“BHAO KNOCKOUT”
Before this grand event officially began, side activities similar to old cultural festivals were usually held as well.
However, if viewed purely as a “cultural festival,” it already felt somewhat powerless in this day and age—the scale was thin, the atmosphere cold and lifeless. It looked like nothing more than a relic left behind by the times.
But today there was no need to worry about that.
With the BHAO KNOCKOUT as the core attraction, both the afternoon cultural festival and the following opening ceremony were guaranteed to draw massive crowds.
Still, rather than wasting energy on the excitement that had nothing to do with me, what I needed to focus on was the upcoming “BHAO KNOCKOUT Preliminary Round for the Lower Tiers.”
After all, unlike the official matches that progressed gradually through multiple stages,
Blue Sea Academy didn’t show much patience toward “students whose results were never expected anyway.”
“The virtual characters in BHAO that lack strength from the start—their duels can’t possibly offer much entertainment value.”
This was probably the unspoken consensus the Student Council and BHAO Club shared when they set the rules for this competition.
“In the end… I’m probably in the worst category.”
I let out a self-mocking sigh.
The moment the words left my mouth, a cold breeze carrying the sweet scent of strawberries suddenly pressed close.
“…Pink snow?”
No, it wasn’t.
It was simply pressed so close that I couldn’t make out its shape for a moment.
After pulling back slightly, it became clear at a glance—it was strawberry-flavored ice cream.
The one who deserved blame was obviously not the ice cream itself, but the culprit shoving it right up to my nose.
“Heita, what are you doing?”
I stepped back a few paces, and the “golden guy” fully entered my field of vision.
The “golden” wasn’t limited to his hair color.
His expression, aura, and even his very presence were so bright they were almost blinding.
Of course—
as long as BHAO wasn’t brought into the picture.
It was exactly the same as my previous evaluation.
If this were peacetime, someone like Heita would have long become one of Blue Sea Academy’s most standout figures.
“Ice cream, Yoruichi! Don’t you want any?”
Those sparkling eyes paired with the idol-boy-group aura he gave off made me subconsciously shrink my neck and retreat further.
“Take it away. I don’t really want any.”
“Eh? But I remember you like cold things a lot. Every time we go out, you always order an iced coffee with whipped cream.”
Confusion surfaced on his face, yet it didn’t diminish the brightness of his smile at all.
This kind of expression was one of the reasons I could never really get angry at him.
I simply sat down on the wooden chair beside us and crossed my arms as I explained:
“The problem isn’t the cold, it’s the flavor. I only like coffee or cocoa flavors.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Heita naturally sat down next to me and licked along the swirled pattern of the ice cream.
“By the way, Yoruichi.”
“Hm?”
His suddenly serious tone felt a little unfamiliar.
The usual light, teasing warmth seemed to have been drained away in an instant.
“Are you really prepared?
If you get eliminated this time, it’ll really… be over.”
Ah, so he’s worried about me.
“Don’t worry, Heita. If I had to say, you’re the one who should be more worried right now.”
Up until now, the Magic Shield Knight still didn’t have a single attack skill. No matter how solid the defense, cracks would eventually form.
In terms of elimination probability, Heita was probably in greater danger than I was.
“I don’t need to worry. Besides… I’ve already joined a certain territory and become a subordinate under a KING.”
“Eh?!”
The impact of those words was no less than dropping a bomb on calm water.
I froze, my mouth slightly agape.
“Is it… Mayne’s GLORY TENT CITY?”
“No, it’s not.”
Heita shook his head immediately.
“It’s not GLORY TENT CITY. And according to the KING’s request, I can’t tell anyone else about this. It’s the most basic loyalty expected of a subordinate.”
He looked clearly troubled as he spoke.
“So I’m sorry, Yoruichi.
I can’t tell you about this either.”
The atmosphere turned slightly awkward due to his seriousness.
“No, it’s fine.”
I shook my head, my tone calm.
“Everyone has their own secrets. I have no reason to pry.”
Even as I said that, a bitter smile unconsciously tugged at the corner of my mouth.
After all, the things I was hiding—
weren’t any fewer than what Heita was keeping from me.
At the very least, if he knew that the “plain-looking boy” sitting in front of him was actually the Night Witch, whose name was recorded in BHAO history…
just imagining that scene was enough to know things would get messy.
“By the way, Yoruichi.”
Heita glanced down at his phone before looking back up.
“You’re the first one up in the first group of the ‘Preliminary Round.’ It’s most likely arranged by that Kyuusei Ya guy. He probably wants to see you get kicked out of school first.”
The atmosphere that had just cooled was reignited by the suppressed anger in his voice.
His tightly clenched fist made no effort to hide his rage.
“I see… I’m first.”
I nodded, stood up from the wooden chair, and stretched.
“Ugh—”
“Your reaction is so calm, Yoruichi. Looks like you’re really confident.”
“Mm.”
My answer was calm to the point of seeming almost heartless.
It wasn’t that I was annoyed by Heita’s concern—
there were simply some things I wasn’t ready to tell him yet.
In any case, it would be enough for him to witness the result with his own eyes.
Just as I was about to head to the competition venue, Heita added one more thing:
“Also, your first opponent is the most promising seed player among the underclassmen with a real chance of making it to the school-wide knockout stage. Be careful.”
“Hey, you’re only telling me something this important now?”
“Because I believe in you, Yoruichi! At a time like this, believing in you is what I should do, right!”
He raised his thumb, his enthusiasm flaring up as if he were about to fight alongside me.
His exaggerated gesture even managed to fire me up a little.
“Then tell me.”
I raised my hand and tucked the long hair by my ear behind it, clearing my line of sight.
“Who is the first opponent I’ll be facing?”
As if answering me, and like a signal that the match was officially beginning—Heita announced the name.
“WATER FENCER.”