A boy raised by a demon king and a dragon king seems to be peerless in his school life.

Volume 9 Chapter 43 Finals

Time rolled back a bit, back to the starting match venue.

At the location where the finals of the Grand School Festival were held, a large number of spectators surged in, eagerly anticipating the last battle.

Finally, it was time for the finals to begin. As students from the Imperial Academy stepped forward, the audience’s excitement surged even higher, shaking the venue with cheers.

“Hey! Lord Gelo!”

“Look this way!”

In response to the yellow cheers from the audience, Gelozia Yellowstone, the top student of the Imperial Academy, smiled and waved his hand, causing screams similar to those of excitement to rise from his female fans.

“Oh well, he’s really popular. Indeed, he’s our top student from the Imperial Academy. It’s envy-inducing.”

“Hmph, it’s not like this is a big deal. It’s rather annoying because I have to be careful not to break my image. I’m doing this reluctantly to enhance the image of the Imperial Academy, it’s meaningless to be liked by those commoners.”

“Haha, the words of a popular guy are different.”

One of Gelozia’s classmates shrugged in an exasperated manner.

With excellent grades and consistently ranking at the top in combat training, he was a bit of a celebrity in the capital. Rumor had it that he also had fans outside the academy, fueled by his good looks.

However, he had absolutely no interest in such things.

All he wanted was the evaluation from His Majesty, the Emperor, whom he revered, and his close aide, Chrome. Everything else was trivial to him.

“…It seems like their team is doing well. Impressive that they haven’t let anyone through.”

The students from the Magic Academy failed to appear even as the starting time approached. Amidst the growing restlessness in the venue, only the Empire’s students who knew the truth remained composed.

“They mentioned mixing the Imperial Army’s favored paralyzing poison into their food. It incapacitates even large magical beasts for half a day. It’s not made with magic, but natural mushrooms and poisonous plants, making magical healing difficult. There’s no way a mere student could take that and come out unscathed.”

“That’s true.”

While the two Empire students seemed confident as if they had already won, their leader, Gelozia, had a stern look in his eyes.

“What’s the matter? You look so fierce.”

“…Lord Chrome had taken an interest in one of the students from the Magic Academy. That’s the only thing bothering me.”

“You’re worrying too much, no matter how strong they are, they’re just students, right? Even if that person were the only one to come here, there’s no way he could beat us. If we were to fight them three on three, the probability of us losing is incredibly low. We’ve been winning easily up to the semifinals, after all.”

“Yeah, I get it. It’s just needless concern.”

Gelozia took every precaution to ensure victory against the Magic Academy. He wanted nothing more than to crush Ruisha in front of Chrome, but he suppressed those feelings and meticulously planned for a sure victory.

No room for error, that was the plan, yet the unease in his chest wouldn’t subside.

“Well, since the Magic Academy hasn’t shown up even at the starting time, we’ll wait for one more minute. If they don’t come, unfortunately, the Magic Academy will be disqualified.”

Sighs escaped from various parts of the venue at the announcer’s declaration.

Ending the final match without a fight was unheard of, and this result was expected to significantly tarnish the reputation of the Kingdom of Exadore.

“…A disappointing conclusion, but I have to admit they made the most out of those failures.”

Chrome, sitting in the VIP seat, murmured disinterestedly. He had expected something to happen after instigating so much, but the outcome seemed even more uninteresting than he had thought, leaving Chrome disappointed.

Seeing Crhome’s demeanor, Emperor Cobaldius, who was sitting nearby, inquired.

“Hey, why didn’t the Magic Academy students show up?”

“Most likely, my students got in their way. A rather dull stunt.”

“I see… Wait, what!? It was my students!? Isn’t that troublesome!?”

“Well, it will definitely cause some friction with the kingdom. Haha.”

“Haha isn’t the right response! Who do you think will clean up this mess? Seriously, I’m starting to get a stomachache…”

“That’s quite a predicament.”

“It’s like I’m dealing with someone else’s problems…”

The emperor felt downcast. Please, come through. His wish was in vain, and time ticked away relentlessly.

“Alright, ten seconds remaining!”

The announcer Pezzo’s voice echoed throughout the venue.

“It’s probably too late now.” Resignation began to permeate among the spectators, and some even started preparing to leave.

The emperor with a troubled stomach.

Chrome, swinging his legs looking uninterested.

Gelozia finally relaxed his stern expression as he looked at the entrance, from where no one seemed to be coming.

And when the count was about to hit less than two seconds… it appeared.

A deafening explosion that shook the tournament venue.

It was the sound of something rapidly descending from the sky and crashing at the center of the tournament venue, shaking the whole arena.

“W-What in the world…!?”

The audience was astonished, as if a meteor had just fallen.

Amidst this, only Chrome was laughing, seemingly enjoying the situation.

“Hehe, that’s right… it had to be like this!”

As the swirling dust and smoke cleared, a figure emerged.

Of course, it was none other than Ruisha.

The gentle expression that usually adorned his face was now gone, replaced by the countenance of a seasoned warrior.

“It seems I made it just in time.”

Sensing he had barely made it in time, Ruisha shifted his gaze towards his opponent.

“My apologies for the delay. I had a bit of trouble on the way.”

Upon hearing those chillingly cold words, the Empire’s students felt a shiver run down their spines.

The sensation of a knife’s edge brushing against their necks made their legs freeze.

However, only the Empire’s leader, Gelozia, laughed with delight.

“…I appreciate you coming. Although our plans are slightly disrupted, I won’t be satisfied unless I personally defeat you!”

“The feeling’s mutual. You all laid hands on someone you shouldn’t have.”

Sparks flew between the two.

A battle with unyielding stakes unfolded here.

◇

Volume 9 Chapter 44 Conclusion

At the signal to start the match, one of the Empire Academy students dashed forward. With distinctive black long hair, the student unsheathed the military knife at his waist and launched an attack on Ruisha.

“I don’t know how you managed to come this far… but it ends here!”

“…Qigong Technique, Defensive Stance: ‘Iron Envelop.'”

Striking down from above, the dull-colored blade descended straight toward Ruisha’s right shoulder and made contact. However.

“Huh?”

The military knife, swung down with the utmost angle and force, broke the moment it hit Ruisha, making a cracking sound. At the same time, the hand holding the knife experienced a violent numbness. It was as if one had struck a resilient rock.

Ruisha released his technique ‘Iron Envelop,’ which made his body as hard as iron. He lightly tapped the abdomen of the flinching student.

To an onlooker, it didn’t seem like a significant blow, but Ruisha had infused high-density energy into it. There was no way a mere student could endure.

“―――!!”

The student, with an expression of agony, collapsed to the ground and became motionless. The rapid conclusion left both the Empire’s students and the audience bewildered, unable to keep up.

“You… What have you done!?”

“If you don’t understand that, you can’t defeat me.”

“Grr… You insolent…! I won’t allow a brat like you to take everything, victory, glory, and even the interest of that person! They’re all mine!”

Shouted Gelozia.

As the top student of the Imperial Academy, he had never experienced failure before.

Swordsmanship, magic, and academic studies, he excelled in all of them, and he certainly was ‘excellent,’ not finding effort to be a hardship.

But on the flip side, that’s all he amounted to—a vessel for those talents.

Not a ‘genius,’ nor ‘abnormal.’

He lacked everything to capture the interest of the Sword King Chrome, endowed with natural talent.

“High-level lightning spell, High Thunder!”

Lightning was unleashed from Gelozia’s hand.

In response, Ruisha raised his hand to intercept it.

“You fool! Do you think you can block a high-level spell with just that?!”

The lightning hit Ruisha’s right hand flatly.

Cheers and screams erupted from the audience. However, those voices gradually turned into voices of astonishment.

“No way… is this… true?”

Incredible as it seemed, Ruisha had completely nullified the lightning strikes with his bare hands. It was something that Gelozia and the audience couldn’t believe—a high-level magic that only top-class wizards could use, neutralized without using magic.

“Is this all?”

Ruisha asked coldly and somewhat disappointedly.

A difference in class.

At this moment, the students of the Imperial Academy realized they had laid hands on beings they should never have interfered with.

“D-Don’t mess with me! I can’t take this anymore!”

“Hey! Wait!”

Terrified, one of the Imperial student turned their back and fled. Gelozia tried to stop him, but before he could, a massive rock passed by him, hitting one of the fleeing student.

The student, tossed like a bowling pin, somersaulted in the air, making a sound like “gulp,” similar to squashing a frog, before falling out of the ring.

“You…!”

“’High-speed rock projectile, Mahaloxyle.’ When it comes to defeating defenseless people, basic magic is more than enough. It’s far more practical than showy high-level magic, don’t you think?”

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Gelozia realized that with this attack, all of his allies were wiped out. Only Ruisha and Gelozia remained in the arena.

Even he, with all his pride, understood that he couldn’t match Ruisha. But even so, for the sake of the empire he loved, he couldn’t afford to lose. No matter how ugly, how miserable, he couldn’t do that. Disappointing the revered Chrome was more terrifying to him than death itself.

“Hey, how about making a deal?”

“At this point, you’re desperate… Do you really think I’ll fall for that?”

“Well, just hear me out… I’m guessing you’re not really interested in winning the championship, right? In that case, what you want is the right to cross the borders, the prize for winning. I can arrange that for you.”

“What are you talking about? If I defeat you, I’ll get that.”

“Well, don’t be hasty. It’s not just that. I will eventually become a prominent general in the empire, and when that happens, I’ll fully back you up. If you wish, I’ll even make you a vice-general! Money, status, honor, you’ll have it all!”

“…Are you done speaking?”

“Huh?”

“I thought you might come up with a better proposal, but it seems I overestimated you. You’ve offended the dragon, and you will pay the price!”

In an instant, Ruisha closed the distance and threw a punch at Gelozia’s abdomen.

Feeling an impact as if his stomach had turned, Gelozia grimaced in pain and leaned forward.

Following that, a hook was delivered to his exposed cheek. The sensation of cheekbone and teeth shattering was felt by Ruisha’s fist, but even so, he didn’t stop. He was prepared to break his fangs, extract his teeth, and shatter his spirit thoroughly to ensure something like this would never happen again.

“Ugh…”

“This is… the finishing blow!”

A perfect kick aimed at the jaw was released straight upwards.

It precisely pierced through Gelozia’s jaw, cutting off his consciousness.

“Chrome…-sama…”

Whispering that beloved name, he crumbled as if the thread had snapped.

The only one left in the arena was Ruisha. Pezzo, the commentator, quickly made the announcement upon realizing this.

“And… the match is over!!! The Exadore Kingdom’s Floyd Academy of Magic has defeated the Imperial Academy with overwhelming strength! What an upset! What a fantastic turn of events! Let’s give a big round of applause to the player who triumphed against all odds of one against three!”

Deafening cheers and applause rained down on Ruisha.

Having been focused on defeating his opponent, Ruisha had not paid attention to the audience. He was surprised and bashfully turned to wave at them. However, at that moment, his tension eased, and the limits of his stamina suddenly hit him. He seemed about to collapse on the spot, but just before that, Sharo and the others rushed to him and held him.

“Are you alright? Sorry for being late.”

“Come on, stand firm. You’re the hero of this tournament.”

“Heh, the audience is waiting for you, Captain.”

“Yeah… Thank you, all three of you.”

Supported firmly by the two, Ruisha turned and waved to the still ecstatic audience.

And thus, the Grand School Festival, which showed the highest level of excitement in history, came to a close.

◇

“Man, this tournament had some high-level contestants.”

“Indeed, but I wonder who that boy from the Magic Academy was. I wish I knew his name at least.”

Safely after the closing ceremony, the audience began to head home.

Meanwhile, Emperor Cobaldius and Sword King Chrome, who had been watching the matches, still hadn’t stood from their seats.

“…It didn’t go well. I thought this year’s students were quite good, but the opponents were formidable.”

“Well, they didn’t stand a chance after the failure of the delay tactic. It was a boring match, but… I guess they held on longer than I expected.”

Chrome spoke cheerfully.

Seeing that expression, the emperor had a bad feeling and pressed further.

“I don’t think so, but you’re not planning to harm that boy, are you?”

“…Well, who knows? Rest assured, I’ll make sure it doesn’t cause any trouble for you, Your Majesty.”

“I’m not reassured at all…”

He sighed in exasperation.

He had been saved by Chrome countless times, but the number of times he had been inconvenienced by him was also countless.

Sensing the premonition of his stomach acting up, the emperor took out a specially made stomach medicine from his pocket. He followed the recommended dosage so meticulously that it made him worry.

“You still have a pleasant way of drinking, Your Majesty.”

“Sigh, who do you think is to blame? Honestly. Maybe you should settle down and start a family too? Come on, you’ve got good looks, and you’d be in high demand.”

“Your Majesty, that would be considered harassment in this day and age.”

“I’d probably be the first emperor in history to be accused of harassment… Hey, Chrome, I’m not just joking around. I’m serious. In fact, marrying my current wife has brought stability to my heart compared to the past. Maybe you should consider it seriously too?”

As a comrade who had spent many years together, Emperor Cobaldius was worried about Chrome. However, his concerns never reached him.

“I appreciate your concern. However, I have no intention of creating a family or anything of the sort. My place is only on the battlefield. It’s unimaginable in my life to pander to the opposite sex for favor.”

Seeing Chrome firmly state this, the Emperor frowned in disappointment and said, “I see.”

“Then, let me ask you one last thing. Do you have a preferred type of opposite sex or something?”

“A preferred type… yes…”

After contemplating for a while, Chrome arrived at an answer he was satisfied with and smirked as he spoke it.

“Someone stronger than me, I suppose. A person with overwhelming strength and skill who can defeat me head-on. Meeting such a person is my dream.”

“Stronger than you… no matter how hard I try, I can’t arrange that for you. It’s unfortunate that I can’t fulfill your dream.”

“It’s called a dream precisely because it can’t be fulfilled, Your Majesty.”

With a slightly lonely expression, Chrome said this and left the tournament venue.