"Wow, what just happened?! The match seems to be over, but I still don't understand anything. Can someone explain?"
"Aileen simply found her opponent's weak spot and skillfully exploited it."
"Oh, wait. It looks like one of the participants wants to share their opinion. Kurone, give us a close-up of Krito."
Werner focused the crystal on me and left me with no choice.
"Milena is an excellent water mage. She can use complex spells and shape them in any form, and she's also not lacking in intelligence, unlike her brother. However, she's still just a fourth-class mage. Have you ever wondered why?" I addressed Kurone.
"Hmm, maybe she lacks power?" The girl shrugged uncertainly.
"That's close enough. Mages not only use mana to control the element but also to create it. Earth mages are good in the air but struggle with lightning, fire, or water. Those mages must first create their element. And in this regard, water mages face the most difficulty. Unlike Katrina or Seleria, for whom creating lightning and fire is as natural as breathing, Milena expends considerable energy on that."
"But there's still plenty of moisture in the air, and if there are plants, there's water in them too."
"Yes, but condensing water from the air also takes a lot of energy, and gathering water from living plants is a level of magic that's only accessible to very few mages."
"But we saw how she easily got rid of the tea that Aileen poured on her during lunch. She did that with one swift motion."
"Squeezing free water from fabric or soil is quite simple, but chemically bound water is much more challenging. It seems Aileen's last trick effectively dealt with the remains of the water Milena managed to create. By the end of the battle, she had created as much water as she could, and she only had enough strength left to control it. Naturally, getting rid of the free water, Aileen disarmed her opponent."
"Ho-ho-ho, now I understand everything... Well, almost." Vina returned to her commentary, "So, the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the inventor from the distant empire turned out to be slightly stronger. But slightly isn't enough for us; Aileen's victory is beyond doubt. Let's welcome the winner!"
"It was my first time participating in a battle where I wasn't sure of my victory. It was a valuable experience," Milena tried to stand up, but the pain in her shoulder prevented her from leaning on her arm.
"Ah, you mages are so delicate," Aileen smiled and offered her hand to the sorceress, "let me help you up."
"What's this all of a sudden? I thought you couldn't stand our guild," Milena gave her rival a skeptical look.
"Oh, come on, the battle was excellent and enlightening, and unlike your comrades, you don't evoke any negative emotions in me."
The sorceress frowned slightly but eventually decided to trust her enemy and extended her hand to her.
"We are still enemies, and I'll try to gain as much benefit from this battle as possible," she said.
"I wasn't expecting any less. Let's go, it's time to make way for the next pair," Aileen assisted Milena and headed towards the exit.
"Hmm, an intriguing person," the sorceress gathered a handful of gray sand and hid it in her pocket, "but I've learned a lot from her."
For the first time in sixteen years, a faint smile graced the face of the cool-headed sorceress.
"Krito! Why are you blabbering about my tactics?" Aileen entered the room, looking disapproving, but it didn't seem like she was too bothered by it.
"What does it matter? At least now no one will doubt your victory. But now you have to battle Alfred. Do you think you can defeat him?"
"Well, I'm already thinking about it, but he won't get away with it unscathed."
"By the way, what happened to their guild when you attacked the Academy?"
"Um, that? It seems Sinner handled that; as he said, they were discussing something and even had no weapons, so he knocked them out before they noticed him."
"Hmm, interesting. In any case, I wish you luck."
I stepped away to the edge of the balcony and listened to the conversation in the neighboring box.
"How could you lose?! Not only did Miguel so clumsily lose to that riff-raff, but you also lost to our enemy in a battle!"
"Don't shout like that; I did everything I could. Anyway, you'll defeat her in the next round."
"That... It doesn't matter. I'm only worried that because of your clumsy actions, their popularity has grown even more. I'll have to handle everything myself. I hope at least the princess will behave as I expect."
The last sentence caught my attention, but I still didn't know its significance.
Feris went to the neighboring box to heal Milena's wound, and we turned our gaze back to the screen.
Rizel against Leira Vanderhof.
"Huff-huff-huff," Leira took three sharp breaths and slapped her cheeks, rising from her seat with determination, "I'm ready! I won't surrender without a fight, even if I'm up against Riz."
The girl tried to be brave, but her delicate hands were trembling. Of course, after the rector's encouraging speech, everyone would be nervous.
"Don't worry," Rizel rose silently from her seat and headed towards the stairs, "we'll show them everything we're capable of."
"Ho-ho-ho, here come our new contenders," strangely enough, I was starting to get used to that sarcastic voice, and it no longer evoked associations with screeching metal, "the admirable sorceress from an ancient noble lineage, Leira Vanderhof."
The crystal started showing impressive battles of Leira against Katrina, the Hydra, and the ant queen. No matter how you looked at it, she proved herself to be a strong sorceress in all the battles, unlike Rizel.
"A powerful sorceress and a master of using two elements - lightning and the rarer wind. She's a smart and brave girl who cares about her subjects. In short, an exemplary noblewoman - we could use more like her," Vina's praise made the girl blush, which was a rare occasion since the merchant didn't hold those in power in high regard, "and the second contender, the necromancer Rizel."
The crystal changed the image to a figure wrapped in a cloak, with only one hand visible, holding a silver staff. Simultaneously, there were scenes of Rizel battling monsters during treasure hunts and a view of a girl sitting amidst the bodies of defeated cave creatures.
"However you look at it, this girl remains a mystery to me. She is strong but never fights seriously, not to mention that no one has been able to remove her cloak yet. Oh, by the way, I'd like to announce a little prize!" Vina's unexpected announcement drew the attention of the rivals. "I will pay one thousand gold coins to whoever can show us the face of the modest necromancer!!"
"Huh?!" The glowing green eye seemed about to pop out from under the hood due to surprise. "VINA!!! What are you doing?! Why am I hearing about this for the first time?!"
"Well, it's logical because I just came up with it. And did you not know that more than half of the Academy wants to know what you look like? Besides, maybe this will make you tell your friends why you're hiding."
"Don't you even think anything will come out of this!!"
"He-hee," a devilish grin spread across Leira's face.
"What else? You didn't fall for her provocation, did you?"
"Hmm, well, how should I put it," the noblewoman shifted into a more stable stance and raised one hand in front of her face, preparing for an attack, "I know my chances of winning are slim if you start fighting seriously; I'll most likely lose. But if I can at least remove your disguise, then the day won't be in vain."
"I-I won't let you do that!"