Abnormal Type-Moon

"I'm just as troubled about that—who should I pick as my partner?"

Roy thoughtfully pondered for a moment while continuing to unpack his luggage.

"But there's still a whole month until the Festa, so no need to rush."

Each of the three Festa has different rules.

The Phoenix Festa is a tag-team battle—two versus two. The Gryps Festa involves larger teams, five versus five. The final Lindwurm Festa is a one-on-one showdown for the strongest.

Since Roy wanted to join this Phoenix Festa, he needed to find a teammate to meet the participation requirements.

"Wait, do you really not know, or are you just pretending not to know?"

Yabuki was momentarily stunned at Roy's completely unhurried expression.

"What?"

"The registration deadline for the Festa has long passed."

"What?!"

Roy's mouth opened slightly, looking confused toward Yabuki.

"It's already over?"

"Yeah!"

Seeing that Roy truly didn't know, Yabuki had no choice but to explain in detail.

"The registration deadline for the Phoenix Festa was at the end of June. The opening ceremony is mid-August. Though there's a month and a half gap, that time is used by the organizing committee for preparation."

"But nothing is absolute. Before every Festa begins, a few teams always have to withdraw due to attacks or other reasons. So, to fill these vacancies, the committee prepares some backup teams every year. Now, if you register, you can only join the backup pool—and whether you get picked is another story!"

There's such a system?

Roy was dumbfounded. He had thought registration was open until the competition started. Isn't that how most martial arts tournaments work? The World's Strongest Martial Arts Tournament is like that. Why does your Festa have to be so special? Besides, only Asterisk students participate anyway, so why the rush?

But at least there was a backup team system, so it wasn't too bad.

"So, want me to help you scout for a partner?"

Yabuki looked at Roy with a shrewd smile.

"But you know what this means!"

He made a circle gesture with his thumb and forefinger.

"You only care about the money, huh?"

Roy gave him a speechless look.

"Don't say it like that."

Yabuki laughed heartily and sat up on his bed.

"The students gathered in this battle academy city generally fall into two types: one, like you and Her Highness the Princess, who genuinely want to shine in the Festa; and the other, like me, who have long given up hope on the festival. Think about it—even among the Genestellar generation, natural talent varies. No matter how unwilling you are to accept it, when faced with such a barrier of talent, you just have to step back. In that case, the key is to find what you can actually do."

In other words, Yabuki felt his role was to be a reporter for the news department.

And to make some money by selling information on the side.

Of course, not all students aim for profit. Some, no matter how grudging, remain obsessed with pursuing fame—like becoming a ranked player's follower or something—to get a bit of the spotlight.

The gap between ideals and reality can be cruel; sometimes no matter how unwilling you are, you have to part ways with your dreams.

"You took a picture of my face today and used it in a report, right?"

Roy wasn't willing to pay him. He rubbed his chin, recalling what happened in the classroom.

"…You bring this up now?"

Yabuki made a somewhat pained expression.

He wrestled with friendship and money for a while, finally letting out a long sigh.

"All right, since you helped me get some traffic, I'll analyze this for you for free this time!"

Saying that, Yabuki got fired up, pulled out his stick-like phone, opened a spatial window from it, and copied a list, tossing it in front of Roy.

"This is the current In-Name Ranking List for Seidoukan Academy. If you want to find a teammate, it's best to look within the rankings to find someone reliable. The top twelve on the first page are called the 'First Page Twelve'—they're the most dependable!"

The so-called In-Name Ranking is a ranking system present in every battle academy city school. Simply put, it's a power leaderboard listing seventy-two people—the seventy-two strongest in that school at the moment.

Among them, the twelve on the first page are called the "First Page Twelve," truly standing at the apex of their academy.

However, because of the challenge and duel systems each academy has, the names on this list often change. Sometimes someone climbs the ranks only to be knocked back down within days.

Roy scrutinized the spatial window Yabuki had thrown over, scrolling it up and down occasionally.

"The current number one at Seidoukan is the silver-haired girl who dueled with Her Highness the Princess this morning. Her name is Kirin Toudou, only thirteen years old, just enrolled this year as a first-year middle schooler. On her very first day, she defeated the former eleventh-ranked powerhouse, gaining fame overnight. In her first official ranking match, she beat the old number one, taking the top spot. What's admirable is that she's neither a witch nor equipped with a pure Lux armament—she won first place relying solely on a real sword in hand and has held that spot for nearly three months. As a teammate, she'd be flawless, but she's probably impossible to get."

"How so?"

"She's just thirteen with limitless potential. Although she meets the age requirement for the Festa, competing now would be a waste. She should train for a few more years before entering; then she could definitely place well, maybe even win the whole thing!"

The Festa has strict age limits—only those aged thirteen to twenty may participate. Even one year younger or older is disallowed.

Moreover, each student can only compete in the Festa three times in their lifetime, regardless of whether it's Phoenix, Gryps, or Lindwurm. After three participations, they lose eligibility forever.

Kirin Toudou, at thirteen, already has that level of skill, so entering now would be a waste. She could train more and then become unstoppable.

"Then there's the second-ranked Student Council President, Claudia Enfield. She's also incredibly strong but hasn't appeared in years. No one knows how strong she is now. Many students believe she's actually the strongest at Seidoukan, but there's no proof. Unfortunately, she hasn't shown any intention to join this Phoenix Festa."

"The third, Feardorcha O'Neill, and sixth, Azumachi Ibara, are regulars of the Lindwurm Festa. I doubt they'd be persuaded to join Phoenix... I think among the First Page Twelve, these three would be the best partners for you."

Yabuki Eishirou pondered deeply for a while before tossing another fresh spatial window in front of Roy.

Only three names appeared on it.

Those three names were—

Nestor Fandorin, ranked fourth, a member of Seidoukan's university division, nicknamed the hrímþurs.

Julis-Alexia van Riessfeld, ranked fifth, a high school member, nicknamed the Glühen Rose.

Toono Mozuhi, ranked seventh, a high school member, nicknamed Thunderclap, wielding the Orga Lux armament, the Longshanks.

Displayed in the spatial window were a blue-haired young man with a proper appearance, a rose-haired princess, and a girl with long straight black hair.

***

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