RATH 65

TL: Eevee

8. If you do it, it works. (4)

#5 Their story: A certain judiciary’s story.

The history of the schools titled the Four Great Academies appearing at the imperial festival is a very old one.

At the time they weren’t even called the Four Great Academies, it was just that they were invited to the imperial festival simply because they were located close to the imperial capital.

But perhaps it was because they consistently appeared on one of the greatest stages in the empire?

The four academies began to grow incredibly quickly, and later on they would be called the empire’s Four Great Academies.

Thanks to that, it became regarded as the best place for commoners to try to turn their lives around, and for nobles, a chance to create connections, and that reputation remained true even today.

Because of that, one of the empire’s judges would participate in the academies’ preparatory meeting as a symbolic gesture that all schools would engage in a clean and fair contest.

But unlike the nice intentions, right now I was pretty much just a decoration.

“No, this time we need to increase the number of individual events to demonstrate individual skills!”

“No, we need more team events that fit better with the spirit of teamwork within academies!”

Arucis, the academy called the greatest, and Marcis that was hot on their tails.

The two student council presidents from these two schools were arguing back and forth that their opinions were right.

Even if they taught the usage of spears, maces and all sorts of various weapons, the weapon that the majority of students used in Arucis was the sword.

And naturally their individual skills will be better, and are overwhelmingly superior in individual events where they were not surrounded by enemies.

And with that specialty in mind, of course Arucis would be the beneficiary of an increased number of individual events.

On the other hand, in Marcis’ and Yugrasia’s cases, they were the schools of magic and summoning respectively so they were better at team events.

Because of this, every year there is a giant fight between Arucis who wants more individual events, and the other academies that wanted more team events.

And since the teachers that were there for advice and supervision were of the same mind as the students, of course they wouldn’t stop them.

Because of that, we the judges have the bloody annoying task of mediating all this!

Although Arucis was always slightly on the back foot due to majority opinion, the heated arguments between students that were all here to secure favourable conditions for themselves was always annoying to deal with.

And once everything is over, we’re always the ones to blame for everything!

If it’s the majority opinion, Arucia always complains that we always rule against them!

And if we listen to Arucia then the other schools complain that the judge in attendance is biased in favour of Arucis!

Since we get complaints no matter who we side with, there can’t be anything more annoying than this!

But at my seniors’ words that someone had to continue with this tradition someone had to be a sacrifice, and this year’s sacrifice was me!

Damn it, just next year and my name would be closer to the top of the list than the bottom and I wouldn’t have had to do this shit!

I just had to survive this year, why the hell did I get pulled up in my last year!

As I whined about my life I looked at the two student council presidents that were staring daggers at each other.

..Hang on? Two?

“Does the representative of Yugrasia have no opinion to put forward?”

I realised that something was strange.

Yugrasia, the academy that was called the weakest of the current Four Great Academies.

Thanks to that, I heard that their student council president was ordered to gain more advantageous games even more than the other schools.

But even while Arucia and Marcis was fighting, he was yawning as if to say he had nothing to do with all this?

‘Hmm. Has he given up?’

Yugrasia’s position in the imperial festival was perennially third.

If we considered the fact that Mercaria, a school that had nothing to do with fighting was also included in those rankings that meant that Yugrasia was basically always last.

And as if my predictions were on the mark, Yugrasia’s student president yawned and nodded to me.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of events are on.”

A complete declaration of surrender.

Summoners were considered to be even weaker than magicians before the brought out their summons.

And so Yugrasia’s strategy so far was to aim for team events, and in particular the ones that went on for extended periods of time.

Giving up on those was the same as giving up on the imperial festival.

“What, Nerkia. I heard that Yugrasia got an overhaul this year, did nothing happen even after you guys changed things?”

As if I wasn’t the only one thinking that, Arucia’s student president said to Yugrasia’s student president in a mocking tone.

Looking at his expression, it was filled with expectations of having more events that were advantageous to Arucia this year.

“Really? Are you giving up just like that?”

In contrast, Marcis’s student council president looked nervous.

Marcis and Yugrasia’s combat methods were similar, and so between the two of them they usually managed to earn more long-duration, or team events.

But right now Yugrasia had given up!

Marcis had already been losing the title of the strongest academy to Arucia by the skin of their teeth, but let alone closing the gap, it could grow even further at this rate!

Unlike in previous years, this time there was an interesting situation

This moment could decide the future of the Four Great Academies, a turning point in history!

And as I expected, this place was an important moment in the history of the Four Great Academies.

Although it wasn’t Arucia or Marcis at the center of it!

And the voice that told us all of that was that of the indifferent Yugrasia student council president.

“Well, we’re going to win either way, so what does it matter what events are on? Just decide on whatever you guys want to do.”

“What?”

“Did I just hear right?”

For a moment there, it felt like the entire room froze over.

Even Mercaria’s student council president, that up til now had been quietly watching everything unfold, stared at the Yugrasia student council president as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

That was a natural reaction.

A declaration of victory of all things.

Not even Yugrasia at its peak had ever made a declaration like this.

And moreover right now was the time considered Yugrasia’s darkest age, and a declaration of victory at this time!

“Nerkia, as far as I know, I thought you weren’t one to make empty boasts.”

Everyone nodded at the Arucia student council president’s words.

No matter what, right now Yugrasia was at its weakest.

But the reason why that the other academies couldn’t look down on Yugrasia despite this was because of their student council.

From the president nicknamed the elemental army, the Trickster, the vice-president named the Queen of the Skies!

And even the others, the secretary, the treasurer were all people that couldn’t simply be ignored, and even the people doing the grunt work were all named individuals, Yugrasia’s student council was that strong.

And the one who was judged to have superior situational awareness and leadership among them, the one rated even higher than the presidents of other schools, the Yugrasia student council president made such a declaration?

“Empty boast? I simply said the truth?”

But the expression on the face of the Yugrasia student council president was all too indifferent.

As we stared at his face, which seemed to ask why were we asking such an obvious thing, it made us wonder if we had asked something that obvious as well.

“Do you believe that Yugrasia’s victory makes any sense, Nerkia?”

“The perennial losers Yugrasia?”

“Yep, so?”

His yawn screamed that he couldn’t be bothered with all this.

He’d propped his chin on the table and on a piece of paper he’d written [to think we’d waste our precious after school time on this..]

‘What?’

Not even precious holidays, but precious after school time?

All of the empire’s academies were in the middle of the holidays right now?

“Are you overestimating Yugrasia, or are you underestimating us?”

“Neither over or under. I’m just simply saying the truth as is.”

“Do you want to say that’s how much Yugrasia has changed?”

“Yugrasia has changed.. well, if wanted to call it change then change would probably be right? But, Kiir. We saw hell, more than anything you could ever have imagined.”

“Hell?”

“Yes, a hell that none of you will ever be able to imagine. We saw a hell so deep and treacherous, simply winning it is all but certain.”

All of a sudden the Yugrasia student council president started giggling as if he was enjoying it, and the Arucia student council president that had been standing up took a step backwards.

That is not normal.

As someone who has judged countless criminals in the empire, I can attest to that.

The Yugrasia student council president was not crazy, but thoroughly insane!

“Uuhuhuhu, Kiir, I really want to show you. The academy life filled with fun and exciting things that will go above and beyond anything you could ever have expected.”

“Hey, oi? Nerkia?”

The Yugrasia student council president’s expression was so bad I seriously began to think whether I should call for a mental health doctor at the nearby army hospital.

When the Arucia student council president named Kiir shook his head, as if he was regretful Nerkia turned to invite Marcis’s student council president and as far as I saw, that man did not look like one that was in a fit state of mind.

“Al, alright I get it. I get it!”

Nerkia looked at the fearfully retreating Marcis student council president and clicked his tongue as if he was truly regretful.

“Th, then Yugrasia, Mercaria have no comment, Arucia proposes to add more individual events, and Marcis proposes to add more team events.”

All of a sudden it felt like allowing the Yugrasia student council president to say anything more would result in a very bad ending.

I thought that the Marcis team would make an objection, but perhaps because of the Yugrasia student council president, surprisingly enough no objection came.

“Then, for the fine details of the events in question, including the current compulsory events..”

Although there was some objection from Marcis, they were pretty much the same thing that Arucia normally said for similar reasons.

When arguments that Marcis had used up until now came from the mouth of the Arucis student council president almost word for word, the Marcis student council president scowled and reluctantly took a step back.

“Then, do the student council presidents of Yugrasia and Mercaria have no further opinions on the matter?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, it doesn’t matter.”

Marcis’ student council president made a slightly regretful face at that answer, but the Yugrasia student council president didn’t care one whit for that.

If one were to look at him scribbling let’s go home already onto a piece of paper as if he was bored, it really seemed as if Yugrasia would be victorious at this year’s imperial festival.

‘Should I take a bet on it..”

When you looked at the odds for last year, if you excluded Mercaria that wasn’t even included in the betting odds, the odds for Arucia was 1.2 times, 1.4 for Marcis, and a whopping 4.2 times for Yugrasia!

And legend had it that the people who were baited by those odds and bet Yugrasia were completely ruined!

But for some reason, they seem oddly trustable this year.

Because no academy had ever shown that kind of confidence in the history of the imperial festival!

And as I pondered, the Yugrasia student council president said something even ballsier with an equally deadpan face.

“Nerkia, even so, wouldn’t it be good to add in some events that’s favoured for Yugrasia in case things go south?”

“Hm? Our aim is total victory anyway, so who needs advantages?”

“What?”

The Marcis student council president had said that to increase the number of team events even by one, but what came back in return was a declaration of total victory.

Depending on the day, the events in the imperial festival had a different number of points of them, which led to the possibility of a situation where a comeback was possible at any time.

But there was one way to prevent the differences in points from ever mattering.

Total victory.

If you were to win in every single event, then no matter how wildly the points changed per event, you were sure to win.

But that was very much a ‘what if’ situation, there was no one who thought had ever thought that was possible.

No matter how many powerful individuals you had, they only had one body.

And since multiple events were held at the same time, the maximum number of events a single person could take part in a day was two.

And even then that was only when the first event ended very quickly, that you could barely make it in time for the last event of the day.

Moreover, no matter how strong you were, you could end up using all your strength in the first event and end up losing pathetically in the next one.

And since the other academies could specifically send in counter matchups against that person, mind games were essential!

Win the events that you absolutely had to win, and steal away the events your opponents had to.

By calculating upon even more calculations, one had to choose your events to win and cut your losses wisely.

That was how the academies had won in the imperial festivals thus far.

But total victory!

No academy so far had ever managed to accomplish that feat.

And, the one to do that would be Yugrasia, the school judged to be the weakest?

If I bet on that then odds of at least a hundred to one would be guaranteed!

“D, do you think that’s possible?”

The Arucia student council president said in a shocked voice, but the Yugrasia student council president simply nodded his head.

“Yep.”

Everyone in the room was rendered speechless.

Just where was that baseless confidence coming from?

And that silence stretched on until the person who created the silence in the first place asked just when this meeting was going to be over.

And so the meeting ended.

[Betting ticket Yugrasia total victory odds 128:1]

In the end, I bought one of these.