Continue.　Copan!　

　About five hours after the match between Nem and Patrick had been settled, the final was about to take place.
　The final was about to take place.

　As it was the final, names were called out one by one, and even the entrance was a bit over the top.
　Next to Nem was Copan, the student from the left side of the tournament table, the one who had come out on top.
　But here was one funny thing.
　It was enough to make even Nem nod his head.

　For all intents and purposes, Kopan is frightened.

　Copan was a little taller than Nem, and a round-shaved head.
　His legs are tightly aligned, his knees bent slightly, his arms shrinking as he shakes his shoulders and gurgles his teeth. Frightened.

　Nem thought so, too.
　And the audience felt the same way.
　But that was understandable.

　Copan had intended to abstain from the preliminary round.
　Stupidly, Kopan forgot to submit the abstention form.
　He didn't find out until the day after the deadline.
　Kopan was forced to participate in the block qualifiers due to the magic contract.

　And the first game of the block qualifier.
　Kopan was frightened, as he was this time.
　Copan, who was a serious man at heart, arrived at the venue on time, despite his fright, and showed up on the field.
　But no matter how long Kopan waited, his opponent didn't show up.
　His opponent didn't show up even after the time had passed.
　As a result, the first game was a non-conference win for Kopan.

　I found out later.
　He was so tense that his opponent, who hadn't slept well last night, overslept.

　The second match happened a few seconds after the bell rang.
　His opponent fell down right in front of Kopan, clutching his stomach.
　He complained of abdominal pain, and as a result, his opponent had to give up the fight.
　As a result, his opponent had to abandon the fight, and it seems he won the Chowkallai hamburger he had eaten the day before as a prayer for victory.

　Chookalai is a fish with hind legs that lives in a limited lake.
　This fish has an organ inside its body called the spicy pearl, which produces a spicy juice.
　The moment a drop of spicy juice flows out of the body of a chowkarae, it causes a fire.
　People who know this claim that it's a "very hot fish".

　Chookalai will store the fish's accumulated extracts in the pearl for the rest of its life, never letting it escape.
　The chokarai's spicy juice, which is produced in the body over a long period of time, is so hot that if you eat it, your mouth will burn.

　In one village, there is a custom to eat it to stimulate the economy.
　He had learned of this and had eaten it the day before.

　In the third round of Kopan's tournament, his opponent abstained at the bell to start the match.
　I found out later.
　On the day of the match, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he was so shocked that he lost the will to fight.

　At this point, there was a feeling in the audience, 'There's something about that Kopan student, isn't there? Some people began to suspect that this was the curse of Kopan.
　Some of them even called it the "Curse of Copan".

　Next up was the final of the Block Qualifier.
　As expected, the serious Kopin had arrived at the venue before the others.
　But once again, disaster struck him.
　A handsome blonde student, waving to the audience and smiling, stumbled over the steps at his feet, tripped and fell, hitting his jaw on the ground and fainting.
　and Copan went through the block qualifying final uncontested.
　In other words, Kopan made it to the tournament without ever having to fight.

　In this moment, everyone's doubts were confirmed.
　This is why they called him "Kopan the Sorcerer", because he won the tournament without touching his opponent.
　But Kopan's profession is archer.

　And that's the tournament in question.
　Even if Kopan makes it to the tournament, he will have to face a total of five opponents.
　On the day of the tournament, Kopin was informed that his opponent had abandoned the tournament again.

　Kopan didn't know the details, but it seems that his opponent suddenly decided that he didn't want to get involved in the tournament anymore.
　After being told that, Kopan stood there for about an hour in a stupor.

　And then the second round of the tournament ... the third round ... the fourth round.
　In all the matches, his opponent withdrew on the day of the tournament because he didn't want to be involved in the match.

''I was supposed to abstain,''

　Copan thought that over and over in his mind, and cried every night.
　It started with the block qualifiers and then the tournament.
　Kopan had planned to abandon every single match from the beginning.
　But something always happened, and everyone else had to withdraw before him.
　But something always happened, and everyone else would withdraw before I did, and to top it all off, I was told what I wanted to say most: 'I don't want to get involved.

I'm the one who doesn't want to get involved.

　Because of these circumstances, Sorcerer Copan had reached the final of the national championship game.

''What's the matter?　He doesn't look well.

　Nem was concerned about the opponent in front of him that he was about to fight.
　The boy in front of him, burbling and shaking, looked so strange.

I'll tell you ... this time.

　Kopan recited certain words over and over in his mind, despite Nem's concern, and his will was strengthened.

(At last ... at last I can say it!)

　Nem looked at Copan curiously.
　Then the announcement announcing the rules ended, the names of both men were broadcast again to the audience, and the bell to start the match was announced. That was the time--

I abstain!

　Kopan raised his right hand vigorously and said so loudly with a confident expression.

''.............What?'' The woman in the broadcast seat let out a dumb sound.

　She said that she then began to ask him questions about Kopan, but he hid somewhere and did not show up.



　After the Copan one was taken care of, the finals were over and the awards ceremony was taking place in the middle of the hall.

1st place, Nem.
Second place, Copan Bono.
Third place, Patrick Lasthausen.

　There was no third-place game for Patrick.
　Because Copan's semi-final opponent had abandoned before the match.
　So Patrick was automatically placed third.
　But once again, there was a problem.

'Oh, um! .....

　It was Copan who raised his hand in saying that.
　He had been forcibly brought in by his attendants.

　It was Principal Sabrina who handed the trophy to each of the three representatives.

'What's the matter? ........." a bad feeling was all I could think of.

　Sabrina asked, but she had a general idea of the answer that would come back.

''Well I'd like to withdraw from the match against the school.

　Sabrina's left cheek twitched and she held her anger in check.
　Sabrina hadn't been doing well with anything these days, and she was starting to overreact to the problem.

'Yes. But can we talk about it after this award ceremony for now?

　Are you serious about declining?　I'm not going to say that.
　It's a good thing that everyone in the room knew that Kopan would be withdrawing from the national team when he withdrew from the final game.
　Sabrina hid her "I knew it" dismay behind a smile and replied smartly, holding back her anger in her own way.

　Everyone in the room knew that the principal was not in a good mood.
　Copan knew that as well.
　It was clear from the glaring Sabrina's eyes.
　So Kopan couldn't say any more.

　But this wasn't the fault of Kopan alone for forgetting to submit the abstention request.
　It was largely the school's fault.

　Once the magic contract is signed, there's no way to redo this preliminary round.
　The block qualifiers and the tournament cannot be built from scratch again.
　And once a student has been selected to compete, they cannot abstain from the tournament under any circumstances.
　They can only abstain by giving up after the signal to start a game, and after the game has started.
　It's a strange rule, but it's a tradition that has been around for a long time, and it's not easy to change.
　All abstentions after the start of a match are considered surrenders and are not a violation of the contract.
　But everything else is different.
　Anyone who violates the rules has to leave the academy by the appointed date.
　In other words, they are inevitably expelled from the school.

''Now then, the representative deciding match is closed!

　Sabrina's voice echoed through the hall.

'Continuing, I have an announcement to make to you all,' Sabrina politely announced that one of the delegates, Copan, had withdrawn from the match against the school.
Patrick, the third-place finisher, to second place accordingly. I will now explain to you the third place that has accordingly become vacant.

　Sabrina abruptly raised the name of one of her students.

'Miss Alice Cresta!　Is Alice Cresta in this hall?

　Sabrina's voice echoed through the hall.
　Then, at a certain seat in the hall, she saw Alice.
　Alice stood up in response to Sabrina's voice.
　Sabrina found her and produced a particle of light from the tip of her staff in her right hand, which flew to Alice.

　This was an emitted light.
　It acted as a microphone and sent the voice over a wide area.
　The beam of light stopped in front of Alice's eyes.

'As the headmaster, I nominate Alice Cresta for the third place slot. Alice, what do you think?

　Alice was puzzled.
　Normally, it would have been nice to have something beforehand, but Alice hadn't been informed at all.
　But even for Sabrina, she was unwilling to do this.

　The game against the school was a traditional and, above all, prestigious event.
　It was hard to believe that until last year, that National Aries Greberg School had participated in it.
　That's why such a poor choice was not inherently a good thing to do.
　Representatives should be made up of those who had fought and won under the magic contract.

　But Sabrina didn't have the luxury of choosing how to do it.
　She had to deliver this year's list of representatives to each of her investors before the deadline.
　That's where Sabrina's face as a principal was at stake.
　So I was ready to go as far as not disobeying Heil Kuwait itself.

　But the answer that came back was contrary to Sabrina's expectations.

'I'm sorry, but I can't respond to that suggestion.

　Sabrina was puzzled.
　Then she regained her composure despite her irritation.

'What does that ... mean?'
I was defeated. Therefore, no matter what the reason, I won't be participating in this year's tournament. I will gracefully admit my defeat and my disappointment and prepare for next year's tournament.

　Alice's determination was brilliant.
　But to Sabrina, it didn't matter.
　She was getting even more irritated.

''I see. I understand.''

　Sabrina collects the loudspeaker light and wonders what to do about it.
　But if you're going to decide, it has to be this way.
　There's no other way but to nominate the headmaster's authority.
　There is no way to start the battle for third place all over again from scratch.
　If she does that, Sabrina will have to leave the school.

　At that moment, one of the students raised his hand.

''I'll get it!''

　The loudspeaker light that should have been collected just now is somehow at that student's side.

''Teacher!　Let me compete in the third place slot!

　It was Masamune who answered that.