The presenter stopped speaking after those words. The crowd became noisy again, all the schools relaxing a little as we waited for something to happen.

  The students went back to chatting among themselves, as if nothing strange had occurred. The situation felt like an ordinary day in a field or some kind of beach camp. No one looked visibly worried, but a clear tension lingered in the air. Some gazes focused on us again.

  “What did you do to the emperor’s son? The prince won’t stop staring at you.” I whisper softly to Areci. I use mana to block my voice from the rest of the people, a thin layer of mana cutting off outside sound. I whisper as a precaution—some of them might have sharp hearing.

  “Not much. I just beat him once. Our record is tied, and he seems to have taken a liking to me whenever we’re in a competition.” Areci lets out a sigh. “Normally we’re good friends, there’s no problem between us. It’s just a bit uncomfortable to see him take competitions so seriously.” Areci looks at my hand—Brendu is holding onto me, she hasn’t let go at any point.

  I’m no expert in this area, and I’m nowhere near smart enough to understand every aspect of people’s emotions. Still, a small hunch whispers in my ear—those two like each other in some way, and neither has known how to express it. Areci and the prince… it’s a rather unusual combination. If they got together, it could cause quite a stir.

  They’re both limit breakers. From where I stand, I can feel the prince’s strength. He isn’t trying to show his power—he’s so strong that I can sense it even while he keeps it hidden. If they were to make things official, the entire continent would be turned upside down. There could even be problems regarding succession to the throne.

  I cast a quick glance at the imperial school’s captain, a wide smile spreading across my face. He’s strong—very strong. Stronger than me? I don’t see myself losing to him right now, and that’s a good sign. I hope I get to confirm it at some point during the tournament.

  “They’d make a cute couple, wouldn’t they? It’s a shame they’re both shy and bad at expressing their feelings.” Brendu whispers in my ear. She seems to have read my mind.

  Areci turns red like a tomato—she must have heard her friend’s comment. She says nothing, doesn’t contradict Brendu’s words. That makes this seem more serious than my first impression. I’ll keep an eye on how things develop.

  “Yes… but they wouldn’t be better than us.” I pull the princess closer to my body, wrap an arm around her waist, and she instinctively places her arms over my shoulders. I don’t regret holding her this close—I don’t care about other people’s opinions—but I might have gone a bit too far doing it in front of so many people. Many gazes land on me, and I can even see our silhouette being broadcast on the enormous screen.

  I don’t have time to think of a good way out of the situation. I immediately release Brendu and turn to look at the person behind me. This human appeared beside me like a flash—his speed, at least for a moment, is comparable to that of Ruby-rank fighters.

  My reaction is far calmer than it could have been. Anyone moving at full speed toward you is a clear danger—you should be on alert. I did nothing for two reasons: I didn’t sense any malice from the person in front of me, and I’m in a completely safe place. If this person didn’t belong to another school, they’d be stopped immediately.

  The man in front of me is short. One seventy? No—one sixty-nine. He has white, almost gray hair, a poorly kept beard of the same color, and bright black eyes. His hair color makes him look a bit older, but seeing him up close, I realize that’s not true—he should be around Brendu’s age, like the rest of the participants.

  “Would you like to fight me?” His voice is quite deep, like that of an older man. I can clearly feel that he isn’t lying—his Imra is unleashed, and his emotions are easy to read. He truly wants to fight me.

  “Why? Why should I?” I could have refused immediately, but I don’t. I want to know his intentions.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  His face tightens—he looks genuinely confused. “Because it’d be fun? Isn’t the reason obvious? Do you need more motives to fight?” He looks truly thoughtful, his expression clearly showing that the small man in front of me is searching for another reason why I didn’t immediately accept his challenge.

  “It’s not as simple as wanting to fight at random and doing it. We’re not in that kind of situation.” I look around at everyone nearby, and he follows my gaze. “We’re surrounded by people from different schools. We’re all waiting for the tournament to begin and to find out what kind of events we’ll have. I’m not going to waste my energy fighting you.” My Imra thickens slightly, making my stance clear.

  I can see him yielding a bit, but it’s not enough. There’s something else I notice about the man in front of me—a unique wild nature. I overlooked it at first, but now that I read him more carefully, I realize it. This man is like a wild animal or a monster. Savagery is overflowing from his body, seeping out through his pores.

  This person isn’t just a mindless savage—he’s strong, very strong. He’s a limit breaker I’ve never heard of. With all the others, I know at least something; news about them circulates frequently, and they’re all tied to some major power. But I’ve never heard even the smallest rumor about this man.

  “Maybe later? After the ceremony…” He seems more flexible now. By not yielding at all and showing my strength through my Imra, I’m forcing him to reconsider his options. This savage is at least aware of his surroundings. If I gave him the slightest opportunity, a clash could erupt—but he doesn’t seem foolish enough to attack me without warning.

  My instincts scream for some fun, but my mind keeps me firm in my decision not to fight right now. “I’ll think about it. I’ll look for you.” My answer is sincere—I have no intention of doing so unless I’m actually looking for some entertainment.

  The white-haired boy makes an ugly face; he clearly didn’t expect that response. “Director Susan will come out in a few seconds to give some welcoming words for the tournament. Everyone, please return to your positions as soon as possible.” The same female presenter’s voice echoes through the stadium.

  “Tell me your name. I’ll look for you later.” I’m surprised by the request from the boy in front of me.

  He doesn’t know who I am? Did he really just come over to fight me? A small smile forms on my lips—I find him even more interesting now.

  “I’m Maki. What’s your name?” I reply quickly.

  “Salvaj. Nice to meet you, Maki. I’ll look for you soon.” He leaves as quickly as he arrived. Salvaj returns to his school. The wild boy isn’t the leader of his team—I can’t help but laugh as I watch him get scolded by a girl even smaller than him. She must be upset that he disappeared.

  Point of view: Salvaj

  My happiness ends in an instant when I return to my teammates. My leader is angry that I disappeared. She also looks worried, apparently because Maki is an important person—but his companions are even more important than he is.

  This kind of situation still feels strange to me… why would they be more important than Maki? He’s clearly the strongest here by far—he should be the most important one. The only answer is always nobility or family ties to Obsidian-rank individuals. Those people are always respected out of fear of retaliation.

  The woman beside Maki is also strong. I can sense other interesting people around us as well, but none compare to him. My instincts have been honed by growing up in the mountains surrounded by monsters—I can distinguish the strength of a person or a monster just by looking at them. That’s the only reason I survived so many years lost in the middle of nowhere.

  Just looking at him directly makes my skin crawl. My brain is torn between challenging him and letting him go. Was it a good idea to challenge him? He doesn’t seem like a bad person… he even has a woman. “Rejil, who is Maki? And can you also tell me about the blonde woman beside him? I’d also like to know about the woman with light-blue hair.” I interrupt my team leader while she’s still talking.

  “Huh? Did you hear anything I said?” I ignore her again. She lets out a long sigh before continuing. “I don’t even know why I bother if you’re just going to do something else anyway. Fine—listen carefully, I won’t repeat it twice.” The two large ponytails of my leader sway from side to side. I like her two-toned hair—she dyes her ponytails different colors and always keeps the top of her head her natural black.

  Rejil is a walking library. Ever since the master took me in and brought me to the school, I’ve stayed close to her to ask about anything. She always knows the answer or tries to find it as quickly as possible—she’s very kind.

  The light-blue-haired girl is the director of this school’s daughter. She’s the symbol of this entire city. The blonde is the princess of the Kingdom of Juka—I hope you didn’t offend her in any way. Maki is engaged to the princess. In general, he’s a very mysterious boy. Not much is known about him because he hasn’t participated in many tournaments, but whenever he has, he’s always shown great strength.

  Rejil thinks he’s a good person—there’s never been a bad rumor about him. My instincts say the same. He isn’t a bad person. Coming to this tournament was a good decision. For a moment, I thought I might regret it, but it’ll be the opposite—it’ll be fun. Maki may be the strongest, but he’s not the only interesting one. I can’t wait for the tournament to begin!