I finished changing into my pilot suit and did a few stretches. It was the end of term. It was also the day of the duel with the love interests and I was about as ready as I could be. Jenna and I made a big public fuss about betting on my victory so more people would know about it and got suckered into what they thought was going to be an easy payout. I also had Jenna inform Daniel and Raymond to bet on me for the duel. I couldn't risk putting them in the crosshairs of their peers again by approaching them myself, so I had her do it.

Hopefully, the winnings would help with their financial woes and make it easier for them to host Tea Parties. To my utter shock, Daniel actually discreetly sent a letter to me, asking if it was fine if he invited Jenna to a Tea Party. The only content of my reply was that he better be ready to walk into hell if he did that.

I didn't know if he was actually dissuaded by my words or not.

Black Getter F has arrived and is on standby in the upper stratosphere. I can have it land in the arena at any time.

"Actually, wasn't Black Getter inside the Nagare?" I asked Control. Black Getter was just too big, nearly three times the size of a regular Armor, to be stored in the available warehouses for students. I would have needed to pay the school to rent out the extra space to park it, so I didn't have a choice but to keep it on the ship.

Correct.

"And I'm pretty sure you left the Nagare back at the lab after you delivered my pilot suit and tomahawks to my family, right?" I continued my questioning while doing some squats to warm up.

That is also correct.

"How long did it take for it to arrive here from there?"

Eighteen minutes and seventeen seconds.

"That fast?!" I asked, my head whipping to where Control was floating.

Do not underestimate a Getter's speed when it does not have to factor in the pilot's wellbeing.

Scary. Cool, but scary. "Right, then we'll go with what we planned. Just have Black Getter swoop down when I give the signal."

Acknowledged.

Control went invisible when I made for the door of the changing room. Upon opening it, I was surprised to see Olivia, Angelica, and Clarice there waiting for me. I had thought that they already secured their seats. The third-year looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. I decided to give her a hand. "I'm here primarily for Angie's sake, but I can give Jilk an extra slap for you if you want."

She started to speak before her eyes narrowed and slowly turned her head to Angie. "So it's Angie now, huh~?"

"Leon is a friend." Angie spoke simply before turning to me. "I know that we already talked about this, but are you sure you want to do this, Leon?"

I gave her a look of complete and utter conviction. "Angie, the amount of money I have bet on myself is on the scale that I wouldn't back down even if the island we are on starts to fall."

"You bet on yourself? To win?" Clarice asked, her cheeks puffing up when I nodded. "Ahahahaha! I have honestly never met a young man as audacious as you!"

"Leon! Gambling is bad!" Olivia scolded me while poking my side. How cruel!

"Gambling is only bad civilization if you can't control yourself, Olivia." Lord knows I had rolled myself to despair several times in my gacha days.

"Livia." She muttered, looking embarrassed. "Everyone back home calls me that. Angie and Clarice already call me that too."

"Right, Livia it is then." I agreed with a nod. I then turned to our senior and tilted my head. "You don't happen to have a shockingly cute nickname you only give out to close friends, do you?"

Clarice blinked before she covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry to disappoint, Leon. I'm just cute on my own."

Banter out of the way, we started walking towards the arena proper. I glanced back to Clarice before we got there. "You sure you don't want me to give Jilk any special treatment?"

"That is really sweet of you, but I'm quite mad at him right now as well." Clarice was smiling as she spoke, but it suddenly had a cruel edge as she continued. "Please do your best to show him what happens when a man does not provide proper care for his lady."

The four of us finally got to the arena proper and I beheld it in its entirety. It was like an old roman colosseum but the audience was protected by a magical barrier, just in case. I then spotted my opponents for the day. The five of them lined up at the opposite end, standing behind them were their respective Armors. I squinted at the ones they had and realized that I had made a grave mistake.

Chris' blue Armor was sleek and had minimal armoring. The large sword in its right hand belied its pilot's preference for mobility and striking quickly.

Greg's red Armor was rugged and had a more utilitarian design. It made sense as it was an old mass production model that had already been replaced. Like the pilot, it had a large spear as its weapon of choice.

Brad's purple Armor probably had the least amount of defense among them, despite its looks, as it was geared more to amplify his magical abilities. It had a drill-like spear in its hand as well as four more on its back, remote weapons as I recalled.

Jilk's green Armor was a step up in quality from the other three. It was well armored and had a magic rifle equipped. The most notable thing about it was the wing binders on its back, allowing the Armor superior mobility in the air.

Lastly, Julius' silver Armor was the most impressive looking one out of all of them. Well armored and wielding a well crafted sword and shield. Its power, speed, and defenses are all better than you would initially expect.

There was just one problem about them.

They were using the starter Armor models they had in the game! Of course they were! This duel event shouldn't even happen until the start of the third year in-game after they got their upgraded models and right before the final arc spun up!

"Is something wrong, Leon?" Livia snapped me from my thoughts. Angie was also looking at me in worry, though Clarice was also looking towards the other side of the arena and was being ignored by Jilk.

"I'm fine." I said with a nod before I started walking to the designated point that Control and I agreed on.

"Hang on! Where is your Armor?" Angie asked while looking around. "Was it not delivered on time?"

I waved off her concern and continued walking. "It'll be here. Just relax and enjoy the show."

I smiled at Julius and his boys as I got to my spot and crossed my arms. They looked at me in confusion and started glancing at each other. Julius took the initiative and addressed me. "I commend you for not forfeiting, Leon Fou Bartfort. However, I seem to notice that you don't have an Armor with you."

"Are you making fun of us? Of this duel?" He continued when I didn't respond. "I see that Angelica's champion suits her perfectly as he is also as duplicit–"

"Now." I stated, interrupting his rant. There was a sound like the air itself was being sliced before something large landed with paradoxical gentleness behind me. Whew! I'm glad Control didn't make Black Getter smash into the floor!

I couldn't keep the smile on my face as the love interests' gazes went up and up until they saw exactly what landed. I decided to finally respond. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. Could you repeat that please?"

That made them tear their eyes from Black Getter, who I was sure was also crossing its arms as Control and I agreed upon. Greg was the first one who recovered and indignantly pointed at the Getter Robo behind me. "What the hell is that?! It's too big to be an Armor!"

"Is that even an Armor?"

"Maybe it's a Lost Item?"

"It looks like a monster!"

"Why does it have a ratty looking cape?"

"How do you even get inside that thing?"

"Can it even move well?"

"Why did it drop from the sky but didn't crash?"

The audience seemed to be just as surprised by the whole thing as well from what I was hearing.

"Remember that I'm an adventurer who was given provisional Barony and Knighthood status? This is part of the reason why." I explained while jerking a thumb over my shoulder to indicate my machine.

"What even is it though?" Brad asked, sounding a bit more worried. "A Lost Item?"

"It has many meanings for many people." I began, turning back to look at Black Getter's impressive form. "To me, it was Salvation."

I then turned to where Angie, Livia, and Clarice were seated together. "To Angie, it's Hope."

"For you guys…" I continued, turning back to the love interests. "...Doom."

I immediately turned around and started walking to Black Getter, ignoring the protests I could hear from them. Control had Black Getter take a knee and reach out with a hand. I climbed onto its palm and it lifted me up to the head. I got into the cockpit and waited for the displays to light back up.

Your pre-battle banter requires improvement. You tried too hard to sound impressive and it robbed the moment of some of its gravity. You need to learn to speak from the heart in these situations.

"It's my first fight, Control! Give me a break!" I complained as the screens finished activating. I looked down and, wow, I really was a lot bigger than them huh? They're not even big enough to reach Black Getter's hips.

"This isn't fair! Using that Armor is cheating! Where is your honor?!" Chris complained to me. I had to chuckle at his insinuation.

"I told you, Chris. I know exactly how outmatched we are." I reminded him after turning on the external speakers. "Besides, this is a fight for honor. No one ever said anything about fighting with honor."

"This is still unfair!" He insisted and I had to sigh.

"There are five of you!" I pointed out, making him shut up. "If I came out here with a regular Armor, you all would have still jumped me!"

"Enough." Julius said after regaining his composure. "Let him fight in that overgrown Armor. All we need to do is fight it like it's a larger monster."

This seemed to bolster the confidence of the others as Jilk looked over Black Getter again and scoffed. "Of course, as expected of his highness. Such a cumbersome thing can likely only stumble around without the finesse of a true Armor."

With how the audience started laughing, it seemed like they bought into the narrative. I glanced around and saw Raymond and Daniel in the audience. They were sitting next to and speaking with Jenna, who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she responded to something Daniel said. Godspeed Daniel, you crazy bastard.

I would like to remind you that you have not logged any piloting hours since you arrived at the Academy. Expect that you will not be as effective as you had become when you first left.

"Right, I don't want to accidentally kill anyone." I said in agreement after making sure that the external speakers were off. "I guess I'll stick to the basic stuff, though I'd actually like to try something to compensate for the rust."

Do you have an idea?

"My movement might not be up to snuff anymore, so I might stumble and make an ass of myself if I did things the regular way." I admitted it easily enough. I had to find a way to be able to practice after I came back from summer break. "On the other hand…"

A fond smile formed on my face as I recalled an old memory. "...I did play a lot of Gundam Vs when I was in school on Earth."

…

Angelica Rapha Redgrave took another deep breath to steady her heart. Honestly! The brazenness of Leon's declaration was just too much! To say that his massive black Armor was her Hope was just...argh!

"Oh he is just priceless!" At least Clarice seemed amused about the whole thing.

"But why is everyone laughing at Leon's Armor?" Livia asked in confusion. Ah, of course she would not be educated in Armor combat.

"What Leon has is likely a Lost Item. Something so advanced that our civilization can no longer create anything like it. However, it does not adhere to the modern doctrine of smaller sizes and better mobility." Angelica explained. While it certainly looked very impressive, with its stature, horns, blades on its left arm, scarf, and cape, it did not give the impression that it was very mobile.

"Well I think it's adorable!" Both Clarice and Angelica turned to Livia's declaration. Cute? The Armor looked like a demon from a children's story! "It even has a cape and everything! Like a big plushie!"

"Please state your names Champions!" The referee's declaration made the three of them turn back to the arena proper.

"Leon Fou Bartfort." Leon's voice stated from within the massive armor.

"Brad Fou Field."

"Greg Fou Seberg."

"Chris Fia Arclight."

"Jilk Fia Marmoria."

"Julius Rapha Holfort." Angelica could feel her heart ache as Prince Julius ended the roll call for his group. She glanced past them and to Marie Fou Lafan, the one they all chose to protect. The girl that took Prince Julius away from her. The girl that took Jilk away from Clarice. She bit her lip as anger rose at the remembrance.

"The battle will be a five-on-one bout." The referee started to explain the rules. "It will continue until one side no longer has combatants. Causing a fatality will result in immediate disqualification for that side. The combat zone will be restricted to the arena itself."

"If there are no objections, you may begin!"

"Spread out! Surround his armor and hit from all sides!" Prince Julius quickly ordered and his group immediately obeyed. Jilk quickly took to the skies while Chris and Greg took to the flanks. The prince and Brad remained where they were, though Brad did deploy his remotely controlled spears.

Worry gripped her heart as Angelica watched. It was the correct strategy when facing a singular foe, a tactic that knights even used when facing large monsters. Leon's black Armor crouched down, arms to its side, it looked like it was getting ready to defend itself from its smaller opponents.

Angelica's eyes then widened when the massive thing hopped–HOPPED–a few feet in the air before nearly vanishing as it suddenly moved behind Greg's red Armor. The only reason why Angelica was even able to follow the movement was because of how the black cape trailed behind it.

"What?! How is it this fas–" Greg yelled out right as the still crouched Armor reared its left arm back.

"Getter Razor!" Leon yelled out right before the legs of Greg's Armor were sliced apart, the torso falling heavily onto the ground. The others quickly recovered from the shocking elimination and converged onto Leon. Jilk shot at the Armor while Brad sent out its flying spears. Her friend once again demonstrated a degree of mobility that his Armor should have been too big to have as it proceeded to evade the attacks using the same style of movement, even dodging between Chris' sword swing and a remotely controlled spear thrust.

"It's like a big black bunny!" Livia happily exclaimed from Angelica's side. She also chanced a glance at Clarice and saw her eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Getter Spike!"

"Aaaagh!" Leon's words and Brad's scream made her curse herself for not paying attention as the purple Armor crumpled onto the ground. Its head, right arm, and legs were crushed. The elongated spikes from the knuckles of Leon's Armor retracting as its yellow eyes, which Angelica just noticed had red pupils that actually looked around, settled on Chris' Armor next.

"I won't fall as easily as the others!" Chris bravely declared as he took on a defensive stance with his sword. Once again, Leon's Armor seemed to fly across the ground and went straight for the Arclight heir. Chris' armor raised its sword and swung down as Leon reached him. "Take this!"

Only for Leon to block the sword with the blades on his Armor's left arm. He then spun around and hit Chris' armor with the cape.

"Getter Wing!" The cape then proceeded to wrap around Chris' Armor before it lifted him up and slammed the Armor on the ground. Judging from the lack of movement, Angelica thought that Chris was likely knocked out from the force.

Leon's armor tilted its head to the side after Jilk finally landed a shot on its torso. It was completely ineffective. "Impossible! That was a special round that was designed to pierce through modern Armor alloys!"

Instead of replying, Leon's Armor just stood back up to its full imposing height.

To a completely silent arena.

"Two left." Leon declared. "Time for the three of us to have a serious chat about a couple of things."

Clarice and Angelica gasped and looked at each other when they both realized who remained.

Their fiancées.

Just what was Leon planning now?