When Cadmus and Oliver got to Magical Combat class, they found a note stuck to the door, with large, bold letters on it stating:

Magical Combat is cancelled for first-years today. You may do as you see fit during this time.

The writing on the note was neat and orderly, and the tone was professional, which meant that a professor other than Professor Carmen had probably written this.

“What now?” Oliver asked Cadmus, “I’ve got nothing planned. Anything you want to do?”

Cadmus gave it some thought. Was there anything he wanted to do…?

“There is something I want to check.” He said after a while.

14th: Camelot (Guild)—2,552 points

18th: Ardea Regis—2,294 points

22nd: Cadmus Guiles—1,832 points

This is what Cadmus had wanted to check: the placement list in the main hall. As Oliver had said a week ago, Ardea and he had gone up by three-hundred points, and it seemed that Camelot had gone up by six-hundred points. Meaning, three members of Camelot had received the two-hundred points for ‘defending their fellow students’.

Cadmus figured it was probably those three that he had met right before orientation: Arthur, Lancelot, and Gawain.

More importantly…

“Didn’t Ardea lose against Rex Optime?” Cadmus asked Oliver, “Why is her point total still so high? Did she not lose any points in that duel?”

Oliver shook his head, “Nope. Apparently, they bet that they would switch places if Regis won. As in, Regis would get all of Rex’s points if she won, and Rex would have to take all of Regis’. If Regis lost, they wouldn’t switch positions. And, since she did, that’s what happened.”

That seemed awfully generous for Ardea. There had been literally no penalty for her losing—except maybe taking a blow to her pride.

“Who suggested this bet?” Cadmus asked, though he already had a pretty good guess.

“Rex, apparently. Regis wanted to bet normally with points, but Rex insisted that they make a bet like this instead.”

As he had suspected. Rex really was far too kind.

He had known that he would probably win, so he had spared Ardea from losing all her points by proposing a strange bet like this. Ardea had probably accepted because she merely wanted to face skilled opponents at their best, and she figured Rex would probably try his best as well because this bet still put his position of first place at risk.

Cadmus remembered that Rex had shown him the same kindness, having rejected his challenge so that he wouldn’t lose all his points and Alice.

Cadmus was confident in his abilities, but even he had to admit that he would have probably lost if he hadn’t seen Rex face Ardea first. Now that he had witnessed Rex fight though, he was confident that he could find some way to defeat him.

If only Rex would accept his challenge for a duel…

Speaking of Rex, Cadmus’ eyes jumped to the top of the list.

1st: Rex Optime—3,521 points

2nd: Victory (Guild)—3,051 points

3rd: Prosperity (Guild)—2,608 points

Hm… it seemed that their points had gone up as well. They had all probably gotten an activity where they could earn more points as well, just like the first-years.

“Guiles.”

A familiar voice called from behind him. There was only one person he knew that addressed everyone with so much authority in her voice.

Cadmus turned and greeted, “Ardea.”

She looked as imperious as ever, and was flanked by her ever-loyal friend, Elise Auxil.

“What are you doing here wasting time, Guiles?” Ardea asked, “Go and train yourself for battle. I have acknowledged your expertise in the theoretical portion of magic, but I still cannot challenge you to a duel with how you are now. Your practical experience is extremely lacking, and none of the spells you have developed are suited for the duelling field.”

Her words were harsh, but Cadmus couldn’t deny that they were true. Without a recently-deceased corpse nearby to revive with his [dead-puppetry] spell, Cadmus had no effective way of combating people in an even setting.

“I assume that you are going to join the Twin Peaks Magical Tournament,” Ardea said. Though people usually framed a sentence like that as a question or confirmation, Ardea spoke them as though her words were already a hundred-percent correct.

And, well, they were. So, Cadmus nodded.

Ardea said, “No one knows what the qualifying rounds will entail, however, the tournament’s final round is always composed of battles between individuals. In other words, the finals will be nearly identical to a standard duel.”

She didn’t have to explain what she was trying to imply. It was obvious that she was warning him that he didn’t stand a chance at winning the tournament as he was now.

“I understand.”

Ardea nodded, “Good. I look forward to facing you in the tournament then.”

Considering their conversation over, she turned to look at the ranking board. Cadmus noticed that she started right at the top, and then slowly moved her gaze downwards instead of simply looking at the area where her name should be. Perhaps she felt it was only natural to see her name at the top?

When she got to her name, her eye twitched subtly in annoyance. Oh yeah, Cadmus remembered, Arthur’s guild had dethroned her from her position as top-ranked among the first-years. Though Cadmus felt that it was incredibly impressive how she was only a little bit behind Camelot, especially since Camelot had multiple members.

And who knew? Maybe Arthur even had members from the upper grades as well, which would make Ardea’s position even more impressive.

Of course, Cadmus was going to surpass them all. He only had eyes for first place, and he would stop at nothing to reach it, no matter how impressive his peers were.

However…

He looked back at the ranking board.

14th: Camelot (Guild)—2,552 points

It was obvious that joining or creating a guild was the fastest way to reach the top. Even though not a single Camelot member had received more points than Ardea, they had still managed to surpass her because each member had earned an adequate amount of points.

An idea slowly bloomed inside his head…

“Ardea, would you like to create a guild with me?”

Ardea turned her head towards him, a blank look on her face. His words seemed to have caught her by surprise for some reason. Even Oliver and Elise were looking at him with wide eyes.

Cadmus didn’t understand why though. They knew that he was aiming for first place, so was this not a natural course of action to take if he wanted to achieve that goal?

“I want to reach first place because the resources that position has to offer will allow me to continue my research,” Cadmus explained to Ardea, “And reaching first place will fulfill your wish as well, since only the best of the best will challenge you then. Thus, if we create a guild and combine our points, we will be able to achieve both our goals all the quicker.”

Ardea narrowed her eyes in thought while Oliver and Elise were still looking at him with surprised expressions on their faces.

“I don’t mind if you’re the leader,” Cadmus said, “If it’s you, I doubt I need to worry about my points too much.”

Cadmus waited patiently as Ardea considered his proposal. Oliver leaned in close to his ear,

“H-hey, what’re you doing?” He whispered, “I mean… seriously?”

Cadmus gave him a questioning look, “Have I overlooked something?”

Oliver seemed to have trouble articulating what he wanted to say,

“N-no, but…” finally, he sighed in defeat, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by how easily you can ask the Dragon Princess something like that…”

Cadmus raised a curious eyebrow, but Ardea chose this moment to finally give her answer.

“I refuse.” She said, the finality in her tone unmistakable.

Cadmus frowned, “May I ask why?”

“It’s because I wish to face you as well,” Ardea said, her lips curling into a faint smile.

“I have no problems in sparring with you even if we create a guild together—”

“No.” Ardea said, “I wish to face you at your best. It’s true, I can simply say that ‘you will have to spar with me whenever I want if you want me to create a guild with you’, however, you will not give your utmost effort in those spars.”

“And what if I promise that I will try my best?” Cadmus asked.

“No. The problem isn’t on the conscious level,” Ardea explained, “You are desperate to reach first place, and that desperation itself adds more to your abilities than you understand. If we join forces, and that desperation is erased, then I will never be able to face you at your best. Those rivals who are worthy to face me must always remain my enemies.”

And, with a final, “Good day,” she left.

Elise followed behind her. Although, she glanced back at Cadmus for some reason, and though it was brief, he saw that her face had twisted into a pained expression.

Figuring it was some personal problem, Cadmus left them to it.

He sighed disappointedly. He had thought his proposal had been perfect for both of them. They both would have been able to achieve their wishes if they had just joined forces…

Oliver put a comforting hand on Cadmus’ shoulder, “Don’t worry, man. One day, I’m sure someone will say ‘yes’ to those crazy questions of yours.” He paused for a second, “Oh wait, Randall Crawford already did. Maybe you’re just on some sort of cooldown.”

Cadmus chuckled politely, figuring that Oliver had just made some sort of joke. He wouldn’t know, it had all just sounded like gibberish to him.

That night, a piece of parchment was slipped under his dorm’s door. He was lucky that he had spotted it when it had been slipped in, or else he wouldn’t have noticed it until the next morning.

He picked it up and examined it.

“What is it?” Alice asked from the bed, looking ready to fall asleep any second now.

“It’s a form,” Cadmus said, “It says that I need to sign it, and I need to get my guardian to sign it as well if I want to enter the Twin Peaks Magical Tournament.”

“A guardian? Why?” Alice asked, her eyes drooping.

“According to this form, there’s a risk of participants dying, and the Academy doesn’t want to be held responsible for that.”

“Oh…” Alice murmured. Then, her head snapped up, the sleep in her eyes having evaporated all of a sudden, “What!?”

“The form says it’s rare, but apparently it does happen occasionally,” Cadmus explained.

“C-Cadmus… are you sure that you want to participate then…?” Alice asked worriedly.

Cadmus uncorked his inkwell, and dipped the tip of his quillpen in it,

“Of course. I can’t miss a golden opportunity like this.”

With those words, he unhesitatingly signed his name on the form.