CH 87

Fierce Battle

“Somehow, we managed to win….”

When the game was over, the 4th graders everywhere ran out of strength and fell to the ground. The sixth graders were also rolling around on the ground, but the ratio between them was different.

Sheila, who had more endurance than others, was also lying on her back. But it wasn’t from fatigue but from a sense of fulfillment.

“We won….”

Why was it that the victory that was obtained with the help of one’s friends was so moving?

As Sheila was basking in the afterglow of victory, Seiryuu’s face appeared in her field of vision.

“Sheila.”

She grabbed the hand held out in front of her. Leaving herself up to him, Sheila sat up.

“It was a great match. It’s embarrassing, though, as an upperclassman, that you won so easily.”

“No. It wasn’t easy at all.”

It might have gone by in a blink of an eye, but for Sheila, it was a fierce battle. Perhaps for her classmates as well.

Looking around the training hall, she saw that Cody, Zechs, Hyderion, Toldrid, and her other classmates were also lying on the ground. Her smile deepened at the sight of nobles and commoners alike.

Sheila’s expression as she gazed at her friends was dazzling and proud, like a boy with a treasure in his hands.

Seiryuu narrowed his eyes at his junior and scrunched her head. He smiled gently at Sheila, who blinked at his unusually rough touch.

“I gave away the win this time, but I won’t lose next time. I’ll be even tougher in the upcoming competitions.”

“Eh, I think you don’t have to be any stronger than that…..”

Sheila smiled dryly as she saw Seiryuu off.

Hyderion had predicted that once they won, their other competitors would be wary and it would be difficult to win again, but to think that they would raise the level of caution so early in the game like this. Sheila shivered at the prospect of a heated battle. Let’s just say that she was shivering from the anticipation of encountering even stronger opponents.

She returned to her tent, and they all praised each other’s efforts.

They were exhausted, but the next game was between the fifth and sixth graders. Sheila and the others could rest, albeit briefly.

When the match began, Sheila and her teammates pushed aside their fatigue and began to watch the game seriously. The purpose was to get an idea of the strength of the fifth graders who they would be fighting next.

Leidyrune was on the offensive. Even though he couldn’t use magic, he had a good foundation in the physical arts, which made him a dangerous player.

Incidentally, Wilfrecht was absent today. Sheila was told that he would show up around the time of the Imperial Matches, as he would be attending as a member of the royal family.

She looked around to see if there were any other familiar faces, but it seemed that Regress wasn’t participating in the pole toppling. He didn’t seem to be a strong hitter, so perhaps it was no surprise.

“Maybe it’s a good thing for the sixth graders since it’s hard to attack a delicate person like Regress-senpai…”

Hyderion picked up on Sheila’s monologue.

“That’s sweet, Sheila. If it were me, I would use that sympathy to put Regress-senpai on the field.”

“Wahh, how dirty….”

It might be a strategy to reduce the attack by bringing weakness to the forefront, but wasn’t it too ruthless?

As Sheila shuddered, Toldrid interjected.

“You say so, but you yourself can fight on an equal footing, aren’t you? You’re as delicate and frail as Regress-senpai.”

“Ah, come to think of it.”

Compared to men, Sheila should definitely be delicate and frail. After being told this, a question suddenly crossed her mind, and she tilted her head.

“…. Huh? Then why did they attack me with such full force? The upperclassmen were like excited boars.”

As Sheila pondered about it, Zechs shrugged his shoulders as he slouched and put his feet up on a chair.

“Well, that just means they know how good you are.”

“Eh, really?”

“If you don’t look at it positively, you’ll just be saddened by the disparity.”

“…”

It was foolish of Sheila to expect comfort from him in the first place. There was a perfectly good man right beside her who possessed both true kindness and goodwill.

When she immediately turned her expectant gaze to Cody, even her trusty friend quickly turned away. The apologetic look on his face made Sheila’s heart ache even more.

‘I’m sure…. that they thought I was more masculine than Regress-senpai.’

As a real woman, Sheila wasn’t satisfied with their explanation.

When they were bickering about silly things, the match was nearing its end before they knew it.

Leidyrune was rapidly moving forward, taking down more and more of the enemy, but Seiryuu was faster than him and successfully reached the fifth-grade side.

“Arrrghhh!!!”

Seiryuu put all his weight on the pole as he roared like a beast. In the meantime, he kicked away those guarding the perimeter with his feet.

Axe was also showing his fair share of activity. He had been on the defensive in the previous match, but this time he was apparently put on the offensive. He was holding back the enemy to help Seiryuu.

Soon after, the log was knocked over, and the winner was decided.

For some reason, Axe suddenly stripped off his clothes, showing off his muscles as he shouted in triumph. The fifth graders reacted in a variety of ways, some falling to their knees, others covering their faces and groaning at the sight. Sheila couldn’t help but shed tears of empathy when she thought about their feelings.

“――But this should get the fifth graders to start taking it seriously.”

At Hyderion’s words, everyone’s expression tightened at once.

Regardless of losing to the sixth graders, their pride wouldn’t allow them to lose to a bunch of underclassmen. Moreover, Sheila and the others had defeated the sixth graders who had beaten them.

“The enemy will go all out for Sheila now that they are serious. While you are attracting the stronger enemies, we will take down the pole this time. Toldrid and Zechs will also join the attack to bolster our forces. Bert, our defenses will loosen a little, but can you hold out?”

“I think I can manage for a short time.”

Hyderion nodded to Bert. He looked around at the others and announced loudly.

“The next battle will be shorter than the last. ――Everyone, be careful.”

In response, Sheila smiled. As expected, in her opinion, Hyderion was a sharp man and was suited to be a military counselor.

After a short break, the fourth and fifth graders took their positions. Expecting a surprise, the underclassmen and guests cheered enthusiastically.

Leidyrune was breathing fine enough, but they couldn’t hide their fatigue. The fourth graders had the advantage because they were able to take a longer break.

Once the match began, Hyderion’s strategy worked brilliantly.

Leidyrune and several others came toward Sheila. It was clear that they were trying to block her movement even to the extent of allocating their main force.

While she was successfully escaping and fighting back, she caught sight of Zechs moving out of the corner of her eye. As long as Sheila’s diversion worked, they should be able to move easily. Of course, if she just ran around, they might be able to see through the plan, so Sheila didn’t forget to make a pretense of going for the pole.

When she was rampaging flamboyantly to her heart’s content, Zechs pulled down the pole of the enemy. Although he had a wound on his cheek, he didn’t seem to be badly injured.

Sheila thought Leidyrune would be very disappointed when he realized that he had been played, but he wasn’t. Rather, he appeared to be relieved that the match was over.

“…. Leidyrune-senpai, did you realize that I was a decoy, by any chance?”

When Sheila asked him with certainty, he smirked and ignored the question.

He placed his hand on Sheila’s shoulder and slowly brought his beautiful face closer.

“I’m glad you’re not hurt. ――Don’t be too reckless.”

He whispered close to her ear and she blinked. It was as if he didn’t care about the match as long as Sheila was safe.

She watched his back as he left with a bright smile on his face.

She didn’t like not being treated like a man, but she was strangely tickled when he treated her like a woman. It was even more unnerving when dealing with someone so high-profiled as Leidyrune. Sheila should be dissatisfied and complaining to fight her properly, but the unexpected consideration made her cheeks heat up.

Sheila was so stunned that she didn’t even notice that the ladies were making strange noises that sounded like squealing during the series of exchanges.