TGSA 36

Chapter 36

Martial Arts Tournament (1)

Heinrich Agrippa.

At the time of admission, he was considered on par with Lester Lancaster, who had been called a “prodigy,” but since then, he had shown a remarkable difference—truly a “genius.”

And now, he stood before me.

“So this is the first time we’re meeting face to face.”

I had seen his face at the training grounds and elsewhere, but never this close. Up close, just as described in the novel, his blue eyes, devoid of emotion, were staring straight at me.

“Ernas Lanzstein, isn’t it?”

Heinrich slowly nodded after confirming my face.

“Yeah, this is the face.”

“That’s a strange thing to say, Heinrich.”

At that moment, Rufus interjected.

Until a moment ago, he had been trying to fight Berislize, but he had already put away his wooden sword.

“After hearing Ernas’ name during the serious battle, didn’t you head north to confirm his face?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why couldn’t you confirm it back then?”

“I only saw him from afar.”

Heinrich answered in a cold voice.

“At that distance, it was difficult to tell who Ernas was. I’d only glimpsed him once before.”

“……”

“But now, I’ve definitely recognized the face. I’ll make sure not to forget it next time.”

It sounded provocative, but there wasn’t really that intention.

Heinrich didn’t bother remembering the faces of people unworthy of memory. Until now, Ernas Lanzstein had been such a person to him.

“And… now that’s no longer the case.”

In the novel, this was also the point when Heinrich properly remembered the face of the protagonist, Arkandel.

From that perspective, I could say I wasn’t falling behind the novel’s protagonist.

“Hey, Heinrich.”

Gort shrugged his shoulders and approached Heinrich.

“Saying it like that will hurt Ernas’ feelings. No matter how insignificant Ernas may have seemed before, you know.”

Despite having lost to that “insignificant” guy and even losing his magic… what thick skin.

“……”

But Heinrich didn’t respond. He just stared at Gort’s face.

Then, after a brief moment, he muttered quietly:

“Who was it again?”

“……!”

Gort’s face turned red.

The heirs of renowned sword-fighting families all had strong pride. Being treated like this must have been unbearable.

“Hey, Heinrich!”

Gort tried to grab Heinrich’s shoulder.

Unlike the bulky Gort, Heinrich was tall but lean. From a glance, it looked as though Gort was about to crush Heinrich’s shoulder.

“I remember now.”

“Ugh…!”

Thud!

Gort fell and rolled across the floor.

Heinrich had broken Gort’s arm at a speed too fast to see.

“Such vulgar and rough behavior, Gort Waldfeld.”

“Y-You…!”

Gort raised his voice as he got up, but Heinrich seemed entirely indifferent.

“Step aside. I’m here to check the match lineup.”

“Ugh…!”

Gort gritted his teeth but couldn’t bring himself to charge Heinrich.

He realized that continuing would only humiliate him as he rolled across the ground.

“Lord Heinrich.”

At that moment, a cold voice called Heinrich.

A black-haired student with glasses approached him.

“Lord Heinrich, you were in Group 4. I’ve confirmed it.”

“Group 4, huh.”

Heinrich nodded shortly.

“Well done, Camillo Fabrice.”

“No, Lord Heinrich.”

Camillo Fabrice.

Belonging to Blue Class 2, he was the heir of a marquis family, just like Celine.

He had challenged Heinrich for the representative spot right after enrollment but lost, becoming Heinrich’s enthusiastic follower.

He was effectively Heinrich’s right-hand man.

“I’m in Group 3. I will definitely advance to the main tournament and bring honor to Blue Class 2…”

Camillo spoke passionately in front of Heinrich, but Heinrich didn’t listen at all.

Instead, he turned his gaze to me.

“Ernas, facing you will have to wait until after the main tournament.”

“That seems so.”

“Even if we make it to the main rounds, there’s no guarantee we’ll fight… I just hope you don’t get eliminated in the preliminaries.”

Having said that, Heinrich left immediately without waiting for an answer. He moved to the site where Group 4’s preliminaries would take place.

“Looks like Heinrich really is counting on you, Ernas.”

Rufus glared at me.

“Still, I agree. You must avenge your last defeat, so don’t get eliminated in the preliminaries.”

Having said that, Rufus also left, heading to the site for Group 1.

“Tch, unlucky brats…”

Meanwhile, Gort muttered as he exited. He probably moved toward Group 2’s preliminary site.

“So… shall we go too?”

I turned to Berislize, who remained by my side, only to receive a cold reply.

“Why should I accompany you?”

“Then go separately…”

“I didn’t say that.”

Brushing her golden hair back, Berislize walked beside me.

“Where is Group 3’s prelim site? Lead the way.”

“……”

Just as described in the novel, she was a reckless young lady.

I was about to walk off without replying when a firm voice called out:

“Wait, Ernas.”

“……”

Camillo was staring at me intently.

Looking at the cold eyes behind his glasses, I spoke:

“If you don’t know the prelim site either, then follow me.”

“That’s not it!”

He shouted, glaring at me.

“Ernas, don’t get cocky just because Lord Heinrich acknowledged you.”

“……”

“Lord Heinrich is merely curious about your skills. Once he confirms them, he won’t pay you this much attention anymore.”

Camillo clearly didn’t like that Heinrich was showing interest in me.

This guy had excessive devotion to Heinrich, so he often acted like this.

“Camillo.”

“What?”

“If you don’t like it, how about eliminating me in Group 3’s prelims?”

Camillo’s eyes widened.

“What did you say?”

“Since only the last two advance to the main tournament, you could knock me out early and eliminate me.”

“……”

“If that happens, Heinrich will stop paying attention to me.”

Of course, he would be disappointed—he lost to his subordinate, not me.

“Instead, he might even rate you higher.”

“……!”

“Think about it.”

Having said that, I left immediately, leaving a shocked Camillo behind.

“E-Ernas? Why provoke him like that?”

Berislize hurried after me, asking.

“Camillo Fabrice is somewhat famous. He once won a youth swordsmanship tournament hosted by the royal family.”

“The six major sword-fighting family heirs didn’t participate in that tournament.”

“Still, he’s skilled. If he targets you, passing the preliminaries might become difficult. Why’d you say that?”

“Then you can protect me.”

“What…?”

Berislize raised her voice.

“Why should I protect you? Are you crazy?!”

“If you don’t want to protect me, then at least help.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want you to take care of the other students so I can fight Camillo one-on-one more easily.”

“……!”

Berislize swallowed.

“When prelims start, I’ll handle Camillo, and you handle the others. How about it?”

“Why should I do that…”

“It will make it easier for the two of us to advance.”

“The two of us?”

“Like I said, Camillo is skilled. If we eliminate him, the two of us are almost guaranteed to advance from Group 3.”

Only two advance from each group.

There are no other notable characters in Group 3, so eliminating Camillo nearly guarantees our progression.

“Are you saying… you want to go to the main tournament with me?”

“Well, if you say so, I’ll handle the small fry.”

Berislize brushed back her golden hair and said,

“But you must take care of Camillo yourself. Understood?”

“Alright, thanks.”

“Hmph, keep your promise to go to the main tournament with me. If you betray me again, I won’t forgive you.”

“……”

I hadn’t exactly promised, but correcting her seemed tedious, so I stayed quiet.

“This makes it easier to deal with Camillo.”

The preliminaries are a battle royale with fifty people fighting simultaneously.

It’s hard to face Camillo properly in such chaos, which is why I made this proposal to Berislize.

“I want to practice against Camillo before facing Heinrich.”

Camillo’s fighting style is similar to Heinrich’s.

It wasn’t always like that; it changed after he began following Heinrich at the academy.

Fighting him in the preliminaries would be helpful before facing Heinrich in the main tournament.

“Of course… I won’t drag it out.”

The martial arts tournament ends in one day, from preliminaries to finals.

I needed to conserve energy for later matches. The fight against Camillo would be over quickly.

“Now I can roughly predict who will advance to the main tournament.”

I reviewed the group assignments.

Group 1 would likely see Rufus and Celine advance.

Group 2 would produce an advancing student from Gort, Chloe, or Viola.

Group 3, by pushing Camillo aside, would see Berislize and me advance.

Finally, Group 4… Heinrich and…

“Ah, right.”

There was someone whose group assignment I hadn’t checked—Schmitz, who had been fired up beside me before reaching the arena.

“I don’t remember him being in Groups 1 or 2…”

If he were in Group 3, he would have been hanging around me.

The fact he wasn’t visible meant…

“Ernas? Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing.”

Berislize looked at me curiously, so I shook my head.

“Schmitz is in for a rough time.”

Wishing him luck in my heart, I headed toward the prelim site.

The arena where Group 4’s preliminaries were held.

Schmitz muttered curses in his heart.

“Damn it…”

Before him stood a male student with long blue hair.

He maintained a cold gaze, seemingly uninterested in Schmitz.

“Of all people, him…!”

The representative of Blue Class 2: Heinrich Agrippa.

Unluckily for Schmitz, he would face this prodigy right from the start of the preliminaries.