I looked up at Elena, who had gone out of her way to come all the way here, and said,“You’re very eager. What did you draw that made you come looking for me?”When I looked at the draw slip held in Elena’s hand, she stealthily hid it behind her back.“Hey, that’s obviously a secret. They said only the organizers would know.”“If you split hairs, I’m an organizer too.”“Didn’t you hear just now? Only the emcee will know, and it’s secret even from the person concerned. Hurry, we don’t have time.”Elena grabbed my hand and tugged.“It’s the Sports Festival—you should participate in at least one event match too. Don’t you think?”“……”Well, just because I’m in the hosting position doesn’t mean I have to only observe, like Elena said.Even the organizer Freya was diligently participating in events like the triathlon.“Come on, let’s go.”The strength coming from her slender body was surprisingly strong; I practically rose from my seat, dragged by Elena’s hand.When I left the VIP room with her and stepped onto the field, the heat and cheers of the crowd struck more keenly against my skin.The pouring, prickling gazes and the murmuring voices also felt like they were right at arm’s length.Looking around the murmuring stadium, I asked Elena in a voice tinged with concern.“By the way, is it fine to run with someone like me? As I recall, you weren’t pairing up to avoid pointless rumors.”For a student of Saintea, the “pair” between paladin and priest could be called almost essential.It’s a measure to get used to the orthodox combination of healer and tank in advance and to build up diverse experience.Students of Saintea are raised not as mere clergy but as combat personnel needed for fighting demonkind.But Elena didn’t pair with anyone, nor did she give a clear reason for it.I didn’t know whether that was simply a personal judgment or whether there were political reasons.Elena shrugged.“On the contrary, because it’s you, it’ll be fine. Who would dare entertain such a blasphemous thought?”“Ah.”I gave a slight nod.Indeed, to other students, Loen and Elena were an extremely ill-matched combination.Rumors only spread when the other party is of matching caliber or when there’s at least a shred of possibility.There was no chance strange rumors would spread, even by some remote possibility.We arrived at the track where the event match was unfolding amid a feverish atmosphere.Before the two-person three-legged race, Elena received a scarf from a staffer and tied her left foot to my right foot.The scarf binding our ankles was a soft silk material, so it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.“What leg are we?”“We’re the last runners. Even if we’re later in order, it’s best to loosen up beforehand. Come to think of it, you said you’re taking swordsmanship classes too, right? You’ll run well.”“I’m at a normal person’s level.”“That’s enough. Now, on ‘one’ right foot, on ‘two’ left foot.”I alternated my feet forward in time with Elena’s count.The timing was precise, but perhaps because our strides differed, a slight discrepancy occurred.Elena looked up at me from the side and said,“Were you always this tall?”“The soles of the shoes are high.”I shrugged.Canonically, Loen’s height is around 175.If you add the needlessly high heels, it comes out around the 180 range. It’s still the growing years, so I’ll get taller later.“Try shortening your stride a bit. Then it’ll match exactly.”“Alright.”While syncing my steps with Elena and waiting a moment, the emcee’s guide voice came over the speakers.“This two-person three-legged race is an event match, so you may use all abilities and items you have. Instead, if you deal excessive damage to your opponent or injure them directly, it’s disqualification~ Please don’t get too heated and just have fun!”This two-person three-legged was an event match.If it wasn’t pure athletics but an event match, there’d be opportunities for me to shine too.I didn’t need to take off the artifacts I possessed, and I could dope with various elixirs as well.Of course, since it was a relay-style race, it wasn’t like me alone performing would change everything, but since I was out here anyway, I might as well aim for first place.Sports are a kind of game as well; if I hadn’t participated at all that’d be one thing, but once I’m out here, doing it half-heartedly isn’t something I can permit myself.“Let’s huddle for a moment.”I gathered the runners of Group 8, who would be running on the track with us, and went through a short strategy meeting.The lineup wasn’t bad.Chepesh, who had outstanding physical abilities, was in our group, and Illeina, who could use hindrance magic, was there too.First, we decided who would go out as the first runner and established a basic strategy.'Our group’s strategy is to stick to the fundamentals.'As long as Elena was on our team, we could seize first place simply by focusing purely on running.'Her proprietary holy magic, [Eternity], is the best shield that can block all external interference beyond mere hindrance from the opponent.'In terms of a racing game, it’s like having an infinite shield in an items race.Banana peels the opponent throws, bombs or missiles won’t work either, so as long as we didn’t do anything bizarre, we could calmly seize first place.Chepesh, who was in the same group as me, grumbled in resistance, but that was quickly suppressed as well.When the brief strategy time ended, the emcee’s voice came again.“Alright, strategy time is over! Then will the first runners of each group please stand at the starting line~”The first runners of each group lined up at the starting line in turn.Without exception, each team sent out their top-strength members as the first runner. In a relay, the opening spurt is the most important.For our group, Chepesh and Kruulin, Jerome’s head of the Disciplinary Committee, were at the vanguard.“Alright, everyone at the starting line…….”Boom-!“Fire!”With the boom of the mana cannon, the first runners of each team sprinted over the track.Whoosh-.Since most first runners of each team were students with excellent physical abilities, there were no hindrance plots among them.Our Group 8 vanguard, Chepesh and Kruulin, came in second and touched off to the next runner.The problem was from the second runner onward.Various runners went out according to each team’s strategy.“Bell! We agreed to stretch the left foot first!”“I’m sorryyy!”In place of Beatrice, who wasn’t participating in the Sports Festival, Yulina ended up participating in this event match.I didn’t know what the contents of the slip she drew in Group 5 were, but it looked like she and Bell were paired.However, since both of them weren’t exactly athletic, their speed was sluggish like inchworms.But in such a situation, there was a single way for mages to oppose warriors.“Haste!”The two used magic simultaneously to raise their physical abilities and increase their speed.But even if it’s the same magic, its effect varies greatly depending on the caster.That’s because their respective mana capacity and magic efficiency, and basic muscle strength all differ.In the end, the Haste spell only created a greater imbalance instead of increasing their speed.“J-Just a second!”“Wah!”Crash-.In the end, Bell and Yulina flailed and tripped over each other’s feet and fell.Other groups’ runners zoomed past them.“Slow!”“Gnome, dig a pit up ahead!”“O holy light, hinder the enemy’s vision! Holy Light!”Before long, all kinds of magic were rampant over the track, and the arena soon became the very middle of pandemonium.Even though they couldn’t launch direct attacks at opponents, there were countless ways to hinder their course.The students filling the stands cheered as they watched this chaos.“Waaaah!”“Get up! Fight back!”“Run!”It was quite an entertaining sight to see the ordinarily high-and-mighty student council presidents rolling around on the chaotic track together with the students.Of course, there were runners who advanced steadily even amid that chaos.Whoosh-.They were our group’s runners, cloaked in Elena’s holy magic [Eternity], which could fundamentally block all magic and spirit interference.All attacks launched by runners of other groups were blocked by the snow-white holy shield and came to nothing.The match continued amid magic pouring down like bombardment and the teasing of spirits.The rankings changed ceaselessly as the students jostled back and forth.Even if you were in first place at the moment, you might fall into a pit and get pushed far back; even if you were in last, you might seize an opportunity and immediately turn the tables—interesting situations kept unfolding.Amid fervent cheers, the two-person three-legged relay before we knew it neared its final stage, and at last the final runners set off.The emcee shouted at the top of her lungs.“The leader has entered the final lap! Still in the lead is Group 1, Team Kiriel, and chasing them fiercely from behind is Group 8, Team Elena! Just who will seize victory~”“Here!”Illeina stretched out her arm to hand me the baton.With ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the round baton in my hand, I exchanged a glance with Elena and stretched my foot forward.Fwoosh-.Just as we had synced beforehand, Elena and I first put forward the tied foot.Tap-tap-.Then the left foot moved at the right timing as well, and we matched our pace and advanced calmly.By the nature of the two-person three-legged, once you catch the rhythm, it isn’t that hard after that.As long as you don’t get impatient or fuss about trying to go faster alone, there’s no reason to fall for no good reason.Elena called cadence in a small voice and moved forward calmly.“One, two. One, two!”As we calmly closed the distance, Kiriel, who was out in front, noticed Elena and me approaching and fell into a panic.“Silpi, L-Loen is catching up! Faster!”Kiriel hastily thrust forward her tied foot to get away from me closing in from behind.But hasty movement invites trouble.“P-President, if you go on ahead first—!”Silpi, who was running with her, lost her balance due to the sudden change of pace.“Wah!”Crash!With their feet tied, Kiriel and Silpiet rolled spectacularly over the track.As I passed them, I turned my head slightly to glance back.“Heh.”When I gave a broad smile along with a small snort, Kiriel’s face, lying prone on the ground and changing by the second, was quite a sight.“Hey! You, stop right there!”Kiriel shouted at me and fired off spirit magic.Flash-.An Undine was summoned, and a water bomb, like a game item, was hurled at me.Boom-.But it was blocked by Elena’s holy barrier and burst vainly in midair.“Why should I stop. Try following me.”When I waved my hand in provocation from behind the safe barrier, Elena, running with me, gently dissuaded me.“Loen, don’t bully Miss Kiriel too much.”“It’s payback from the usual. She pesters me every time.”Because she picks a quarrel about every little thing, my ears ring every time we meet. I need to tease her at least this much to feel better.“All of that is cute too. Just think of it as an adorable granddaughter showing off.”What granddaughter.Watching Kiriel quacking and yelling from afar, I pretended to listen to Elena for the moment.“Well, I don’t know about cute, but there is a certain fun in watching someone struggling to do something that won’t work.”“……That’s a rather harsh evaluation.”“It all comes down to how hard you try.”Then do well in the first place.Like that, I kept moving forward, keeping in step with Elena.Having passed Team Kiriel as well, we were currently running in the lead. Only about a hundred meters remained to the finish line.But first place wasn’t assured.Thudthudthud-!It was because Freya and Ciel, the duo dashing up behind at a crazy speed, were right back there.Yesterday they battled in the triathlon, and now they were a team running together.It must be that the slip Freya drew said something like “a splendid rival.”Whoosh-.The two were sprinting flat out, as if nothing was tied at their ankles, chasing behind us.In just a dozen-odd seconds, they would pass us and move into first.Watching the two close the distance frighteningly, I asked Elena,“Any way to deal with that?”“……I’ll try, but don’t expect too much.”Wearing a face that said she wasn’t confident, Elena stretched out her hand and summoned a huge holy shield in the path of the two.Thud-thunk-.Semi-transparent walls of holy power rose one after another over the track.If it were ordinary students, they wouldn’t be able to get past those multiple layers of shields.Vrrrr-.Boom-!Freya and Ciel, cloaked in battle aura over their whole bodies, pierced through Elena’s holy shields like sheets of paper and charged forward.“……”No matter that holy shields are techniques specialized for monsters and beasts, they shouldn’t be so easily smashed and overrun like that.Elena shrugged.“Sorry.”“No need to apologize.”I let out a small sigh and fished a crystal from my pocket.Elena tilted her head as she looked at the yellow crystal in my hand.“What’s that?”“Preparations for an emergency.”

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