"Praise me."
"What?"
"Praise me."
"What?"
We exchanged the same question and answer twice, and then Ellen and I stared at each other with puzzled expressions.
"You said you'd scold me if I didn't win! So now that I've won, you should praise me!"
"I never said I would praise you."
"Reinhardt is the best! I knew he would win, right, sis?!"
"… Your praise is so exaggerated that it doesn't feel very satisfying to hear."
"I feel hurt!"
Despite claiming she never agreed to praise me, Ellen eventually gave in. In the end, I won the tournament, which everyone had expected.
We fought and won our battles, but there were no hard feelings between us. Ludwig was Ludwig, and Scarlett was Scarlett – they were unique individuals.
Just like yesterday, all the A and B class members celebrated the victory together.
It was a festival, after all.
Both Harriet and Charlotte sincerely congratulated me on my win.
On the way back to the dormitory, Ellen stopped me for a moment. We waited for everyone else to leave until it was just the two of us.
"…"
Ellen hesitated.
She could have just praised me, but was it so unbearable to say that?
Her face turned a bit red.
"I… I know it's weird for me to say this…"
"What is?"
"…I was proud of you."
I felt like my head had gone completely blank at those unexpected words.
"I was proud of you."
It wasn't so much that I was happy, but rather,
It was embarrassing.
I mean, it's strange to say she was proud of me instead of saying I was great or cool!
"Are you my mom?"
At my words, Ellen's expression turned puzzled again. It seemed like she was acting as if she had raised me or something.
Didn't I feed her more than she fed me?
"I taught you, after all."
It felt like she was saying, "This hopeless kid became a tournament champion after just one year of my training!"
"So in the end, you're great, right?"
"Yes."
Ellen nodded and smiled.
"You followed me well all this time."
Faced with that smile and those words, I couldn't say anything else.
Most of who I am now was shaped by Ellen. She looks at me and smiles brilliantly.
"You've worked hard, Reinhardt. Congratulations."
"…"
In the end, even if everything was thanks to Ellen, I was the one who stubbornly learned swordsmanship while constantly bothering her.
Even with countless coincidences and cheats, I was the one who swung the sword, clashed, fell, and tried tenaciously to learn.
My strength may not have come solely from my efforts, but I can't say my efforts played no part.
That's why Ellen is acknowledging my hard work.
"Well… thanks."
After whining for praise, it feels a bit…
Strange.
Yeah.
I finally received praise from Ellen.
It seems that there's no one who's really upset about my victory, and Ludwig and Scarlett seem to have grown more fond of me. Overall, it's a good outcome.
"But,"
My shoulders were growing heavier, and my insides felt queasy as if something was piled on top of them.
It was because of the side effects of the Magic Body Strengthening. To overpower Ludwig, I had used Magic Body Strengthening throughout all three sets, and the physical fatigue was no joke.
It was reckless.
I wasn't at the point of fainting or vomiting blood, but I felt dizzy.
However, it didn't seem to be solely due to the Magic Body Strengthening.
I wanted to forget the feeling of being intoxicated by the joy of winning, but the more I tried to forget, the harder it was to do so.
Today was Tuesday.
Tomorrow was Wednesday.
"Ah..."
The cross-dressing contest.
It was coming up tomorrow.
Is this the feeling of eating mustard while crying?
My condition was only getting worse, and it didn't seem like it would improve.
In the end, I gave up my right to advance to the unrestricted tournament finals, as I was certain I wouldn't be in any condition to do anything after the cross-dressing contest.
Tuesday night.
The Magic Research Club's mansion.
Harriet de Saint-Owan was experimenting with something in the basement safe room of the mansion. It was a large laboratory equipped with barriers, defenses, and soundproofing magic, allowing for experimentation with even high-level destructive magic.
Although there was an outdoor practice field, destructive magic usually came with a loud noise, so it was common to conduct experiments in a well-prepared place like this.
And since it was a festival now, there was no way to do such experiments outside.
Harriet was experimenting inside the safe room, and the other Magic Research Club members were watching her through the security window.
-Whoooosh
A jet of flame shot from Harriet's fingertips and struck a pile on the opposite wall.
-Boom!
With an explosion, this time, jets of flame burst from Harriet's head to her shoulders, wrapping around her.
It was a low-level destructive magic called Firebolt.
Five Firebolts were formed in an instant and hit their target simultaneously.
-Wham, wham, wham, boom!
The casting speed was incredibly fast, almost nonexistent.
From Harriet's wrist to her forearm, blue magical lines formed a strange pattern.
"We did it!"
"It worked...!"
"I can't believe this actually works..."
After that, Harriet demonstrated various spells, such as casting several low-level destructive magics in a row, including Lightning Bolt, or even firing Firebolts without casting them.
All of these were spells Harriet had mastered long ago. Even those who weren't majoring in destructive magic could perform them to some extent.
The only difference was that the casting was abnormally fast and even involved multi-casting.
As Harriet came out of the safe room, the Magic Research Club members all looked at her with shining eyes.
"So it's done now? Is it complete?"
In response to Christina's question, Harriet smiled weakly, looking tired.
"Somewhat. But I think we still need to make some improvements."
"Junior! You're really a genius!"
Redina jumped around, celebrating as if it were her own accomplishment.
"I never thought it would actually work..."
Louis Ancton mumbled with a flustered expression. Harriet laughed as she looked at the bewildered Louis.
"What's the matter? You're the one who made it, and now you're the one who's surprised?"
"No... I thought it would only work in theory, not exactly linked to reality..."
Louis Ancton couldn't believe the sight of the concept he had designed come to fruition.
"This, in my opinion, is a line of magic that no one but you can use. There's no way other magicians can do this. I didn't even think it would be possible in reality, just a theoretical idea!"
In other words, Harriet was using the tool Louis had created way too perfectly. Louis Ancton was a genius for creating such a thing in a short time, but Harriet was the only one who could use it, an even greater genius.
"Really? Well, that's good for me."
From Harriet's right arm, a blue glow flickered around her wrist, hidden beneath her sleeve, then disappeared.
"Ugh! Reinhardt won too."
Harriet yawned tiredly and let out a deep sigh.
"I should do something too."
The Unrestricted-Class Tournament was on a different level than the Freshman Tournament.
Harriet didn't think she'd be eliminated pathetically, even though she couldn't be sure who would win.
The Magic Research Club members knew what Harriet could do, so they didn't consider her confidence to be arrogant.
Olivia Lanze, a tactless, annoying person who kept intruding and spouting nonsense.
Harriet was determined to crush her arrogance.
That person would never expect to be hit from an entirely unexpected direction while focusing only on Ellen.
Wednesday.
Harriet was busy and not in the dormitory, and the students participating in Miss & Mister Temple seemed to be starting their preparations in earnest, as they were absent from their usual spots.
Soon, all my close friends would be busy with their own matters.
And I'm not free either.
"Reinhardt! We're going to watch the parade, do you want to come?"
Somehow, after the tournament, the guys who got even closer to me, the annoying trio, and Heinrich.
Kono Lint gestured at me.
"No, I need to rest."
"Ah... Did you push yourself too hard yesterday?"
"…Yeah."
Actually, I did push myself too hard, and my whole body feels like it weighs a ton. I want to rest, but I can't today.
I have to participate in the cross-dressing contest...
This event that increases my magic power by 5 could be the most important event of the festival...
My current magic power is 14.2, and if it goes up by 5, it will be 19.2.
If I can increase it by another 0.8, my magic control talent will awaken.
That's why I can't give up.
Ultimately, the fact that my close friends aren't bothering me to go somewhere today turned out to be a good situation for me.
No one will be around to care where I went. So even if I go to the cross-dressing contest and come back, I won't have to hear any questions about where I've been.
I can't believe I snuck out of the dorm to participate in a cross-dressing contest and came back!
I must be really out of my mind!
Yeah... I am indeed a lunatic who sold my soul and dignity for events and challenges. Ever since I confessed to Kono Lint as a woman, I crossed a river of no return.
It's all my karma.
If I just kept quiet, maybe half of it would have worked out, but that candy peddler jerk found out something strange, and since then, he's been making me do this kind of stuff.
If I hadn't done such things, I might have gotten some other giveaway event during this festival.
It's my fault, it's my fault. It's all my fault.
The cross-dressing contest takes place at night.
Of course, it's not in a huge space like the main stadium, but it seems to be held in a place like a lecture hall in a regular class, and I already know the location.
It's currently lunchtime.
The contest starts at 6 in the evening.
But I had to start preparing now. I can put on and take off the dress by myself, but I can't do my makeup alone.
First, I'll go outside the temple, get my makeup done by Eleris, and then come back with the dress.
Obviously, I plan to leave and return wearing a hood.
Fortunately, during the festival, the temple gate is more lenient with access control, including checking IDs.
I'll finish all the preparations outside the temple, then kill time in a secluded place until the contest starts, and rush in.
There's no point in wandering around the temple anyway.
I don't know why I'm considering various possibilities for such a secret operation.
In reality.
This is a million times more nerve-wracking than the tournament! What if someone recognizes me? What if someone sees me? What if the host suddenly says it's Reinhardt?
Should I just not go? After all, my magical power will increase with time, isn't it too much to risk my life for it? Do I really need to control magic? I also have a language talent, right?
Yeah, there's no need to be greedy here, right?
My head was spinning, but I was leaving the dorm with a half-empty expression on my face.
The streets were crowded with the ongoing festival. But no matter where they were going, I didn't have the energy to care.
I was considering giving up on the cross-dressing contest while simultaneously worrying about what kind of expression I should make to look less like Reinhardt, and it felt like my brain was splitting in two.
No, the brain is originally divided into left and right hemispheres.
I was losing my mind so much that I even forgot the obvious things.
I don't even know what state of mind I was in when I left, and it's broad daylight.
Eleris was still running her shop. It still seemed like the business wasn't doing well.
But today, I told her to close the shop and wait at home.
In the residential area near Aligar Shopping Street.
When I knocked on the door of the basement room, Eleris opened it for me.
"Have you arrived, Your Highness?"
"Yeah."
It seemed Eleris had already finished preparing, as the room was neatly cleaned, and the makeup tools were laid out.
Eleris examined my complexion and tilted her head.
"Did the tournament... not go well?"
"No, I won."
"But your expression... Ah."
As if she had forgotten the reason why my expression had to be bad despite the happy news of winning, Eleris slightly quivered her lips and nodded her head.
"...Still, you did well, Your Highness. It's a remarkable growth."
"Thanks..."
Eleris, who said words that were either praise or consolation, sat me down in a chair.
"Shall we... start right away?"
"...Might as well. There's no point in dragging it out."
We both had grim expressions.
For now, I washed my face and changed my facial structure to the one I had previously sculpted through Sarkegaar's ring.
It's a subtle change, but with makeup and a different expression, I would look like a completely different person.
In the reflection of the mirror Eleris had summoned, my face had slightly changed its shape but was still bare, and only my hair had turned silver.
"...Why? Oh, no. No. Don't say anything."
Even I think it's strange! I barely changed it and haven't put on makeup yet, but it's already different!
It's like insisting that a drawing of a girl is actually a boy, that kind of situation!
"...I'll start."
"...Yeah."
The beginning of a hellish time.
It's just one day.
After this day, there will be no more occasions for this dreadful appearance.
No matter how hellish everything in the world may be, once it's over, memories become trivial. Just as dawn comes even if a rooster's head is twisted. Time flows anyway, and even if the world turns upside down, the cross-dressing contest ends today!
No matter how slow time goes, tomorrow will come, and when tomorrow comes, I'll part ways with this dirty appearance, and all that will remain for me are the inflated magic power and achievement points!
When it's over, I'll think that I did well back then. I'll endure the shame and take pride in doing this!
I lay out excuses for self-justification for myself.
Ah...
At this rate, I feel like I'm going to level up in Self-Suggestion.
