WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 81: The Opposite of Flag Is Galf
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"Let's see what you've got."
A brief exchange of barbs.
The few words I threw out were enough to shock the students.
"You're the challenger here."
"After all, you lost to me once before, didn't you? During our last practical."
I accepted the match, then twisted the knife by bringing up the previous practical.
Class E's top student had squarely rammed into Class A's top student's declaration of war.
The news spread through the student body like wildfire.
Sensational news turned the academy upside down once more.
"Haha! He really said that?"
"I'm telling you, he did! He's completely insane!"
"I thought he'd obviously refuse, but he charged straight in instead...!"
The impact was beyond anything I imagined.
The next day, it even made the front page of the academy newspaper.
Maybe everyone had been starved for dopamine during exam season, because the news spread faster than anyone could contain it.
"I heard even the Student Council is keeping an eye on it."
"The Student Council? The one only the top one percent of cadets can join?"
"Well... they are the two first-years getting the most attention right now."
"How can I not look forward to the practical now? I wish the written exams would end already!"
"And I heard this event is Capture the Flag? Since it's a team match, it'll be flashier and much more fun to watch!"
Expectations continued to rise.
The two of us had become the academy's hottest topic without question.
As for me, I just waited for the day with a broad grin on my face.
"You crazy bastard...!"
Naturally, my teammates felt differently after hearing the news.
"What the hell were you thinking? I heard you even provoked that monster bitch...!"
"Haha! What a declaration of war worthy of Sir Viktor."
Ranne took it in stride.
Caitlin, on the other hand, screamed while tearing at her hair.
"It would've been bad enough if you'd accepted quietly! You stormed into Class A's classroom, made a whole scene, and got under that bitch's skin? Why? What was the reason? Thanks to you, the whole academy is talking about nothing else!"
Caitlin fumed as if she were about to lose her mind.
Her yellow eyes were full of simmering resentment.
They plainly asked why I had to make such a needless mess of things.
Well, from her perspective, she'd practically been forced into this, so of course she felt wronged.
She'd made it blatantly clear that she didn't want to join from the moment I first proposed it.
'But...'
Who cares?
She'd already joined. How was she going to drop out now?
If she didn't like it, she shouldn't have made a Slave Bet with me.
"Why did I do it...?"
At her question, I cleared my throat before answering.
"...Um, just because? I thought it'd be more fun that way."
"Crazy bastard, crazy bastard, crazy bastard! Aaargh, you really are fucking insane...!"
Maybe she'd finally blown a fuse, because she started jumping up and down in place.
Stray electricity crackled through the air.
Pussyzzzt, pussyzt-.
Caitlin looked like she was having the time of her life.
Seeing her reaction, a satisfied smile spread across my face.
'Was this how my father felt whenever he brought home a whole fried chicken on his way home from work?'
I felt strangely full.
It was the kind of fulfillment that made me wonder if men could get pregnant too.
What?
How would an orphan who'd never had a mother, let alone a father, know that feeling?
You don't know what you're talking about.
Even if I'd been born without parents, what did that matter as long as I held enough love in my heart?
Whether someone had both parents or not was irrelevant to cherishing something and feeling fatherly love.
Filled with paternal affection, I muttered to myself.
'Must be nice to have parents, you fucking bastards.'
As expected, I couldn't communicate with people who weren't orphans.
For no reason, I missed my comrades in the Slayers.
I forcibly crushed the anger stirring inside me and put on a benevolent smile.
"Hehe."
"Grrk, grrrk...!"
Caitlin, meanwhile, looked ready to foam at the mouth.
I casually changed the subject and asked Ranne, who had been watching blankly from the side.
"Come to think of it, have you ever faced Lady Glacia before, Miss Ranne?"
"Yes! We've crossed swords a few times. Since we were first and second place, we sparred several times."
"What was she like?"
"Well... honestly, she was overwhelming! It was hard to believe she was the same age as me."
"Well, they say Lady Grandia can even spar with most of the faculty."
"Even though there's only one rank between us, I could feel the enormous gap."
At present, Rin was unquestionably the strongest first-year.
In fact, even across all grades, there were only a few cadets who could surpass her.
'Including the Student Council president, maybe around three...?'
Her talent was terrifying.
She was the sort of genius who would make anyone, not just Ranne, feel like they'd hit a wall.
Of course, since Ranne was the protagonist, she was destined to surpass Rin someday...
'But that's later.'
Ranne's awakened form didn't unlock until the latter half of the original story.
That meant it wasn't an asset I could count on right away.
Ranne gave an awkward smile that didn't suit her.
"Actually... after we sparred a few times, she stopped accepting me as an opponent."
"What do you mean she stopped accepting you?"
"Just what it sounds like. Around the time I suffered my fifth crushing defeat, she said, 'You're weak too,' and from the next day on, she wouldn't spar with me anymore. Instead, she seemed to devote herself to swordsmanship alone."
"Ha... Is that bitch still like that?"
Caitlin suddenly cut in, clicking her tongue.
I'd noticed this before, but she seemed to hate Rin quite a lot.
'Then again, is there anyone who doesn't hate her...?'
Rin was prickly, foul-tempered, and vicious.
Still, Caitlin seemed especially cold when it came to Rin.
There was a gloomy edge to it.
'What... did those two have some history?'
The question crossed my mind, but I dismissed it for now.
The matter in front of us came first.
There would be plenty of time to ask about the two of them later.
"Shall we divide up the roles first?"
Capture the Flag.
Each team member would take on one role.
"You all know the rules, right?"
It was a game where you stole the opposing team's flag while protecting your own.
The Capture the Flag field was divided into three main zones.
Zone 1.
The place where your team's flag was planted.
Zone 2.
The center of the field.
Zone 3.
The place where the opposing team's flag was planted.
"The zones you can enter differ depending on your role."
[Sprinter]
-A role that targets the opposing team's flag.
-Can move through all zones.
[Assistant]
-A role that supports teammates.
-Can move through Zones 1 and 2.
[Keeper]
-A role that protects the team's flag.
-Can remain only in Zone 1.
Each role had restrictions on which zones they could move through.
During the game, the team leader could freely reassign everyone's roles.
However, all three members had to hold different roles.
"There's something I'm curious about! What happens if the team's Sprinter is restrained by the enemy or rendered unable to fight? The Sprinter is the only role that can enter Zone 3, where the opposing team's flag is located. If the Sprinter goes down, the rest of the team won't be able to do anything."
"That was a good question, Miss Ranne. If a role is deemed unable to perform its duties or completely incapacitated, the remaining team members are temporarily granted permission to move through that role's zones. As you said, one Sprinter being eliminated can't directly lead to the team's defeat."
"Mm! I see!"
Ranne nodded eagerly.
After finishing the explanation, I assigned everyone their roles.
"Miss Caitlin, please take the role of Sprinter."
"What? Me?"
"Of course. No one can keep up with your speed, Miss Caitlin."
"No... aren't you trusting me too much? If I become the Sprinter, I'll be the only one on this team who can approach their flag. And you said that if we lose this match, you'll clear the Slave Bet binding me, right? What if I betray you?"
"I'll have to accept it."
"Seriously?"
"That's how much I trust you."
"..."
Caitlin furrowed her brow.
She looked as if she couldn't understand what kind of nonsense I was spouting.
"Your feet are the fastest, Miss Caitlin."
"So you don't think I'll drag the team down..."
"I don't."
"..."
Tap.
I lightly poked the girl's forehead.
It meant she shouldn't overthink it.
"I can't tell whether you have no plan at all or if you're relying on something..."
Caitlin grumbled with a sigh.
Still, she looked like she'd accepted the role in the end.
"...Fine. Just don't whine after we lose."
"Of course."
"That pisses me off."
"Was that a compliment?"
"You think it was?"
And so, we settled our roles for Capture the Flag one by one.
[Team Viktor]
-Sprinter:Caitlin Lettus
-Assistant:Viktor
-Keeper:Ranne Kihano
We waited for the coming practical exam.
* * *
A week passed in a blur.
Midterms had already begun.
For the first two days, the students took their written exams.
"Hey... wasn't this week's Counter-Curse Theory ridiculously hard?"
"They gave us concepts that even active curse casters probably wouldn't know."
"I heard someone cried while taking the Magic Department's exam."
"Fuck, at least it's over now..."
"What's fortunate about that? We have the practicals from now on."
All that remained were the practical exams.
It was time to show off the skills everyone had polished over the past three months.
This practical, in particular, had drawn the attention of a great many students.
[Match 1]
[Team Viktor vs Team Rin]
A huge match was scheduled for the very first day.
Viktor and Rin.
The students cheered at the matchup.
They were the two hottest people in Grandia right now.
Their clash had been so vicious that the match couldn't help feeling sensational.
"That guy... I heard he charged straight at Lady Glacia?"
"It was seriously thrilling! He looks so gloomy, but he's completely different from what I expected!"
"Still, isn't Lady Glacia too much for him...?"
"What are you even saying? They're not in the same weight class at all."
"At least he deserves applause for accepting the match instead of running away."
Most people predicted an overwhelming victory for Rin.
They praised my courage in accepting the match, but expected me to lose because of the difference in our levels.
Some cadets even sneered that I might run away on the day of the exam.
Regardless, the days passed until the scheduled day arrived.
"Hm."
The day of the practical exam.
We stood before the prepared field.
It wasn't a simple training ground, but a Capture the Flag field designed for this exam.
Only six people would be fighting in it, yet it was easily larger than an average soccer stadium.
Space-expansion magic had been cast inside, making it far more spacious than it looked from the outside, and each zone had a different environment.
'This is incredible...'
Recording Crystal Balls had been placed throughout the field.
Outside the arena, a hologram hung in the air.
It was lit up like a scoreboard, broadcasting the inside of the field in real time.
The other cadets would probably watch the match through that hologram.
'They threw this together in only a few days?'
I was once again reminded of Grandia's standing.
They'd built an entire field like this for one exam.
'Now this is what I call throwing money around.'
I let out a short laugh.
Before entering the field, the contestants waited in a designated area.
The match lineup was helpfully written on a nearby wall.
[Team Rin]
-Sprinter:Dexi Cluise
-Assistant:Rin Glacia
-Keeper:Gale Levint
[Team Viktor]
-Sprinter:Caitlin Lettus
-Assistant:Viktor
-Keeper:Ranne Kihano
I carefully looked over the opposing team members.
Fortunately, it was a combination within my expectations.
'There shouldn't be a problem.'
We just had to follow the plan.
As I took a moment to steady my breathing, I looked at the group gathered across from us.
They were also standing in the waiting area, each stretching.
It was Rin's team.
"..."
Among them, I spotted the blue-haired girl standing alone in a daze.
There was no emotion in her expression, and her eyes were unfocused.
Her air was so cold that she seemed like a doll.
She possessed a beauty like a jewel exquisitely carved from ice.
A winter wind that had arrived out of season.
I quietly turned my gaze away.
Before long, an announcement came through the crystal balls.
《Cadets, wait in your respective zones.》
《This practical exam will be conducted in the form of Capture the Flag.》
《The first team to seize the opposing team's flag and bring it to their own team's zone will win.》
《The exam will also end if an entire team is subdued or incapacitated, or if the team leader declares a forfeit.》
It was Javert's voice.
She was overseeing this practical exam.
Her distinctively inorganic voice lingered in my ears.
Following the signal, we walked toward the entrance to the field.
《Cadets, prepare.》
The wind fluttered around us.
A faint glow enveloped our surroundings.
"Shall we go?"
《Enter.》
Fwoosh!
My vision was swallowed by a brilliant white flash.
The prepared magic transported us inside the field.
At the same time, a blue screen appeared in my fading vision.
Ding!
[Sub Quest]
-Title: I Will Stand at the Flag.
-Details: Achieve an overwhelming victory in the practical exam, ‘Capture the Flag.’
-Penalty upon Failure: None
-Reward: Item ‘Unbreakable Flagpole (B+)’
[Time Limit: Until the exam ends]
And so, a match that would go down in academy history began.
Footnotes:
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