CHAPTER 2

THE PHOENIX

The main arena in the central district of Asterisk was known as the Sirius Dome.

The opening ceremonies for the twenty-fifth Festa season were already underway at the Dome, one of the eleven large-and medium-sized arenas that hosted the event.

Ayato had once seen the building from the front when Julis had shown him around, but this was his first time setting foot inside.

The stage in the Sirius Dome was so large that it could hold all of the Festa’s contestants and still have room left over. The actual fights would be restricted to a smaller area, but for the opening ceremonies, the organizers were making full use of its size. The contestants were lined up, organized by school, with some spaces for absentees. This was especially apparent for Le Wolfe. Gallardworth, in stark contrast, had no gaps in their formation.

“Wow, this is a ton of people.”

Ayato had not quite meant to say that aloud, but Julis heard and answered with a mischievous smile. “Are you talking about the competition?” She indicated their surroundings. “…Or the crowd?”

The spectators were packed around the stage, every possible seat filled.

“Both, I guess,” Ayato said with a nervous laugh.

He had been told that the arena could host one hundred thousand people, but seeing it for himself was something else. He looked up at the towering decks of seats and thought that the contestants must look like so many tiny figurines to those sitting at the highest level.

He told Julis as much in a whisper, and she shrugged theatrically. “They’ll set up a giant air-screen for the upper levels during the games. If they’re too far to see the stage, they can still watch the fights that way.”

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of coming all this way?”

“I don’t understand it, either, but the important thing is to be here, apparently.”

I guess that’s how it is, Ayato thought, turning his gaze forward again.

The lines of contestants fanned out around the podium in front. The mayor of Asterisk had finished making his remarks, and a good-looking man had just taken his place.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m thrilled that I will be able to see your valiant contests again this year. And to those of you who have only arrived here in Asterisk in the past year, allow me to greet you for the first time. I am the chairman of the Executive Committee for the Festa, Madiath Mesa,” he told the contestants in a clear, calm voice while flashing an affable smile.

“That’s the chairman of the Executive Committee?” Ayato asked Julis. “He looks pretty young.”

The man had to be in his early thirties. His position as chairman effectively made him the highest authority running the Festa, so it followed that he was an executive member of one of the integrated enterprise foundations. Despite this, he was clearly younger than Kirin’s uncle Kouichirou.

With chiseled features and a cheerful tone, he also projected an easy confidence. Even from a distance, Ayato could tell he possessed a hard-trained physique—and that he was a Genestella.

“Seidoukan is Madiath Mesa’s alma mater.” Julis sighed at Ayato’s ignorance. “I don’t remember how old he is, but you’re right, he isn’t very. He’s not even forty. And he’s quite the fighter himself—he won the Phoenix when he was a student.”

“I see. That explains it…”

Ayato could sense the chairman’s quiet, heavy prana, even in its inactive state.

“He’s been quite effective as the committee chairman,” Julis went on. “I think he assumed the position a few years ago, but he’s led the pro-reform faction changing the regulations and bringing about new rules and events. All of the changes have been well-received, too.”

“If he’s an alum from our school, that means he’s an executive at Galaxy, right?”

“On paper, yes.”

“On paper?” Ayato looked at her curiously.

“When he won the Phoenix, Madiath Mesa wished to join the Executive Committee upon his graduation,” Julis replied wearily.

“Huh. I didn’t know you could ask for something like that.”

One of the fundamental facts of the Festa was that the integrated enterprise foundation grants any wish of the champion. Still, Ayato imagined the people in charge were less than pleased to hear a wish that would directly affect their own administration.

“Being a part of the committee doesn’t mean you’ll leave a mark, necessarily,” Julis said. “But I’ve heard he’s been working to make connections since he was a student. I’ve met him a few times. He’s not someone to take lightly, I will say that.”

“Hmm.” Ayato studied the chairman.

And then, Madiath’s gaze caught his—or so he thought.

Huh…?

The moment came and went so quickly that Ayato could not be sure it had actually happened.

On the podium, Madiath continued, “Now, I could drone on about how exciting this all is, but I’d only lose your interest. Allow me to explain one significant change to the regulations, and I’ll end my remarks there. We have notified each school of this change, so I’m sure that some of you already know about it.”

Seeing how Madiath continued his speech as if nothing had happened, Ayato wondered again whether he had been imagining things.

“We have never placed any restrictions on Luxes for the Festa, but technology advances quickly. There are now things we must address. I’m speaking in particular about sentient machines, and whether such devices can be treated as weapons.”

The person who reacted first to Madiath’s words was, naturally, Saya.

In just a few moments she had gone from nodding off to focusing on the podium, lips pursed.

“Our core philosophy is to give you, the contestants, as much freedom as possible. Still, if we don’t address this subject at all, it would be possible for a contestant to bring in multiple machines. That would hardly be fair, I think. Well, unless it’s the ability of a Strega or Dante, of course.” With a practiced air, Madiath continued his meticulous explanation at a measured pace. “At the same time, we felt it would be out of the question to limit the number of weapons. We could simply ban the use of machines as weapons but, as I said, our desire is not to add short-sighted restrictions. We feel that that would lead to stagnation, and eventually to decline. Therefore—and I want you all to understand that this is an interim measure to guide the debate for how to deal with this issue in future tournaments… Thus, we decided, for this tournament, to allow for their use as proxy fighters.”

The whole arena erupted in murmurs. The spectators were as intrigued as the participants.

Madiath waited for them to quiet before he continued. “I’m sure that an intelligent bunch such as yourselves will understand that this measure does not give an advantage to any one school, but is meant to guarantee the fairness of the games in the near future and onward. I hope we can have your faith in our unremitting efforts to prepare the best path forward for you, the contestants.”

The chairman then turned to the seated crowd and spread his arms wide. “And to all of you, the fans—Your love and support make the Festa possible! This is just one step in the evolution of the games, and I hope you’re as excited for it as we are. The Festa will always be the highest form of entertainment in the world, the stage for incomparable excitement and drama, the contest that shakes your very soul!”

With his forceful proclamation, the crowd burst into a storm of applause.

Ayato recalled what Claudia had told him: The audience hardly cared about details as long as they were entertained, and they tended to welcome any changes as more interesting. That certainly seemed to be the case today.

On the other hand, the reaction from the students onstage was quite cool. This was only natural, as they now had one more variable to consider.

Madiath offered some closing remarks, then descended from the podium smiling and waving.

The tedious ritual carried on for a fair while longer. It was almost noon before the competitors finally regained their freedom.

“We now conclude the opening ceremonies for the Twenty-fifth Festa and the Twenty-fourth Phoenix. Contestants who are participating today in Blocks A through I should report to their corresponding arenas by the appointed time.” The contestants began to disperse from the stage as the announcement rang out from the speakers.

“We’re fighting here at the main arena, so we don’t really need to go anywhere, right?” Ayato asked. The first round was conducted over four days, but he and Julis were fighting today.

“Yes. Still, we have a lot of time until our match, so we could eat a light lunch before then.”

“Okay, then. Let’s do that.” Ayato agreed readily, since he was already hungry. “Hey, do you want to join—Huh?”

He started to invite Saya and Kirin, then broke off to swivel his head around in confusion. The other two girls were suddenly nowhere to be found.

Their match was tomorrow, so they had no reason to move to another arena.

“Where’d they go…?”

Neither girl was particularly tall, so they would be difficult to find in a crowd of this size.

“Oh, hey!” Ayato spotted a familiar face among the students headed toward the main gate. It didn’t belong to Saya or Kirin, but this was another person he wanted to see. “Hey, Lester. Are you fighting today, too?”

Lester MacPhail stopped in his tracks, answering Ayato’s smile with a frown. “What about it?”

“We’re going to fight today. We were just saying we should get some food, so I thought maybe we could all go together… You too, Randy.”

A chubby student—Lester’s partner, Randy Hooke—stared back blankly.

“Like I said, Amagiri, I’m not interested in getting cozy with you!” Lester growled, jabbing a finger at Ayato.

“No, I’m not trying to… I mean, I still haven’t thanked you for letting me borrow your Lux the other day.”

“Why would I care about that? Besides, we have to get to our arena. We’ll eat there. You coming, Randy?!”

“Ack—Wait for me, Lester!”

Randy rushed to catch up with Lester’s long-legged strides, a familiar pastime.

However, unlike the scene in his memory, this time Lester stopped and turned around.

“I’ll tell you this. The ones I really want to fight in this Phoenix aren’t some chumps from another school. It’s you two. So don’t you dare lose before then!”

With that, Lester marched off.

“He’s always so difficult…,” Julis moaned, but Ayato sensed a tone of sympathy in her voice. Or maybe he had just imagined it.

“…Ayato located.”

“Whoa!” He cried out in surprise as a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. “Oh, it’s you, Saya. Don’t scare me like that.”

“…Too easy,” Saya said somewhat proudly, clinging at his waist.

Ayato hadn’t exactly let his guard down, but he didn’t stay vigilant 24-7, either. He couldn’t deny that his reaction was a little slower against people who meant him no harm.

“Where’d you go, anyway?” Ayato asked. “I was looking for you.”

“S-sorry. We went back to the locker room to get this.”

Ayato turned to see Kirin hunched behind Saya, holding a sizeable bundle.

“What’s that?” he asked.

Saya stepped away from Ayato, leaning back to stick out her tiny chest. “Ha-ha! Now, this will astound you. Allow us to present…your lunch!”

“Lunch?” Julis regarded Saya with suspicion.

“W-well, Miss Sasamiya and I—I mean, Saya and I—talked about it the other day. We made it to encourage you. Um, we hope you like it!” Kirin said, holding out the stacked lunch boxes, her face bright red.

“Wow, you made lunch just for us?”

Kirin nodded at the floor, while Saya stood beaming with confidence.

“I don’t have much—Well, I hardly have any cooking experience at all, so Saya taught me a lot. It’s very simple, though…!”

“Oh? Sasamiya, are you that good? Can you teach other people?” Julis asked.

Saya boastfully cleared her throat.

As Saya puffed up enough to pop, Ayato opened the lunch box to find it packed full of rice balls. They were terribly shaped, and even in the spirit of encouragement, one could hardly say they looked good. To Ayato, however, the poor appearance said more than anything how hard they had worked.

“I-I’m sorry—I’m really bad at this…”

“No, this is great. Thanks, Kirin,” Ayato said, gently petting her head.

Kirin let out a delighted squeak as she shrunk even further.

Saya jealously tugged on Ayato’s sleeve.

“Ayato, Ayato. Look at mine, too.”

“Oh. Sure.”

Ayato opened the next tier of the lunch box and saw that it, too, was filled with rice balls. They were much more shapely than Kirin’s and looked very tasty indeed.

But there was just one issue.

“They’re pretty, um…big,” Julis said, peering into the lunch box with a conflicted expression.

The rice balls were about three times the normal size, packed in so perfectly that the lack of gaps was more impressive than anything.

“Bigger is better. That’s my motto,” Saya said.

“That’s well and good, but…the whole lunch box isn’t full of rice, is it?” Julis asked.

“It is. What about it?”

“Nothing. I was just impressed that you’re saying you taught someone how to cook.”

Saya coughed again with mock humility.

Julis rubbed her forehead. “Just so we’re clear, that wasn’t a compliment.”

Saya didn’t pay her any mind.

“Well, now we have more than enough food for everyone. Isn’t it perfect?” Ayato said.

“That was the plan all along,” Saya said.

“Hear that, Julis?” Ayato tried to coax out her favor.

Julis nodded, albeit hesitantly. “All right, then. I suppose I’ll take advantage of your generosity.”

“Then it all works out. Now, let’s find a place where we can sit…,” Ayato began, until Saya grabbed his sleeve. “Yeah?”

“…Me too.”

Saya seemed a little embarrassed, which was rare for her. It was no more than a faint glow in her cheeks, perhaps invisible to someone who hadn’t known her for years.

“You too…?” Ayato wondered for a moment what she meant, but as her eyes darted between him and Kirin, he realized.

“Ohh. You mean… You too?”

“Be fair.”

With a tired smile, Ayato gave Saya a pat on the head, too. She was a little shorter than Kirin, which made it easier.

“…Mm. That feels nice.” Saya narrowed her eyes in pleasure, quite satisfied.

The sight reminded Ayato of a cat, strangely endearing.

Beside them, Julis cleared her throat, looking dejected. “Well… Actually, our prep room will be available soon. We should be able to eat in there,” she said, then headed off without waiting for the other three.

“Hey, Julis! Wait up!” Obviously, they couldn’t stand in the passageway like this forever. Ayato beckoned for Saya and Kirin to follow and hurried after Julis with the lunch box in his arms.

“Whew. Thank you for lunch.” In the waiting room, Ayato finished the last rice ball and placed his palms together in appreciation.

“You’re welcome,” said Kirin, whose lunch was already gone. “Oh—Would you like some tea?”

She poured from the thermos bottle she had brought. She was very well prepared.

“Thanks, Kirin.”

“S-so, was it…?”

“Yes, it was delicious.”

Kirin’s face lit up at those words.

Indeed, while her rice balls were not shaped very well, they tasted just fine. She must have been quite anxious, as her expression now seemed to be composed of equal parts joy and relief.

“…I ate a little too much,” Saya said, lying on the sofa and rubbing her stomach.

“No wonder. If you had three or four of those giant rice balls,” Julis remarked exasperatedly beside her.

“Oh, hey—I think it’s about to start.” Ayato checked the time and turned on the TV. The prep room was quite large, able to accommodate the four of them with space to spare. Near one of the walls, an air-screen opened up.

“Hi there! I’m here at the Sirius Dome, the stage for the first fight of the Twenty-fourth Phoenix Tournament! This match will be called by yours truly—Mico Yanase, announcer for ABC. Pham Thi Tram, graduate of Jie Long Seventh Institute and current commander of Executive Aladfar, will serve as our commentator!”

“Thanks. Can’t wait to see this fight.”

“Now, not that I think there’s much need, but let’s go over the rules. Victory is decided when both members of a team have lost their school crests or consciousness, or forfeit. The school crest system will announce the outcome.”

“And there you have the main point of difference with the Gryps, where the match is decided when the team leader loses.”

The screen showed one woman with voluminous curls, and another who wore her black hair neat and short. The former seemed to be the play-by-play announcer.

“It’s almost time for the first fight. We’re in the second, so we still have some time,” Julis said.

“Oh, but there are matches going on at other arenas at the same time, right?” Ayato realized. “How do they broadcast them all?”

“There’s a broadcast channel assigned to every arena,” Julis replied tiredly. “The average viewer would choose which fight to watch, but I’ve heard some serious fans watch multiple channels at the same time.”

In the first round, there were eleven stages, and thirty-three matches every day. Although the start times were staggered somewhat, it would not be easy to absorb them all.

“…They broadcast the highlights and summary later, anyway,” Saya said, still lying down, turning to the screen with her eyes only.

“I think fans like that prefer to see everything live,” Kirin replied with a half smile. “Oh—But since you’ve been assigned to the main arena, that means that you’re considered a favorite, doesn’t it?”

“Really? It does?” Ayato said.

“Yes. The contestants who garner the most attention usually fight here,” Julis answered. “It’s only natural for a team with a top-tier student. And look…”

She gestured toward the screen with her chin. It showed the names of the tag partners scheduled to fight at the Sirius Dome.

Ayato recognized a pair of names in the third match. “Oh, so they’re fighting here today, too.”

Ernesta Kühne and Camilla Pareto, the pair from Allekant.

Without a word, Saya raised herself up and glared tersely at the screen. Her fierce resolve was almost tangible. She seemed to have some important reason for wanting to fight them.

Glancing sidelong at Saya, Julis stood and stretched from fingertips to toes. “We should worry less about opponents we may or may not face and more about the ones in front of us.”

Unable to argue with that logic, Ayato nodded in agreement.

“You’re up against knight-cadets of Gallardworth, right, Ayato?” Kirin said.

“Yes. Ranked 31 and 41, I think.”

The Page One fighters of Gallardworth were called the Silverwinged Knights, and those ranked lower in the Named Cult were considered cadets. Gallardworth was the only one of the six schools considered an “elite” institution, and their opponents had to be excellent fighters to have ranked there at all. Indeed, their data and records backed that up.

“How do you feel, Ayato? Do you think we can beat them?” Julis asked.

“Well…I’ll give it all I’ve got,” he replied. The two exchanged a look and quietly laughed.

Kirin watched them curiously. “Do you have some kind of special plan?”

“No,” Julis said, definitively shaking her head. “Just the opposite. Well…you’ll see.”

“And now, it’s time for our second bout of the day—the first match in the first round of Block C!”

The live announcement reverberated through the giant arena.

After a beat, the crowd roared to shake heaven and earth, countless lights danced in every direction, and Julis and Ayato stepped slowly from their gate out onto the stage.

“The first two onstage are Ayato Amagiri, Seidoukan Academy’s number one, and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld, number five! Now, Amagiri only rose to the top a few weeks ago in a duel against the former top-ranked student! He is a truly brand-new star—so new, in fact, we still don’t have much data on him ourselves! Ah, although we did hear his nickname Murakumo came from Seidoukan’s student council president, Miss Enfield, herself.”

“And he’s the only student in the Phoenix with a number one rank. Lookin’ at the videos going around of his fights, he’s pretty strong, no doubts there. This one’s gonna be interesting.”

“I watched those, too, of course, but they’re all duels, so that does leave some questions. I wish we could’ve seen him in an official match. Oh, that’s right—Amagiri wields the Ser Veresta, an Orga Lux in Seidoukan’s collection… Have you heard of it, Pham?”

“Uh-huh, that’s one of the so-called Four-Colored Runeswords. Pretty famous as weapons go, but I’ve only seen it in action in old videos. They say it’s a real difficult Orga Lux; no one’s been able to use it in the last umpteen years, so. Now the Lei-Glems is the best known of the Runeswords, but the Ser Veresta is also impossible to defend against, or so I’ve heard.”

“Mm-hmm, I see. And not only that, his tag partner is the Witch of the Resplendent Flames, Riessfeld. A team like that has got to be among the favorites!”

“Riessfeld’s diverse powers really stand out, you know. She’s probably one of the best Stregas in active competition. And I think she’ll keep improving, too. Sure would be nice to have someone like her with our organization when she graduates.”

“Well, Riessfeld is a real, actual princess! It might not be easy for her to take on work at a private military company.”

“Man, that’s too bad. Anyway, Amagiri’s the one to watch in this fight.”

“Now, as for the Gallardworth team…”

As the back-and-forth between the announcer and commentator went on, Julis elbowed Ayato in the ribs.

“They’re saying you’re the one to watch, Amagiri,” she whispered with a grin.

“I’m already nervous. You had to go and point that out to me?” Ayato teased back.

Julis leaned in close, amused. “Liar. I don’t see a hint of nerves. You’re as cool and collected as ever.”

“I really am. I don’t like being in the spotlight.”

“He says, standing under the brightest spotlight in the world.” Her shoulders shook with laughter.

“Well, you don’t look worried, either, Julis. Even though it’s your first time at the Festa, too.”

“Well, I am a princess. I’m used to all the attention. Oh—You should get ready.” Her joking attitude vanished, and her focus turned to the contestants ahead.

Two young men had appeared from the opposite gate, their Luxes already activated. One tall and one short, each member of the disparate duo held a sword-type Lux. At Gallardworth, swordsmanship was traditionally considered the one true path, and many students there chose swords for weapons.

Ayato drew the Ser Veresta from its holster but did not activate it.

“Oh, it’s almost time for the match! Who will emerge victorious from this battle? Seidoukan or Gallardworth? Here we go—Our second match of the day!”

As if on cue, the school crest on Ayato’s chest began to shine. Its functions during the Festa were completely automated, so there was no need to declare one’s challenge or consent as in a duel.

“Phoenix Block C, Round One, Match One— Begin!”

No sooner had their school crests announced the start of the match than their two opponents surged forward with swords in hand. According to the data, they were both attack specialists who excelled at fighting in close quarters. They did not make use of a rear attacker. They probably sought to draw Ayato and Julis into close combat and make a swift conclusion to the match. If Ayato engaged with one, the other would go after Julis to prevent her from using long-distance attacks. A simple but effective strategy.

“Well, it’s nothing we didn’t plan for.” Julis nodded confidently with her arms crossed. She had not even drawn her Lux. “I’ll leave it to you, Ayato.”

“Got it.” He focused his prana in an instant. “By the sword within me, I break free of this prison of stars and unchain my power!”

The heightened prana broke the seal placed on him, releasing his explosive power. The Ser Veresta’s enormous blade gleamed.

“Wha…?!”

Startled by the burst of prana, the two Gallardworth students slowed. And then—a gust of wind.

“Huh?”

“Ah…!”

To the two of them, it might have looked as if Ayato simply vanished. But just a moment later, two school crests fell to the ground with a dry ting.

Ayato had dashed past the pair and sliced through their emblems with superhuman speed.

“End of battle! Winners: Ayato Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld!”

The automated announcement sounded over the utter silence that had descended on the arena.

It was as quiet as an empty room.

It did not last, though. Wild cheering erupted like a dam bursting to flood the arena.

“Th-that was amazing! No time for us to get a single word in! What incredible, incredible speed! What strength! An overwhelming victory, I think it’s safe to say!”

“I gotta say, pretty impressive.”

“His sheer power is one thing, but what really surprised me was the showmanship from Amagiri! That tremendous prana shot up like a pillar, and the crowd went crazy!”

“When it comes to the raw amount of prana, he might be neck and neck with our own company president. I wonder if he’d come join us when he graduates. Bet he’d be able to go straight into the field.”

Amid the excitement and fervor, the Gallardworth team stood in stunned silence.

As Ayato walked back to Julis, feeling a little bad for their opponents, she raised her hand to greet him.

“Hmm. I expected nothing less.” She smiled proudly, and he high-fived her.

The two left the stage after a match less than ten seconds long. It was an instant victory.

“Now we’ll be interviewed as the winners. No matter what they ask you, be as vague as you can. We don’t want to give the competition anything to work with,” Julis firmly reminded him.

“Got it. But you had me worried for a bit. You didn’t even activate your weapon.”

“Oh, no need to worry. I laid traps for them with my fixed ability. If they’d stepped too close—boom.” With a fearless smirk, Julis opened her fist to mimic an explosion. “In any case, we got through the first round without revealing our combination attacks. Let’s try to keep doing that.”

Above all, they wanted to keep it hidden that Ayato’s full strength had a time limit. A few might have gleaned some idea from watching his duels, but they wanted to avoid confirming any suspicions. In fact, they would have preferred not to break the seal publicly at all, but he could run out of time if he did it before the match began. Just as they had hoped, the crowd figured it was a type of showmanship. Neither Julis nor Ayato believed they could keep the secret all the way through the Festa, but it was better to do so for as long as possible.

One more thing they wanted to keep under wraps was their combination moves. Ayato and Julis had only been partners for about two months. While they had polished their teamwork as well as they could, they would inevitably fall short compared to pairs who had been fighting together for years.

Round-one opponents were one thing, but against those who could compete with Ayato, teamwork was going to be the key to victory. They wanted to go for as long as possible without revealing their moves.

“We won’t run into any of the favorites during the rest of the preliminary rounds. Let’s keep our cards close as much as possible until the main tournament.” Julis’s tone was light, but her face was tense with resolve as they walked down the corridor to the press room.

“Whew. We’re back!”

“Sheesh…”

After returning to the waiting room, Ayato and Julis plopped down on the sofa in exhaustion.

“Oh! There you are!” Kirin exclaimed. “Congratulations!”

“…Why are you so tired?” Saya asked. “It was instant death for them.”

Because the two had been watching, Saya and Kirin regarded them curiously.

“Well, the match was just fine,” Ayato replied with a pained smile. “But the press conference after that…”

“The media from outside are so pushy. Compared to that, I’d much rather deal with our journalism clubs.” Looking thoroughly fed up, Julis chugged down the drink that Kirin offered her.

Indeed, the winners’ interview after the match was beyond draining. Of course the interviewers asked about Ayato’s flashy moves and the Ser Veresta, but they also inquired about his relationship with Julis and his reasons for entering the tournament. Eventually, they were hounding him for details about his private life that had nothing at all to do with the tournament, like his favorite food. The whole process dragged on for nearly an hour. By the end, it had completely drained them.

“Why, such kind words,” came a voice near the wall.

“Oh, you’re here, Eishirou.”

“Well, congrats on your first win!” Eishirou grinned and took a picture of the two with his mobile.

“Just to be clear, I only said that you were better by comparison,” Julis told him flatly. “Don’t mistake that for any sudden affection on my part.”

Eishirou shrugged theatrically. “Oh, of course. Your Highness is as severe as ever, I see.”

Ayato or Julis could grant others access to enter or leave their waiting room as they pleased. Anyone else had to be let in from the inside. Saya and Kirin were the only ones with access, so the two must have let Eishirou in.

“So, what brings you here? You didn’t come to cheer us on, did you?” Ayato asked.

It was already August, and most of the students who were not fighting in the Phoenix were on summer vacation.

Usually, gaining permission to leave Asterisk was not easy, but exceptions were made for long school breaks, and many students went home for the summer. On the other hand, many also decided to remain, as Eishirou had; the ratio was actually close to fifty-fifty.

“Well, you don’t need me in your corner against opponents like that. I’m here for the third match.”

“I see. Allekant.” Julis nodded.

“Naturally, that announcement at the opening ceremony whet my journalist’s appetite. They can say what they like, but the rule adjustment has everything to do with those two from Allekant. That’s patently obvious. So I headed right over to their waiting room, and…”

“What did you find, Yabuki?” Saya strode up and planted herself in front of him.

“Nope. Total lockdown. Security was so tight not even a mouse could sneak in. They would have slammed the door in my face, if there was a door to slam.”

“…Oh.” Saya’s shoulders drooped.

“Well, no need to fret over that now. It’s almost time for the third match,” Julis said.

“Speaking of time,” Ayato said, “don’t Lester and Randy have their match soon?”

“Oh, yes. They were scheduled to fight in the Capella Dome, so it should be…” Kirin turned on the television and flipped through channels until the screen showed Lester’s towering frame wielding the Bardiche-Leo.

“Hmm, they’ve already started,” Julis said.

“Oh, good, it looks like they have the upper hand,” Ayato observed.

Behind Lester, Randy fired a rapid stream of arrows. They fought well as a team, perhaps because they had known each other for a good while.

“I would’ve liked to go root for them in person, if our matches were on different days,” Ayato thought out loud.

“You’d be lucky if he just chased you off,” Julis teased. “It’s better this way.”

“…They are pretty good, though,” Saya said, impressed with Randy’s marksmanship.

“Well, MacPhail is a Page One, after all. And Randy Hooke used to be a ranked fighter. He’s no slouch, either,” Eishirou said.

“Their opponents are from Allekant,” Kirin commented.

Lester’s physical prowess was overwhelming both of his adversaries. He was in his element here. Randy provided superb ranged support himself, pinning down their competition as they tried to escape Lester’s range of attack.

While the group gave their full attention to the match, suddenly a rumbling roar reached them through the walls.

“Wha…?!” They looked at one another in surprise, but then identified the noise.

It was cheering.

“Aw, crap! It started already?!” Eishirou hurried to open another air-screen.

They knew there could only be one reason for the crowd’s enthusiasm.

The earth-shaking hurrah went on and on, putting the reception of Ayato and Julis’s sensational debut to shame with its fervor. The crowd was not just excited, but shocked.

Just as the five in the waiting room had expected, the screen showed two figures—not humans, but humanoid machines.