“Why isn’t there a magical instrument that would allow me to cut out and store specific moments of time…”

“That’s probably the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said. Do you want to be a god?”

“I’d like to replay Riol’s victory over and over again! With audio! That’s exactly the moment of time I want to save!”

The fifth day of the magic tournament.

While walking along the road from the dormitory to the arena, Sharina revealed her most recent wish to Riol.

Riol steadily won not only the first day’s match against Roland, but also the following matches. Even though he defeated the seniors in quick succession, he was pretty unfazed.

“Considering my fighting style, the more magic my opponent has, the better.” Was the only thing he said. There was a certain amount of coolness in that. At that point in time, Riol’s coolness must had shot through the roof, already.

 “…Maybe I’ll ask God, who’s at my parents’ house.”

“…And finally, we’ve come full circle. That’s the most straightforward name I’ve ever heard. May I know who that is?”

“My family’s gardener. His hobby is inventing.”

“Is there not a single ordinary servant in the Clydea Family?”

Two people walked along the edge of a congested road filled with horse-drawn carriages. Every time they managed to pass a carriage, which traveled at a speed of a snail, she felt a little concerned—

—why not just get off and walk?

“Naturally, I remember Riol’s words and actions word for word, and also every single one of your movements—but memories change.”

“Doesn’t the fact that you already memorized so much speak for itself?”

Angelica was to meet them in front of the arena, while Tobias promised to join them later in case Roland refused to be taken out. It seemed that yesterday and the day before yesterday, Tobias went to pick up Roland many times. Although Tobias kept persuading him, Roland hadn’t returned a single word.

“That’s not true! For example, when I first met Riol, I thought that I shouldn’t hinder your study, and planned to leave immediately after we finished eating our sandwiches during lunch break. However, when you stopped me and said that I wasn’t in the way, I was looking the wrong way, I was looking at your book. Despite the fact that you’re a speed reader, the pages of your book remained the same for the last few minutes. ‘That’s certainly unusual’, I thought. Nevertheless, if I could return to that moment, this time, I want to looks closer at your face.”

“Y-you don’t have to recall those details! You also don’t have to take a closer look! Just forget about them!”

They arrived at the arena in no time at all while having fun talking about their memories.

“Shari, Riol! Good morning!”

Angelica was waving in front of the entrance. Apparently, she had arrived earlier than them.

“Good morning, Ange! You sure are early!”

“Good morning, did I make you wait for a long time? I’m sorry.”

“No, no, what matters is that you guys are here!”

However, as the three of them tried to enter the arena side by side, Sharina’s shoulders tensed.

“Please wait, Riol. I’ll start running, so let’s meet in front of the stairs leading to the audience seats!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“No way, Shari, could it be—”

There was no time to think about it. She had to act immediately. Sharina got off to a quick start. Riol and Angelica, sporting dubious expressions, approached the front of the stairs.

“Right here, Riol, right here!”

After tens of seconds.

In front of Sharina, whom was out of breath, a person with a gloomy face and a close friend whose shoulders were sagging appeared.

“Riol-kun, come on!”

Angelica poked Riol’s elbow and whispered.

“…Have you waited long?”

“No! I only just arrived!”

“…Well, obviously.”

It was an exchange between the hero and heroine that often appeared in romance novels. It was mainly exchanged when the hero and the heroine met at the start of a date.

“That’s what you’re aiming for, right, Shari?”

“Yes! Thank you, Ange!”

Sharina was a bit surprised it went more smoothly than she thought—

—it seemed that Angelica had informed Riol within her ten seconds of running away.

Such was the benefit of having a best friend who loved romance novels!

“But what’s the point, exactly…”

“I was jealous of the exchange between Ange and Riol!”

“Girls yearn to experience certain situations with their crush.”

As Riol contemplated the reason why, his shoulder got patted by Angelica, who tried to calm him down.

Of the six-day schedule, the last two days of the magic tournament were said to be the actual performance.

The first day was treated as the qualifying round, and until the fourth day, multiple groups were competing at the same time using multiple narrow stages. However, from the fifth day, each group would be having their match on a huge stage. The scale of the competition and the support from the spectators would increase.

“I’m sorry for the wait…”

Riol’s match was scheduled for the second half during the afternoon, therefore today, he’d be watching the match with them during the morning.

“Tobias, did His Highness still refuse to attend today?”

Around the end of the first match of the morning session, the dejected Tobias arrived at the audience seats.

“Good job, Tobias. Cheer up. Today, it has only begun. His Highness might decide to come during the afternoon.”

“I’m not sure I can be hopeful.”

“Ooh…”

Tobias sat next to Riol, his sighing didn’t suit his huge body. It seemed that today, too, Roland wouldn’t attend.

“He’s not going to come even though it’s already the fifth day? This sure is getting pretty risky…”

The magic tournament would begin its high-ranking matches on the fifth day. If someone were to win there, that person would be eligible for the final match, and would also be commended on during the closing ceremony on the final day as an excellent competitor of the tournament.

Even for competitors whom had been eliminated, watching the battle of the upper ranks of the school was worth it. On the other hand, many students were also looking forward to it because it was simply entertaining.

“By just losing once, he’s already been overwhelmed? I thought it’d be nice if he uses that experience as a stepping stone, but if it stays like this…”

The magic tournament was an event in which everyone participated—and by ‘participating’, it meant to also watch the game. But there were some students who skipped the game because they opted not to watch the game until the fourth day had passed due to boredom.

However, there were almost no students who skipped after the fifth day. Moreover, there was also the fact that the queen was supposed to come to watch the game on the last day.

Although losing in the early stages was sometimes an inevitability, for the prince who lost during the early match to not come watch the game and instead remain cooped up inside his dormitory…

“Even today, His Highness Roland still hasn’t come?”

“Ever since that first match, I haven’t seen him.”

“Is the rumor that he has secluded himself due to his shocking defeat true?”

The whispers of the female students could be heard.

In the swirling rumors, Roland progressively became more pathetic.

Until the day before yesterday, the voices containing concern for Roland’s physical condition were barely audible. But yesterday, the crowd finally grew suspicious. Finally, today—the fifth day—even his female supporters were like that.

The more he stayed hidden away, the more disadvantageous it would become for him.

“Actually, albeit I didn’t get any reply today, I heard some noise when I eavesdropped near the door—‘—why should I experience such a misunderstanding?’ ‘If not for that meddlesome bunch!’ ‘I can’t go out in the public until the misunderstanding is resolved!’”

“But that’s…”

“Eeh…”

---

***T/N: Sigh… seriously, as I’ve been saying–get a grip, Prince Chuunidiot.

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