Chapter Chapter 87: 10. We came, we saw, we won (12) (1/2)

RATH 87

TL: Eevee

10. We came, we saw, we won (12)

#21 Their story: A certain student council president’s(2) story

“N, no way…”

“How could this happen…”

“This is impossible!”

Despairing voices came from the students collapsed on the ground, who couldn’t believe what was unfolding before their eyes.

Day 5 of the imperial festival. Each event was worth 10 points, and three of those events were of a massive scale involving many participants.

When we considered that the terrain of the event was a flat plain, we made the judgement that we had a chance even if we were to go up against Yugrasia.

And when we received a godly draw that had us go up against Mercaria first, we thought our chances were better than ever.

Unfortunately, Lady Nermia was absent from the Marcis team, who we thought would massively cut down the enemy’s fighting capabilities, but even so, after defending against the large scale magic barrages, Yugrasia’s magic power was considerably depleted.

We didn’t have to fight them all.

If we could take out the five that represented their hundred, we had a good chance of winning this.

Was what we were thinking, and so we all charged in, but the unthinkable happened.

The beginning of the incident was when a single person came towards us from Yugrasia’s side.

“Who is that?”

“That’s?”

“It’s the Yugrasia student council president! Nerkia, the Elemental Army!”

The man who was approaching us could be called my arch-enemy and the enviable… I mean, the casanova of the century, Nerkia.

Arucia had less female students compared to the other academies to begin with, and yet this man was the biggest motherf*cker of the era who had taken possession of two out of the five most beautiful flowers of the school.

“Well now, you hadn’t shown up much this imperial festival, unlike before.”

As I, who was somewhat familiar with him, went out to talk with him, Nerkia smiled and took something out from his pocket.

“Mm, I wanted to have a go yesterdays as well, but our devi… I mean, Professor Nicerwin said don’t fight unless it’s an event Lady Nermia is in. So what do I call it, I’m a bit backed up?”

What he took out with a smirk, was the item that could determine victory in this event, his mark as the VIP.

“Do you want to go 1v1?”

If that was the case, then I had a decent chance.

Nerkia was a troublesome opponent, but he was one I fought with every year.

Whether I fell first, or whether he would allow me to close the gap between us would determine victory.

“Hm? No, not that.”

“Are you running away?”

The enemy was someone who had even defended against Marcis’s magic bombardments.

If those people fired barrages of magic against us, then our casualties would mount before we even got close.

The Yugrasia students of late had proven themselves very adept at close combat as well, and so they were a difficult enemy to fight against while injured.

“Not that either.”

“Then what is your objective?”

Although I didn’t see him much this year, just last year, after school or during the holidays, he would come over and flirt disgustingly sweetly with Arietta right in front of our faces.

But while his smile back then and right now looked identical, the mood he gave off now was completely different.

“Objective? Well.”

Each and every one of Arucia’s one hundred students heard loudly and clearly.

“Not 1v1, but 1v100.”

“What?”

For a second there I didn’t understand what had just said.

Not even swordsmasters, called a match for a hundred, actually tried to fight against a hundred people all on their lonesome.

“Are you mad?”

“Yep. Our academy’s gone mad.”

Whatever he found so amusing, Nerkia giggled to himself, and seeing him, even the students who were in fear of Yugrasia started to become angry.

“Even if Yugrasia’s been doing well lately, don’t you just reek of hubris?”

“You want to go up against all of us on your own? Even against Mercaria, no one would say something ridiculous like that?”

“Are you insane? Or do you simply want to show off after losing the spotlight to Lady Aris?”

No one actually swore because the entire scene was being preserved by magic audiovisual tools, but that didn’t change the savage tones of their voices.

“Are you serious, Nerkia?”

“Yep. It does feel kinda weird because it feels like I’m showing off, but I’m serious.”

As he nodded to my words, he carefully looked over each and every one of the students standing before him.

“Thank goodness, it doesn’t seem like Ari or Rena are here.”

“Arietta has entered a solo event, and Lady Rena is participating in a different team event.”

“Thank goodness. To be honest I didn’t think of what I’d do if I had to fight against those two.”

When I saw his genuinely relieved expression, I realised.

This boy was serious when he said he was going to fight all of us on his own.

That meant.

“What are you scheming?”

This is definitely a trap.

While the rest of us focused on Nerkia, was Yugrasia going to snipe off our students that they thought might be our VIPs?

Or, would he enrage all of our academy’s students and pretend to fight, then retreat to where an ambush was lying in wait?

But Nerkia denied everything I was thinking of.

“No, no schemes, no plans or anything like that. I just want to know.”

Want to know?

“Know what?”

At my question, Nerkia made a self-deprecating smile, one that didn’t suit how he normally acted.

“To be honest with you, I thought I was a genius. Since I was little, an elf, one who people call a resident of the forest, said I had splendid potential to be a summoner.”

All of a sudden, a blue aura started to surround Nerkia.

“Lowest-rank spirits…”

Spirits that had only been recently born, that didn’t even have wills of their own.

They were the spirits weaker than low-rank spirits, an existence even harder to meet than a low-rank spirit.

Because unlike low-rank spirits, who were weak but still had their own will, lowest-rank spirits moved purely on instinct.

“That didn’t change even after I came to Yugrasia. At the end of the holidays of my first year, I was scouted to the student council, in my second year I was a senior member, and in my third year I became president as if it was natural. In all seriousness, when you looked at pure talent alone, none of the other students or even any of the teachers could outdo me.”

A red aura began to mix in with the blue.

And behind that, a green aura, and behind that, a brown aura flew towards him.

“President, is he trying to do something?”

“No… lowest-rank spirits cannot attack.”

Lowest-rank spirits were spirits, yet at the same time they were not.

They were a collection of nature’s elements that had formed to become a spirit.

Because of that they could exist, but couldn’t attack or defend.

“But, they are extremely sensitive to nature.”

Low-rank spirits could detect Nerkia’s potential and run to him to make a contract.

Because he was a summoner that could allow them to get stronger.

However, lowest-rank spirits don’t even think, let alone take things like that into consideration.

In other words, that meant that pure nature itself saw enough in Nerkia’s potential to cling to him.