Chapter 36: Representative of the Athletic Festival

About two weeks have passed since the cheating investigation called an ability test.

Thanks to the teachers’ proactive efforts to improve my image, the perception of the school as a whole is changing, not only in the classroom.

Of course, there are still many people who still suspect me of wrongdoing.

Well, once a label is put on you, it’s not so easy to change, and this is about as good as it gets.

The only thing you can do is gradually build up your track record and earn the trust of others.

I took a glance at the onlookers who had gathered in front of the classroom to catch a glimpse of the rumored first-year and looked up at the sky through the window.

Perhaps it was because I had just eaten lunch, but the pleasant sunshine and breeze made me feel sleepy.

It was a perfect day for a nap, but the thought of the class meeting about to start made me very depressed.

As I stared out the window, holding back a sigh, the bell rang unexpectedly.

As if on cue, the onlookers in front of the classroom dispersed and went back to their classrooms.

As I breathed out a sigh of relief that the population density had decreased and patted my chest, ──── class president Emilia unexpectedly left her seat.

With a sheet of printouts in her hand, she walked over to the table with a dignified expression and stood in front of the blackboard.

What’s wrong?

What’s going on?

The bell has already rung, so why aren’t you in your seat?

As I tilted my head at Emilia-sama’s inexplicable behavior, the chime of the main bell rang with a ding-dong-ding.

Still, she did not try to return to her seat.

The brown-haired girl coughed once in front of her buzzing classmates.

“As for the fifth-period class meeting, Silas-sensei has requested that I serve as the moderator. I’ve heard that he’s busy with his research…”Get along, everyone! Take care of the rest!” That’s what he said.”

When Emilia-sama answered in a way that cleared up our doubts, most of our classmates were convinced.

Because it’s easy to picture Silas-sensei throwing everything at Emilia-sama, the class president, there was no room for doubt in her words.

It was the same when the committee was decided, but that person is sloppy, especially lately.

To investigate the mutated flame spirit plant in the test, he skipped the staff meeting and was late for the herbology class.

It was the people around me, especially Emilia-sama and Bianca-sensei who suffered the damage.

I thought that he may be late or absent because he would not show up even if the main bell rang, but I never thought that it would come like this…

It’s better to be informed in advance, but what does this say about him as a teacher?

Emilia-sama summoned the class secretary, while I was stunned by the outrage of Silas-sensei, who should be called a mess. She gave him a printout and instructed him to write something on the blackboard.

The rest of the class members gathered in front of the blackboard and began to prepare for the class meeting.

“This time, we will be discussing the members of the ──── athletic tournament.”

When Emilia announced this from the podium, the students of Class C erupted in excitement.

Aside from the entrance ceremony, this will be the first school event, so everyone is probably excited.

The emperor is coming to see the sports festival at Frügel Academy, so I’m sure the expectations are quite high. Well, I’m on the disciplinary committee, so I may not have time to see His Majesty’s face.

But with any event comes trouble.

I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy the athletic festival as much as I should.

“This year’s event will be the same as the previous years, with three divisions: magic, sword fighting, and horse riding. Each division will be represented by one person. The detailed rules will be explained later, but I’ll just tell you the prohibited items first. In the magic division, the use of summoning techniques is prohibited, and in the sword fighting division, the use of sword aura and direct attacks with magic is prohibited. Also, in the horse riding division, only horses that have been applied for in advance will be allowed to participate. And ────”

As Emilia-sama read out the prohibitions in an indifferent manner, the scribe wrote sentences on the blackboard.

Originally, my homeroom teacher, Silas-sensei, would explain the athletic festival, but it seemed to be just enough with them.

“────This is the end of the explanation of the prohibited items. We will now move on to the selection of representatives. I’m going to hand out blank sheets of paper now, so please write the names of the people you want to nominate, one for each category. Of course, you can also write your name. After five minutes, we will collect the papers and tally them up.”

No one argued with Emilia-sama, who clearly stated that the person who won the most nominations would represent the class.

This is because the method of selecting representatives is the same for all classes every year.

The sports festival is just a child’s game, but as long as you participate, it’s normal to want to win.

More importantly, since people from outside the school would be coming to watch the event, we couldn’t afford to show a poor result.

I took a glance at my classmates who were pondering with serious faces and received a piece of paper made from a scrap of a notebook.

On the paper, which was cut to the size of a notepad, I wrote the names for each division.

The swordsmanship division was, without a doubt, His Highness Grayson, but…who would be good for the magic and riding divisions?

I put my hand on my chin and thought about it, and I groaned a little, “Hmmm.”

For a moment I wondered if I should write my name in the magic category, but in the end, I wrote the name of the vice-chairman.

I also wrote Emilia-sama’s name in the riding section.

“Okay, that’s it. The class members will go and collect them, so please don’t move.”

As the classmates put down their pens, the class members took turns collecting the papers from behind.

With the students excited about “who wrote their name”, they immediately started counting.

I watched from afar as the class council members proceeded with their work, and let out a sigh of relief.

Fighting the sleepiness that was coming over me, I waited for the tallying to end.

Emilia stood on the podium again, holding a sheet of paper.

“The results are in, so I’ll announce them.”

When Emilia-sama said this in a clear voice, the classroom instantly fell silent.

The brown-haired girl opened her mouth again as everyone held their mouths tightly and looked excited.

“First of all, it is His Highness Grayson who has won the most nominations in the sword fighting category. Then, in the riding category, it was me, Emilia. In the magic category, it will be Miss Charlotte.”

The students were excited to see three of the most notable people in the class chosen to represent them.

“With these three people, we can also aim for overall excellence,” she raised her eyes with expectations.

I had thought that I might be chosen, but I had no idea that I would really be chosen.

Thanks to the teachers, most of the suspicion of fraud has been cleared up, but this is a little unexpected.

But I’m very happy.

Besides, ────this is a unique chance for me to retaliate against my sister.

As last year’s winner, she’ll be competing in the magic category, as she should.

If she does, it will be inevitable that she will have to face me

To be honest, I was wondering how I could retaliate against my sister, so this was perfect.

I didn’t want to do anything insidious like bullying.

I’m allowed to have a fair fight in an official match and beat my sister to a pulp, right?

“I would be happy to represent the horse-riding division, but what about Your Highness Grayson and Miss Charlotte? Will you accept?”

Looking alternately at me and the dark-haired young man at either end of the classroom, Emilia-sama asked.

“Even if you win a lot of recommendations, the final decision will be made by you. I couldn’t force you to do it just because it was the consensus of the class.”

Of course, I was happy to accept the offer.

“I respectfully accept your offer to be a representative. I will do my best to live up to the expectations of those who recommended me.”

“I feel the same way as Miss Charlotte. I don’t know how much I can fight without my sword aura, but I’ll do my best…”

When we agreed to be the representatives, our classmates clapped their hands and said, “Yay! The classmates clasped hands and rejoiced.

In the meantime, Emilia-sama smiled with satisfaction while they were excited that they would not be in last place.

“So, the three representatives of Class C are His Highness Grayson, Miss Charlotte, and myself, Emilia. Everyone, please give us a big round of applause.”

Our classmates clapped their hands excitedly as we participated in the sports festival as experts in each division.

I smiled and nodded as they said, “Good luck” and “We’re rooting for you.”

I felt a little tickled, but I proudly bowed my head.

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