It wasn't until after the opening ceremony, the welcome ceremony, and other showy events organized by Magic Tower that the students of the Colosseo Academy were allowed to go to their dormitories, which were really more for the professors than for the students.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair traveled to their dorms in a group.
"Man, the headmaster of Magic Tower is a jingle bird. What kind of hostess speech is he giving for over two hours?"
"The last time he said he had one more thing to say was over 300 times. Even my personal trainer doesn't count like that."
"I'm exhausted before the competition even starts. You say this is for students, but you don't really care about them."
"Where's the principal of our school, I haven't seen him in all my years of schooling."
"I heard he's been away a lot lately, so Professor Banshee, who just got promoted to vice principal, is here as acting principal."
Everyone is tired as they walk away.
But the sight of the dormitory rejuvenates them.
"Wow, is this where we're staying?"
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, Sinclair, and the rest of the Academy's first years couldn't believe their eyes.
Buildings that looked like they'd been carved out of the inside of a giant mushroom dotted the landscape, high and low.
The walls, which are indeed mushroom-like, are so elastic and soft that you want to rub your cheeks against them.
Fireflies dot the narrow, winding alleys, and natural lanterns light up the streets, never going out overnight.
I felt like I was in a fairy tale village.
The interior of the building is also very spacious and cozy.
Long tables and chairs carved out of logs, and a buffet of food laid out on them, were still warm and steaming, waiting for guests.
The smells of grilled silver trout, steamed oysters, roasted pork and hard cheeses wafted through the air, both sweet and fragrant.
A glass of white wine and a glass of red wine, both nearly alcohol-free, greeted the students.
(Unfortunately, there was no wine buffet)
The 20 first graders, 30 second graders, and 50 third graders at Colosseo Academy sat down at their tables and began to eat.
We were divided into tables of 5 people to share the food.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair looked up from their delicious food to see what was going on around them.
"Where's Vikir?"
"Oh, over there. At the table across the way. Diagonally."
"He's in a group with the triplets from Baskerville, do you think he'll be okay?"
"Dude, is he a kid? What are you so worried about? Did you forget his grade on the midterm? He did way better than us. He's not going to take a beating, so stop worrying."
"He's not the kind of kid to be pushed around. He saved me from the Themiscyra kids before, so let's just focus on our job."
For now, a thorough analysis of the upcoming competition is in order.
We don't know what the venue will be, but the 400 people who will be competing for survival there have already signed up.
20 freshmen, 30 sophomores, 50 seniors. 100 total.
This is how the grades are distributed not only in Colosseo Academy but also in Varangian, Magic Tower, and Themiscyra.
And out of these 400 students, seniors are usually the highest performers, followed by sophomores, and then freshmen.
In fact, first-year students are participating for the sake of experience, so participation itself is meaningful, and second-year students are also encouraged to grow further by competing with third-year students from other schools.
And it's the seniors who have the obligation to bring honor to their school by performing well.
In the history of the competition so far, the top 10 players, including the winner, have always been among third-year students, and in last year's competition, the four geniuses who were unusually ranked in the top 20 despite being sophomores were the strongest candidates for the championship.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair each had a word.
"Let's see. Guess who made it to the top 20 last year even though they were only sophomores?"
"Juragio Bakiraga from Varangian, Hohenheim from Magic Tower, Merlini Lovegood from Themiscyra, and our school's president, Dolores."
"Our president was a sophomore then, too, so now that she's a third year, I guess you could say she's a serious contender!"
"Well, sophomores must have made a good save even in the middle. The freshmen will have to mop the floor."
"But we have to do better than the freshmen at other schools, so we can carry that ranking over to next year and the year after that!"
The unspoken math among seniors is that the ranking you get as a freshman usually carries over into your senior year.
So Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair were eager not to lose out to their peers from the other three schools.
"We're one of the 20 most talented people in the first grade, hand-picked from the top of the class, and we can't let this opportunity go to waste."
"First of all, the first mission is a survival competition, where the ten people who survive to the end and get good scores will receive individual tasks, and if they clear them, they can receive legendary artifacts, right?"
"Let's analyze the key players first."
"That's right. If we're unfortunate enough to meet third years from other schools, we'll be eliminated at lightning speed, so we need to be in the top 100."
"First of all, Bakiraga, Hohenheim, and Lovegood. Those three must be avoided at all costs."
Sinclair had already had an argument with Lovegood on a train, so she knew her fears.
'Honestly, I was really scared, because I thought I was going to choke to death just from the amount of momentum she was exuding,'
Soon, Sinclair was passing on her analysis to other friends.
"'Juragio Bakiraga'. 25 years old. A fighter who had already beaten all the fourth year students in his freshman year. In last year's tournament, he was defeated by a combination of third-year students from another school due to his lack of experience, and the year before, he was stabbed in the back by seniors from the same school, which prevented him from placing in the top 10. Despite this, he was ranked 14th in the overall rankings of last year's tournament. His main weapon is a greatsword. Last year's power level was Sword Expert Superlative, and now it's impossible to guess. There are even rumors that it is already on the Graduator."
"Hmph. If you were defeated by a group of seniors from your own school, you were defeated by an ally, so your credibility within the school is not strong?"
Sinclair shook his head at Tudor's question.
"No. That was in first and second year. Bakiraga is said to be strong for the strong and weak for the weak, so he's very good with his peers and juniors. He can't stand injustice or bad behavior, so he fights for them when they're being victimized. So even though he may not get along with the seniors, he is very close to his peers and juniors. He's a senior now, which is actually the highest grade, and he's the student council president, so he's trusted by everyone."
Juragio Bakiraga leads the men of Varangian with overwhelming force and trust.
Now that he has overcome his only two shortcomings, experience and teamwork, he is a stronger candidate for the championship than anyone else.
Piggy then spoke up.
"I've been analyzing the student council president of Magic Tower, Aureolus Hohenheim. He's 22 years old. His baptismal name at Magic Tower is 'A smart-ass with a high nose' and he is, without question, the strongest student in Magic Tower, and no student in the last hundred years of Magic Tower's history has ever outperformed him. Last year, when he was a sophomore, he ranked 13th in the University League, and everyone else was a junior. Even our president, Dolores, lost to him in the last two University League games... I suppose it's inevitable since they're different."
Monstrous talent, arrogant temper.
Hohenheim is a genius who is considered the strongest among his peers in the Empire, let alone the Magic Tower.
Despite the university's rankings, Bakiraga and Hohenheim were clearly the next generation of absolute powerhouses.
And there's one more dark horse that can't be ignored.
Bianca, who has a thing for pretty girls, opens up about who she's been researching.
"Not to mention my research on the student council president of Themiscyra, Merlini Lovegood."
"Oh, right. What have you been researching?"
"She's... pretty."
"?"
"Too pretty."
"??"
"I don't know how she can be so pretty, ha ha... I envy her. I want to be like her."
"????"
Hearing Bianca's words, Tudor frowned in disbelief.
"Hey, never mind. I'd rather have more detailed information about what I've been researching. Hmmm! Merlini Lovegood, age 23. Mage who specializes in grass, dirt, poison, and bug-type magic. She is the eldest daughter of the Merlini family, a very large and powerful family, and is rumored to have already reached the 4th class, although this is not confirmed. Last year's tournament result was 16th place, and now that she's in her third year, she's hoping to win."
"She's also known for her beauty. I heard that she is a dancer in a famous theater troupe as a hobby. She might make her debut next year... I'm personally a fan."
Sancho added some seemingly useless information to Tudor's description.
By now, Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair had finished their character analysis and began to share their thoughts on the competition.
"What do you think President Dolores will place this time? She was 15th in last year's competition."
"Of course she'll win! I believe in her."
"But Bakiraga and Hohenheim are too strong, and Lovegood is as good as President Dolores."
"Well, it's not the third-year aces, it's us."
"Yeah, we'll just watch and learn and get ready for the league next year and the year after!"
Being freshmen, they didn't seem to have high expectations.
... but.
There is one position in the competition where you have to finish in the top 10 to win a prize.
'Don't be too harsh… … I should rank within the top 10.'
It was Vikir.
Thinking that his classmates would be horrified if they heard it, Vikir made a plan for the future.
The seventh corpse, 'Dekarabia'.
The only one of the ten demons to take the form of an object.
Demons come in many forms and varieties, including worms, snakes, humans, bats, and trees, but the most unusual of them all is the one that takes the form of an inanimate object.
It must be sleeping somewhere in the human realm right now, waiting for someone to wake it up.
And Vikir had a vague idea of its location.
'It is in the Treasure Vault, which is jointly managed by the four universities.'
This was why the demons had been so relentless in their invasions of the Four Academy before the Return.
But if Vikir could locate and eliminate Decarabia faster than the demons could, their bleak future would be much different.
The students, who would otherwise have died unjustly, would be spared.
'With this, the age of destruction will be delayed one step further.'
With fewer demons, there is less power to feed the gates to the Demon World.
Vikir was lost in thought, contemplating the distant future.
"...I beg your pardon."
A voice caught everyone's attention, including Vikir's.
It was the owner of the large inn, and he was looking very troubled and apologetic.
"There's a problem with the water supply at the inn next door... and I was wondering if I could put the people staying there in the empty rooms here? I'm a bit short on rooms."
The owner kept bowing his head and making difficult requests.
The inn next door is run by his younger brother, but the water pipe suddenly broke and there was no water, making it impossible to receive guests for the day.
The owner wanted to send the guests to the other inn as soon as possible, but the Colosseo Academy had already pre-booked all the spare rooms, so it was a difficult situation for the owner.
It was the peak vacation season, and there were no rooms available at other inns.
So the innkeeper bent over backwards to ask for a favor.
"Since you have booked a total of 120 rooms for students and staff of Colosseo Academy with extra rooms, I was wondering if you would be willing to change your reservation to a single room for two people... and use only 60 rooms in total. In return, I will only charge you 30% of the total accommodation fee and provide breakfast and lunch."
It was a good offer.
The students weren't too thrilled about the reduced rate, but the professors were.
"This will save us some money."
"We could use the money to buy other textbooks."
"That's great, I was just looking for a new lab specimen to show my students."
Professor Banshee nodded.
"Let's do that. But only if at least 90% of the class approves."
A vote was taken.
A straw poll was taken, and an astounding 93% of the students voted in favor of the double occupancy rooms.
Not only are the students at Colosseo Academy generally good-natured, but the friendships between students are also strong.
"Ahhh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
The owner of the inn bowed his head several times, and then called the large group of guests waiting outside the door.
And then.
"...!"
The Colosseo students were faced with a group of people they hadn't expected, and to a certain extent, had been anticipating.