Chapter 202: A Perfect Plan (2)
vnBIlTime flew by until it was Friday.F0y
yNNBn“Uwahhhhhh…!!!”agdv
dX3zmkLThe exams were over.rqxKT
EAggjqCheers and sighs of relief could be heard all around the campus. The smiles blooming on the faces of the students weren’t solely because it was the end of the official courses.kCojQ
rEKfyAlthough the exams were over, they still had to complete their compulsory missions before the winter holidays, but even that couldn’t take away the excitement of the upcoming festival.uitE
BVW0RiwMerkarva Academy was going to be open to the public on a scale incomparably bigger than last year. Parents who were here to see their kids, tourists, and the citizens of the city – all of them would be stopping by the Academy for this enormous event.RXc
RnCyWhich means there will be a loophole in their otherwise perfect security.aTO
dYtThinking about all the incidents that would hit us throughout the Autumn Festival put me in a jittery mood, but I was doing my best to prepare for it already.zFzj1
28yABut would it be okay to do it the same as the last iteration?tCgY
ok3I was slightly skeptical because the current situation at hand was incredibly different from how it was in the last iteration during this same period of time.oMsS
Jmzmr7xWhatever the case, the preparations were all in place. It was hard to predict all the butterfly effects that might occur, but all of our strongest cards were already in play.Bm6
09tuZPI returned to the dormitory with such thoughts running through my mind. Everyone was already back home by the time I came back, which I noticed after going to the sunroom as previously ordered by Lady Josephine.Gu2iDj
9SPRdxI went into the sunroom and saw Marie waving her hand.Sdj4nO
RaV4E“Korin! Here…! It’s empty here!”ekMrAL
WhORGShe shouted while tapping on the sofa she was sitting on. I was about to sit next to her as usual but…pXq
JmPlbm“…”ifsI
rapThat was when I felt a glare from behind.oo9T
VQhdvUpIt was Hua Ran.RbY1K
I3v1SaIgnoring the gaze, I sat next to Marie. Then, Hua Ran followed suit and sat next to me.JGpudF
spEV“Kuhum…”8JB
2WBpI ended up having a flower in each hand against my will, and it was by no means a positive occurrence. Having the two of them glare at each other in silence made me break a sweat.L1aL
XpA51“What wonderful teamwork you are demonstrating already.”vXd
uCxfLady Josephine clicked her tongue and gave a sarcastic comment the moment she walked into the sunroom.tjD4diD
xerA“…Please help.”TBeA
p3uv9DJ“You reap what you sow. Deal with it yourself.”ljFZsZl
KKqyShe raised her glasses with her fingers and cold-heartedly dismissed my plea for help. Unfortunately, I was stuck in that uncomfortable state until Ren and Ron came for my help.I3vixS
iHxF“Looks like everyone is here.”gBgCV
tzWSK“Hmm? What about Princess Estelle?”xox
g503kTwo of the tenants of the dormitory, the two princesses, were nowhere to be seen. Miruam was in the capital so that was natural, but Estelle had taken the exam today with everyone else, so where was she?m1w0
yran6AL“Student Estelle said she will apply for the Tournament today. This does not apply to her so we will go straight to the topic at hand.”suD
tglv6KIt seemed that everyone that needed to be here was here. Josephine started to speak before the tenants.ibrtXy
sqLLc“The preparations for the Harvest Festival start today and so will the qualifying rounds of the Tournament.vrsyO4P
9Zy“Normally, we wouldn’t speak separately to a group of students like this, but there is still a leftover uproar from the recent demi-human incident.4iX
ZC5“Everyone here except for Student Korin are referred to as ‘demi-humans’ by society and are feared by them. Unfortunately, this is an undeniable fact and reality.NLRECX
9QRk“And as you know, Student Hua Ran and Student Marie had to be under severe surveillance last year during the 1st semester, with restrictions on leaving the campus.fOr
9U7F14“There are no longer any restrictions and you are free to participate in any contest you wish to but…qcDtI17
BBsg“As you know, there will be a large number of normal civilians in the Harvest Festival, and combined with the free, outgoing atmosphere surrounding the Academy, it is bound to result in several incidents. All types of people will gather including those with impure intentions and prejudices so please avoid having unnecessary conflicts.”kl3J
XEipnTIt was a long speech but she was basically telling us to not create a commotion. It reminded me of the time when I was going on a vacation in the military and was told how fighting against a civilian would do me no good and only bad things would sprout from such a bout.V3lRUq
U1D0hC“Well then…”wSkpS
7Z5LqeNear the end of her speech, Lady Josephine scanned through the audience before closing it off.nSIz
PKys9y“Everyone, please enjoy a fun and happy festival. That’s all.”aWwhW
IQCNAutumn Harvest Festival.nlbE
xpcnThis would mark the end of the “sophomore episode” of ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱. In turn, while it was a festival for everyone else, it was an event that I couldn’t let my guard down against.itgd
XfdjgDOnly after this was all over and we hit the winter would I finally be able to take some actual rest.Kv6OysA
zz0Plus, I had to seriously prepare myself for the festival. The Hunting Contest, Auction Contest, Food Sales Contest, Magic Exhibition Contest, and the Mock Trial… I also double-checked to see if there were other contests I would partake in, but it was difficult because some of them overlapped with others.91iSf0
uqSAHThere was one though – the Crossdressing Contest. It was an unpopular contest that took in participants until the very date of the contest but…ty1L
l0zWait, am I setting up a flag for myself?ga6al
R7vFor some reason… I was getting some uneasy vibes about it. It was also because my plans, which should normally be perfect, would sometimes go haywire in the most unexpected places.PKNnki
RsfA“Wow~. The festival really is just right around the corner. How do you feel, Korin? This is the first Harvest Festival you’re having in Merkarva, right?”Juzks
aTzqxaI“Yeah.”WG2
O37AMarie said she wasn’t participating in any other contests except for the Lady of Autumn Contest. Most people would rather choose to be part of the audience than participate in many of them, so that made sense.pZvjxfY
7uX“I have friends that are attending the Tournament, so I have to cheer for them.”03vdB
acMh“I see. Should we go together?”ZHKrv7o
zEAjAA5“Sure. Oh, by the way.”bLe9gel
vKQoxzJust in case… I decided to ask just in case. Like, I wasn’t going to do it but…ubp3h
xMsasz“Senior. How do you think you’ll feel if I crossdress?”J1Rul
U6u“Haht…!”KBqUwI0
yKDGBLMarie suddenly lost her words in a fluster.q1gbilT
cqnov“Uhh, mhmm…! I understand! P, people all have their own set of hobbies! Yes! T, there’s nothing wrong with that! But… you’re not… going to do that with a male after that, right? That’s not right! That is one thing I cannot allow!”T4Rqhc
rjxb“Why would you even ask that? That’s weird.”GazQGR
x2No6M“Phew… Thank goodness. Nn. Even if you crossdress… Mhmm! I can understand!”P8la1
OyLxHmm, I knew it. As a southerner, it seemed that Marie was quite conservative.yZ1
rzx1gIt was a fun contest though, so that was a shame.uW18VS
hcz0kPAgain, the time flew by until the first qualifying round of the Tournament.Z3qSh
QO8gq***HyC0rF
EkRThere were many different events in the Harvest Festival, but the highlight of the festival, the Tournament, required some qualifying rounds before the actual start.AaeASV
k30PVIt was unavoidable because of the sheer number of contestants, and they cut the number down all the way until the top 32 were decided.HIB
keyf2V“Korin, are you going to watch the Tournament? Ah, this is something I made by the way.”iucloIM
LBAWpiq“Ohh~. Potato chips.”L8ANXp
vD5efMarie handed over her homemade potato chips. I took a bite into it as a salty and crispy flavor filled my mouth.FheKQ
k8hZRqY“I’m a little busy but I do need to go have a look. There are a lot of them attending from our side, after all.”HDqEb
MzYUtIncluding Alicia, there was also Dorron, Kranel, Yuel, Ren and Ron, Rashid, and Germain… The prizes were decent even if one only reached the top 32, so half of the entire Academy usually went in for it.wsw
7iAXsA“That’s true. I’m the deputy master so I will go cheer for them too!”Rt8
HYopoShe said that while stealing glances at me, so I asked her for her company.eBGIe6
aR7YP“Should we go together?”9lNWr
o6R6Frk“Sure! I have some snacks that we can have while we’re watching!” Marie said while showing me her favorite basket. She appeared quite excited.IBgq
qlW7The arena for the Tournament was set in the so-called Colosseum, which was located at the center of the campus. It hosted all sorts of events including the recent interim and the final exams so it was a familiar venue for all the students.Z6AdEn
WvpHTZo“If I remember correctly, there are 8 different qualifying rounds, right? Two per grade, was it?”w9W2b
66bVLf“Yep. I also did it once back when I was a freshman.”NX0Nw
XRkzY“That would have been exciting to watch. Did you win?”gjptRr
ej4vRzx“Hehe. I was 2nd from our group!”P7Lsr
cJn“Was Senior Beazeker 1st?”Yhk
FasWGk6“Yeah. He excels in fights like that, after all.”uYj0
fhCrA1Beazeker.4x9D5X
tt7He was one of the named characters that would serve an important role in next year’s episode, whose half-giant tribe I met by pure coincidence during the Tower of Mages incident.1mZ
KEK2Well, I was quite close to him in the last iteration, and he even tried to introduce his sister to me.L1O4IV
RrCBy the way, I actually participated in the Tournament last iteration but came 15th from Group 2 and failed the qualifiers. I was semi-Grade 1 and quite strong back then, but there was an unfortunate course of events.Jubm
9yEUG4tIn any case, I was walking into the arena with Marie when a familiar set of steps as well as an energetic shout struck me from behind.hq9
ksX“Korin-dongsaeeenggg!”BR32i
tA0Estelle gave a tight hug from behind, leaving not even a millimeter of gap between us, which inevitably made my back touch something incredibly soft.NIx
HdXdSRu“…I told you not to do that when we are in front of everyone.”o6m
CkMURkj“Hehe! Are you here to cheer for your noona?”eVJl9
n8pvZf“That too.”Dad
ZIWShe rubbed her cheek on my face while smiling like a fool and I heard voices saying, ‘That son of a bitch,’ from all around.xCe
B8P5“Korin… Are you smiling?”7EgJ
dtu“Kuhum…!”eQkoW
DPiMarie’s voice was so cold that I immediately freed myself from Estelle’s hug. After letting go of me, Estelle looked back and forth between me and Marie.Y0956iG
rHNWg“Ms. Junior Marie. You are not attending the Tournament, are you?”Yu4
6kwP“What a shame,” Estelle added with a smile. Even I could tell the provocative tone behind her smile.tx4D1
2UJzS“I will be winning today so cheer for me!”VMQ
WZlQShe immediately darted off after saying that.Wgb
sz2E“…”ElDQ8
BcN2Marie remained silent for a while after that. It might be just me… but she seemed like a volcano ready to erupt any time soon.sdN4s
IErbIX………Ovn
jDpYH……LUoXx3
uyY99n…dJCn15o
H9db97There were 8 different qualifying rounds. It was two rounds for each grade, with about 100 of them fighting at once.4RziwDh
TLmwpZF“So Alicia and Kranel are in Group A of the 2nd-years!”Li5E
V2ulnI recognized a lot of the names of the people in our grade.IAuHTh
NIfDWAlicia, Yuel, Dorron, Kranel, and Jaeger. I took monopoly of all the key talents with promising futures when founding the guild, so all of them were affiliated with Korin Guardians.c79jM
eUy1They were pretty much the strongest from our grade and were all strong enough to reach the actual Tournament but…L9P
bFp1G“Hmm~. Do you think Alicia will come 1st?”Ix8lURs
PFtWkB“Who knows.”GMZei
BUnOAlicia was indeed the strongest from our grade except for me, and in terms of close combat based on pure skills, no one came close except for maybe Dorron and me.HEMg
CjzFtS1“She might get disqualified in a flash though. And it’s highly likely that Kranel will lose in the first 10 seconds.”5Kytz
jIwBNq“…I guess that’s true,” Marie nodded. She knew the nature of this qualifier. Well, she did experience it firsthand in the previous Tournament.AAn
qWLtAs for me, I was also aware of its nature due to experiencing it firsthand.FPaqP
cZ1pkU『The participants of the 2nd grade qualifying Group A. Please enter the stage.』FFuSWi
OSwF2nd-grade students started crowding the arena immediately after the announcement until there were roughly 110 students inside the arena. There were around 220 participants from our grade alone, which meant Group B would have a similar number of students.cmd0mb
RKyTwkg“Ah~ I found Alicia and Kranel. Good luck, both of you!”EVK
k3qdIt seemed that Dorron and Yuel weren’t in the same group as them. Alicia, who stood out even amongst her peers inside the arena, waved her hand after finding me.5T9Rq7
0vT“Ah, now’s not the time to care about us though.”ktQbP
HVDuHUi“…You’re right.”Q1t
CnKMarie and I watched the innocent smile blooming on Alicia’s face with the same line of thought running through our minds. Her innocence was in stark contrast to everyone else around her… and it was even more evident from a distance.rDX
zB3dZAll of them were vigilant of her.klcPG
N9smSxOUnlike the “Festival”, the cultural interchange with another academy, the Tournament of the Autumn Harvest Festival put a lot of emphasis on efficiency and saving time. It was because there were a lot of other events apart from the Tournament that warranted the same amount of effort.Ksn1DR3
UL9hMThat was why the qualifiers were done swiftly and efficiently, and that was achieved by putting more than 100 contestants into one area for a battle royale.wABBYs
f25iLosing consciousness and leaving the arena would immediately have them disqualified.kZt
EQeJZY1Only 8 people from each grade were able to reach the actual game. For the 2nd year students, there were 220 divided into two groups of 110, which meant only 4 would make it out of Group A.tnNZD4R
H7AOoIt would go on until 4 were left on the stage.ik4dNJN
kxc66DfSo, what would they do first when 110 people were standing in the arena?a3BE1p
d7jFWThe answer to that question was straightforward.Y5kIs
FT4j4“Take him down first!”Ls39z
i77Hh1“Beat him up before he can summon his golems!”dB23
Cj9Fj“Huh…?”o9T
l7sqbeGang up on the strongest people.i7Rn
H8VIt was the most rational and obvious plan for them.oDNP
v6JyUyThe first to be disqualified was Kranel.DiYKug
HQJeWHIt was so quick that it seemed extremely cruel.CHitHy
OZbs***4pU
u8ieoBefore the start of the match, Alicia vowed to herself that she would come out victorious from this Tournament and give the prize to Korin.Zyp
wkOMpnThe Saintess is participating as well, isn’t she…2641
e7ruziAlicia didn’t want to lose to her. Korin had asked her to do it, so she really wanted to win.KZbbZcY
JmXVOf course, a battle against the Saintess would only happen if Alicia were to pass the qualifiers but she wasn’t concerned in the slightest because she couldn’t imagine herself failing at the qualifying rounds.XoK5
jHEFortunately, Mr. Dorron is in the other group! And I know how to play around Mr. Kranel! He can’t use that Super Golem without Ms. Yuel, so I can do it!QuA0bAj
DMOEJAThere was a time when she had such innocent thoughts running through her mind.bqcyb5
Kqslti“Get Alicia first!”ftV
ZSZuQKn“Gang up on her!”zo8
oD5qNFi“Huaaang…! Stop following me! What have I done wrong!?”CiOK
S4WbThe qualifying round of the Tournament was a battle royale of more than 100 students crammed into an arena that went on until there were 4 standing. In other words, anyone could pass as long as they survived the longest.pJCEV
MpKG6eAHowever, most of the participants were either Grade 3 or Grade 4 guardians, and they knew very well that they had no chance in the actual rounds against higher-grade guardians in a 1-on-1 battle.AFG
YsvilXRight.e0azQk
LSYRgYTherefore, the qualifying rounds were the only place where they could defeat the higher-ranked guardians, and everyone had a similar line of thought in their minds.A6shUfW
PSgt5sIf we deal with Alicia Arden here…gYZybnr
LuzHIf we deal with Kranel Luden here…pIZAh
HeNwKyMaybe I can become one of the last four?LrBikl3
pArnMisThat same rule applied to other groups as well, therefore, it was harder for higher-grade guardians to reach the actual stage surprisingly.V6CCu
mJuIt was because they were the common enemy of every participant of that group.mH7OzXh
CWTb“You guys are so mean!!”wjTJn
GP04Thanks to that, Alicia had to run around the entire round and barely pass as the 4th.xolsPn
nFtPB5d“Huek… Hueeek…! That was scaryyy…”krLI
t26vkoKorin in the last iteration got disqualified by them ganging up on him, but it appeared that Alicia was better than Korin at running away.ahs
TvkOge2………HWssr
eLK1……yWOMZig
S3M9…QSFcg
v1P4UuAfter that round of shock and horror, Alicia became a part of the audience and watched the next qualifying rounds unfold.01v3
yN5z『Next up is the 3rd grader’s Group B! Everyone, please enter the stage.』cBVvMM
7Sv8M8Y3rd grade Group B. There was someone in that group who immediately gathered the eyes of others.Ib2l7at
OSmX“Hello everyone~”nDK5o
5f3Standing nonchalantly despite the vigilant and cautious gazes of everyone around her was Estelle Hadassa El Rath. Her lofty status and appearance made her the target of awe and admiration, but it was a different story inside an arena.hiSDm7
KEE0Not many people knew about the Saintess’s ability to fight.KHWxRE
bH73edWShe was a prayer rather than a fighter.y4OeoTo
NWv74WQShe was the one closest to the Lord, who had the power to bring forth miracles like healing the sick and recovering polluted lands.2y1Ne
Gko7vWas she strong? She must be, right? The only answer they had for that question was, “I heard she’s strong but…”Qp6
xrJFKtKBeazeker was in Group A so…1aQ6Y
lmNKyyaMarie’s not here either, so the Saintess is the only one to be wary of from this group.L7l
gHVBtYWhatever. Let’s just attack her first.cfq
rbf4CsThe Tournament had an appealing prize for the winner, but there was a rather decent reward given just for reaching the top 32. The 3rd year students, who were blinded by those rewards, weren’t willing to show respect, even to the Saintess.hRlq
sN5l“Unfortunately, Saintess, this is a formal battle and it cannot be helped.”ObR9
isYHY5Everyone was looking at the Saintess even before the start of the round.Kvs1h
45r6XBack when Alicia started her round, there were around 50 of them that pounced at her at once, and the same appeared to be true for the Saintess. No matter how strong, it was hard for anyone to deal with a large group running in at once unless one had a large AOE skill like Korin’s Sun or an overwhelming defense like Hua Ran.5HIU2
ci5hlCY“I didn’t bring my weapon so that you don’t get hurt by accident,” the princess said in a light tone.VQBZH5
W48『Ready yourselves!』Z9Y
qKv“Please last more than 10 seconds.”n8MALX
Aoc6『Start!』iBInO
AaMNImmediately, a powerful and sublime energy started to gather in the Saintess’s hands.akbk
w0JJ“No trials will be given except what is common to mankind.”0V3HVz
0meVThe 3rd-year students all ran in at once, not knowing the future waiting ahead of them. Meanwhile, the Saintess continued “praying to herself”.KvB
hGtm“The trials I give might be a little… difficult to overcome.”F002
hABqHHer fingers closed one by one. It was a natural course of action to form a fist, but the air around her was being compressed along with her grip.tkGg5X
96wLE03“This is the will of not the lord, but myself.”Jw4
PXUJmSacred Energy — A Slightly Strong PunchBYkYcL
xLRbNSoShe slammed down her fist towards the ground of the arena. As soon as the unimaginable compression of energy collided with the ground—fzd
moaRh———————————————!!!yNFfo
sIwoPobThe world lost its sound.am6s
Mgs“Ehk?”EK3
h5oQu“…Heh?”k13FZi
efmPSilence befell the crowd.zFtX
1H68KAn unimaginably destructive explosion was followed by a thick layer of dust covering the arena. Soon, the dust settled back down and revealed the shocking state of the battlefield.68P
WxdRY3“What the heck… is that?”CElz
lOj“Like, what in the…”JdPZ
Ym8The arena was completely destroyed as if it had been struck by a grand spell. It was useless to even talk about who was disqualified and whatnot.cxq8K
Hvfp91Most of the qualifying contestants who had been running towards her were blown away just like the arena itself.h0M
4KTA80Alicia, thanks to her incredible eyesight, witnessed Estelle scratching her head in the midst of the thinning layer of dust, whispering to herself with her tongue sticking out.5ZjEL
rUVdYp“Amen~”tsYJz
IxfrCan I… beat her?DFT9X
zKf2SrI don’t think I can…9mNf
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