“Well, here we are! It’s the first game of today’s rookie tournament! From the commentary, Caroline sensei, what are your thoughts?”
“U~mm~, I think I am looking forward to it~☆”
“Yes! Thank you for your bland answer! The match is scheduled to start in ten minutes, so please be patient!”
There was such an announcement at the venue.
Currently, the two first matches of the Main Tournament were over, and now it was time for the Rookie Tournament.
The overall schedule for the Magic Chevalier is to complete the first round of both the main competition and the rookie competition in four days. Then, after a day of rest, the second round will be done in four more days. Then, after finishing the semi-finals in two days, with a day of rest in between, the third-place match is held, followed by the finals.
That’s a schedule of exactly two weeks.
Today was the first day, and Amelia’s match was attracting a lot of attention because it was the first …… match of the rookie tournament. The crowd was packed, of course, but since the eldest daughter of that Rose family was going to compete, many people were talking about Amelia while they were here.
Also, in the Magic Chevalier, two people are in charge of the game: the live feed and the exposition.
The one doing live feed was Natalia Ashley, a second-year student at Arnold Magic Academy. Apparently, she’s also an idol, and her performance last year was so well received that she’s been hired again this year.
The exposition part changes depending on the schedule, but today was Carol’s day.
She’s one of the seven great sorcerers, so she can explain sorcery normally, and although I don’t understand why she’s also a popular sorcerer.
Some people even came for her.
“President. Shall we do it?”
“Sure. The timing is just right.”
And with a single word from the president, we started our activities as a cheering squad.
“We’re right on schedule. Let’s go!”
{Ouu!}
The cheering squad activities are allowed to last until the end of the competitors’ entrance. Of course, we are not allowed to raise our voices during the game, but only before the game can we cheer together as a cheering squad.
We started cheering as we had practiced welcoming Amelia’s entrance.
Piiiiiiiiiiii! and the president blew the whistle, and we started with the 3-3-7 beat. All of us had been trained to do this, and there was not a trace of deviation. We did it perfectly. It’s an art form that we’ve perfected.[TN: this 3-3-7 beat(rhythm) originated from Japanese cheering squads, which are a common thing in Japanese schools. I found (–>)this(<–) Reddit thread for it, and (–>)this(<–) video as well]
“Okay, everyone’s perfect. Let’s proceed!”
{Ouu!}
And so we begin our next action.
“Who’s the winner!”
{Amelia Rose!}
“Who will win?”
{Amelia Rose!}
“That’s right! The winner of Magic Chevalier’s rookie competition is… ……”
{Amelia Rose!!}
{Amelia, hooray!}
{Amelia, Banzai!}
Along with President’s shout, we shouted as much as we could. While showing off the overwhelming muscles of the members of the environmental research club, we continued to cheer with a very loud voice.
By the way, Evi was the one waving the flag, and the rest of the members had prepared hachimaki and fans specially made for Amelia’s cheering squad, and went all out in support.
Elisa’s and Clarice’s voices were not as loud as ours, but both of them were shouting loudly with enthusiastic expressions on their faces, to the extent that we could definitely hear the women cheering.
We were united as one. We were all doing our best to cheer for Amelia.
“Oh! Cheering is one of the most exciting parts of the Magic Chevalier, and Rose’s cheering squad is really into it! This might be a cheering squad on par with Rebecca Bradley’s!”
“Yeah! Everyone is amazing~☆ Maybe I should do it too? Capi☆”
“As a teacher, you shouldn’t be biased towards a particular student and must give a fair commentary~”
“Ehh… I guess I can’t help it… Capi☆
“……”
While attracting the attention of both the live broadcaster and the commentator, …… the contestants finally made their entrance.
At the same time, we ended our cheering. However, from this point on, we are allowed to call out to each other individually. That’s why we all called out to Amelia to let her know we were here.
“Amelia!”
“Amelia-chan! Good luck!”
“Amelia! Be sharp! Strong, strong!”
“Amelia! You can do it! Believe in yourself!”
When the entire cheering squad called out that, Amelia smiled and raised her right hand toward us.
She could afford to act that way, because she was confident, huh. Amelia seemed to be full of confidence.
Finally, Amelia’s match was about to begin.
“I, Abby Garnet, will be the referee. The rules are if you drop your opponent outside the ring, scatter the rose on your chest, or become unable to fight, you lose. If I determine that you are unable to fight any longer, the match will end at that point. Are you two ready?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Abby-san announced, and finally, the two players took their designated positions. Amelia’s first match was against a male student from the Diom Magic Academy named Theo Girard. But the truth is, that I had seen his match.
When he was fighting Ariane, I had witnessed it while I was undercover as a woman.
I’ve already told Amelia. The details about the opponent and how Amelia should fight. Of course, I didn’t tell her everything in detail. The situation of battle changes drastically depending on the circumstances. The important thing is to be flexible enough to respond quickly while keeping the basic information about the opponent.”
Then, Abby raised her voice to start the …… match, and the curtain fell.
“Let the …… match begin!”
A moment later, the other player ran towards Amelia at once.
“Whoa! Girard made the first move!? He’s heading for Amelia at once!”
I guess he already has the internal code running. He approaches Amelia with an uncommonly fast pace. Amelia must be well aware of the fact that she is a short-range player.
And the choice she made was …….
“She avoided it! Amelia continues to avoid Girard’s attacks! But this won’t cut it. …… What do you think about this, Caroline Sensei?”
“Ummmm. Amelia-chan probably doesn’t have enough strength to catch that heavy sword, so she has to avoid it~. But Amelia-chan uses her quickness to her advantage and avoids it well~. And I don’t think Amelia’s internal code skills are inferior~.”
“I see! Amelia continues to dodge with her speed while Girard pushes with his power. …… Will this be a long match!? When will the balance be broken!!”
“Hmm, I wonder if it’s over…”
“Well, what does that …… mean?”
“Just watch and you’ll see~. Capi☆”
That was Carol.
She figured it out already. At a glance, Amelia seems to continue to avoid. No, she looks like she is running away. From the side, Girard seemed to be overwhelming her. Because Amelia hasn’t attacked yet, not even once.”
However, in between this attack and defense, Amelia had been preparing well.
And Amelia finally begins to move. She swung the sword she held in her right hand as if she was going to counter with it, and he flinched from the attack and took only one step back.
But there was a delay sorcery that …… Amelia had installed.
In an instant, a pillar of flame rises from the ground, as if to strike the sky. Of course, he dodged the first strike. It was the same strategy that Ariane had used on him. He must have had some countermeasures already in place,……, but the number of Amelia’s delay sorcery was more than ten.
At the same time as one delay sorcery is activated, all magic is released at once.
“Ahhhh!? It’s a delay sorcery, but this number is incredible! And they’re completely closing in on player Girard’s chest, and pillars of flame are going up one after another! Amelia, when did she set up such a large number of delay sorcery!”
Then, it pinpoints and snatches the rose on Girard’s chest, and as it burns all at once, the rose …… turns directly into ashes.
Gray chips fall from the chest. The end is too quick. However, Amelia had completely burned up her opponent’s rose in just one attack.
The grayish remains of the rose indicated Amelia’s victory.
“The winner, Amelia Rose.”
When Abby announced this, a loud cheer echoed through the coliseum.
“The match is over! What a surprise! She finished him off perfectly with just one sorcery, Rose! And to control such a difficult delay sorcery with such precision! The opponent had anticipated the first blow, but she surpassed it by far! Overwhelming victory, an overwhelming victory! Is this the power of the top three nobles! Now, Caroline sensei, please give us your general comments!”
“Yes, yes. That’s right. It was just after the game started. In other words, Amelia-chan had already thought of that before the first sword battle~… ☆ But that number was also set while avoiding the sword~. This is only possible when one has accurate information about their opponent, but~, you know, delayed sorcery is very deep~. People who are unskilled at it will always be clumsy at it. It’s a matter of constructing a code theory, but first of all, in the process of processing, the elements that delay sorcery is built upon can be found at …….”
“Yes! Thank you very much, Carol Sensei!”
Hey! Natalia-chan, you’re awful~☆ I was still explaining~! Pun pun ga-oh☆”[TN: She’s pouting]
“I understood from the previous game that your explanations can be quite long! So, we will continue with the first round of the rookie competition, so spectators, please wait!”
After saying that, Amelia left the venue with her crimson hair fluttering in a leisurely manner.
This strategy was the one that Ariane had used. But Amelia’s technique was completely superior to Ariane’s. What was most notable was the meticulous construction of the code theory. It would have been impossible to target an opponent with such a large number of delay sorcery techniques with pinpoint accuracy without a great deal of skill.
Furthermore, she has the skill and mental strength to do it in battle.
And the fact that she dared to use it means that …… this is a declaration of war.
I did not instruct Amelia to do anything. But, just that, Ariane was fighting like this,……, and that’s all.
The other competitors must have marked Amelia for her ability to use sorcery so calmly on this big stage.
And the same would be true for Ariane. No, I’m sure Ariane would be smiling.
──–If you want to come, come, and I will crush you head-on.
That’s how she’d take Amelia’s declaration of war.
“Awesome! Amazing! Amelia-chan! That’s an overwhelming victory!”
Elisa bounced up and down, holding hands with Clarice to share her joy.
“Yes! That’s great, Amelia! She’s sure to win this one!”
When I was watching the two of them smiling and happy,……, I instantly felt a sharp gaze coming from behind me.
“……? What is it, Ray?”
“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, Evi is waving the banner, aren’t you tired?”
“Hehe. It’s good training, too! Just perfect!”
“Fufu, I see.”
That look just now. It was not particularly uncomfortable. This is similar to the way they look at me when I’m dressed as a woman. Did anyone else discover that I was wearing women’s clothing? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was …….
Or maybe …….
I hope my fears are unfounded, I thought as I watched Amelia walk away with firm steps to the end.
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