As far as it concerned me, I had been looking forward to the Rising Dragon Cup. Yet, when it was finally the day, I had been made to sit in an incredibly awkward position! "Come here, take a seat." God knows what kind of insanity overtook Raul La Rosemieur, he suddenly invited me to take a seat at the VIP frontrow, the same place where all the big shots et cetera of other nations had gathered. I tried to weasel my way out, stating out I was no one of status to sit there, or it would violate my knightly duty, but no, he ignored all my excuses and at the end, I was made to bid his following. I then extended up my plea to Randy-san, but he only nodded in some kind of conviction, and murmured. "The fateful day has arrived, huh... The weight of millions of lives now rests on your shoulder, Allen. Tread it carefully." I do not need that kind of hope! What was it, some kind of newcomer bullying?! ...I almost feel like vomiting out, and that would be in front of the enemy nation's Emperor, goddamnit. Just yesterday, I had planned to buy a ticket from scaler, hoping to enjoy the tournament while eating hotdog. But everything was foiled when Justin-senpai found me, and forcefully dragged me back. Oh well, I could at least join the participants as their coach and cheer for them. I once had that hope, but that, too, was shattered like a fleeting dream when I was suddenly ordered to assist Randy-san in safeguarding His Majesty from the VIP room. It was a one heck of a rollercoaster ride of the day, and just when I thought it couldn't have gone any worse, I was suddenly asked to watch the tournament from the pole position of the Emperor and His Majesty. The first-years performance had already begun, but I couldn't even bring myself to concentrate on it at all. As a last resort, I tried to make myself blend in the environment, my eyes peeled back, but even that attempt was thwarted by the conversation that two rulers were having next to me. "So, Raul. I take it that bringing Allen to sit alongside is your gesture that you're open to talk?" "There's nothing left to discuss with you. I have no intention to make any compromises." "......But there stood no reason to let the bloodshed of innocence happen. If we collaborate, no other power should be able to shake the harmony of this continent." "Haha. You mean a fleeting, make-believe harmony? But will it still remain after our departure from this world? Or after that? We all know what harmony had brought us once, the destruction of the Roldion Kingdom by Yuglia. And don't dare say you forget it." "......That nation was crushed under the weight of its citizen's resurgence after their government's tyranny, and has been reborn as Justeria." "Hmm, I am not surprised if that's how you see it. But can you say the same for the other party? We all know Roldion had yet to hit that critical point... but your aid brought its fate closure." "A nation, and a person, should never be without an enemy. In its absence, they would only inch closer to corruption, and would become victims of their degraded mentality, pushing themselves closer to their destruction. This is where you and I differ. Our ideologies can never cross each other, the same holds true for our nations. In such cases, any words spoken are destined to fall on deaf ears." Heavens, how do you expect me to focus?! The topic is too heavy! You know, it certainly wouldn't hurt to be more cheerful! Look, the participants are trying so hard to give their best too! I inwardly prayed that this hellish situation came to an end soon, but no, His Majesty dragged me into their conversation. "......Well then, what do you want to ask from Allen?" When the Emperor heard His Majesty's question, he flashed a belligerent smile, seeping deep with bitterness. "......Is it true that Castice punched you as a form of greeting?" ...Castice? From the details I had picked up, the Rebel was called Kathy. So that's his true name...? But why would the Emperor be privy about some riff-raff from the slum. Could it be, he was already in his radar for the insurgence he could occur? Hmm, well he certainly was quite an expert in Body Strengthening Magic, and I could see him becoming someone powerful if he survived to train his talent further. Damn, this means I wasted my breath over nothing. Oh well, this shall mark closure on your chapter, Rebel. "He did. He just crashed down his mana imbued fist on me out of nowhere. I could have actually died if I wasn't trained. And then, he even uttered some absurd remark like «A handshake between men is a punch to the face.» I think some of the screws in his brain are loose." I added a bit of flair in my explanation and exaggerated the actual details by a bit. It felt like an elementary kid describing the situation to his teacher. The Emperor burst into laughter, clearly pleased for some reason, and then asked. "Kuku. Kuhahaha... What pushes you to train your enemy?" .....Good heavens, How did he even come to think I was trying to help a radicalist element in another nation for a rebellion even after all the details I gave? An apple really doesn't fall far from the tree huh, does it? Like father, like son... "I—I am not training or inciting anyone. He had come to his conclusion by himself, and he seemed pretty confident in what he would do next. The «Evil Genius», Rebel Castic. He's a dangerous person, that you must believe me." I immediately shut down any form of suspicion toward me, and made sure to emphasize on him being the one to look out. —"Ah, it's Dol turn!" I feared that he might suddenly ask me to take an oath or something, so I deliberately switched the topic. The Emperor turned to gaze at the tournament for a while, and just as the audience had finally begun to notice his obscene level of control over mana, he seemed like he had enough and continued with another topic. "......Is he strong?" And I had finally begun to immerse myself in the match...... Frankly, he was on top of my people-I-am-so-jealous list. The Emperor might see Dol's current performance as not average, but I know the potential slumbering within him. I think I could sell him a bit here, and this could help us curb the ill reputation of our Research Club as skirt flippers. I deliberately raised my voice so that everyone in the VIP room could hear me. "......Well, he—Rudolf Austin, the «Ironclad Vice-President» of our Emission Magic Research Club had his reputation as——" "Go, go, Dol~! Go, go, Dol~!" "——he's just an average joe." Damn you. Damn you. Damn yoooou!! What was he doing waving his hand toward the audience standing like he had accomplished something!? How could someone with the reputation of Ironclad be satisfied with 2nd rank provisional! And from what I could pick up, the girls running for Dol cheer team were definitely a good crowd. Frankly, I had once had a vague feeling about this for a long time ago, but... but since when did he become the person of normie world? Heck, Lala was clapping for him with brimming tears, as if she was truly overcome by his performance. He clearly didn't need the Magician of Romance, and here I had taken troubles all the way to cheer him...... What was I even doing with my life... I was suddenly told that the burden of 'millions of lives' now resting on my shoulder, was forced to sit among the VIPs out of nowhere. And now, even the match isn't that interesting...... When I had come out of my melancholy, the tournament had already shifted to the performance of 3rd years, and the first hitter was Esteemed Princess. She was stretching herself in that moment, though even those simple movements were brimming with a form of elegance. "......Haa... sure enough, they're so different in their class." As usual, I was barely enjoying myself, and muttered out of daze, partially as a form of escapism. However soon the Emperor continued with his next word, his tone laced with amusement. "Kuku. So you really have Ari in your target, huh...... Well, if you want the priestess, then you must take her by force. Just like God's Eye in the past had made five princesses the human pillars after dominating every since tribe." H-Human Pillar......? What in the world had you done, oh my great ancestor...! I was about to express my confusion, when Arichi-san began with her performance. And just as she had begun, the air trembled under the thundering cheers. She constructed her spells with a lightning speed, and mowed down her targets. Her spells didn't seem any special, but their integrity—basically the destructiveness easily put her head of other participants by a great margin. She had even surpassed Purim-senpai, who had been at the top of his class in the Royal Academy. I could see why she was the consecutive winner of the Rising Dragon Cup twice. And even then, it appeared she had yet to hit her limit, and the destructiveness of her fire spell, as she shot from both of her hands, continued to rise up. "You're going good~ Burning Witch~! Show them the might of our Great Princess!" "Burn every eyesore, Princess~!" ............H, huh? I think I just heard something strange. There's no way some scoundrels call the princess of their own nation the burning witch. How could someone be so rude against an elegant princes— Just as doubt flashed across my mind, Arichi-san suddenly roused a war cry like a roar, brimming with her spirit. ......W, Well, that is a general tactic to bring 100% of your performance. Yeah, of course Princess was still just another contestant. I think her eyes were drawing quite a maddening look... Maybe my eyes might be affected by the smoke. As her performance inches closer to ending, Arichi-san further raised her casting speed and destructiveness. With an adequate amount of mana still left, she even disregard the wait time for targets to get up again, and shoot off the spells like a gatling gun, making it like the entire stage was burning. And as the fire reflected on her eyes, I saw that—an eerie glint that could only be described as madness.  The most update n0vels are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽 With another blast, Arichi-san brought down her last target with the highest score of the day, bringing a closure. " "Burning! Witch! Burning! Witch!" " The entire venue was promptly buzzed with an encore for the Burning Witch, their cheers so loud it shook even the air itself. But the entire cheers turned into a pin-drop silence when Aricihi-san drew the control with her usual elegant voice. "......Or I will turn you into cinder?" She said with dangerously drawn out eyes, and this brought in the explosion of cheers yet again. "Kuku. ...If you say you're going to rule the world with your military rule, just like Aeolus of the past, then I would make sure Yuglia is razed to the ground at all cost. But—" After watching the final act of Arichi-san, the Emperor got up from his seat, and turned for the exit. "—We, the House of Rosemieur, are a family of warriors. So, if you ever decide to pave your path across the mountain of corpse, and take this continent under your hegemony, then—I will gladly hand over Ari to you." With these parting remarks, Emperor casually made the mantle flutter, and vanished from sight. Meanwhile, as the arena heated up under the endless cheers for Burning Witch, I suddenly found the Princess had already been glancing in my direction, that elated personality of her still running strong, and flashed a competitive grin. King Patrick nearby exhaled a deep sigh, murmuring "He's all but declared a war on us..." "...misunderstanding......" "Hmm, did you say something, Allen?" I faced the sky in a facepalm and shouted. "There's a limit to misunderstanding!!!!!"