Something’s wrong.
This isn’t right.
“What the heck is this team roster?!” I scream as I do a mental table-flip.
In the corner of the research lab building, I sit in a fully soundproofed─with my barrier─room. Displayed on the giant screen is the team roster sheet for the Four Knights Match.
Professor Tear responds exasperatedly, “Don’t ask me. Maybe you screwed up?”
That’s impossible. I completed my mission perfectly.
“Hmm, then maybe the headmistress changed the final decision?”
“Even if that were true, this is overkill!”
Iris and the two mysterious exchange students are on Char’s team.
What about me? Where’s my name?
“Yeah, well… A leader can’t team up with another leader,” says the professor.
That’s the problem.
“I removed my name from the leader pool.”
…and put it in the team that Char is leading.
“On top of that, what the hell is this grouping?” I moan.
The two offense players are Baulde Gettel (fifth-year) and Adelle Zonne (fourth-year).
Their names alone would have you asking “Who?” but you might know them as the following:
Number 4 and Number 12.
That alone is a hassle. The remaining assist player is a second-year female student I’ve never met, but I can imagine who it is from the name.
Vari Lucia.
Come to think of it, this she-devil has been snooping around the campus cosplaying as a student─her boss must’ve been making some unreasonable demands.
“I suppose there is something fishy about this team roster. Frankly, these two teams are exceptionally skilled compared to the rest. If they were decided completely by luck, one would want to make some adjustments.”
“I thought you said this was the result of making adjustments.”
“Even so, the headmistress makes the final call. She determined that this is fair, and thus we have the result. But still, it does make one want to ask what her intentions are.”
Exactly. I don’t even have to say it out loud.
How could there be such inequality? Only my chicanery is allowed here!
“Then I’ll go and ask her what those intentions are,” I say.
In a situation where all the blood’s gone to my brain, I suddenly turn into a real go-getter. I switch to Shiva Mode.
“Huh? Wha─Wait!”
I ignore Professor Tear and sprint out of the room.
“I demand an explanation!”
I barge into the headmistress’s office─after I did all the knocking and polite stuff.
“I knew you’d come. Please, have a seat on the sofa. No need to be sitting in the air like that.”
I uncross my legs in the air and trudge over to the sofa.
Feels like she just killed my enthusiasm.
The headmistress pours some tea for two and sits across from me.
“This player allocation was decided from a lottery drawing, which makes this; a coincidence.”
Whaaa…? What kind of coincidence is that? First of all, that drawing was fudged by me. So what really happened?
“As you noticed, Shiva, two teams in particular are exceptionally high-level. In such instances, the instructors who coordinate the lottery drawing are usually permitted to change the team configuration.”
Oh, so they do have a rule like that.
Which means they very likely changed it after I left─huh? The way she said it made it sound like no changes were made, though.
“Obviously, I asked the draft coordinators why they didn’t correct the disproportionately strong members of these two teams.”
I’m curious about that, too.
“They all agreed on one thing. ‘We want to see them compete against each other,’ they said.”
What? No, no. no. This isn’t a game show for your amusement─oh, but it’s also on display for the higher-ups outside of the academy, right? Still, though…
“Of course, I wouldn’t approve if that’s their only rationale. However─”
Their reasoning went as follows:
Haruto Zenfis is so overpowered that his team members need to be at a high level in order to evaluate his performance. Likewise, his opponents must also be above-average in skill.
Can you guys stop trying to use a schoolwide magic exam to size me up?
The headmistress says, “I did have some reservations, but in the end, I accepted their decision. It is an understandable argument.”
It’s not understandable to me.
There’s something really fishy going on.
Professor Belkam acknowledged that I’m not the leader type. The other two agreed with her. Not only are the results puzzling, but what the headmistress just said doesn’t make sense either.
I’d like to interrogate the three instructors on their true intentions, but the headmistress hasn’t said who they are. If she were to find out that I’d already identified who the three are, there’s a chance that she’d suspect I cheated somehow.
Besides, I doubt pestering them would change the finalized results; the headmistress already approved it.
Checkmate on me.
I leave the headmistress’s office with my head in a haze.
What do I do?
Not that forcing myself to stay upbeat is gonna solve my problem.
As I roll around my bed at my hermitage and wallow…
Wham!
…the door swings open and my illogically adorable little sister Char enters.
“Brother Haruto! Have you seen the rosters for the Four Knights Match?!”
“Y-Yeah… I know.”
“We ended up on different teams…”
Sorry, I said we’d be on the same team… Did I say that? Maybe I didn’t. Oh well, it was one of those unspoken understandings. So, yeah… I’m sorry.
As I apologize in my head, Char looks at me with a fierce gaze.
“This must mean…the destined sibling rivalry…”
Hm?
“The colossal and indestructible obstacle which towers before me…”
Huh?
She continues to mumble, “We strike each other down over and over again. But each time we rise, we grow.”
Char widens her charming eyes and exclaims, “When the final battle against the Devil Lord is nigh, I shall come to you for your tutelage, Brother Haruto. I fully intend to face you with all seriously serious seriousness. Brother Haruto, I trust you will face me with everything you have─hold nothing back!”
She gracefully bows and leaves the room. I guess she spoke everything that was on her mind.
“So… I guess this means…she’s okay with it?”
If Char’s fine with the team roster─if anything, she seems hyped about the situation─then that changes my role.
Well, in that case, I’ll start laying the groundwork so we can end up sharing a fiery battle in the final tournament.
Meanwhile…
I sneak a peek at a certain female student that crossed my mind.
The token female agent Vari gapes speechlessly at the team roster posted on the bulletin board.