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Chapter 95: Failure in Placement

International Individual Tournament.

A friendly competition held among academies founded by heroes, aimed at ensuring the past is not forgotten.

The friendly matches take place at the sacred ground of the great hero Wolfram.

This serves to honor Wolfram's heroic deeds and to demonstrate that the academies still uphold the world.

“Wow, so this is Wolfram’s sacred ground!”

Seron stuck her head out of the carriage, her excitement clearly showing.

Sitting beside her, Card looked out the window with a quieter demeanor than usual.

It was only natural.

For Card, the person who had sent him as a spy would be here today.

When our eyes met, he gave me a casual grin as if nothing was wrong.

“What’s the matter, Wagnon? Feeling nervous? Don’t worry. First place is mine.”

Same as always, that guy.

Hania and Iris were traveling in another carriage for the first time in a while.

「In individual competitions, we’re opponents. There won’t be a repeat of what happened during the team competition.」

During the team competition, I had led my team to victory against Iris’s team.

Aware of that, Hania prioritized winning over their contract relationship this time.

Iris looked at me with a hint of regret, but she agreed with Hania’s decision.

The same was true for Isabel.

「What you did last time? Consider this the continuation. Look forward to it.」

During the boycott incident, I had walked away from a fight with Isabel mid-battle.

Now she was framing this individual competition as a continuation of that.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

I was curious to see how much Isabel had grown.

Her importance in the story would only increase from here on out.

Hopefully, she had achieved significant growth.

With everyone else scattered, the usual trio of troublemakers reunited after a long time.

“So, Prince Sweet Potato, what rank do you think you’ll get?”

Seron asked about my expected placement in the international individual tournament.

Such things are hard to predict, but I answered with a calm smile.

“I’ll make it into the top six.”

The prestige of the six stars.

I intended to etch my name among them.

* * *

The arena prepared for the international individual tournament resembled a massive colosseum.

With students from all six academies competing, it was inevitable for the arena to be this enormous.

However, even with its size, it couldn’t accommodate everyone.

As a result, the international individual tournament began with preliminary rounds that mixed students from all six academies.

The students were determined to pass the preliminaries, their resolve evident.

The main event would be attended by key figures from the kingdoms and empires.

To make a name for themselves, the students had to pass the preliminaries.

And so, everyone received their preliminary group assignments.

“We’re in different groups.”

Seron looked at me with disappointment.

As she said, she wasn’t in the same preliminary group as me.

“Hehe, jealous? I’m in the same group as Wagnon,”

Card teased her.

Seron responded by punching Card in the side before turning to me.

“Prince Sweet Potato, you’ll miss me too, right? I know you will.”

“Of course. I was planning to eliminate you first, but now I won’t get the chance. What a shame.”

“Couldn’t you just lie and say you want to stay with me?”

“I’m too honest for that.”

And then I got punched in the side by Seron as well.

She grabbed my collar tightly and threatened:

“If you don’t say you want to stay with me, I’ll... I’ll kiss you!”

What kind of crazy threat was that?

As I stared at her in disbelief, Seron turned bright red.

She clutched her skirt tightly, trembling.

If she’s going to react like that, she shouldn’t say such things in the first place.

“This is about what I expected, but it’s pretty entertaining to watch,”

Card said, chuckling as he observed us.

Even after taking Seron’s punch, Card seemed unfazed.

Quite resilient, that one.

“Zerion Academy.”

Just then, Professor Vega’s voice rang out.

The students of Zerion Academy turned their attention to her.

She looked at all of us and spoke.

At first, I thought it’d be another of her usual, pointless remarks.

“This is your chance to shine. Don’t come back as losers.”

But what she said was encouragement.

It was just like her to offer support at times like this.

“If you lose and tarnish the academy’s reputation, my paycheck gets cut.”

She didn’t forget to add her signature remark at the end.

“Maybe it’s okay if Professor Vega’s salary takes a hit.”

“Hehe, yeah, maybe.”

The students whispered among themselves, prompting Vega to glare at them with fiery eyes.

“Stop the nonsense and do your best out there.”

With that, the students dispersed, energized, heading off to their assigned groups.

Seron was in Group 1.

Card and I were in Group 2.

As we parted ways with Seron, we headed toward Group 2.

Along the way, I spotted a few familiar faces.

“Hmm, Wagnon, looks like most of the kids you’re close to ended up in different groups,”

Card remarked.

“Yeah, seems that way.”

Most of the people I usually hung out with weren’t in the same group as me.

The preliminaries involved gathering students in one area and having them compete until only a few remained to move on to the main event.

In such a setup, forming teams wasn’t exactly against the rules.

Not having familiar faces around was a disadvantage.

At that moment, I spotted someone.

A smile naturally spread across my face.

Not completely alone, after all.

“Grantoni.”

“Huh?”

Hearing me call, a figure turned around.

A white skeletal face with glowing red eyes greeted me.

A walking ossuary.

Grantoni, a second-year student from the Special Studies Department.

He specialized in unique abilities like spirit manipulation and necromancy.

Having teamed up with him during the team competition before, he was a familiar and welcome face.

“Oh, haha! Hannon, you’re in Group 2 too?”

“Yeah. There’s an open spot in the support role. Want to team up again this time?”

“Sure! I wasn’t too concerned about winning the preliminaries anyway.”

Grantoni’s main interest lay in the spirit world.

That’s why he had only joined the international individual tournament because he was told to.

He didn’t have much personal motivation for it.

But if someone was there to guide him, it was a different story.

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Grantoni could deliver when the situation called for it.

“Perfect. Having you around will make things much easier.”

Our chances of passing the preliminaries had significantly increased.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, Card let out a sigh.

"…Wangnon, this isn’t going to be easy."

My gaze followed the card in my hand.

Soon, my eyes caught sight of someone with ash-gray wolf-cut hair.

As soon as I saw that distinctive hairstyle, I instantly recognized who it was.

‘Solvas Umbra.’

The vice president of the Aquiline Academy in the Kingdom of Illusions, and one of the Six Stars.

‘So, we’re in the same group.’

I understood why Card had reacted the way he did.

It was natural—Solvas was his superior.

The Umbra Count family, to which Solvas belonged, had traditionally produced the foreign ministers of the Kingdom of Illusions.

The main role of the foreign ministry was to extract advantageous information from other nations and turn it into leverage, engaging in what was essentially coercive diplomacy.

Thus, the Umbra family was feared within the Kingdom of Illusions and notorious even in foreign lands.

Card was a spy working for this very foreign ministry.

Naturally, Solvas, the current minister's son and the future minister, was his superior.

Solvas was skillfully conversing with those around him.

Of course, being part of the foreign ministry, his eloquence was exceptional.

And I could already imagine the poor souls who would soon fall victim to that smooth talk.

"Card."

Card's gaze shifted toward me.

"What do you think would happen if one of the Six Stars were to be eliminated in the preliminary round?"

A sly smile spread across my lips.

Seeing it, Card slowly rolled his eyes.

"…Are you confident?"

No matter the place or time, there's a universal truth: overbearing bosses are always disliked.

Recently, Card had been complaining about severe exhaustion.

The reason?

He had been wrung dry by the foreign ministry.

The series of incidents at Zerion Academy had caused an uproar.

The mountain of exploitable information from those events was too tempting, and the foreign ministry had mercilessly squeezed Card for it.

For Card, the events at Zerion Academy were nothing short of a disaster.

They were far too dangerous for him to meddle in without risking exposure.

The most important rule in spy work is not to get caught.

If your identity as a spy is revealed, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.

Card had always adhered strictly to this principle while carrying out his missions.

But the foreign ministry had ignored his position and drained him dry.

And now, the son of the foreign minister and his superior had shown up.

"Have you ever seen me say something I wasn’t confident about?"

Card let out a dry laugh.

"Not even once."

He knew I wasn’t someone who made empty promises.

If I said something, I meant it.

Card, who had lived alongside me all this time, understood that better than anyone.

"Good. If one of the Six Stars gets eliminated in the preliminaries, the news will spread like wildfire."

A sly grin appeared on Card’s face as well.

"Heheh."

Grantoni, clueless as ever, clacked his teeth together with us, laughing along.

What a good-natured guy.

"Group 2, the preliminary round will begin now."

A professor from another academy, who was overseeing this test, called out the names of the students in Group 2.

His assistants quickly began distributing bracelets to the students.

"You will now move to the location indicated on your bracelet to participate in the preliminary round."

At that moment, light emanated from the bracelets, pointing in a specific direction.

"The light on your bracelet will turn off once you reach the designated location. The preliminary round will not begin until everyone has arrived at their spots, so make sure you confirm your position carefully."

The direction pointed toward a forest, surrounded by a massive defensive magic barrier to prevent external intrusions.

It was also the designated location for the preliminary round.

"Your bracelets are linked to your vital signs. If you become incapacitated, the light will extinguish. There are 300 participants in total, and the preliminary round will continue until only 16 remain."

The preliminary groups were divided into four, meaning that 16 participants from each group would advance, forming a round of 64 in the finals.

"Only 16 out of 300? That’s way too few."

Grumbles and murmurs spread among the students.

Naturally, most of them would be eliminated.

"Additionally, defensive magic will activate if your life is in serious danger. Remember, this is a friendly competition. If you intentionally harm someone fatally, you will be immediately disqualified and face legal consequences. Please keep this in mind: our true enemy is the Demon Dungeon. Don’t risk your life for this match."

The professor emphasized the rules repeatedly, likely due to the history of accidents during the international singles tournament.

Fortunately, no one had died in these tournaments so far.

‘Unfortunately, this time won’t be the same.’

Just one person.

In this scenario for the international singles tournament, one person would die.

And I knew exactly who it would be.

It was one of the bad endings I had to prevent.

"Now, all students, please proceed to your designated locations."

After glancing at Card and Grantoni, I set off with determined steps.

I couldn’t help but wonder where I would end up being assigned.

Where I was placed would determine what I needed to do.

With those thoughts in mind, I arrived at my assigned location.

And then, I saw a familiar face not far away.

"Um?"

Damn it.

"Oh, hello. Aren’t you the one who got confessed to by Azure Flame?"

He greeted me with a bright smile.

Despite undoubtedly knowing my name, his tone was unnervingly nonchalant.

The Shadow’s Son.

Solvas Umbra.

The assignment had gone awry from the start.

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