And so, the next day.
After classes ended, there was an announcement that a nationwide student tournament, called the Inter-School Tournament, would be held, and just as Riana-san had said, Yuri and she were chosen.
Apparently, this was based on the combined score of their entrance exam results and their evaluations so far.
Thanks to Yuri, I also managed to rank quite high, placing sixth.
Just as Riana-san had said, Listol was in third place.
Yukina-san was fourth.
Fifth place seemed to be the son of another noble, given the family name.
Below that, Hiroki and the others’ names were listed.
Immediately after the announcement, Listol stood up and declared, “Lady Razbel, we are truly meant to be together!”
I let out a deep sigh at that.
Why was he going out of his way to embarrass himself after being rejected just yesterday?
The teacher ignored his words, explained about the nomination rights, and then asked Yuri directly.
“Razbel, you decide whether it’s Rui or Listol.”
The teacher prompted Yuri.
“I nominate Rui-san. His skills are more than adequate.”
“W-Wait a moment! If it’s about skill, I am superior!”
“Be quiet. I just said that the first and second-ranked students have nomination rights. Riana, what about you? Since you’re also a pair, it’s either Yukina or Listol for you.”
All eyes turned to Riana-san at those words.
“Naturally, I too shall choose a party member I am well-acquainted with.”
Having stood up for nothing only to be spectacularly rejected by both, an awkward atmosphere enveloped the classroom around Listol.
Naturally, his face was bright red.
I sighed again, thinking this was another one of those times I’d be resented.
“If you four win the preliminaries a week from now, you’ll head to the Royal Capital the day after. The round trip will take over a week, so don’t make any other plans, just in case.”
According to the teacher’s explanation, the four of us would form a party, and if we defeated students from other schools gathering here in a week, we’d be invited to the tournament in the Royal Capital.
Wow, so we’ll be going all the way to the Royal Capital, huh.
Yuri will probably win, so it’s all the more fortunate that Listol was excluded.
Me staying behind while Yuri and that guy went on such a long trip would be too heartbreaking.
No, I know it can’t be helped for a commoner like me to have such feelings, but…
Well, since I managed to avoid it this time, I guess it’s fine for now.
And so, after the teacher left, I stood up to head to the training grounds, but, as expected, or perhaps I should say, just as I’d figured, Listol blocked my path.
Unusually, this time he was blocking my way.
Which meant it was about that, I suppose.
“Hey, commoner! I challenge you to a Sacred Duel. Duel me, and we’ll wager the Participation Ticket!”
Just as I thought.
“I don’t have the right to transfer it, so I can’t wager it.”
“Silence! If I can prove I’m stronger, things will work out one way or another! You just shut up and obey!”
…So annoying.
“Listol-san, even if you defeat Rui, I will not choose you. Please give up.”
“No, there is one way to make you have no choice but to choose me. I will accomplish it, so I ask you to watch for now. This is a matter of a man’s pride!”
…Is he an idiot? This is just a child’s selfishness.
Seriously, I’m at my limit. I’ve lost the will to speak politely.
“A way to make her have no choice,” you say…
“Ah, I get it. I get it all. It’s that, isn’t it? A duel is a legal way to kill someone, so if I die, you can participate. That’s what this is about, right?”
“Silence! I’m telling you to shut up and accept the duel!”
So he’s just another scumbag, no different from Karl.
Now, what should I do?
Should I just accept the duel and blow out both his legs with my gun?
Just as that thought crossed my mind,
“…So, you don’t deny it, do you?” Yuri asked Listol, her voice laced with killing intent.
She had the same expression as when she faced that assassin.
Thanks to her now well-groomed appearance, her intimidating aura was even more directly palpable.
Even the onlookers behind us, who had been watching with amusement, now wore expressions of bewilderment.
“A-A duel is something one stakes their life on. Such an outcome is merely a possibility.”
“In that case, I, Yurishia von Razbel, accept your duel. If you win, I will appoint you as my partner for the tournament. Is that acceptable?”
Whoa. Yuri’s actually planning to use the participation ticket as bait to crush him seriously.
Well, if I were in her shoes, I’d do the same, but I’d hate for Yuri to get a bad reputation, so I’m a bit hesitant.
“W-Wait! I have no intention of fighting you!”
“Even if you don’t, I do. If you intend to lay a hand on Rui, be prepared to stake your own life.”
“Wh-Why go that far…?! Surely, Lady Razbel… you don’t harbor feelings for this commoner, do you?”
Her sharp, murderous eyes slowly shifted to a look of bewilderment.
“Wh-What are you saying?! You truly say the strangest things! If you don’t stop this nonsense, it’s a duel!!”
“If you don’t stop this nonsense, it’s a duel”… What’s that, something new?
A panicked Yuri is truly cute no matter when I see her.
See? The expressions of the people behind us softened too.
Or rather, even though this is a pretty troublesome situation again, my own expression is relaxed.
I guess I’ve developed some tolerance for these kinds of situations.
Not that I’m happy about it.
“Kuh! Very well. I shall defer to you this time and withdraw. However, don’t think I’ll remain silent after being humiliated to this extent!”
With those words, Karls Mk. II left the classroom.
Immediately after, several noble young ladies who had been watching from behind rushed over to Yuri.
“Razbel-san, that was wonderful!”
“We absolutely must support those feelings of yours!”
Seeing that, Naomi and the others, who were also about to rush over, stopped in their tracks.
I also had no desire to join the circle of noble young ladies, so I approached Naomi and her group to watch how things unfolded.
“Fufufu, yesterday was quite something too, you know. He said something like, ‘If it means Yuri and Listol being together, then I’ll participate in the tournament myself!’ Didn’t he?”
“””Kyaaaa~~~”””
No, I didn’t say that.
Yukina-san was just teasing, right?
Hey, Riana-san?
Well, anyway, classes are over for today.
Thinking, “Training grounds today, huh?” I stood up and glanced at Yuri, but her face was bright red, and we couldn’t even make eye contact.
Hiroki and the others also patted my shoulder, saying, “Well, good luck,” and left the classroom.
Unable to just leave Yuri behind, I was watching over her when Yukina-san approached, looking amused.
“It seems we’ll be going together today as well. I’ll be in your care.”
Huh? Today was supposed to be indoor training, though…
Well, I don’t really mind that much.
I wonder if we’re strengthening our teamwork for the tournament.
“Ah, likewise. By the way, I’d appreciate it if you could stop that…”
“Impossible. Riana-sama loves this kind of thing. Fufufu.”
No, you looked like you were enjoying it a lot too, didn’t you?
Stop it. Yuri gets flustered easily.
As I was sighing at Yukina-san, a fidgeting Yuri and Riana-san returned, so I stood up and urged them to move.
Wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible, I walked briskly at the front, but just before exiting the classroom, my hem was tugged, and when I turned around, Yuri had a sad expression.
“R-Rui? Are you angry after all?”
What kind of thought process would lead to me being angry at Yuri?
Seriously, Yuri worries too much…
“Why would I be angry? You were just trying to protect me, right?”
“But, I’ve put you in danger again because of me…”
“Don’t be silly. If anything, I’m the one who wants to protect you from guys like that.”
“””Kyaaaa~~~”””
…I messed up.
We were still inside the classroom.
With this, Riana-san’s fabrication has been completely accepted as fact…
“Riana-san, please, can we take this discussion elsewhere?”
“Oh my, of course, I wouldn’t mind at all?”
Damn it, saying that with such a nice smile…
If we were actually dating, I wouldn’t mind this kind of teasing.
But being teased about someone I can’t reach is just painful.
A commoner with a noble… No, wait a minute…
This is an emergency, and Yuri was told by her parents she could choose for herself, right?
From what Yuri said, it wasn’t limited to nobles, was it?
Could it work if I have wealth and strength?
Not that I have either, though.
Well, either way, it’s an impossible game.
In this world where the marriageable age is early, I probably don’t even have a few years’ grace.
Gaining strength and wealth in that time is too impossible.
But, if I consider that it’s enough if Yuri acknowledges me, maybe there’s a slim chance…
Oh crap, thinking like that makes me want it even more.
No, rather than give up like this, isn’t it okay to push forward, prepared to be gloriously defeated?
Thanks to Yuri, things have been set up so favorably for me.
Reinforcement magic, elemental magic, recovery magic, backpack.
With things this good, there’s a possibility depending on my motivation…
“—————–san! Rui-san!”
“Wh-What is it?”
“We’re about to enter the Dungeon! Get a grip!”
Oh, o-okay. Since when?
“Alright. So, what should I do?”
“We’re going to the fifteenth floor today, so please provide your usual support.”
Huh, is she going to use her gun?
No, it’s probably fine even if she doesn’t.
“Well then, let me take care of the small fry on the way as a warm-up. I want to adjust the power of my magic.”
“Eh, you’re going to use elemental magic?”
…Riana-san seems trustworthy, but I’d prefer to avoid using it as much as possible.
“Is that no good?”
“No, I understand. There’s the tournament too, so that’s probably better.”
Along the way, I used easy-to-use attack spells like Fireball and Stone Bullet several times to get a feel for them, and we reached our destination, the fifteenth floor.
“With three strong vanguards, it’s so stable it’s boring.”
“When it was just the two of us, I’d stop them in their tracks and Rui would finish them off, right?”
Riana-san sent a dubious gaze towards Yuri and me as we talked.
“Come to think of it, you two used to come here together, didn’t you?
Even so… how do you manage your magical power like that? Did you buy up a lot of Magic Stones?”
“No, I don’t have that kind of money.
I leave the vanguard role to Yuri, and I undo my Maso for everything except my weapon, you see.”
Well, in the first place, Yuri can handle things solo; she’s just deferring to me, after all.
“I see. In that case, your magical power would be sufficient, wouldn’t it?
But that’s dangerous on this floor. A single mistake could mean death.”
Well, normally, that would be the case.
Especially since small dinosaur-like monsters appear on this floor.
What were they called in Japan… raptors, was it?
Well, they’re not quite that big, though.
Either way, I have no more blind spots.
I mean, I did end up learning the Razbel family’s secret arts, after all.
Well, I was made to promise not to create magic circles in front of others or talk about what I learned, though.
So I won’t use it today, but when it’s just Yuri and me, I also use Enhanced Hearing, so unless a ridiculous number like dozens of them come from the front and back, I’m confident I can handle it stably.
“I’ve got proper countermeasures for that. Besides, I have reasons to push myself a bit.”
“Right, that was it. Razbel is in a state of war…
It can’t be helped if you push yourselves too hard right now, I suppose.”
As we walked while talking, Yuri gave us a sharp look and gestured with her hand for us to stop.
“Stop for now, please. There’s a considerable number of them further in there. Probably around fifteen.”
“――!? Let’s pull back. Hurry!”
“No, a number like this isn’t a problem.
Rui, I’ll go ahead. Just like usual.”
“‘Alright. Leave it to me,’ I said, and followed behind Yuri without making a sound, just as instructed.”
I’m a little uneasy about supporting with elemental magic, but its power isn’t low.
When there are many of them and they’re close, like this time, I think elemental magic is more useful than the gun.
As long as I can set up the magic circles, I can shoot from anywhere, so it’s a great help not having to worry too much about Yuri’s positioning.
I just need to compensate for the slightly unreliable accuracy with an idea.
As Yuri went ahead and lured them out, I also approached and lined up about five Stone Bullet magic circles roughly four meters above my head. To compensate for accuracy, I created prediction lines with magical power to make the impact points easier to see.
The moment Yuri rushed forward and stopped the lead monster in its tracks, I aligned the prediction lines with the path of the following monsters and waited for the right timing.
Now!
And with that, I instantly fired all five, striking down the monsters that hadn’t engaged Yuri.
One more headed towards Yuri, but since she can easily handle even four of them, I paid it no mind.
I fired at the monsters emerging one after another from behind with the intention of finishing them all off.
It wasn’t a one-hit kill for sure, but most of them were rendered combat-incapable in a single hit, so only the three Yuri was fighting remained.
…As I thought, the gun is more effective against biological types.
With the gun, I’d definitely finish them off.
Well, being able to fire multiple shots at once or aim from above is certainly useful, though.
“I’ve stopped their movements from the rear. Need help with your side?”
“No, this side is already finished. Please leave this much to me.”
By the time I called out to her, the fight was already over.
Just as I’d expect. She didn’t just hold her ground against five of them; she wiped them out in a flash.
Yuri really is the strongest, yeah.