan… I’ll keep quiet about how you twisted my testimony, so come on!)

The academy principal answered Fina as she stared at him with her usual expressionless face. Incidentally, the principal was not the one who had distorted Fina’s testimony in his report.

“It is true that the classes capable of contending for victory became unusually concentrated in this bracket. However, the academy has engaged in absolutely no misconduct.”

Fina remained suspicious of the principal’s words. The other members of the royal family watched the next match with little interest. …In truth, the class representatives had redrawn the tournament lots numerous times. No one had actually cheated.

As the next match began, the principal watched Rudel and the others return to the waiting room and thought,

(No matter how many times we redrew the lots, all the classes that would become formidable opponents kept ending up in this bracket. Even after doing it five times… that child’s path is simply far too harsh.)

Suppressing the urge to sigh, the principal began explaining the next match to the royal family. As he listened, the king looked toward his daughter, whose request had set all of this in motion. …His daughter had never shown emotion on her face since childhood—no, she had been unable to—and for the first time in her life, she had made a selfish request.

She wanted to save the person who had saved her life… When they investigated afterward, they discovered that the report regarding Rudel had been altered into something almost absurdly unfavorable, and the king had even considered revisiting his punishment. However, when House Arses itself wanted Rudel punished, even the royal family had limits on how far they could interfere in the domestic affairs of a grand ducal house.

That was precisely why the royal family had arranged this visit to coincide with the tournament. Even if Rudel did not win, the king intended to grant him some sort of reward… and use that as a pretext to postpone his graduation. That had been the plan, but…

(This has turned out to be more entertaining than I expected. Rudel, Luecke… and Unias as well. What promising boys they are.)

Through this visit, he had discovered something beyond merely fulfilling his daughter’s request. He wished he had a son like them… If he had possessed one, would those three have become his son’s friends? Would they have supported him? Such thoughts crossed King Albaha’s mind.

Albaha Courtois, King of Courtois, had been even more of a minor character than Rudel in the game. He could practically have been called a background character. His name appeared briefly, and during the war event, he appeared on-screen exactly once… While the women around him received far more screen time than necessary, the king himself never spoke a single line.

As a character, the king had virtually no detailed background or characterization whatsoever. Even the queen had a romance event on a hidden route… Thinking about it that way, perhaps the king was actually rather pitiful.