"Is this everyone? I'll wait a few more minutes before I make my grand announcement!"
The Devil King, Barbatos Gandou, seemed to be excited for whatever announcement he had.
I had to wonder what it would be about. For someone as important as the Devil King himself to be here in front of so many students, I'm expecting some world-shattering announcement.
Since it had been a while after classes ended, a number of students had already left. But even so, the gym seemed mostly filled, so there were still a lot of people here.
As for the Devil King Candidates, we had a reserved place near the stage where the Devil King was at. Of course, most Candidates were with their Cards as well. But it seemed not all Candidates were present.
From what I could see… the Candidates of Fool, Magician, Emperor, Hierophant, Death, Wheel of Fortune, Hermit, Hanged Man, Tower and World were absent. Maybe Aspite hadn't recovered from our fight, but I had no idea why the others weren't here.
Still, there were 12 Candidates present. It's not like there was some order or anything, so I thought it would be good to stay close to Lizel-senpai's friends, Stella and Neith. Lizel-senpai herself didn't seem too thrilled with the idea though.
But, on the way, I was stopped by a certain someone.
"Oh, you're Yuuto-kun, aren't you? Remember me? From the Unveiling."
"You're Ruki, right?"
"Yup. I was really surprised, you know, when I found out you were Lovers' Candidate. When I heard your friend was kidnapped and you were going to fight for her, I thought you would die, but then you won. So I thought I'd missed the chance to talk with someone amazing at that party."
Wow, she… no wait, remember Yuuto, Ruki's a he.
He really likes to talk huh. Still… maybe this is a little offensive or something, but Ruki really is as pretty as a girl. I have to keep reminding myself of what Lizel-senpai told me, or I'll really end up forgetting one of these days.
"You see, Yuuto-kun, I don't really have any friends around here. You seemed like a nice guy, so I thought I'd try making some friends. Mind if I tag along?"
"S-sure, I gue-"
"Ruki Kouma, you're the Candidate of Judgement. Should you really be trying to mingle with your opponents?"
"It's fine. Me and my dad heard a lot about Yuuto from the Devil King, so if there's 1 Candidate I know I can be friends with, it's Yuuto."
Ruki promptly dismissed Lizel-senpai's words. He clung to my arm and didn't seem like he planned on letting go.
As much as it bothered me to have a guy clinging to me like that, I had to have some sympathy for him. I don't know Ruki's situation, but I also arrived at Ginsei Academy without any friends. I was lucky to quickly meet Lizel-senpai and the others, but I imagine I would be pretty lonely if I hadn't.
Still, there were 2 things currently bothering me: the first was Ruki's father. I remember from his introduction at the Unveiling that Ruki was the child of a good friend of the Devil King's, that's probably Ruki's father. It made me uneasy that such important people were interested in me. You all know I'm just a human, right?!
The second is that… I'm pretty sure I'm feeling breasts. Yeah, I know men also have breasts, but you know what I mean. I can see Ruki likes to cross-dress, but is he wearing a bra with padding or something? What is this?!
While my mind was swimming in confusion, we eventually arrived at where Stella and Neith were.
"I see Yuuto's doing so well he even picked up another girl on the way."
"I'm glad… Yuuto-kun's safe."
Should I tell Stella about Ruki being a guy? Nah, it would probably be rude to do that in front of him.
Oh yeah, I should probably take this chance to thank Neith. I heard that she kept a number of people away from Aspite's place while I was fighting.
"Neith, I want to thank you. I heard what you did while I was fighting."
"It's nothing… I'm glad to have helped Yuuto-kun."
Neith's cheeks got red and she couldn't look at me in the face. She was so cute! I hope she didn't get hurt helping me.
"Neith, are you…?"
"Ooh, I see Yuuto-kun is a lady killer. I wonder how long I will be safe for."
Aren't you missing the "lady" part? You don't have anything to worry about. Not that I think I'm a lady killed or a playboy. I was really just thanking Neith. And I just happen to have a lot of pretty girls around me. And Lovers' powers just put me into a lot of perverted situations…
Okay, maybe I'm not a playboy, but I'm definitely lucky.
A-anyway, going back to the Neith thing, I really was thankful to her. Who knows what problems we would have faced without her. I didn't say it because maybe Neith would take offense to that, being a Candidate, but it was like she was my Card for that battle.
Come to think of it, I wonder if I could take Neith as a Card? Not that I think she would accept, being a Candidate herself and all, but in a hypothetical scenario.
As far as I'm concerned, there are no problems, but maybe Lizel-senpai would feel a little strange having such a close friend do Healing Lovers with me.
Before I could think more about this, I heard the Devil King's voice. I suppose I'll save it as food for thought later.
"Alright everyone, if I can please have your attention."
Is it starting? Let's see what's so important for the Devil King to have called everyone here.
"I'm proud to announce that preparations for this year's Devil King Academy's Athletic Festival have finally begun!"
There was a moment of silence. Then, I'm pretty sure I heard a loud and collective sigh. Immediately after that, the students started leaving.
And yeah, I can't disagree. I expected a lot more from something that had all of us come here.
"W-wait, come back, please."
Even the Candidates were leaving. I'm pretty sure there's only half of those originally present, if that even.
I mean, I can't blame them. This could have easily been announced over the intercom. Rather, why announce that the preparations have begun?
But amidst all that, there was 1 man that seemed happy. He jumped up to where the Devil King was.
That was Ibiza, the Candidate of Devil. And with him were 2 girls, 1 of which seemed familiar to me, the brunette one.
"!"
Miyabi seemed shocked by what she was seeing. Wait, now I remember, wasn't that girl one of Miyabi's subordinates?
"Woah woah, stay there. You're fine where you are."
"Hahahaha! What's wrong? I won't do anything. Rather, I'm here to tell you that I like the idea. Come on people, let's have some fun!"
Ibiza started groping the 2 girls with him. If I remember right, the one that was Miyabi's subordinate was called Rebecca. Her brunette hair was tied in a ponytail, but it seemed a little messy, compared to the last time I saw her. Also, her arm appears to be broken.
I don't know who the other girl is, but her hair was short, about shoulder-length, and it had a light blue color. She seemed like a sweet and innocent girl at first, but once you see the clearly opened uniform you'll have a different impression.
"No one wants to join? That's no fun. But then again, I can't blame everyone. After all, no one would win against me."
Now that Ibiza was up there, even more people were starting to leave. Or rather, run away.
Personally, while I enjoyed sports festivals like that, I'd rather focus on the Devil King War for now. If participation is not mandatory, I might skip it.
I was preparing to leave as well, when I saw Miyabi leap towards the stage. She used her floating magic to land next to Ibiza and his girls.
"What did you do?!"
"What do you mean, Miyabi? If it's about Rebecca and Maki, they simply fell in love with me, so they came to my side."
"Who the hell would believe that? Rebecca, what happened to your arm? And Maki, why are your clothes like that?"
"I'm just wearing what's most enjoyable for master Ibiza. Not like you can comment about my clothes. Don't you do the same, miss Miyabi?"
"As for me, it was just some well-deserved retribution your father gave me, miss Miyabi."
Miyabi went up the stage and started having a discussion with Ibiza and the girls, Rebecca and Maki apparently. But Miyabi kept getting more and more agitated.
It got to the point of aggression. I felt Miyabi activate her signature combo. She was preparing to attack.
"I don't know what you did to them, but it should be fine as long as I beat you!"
Miyabi dashed forward, but she was met with unexpected resistance.
Rebecca and Maki put their hands forwards, they each fired a single magic, ice and fire. An Iza and a Figa respectively.
Even though the attack was a surprise, Miyabi still dodged it. She got right up close to Ibiza and prepared to deliver a punch, but he easily caught it with his hand.
"Miyabi, why don't we talk this out? I'm sure I can convince you."
[Warning. Threat level 5 approaching Princess.]
I guessed as much. Ibiza also tried this at the Unveiling. Whatever "this" is.
Luckily, while I was paying attention to the fight, I was also climbing up to where Miyabi was. It didn't take much to pull her away from whatever Ibiza was trying to do.
"Yuuto?"
"You already tried this trick, Ibiza. It didn't work in the Unveiling and it won't work now."
"… It seems you really want to be a stone in my shoes, Lovers."
Now, it was me facing Ibiza, with Maki and Rebecca right behind him, while Miyabi stood behind me.
I didn't want to fight another Candidate so soon, but there's a chance it won't be possible to avoid. Arcana, can I use Infinite Lovers again?
[Yuuto has just recovered from the previous use, so it is not recommended. … But another temporary release will be prepared if need be.]
Thanks Arcana, now I just have to hope it doesn't actually come to that.
"I think I'll just get rid of you now. Maybe then Miyabi will see by whose side she should be. Fidezenon."
I know there's no way it could have been Ibiza's plan, but I felt a little provoked by him using the magic I'd failed to use earlier.
It's likely I can block Ibiza's magic with my Barricade. But what about after that? I'd like to use my strongest spell to finish this in 1 go, but I can only use World Fall with Infinite Lovers, and I'd rather avoid that.
So I'll have to pick the next best option. Should I use the Stride, Maximize and Armored combo? Or should I try with a long-range spell?
"Burn."
Like I expected, I was able to block Ibiza's flame with my barrier. Once his flames were gone, it was my turn to attack.
I decided to go with a long-range spell. After all, I can't forget Rebecca and Maki. Getting close would be too dangerous.
"Fizard!"
"Ha! Is that all you have? Weak!"
The girls seemed ready to protect him, but Ibiza stopped them. He didn't even use Barricade to protect himself.
Maybe it was Armored, or maybe he was just that strong. But fact is, Ibiza easily deflected my flame and had no damage to show for it.
Of course, I hadn't given it my all, I wanted to at least measure a little bit of Ibiza's strength first. Considering what I've just seen…
… I don't think I can win.
[Analysis. Chance of victory is minimal. Recommend retreat.]
As I thought. To fight Ibiza as I am right now, I'd have to use every trick in the book. But the price of that is too much for a bare minimum chance to win.
I'll have to convince Miyabi to call it quits for now. I don't know what the problem is between them, but it's not going to end well as we are right now.
"Miyabi, we should-"
[Threat level 3. Block or dodge.]
"Watch out, Yuuto!"
Miyabi's warning came a beat after the Arcana's. I activated Barricade, and that stopped Ibiza's spell.
But he wasn't done just yet.
"Let's see how long you can last for, Lovers."
Ibiza snapped his fingers and a bunch of Fizards appeared in front of him. He started firing them 1 by 1, with just enough of a break between them that I couldn't take down the Barricade and dodge.
Shit! What should I do? Maybe I can have Miyabi escape alone first. No, she's clearly Ibiza's aim, plus there's Maki and Rebecca. But at this rate, he'll just slowly eat up my mana.
"Alright boys, that's enough. Sensei is saying to stop."
The Devil King grabbed Ibiza by the arm. Then he came over to me and grabbed my arm as well. He then raised both our arms, like he was announcing the victor of a boxing match.
"Thank you both for your help, Ibiza and Yuuto. Sensei is really moved that you both came to my aid when nobody else did. So let's rebrand this year's Athletic Festival. Devil VS Lovers, who wins? We'll decide that at the end of the Festival. Feel free to bet and join the team you think will win. Sensei will prepare a prize for the winners. Until then, I forbid any form of confrontation in the Devil King War."
The Devil King said that, but the only people left in the gym were those that were with me before. That is, Lizel-senpai, Reina, Ruki, Neith and Stella. Wait, I also see Fleminar, Candidate of Priestess, there.
"… You all are in luck, it seems most everyone will only make their bets and join teams starting tomorrow. Use this chance to secure your spot."
Barbatos let us go. He didn't say anything, but his intentions were obvious. Since our fight would be the theme of the Athletic Festival, we couldn't attack each other before that.
This worked wonderfully in my favor, so I raised no objections. Ibiza didn't seem too satisfied, but even he couldn't oppose the Devil King.
"Whatever. We're going, Maki, Rebecca."
"Yes, master Ibiza."
"Please wait for me."
Miyabi saw her friends leave. She extended her hand to call out to them, but held herself back. She knew they wouldn't answer her call.
Both Miyabi and I headed back to everyone else. Stella was the first to comment on what had happened.
"Yuuto's really itching for a fight, huh."
"Not really. I was just protecting Miyabi."
I tried checking if Miyabi was fine. She hadn't looked my way once since Rebecca and Maki left.
But, before I could even ask anything, Miyabi separated herself from us. She then started running and soon enough was out of the gym.
"Wait, Miyabi!"
"Stop, Yuuto. Let her calm her mind. Talk to her tomorrow."
As much as I wanted to go after Miyabi right now, Lizel-senpai's words made sense. She's clearly agitated, so giving her some time to calm down will probably do her some good.
We also left the gym. Of course, we would all be going our separate ways now.
"See ya, Yuuto-kun. It was nice talking to you. Try to not die."
"Yuuto-kun… please take care of yourself."
"Hey, Yuuto, remember our deal, okay? When Ibiza's about to kill you, I'll save you, for the right price that is."
I appreciated everyone's words of encouragement. What do you mean that's not what they said? You must be hearing wrong.
