Chapter 521

Bear-san, Cheering for Shia. Part 3

The afternoon part of the event has begun.

The ground was littered with targets that were formed at various distances and heights.

The teacher explained that the students were supposed to magically hit the targets on either side while riding their horses. In the gaps between the targets, there were also targets that were not allowed to strike. In other words, you can’t just wipe them out with a big area of effect magic. Moreover, they have to ride on a horse within a certain time and use magic precisely. By simply imagining it, you can see just how difficult it is.

“Can you ride a horse, Noa?” (Yuna)

I asked Noa, who was sitting next to me.

“A horse? I’m not that good at it, but I can ride. I was forced to learn horse riding in case something were to happen.” (Noa)

I guess that’s to be expected for a n.o.ble’s daughter. An education in horseback riding, was it?

“But I am better at riding Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan than a horse. I almost fell from a horse before, but not with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.” (Noa)

Yeah, that’s the ability of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If not for that, I might not have been able to ride them. Even if I could, there’s a good chance I would have fallen.

While I was talking to Noa, the preparation was ready, and the first student began.

The student swung his right hand from side to side to hit the target while controlling the horse.

Many mages use their dominant hand to perform magic. The same goes for me.

The hand that holds the chopsticks, the hand that throws the ball, the hand that strikes, the hand that holds the weapon, that hand does everything, and the dominant hand is easier to use. The same goes for using magic.

Some of the targets were located in positions that were difficult to hit with one hand. And some targets must be shot simultaneously on both sides.

The teacher knew about it, which was probably why he placed it that way. It was a nasty, yet interesting arrangement.

The first student could only hit one side.

The second one was holding a cane.

Oh, right. It’s not just rings and bangles. I had forgotten about it because I don’t use a cane myself.

The student swung the cane from side to side and hit the target. They hit the target more accurately than I expected. I don’t know if the student was good or if the cane was easier to handle, but this was unexpected.

The students, who partic.i.p.ated in this part, have practiced riding horses and were good at it.

But were these the horses they brought from the royal capital? If the Euphalia Academy prepared them, then Euphalia students practicing on those horses would have an advantage.

Even animals have different habits and personalities. Knowing that will change the way you ride.

However, it appears that they were riding horses provided by their respective schools.

Then, one student tried their best, and it was Shia’s turn.

“It’s Oneesama! Please do your best, Oneesama!” (Noa)

Shia gets on the horse and holds the reins.

Oh, she looks cool. Maybe I’m being too patronizing, but she looks cool.

Shia went to the starting position. Then, she started riding at the teacher’s signal.

Riding on a horse, Shia started hitting the targets with earth magic.

“That Shia, she’s good at riding a horse, isn’t she?” (Yuna)

“Even when she was in Crimonia, Oneesama was good at riding horses.” (Noa)

Shia was shooting magic with both hands and she made sure to hit the target.

“Amazing!”

And Shia finished almost perfectly.

Unfortunately, she hit one wrong target.

Discounting that error, it would have been a perfect run, but it’s a shame.

After that, Cereille appeared and also achieved high points.

It’s frustrating, but as expected, Cereille was also good at it.

The compet.i.tion on horseback shooting proceeded, with a cheer each time a target was. .h.i.t and a sigh when the target was missed. Then, after the last student finished, the horseback shooting event came to an end.

This concludes today’s compet.i.tion, and the top three overall winners in each category were awarded. Unfortunately, Shia was not one of the three.

Cereille was chosen as one of the top three magic students in the three magic attributes of fire, earth, and wind. She was not good at water magic or seemed inferior to other magic.

I feel that Cereille was good at offensive magic. Not that water magic can’t be used for offensive magic or anything, but the other magic was more advantageous against normal enemies.

“I feel bad for Shia.” (Yuna)

“Yeah.” (Noa)

Shia had excellent results in the compet.i.tion, but some of them were poor. From the looks of it, she didn’t even come close.

Cereille had done well in all the compet.i.tions and was first in fire magic, second in wind magic, and third in earth magic.

Overall, the number of students who received the awards was higher in the royal capital side.

And both schools were celebrating the award-winning students.

“What would have happened if Yuna-san had partic.i.p.ated?” (Noa)

With my bear equipment, I could do well. However, the problem was the part where I had to hit the target while riding a horse. I had never ridden a horse, I wouldn’t be able to hit the target while riding a horse.

“I can’t ride a horse, so I’m not sure. If not for that, I think I would win.” (Yuna)

If I can get on Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear, I can definitely dominate the first place.

“It’s difficult to ride a horse, but I wanted to see Yuna-san partic.i.p.ate.” (Noa

I wanted to try it too, but my magic power is a cheat, and I have aim a.s.sist. If I partic.i.p.ated and won, I would feel bad for the students who had practiced diligently just for this compet.i.tion.

Shia came to us after separating from the royal capital’s students.

“Shia, too bad.” (Yuna)

“If I worked harder, I could have gotten 3rd, but I’ll do my best next year.” (Shia)

Next year’s tournament venue will be in the royal capital, so I’d like to bring Fina at that time.

“By the way, you were saying that you would do something like a match at the end.” (Yuna)

There was no such thing as a match.

“It’ll be tomorrow.” (Shia)

“Tomorrow?” (Yuna)

“Yes, tomorrow.” (Shia)

“Is there another one tomorrow?” (Yuna)

“There is. Didn’t I tell you?” (Shia)

Shia said. I looked at Noa beside me.

“Noa, did you know that as well?” (Yuna)

“I know it because I read it in her letter.” (Noa)

Apparently, I was the only one left in the dark.

Do they do individual compet.i.tions on the first day and something else on the second day?

After I parted ways with Shia, who told me that she was going to have a meeting to reflect and talk about tomorrow, Cereille came.

“Shia must have gone back. I was a little late.” (Cereille)

Cereille was awarded for something other than water magic. Because of this, she was surrounded by students and was unable to get out of there.

“I’ll just say congratulations.” (Yuna)

“Congratulations, Cereille-sama” (Noa)

“Thanks, but I’ve lost in some events. I can’t win against someone who specializes in something.” (Cereille)

It’s difficult to win in all compet.i.tions. I can’t win the horseback riding compet.i.tion either. I’d definitely win if I could ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. We all have strengths and weaknesses. It’s difficult to beat someone who specializes in one thing and has worked on it for a long time. It may be better to develop one thing than to broaden the selection.

“I wanted Oneesama to win. But please do your best next year too, Cereille-sama.” (Noa)

“Next year… yeah. I need to practice more for next year.” (Cereille)

Cereille thought about something for a moment, and then smiled at Noa’s words.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I aim to be number one overall.” (Cereille)

Cereille made a declaration for next year.

“Now then, I have to go too. Please come and watch us again tomorrow.” (Cereille)

Cereille heads back to where the Euphalia students are.

As the crowd begins to leave, we decide to return to the inn.

“That was fun.” (Yuna)

“Yes, it was a great learning experience. I saw a lot of different kinds of magic.” (Noa)

There are many forms of magic. You must create the form that is easiest for you to visualize and then release it. If you can’t do that, it won’t be powerful enough. The new adventurer girl was also having a hard time at first.

And the second day of the exchange meet came.

I put on my uniform once again, which I thought I wouldn’t wear anymore, and went to the academy.

Shia and Cereille were at the front entrance of the academy.

“Good morning, Yuna, Noire.” (Cereille)

“Good morning, Yuna-san, Noa.” (Shia)

“Good morning, Oneesama, Cereille-sama.” (Noa)

“Did you both wait for us?” (Yuna)

“I forgot to tell you that the place was different today, so I was waiting.” (Shia)

“I saw Shia, so I decided to wait with her.” (Cereille)

It seems they will hold the event today by the lake instead of the school grounds. So they were waiting to show us around.

“What would you do in the lake?” (Yuna)

“Production magic.” (Shia)

“Production magic?” (Yuna)

“Simply put, we create shapes through magic for everyone to see.” (Cereille)

“And then someone will judge it and decide whether it’s superior or not?”. (Yuna)

“No, this time there is no preference. I’m going to create something purely based on my own ideas, and let the viewers enjoy it.” (Shia)

Apparently, it’s not a compet.i.tion or anything of that sort, but an unveiling of something that can be created by magic.

“What will you make, Oneesama?” (Noa)

“That’s something you’ll have to wait and see.” (Shia)

Not only us but also the students and spectators were heading in the same direction towards the lakesh.o.r.e.

We pa.s.sed by the grounds yesterday and came to the lakesh.o.r.e.

“We’ll be going then. Please enjoy yourself.” (Cereille)

Shia and Cereille went to where the students from their respective academies were.

When we found an excellent spot to watch, I pulled out our chairs, and we sat down.

After a while, the teacher explained the rules. The content was exactly as Shia and Cereille said. It seems that you can make anything you like with magic in this compet.i.tion.

There was a small pier on the lake where a student went.

The student used water magic using the water in the lake. You can convert your own magical power into water, but that would consume a lot of magical power. However, they can save their magical power if they use water in the vicinity. It’s the same with earth magic. There’s a difference between using earth from the ground to build a wall and using one’s own magical power to build a wall mid-air.

As the student made the water float, it took on a shape. The water changed shape and became animal-like. The people around applaud.

“Etto, is that a Wolf?” (Noa)

Noa looked at the shape of the animal made of water. It’s certainly like a wolf. Magic can be created with images. The clearer the image, the better the shape.

The student who created the Wolf using water magic left the pier after bowing. Then the second and third students unveiled their works of art using water magic.

The first thing to consider is the size. Of course, the greater the volume of water, the greater the amount of magic needed. And so, the clearer the image, the better the shape, and the better the magic control.

A good mage is one that can do combinations.

Some students made human shapes, others handled water like snakes, and a student made multiple fish shapes and sent them flying into the sky. That was a little beautiful. But why fish? I think a bird would be fine.

“It’s water, so I think fish is fine.” (Noa)

Certainly, when it comes to water, the image of fish is stronger than that of birds. But when it comes to flying, the image of a bird is stronger.

After that, something like art using water magic was performed.

“It was strange to see that water cascading down. I want to use magic as soon as possible. Then I want to make bears like Yuna-san.” (Noa)

I gathered magic power in my bear puppet and created a small ball of water, transforming it into the shape of a bear.

“Fufu, it’s cute.”

Noa touched the bear made of water. But the moment she touched the water bear, the water bear broke and splashed to the ground.

“Ah, it turned back into water.” (Noa)

Well, it wasn’t reinforced, so if you touch it, it will break.

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Author’s Note:

Postscript (1/17): Sorry, I have already written Episode 522, but I have to delay the release of Episode 523 because I have not been able to finalize the plan for it.

Depending on the story of episode 523, I will have to revise episode 522.

The team compet.i.tion is turning out to be more troublesome than I had expected……

It’s no good if the name is only for the team compet.i.tion.

I’m late. It’s been a while. I would like to resume soon.

I still have some bookwork to do, so I may be late once again.

If there is another delay, I will report it in a postscript.

※ Please note that I have written information about volume 11.5 in the activity report.

※ Thanks to the readers who have reported typographical errors. I am unable to reply, so please excuse me here.