Chapter 39: The grand event of the Academy, a practice match! — Part 1
Now, the Mardiq Club’s practice match between Alania Academy and Manzanella Academy is a grand event that has been colored by decades of tradition.
Held every fall, the location is alternated between the two schools.
This year, the event was held at Alania Academy, and the sports field was crowded not only with officials but also with Mardiq fans and locals.
It was like a festival. Actually, there were even food stalls, so the spectators must have been enjoying themselves at a fun festival.
“Wow, this is amazing! I never imagined it would be so lively!”
“Yeah, me too. It’s my first time, so I was surprised.”
Luna looked around with excitement in her voice.
Around me, with a relaxed smile on my face like an excited puppy, the Volunteer Club members were gathered, wearing their winter uniforms.
I never expected Telencio to come all the way here. It seems like he was dragged here by the club president and he’s yawning sleepily.
“There’s quite a turnout! I didn’t know it was this big, since I didn’t come when it was held two years ago!”
“Oh my, Martin too. So am I.”
The two third-year students, who had a light smile on their faces, seem to be experiencing this for the first time.
Although it was an event that they wouldn’t normally be interested in, they came for Camilo’s sake. I feel happy for some reason.
“Ugh…I’m sleepy. Hey everyone, why don’t we go and secure some seats? I came all the way here, but if the seats are too far away, I have the confidence to fall asleep out of boredom…”
Regardless of Telencio’s lethargic motivation, securing seats is certainly a top priority.
“That’s true. Although I’m curious about the food stands, let’s secure some seats first.”
“I agree! Let’s go quickly!”
With a nod of determination, Luna agrees immediately. Only Crustia-san was gazing intently at the food stands, but for now, I’ll ask her to bear with it and start walking.
We passed through the crowded playground filled with food stalls and customers and went straight to the adjacent Mardiq Stadium.
The walls covered in ivy were high and seemed to have the robustness that comes with a history. Finally entering through the entrance that created a long line, we were greeted with a vast space inside.
Indeed, it was a splendid facility that could be considered a prestigious private school.
The spectator seats surrounding the beautiful circular arena were raised up to ten meters high so that magic attacks would not hit them.
It appeared to have the capacity to accommodate several thousand spectators, but surprisingly, most of the front seats were almost full.
Thinking that we still had more than an hour before the start and there was plenty of time, I couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
“There are really a lot of people here…! It’s amazing that this event is so popular.”
“Yeah, the Camilo-kun effect is really something.”
“Huh? The Camilo effect?”
As we walked through the crowd, Crustia-san pointed it out to me, and I looked around and noticed that a high percentage of the people with Alania Academy cheering goods were girls wearing their school uniforms.
All of the girls have blushed cheeks and are holding banners and noise makers.
As I noticed that the merchandise reads “Camilo-sama” with a heart, I felt like I was about to faint from the overwhelming enthusiasm that exceeded my imagination.
“Wow… it’s really true. Why are these fan girls so loud…”
Telencio must have the lowest energy level in this venue. Although I thought it was really nice of him to come, I couldn’t think straight due to the shock.
“Isn’t this amazing…? Camilo is so popular. But why does everyone know that he’s a former member who’s participating as a substitute?”
I felt fear as if it were too late, and I couldn’t stop my trembling voice.
It’s nice that Camilo is popular. But if it’s known that he’s engaged to me, won’t there be a riot?
“Recently, it seems that rumors have spread about Camilo-kun participating in Mardiq Club’s practices. His sudden departure from the club was already sensational news, and the fact that he joined the Volunteer Club without anyone noticing is a miracle in itself! Hahaha!”
As the president laughed crisply as usual, Luna hurriedly placed her index finger on her lips.
“Um, president, your voice is too loud…! Camilo-senpai joined secretly to prevent female students from swarming into the Volunteer Club and causing trouble!”
“Oh, right. I’ll be more careful.”
Come to think of it, she’s right. I was wondering if anyone would join a club they didn’t really want to just to follow Camilo, but I was completely naive.
If this gets out, there will undoubtedly be an influx of people wanting to join. And they’ll come in groups of 100.
“There’s an empty seat. Is it okay to sit there?”
The president pointed his finger briskly to a seat that was slightly off-center from the middle.
As I sat down again at my seat, I realized it had a much better view than I had anticipated.
“What a great seat! Martin did a good job.”
“Leaving early paid off!”
We exchanged relieved looks, and then a lively voice could be heard from the front row where we had descended. I quickly turned my gaze towards the source of the voice.
“I’m so excited to be able to see Camilo-sama’s match again!”
“That’s right, Beatrice-sama!”
“Let’s cheer him on with all our might, Beatrice-sama!”
To my surprise, my friends from my past life, Beatrice-sama, Louisina-sama, and Melania-sama, were standing boldly with a banner in their hands.
Oh no…! It’s so close, but I don’t want to be recognized!
I tried to make myself inconspicuous. Since we had divided ourselves into two groups of two and three to take turns standing up, I asked the seniors to go ahead of me.
Telencio didn’t seem interested in the food stalls from the beginning and urged Luna to go ahead. As I looked at his profile, yawning sleepily as soon as he sat on the wooden seat, I decided to ask him what I was thinking.
“I can’t believe Telencio came. I thought he wasn’t interested in anything but Kaizen.”
“Yeah, like Leticia said. I have no interest in this, honestly.”
Telencio blinked his eyes sleepily as he looked out over the empty stadium.
I asked him why he came if he wasn’t interested, and a small wry smile slipped from his lips, blending into the lively crowd noise.
“He’s a weird guy, but he’s a good guy. Even when we’re doing activities, he’s more serious than me.”
“Well, I guess so.”
“You should deny it a little… Remember when we went to the orphanage? I’m not good at sports, so I was exhausted from playing catch. But then he took over for me. I was really grateful at that time.”
I didn’t know that. I had no idea that something like that happened during our visit to the orphanage.
“It’s nice of Telencio to come and support him.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just being whimsical.”
Telencio smiled softly.
…Yeah, that’s right. Everyone came to support him because Camilo is that kind of person.
Maybe he initially declined to help Mardiq Club because he felt his skills had improved too much.
But at the core of his being, he has always been someone who values helping others, which is why he became a dragon knight.
He was a kind person who always cared about me in my previous life.
Since sharing our speculations about the relationship between the goddess and witches, I haven’t talked to Camilo much. We haven’t had many opportunities to talk because we haven’t announced our engagement.
I know that it was I who wished for this situation, but nowadays I am feeling very lonely.
But today, I’m really happy that I can cheer on Camilo with all my might.
“Hey, sorry, but I’m going to sleep until it’s time. Wake me up when it starts.”
“Okay. Good night, Tele…”
Before I could finish saying his name, Telencio had already fallen asleep.
I see. He detained me as a seat watcher because he was planning to sleep.
If he can fall asleep in one second in such a noisy place, maybe he really is a big shot after all.
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