Episode 25: A Perfectly Ordinary Sports Festival!
Under the clear sky, celebratory cannons boomed, “Boom! Boom!”, signaling the start of the Seventh Esper Academy’s sports festival.
“Whoa~. This is extravagant~.”
“It’s an annual event, you know~. It’s one of the festivals the locals look forward to.”
“Ah. So that’s why there were stalls and stuff lined up at the main gate.”
“Exactly. The Support Course has a normal sports festival, but the Combat Course’s is a kind of entertainment. The level of enthusiasm is different, and more than anything, the excitement is incredible.”
“Why does it get so heated?”
“The winners get the cafeteria’s paid special menu items for a whole month.”
“No wonder it gets so heated.”
Kazuma, listening to the athlete’s oath from a distance, was talking with Kosuke. Most students in the Support Course weren’t very motivated. Part of it was because, unlike the Combat Course, there were no prizes, but many simply disliked exercise or the atmosphere.
Some even skipped, thinking, “A sports festival is just an event for popular kids who are good at sports, right?” Since there were no penalties for skipping, several students from Kazuma’s class were absent. Among them was his friend, Taichi.
He had been told beforehand that Taichi would be absent, so it wasn’t particularly surprising. Kazuma vaguely thought under the hot sun that the diligent Taichi was probably studying for his future right about now.
“Man, as expected, there are hardly any spectators over here.”
As Kazuma moved under their tent, he looked at the gallery seats and his shoulders slumped. The empty, vacant seats were enough to chip away at the athletes’ motivation.
“Well, no use getting down about it. For now, let’s just do what we can.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
That said, there were some spectators. Though few, their numbers occasionally increased or decreased. They were probably going back and forth between watching the Combat Course’s sports festival and the Support Course’s, enjoying both.
“Guess the gallery doesn’t matter, huh?”
“Hey, Kazuma. You’re in a lot of events, so hurry up and get ready.”
“I know, I know.”
Urged by Kosuke, Kazuma headed towards the athlete’s entrance gate. Kazuma was scheduled to participate in most of the individual and team events. The reasons were to fill in for absentees and because Kazuma’s individual abilities were high. There was also the fact that others had pushed it onto him because it was troublesome, but since he himself didn’t dislike exercise, he had gladly accepted.
“Alright! Let’s do this!”
Full of motivation, Kazuma faced the first event, the 100m dash.
◇◇◇◇
With a “bang,” the signal sounded, and the athletes all started running at once. Among them was Kazuma. Momoko watched this scene from inside her tent.
“(As expected, his physical abilities are high…)”
Kazuma didn’t get first place, but he fought hard and came in second. Second place was the result of him holding back as much as possible. If he had gone all out, he undoubtedly would have been first. Even without magic, Kazuma possessed world-class physical abilities. This was the result of undergoing harsh training and fighting numerous life-or-death battles in another world.
However, sadly, even with Kazuma’s great effort in getting second place, the Support Course side didn’t get particularly excited. If anything, it left an impression of “he was surprisingly fast.” An impression that would likely fade from memory within a few days.
The first event, the 100m dash, ended, and it was time for the next event. Kazuma was scheduled to participate consecutively, so he headed to the gate where athletes were waiting and received a bib and headband from an official.
“Next is the 200m dash, is it…? Still, isn’t he an idiot for participating in the 200m, 400m, and 1500m?”
Of course, he was an idiot. He had stamina to spare, but more than that, Kazuma lived on sheer enthusiasm and energy, so he tended to mess up quite a bit. He himself desired peace and was hiding his true identity, but his cover was often blown, so he was being monitored and observed as a person of interest by the National Defense Force and the Ivera Church.
Of course, he himself was aware of this, but unfortunately, he couldn’t change his personality now. In the other world, attempts were made to correct it many times, but when Kazuma’s energy reached its peak, he was exceptionally strong, so his masters had given up.
However, that personality also caused him to get caught up in strange troubles, and he struggled against enemies who specialized in tricky tactics.
“(Is that because he strongly inherited his parents’ blood? According to the documents, his father was a gambling addict, and his mother was involved in ‘papa-katsu.’ He might be just like them in living solely on the spur of the moment… but the fact that he still has some common sense is probably thanks to his foster parents.)”
As Momoko said, the greatest contributors were the people at the facility who raised Kazuma. The fact that he, though a bit of an idiot, grew up to be a serious and straightforward boy was a gift from his foster parents at the facility. For that alone, he could never be grateful enough.
As if interrupting her thoughts, a “bang” pierced her ears. The 200m dash seemed to have started. Momoko looked towards the field, searching for Kazuma. It wasn’t his turn yet, apparently; he was stretching around the center of the field.
“(His physique is good compared to the surrounding students. However… it’s extremely unfortunate that his thought process is less than that of a monkey. No, on second thought, considering he has that kind of thought process yet hasn’t made a move on any women, couldn’t he be called a gentleman?)”
Indeed, his thought process was less than a monkey’s, but Kazuma hadn’t done anything particularly lewd towards women. That said, Kazuma was also a high school boy, so he had looked at beautiful women with lecherous eyes, but that was probably normal. Whether he could be called a gentleman or not, Kazuma was undoubtedly an ordinary male.
“Well, that doesn’t mean he’s a viable romantic interest, though.”
Momoko, muttering softly, watched Kazuma impressively take first place in the 200m dash, feeling a little surprised but mostly exasperated.
◇◇◇◇
“Well well, it’s that time of year again~.”
“Oh, indeed it is.”
“Got your eye on anyone special?”
“Hmm, I wonder.”
“Don’t be coy, tell me~.”
“As if I’d tell a competitor.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Fanning themselves with folding fans, figures watched the field from the spectator seats; they were scouts from the National Defense Force. The Combat Course’s sports festival was open to the public, but its true purpose was to serve as an appeal to the National Defense Force. Performing well at the sports festival and catching the eye of a scout was the top priority.
Of course, they wanted the prizes too, but the ultimate goal was enlistment in the National Defense Force. It was to achieve this that these boys and girls had passed through the gates of this Esper Academy.
“Youth is a wonderful thing.”
“What are you saying? You’re still young yourself, President.”
“You say that, but I’m already in my thirties. I’m a good dozen years older than those kids.”
“That may be so, but you’re still in your prime, so please don’t talk like an old man.”
Naturally, the National Defense Force weren’t the only ones who came to see the sports festival. There were also people from private companies that made a living from combat, such as Samurai. No one noticed because he was in disguise, but even Sanada Nobuyasu, the president of Samurai and the nation’s strongest Gifted, was present.
Why was such an important figure present? It was because the Seventh Esper Academy was a school that had recently suffered an unprecedented major disaster. It had a track record of producing no fatalities despite being struck by the unprecedented catastrophe of a Humanoid Ibinom.
Of course, that was thanks to the Crimson Knight’s subjugation of the Humanoid Ibinom, but until the Crimson Knight appeared, it was none other than the academy’s students who had fought desperately.
There were likely no other students who had not only experienced actual combat but had also fought against an overwhelming enemy. Some students might have fled, but many believed that those who had bravely challenged the Humanoid Ibinom were undoubtedly destined to become promising Gifted in the future.
For this reason, observers had even come from overseas for this sports festival.