Ira-san, who had been in the form of hugging me for a while, hurriedly broke free of the embrace when she huffed.

''Ah--awwwww, sorry Kurohiko!　I didn't mean to be a jerk.
Haha........Ki, don't worry about it. Ira-san's feelings were clearly conveyed to me, and........

　
　.............
　Was that really a follow-up?
　Okay, let's change the subject.
　I look at the clock.

'Tomorrow's matchup list should be posted by now, right?
Uh-huh.
Well, I guess we'll just have to go see it together.

　Ira agreed, and I helped her into the wheelchair.
　She told me that if I felt well as of yesterday, I could go back home, so I wouldn't have a problem leaving without her permission.

　On our way out of the Great Sanctuary with Ira-san pushing the wheelchair, we met Cecily-san and Ray-senpai, who were heading for the medical room.

''Well I bumped into Rei right there. We were just about to go to Kurohiko's medical room now.

　It seems somewhat awkward... what's going on?
　Well, anyway, I have something to say to Miss Cecily first.

'Congratulations to Miss Cecily on your third round appearance.
Thank you. I'm relieved to see that Kurohiko seems to be in better spirits than I expected. And--

　Zeke and Hyrgis-san were concerned that if too many people came to visit them, it would be difficult for me, so they refrained from visiting.
　That kind of consideration is really typical of those two.
　By the way, Currier-san has decided to rest in his quarters for the day.
　This can't be helped.
　She went to a meeting right after the battle yesterday and also informed Cecily and Ira-san of my situation.
　I was tired from using the second armor with a heavy load, but she showed no signs of fatigue and was only worried about me yesterday.
　As for me, on the other hand, after I fought Skolbanger, I was left to other people to do something.......
　That's why I thought I should learn from Currier-san's mental toughness - when I talked about it, Cecily-san said

If you start talking like that, he'll say, 'What you did was probably something that no one else in the country could have done,' and then he'll say, 'No one else could have done it. So you can leave all the cleanup work of yesterday to someone else, and no one will complain.

　He chuckled and smiled at me.

'You seem to know what you're thinking, don't you?'
..........

　Currier-san, you are a dreadful person.

　They were also planning to go to see the battle table after checking me out, so the four of us will go to see the battle table.




　The battle table for the third round was posted at the square in front of the west gate of the Great Sacred Ground.
　So it's not a big distance.
　The West Gate is the place where I fought the eight funeral blades of the last day, but the current square in front of the West Gate has been cleaned up as if there was no bloody battle.
　However, if you look closely, the battle scars were still there on the ground.

　In front of the bulletin board, there was a crowd of Black Mountain people.
　However, perhaps because of the appearance of the third round contestants, Ira and Cecily, the road to the bulletin board naturally opened up.
　On the way to the bulletin board, Ray-senpai said with a caracara laugh.

''I think the reactions of these people are mixed with respect for the Forbidden Spell Master who protected the royal capital from the monster again, though.

　Hmm, since Skolbanger seems to have disappeared after some time, defending the royal capital seems to be an exaggeration, but.......
　Besides, as can be seen from the conversations exchanged in whispers, it seems that the attention is still focused on the two people who have advanced to the third round.

"Hey, that's Cecily Arkwright. It's just as they say, he showed his natural talent to win, but as expected of him, he's even more talented than his older brother, Diaz Arclight...
She's not just a beautiful doll, she's a first-class sword and a first-class art form. The sword and the art form are top-notch and she's the real deal, and with her is the daughter of the Horns, who made a name for herself at this tournament.
''I didn't expect that one of the Eight Sacred Trees, my brother Nord Horn, who is one of the Eight Sacred Trees, despite being so famous, I never heard of my sister at all... but I didn't expect her to be as good as she was.
We've made it to the third round, so it's no fluke.

　It's an amazing amount of attention.
　Aside from Cecily-san, Ira-san looked a bit embarrassed.

''Well, the list of matches is--''

　I looked up at the board.

　Ira's opponent in the semifinals--


Dristos Quirsinha.


　Chairman Dristos is Ira's next opponent.
　So that means--.

Oh, I see. I suppose I'm going to have to move on to Koudelka Ferraris.

　Cecily crosses her arms loosely and smiles challengingly.

'Oh?　It looks like my next match is with Ira Horn.

　When I turned around, President Dristos was standing there.

''I was hoping that we could finally settle the matter with the causal Koudelka... but apparently that settlement is going to be carried over to the final match.

　The buzz grows as more main characters appear.

''Hey, that's Kielcinha's...''
No wonder, considering the location, you're meeting your next opponent.
''She hasn't failed her previous reputation and she's won so far in order...''
And I'm told you haven't used your most powerful unique technique yet.
So you're a top-notch fighter without resorting to proper technique?
When you get to the finals with the daughter of the Ferraris family, the one you call fate, this one will be a sight to behold... but what a big breasts you have.
Hey.
I'm just stating a fact.

　Tête-à-tête, shaking his assertive chest, Chairman Dristos comes trotting toward me.
　Hmm?
　What is it?
　I looked up at the chairman, who looked down at me with a good-natured smile.

'By the way ... I heard you, Kurohiko?　I heard that while I was fighting in the second round, you did a great job against a group of tramps who were trying to kill the Holy King.
Muggs?

　Hmmm.

　Suddenly, my vision closed down.

'Nah, what are you doing, student council president!

　Ira-san's scream that was so loud it made me jump up and down.
　
　You've been hugged to your chest again.
　...........
　It was completely undetectable.
　It seems that I'm thoroughly weak against surprise attacks that don't have hostile or killing intent.
　With this, it still seems like that Skolbanger's ultra-slow speed attack is more manageable.

''Huh?　This is my own passionate embrace of gratitude for a hero?　You have protected our holy war festival.
But Kurohiko looks like he's in pain!
Do you think so?　Isn't it true that the curse-maker who defeated the Four Deadly Plagues could easily dispel them if he wanted to?　Hmm?　What do you think, Kurohiko?
..........

　Hmm.
　I kind of analyze it calmly, but while playing around like this........Chairman, you are carefully taking care not to touch my left arm, which is casually wrapped in a bandage.

　Is this also a calculated move?

　And the current chairman of the board has been radiating strange favors.
　So I hesitate to shake it off vainly, but........

　The next most fearsome enemy to me after Hibigami may be the one that strongly favors you.