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“Hey, hey, Eugy, what are those people doing?” 

“They are the people of the acrobatics club. The magic tools are apparently made by them.” (Eugene)

“Hey, what’s the food stall over there?” 

“It is a fast food store using ingredients from the Last Dungeon.” (Eugene)

“I see, I would like to eat it afterwards. What about those cute clothes?” 

“That’s a specialized store for explorer clothes. The students have an academy regulated one, so we don’t use them often though.” (Eugene)

“I see~!!” 

I am currently guiding my childhood friend Airi around the school festival. 

The program of the martial arts club has gotten busy and Sumire has been called to help them out, so I am alone. 

What makes the least sense is…

(Wouldn’t she have more bodyguards normally?) (Eugene)

Airi is currently first place to the rights of the throne of the Grandflare Empire. 

I find it hard to believe that she has been thrown out all alone. 

Of course, I feel many eyes on us even if I can’t see them, so there must be bodyguards, it is just that they are making sure not to be seen. 

But I am the only one near Airi. 

“Eugy, are you bored?” (Airi)

“Not at all.” (Eugene)

Airi peeks at my face while I was thinking. 

“But aren’t you silent today?” (Airi)

“I am always like this.” (Eugene)

My conversations with Airi have mostly been Airi talking to me one-sidedly, so me not talking much has been the same since way back. 

That said, something bothered me, so I decided to ask. 

“Airi, is it okay for you to be away from the Empire?” (Eugene)

Her position must have changed greatly now that she is most probably heir to the throne. 

It is not like her position to the throne is set in stone. 

Airi is the 7th princess and has a lot of brothers and sisters above her. 

I am worried that she will have the rug pulled from below her when she is away from the imperial capital. 

“You know…the changes in my surroundings have been crazy as of recently. It is like they are trying to gain favor from me… It is not only the nobles but even my eldest brother and the Prime Minister-sama, you know?” (Airi)

“Even the 2nd prince and 2nd princess?” (Eugene)

I remember the two of them being quite the ambitious ones. 

They were famous for pulling a variety of schemes to drag down His Imperial Majesty. 

“It seems like everyone has given up on obtaining achievements that can overcome the subjugation of the Great Demonic Beast.” (Airi)

“I see.” (Eugene)

It seems like there’s no one who is trying to bring Airi down. 

That’s fine then.

“Why are you talking as if it is someone else’s business? Who do you think defeated the Great Demonic Beast?” (Airi)

“You, Airi.” (Eugene)

That’s what has been announced officially. 

“Wrong! It is thanks to you, Eugy.” (Airi)

“It was a joint effort from everyone.” (Eugene)

I gave her a light response and looked around to see where I should guide her to next. 

“…Hey, Eugy.” (Airi)

Airi grabbed my hand tightly. 

I could tell what she wanted to say next even without telling me.

“Won’t you come back to the Empire?” (Airi)

“…Once I finish exploring.” (Eugene)

“Who knows how many decades it will take for you to reach Floor 500…? Do you think you can achieve that in the first place? Only one person has managed to reach that place in 500 years!” (Airi)

“So you’re saying there’s a chance.” (Eugene)

“Hey, I can give you any position you want once I become the Empress. You can come with your girlfriend Sumire-san. It is okay for it to not be right this instant. How about not obsessing over the Zenith Tower forever and coming back to the imperial capital, Eugy…?” (Airi)

So this is what Airi came to the academy for. 

For the sake of bringing me back. 

“…I can’t promise that right now.” (Eugene)

“Right. You are a dutiful man after all, Eugy.” (Airi)

Airi closed her eyes as if she expected this. 

Silence continued for a while. 

Airi slowly let go of my hand.

“Hey, Eugy, what is that place where there’s a whole lot of people gathered? Let’s go check it out!” (Airi)

Airi pointed at a crowd of people far away as if trying to wave away the heavy atmosphere.

“That’s…” (Eugene)

“Let’s go check it out!” (Airi)

Airi pulled my hand and walked there before I could explain to her. 

Her pushy self is the same as it has always been. 

I can see a fighting ring in the middle of the crowd. 

And then, an announcement with loudspeaker magic rang. 

“Everyone~!! Today there will be exhibition matches before the main matches~!! And the one who will be participating here is the previous champion of last year, Robert Crown-shi! He is the one that’s predicted to be the most likely to win it all!” 

Cheers were raised.

Of course there would be.

But what I am curious about is…

(Club President Robert himself is going to be doing the exhibition match?) (Eugene)

If he is last year’s champion, he should be participating as a seed in the main matches. 

There should be no point in fighting here…

“And the ones he will be facing are the powerhouses that unfortunately ended up in second place at the block semi-finals! We will have all 10 of them do elimination battles! The main matches will finally begin tomorrow! The tickets for the extra seats are a bit on the expensive side, but you won’t regret buying them! Please come here if you want to make a purchase!!” 

I get what’s happening here after hearing that announcement. 

I see. 

Basically, this is a show so that the tickets for the main matches are sold out. 

The instigator of this is most likely the red haired elf school festival committee president. 

“Hey, Eugy, doesn’t this look like it would be fun? Let’s watch!” (Airi)

“Yeah, let’s spectate.” (Eugene)

I have seen the swordsmanship of President Robert a number of times in the Satellite System, but this is my first time seeing it in person. 

I want to see how the one called the strongest swordsman of the academy fights. 

President Robert was standing in the middle of the fighting ring with his long hair waving. 

It looks like he is just standing there, but there’s no openings. 

I feel like he glanced this way for an instant. 

“Hey, Eugy, is that swordsman…pretty strong?” (Airi)

Airi seems to have noticed.

“He is the club president of the biggest faction in the academy, the swordsmanship club. He is said to be the strongest swordsman in the academy and expected to become a Holy Knight Captain.” (Eugene)

“The strongest of the academy…? Isn’t that you, Eugy?” (Airi)

“I only became a magic swordsman recently, and am basically like a newbie who has just begun growing hair.” (Eugene)

“But you are the one that defeated a Demon Lord!” (Airi)

“The Demon Lord showed up suddenly, and the strong people were away. Also, it was an issue with compatibility.” (Eugene)

“…I remain unconvinced.” (Airi)

Airi tilted her head and an announcement rang. 

“Ooh, Robert has stated that, rather than doing elimination battles, he will be fighting them all at once! Isn’t this reckless no matter how you cut it?! But it seems like the referee has agreed to this! Both sides are readying for battle.” 

President Robert and the other 10 or so magic swordsmen and mages ready their swords and staffs.

The audience is watching this with bated breath.

“Begin!!” 

The challengers attacked President Robert at the same time as the signal to begin was given from the referee.

Dozens of light arrows, giant fireballs, magic energy slashes; there’s even close combat warriors closing in in coordination to block his escape routes even further. 

“Woah!! Robert-shi is in trouble!” 

It is just as the mc is saying, with so many people matching each other, it is not only hard to retaliate but even escape. 

(I doubt he is going to come out of this unscathed…) (Eugene)

That’s what I judged.

But then…

“First form of the Northern God Style…[Haze Slash].” (Robert)

I could tell President Robert said that from the movements of his mouth. 

“Now, how will he get through this trou…ble…eh?” 

The mc spoke in confusion.

That’s the same for the audience. 

There’s no one in the place where President Robert was standing.

And then, everyone who attacked President Robert collapsed.

“M-Match set!! Wonderful display! It is the victory of President Robert!!” 

The mc’s voice rang while flustered. 

“Hey…Eugy…could you see that attack just now?” (Airi)

“No, I couldn’t see it.” (Eugene)

“Even you?!” (Airi)

“It must be a sword drawing technique. It seems to be a different sword style stemming from the East Continent just like the Twin Heavenly Sword Style.” (Eugene)

“The Lykeion Magic Academy…has an unbelievable swordsman.” (Airi)

I hear Airi sigh lightly. 

“That was amazing, Robert Crown-shi!! Let’s have a few words from the victor!” 

The mc handed the loudspeaker magic tool to President Robert.

“Airi, let’s go.” (Eugene)

“Right. By the way, I saw the list of participants for the martial arts tournament. You are not participating, huh.” (Airi)

“I was thinking hard about it though.” (Eugene)

“I see. I wanted to see you win though… That’s a shame. By the way, are there no brackets for sudden participants?” (Airi)

“There’s no brackets for irregulars due to the schedule of the tournament.” (Eugene)

“I see… I wanted to participate.” (Airi)

I felt something ominous from Airi’s words. 

“You are the first heir to the throne, so don’t participate. You will get assassinated.” (Eugene)

“It should be fine. You are with me, Eugy.” (Airi)

“Listen here…” (Eugene)

She is way too nonchalant. 

It seems like there’s bodyguards, but she should have more awareness as the next—just when I was thinking this…

“Who is the participant your attention is directed at in the martial arts tournament, Robert-shi?” 

“Right… He is not a participant, but it would be Eugene Santafield. I will win and obtain the right to fight him.” (Robert)

“Ooh, the so-called Demon Lord Killer! He is the showpiece in this tournament after all! Many in the audience must be looking forward to it!” 

(I didn’t kill her though.) (Eugene)

(I am not dead though!!) (Eri)

The retort in my mind and the retort of Eri overlap. 

“Wait, Eugy, what was that just now?!” (Airi)

“I was made the winner prize by the time I noticed. I apparently have to fight the winner of the martial arts tournament.” (Eugene)

“Does that mean you will be fighting that man?!” (Airi)

Airi is looking at me with sparkly eyes.

“There’s no knowing who will win.” (Eugene)

“I am looking forward to it~♪. If I remember correctly, the winner of the tournament is decided on the 7th day -the last day- right? Then, I will stay here until that day!” (Airi)

Is that okay? 

But most of all, my childhood friend is going to be spectating? 

I once again went around the school festival with Airi. 

We had our meal at a food stall. 

They were all simple dishes, but it seems like it was a fresh and fun experience for Airi since she is always eating really uptight food in the Empire. 

She seems to be happy. 

I ended up guiding her around the school festival until it got dark. 

“The school festival today will be ending soon. What will you be doing after this?” (Eugene)

“Let’s see… I heard that they have made reservations at a lodging facility in the 1st district of the Dungeon City.” (Airi)

“The 1st district…the noble district, huh. Then, I will walk you there.” (Eugene)

“Are we leaving already…?” (Airi)

Airi seems to be discontent. 

“You will be staying for a while still, right?” (Eugene)

“Yeah, but…my schedule from tomorrow on is packed with meetings, so I pretty much only have free time today.” (Airi)

“I see.” (Eugene)

It is true that we hung out a whole lot today, but it is not like she came here purely to have fun. 

She came to inspect the academy as royalty. 

I thought that maybe it would be fine to hang out with her for a bit more in that case, but most places are already closed at this time. 

“Let’s just wander around.” (Eugene)

“Yeah, let’s have a walk.” (Airi)

Airi and I walked around while watching the people cleaning up. 

There really doesn’t seem to be any store we can enter. 

I was thinking about slowly heading back like this to the inn, but…

“The two over there! Are you searching for a store?” 

We were spoken to.

An unknown face.

“That’s right.” (Airi)

Airi answered.

“In that case, come here. It is a perfect place for you two!” 

“I see~. Hey, Eugy, let’s go check it out.” (Airi)

“O-Okay.” (Eugene)

This is a bit fishy.

If this were a back alley of the Dungeon City, I wouldn’t follow him.

But we are inside the school festival.

(It should be okay.) (Eugene)

I followed him without much worry.

And then, the place we were brought to was…a building that’s lid up an awful lot by pink lights. 

The billboard had written: Hidden Lodge of the Dungeon.

“Hidden lodge? What is this?” (Airi)

Airi tilted her head, not understanding this. 

(I-It means a love hotel.) (Eugene)

Crap. 

I thought it wouldn’t be this place since it was full last time.

“H-Hey, Airi, let’s not go he—” (Eugene)

“It looks fun, so let’s check it out!” (Airi)

Airi paid in an instant and pulled my hand.

“W-Wait…Airi.” (Eugene)

“Come on, don’t drag your feet!” (Airi)

My childhood friend, who has always been pushy, dragged me inside the hotel.

■Comment Response: 

>Catherine-san must have been sent with Airi because they knew Airi would be concentrating on Eugene, so they needed someone to deal with the political stuff.

-That’s right. 

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