Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 308

The Open Tournament was on a completely different level compared to the first-year tournament I had experienced.

Many of the participants were from the Royal Class or former Orbis Class upperclassmen, and even those from the general class were not to be underestimated.

All the close combat participants who had made it to the finals had mastered Mana Reinforcement.

While many students never managed to master Mana Reinforcement by the time they graduated, all of those in the tournament had.

This tournament would determine the strongest student in the Temple, so Mana Reinforcement was a basic requirement.

The matchups had likely been arranged to prevent top contenders from being eliminated in the earlier rounds.

While spectating the matches in Group A, I saw the peculiar senior who had spoken to me in front of the dormitory.

—Royal Class sixth year, B-2 Radia Schmidt!

She was also a participant in the tournament.

It seemed she had been considered a top contender before Olivia’s name had come up.

‘Was she just upset because Olivia’s participation made her victory less certain?’

Olivia had repeated a year. If not for that, she should have been a sixth-year student.

This meant Olivia and Radia Schmidt had spent a long time together at the Temple.

However, Olivia’s recent strange behavior didn’t suggest she had bad relationships with anyone.

Royal Class sixth year, B-2, Radia Schmidt...

Regardless, what mattered was that her skills were extraordinary.

I had sensed it when I’d shook her hand, but seeing her in action was even more impressive.

“... She’s incredible.”

“Yeah.”

Ellen and I couldn’t help but acknowledge Radia Schmidt’s performance in the finals.

She was a holy knight, a monster who used both Divine Power and Mana Reinforcement simultaneously.

After she secured a clean victory and left the arena, the subsequent matches also featured incredibly skilled participants, both winners and losers.

Even though I had won the first-year tournament, it was clear I couldn’t hold a candle to these upperclassmen. I hadn’t been particularly arrogant about my victory, but seeing the skills of these seniors made me realize how far I still had to go.

I wasn’t sure about how Ellen would fare, but I was still very far behind them.

The excitement of the audience was palpable as they watched the students clash while wreathed in the blue flames of Mana Reinforcement.

Charlotte didn’t seem particularly interested in the matches, but she still paid attention while listening to Sabioleen Tana’s commentary. Leaning in to listen to their conversation was very helpful.

Sabioleen Tana’s predictions were almost always accurate, whether it was about who would win or how a certain action indicated the outcome.

Of course, there were those who had no interest at all.

“Adelia, wake me up when Harriet’s match starts,” Riana said.

“Huh? Oh... okay.”

Riana laid her head on Adelia’s lap.

The four of us were seated in the following order: me, Ellen, Riana, then Adelia. Riana laid her head on Adelia’s lap and draped her legs over Ellen’s lap.

Ellen didn’t seem to mind, but I couldn’t just let it slide.

“Are you seriously doing this while wearing a skirt?”

“I’m wearing shorts underneath, so it doesn’t matter.”

Riana, lying down, reached for her skirt as if it was no big deal.

‘What the heck are you trying to do?!’

Smack!

“Ouch!”

When Riana attempted to lift her skirt, Ellen, who had been quiet, slapped her thigh with a loud smack.

“...”

“Stay still.”

“Oh, okay...”

Ellen stared at Riana, who nodded her head in bewilderment while lying down.

Ellen, perhaps worried that Riana might try something foolish, held onto Riana’s skirt herself.

Bang! Crash!

Meanwhile, two students with Mana Reinforcement were clashing ferociously in the arena.

It wasn’t hard to follow them with my eyes, but seeing those monsters fighting made me doubt my chances if I were to face them.

Soon, Harriet would have to go up against such opponents.

‘How is she supposed to handle them when even I lack confidence? Our little Thick-Skull... Can she really do well? I’m so anxious, I feel like I’m going crazy! She won’t lose and suffer a crushing mental defeat, right?’

Tremble, tremble.

Ellen finally said something to me. “Stop shaking your leg.”

But how could I not be anxious?

I sighed deeply, and heard someone echoing a similar sigh.

The reason that sigh stood out was not just because it sounded like mine.

It felt strangely familiar.

—Honey, please stop.

—Aren’t you worried?

—Our child will do just fine.

The Duke and Duchess of Saint-Ouen were sitting together in the stands.

It was the Temple’s annual festival, so it wasn’t unusual for them to visit the Temple. Moreover, since Harriet was participating in the Open Tournament, it made perfect sense for them to come and watch.

They weren’t seated close enough to me for the Duke of Saint-Ouen to recognize me.

However, it was clear that both the Duke and I shared the same thoughts. As I watched him fidgeting anxiously, I could understand why the people around me were annoyed by my restlessness.

‘Should I go and greet them?’

It seemed like their previous misunderstanding had been resolved.

It felt wrong not to acknowledge the presence of my friend’s parents, especially since I had seen them.

But going over to greet them felt a bit awkward.

‘What should I do?’

I decided to think about the right course of action after everything was over.

At the very least, knowing that someone else shared my anxiety made me feel a bit better.

***

The third match of Group C of the Open Tournament finals was Harriet’s first match.

—The only first-year participant and the only magic major in this tournament! Royal Class first-year, A-4, Harriet de Saint-Ouen!

Harriet stood in the arena quietly, wearing a long-sleeved top that seemed more suited for movement instead of her uniform.

A first-year, and a magic major at that.

Even those who didn’t know much could tell that Harriet was at a disadvantage.

Naturally, the Royal Class first-years, including Riana, who had been lying down, were now sitting upright, eyes glued to the arena.

Harriet’s opponent was Aisa Shelkin, a fourth-year from the Elnor Class.

I didn’t know who she was, but like all the other Open Tournament finalists, she would be able to use Mana Reinforcement.

Although she had been introduced as being from the general cohort, it was entirely possible that she had been transferred from the Orbis Class.

She was wielding a sword, while Harriet, being a magic major, was unarmed.

When it came to the Open Tournament, the matches from the Round of 32 onwards were a best-of-5 format.

I could see the tension in Harriet’s face. This was likely her first time fighting someone in front of such a large audience.

I worried that she might fail to cast her spells without her magical earrings.

The announcer offered a few brief words, and then the match began.

‘What will Harriet show us?’

I enhanced both my vision and hearing to better understand the situation.

Aisa Shelkin stared at Harriet, then raised her sword and pointed it at her.

“A magic major, and a first-year at that. I don’t know how you made it to the finals, but if it was luck... It ends here, freshman.”

Harriet didn’t respond.

To subdue a magic major, a swift and decisive approach was key, so that they did not have the time to cast their spells.

Aisa Shelkin’s body began to glow with a faint blue light.

Mana Reinforcement...

Thud!

In an instant, she dashed forward, rushing toward Harriet with the force of a hurricane.

Harriet extended her hand forward as she observed her opponent’s charge.

Boom!

A blue barrier formed around Harriet’s outstretched hand, blocking Aisa Shelkin’s thrust.

It seemed to be a protection-type spell.

‘So far, so good. Did she pre-cast it? Protection spells cannot be maintained indefinitely, though.’

Aisa Shelkin knew this too, and pounded relentlessly against Harriet’s protective barrier.

Bang! Crash! Clang!

She constantly rained down heavy blows, empowered by Mana Reinforcement.

If the defensive spell broke, it was possible that there was another one behind it, but defense alone wasn’t enough.

The protective barrier was weakening, the blue light gradually fading.

We all watched in silence. Even Sabioleen Tana was observing the situation carefully, without making any hasty judgments.

Bang!

A final powerful strike from Aisa Shelkin shattered the defensive barrier, and she immediately thrust her sword into the opening.

‘Did she fail to prepare the next defensive spell in time?’

Just as it seemed Harriet might take the hit...

Swish!

Harriet’s figure disappeared.

Aisa Shelkin’s slash met empty air as her opponent vanished.

While she hadn’t seen what had just happened, the audience had.

Harriet had disappeared and reappeared on the opposite side of the arena.

It was a short-range teleportation spell, Blink.

“That’s the first spell a battle mage must master,” Sabioleen Tana commented briefly.

Aisa Shelkin quickly turned her gaze towards Harriet, who had created a significant distance between them.

But then...

Zap!

A blue lightning bolt flew out from Harriet’s right hand and struck Aisa Shelkin.

—Urgh!

Aisa Shelkin flinched but didn’t fall, thanks to either the protection afforded by Mana Reinforcement, or perhaps due to sufficient anti-magic training.

Despite this, it was difficult to recover quickly from the shock of being struck by lightning.

Harriet had not meant for the lightning bolt to finish off her opponent.

In that brief moment of delay...

Rumble!

A fiery-red fireball formed above Harriet’s right shoulder and immediately launched itself towards Aisa Shelkin.

Boom!

As soon as the fireball struck, and before the explosion from the fireball subsided, another fireball was already forming on Harriet’s left side and was launched. It was an unbelievable sight.

Boom!

Another fireball exploded, engulfing Aisa Shelkin in another blast.

Something was off.

Sabioleen Tana also furrowed her brows as she watched the battle unfolding. “Her casting speed... is incredibly fast.”

Anyone with even a basic understanding of magic could recognize that Harriet’s casting speed was exceptionally quick.

Harriet hit Aisa Shelkin with three consecutive fireballs, not giving her opponent a chance to recover.

It seemed that Aisa Shelkin had reached her limit.

After the third fireball hit, she was enveloped in light as she was summoned away by the recall artifact.

—The winner of the first bout is first-year Harriet de Saint-Ouen!

‘What on earth just happened? What on earth did she do?’

Harriet found me among the countless spectators and looked directly at me.

She seemed to assume that I would be able to hear her words clearly.

“How was that?” she said.

I had no idea what she had been doing all this time, but it was clear that someone with extraordinary talent had started doing extraordinary things.

Waaaaaah!

The audience, captivated by the sheer power and spectacle of her magic, erupted in cheers.

I didn’t know what she had done exactly, but it was clear that even I wouldn’t stand a chance against Harriet at this point.

I smiled back at Harriet, who was looking directly at me.

I was a mouse worrying about a cat.

But it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

—See honey? Didn’t I tell you? She would do just fine!

—Of course, I knew this would happen all along.

—...

The Duke of Saint-Ouen had already changed his tune.