Chapter 58: Opening Ceremony

《Next up, we have the athletes’ oath, delivered by none other than Academy City’s very own Level 5 espers!》

The Daihaseisai.
A massive athletic festival held in Academy City every year for a full seven days.

Unlike a typical school sports day, the Daihaseisai is an event where every single student in Academy City participates on a school-by-school basis. There’s a “Red Team” and a “White Team,” but within each school, everyone belongs to the same team.
For example, if Tokiwadai is assigned to the Red Team, then every single student in Tokiwadai is Red Team—simple as that.

The event is broadcast worldwide by TV networks, and the venue is partially opened to the students’ families. Thanks to the flashy, ability-based competitions, it’s practically replaced the now hollowed-out World Sports Games as the global mainstay of sports entertainment. Some even mock this shift by calling the Daihaseisai the “Technopic” or “Psychopic.”

Because of that, the Daihaseisai is as much about entertainment as it is about competition, with all kinds of gimmicks every year.
And this year’s gimmick?
An athletes’ oath delivered by Level 5 espers.

…Well, officially speaking, we’re “only” Level 4s—our System Scan results were, let’s say, creatively adjusted.

Level 5 espers.
Their very existence is wrapped in mystery to the outside world.

For one thing, it’s only recently that there’s even been a full roster of seven. Naturally, this means the First Ranked—half-buried in the dark side—and the Second and Fourth, who are neck-deep in it, as well as the Seventh, rarely appear in the media. As for the Sixth? Doesn’t even have a shadow to be seen.

Up until now, the only ones who’d ever shown their faces publicly were the Third and Fifth—both Tokiwadai middle schoolers.

Which is why this year’s choice was… unexpected.

I’d assumed Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san would be doing the oath.

But no—this time, it was Shokuhou-san and Sogiita-san.

I mean, sure, Sogiita-san might just barely be considered a safe choice, but still… I never thought I’d see him on such an official stage. Or that it was even safe for him to be here.

《…Well, even before that, I’m honestly not sure if Sogiita Gunha can get through the actual oath properly…》

《I had the same thought, you know》

And so—
Here we are at the opening ceremony, taking part as one of the middle school flag bearers.

We might not be Level 5s, but as students from an elite school, we still qualify. This year, since the oath is being done by the elite of the elite, they decided the student representatives at the ceremony should match that theme.

By the way, Misaka-san was never even asked to join this side.

Well, you can imagine—if the Seventh Ranked is giving the oath, it’d be pretty humiliating for the Third Ranked to just stand there holding a flag. Once she wasn’t doing the oath, she was basically relegated to spectator status.

On the other hand, being “exceptional among the Level 4s” made us perfect for flag duty.

Even if Reicia-chan was absolutely fuming about it.

『Athletes’ oath!!!』

《Oh, here we go》

《…Shiren, you really should be ready to use your ability, just in case》

The moment Shokuhou-san and Sogiita-san began, Reicia-chan spoke with concern.

Come on now—yeah, I doubt it’s going to go smoothly, but is that really worth that much worry?

And besides, Reicia-chan’s the one forcing me to control the body right now because she “doesn’t want to hold the heavy flag,” so if anyone’s going to prepare abilities, it should be her.

《Still… what are we gonna do about breaking the engagement?》

《There’s nothing to “do.” If we couldn’t manage it before the Daihaseisai, then we’ll just have to do it during. I’m sure they’ll fuss a bit, but…》

Yeah, that’s what I figured.

If I come here as her fiancé and then we break it off mid-festival, the other side’s bound to take it badly.

Still, given the guy divorced and then got engaged to Reicia-chan right away, I doubt he’s that invested in this arrangement. I don’t expect it to get truly messy.

《Besides, the Blackguard Conglomerate holds all the power here. If I say “no,” there’s no reason for them not to comply》

《That’s… exactly the problem》

《…Hm. Well, I’ll of course handle the follow-up. I learned from the last time that brute-forcing it with influence alone isn’t ideal…》

《Wow. Proud of you, Reicia-chan》

She has grown in that regard—having follow-up makes all the difference when you strong-arm people with authority.

…But that’s not my main worry this time.

《Even if the follow-up works in the long run, it’s the immediate backlash I’m concerned about. From what I’ve heard, this fiancé—Nurikae-san—has quite the pride. I just hope he doesn’t let his temper get the better of him and do something stupid…》

《It’ll be fine. He’s a proper adult, isn’t he? He’s not going to blow up over something as trivial as the outcome of a political marriage. And I’ll even help turn it into a “beautiful story”》

《Yeah, your sense of “fine” isn’t exactly reassuring, Reicia-chan…》

Calling her own engagement “trivial” is something most girls wouldn’t dream of.

Then again… maybe this is just how everyone in the so-called high society thinks? I wouldn’t know—I’m just a commoner.

『—An unbreakable bond… a bond… a bond… uh… what was next again?』

…!!

Right then, as I was deep in my mental strategy meeting with Reicia-chan, a massive wave of bad feeling washed over me, and my attention snapped to one of the Level 5 espers delivering the oath.

On the podium, the man who stood at the very top of this city—Gunha Sogiita—had his arms crossed, radiating confidence… yet was spectacularly veering off the rails.

『…“Relying on bonds that will never fade,” and—』

『Ah, whatever! Forget all that stuff about everlasting bonds—blast it away with guts!』

Wait, that’s something you can just blast away!?

『…“Demonstrating the fruits of what you’ve learned every day—”』

『Smash into them with the guts you’ve built up fighting powerful foes along the way!!』

『“By showing your growth, express gratitude to your parents and guardians—”』

『Show your guts to the mighty enemies still waiting out there and throw down the gauntlet!!!』

…It felt like his words had gone through some kind of strange filter, twisted, and then spat back out. Was this really okay?

Also, there was this… colorful stream of air swirling into existence behind Sogiita-san. Could even my full-powered Black-and-White Jagged Edge block that? It felt like some unknown type of energy, the sort that could pierce right through the Crack Shield…

《Shiren, Shiren. Let’s pull back for now. I think that’s going to explode any second. A wise person keeps their distance from danger.》

《Yeah, you’re right, Reicia-chan…》

We planted our flags into the ground and put a good amount of distance between ourselves and Sogiita-san’s back. And right after—

『So that this tournament becomes the gutsiest memory ever! No matter if every kind of hardship, obstacle, hopeless situation, or impossible problem comes charging at me—
I swear I’ll overcome it all with guts!!!!!!』

DOOOOOOOOON!!

A massive, colorful explosion erupted, engulfing the exact spot we’d been in just moments earlier.

In a scene almost comical in its absurdity, even the toughest students went flying. Honestly, the fact that an incident like that didn’t turn into a full-blown disaster just proves that Sogiita-san’s ability is completely incomprehensible. If Black-and-White Jagged Edge so much as hit someone, it’d absolutely count as an assault case.

Once he was done, Sogiita-san glanced back at the chaos behind him and said just one thing:

『…Huh? Kinda noisy back there… Well, whatever!』

“IT’S DEFINITELY NOT ‘WHATEVER’!!!”

Everyone present shouted the exact same retort in perfect unison.

Chapter 1 – The Wind That Doesn’t Blow for the Cooper Barrel Maker Psicopics.
Episode 48: Opening_Ceremony

“Ahahahahaha!!”

“…Could you please stop laughing, Yumetsuki?”

After that, once the opening ceremony had (somehow?) ended without incident, we took a short break, then met up with the GMDW who had been waiting for us, making our final preparations in the pre-event waiting area.

…But the members of GMDW, who had watched the opening ceremony broadcast, were still in stitches, laughing like they couldn’t help themselves. And this was already an hour after the ceremony had ended.

Well, I mean, I get it.

“B-but…! Shireishia-san, during the ceremony, you planted the flag in the middle of the field and scurried away—ahahahaha!”

“Rinka, you too…”

Apparently, the whole scene of me and Reicia-chan making our getaway had been caught in the corner of the broadcast footage.

Sogita-san’s impact had been so overwhelming that it didn’t become a public topic, but our friends immediately recognized it and started teasing us about it like this.

Honestly, I’m glad Sogiita-san’s antics were the center of attention. If they’d focused on us instead, the internet would probably be calling me “the Scurrying Lady” right about now.

“──It was simply due to my excellent crisis management skills. More importantly, Yumetsuki-san, isn’t it about time for our turn?”

“Ah, right. …Day one, first event: ‘Three-Legged Race.’ I know they’re reusing the same events multiple times during the festival because it’s easy to prepare, but from an entertainment standpoint, I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“Setting aside the fact that this is fundamentally a sports festival and entertainment is secondary… it is a very popular event. …Ah yes, by the way, after us, it seems Misaka-san and the transfer student, Kongou-san, will be running.”

“Tch, so we’re just the opening act before the third-ranked pair? I don’t like that.”

“I feel the same.”
“Both of you, don’t get worked up over something so trivial…”

It’s just a scheduling thing.

And really, Yumetsuki-san has completely started syncing up with Reicia-chan’s ambitious side these days… Well, I’m the brake in this group, so having someone in the faction who can sympathize with Reicia-chan and help vent that energy is actually helpful.

“In any case, let’s confirm the line-up. Which schools will be in our race?”

“Yes! First lane, Tokiwadai Middle School; second lane, Shinshikimi Middle School; third lane, Kirigaoka Middle School; and fourth lane, Shizuna High School!”

Rinka-san responded instantly with the information.

These match-ups aren’t public until they’re officially announced, but that’s where the faction’s information network shines. We’d known about this early and had been making preparations accordingly.

“Our biggest rival at the moment is definitely Kirigaoka Middle School! Shinshikimi Middle has a decent number of students from a research background, but that doesn’t seem easy to apply to this event! As for Shizuna High, I haven’t heard any big rumors about their Ability Development program, and their competitors are all Level 1 Low-Level Esper rank, so I don’t think we have much to worry about—”

“You’re being too naive, Rinka-san. According to the information I’ve gathered, the representative from Shizuna High may be a Level 1 low-level esper, but they’ve been in Judgment since middle school. That means their physical ability and experience are on an entirely different level.”

“Hmm, I think you’re overthinking it, Reicia-san.”

No, no—low ability but a veteran fighter? In this world, that’s practically a guaranteed “dangerous opponent” flag. Underestimating them is the fastest way to get crushed, so I’m not letting my guard down.

Also, Shinshikimi Middle… if I remember correctly, that’s Kuriba-san’s school. I doubt they’ve got a bunch of people on Kuriba-san’s full-body cyborg level, but I’d better assume they at least have the infrastructure for it…

…However—

《…Y’know, ever since I first heard the match-ups, I’ve been thinking— isn’t it weird to have middle schoolers and high schoolers competing together in the same event?》

《Oh? Personally, I think it’s far more unreasonable to pit students of completely different strength levels against each other.》

…She’s got a point.

But yeah, she might be right. Compared to the difference in strength levels, things like age or gender probably don’t mean much at all.

…Although, that in itself feels a little twisted—and if you flip that around, doesn’t that mean my own thinking—wanting to divide people by age or gender—might be just as unconsciously twisted?

《…Yeah, this is making me think. A lot.》

《I think you’re just overthinking it, Shiren.》

…Ouch. Got me there.

“Well then, we’ve finished our prep and review. All that’s left is to get results when it counts, Yumetsuki.”

“Of course! Now—let’s show them! Show all of Academy City… and the entire world—!”

While I was still lost in thought, Reicia-chan, facing straight ahead, spoke with unshakable confidence.

With a defiance that felt like she was declaring war on the entire world.

“An ‘overwhelming victory’ so brilliant it’ll make them blink. A display of a ‘different dimension.’ —That is who we are: GMDW!”