A buzzing hall.
Two people facing each other.
And an announcement announcing the rules.

-- Here, in Heilkwaite, the preliminary round had begun.

The auditorium is packed, and the students are waiting for it to happen now.
And there was Masamune.

'Hey, come to think of it, what did you do yesterday?　You were in the academy, right?　I was looking for you because I had something to do...

It's Toa who asks that.

'What? .... yeah, a bit. I had to run a few errands yesterday.

Masamune replied, with a thin response.
In response, Toa asked no more, though he had a question mark on his face.
It wouldn't be of any particular significance.
It's an everyday conversation.

''Hey ... is it okay?''

Yeah, no problem. He's strong despite his looks.

The two of them are looking at the field.
And there, facing each other, on one side, is Nem.
That's right - here and now, Nem's match was about to begin.

The opponent is Kevin, a senior who is one grade above you.
But regardless of the grade, Nem is basically younger than him.

Masamune and Toa are watching the situation with concern.

Then the rules are announced, the announcement ends.
The bell for the game echoed through the hall.
At that moment, the two men on the field begin to move towards each other.


--.




　''The [Thunder Ball]!

The first to get his hands on it was Kevin.
A golden sport cut. And a two-block.
Muscular but plump in appearance.
That's this man, Kevin Connor.

'Something like that!　It doesn't hit Nem!

Then Nem pulled him back just before he did, and then jumped to the side to avoid him.
Kevin aimed at Nem's landing spot and released more magic.

''【Thunderbolt (Thunderbolt)!

Then a sphere of lightning appeared in Kevin's palm and an electric current shot out of it.
It was released towards the destination that Nem avoided.

Nem avoiding the current.
But no matter how much he avoided it, the current attacked Nem.
Nem is unable to stop his feet.

''Raiden no Shigure (Thunder Rain)!

Kevin chanted more magic.
A magic circle emerged in the sky above, and countless lightning bolts rained down on Nem from it.
Each one of the blitzes was drawn just before and then avoided.
Nem showed that he had done it before he had time to catch his breath.

But then--.

Ugh!

A slight numbness and pain hit Nem when he should have avoided it.
When I looked, I saw electricity flowing at my feet.
This is the remnants of the magic that Kevin had released earlier.
And--

'Myaahhhh!'

Three electric blasts rained down from the sky above and hit Nem.

This was Kevin's method of warfare.
He can't use advanced magic.
That's why he uses beginner and intermediate magic to lure his opponent into his magic.
And Nem Nem fell for it, all right.

But Nem is safe.
Nem regained his stance, but his body was still numb.

You're the beastman!　Well done, for a kitten. But you're done. You can't even move like you did before when you're numb, can you?

Nem didn't return the words, but held back the pain.
The pain could be seen from his expression.

''[Demon Fire (Shlaim)]!

Nem chanted as he endured the pain.
This was a magic that Nem excelled at.
He can deploy a fireball around his body and remain ready to attack at any time.
And this can also be used for defense.

'Ha!　A fire that suits the little guy, huh?　And?

Kevin is provoked.
But Nem ignores him and moves on to his next plan.

''The [Weeble] demon's fierce wind (Weeble)!

The moment Nem chanted his magic, the three fireballs that were around him swelled up, creating small explosions.

''Ah?''

Kevin still doesn't realize what's going on.
He's completely caught off guard.
But the swollen nem fire held its shape as it bloated to a certain size.

Sweat trickled down Kevin's forehead.

-- three giant balls of fire had appeared there.

Not to say that they were advanced, but they were at least a step above that size.

Kevin swallowed his spit.

''The [Thunder Lance]!

Kevin held a spear of lightning in both hands.
He's going to stand up to it with his penetrating power.

Then Nem starts to fight back.

First, Nem sent one of the three fireballs flying.
In response, Kevin throws his spear at the fireball.
Then the magic of both sides clashed in the middle of the field and a thunderous sound was heard.
It's a sound like something sizzling and scraping.
Then Nem shoots more fireballs beside the collision.
But Kevin doesn't miss it either.
As he threw more spears, the magic of both sides clashed again.

Kevin chanted anew and made the spear appear.
But faster than that, Nem fired a third fireball.
Then Kevin couldn't keep up with the chanting and tried to avoid it, but due to his heavy weight, the fireball caught him from the waist down.

''Gyaaah!''

Kevin screams in pain.
But this field measures lethal force.
And it is covered with protective magic to prevent serious injuries.
Therefore, the fire that ignited in Kevin was quickly extinguished.
But the damage is accumulating.
I'm not going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few minutes of your time.
--You're going to have to be careful.

That's where Nem comes in to chase him down.
That's when I fired the last fireball a moment ago. The same way Nem had chanted in advance.

--You're going to be able to get your hands on these three huge fireballs.

And then Nem releases those three fireballs at the same time.
Kevin's eyes widened and his expression was twitching.

This magic of Nem's is a low magic consumption magic that only requires two beginner level magic casts.
Compared to that, what about Kevin?
Two beginner courses and three intermediate courses.
While I still have some spare energy, I'm thinking about the long term.
Kevin is at a disadvantage at this point.

--short term.

It would no longer be the only thing left for Kevin to do.
But Kevin didn't have time to think about it.
Because there was already a fireball in front of him.
Quickly chanting, Kevin chanted, and a spear of lightning appeared in both hands.
And instead of attacking, this time he was on the defensive.
He positioned himself in front of his body as if he were making an X with his two spears.

Immediately after that, Kevin's spear and Nem's flames made contact with each other.
But continuing on, a second fireball also reached.
And a third shot.
If the comb had been stuck in the fireball, it must have looked like a dumpling.
No, it looks like a dumpling even in its current state.

''Gunnu........''

Kevin holds out with two lightning spears against three large fireballs in a row.
But holding out was not enough.
Overwhelmingly, they were defeated by a difference in strength.

At that moment, Kevin's two spears broke and shattered.
Then three fireballs formed a line and hit Kevin in turn.

''Gyaaaaaaaaaaaa!''

Shortly thereafter, a scream was heard from the field.

There were cheers from the audience and a drawl from the crowd as Kevin was attacked in the fold. Those two types of sounds could be heard from many directions through the hall.

The field was enveloped by smoke from the explosion, filling the field of vision.
Then the smoke gradually cleared.

The figure there was Kevin, who was dying, but barely retained consciousness.
He had been prevented from doing so by his unfinished magic armor just before.
The magic armor is a spell that is learned by those who have mastered the advanced level in order to achieve greater heights.
It's still too early for Kevin.

He is persistent!　We want you to abstain from the race already!

Nem was dismayed and angry.
That's just as it should be, the outcome was already decided.
--Nem's victory, of course.

But Kevin was grinning for some reason, enduring the pain.

Kevin was thinking.
How can I change this situation?
How do I win?
But I can't think of anything.
But Kevin had a secret plan.
It was something he had prepared in advance for when this happened.

Kevin put his hands in his pockets.
A faint but spare look could be seen on his face.
And an evil smile could also be seen.
In contrast, Nem has a question mark on his face with a grim expression.
So, what Kevin took out of his pocket.
That is.........

--Mattabi.

For a young cat tribe, the catfly is a threat.
The slightest whiff of it can make a young cat tribe feel dizzy and as if they are drunk.
Of course, as they grow older, the symptoms will lessen and eventually disappear.
But Nem is still a child.

That means Kevin knows that Nem is a cat person, and he's prepared for this matrimony.
But this is not foul.
It's not foul, but it's a cowardly move.
Everyone would think so.
But Kevin didn't mind.
He put victory first, no matter the criticism.

Kevin picked up the matrimony and looked at it.
Then he smiled again as he looked at Nem, who was caught off guard.

'--that's a win for me.

Kevin was sure of it.
Then he gathered momentum to throw the matrimony in his hand toward Nem.
But that was when--.

Kevin's movements stopped for a moment.
Then I looked over and saw that for some reason there was a question mark on Kevin's face.

'Heh? .....

Then Kevin made a dumb noise.
Then he stopped throwing and Kevin checked his hands, wondering.
Then the matrimony that should have been in his hand just now.
It was gone, gone without a trace.

--Mattabi is gone....

Kevin's panic gradually set in.
Even more surprisingly, even the smell that should have been on his hands was gone.
Kevin panicked and checked the smell of his hands over and over again.
Then he checked his feet carefully again and again to see if he had dropped them.
But he couldn't find the matrimony at all.

The audience laughed as Kevin crawled around on the ground.

'What have you been doing just now?'

Pure question.
Nem asked.
But for Kevin, there was no way he could answer it.
There was no way he could say he was looking for Mattachy.
And Kevin doesn't know either.

--You'll be able to find out why Matthews has disappeared.

'If you won't abstain, then we'll put a stop to it!

As soon as Nem said that, Kevin's face twitched.

'Ick!　Wait, wait, wait!　Please, I'll abstain!

Kevin said in a hurry.


-- "Winner, Nem!"

An announcement was made and the audience cheered.

Kevin left the venue with defeat and questions on his mind.

Nem is in the audience, finds the three of them and gives them a piece with his right hand.
Toa then returns the piece with his right hand, too.
Masamune was embarrassed and sent a smile.
Sufilia also returned the peace with her left hand.
Afterwards, Toa scolded Masamune, "Give her a piece," but Masamune said, "It's natural.
But Masamune deflected the conversation, mumbling something incomprehensible, "It's a natural consequence."
Toa let out a sigh in disgust.
But what did Masamune's expression tell him?
"I can't help it," he smiled thinly, as if to say, "I can't help it.
Free from worry and tension, Toa slowly took his seat.

But neither Toa nor Sufilia knew anyone else.

The faintest trace of the Masamune's left hand lingered in the

--a trace of red-black magic.