Chapter 35: Why Are Bad Feelings Never Wrong?

“W-Well… the candy was surprisingly tasty…”

Ruah offered a unconvincing explanation.

Fortunately, things worked out well, and Ruah was able to clear up the misunderstanding and receive the High-Performance Telescope in exchange for the Commemorative Coins she had collected.

Thankfully, Himari and Juju didn’t mention anything about the scene they had witnessed earlier.

“Thank you, it’s thanks to you two.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to carry your faculty ID?”

Juju suggested as they left the operations headquarters.

“Y-You’re right.”

Ruah scratched her head.

“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy competing. You can go back now.”

“It’s alright. Our next competition is in two hours.”

“That’s right. It’s the all-year obstacle race! You’ll come watch, right, Teacher?”

“Obstacle race… right. It’s already that time.”

It was an event Ruah remembered. A race where participants used their skills and physical abilities to overcome various obstacles placed in the stadium and retrieve a flag. With all first, second, and third-year students participating at once, it was the highlight of the Sports Festival.

‘It would be good to watch this.’

She wanted to see Himari and Juju in action, but it was also necessary to confirm that the flow of events was proceeding as it should.

“Yes, alright. I’ll be able to see well with this too!”

Ruah held up the telescope, and the two girls smiled brightly.

“I’ll buy you something delicious from the outside stalls if you win.”

“…”

“…Teacher, those words.”

Suddenly, cracks appeared in their smiles. Ruah looked back and forth between Himari and Juju, tilting her head. Did she say something wrong?

“There’s only one winner…”

“We both… can’t win.”

Sparks seemed to fly as Himari and Juju’s gazes met.

“Teacher, just wait and see.”

Juju smacked her fist into her palm.

“I’ll cross the finish line with the flag in ten minutes.”

“Interesting, Juju.”

Himari looked down at Juju with a cold gaze.

“You won’t even be able to touch the flag.”

Caught between them, Ruah could only manage an awkward laugh.

‘Why are they both so fired up…?’

She could understand Juju, but she couldn’t figure out what had gotten into Himari.

While waiting for their competition, Ruah completed the second task for the Sports Festival rewards. It was a sub-quest to find a lost item.

The quest began by talking to a woman pacing on the second floor of the east side of the stadium. The lost item was the ignition device for the fireworks display that would take place at night.

As was typical for quests of this kind, it involved following a chain of clues to finally find the item, but Ruah skipped all the intermediate steps and went directly to where the ignition device was hidden.

“Oh, thank you! If it weren’t for you, the fireworks display would have been cancelled!”

“I-It was n-nothing…”

“Please accept this. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t offer you something in return.”

—With those words, she received a glass marble about the size of a finger joint. While it looked useless on the outside, it was an item that allowed one to learn a new skill.

“Phew.”

Ruah took a deep breath and swallowed the marble whole. She could feel the sensation of it going down her esophagus.

As the marble reached her stomach, a warm energy spread throughout her body.

—Ding!

A cheerful sound effect rang out.

<You can acquire the skill [Crackle (Lv.1)]. Do you wish to acquire it?>

“Acquire.”

—Ding!

<You have acquired the skill [Crackle (Lv.1)]!>

‘It’s still a crappy skill.’

Objectively, it was a skill with little practical use. It consumed a lot of mana, and its effect was limited to producing a small spark from the tip of the index finger.

In the original scenario, it was a skill used only once, to ignite the fireworks at the closing ceremony of the Sports Festival. It never appeared again.

‘But I need it for practical purposes right now.’

Ruah had researched whether this [Crackle] skill could be used in actual combat. As a result, she discovered that it was surprisingly useful.

Of course, using other skills would be much better in many ways, but the situation was different now. This was practically the only ‘self-defense’ skill Ruah could learn at the moment.

‘With this, the second objective is complete.’

Looking at her watch, she saw that the time for the obstacle race she had been waiting for was approaching.

Ruah hurried down to the first floor and sat in an empty seat in the faculty section. The other teachers, who had been wandering around, also seemed to want to watch this event, as they were all taking their seats.

<Alright, with the introductions complete, we will now reveal the course! Athletes, please step back from the starting line!>

The students checked the safety devices attached to their weapons and followed the announcer’s instructions. The stadium, which had never been empty throughout the various competitions, transformed into an empty space.

<Everyone, please pay attention! This is the obstacle course that Felix Academy has ambitiously prepared for this Sports Festival!>

As soon as the announcer finished speaking, the stadium began to move.

—Rumble!

—Clank!

The center of the oval stadium split open, revealing a new course. It was a massive obstacle course shaped like a hill, with one side gently sloping and the other steep.

“What, it’s not flat?”

“This year is tougher…!”

“Hmph, it doesn’t matter, as long as you climb quickly!”

A mix of tension and excitement filled the students’ conversations.

“…”

Hoshikawa Himari simply took a deep breath and fiddled with the katana at her waist.

<The first obstacle is a slippery oil slope! Even if you’re in the lead, a moment of carelessness will send you tumbling down!>

As described, the starting section of the hill was glistening with oil, even from afar.

<The next course is crossing the ravine! Fortunately, or unfortunately, there are log platforms!>

There was a large ravine as if the middle of the hill had been cut out, and logs floated in the air between them. They were probably held aloft by skills.

<And finally, it’s breaking a rock with an egg! You have to break through a thick ice wall!>

After the ravine, there was a giant ice wall created by a teacher. Participants had to break through it, climb over it, or destroy it to pass.

<The winner is the first to grab the flag at the end and return to the starting point!>

‘Flag?’

Everyone’s eyes turned towards the top of the hill. At the very end of the obstacle course, on a round platform at the highest point, was a person.

“?!”

Himari’s eyes widened.

Ruah, wearing a fluorescent vest with ‘Flag’ written on it, was sitting there with an expression that looked like she was about to faint.