Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!
Woosh-!
Boom-!
With the sound of swords clashing and magic being cast, a battle was underway between two teams of 10 members each.
The two sides looked in bad shape, but one of the teams managed to eliminate 2 members of the opposing team and they kept up the momentum until they managed to eliminate the entire opposing team
"The winner is team C!"
A referee announced the team's victory and the crowd cheered; some were excited and happy, while a few looked discouraged
The winning group looked especially happy as they celebrated among themselves and helped the most injured to move, After a few minutes, a medical team took the students to heal their wounds
"This concludes today's matches!"
When the referee said that, the spectators in the stands began to leave.
This was already the fourth day of the event and the fights between the teams were going on constantly, This confrontation also ended the quarterfinals of the tournament and in a few days the semifinals would begin.
Clearly, the groups where the protagonists were passed without problems, especially Alexander's team, slaughtered the opposing team alone in a matter of seconds, although it is thanks to that that the quarterfinals ended so soon.
My team also passed, of course, although using someadvantages'. Nothing too serious, just some harmless magical artifact that shortened the casting time of the spells, one of the teams we faced 'casually' during one of their training sessions, a wizard of their group 'casually' failed a spell, causing an explosion that injured the group, preventing them from participating.
But anyway, thanks to that and a series of other ' casualties' my team made it to the semifinals without much trouble, except of course Beatriz, who kept sticking her nose in our business, but that's just her.
Speaking of Beatriz, the first semifinal showdown is going to be between our groups, something I've been looking forward to
"How will we deal with her? Ultimately, she's the biggest obstacle for us."
Inside a room, several nobles were discussing possible strategies to take care of Beatriz's group
"But we can't touch her, she is a member of the royal family, if we pulled a single hair out of her, we could be executed."
Said one of the nobles and in the next instant, the others showed expressions of anxiety and fear
"You don't have to worry about that."
The nobles turned to look at Arthur, who was sitting with a glass of wine in his hand and a confident smile
"I have a way to take care of her without us having to get involved."
When he said that, the nobles looked at him with curiosity and a little relief
"What is that way?"
Arthur asked one of the nobles and Arthur smiled as if he had been waiting for it and began to talk about his plan
Not knowing that there was a shadow that heard everything and then disappeared.
***
"I see..."
In a luxurious room stood a woman with beautiful hair as golden as gold and eyes as blue as the sky.
She was looking at a woman who was dressed completely in black and kneeling in front of her
"I'm honestly surprised; I didn't think Arthur could come up with a plan like this. Well, I didn't even know if he could come up with plans in the first place."
"Princess, this is urgent, I suggest we call in the rest of the forces and arrest him at once."
"No, that won't do, I don't have enough evidence and as much as I hate to admit it, he is still my fiancé, if he acted impulsively, it could cause problems for my father and his relationship with Reclesia."
She said with resignation that if she acted against Arthur without having a valid argument or without enough evidence, then things could get complicated. Even though Arthur is an idiot, he is still his fiancé and a member of one of the Empire's Shields.
"However, we already know what he's going to do, and I think I have an idea of how we can catch him."
She said with a smile and the next moment her door flew open with a hit.
"Huf..huf...huf..."
Leaning against the door was a panting Leticia, who, unlike her usual garments, was dressed in a pretty, pompous pink dress
"Leti-?"
Beatriz, in surprise, tried to ask but her words were cut off by Leticia's anxious cries
"Princess, please let me hide here!"
She said it urgently as she looked at Beatriz as if she were her only hope.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"No time to explain! Just let me hide here!"
"Leti~"
Leticia's body shuddered as she felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder, She slowly turned to look at the person behind her, praying in her heart that it wasn't who she thought it was
But her futile hopes were shattered.
"That hurts, you know? I haven't been able to see you for months and when we are finally reunited, my dear little sister runs away from me like I'm a monster; my heart twists in pain."
Behind Leticia stood a woman who looked like a copy of her but had more mature features. She had blonde hair that reached her waist, she was very tall considering she was a woman, but without a doubt the most striking feature was her eyes, they were sharp and adorned with thick lashes, which only added to the beauty of her green eyes, similar to freshly polished emeralds.
She was Lysllette Pendragon, Leticia's older sister and future heiress to the Pendragon house.
"How do you plan to make it up to your older sister, Leti?"
She said with a serious and expressionless face that did not fit at all with her words and behavior, but this was something everyone already knew
Lysllette Pendragon was a complete and total siscon.
"I-I."
"You know, I have a wonderful idea to cure my aching heart."
She said that and pulled out a headband with some bunny ears and another with cat ears.
"Do you like rabbits more... or cats?"
She said with her face still serious but with a garter blush on her cheeks, Leticia shuddered and managed to break free from his grip
"I'm not a doll!"
She ran and hid behind Beatriz, her body slightly trembling and told her in a pleading tone
"Princess, tell him to go away!"
Beatrice looked at Leticia behind her with a resigned smile before turning to look at Lysllette, who was still standing in the doorway holding the animal-eared headbands
"Actually, I'd like you to stay and talk to us for a second, Miss Lysllette."
"What?!"
Leticia exclaimed incredulously at her best friend's betrayal.
"Is there something you need, princess?"
"Yes, I'd like you to help me with something."
***
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing; why would you think that?"
"Your face says you're planning something."
Freydis and Arthur were having tea in their usual meeting place under a huge tree surrounded by nature.
"I don't know what you're talking about; anyway, how are things going in the special class?"
"Well, it's a very unique class."
"Unique? How?"
"Well, not only because of the way they teach us, but also because of the people in the class, it's quite a sight to see."
She said she was taking a pause to sip her tea and then spoke again
"For example, there's a boy named Ed who hardly attends classes and when he does, he always looks half dead, Although his little sister is cute despite her strange appearance, I think her name is Lili. There's also this boy... What's his name? Akiyama? he has a gloomy appearance but he's a very sweet boy, I met him several times in the garden, taking care of the flowers; we became friends very quickly, Oh, there's also that time where..."
After that, she started talking about the events that happened in the special class, like her class hour with Takehiko, which basically consisted of all the students in the special class attacking him at the same time to try to defeat him or at least manage to give him a hit, Everything was just as he remembered it in the novel and it seemed like there was no major change
Some time passed and the sun was beginning to set so Arthur got up and said goodbye to Freydis.
"It's getting late, I think we should go back, it was good talking to you."
"No."
"Eh?"
Arthur was about to leave but Freydis suddenly stopped him.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"What question?"
"What are you planning, Arthur? And don't say nothing because clearly you're planning something, you're always planning something but you never tell me what it is—your behavior in front of others, the sabotages, the cheating, the not getting into the special class—don't think I didn't also notice that you suddenly became more powerful than before, just tell me what's going on?"
She said in a serious tone and a firm look, as if she wouldn't accept an excuse or lie as an answer; she wanted the truth
"Are you sure? you'll get into a lot of trouble."
"Pff, trouble? I eat trouble for breakfast. *Slurp* Cof!, Cof!"
She said this before taking a slurp of her tea and choking.
"Forget about it."
"About what?"
"Exactly, whatever! Are you going to say it or not?"
"...Alright."
Arthur sat back down across from Freydis and looked her straight in the eyes, Freydis, noticing the change in mood, set her cup aside and turned her full attention to Arthur
"I'm planning on being expelled from the academy and my family."
Hearing this, Freydis opened his eyes wide but didn't ask any questions, letting Arthur continue talking
"You know the 3 shields of the empire, right?"
"Yes, the Kivelia, the Reclesia and the Pendragon, right?"
"Yes, exactly, they are the ones in charge of protecting the empire for the most part, but there is one of them that is not as good of a shield as you think, that would be the Reclesia, they are traitors."
Freydis was very surprised to learn the truth and this time he couldn't help but ask
"So, are you planning to go against them alone?"
"No, of course not, Do you think I'm stupid?"
"And so?"
"I plan to gather reliable allies when I am expelled from the academy and then attack Reclesia, I also plan to leave some clues of their guilt before I leave to keep them at bay."
When I finished explaining, Freydis fell silent, assimilating the information I just gave her, After a few seconds, she looked at me with a determined look and asked.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Freydis..."
"We are friends; friends help friends."
She said as she kept her determined eyes looked straight into mine without a hint of hesitation
"I may have to go to the elven realm at some point, but as you know, it's not easy for outsiders to get in."
"Got it; leave that to me."
She stood up and started to walk but stopped and turned to look at me
"Take care..."
She said with a concerned tone
"Haha, don't worry, I don't plan on going down before those bastards."
I told her and she smiled before walking out of the forest
"Well, I already got her into this."
I had planned to tell her at some point; after all, I need help getting into the elven realm, but I planned to tell her a few days later, before my expulsion
"Although moving forward is not a bad thing,"
If you are wondering why I told her everything, even though they might be watching me, the answer is simple.
"This is a safe place."
For some reason, we were able to meet so many times without anyone noticing, This area of the forest is surrounded by some kind of natural barrier that prevents outsiders from getting here
Freydis said it was because of the high concentration of spirits in the area, so if you are not someone capable of perceiving spirits like the elves, then getting here will be impossible
"I would have to prepare myself as well."
My confrontation against Beatrice would take place tomorrow, so tonight I must put my plan into action
"I must also meet that person."
If everything goes as expected, then the first phase of my plan will be complete.
And I will be expelled from the academy