Lili calls out the winner's name, and the game is over.

Huh...?

　Mr. Cecily was unstoppable.

　On the verge of forming a whirlwind of admiration, the crowd was dampened by confusion.

''What's going on...?
'The match is settled, and Cecily Arkwright is still trying to attack?

　As Cecily was about to give chase to her opponent, Lili stood in front of her.

''The match is already over!　Hold your swords!　.........ick!

　Lili, who lowered her posture, hugged Cecily.
　Are you going to hold her down like that?
　Chairman Koudelka still has an expression on his face that doesn't grasp the situation.

　And it seems that hugging her without a weapon was the right thing to do.
　It seems that Cecily-san didn't recognize Lili-san as her 《opponent》.
　The attack stopped there.

''.........''

　Cecily looked down at Lili, who nuzzled her face into her bosom, looking down at her in silence.
　I could see from her expression that she was slowly coming back to consciousness, as if she was slowly penetrating.

''Lili........sigm, sos......?''
'Yes you have won this semi-final..........　The game is already over!
Hmmm... hmmm...

　Lili takes a deep breath.

''Hmmm.......perhaps you were too immersed in the fight and wanted to lose consciousness. Are you okay now?
'What?　Let's see........I won, right?
'Yes, I do. You win, Cecily Arkwright.
Hmm....

　Cecily puts her hand to her forehead and frowns.

I'm sorry, I was just so focused on the game that I lost it. sir.

　Relieved, Currier-san, who was about to stand up, sat down.

''It's alright, well...''
I guess so...

　I sit down too.
　It seems that Currier-san, like me, was unsure whether or not it would be better to jump into the battlefield and stop Cecily-san.

　I guess she decided it was no longer a problem, and Lili-san breaks the embrace.
　Cecily-san lowered her head.

''Um........I'm sorry.......''

　Lili smiles.

'Let's just say it was such a heated match... and Koudelka, is that alright with you?

　Chairman Koudelka nodded his head.

''Cecily's actions right now are probably due to the fact that she did her best. As for me, I don't have any complaints. I also gave my all in this game I'm satisfied with the content.

　President Koudelka loosens his mouth and holds out his hand.

'It was a good game, very good,'
"Oh--

　Somewhat late, Cecily agrees to shake his hand.

'Thank you, thank you,'
Good luck in the finals.

　Cecily squeezes her hand back a little harder.
　As if to show her determination.

'Yes.'

　As the two opponents did so, they shook hands with each other - and the room erupted in a chorus of praise, as if they had been waiting for it.




　After Cecily and President Koudelka left the podium, the audience left their seats and began to move in a lumbering manner.

　They must have gone to lunch to prepare for the final match in the afternoon.
　As I recall, there were food stalls inside and outside the Great Sacred Ground.
　

''I'm going to go to Cecily's place.

　The first person to get up from his seat was Mr. Currier.

'Ah, Mr. Currier,'
Hmm?　What's going on?

　I gave Currier an earful of what I had just noticed in the game.
　When she finished listening, she made eye contact with me.

'Is that true?'
Well, you know, maybe.

　Putting her hand to her mouth, Currier-san chews on the contents.

''Hmm, okay I'll make sure that's the case. Alright then, I'll be off.

　After Currier-san disappeared towards the aisle, Rei-senpai stretched out, as if the tension had been released.

''Umm........!　It was really a blinding match........

　It was only right after the match was over that he was still dragging out the tension, but now he was back to his usual carefree senior Ray.
　............
　I mean, this person should be preparing for the final of the third grade division after this, but.......but at a glance, he looks very carefree.
　Well, unlike me, this person has a poker face.

"Well, well!　I think I'll go check on our chairman and see if he's okay, but I'm a little worried. As for Ira, can I leave it to Kurohiko?
'What?　Yeah I'm going to go check on Ira-san after this, though.

　Ray-senpai stands up.

''Then I'll leave Ira to you, okay?
Oh, yes....um, Ray, my senior.
Hmm?
Good luck in the finals. We'll be rooting for you.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us.

You are very perceptive to the smallest details, aren't you? Do you think that I'm gay too?　Hmm?

　Who's the man?

Oh, I didn't mean...
Really?
Jeez, that's pure support!　Because we're friends, aren't we!
'Hmm?　You're my friend........then why don't I do a little bit of work for my precious friend, Kurohiko?
Yeah, but good luck with that.
Hahaha. Well, I guess I'll do my best. I'll see you later, Kurohiko.

　Saying that, I patted him on the shoulder and senior Ray walked towards the aisle.

''Huh........''

　Sigh.

　Seriously.........does that guy have a quota that he has to tease me every time we talk?

Speaking of which what's President Dristos going to do after this?

　Chairman Dristos was still sitting in the seat behind me.
　I looked at him and saw that he was still reeling from the aftermath of the game earlier.

'Huh?'　Me?　Well ... well ... yeah ... maybe I should go say something bad about it to Koudelka later on?

　But you're not going to go out and say a jerk........

''Hm?　What is it?　What about those warm, raw eyes?
No, it's nothing.

　You only have to look at what happened earlier in the game to see that.
　I think the two chairmen now have a relationship that can't be described by the term "dog and monkey".

By the way.......what did Kurohiko see in this match?
They both went beyond what I expected.

　The Chairman crosses his legs.

''Cecily seems to have gained a property similar to Koudelka's Polar Sky through this match... but if she uses that in the final, Ira Horn will have a hard time with it.

　It would certainly be a struggle if they used that one.
　This third round, I had also thought about countermeasures for when I hit Cecily-san.
　However, I hadn't expected her to have mastered the characteristic of the Pseudo-Sky.

''Yes........as you say, we might have a hard time.
But...

　The Chairman put his hand to his chest.

''Even Ira Horne defeated Dristos Kircinha here. Besides, I would prefer to have her win so that I don't lose my reputation.

　I chuckled.

'Why don't you just be honest about it and say you like it there, Ira, Mr. Chairman?
Huh?

　The Chairman's cheeks flushed and the edges of his mouth twitched.
　Then, after munching on his mouth as if searching for words, the chairman continued.

''Well, well...?　And it didn't feel like Ira Horne's graceful way of fighting like that was bad, either?　I don't know, it was kind of....I felt strangely sunny even though I had lost...

　The chairman gently touched the arm with the healing cloth on it and opened his eyes thinly.

''To begin with, that boy is somewhat too dazzling for some student council president who uses deception, entangling hands, and other inherent techniques that are sometimes called cowardly............
'Really?　I don't think anyone is looking at that semifinal in that kind of contrast, do you?

　I stand up, thinking it's time to go check on Isla-san.

''I, well I felt something hot and pure in Chairman Dristos, who was also fighting Ira-san with all his might. And I, I don't think the chairman is a cowardly person.

　As for me, when I think of people who should be called deceitful, entangled, and cowardly, the first thing that comes to mind is Noise Deuce.
　That harassment that is not funny, that tenfold and twentyfold (?) experience, it seems like Chairman Dristos is not a cute thing at all.

'After all, I think the chairman is the cute one...'
What--?

　Well, for some reason, Hibigami seemed to appreciate that part of the noise.................
　...........
　Oops.
　It looks like I've entered the world of thought.
　Dangerous, dangerous.
　In my case, my thoughts sometimes leak out of my mouth........
　You have to be careful.

''Well........so I think you should be more proud of yourself, Chairman?　And at least I like Chairman Dristos in general.
..........
..........

　Huh?
　What is this silence?

'Mmmmmmmm..........'

　He squeezes the threadbare threads dourly and the chairman lets out a troubled snort.

'Hey, Kurohiko?'
Yes?
Is that, in essence, the whole point of this, is that what you're doing?
Huh?　Is that your intention?
..........
..........

　Hmm?
　What is it?
　Why is the Chairman looking at me like he's assessing me...?
　Or rather, the intent?
　What are your intentions?

　Then the chairman suddenly turned into a twisted, clear face and straightened up.



　The Chairman looks up at his hands on either side and starts sending wind to both cheeks.

''Oh dear.......this is so much more cowardly than you are.......''




　I was walking out into the aisle after being called a coward by the student council president without knowing what that meant.

"Ummm, what part of it was called cowardly just now--what part of it was called cowardly?

　When I unconsciously tried to cross my arms, I felt a pain in my left arm.
　.............
　That was it.
　Perhaps it's because there's almost no pain when you don't touch or move it, but I tend to forget about the injury to my left arm.
　It's just.........there may be an effect of the healing technique, but the way the pain is receding is definitely faster than before.

　If the body's healing rate is becoming faster than before--


　I might be able to build a fight without worrying about the injury more than ever before.


　However, we have to avoid things like this left eye as much as possible....
　Otherwise, I'll have to worry about everyone again.

''..........''

　Anyway, let's go over the future plans for today once.

　About fifty minutes from now, the finals will start.

　First grade division, the
　Bicentennial Division,.
　Three grade divisions.

　And after those three are done, the finals of the ungraded divisions.

　In every division, there are acquaintances left in the finals, so it's worth cheering for them.

''Well........

　I come to a busy corner and look around.
　This is the area where the food stalls are set up.

　Well.........before I go to the medical bay, I'd better get something light to eat for Ira-san.

　Then I bought a light meal that seemed to be good for digestion, and headed to the medical bay where Ira-san was resting.