There are three major magic schools on this continent.

One is the Fischanatika School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The other is the High School of Magic and Wizardry in Heilkwaite.
And the last one is called the Academy of the End.

--Victoria.　

But that's all I knew.
These are the ones I learned in class, but they didn't explain it any further, and I didn't particularly care for them either.

'Adams had two disciples, one of whom was Marcellus Heilkwaite. And the other was Beatrice Fischanatika.

Ficianatica?　That's the school you're playing against, right?

That's right. It's all about finding that thing you're supposed to be watching. And that, above all, is what you two were ordered to do by Adams.

'You were ordered to do that? .....

I have no idea.
I mean, what's the reason for me to listen to this?
I've done my thing, and I want to go home as soon as possible, but....

''A young man who destroyed the Empire's S-ranked monsters that suddenly appeared, all by himself. A few months later, he conquered the dungeon........

Then one of the principals began to speak.

''Um ... what are you trying to say?''

I know.
I mean, I don't know why, but this guy's being suspicious of me.

"Doesn't it seem strange?　A young man of only seventeen years old has not only conquered not only an S-rank, but a dungeon as well?

So it's a good fit, he said.

Was it a bad idea to talk to this guy?
I feel like I'm starting to feel that way.

'Well that's what you said, wasn't it?　But if that's the case, it's even stranger. You've been given extraordinary powers and even allowed into the dungeon. Who would think that was normal?

In the end, I don't understand what he's trying to say.

The principal stares into my eyes.
And those eyes seemed to be searching for something about me.

Then the principal began to talk about something.

"Whoever obtains it will first seek what it is. And that person will surely come into the world.

The principal suddenly began to speak in a meaningful way.
It's as if he was talking to himself.

"'It'... what are you talking about?

And ... possibly put yourself in one of these environments ...

Apparently, he doesn't want to answer my questions.

'The environment...?'

Yes.....

I wasn't sure.
What did this man suspect about me and what was he talking about?
I don't get it.
What's the point of having a conversation that's just a ministerial conversation?

Then I have to ask, what did you come to the academy for?

I answered the question honestly.

'It's to find out about magic that can be used by healers,'

'What? .....

Then, surprisingly, the headmaster looked dumb and choked on his words.

'Shit, yeah well that's fine. But that's the way it is. A school environment imparts knowledge to those who seek it. So that person will eventually find themselves in an environment somewhere else. That's why the two apprentices founded a school of magic called Heilkwaite and Fischanatica.

What do you mean when you say 'that'?　You'll have to be a little more specific to make it clearer...

Mostly, I can imagine.
Perhaps it's the abyss.
Maybe it's because I've had a lot of opportunities to talk about it lately, but the word "abyss" popped up in my head naturally.
But how does this person know that?
Well, it could be that I'm wrong, and I should listen to him anyway, right?

But looking back on the story, I could see something.
So this man was the headmaster of the school founded by Adams' disciple.
If that's the case, then it's not so strange to know about the abyss.
If you think about it that way, I still think that my prediction is not wrong either.

''Well me and the headmaster of Ficianatica, Oswald, found out about it as soon as we took office. Each person who takes over as the headmaster of these two schools has been told from time immemorial that he or she must know it and be guided to it, lest he or she should be led there. And it is decreed that he shall tell no one.

So you can't talk about it.
And this person is talking about whether I'm "it" or not while waiting to see what happens.
I guess he doesn't dare to say it in words, just in case I'm not "it".

Whether you are or not, you can only see that possibility. If you are actually aware of what I mean in your heart right now, and you understand, then listen to me.

Huh?

I gave a questioning nod.

You're not going to have anything to do with it anymore.

The principal told me, in a calm voice that made the place go quiet.

This person doesn't know about the dungeon.
In other words, he doesn't know that the dungeon is a connection between me and half of my body.
But this man knows something about the abyss.
I'd like to know if I could.
Especially if it's something to do with Adams.
But this man is hiding.
As long as he's hiding it, we can't talk about it either.
I don't even know what his intentions are, and I still don't trust him.

I got up from my seat.

'I'll take my leave now. I don't know what you're trying to say, but I appreciate your advice. And thank you for your help with the procedure.

I walked straight to the door.

"Wait--

Then I heard a voice that held me back.

'What is it?'

I need to talk to you about something else.

Even though they've talked about it all, they still have something to say.

''Well what are you talking about?''

Do you plan on playing in the rivalry?

'Yes, I'm going to join in, but...'

Participation in the preliminary round is not based on an entry system; if there is no intention to participate, the player is informed, and if there is a will to participate, the player is left alone.
Basically, this means that at the beginning, everyone is participating.
From there, the number of people who abstained from participating became clearer and the number of participants decreased.

'Right. 'Actually, I've given you a lot of thought over here in terms of your participation.'

Huh...?

She's a woman who talks a lot, one after the other.

As a result, I've decided not to allow you to participate in this tournament.

Huh?

The words that came out of the headmaster's mouth were something I hadn't expected to hear.

'I've been talking to Oswald about it too, and I've been thinking a lot about it. What are we going to do about this adventurer Nito being?

--suspension.
Apparently, I can't participate in the rivalry.

You can't...?

That's not good.

It's a great place to see the results of our students' growth. Besides, the bigwigs from different countries will be there. In other words, their future is at stake. It's not just another event.

'So do I! .....

Those are the guys in Ficianatica.
That's why I really wanted to compete.
I thought it was a miracle we were going to get together.
And now.....

But I still can't leave Nito the Adventurer out of this game.

'What? .....

Then I saw the signs there.
Which is what in the world?　That's what I'm talking about.
Can you compete or not?
I want it to be one or the other.

'What do you mean ... what do you mean?'

''People know you're here at the Academy. On the day of the game, there will be a lot of people who are looking for you. There will be a lot of people who are interested in you on the day of the game, including the head of the country as you just mentioned. So I can't just suspend you. There will always be a backlash against you if you do...

Well, I'm...

As a special measure, we have added an extra match to this tournament. Of course, it has nothing to do with the school game itself.

So what about the preliminary round?

''You don't have a national championship game. If you get involved, you'll disrupt the ranking of this academy, won't you?　So you've been exempted from the preliminary round, and as of now, you've been confirmed for the match against the school.

'Huh?　Confirmed...?

All of a sudden it was a terrible thing.
Without even holding a preliminary round, she was determined to participate in a match against a school.
What the hell.....

Yes. The announcement should be made by now. Then, if anyone has an objection, they will have a direct match with you. Then, if the challenger wins, a ticket to an additional match against the school will go to the winner. If there are no objections, you will continue to play the matchup as you just said.

Then the school announcement was made there.
The content was just as the teacher had just said.
I was exempted from the preliminary round and would participate in an additional match against the school, which would be held separately from the competition.
In other words, this year's match will be 3-3.
In addition to that, there would be another match against a different school.

The teacher then added that he didn't know what would happen because there was no precedent for this.

''Well, but first of all, I hope there are no such reckless kids in this academy...''

Challenging me is no longer reckless, it seems.
How long has this man been aware of me?
Maybe after I've conquered the dungeon?

If a challenger shows up, I'll make another announcement in the school. At that time, I'll ask you to come to the designated area, okay?

I don't know what it is, but, well, I understand.

I scratched my head and agreed appropriately.

''I'm sorry that we decided to do this for our own reasons, but we can't let someone from another dimension who doesn't even feel magic power join us.

I opened the door to my room.

'It's fine. I don't mind...

I said, and left the room without further ado.

Actually, I do care.
In fact, I was thinking of making a suggestion to the principal about it.
I was wondering if I could change my name.
The pseudonym I took on to hide myself has now become rather more famous than 'Masamune'.
That's why I was going to ask him that, if I could change my name to another name just while I was enrolled in the school, and as a student, if I could participate in a rivalry battle.
But that was snapped before I could even suggest it.

I just walked around the school building, vaguely, as the announcements to me rang out.
I didn't think about anything, I wasn't heading anywhere, I just kept going.




o




　Oh, yeah, that's what it's all about.

We were in the exercise area.
And while sitting in the audience, we had just flowed.
I was just talking to everyone about the announcement.

'Well, I suppose I can't blame you.　If Nito participates, he will definitely be in the main competition for the first place slot. Regardless of how good or talented the opponents are,

Patrick says he agrees with the principals' idea.

'Well, at the end of the day, we're going to be in the main competition, so I don't really mind...'

So?　That's not why we're so late, is it?　He asked you something else, didn't he?　Like, say, a dungeon or something--

Toa says something even more perceptive at times.

'Correct. But we hardly talked about it. I mean, that man seemed to know something from the beginning.

What is it?

Come on, I don't know about that either, okay?

After all, we don't know what that man wanted to know about the dungeon.
And what he knew about the Abyss.

'By the way, I've been wondering for a while now, how did Sarah know so much about the Abyss?'

Sarah sometimes talks about the abyss.
But she doesn't give us the full story.

I turned my gaze towards Sarah and asked her.

'That's because, well I'm the Spirit King.

It's not an answer at all.

'Huh?　You say you are an abyssal fool, yet you do not know the abyss?

Then the newcomer, Yui, said so, as if he were a fool.

'It's not that I don't know anything. There's just a lot I don't know.'

'I see. So that's an excuse, isn't it?

You're a hard man to talk to.
I don't know why Sara chose this guy.

''Yu, come on. I'm not ignorant of his magic, am I?

'That's bing!　He's coming!　I've never seen magic like this before!

I was able to get another thing on my mind there.

'As for the abyss, how does Sarah know my magic?　I didn't think we had anyone like that anymore.

Even Khalifa-san said that she couldn't detect my magic power anymore.

''We spirits, regardless of our size, can understand magic power.

"Understanding?

Yeah, it works a little differently than you guys do.

Is that how it works?

So what are you going to do about Nito in the run-up to the main game?

Toa asked.
The reason is that Toa is not going to participate.
I've been told that he and Sufilia, who also did not participate, will accompany Nem's practice until the national championship game.
Patrick is going to be taught spirit magic by Sarah and Yui, and I've been told that I'm not needed.
In other words, I'm currently 'alone'.

Well, I'll just hang out for a while. I've got some things I want to do. I'll probably have enough time to do some things.

What are you doing?

I'm just looking for a book.

As I said this, Patrick looked at me for a moment.

'Well, every now and then I'll come over and watch Nem practice too. Besides, you can have lunch with me and even go to class with me on the odd occasion...

During the preliminary round, there are no more classes.
Then, after the preliminary round is over, classes resume until the match starts, but once the main tournament starts, there are no more classes.
But that doesn't matter to me.

Before I went to the dungeon, I had my classes free to attend.
I did the same with the three of them, just to be sure.
Because, after all, as a healer, I don't have any magic that I can use.
So it turns out that going to class is mostly pointless.

''Well, let's just go with the right one.''

The national championship game will begin soon.
But my schedule has been forced to disappear.
It's a bit of a shame, but it's what it is.
I'll be cheering for Nem and Patrick.
But my guess is that they'll both be fine.