At the reception desk located at the Temple General Headquarters.
I pulled my hood down to prevent anyone from recognizing me.
“Uh, you know, teacher.”
“I’m not a teacher, but is there anything else you want to say, Mr. Reinhardt?”
Please don’t say my name!
I’m sort of famous, someone might recognize my name!
There are students all over the place signing up for all sorts of competitions, but I’m the only one in the empty registration room for the cross-dressing contest!
Kids are looking at me like that!
‘Oh my, look at him… I think that person is participating.’
‘Oh no.’
‘Jackpot.’
‘I think he’s wearing a hoodie because he’s embarrassed.’
‘No, but you’re going to show your face at the competition anyway.’
They’re looking at me like that!
“You know, about the cross-dressing contest… Can you keep my identity a secret….”
“Oh, so you’re saying you want to enter the cross-dressing contest but to keep your identity a secret?”
Don’t talk too loudly!
But the receptionist smiled coyly, as if she understood what I was saying.
“For detailed contest information, here’s a pamphlet. Rein… Ah. Hmm. Sorry.”
Sis.
Don’t look at me like that.
I wondered if there were a lot of guys like me….
No, but I’m here for a reason.
When trying to bribe me with achievement points didn’t work, the bastard system finally offered to increase my magic power directly. How could I not take it?
I took the pamphlet and hurried out of the building, not wanting anyone to see me.
“Fuck….”
I muttered to myself, looking around to see if anyone would spot me.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
Damn it!
Luckily, I didn’t run into any familiar faces.
If they find out I entered the cross-dressing contest, it’s over.
Why did you enter?
There was absolutely no excuse I could make!
If anyone sees me entering the contest after I said everyone who saw and participated in it was a pervert, then….
Death would have been a preferable alternative.
You… You actually liked that stuff?
Ellen, Harriet, Olivia, Bertus, Charlotte.
Everyone who knows me would be scandalized.
But I won’t be found out. I’ve asked to keep my identity a secret, and I’m going to introduce myself as John Doe.
It says so in the pamphlet for participants.
[If a participant asks for their identity to be kept secret, the organizers will “absolutely” guarantee it].
It’s definitely a contest that’s prepared for a dude with a shady hobby.
I’m going to change my face with Sarkegaar’s ring… If I get caught later, I’ll just say it was a well-done make over… but I shouldn’t get caught in the first place.”.
I’ll be wearing a different face, so no one will recognize John Doe as Reinhardt. There’s really no reason for a student of the Royal Class to participate in a cross-dressing contest.
Unless the emcee suddenly announces, “Mr. Reinhardt, first year Royal Class!”.
If they don’t do that kind of bullshit, I’ll never get caught.
I just have to watch out for assholes like Kono Lint.
Should I give him a warning or something, saying that I’ll kill him if he comes to see the cross-dressing competition? No, saying that might make him suspect that I’m the one who participated.
5 whole points in magic power, along with [Anti-Magic].
It’s a huge step closer to [Magic Domination], and I can see why they’d want to increase the Anti-Magic.
It’s a good thing, nothing to complain about, I also have a very good chance of winning.
…Who would want to do something like this?!
Why do you have to make me go through all this shit just to get it? Just give it to me for free! Why is there a greater reward in enduring shame than fighting for my life?
“Next. The preliminary match between Mr. Reinhardt, first year Royal Class A-11, and Mr. Olanken von Istua, first year Dardian Class C-32, will now begin. Both students, please take your place.”
My mind was racing, and I could barely see what’s going on.
Qualifiers for the First Year Tournament to determine the entrants for the main event.
In this huge arena, there were qualifiers being held everywhere, not just here.
I couldn’t see my opponents’ weapons or their faces.
I’m panicking now.
I felt like I was going to pass out.
“….”
I could only see that my opponent was very intimidated by the whole Royal Class’ reputation. .
“Start.”
At the referee’s signal, I lunged at him. I threw away the training sword I was holding.
I’d be crossing the line if I held the sword.
I used my fists.
I just heard it, but I already forgot my opponent’s name.
I’m sorry, my nameless friend.
-Bam!
“Kurk!”
“Reinhardt wins!”
Anyone who meets me today, consider yourself unlucky!
Uncle is very sensitive today!
-Puck!
-Puck!
-Plop!
-Thump!
There was a monster on the loose at the Group C qualifier.
“That.. What is he…?”
“So this is the Royal Class’ power…”
Unarmed. Whether my opponent is wielding a sword, a club, or a spear, I charge at him at a speed that’s scary to begin with, hard to follow, and finish him off in one fell swoop.
A weapon basically means distance. If you have the advantage in distance, you have the right of first strike.
That’s why a sword has an advantage over bare hands in an armed fight, and that’s why a spear has an advantage over a sword.
But even with the overwhelming disadvantage of being unarmed, even if a single hit meant my defeat, I didn’t give my opponents a chance to react as I rushed in and knocked them out in a single blow.
“No, even if he is from the Royal Class. He shouldn’t be a first year student like us….”
“He’s famous even in the Royal Class.”
Most students in Temple envied those that managed to enter the Royal Class. Even the Orbis Class, who had long since been disbanded, looked upon their counterparts with jealous eyes.
The Orbis Class isn’t really the object of much jealousy; they’ve earned it through effort and hard work.
But the perception of the Royal Class is different.
Talent.
They are admitted solely on talent.
As such, they are the subject of jealousy and scrutiny. It’s not to the level of animosity the Orbis Class held for the Royal Class, but it was there.
However, after witnessing a monster who could end any fight in five seconds while maintaining an impressive composure, everyone’s thoughts could not help but change, wondering if there could be anything that could even slightly affect this formidable opponent.
Overwhelming physical prowess that rendered all the martial arts skills they’ve been learning irrelevant.
That was the Royal Class.
What had I been learning, what had I been training so hard for?
The existence of the Royal Class made one feel envious, but seeing it in action made them feel despair.
Even if they became a knight or a close combat specialist, there was no way they could come close to that monster.
As much as it pained them, they couldn’t help but agree.
If they’re that good, they deserve it.
A place that breeds monsters like that, a place that raised talents so greatly, one would feel like they couldn’t be contested.
Surely, they deserve special treatment they received from the Empire.
“… I’ll withdraw. I can’t beat that guy.”
If you are in Group C, even if it’s not your bracket, you still have to fight that monster.
There were many students who withdrew without fighting.
Group C of the preliminaries.
That is my bracket.
Each group competes in a tournament-style qualifier, with the winner of the final round advancing to the main competition.
There were thirty-two finalists in total.
Over the course of the weekend, there will be thirty-two groups.
During that time, I competed when I was told to compete, went where I was told to go, and then competed again.
Before I knew it.
“…The winner of Group C is Reinhardt, Royal Class A-11, as the last competitor has withdrawn.”
I stared at the back of my would-be opponent’s head as he walked down the aisle, not even thinking about fighting me.
I immediately looked around.
All the students who had been eliminated in the preliminaries were staring at me like I was some kind of monster.
I inspected myself: not a scratch, not even a drop of sweat..
I looked at the distance between me and the students who stared at me in awe.
Was this the distance between us?
It is said that the Royal Class was filled with people who are just better than ordinary folk.
After all, this was a place full of people with talents and aptitudes that cannot be compared to the mundane citizen.
Even Erich de Lafaeri, who I dismissed as a self-absorbed jerk who lived in self-doubt, would easily defeat those guys if he were to qualify here.
I saw the look in their eyes.
From those guys’ perspective, I’m someone who’s way ahead. No…
I wondered if they could even see me.
I know that stare.
I know what that stare means.
That stare is the stare I used to give Ellen sometimes.
Suddenly, I’m not looking at someone with that gaze, but rather I’m being looked at by someone with that gaze.
They were looking at me, but at the same time, they weren’t.
It was the kind of gaze that wondered if the one they were looking at was still human.
I can’t be like them anymore. And I never will be again.
I was the winner of Group C. I easily qualified for the main event.
The main event is divided into four groups of eight players each, A, B, C, and D.
The winner of each group fights the winner of the other group to determine the winner, and the last pair standing fights for the championship trophy.
I didn’t meet anyone from the Orbis Class or Ludwig in the qualifiers.
I’m sure it was the organizer’s idea to balance the groups and distribute us evenly. They’re not going to do something stupid like put the favorites in the same group.
This is a tournament, after all, and it’s a festival.
They’re not going to put the favorites, who were the main draw, in the same group.
So, I won’t be seeing Ludwig or any other potential Orbis Class contestants early on.
If I do see someone from Orbis Class, it will most likely be Gladen Amorelle, A-1 in her first year.
In the original, she would place second in the tournament, after beating Ludwig in the semi-finals, but ultimately losing to Ellen in the last round.
If I fought her, could I win?
I think she would be a tough opponent, even with Magic Body Strengthening.
I think I’d beat Ludwig, but against Gladen Amorelle, I’d have to get serious.
The grade level tournaments will be played on a Monday and Tuesday schedule. On Monday, we’ll have the main bracket, and on Tuesday, we’ll have the semifinals, finals, and then determining who will be in the third and fourth places..
On Wednesday, there will be… there will be the cross-dressing competition.
Friday will be the highlight of the festival with the Mister and Miss Temple contest and the finals of the Open Tournament.
The Open Tournament will also have preliminary rounds today and tomorrow.
The Open Tournament is actually the biggest attraction.
After the grade level tournament winners are announced on Tuesday, the majority of the Open Tournament will be held on Thursday.
I’ll be there.
How’s Harriet doing, by the way….
I thought she had a qualifier today too.
I had an easy win because I fought against first years but I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t make the cut for the Open Tournament, because it is composed mostly of upperclassmen.
I think it would really hurt her if she didn’t even make it to the main event….
But that’s not what happened.
“You won?”
Harriet shrugged nonchalantly.
“…How?”
“I don’t know how. I beat everyone, so I won.”
What the hell did she do?
Harriet took out a bunch of upperclassmen in a melee?
Harriet stuck her tongue out at me, saying she wouldn’t tell me, and stormed out of the dormitory. She went to the Magic Research Society clubhouse.
Will she stay there for the next few days?
But
No.
‘I want to work harder.’
Harriet had been trying to get stronger, ever since she’d said those words, ever since she’d lamented not being able to go to the Darklands with us.
She’d been working on improving as a mage on her own, or more accurately, getting used to fighting.
This would be the culmination of that.
Oh, and by the way.
Did she have to stop by the dorm to tell me she won the open qualifiers?
Why is she so cute?
Sunday.
“… I think I misheard you.”
“No, you heard me right….”
“….”
I had said a lot of surprising things to her.
But this time, it seemed that she had reached the limit.
I get it. Yes, I know. I get it too.
“You need a dress…?”
“Yes, I do….”
If it made sense, it’d be even weirder.
A cross-dressing contest.
I need clothes. I’ll also need a wig, though I could just make my hair longer with Sarkegaar’s ring.
Liana might be horrified that I asked her for a dress, but I think she’d more likely end up giggling and giving me things to try on and teasing me.
Of course I wouldn’t be able to choose that option!
Beyond a lifetime of teasing, the thought of how Ellen and Cliffman would see me makes me want to strangle myself.
But I don’t get fashion.
So, since Eleris is the only person I’ve ever confided in, I’m begging her.
I asked her to pick out a dress.
“A costume contest….”
“…It just happened.”
“What do…Why would…?”
Eleris’s lips were quivering.
‘My child… He was already weird, but he’s gotten weirder….’
Her gaze said.
“Well, it’s something very important and necessary for me, but I can’t go into details.”
“Do you mean… it has something to do with the future?”
“Well, technically yes….”
Something to do with my growth, to be exact. Eleris was still confused.
“That, I don’t see how that… What your cross-dressing has to do with preparing for the future… I don’t understand….”
Even Eleris’s eyes were trembling violently. Eleris… I’m about ten million times more upset than you are….
“Still, I’m sure you have a plan.”
A plan….
Some asshole promised me a stat boost if I won a cross-dressing contest… It’s a shitty plan if there was ever one….
“I… come on, Your Highness.”
Eleris watched my expression die and seemed to realize that I didn’t like it either.
She patted my shoulder, full of sympathy.
After all, she’s the only one who knows how I feel.
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