"Clarice-chan! Over here, over here!"
"Elisa!"
Spotting Elisa in the crowd, Clarice ran toward her, her golden twin-tails bouncing rhythmically with every step.
This Magics War was generating a level of excitement that matched or even surpassed the Magics Chevalier.
The Colosseum, the venue for the opening ceremony, was already overflowing. Despite there being over an hour before the festivities officially began, the congestion was immense. To be honest, neither Elisa nor Clarice had expected the turnout to be quite this overwhelming.
"There really are a lot of people," Clarice muttered.
"Yeah. I was shocked when I got here too," Elisa agreed.
"Well, it just shows how much attention the event is getting. Besides, Ray is attracting all the wrong kinds of attention this time."
"Yeah... you're right."
Ray was indeed standing out in a negative way. Rumors had been swirling since just before the tournament began.
To the average onlooker, the very idea of daughters from the Three Great Noble Families forming a team with an Ordinary like Ray was nothing short of scandalous. Among the nobility who clung to the ideology of Bloodline Elitism, the criticism leveled against Ray had reached a fever pitch.
As the two girls walked along, worrying about their friend, they were approached by a girl with silky, chestnut-colored hair.
"Um... excuse me. Are you friends of Onii-chan... I mean, of Ray White?"
The two turned around at the sound of the voice. Standing there was Stella.
Stella had come to watch the tournament alone. Having overheard the pair talking about Ray, she decided to speak up. Ray had already told her about Elisa and Clarice, so she was fairly certain she had found the right people.
"We are, but who are you?" Clarice asked.
"I knew it! Then, you must be Clarice-chan!!?"
"Eh... how do you know my name?"
"Because I've heard all about you from Onii-chan!"
"Are you... Ray's sister?"
Clarice stared at her in surprise. Stella gave a bright, energetic greeting in response.
"I'm Stella White! Onii-chan's sister! Please, just call me Stella!"
Dazzled by her radiant smile, Elisa smiled back, while Clarice flinched slightly.
Clarice was naturally poor at dealing with strangers. Furthermore, she sensed the same "airhead" vibe from Stella that she often got from Ray. She had known Ray had a sister—and that they were related by adoption—but she had never imagined they would run into each other here.
"I'm Clarice Cleveland. Well, I suppose I'll allow you to call me Clarice-chan. You are Ray's sister, after all. B-but don't get the wrong idea! It's not like there's anything going on between Ray and me!"
She fell into her usual tsundere habits, but Stella simply beamed at her.
"I know! That's what they call a 'tsundere,' right?"
"I am not a tsundere!"
Apparently, the two were quite compatible.
"Um... I'm Elisa Griffith. It's nice to meet you, Stella-chan."
"And you're Elisa-chan!"
Without warning, Stella lunged forward and hugged Elisa. She buried her face directly into Elisa's ample chest.
"Wow! Out of everyone I've met so far, you definitely have the biggest breasts!"
"Ahaha... it can be a bit of a struggle sometimes," Elisa said with a strained laugh.
"And you smell so good! Elisa-chan, you're like an angel~"
Being siblings, Ray and Stella seemed to have developed nearly identical impressions of Elisa.
"She's like a runaway train... I can certainly believe she's Ray's sister..." Clarice muttered, watching the scene blankly. She glanced down at her own chest.
Flat.
There wasn't a single undulation to be seen. She looked back at Elisa's twin peaks.
She wasn't frustrated. Not at all. Everyone had their own strengths. It wasn't as if she was envious... or so Clarice desperately tried to convince herself.
As the three continued their lively chatter, another woman approached them.
Wearing large glasses and a pure white coat, her glossy silver hair shimmering as she walked, Olivia arrived on the scene.
"Stella! It’s been a while!"
"Ah! Olivia-chan!"
Stella immediately shifted gears, running toward Olivia and throwing her arms around her.
The two had met during the Cultural Festival. Initially, Olivia had intended to get close to her for calculated reasons, given that she was Ray’s sister. However, she had eventually been won over by Stella’s pure-heartedness, and now they were genuine friends.
Stella knew Olivia was a princess, but since Olivia had requested to be treated as a peer, they had become quite close. They had promised to watch the Magics War together today.
"I'm so happy to see you, Olivia-chan!"
"Fufu. I'm happy to see you too, Stella... and these two are?"
"They're Onii-chan's friends!"
"Heh..."
Seeing a sharp glint in Olivia's eyes, Elisa and Clarice both flinched.
"I am Olivia Arnold, the Second Princess. A pleasure to meet you."
"Eh!!?"
Their shock was understandable. No one expected royalty, let alone the Second Princess herself, to be wandering around such a place.
"Um... well, I'm Clarice Cleveland..."
"I see. A member of House Cleveland of the Upper Nobility. This is our first time meeting in person, isn't it?"
"Y-yes!"
Clarice was stiff with tension, but Elisa remained relatively composed. They had met before when Ray had brought Olivia to the dormitory during the Cultural Festival preparations. They weren't exactly close, but they weren't on bad terms either.
"Ah... um. Long time no see."
"Indeed. Not since then, I believe?"
"Yes. And the promise we made is still on, right?"
"O-of course!"
Olivia scrutinized Elisa, as if measuring her up as a potential rival for Ray’s affections. However, Elisa apparently passed the test; Olivia deemed her "safe" for now and offered a hand as a gesture of friendship.
"You can just call me Olivia. You're both my senpais, after all. I look forward to getting to know you."
While she often behaved like an excitable girl around Ray, Olivia was normally quite composed. She was the Second Princess, after all.
"N-nice to meet you...!"
"The pleasure is mine. I look forward to it!"
With the four of them now together, they made their way toward the arena.
◇
"Maria! Hurry, we're going to be late!"
"Wait up, Big Sister!"
Elsewhere in the crowd were Rebecca and Maria. The sisters had agreed to watch the tournament together, but Rebecca’s excitement was through the roof. Even Maria was starting to find it a bit much.
"Geez. Aren't you a little too fired up for this?"
"W-well, it's Ray-san's first match! Isn't it only natural?"
Rebecca looked at her as if the answer were obvious. Maria let out a long sigh and shrugged.
"Well... if you're happy, I guess it's fine. But doesn't Ray have a lot of rivals? Lately, it seems like he’s been getting pretty close to Ariane-chan too."
Maria knew Ariane through their connections within the Three Great Noble Families; they were childhood acquaintances.
"Oh? I knew about that, but who told you, Maria?"
"Did I not mention it? When I ran into Ray the other day, he was talking about how his training with Ariane was going."
"Heh... now that you mention it, you're quite close with Ray-san too, aren't you, Maria...?"
As Rebecca slowly drew closer, her aura shifted. She looked like a demonic rakshasa—no, she was a true Shura. Maria stared at her transformed sister in terror, her legs trembling like those of a newborn fawn.
"Wait!? I-it's not like that! We just happened to run into each other in the city!"
"So you're saying there was no ulterior motive?"
"None at all!"
"But you are on good terms, aren't you?"
"W-well... I don't think we're on bad terms..."
Rebecca didn't miss the faint flush that touched Maria's cheeks.
"Maria. Even if you are my sister, I will not hold back."
"I told you! It's a misunderstanding!"
"Well, let's leave it at that for now."
Just as quickly as she had snapped, Rebecca calmed down. With so many rivals to keep track of lately, she felt her capacity was being pushed to the limit. She had worried that her own sister might be joining the fray, but it seemed her fears were—for the moment—unfounded.
"Sigh... Big Sister, you really lose it when it comes to Ray."
"Lose it?"
"You get tunnel vision. To be honest, you're the 'heavy' type of woman, Big Sister."
"G-ghastly! B-by any chance, does Ray-san dislike 'heavy' women...?"
"I wouldn't know, but Ray seems like the type who’d accept anything. I'm sure it's fine!"
Maria’s encouragement was somewhat lazy, but it was enough to revitalize Rebecca.
"Y-you're right! Alright. I'm going to give him the amulet. Definitely!"
And so, the two sisters also made their way into the venue.
◇
"Hum-hum-hum~"
"You're in quite the good mood."
"Of course I am! I get to see Ray in action!"
Carla and Lydia had also arrived at the Colosseum. Their target, naturally, was Ray.
Until now, Lydia had been relegated to "legal stalking," but today she could watch Ray openly. She sounded more cheerful than usual.
"Still, I’m hearing plenty of nasty rumors about him," Lydia muttered as Carla pushed her wheelchair.
"Yes. It seems that is the consensus among the proponents of Bloodline Elitism."
"Hmph. I’d love to just wipe out everyone who speaks ill of him... but fine. Once they see him in this tournament, they'll have no choice but to acknowledge his greatness. Kukuku... I can already see the looks on those idiot nobles' faces."
"..."
Carla offered no response. Her master was clearly enjoying herself at the expense of the nobility, but Carla shared her disdain for the excesses of the bloodline fanatics.
Eventually, they spotted a conspicuous figure in the distance.
The woman wore a bright red long coat, her pure white hair swaying in the breeze. That ethereal, otherworldly presence was unmistakable.
"Lise. You came too?"
Lydia called out from behind, and the woman turned on her heel.
"Lydia-senpai. And Carla-san. Hello."
"So, what brings you here?"
Lydia knew Lise had been going through some internal changes, but she hadn't expected her to show up at an event like this.
"I came to watch the matches. Ray White and Amelia will be participating, after all."
"Oh! So you've finally realized how great Ray is!"
Lise wore a look of immediate regret, but it was too late. Her actual goal was to observe Amelia’s growth and gauge Ray’s current level of strength. She had forgotten how Lydia tended to spiral out of control whenever Ray was the topic of conversation.
Having accidentally opened the floodgates, Lise was forced to endure an overwhelming torrent of praise as Lydia began to rant about Ray’s virtues. Carla, long since desensitized to this behavior, simply stood by.
Deep down, however, the two of them were in perfect accord.
I hope this ends soon, they both thought.
"And then, at that time, Ray—"
Lydia’s lecture continued for more than an hour.