After the mission, I was given the rest of the day off, so I decided to follow Mechamaru’s advice and went straight to the school’s hot springs.
My body appreciated it quite a bit.
The next morning, Utahime called me to her office again.
When I walked in, she had a tablet turned on with images of the station.
“The Karasuma Line is operating normally again,” she said as she showed me a picture of a large crowd of people waiting for the train.
“The maintenance crews went in after you finished, and the access barriers have already been removed.”
I nodded.
“All the curses were exorcised.
And, surprisingly, you didn’t cause any serious collateral damage to the facilities.
Just a few holes that have already been filled in.”
“Good job, Nagi.”
“Of course,” I said, flexing my bicep.
“I’m strong, after all.”
Utahime gave me one of her usual tired looks before opening a drawer.
She pulled out an envelope and slid it across the desk toward me.
“Here.
Your money.”
I opened the envelope.
It contained a good stack of bills.
Specifically, 500,000 yen.
Even though I already knew how much they were going to pay me, seeing it physically was satisfying.
It must have shown on my face, because Utahime let out a sigh with a faint smile.
“Good job, Nagi.
Really.”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.
“And precisely because that went well, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”
I looked up from my money.
“Have you heard of the Goodwill Event between the sister schools?”
“The what?”
“Great,” she muttered.
“Then we’re starting from zero.”
Utahime cleared her throat before continuing.
“Every year, the Tokyo and Kyoto jujutsu schools hold a joint event.
Officially, it’s meant to strengthen the relationship between the two schools, although in practice it also allows us to evaluate the students’ abilities and have them compete against each other.”
“This year will be the twenty-ninth edition, and it’ll be held tomorrow, on the first day of the third week of October.”
So basically, right away.
“Nice of you to give me some warning.”
“Combat, teamwork, adaptability, and decision-making are all evaluated,” she added.
A wide, expectant grin spread across my face.
“That sounds fun.
Don’t worry, Sensei.
I’ll make sure we beat those bastards from Tokyo.”
Utahime didn’t seem to share my enthusiasm.
“There’s a small problem with that,” she said, “but let me finish first.”
“The event has two parts.
The first will be a group test.
Both schools will compete to complete a certain objective, and you’ll have to coordinate with each other.
The format changes every year, so it’ll be a surprise until the moment it starts.”
“The second part will be individual matches.
One-on-one fights between students from Tokyo and Kyoto to measure your abilities separately.”
Then she paused briefly.
“And you’re going to be the only first-year student from Kyoto participating this year.”
I carefully analyzed her words, trying to figure out why I was the only one selected.
However, despite my great intellect, I failed to come up with an answer.
“Why’s that?”
“Because this year, Tokyo has a first-year student classified as a Special Grade sorcerer,” she replied.
“And a certain idiot with far too much power insisted on having him participate in the event despite the difference between him and the rest of the students.”
A Special Grade in his first year?
doesn’t sound very balanced,” I said.
“Who is he?”
“His name is Yuta Okkotsu.
And no, it isn’t balanced,” Utahime confirmed.
“His participation has forced us to make a few adjustments this year.”
She rested her elbows on the desk and stared at me.
“Normally, the second- and third-year students participate.
Tokyo will send four students from those years, plus Okkotsu.
Five in total.
Kyoto would also have five: our three second-years and two third-years.”
“Since they have a Special Grade sorcerer, we’ve been allowed to add a sixth participant to compensate for the difference a little.”
I finally understood what was happening.
“Me.”
“You,” she confirmed.
“Miwa, Mai, and Mechamaru will sit this one out, just like the rest of Tokyo’s first-years.”
I rested a hand against my chin, thinking.
“So they have five, one of them a Special Grade, and we have six.”
“Exactly.
Although there’s another reason why you’re participating,” she added, visibly annoyed.
“The same idiot who insisted on including Okkotsu found out that Kyoto had a new ‘talented’ student and said he wanted to see you in action.”
“And who is this guy?”
Utahime narrowed her eyes in irritation.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” she cut me off.
“You’ll meet him soon enough.”
Judging by her face, she definitely doesn’t like him.
“The event will be held here in Kyoto and will last two days.
The first day will be dedicated to the group test, and the second to the individual matches.”
All this seriousness over an exchange tournament meant to improve relations between two schools?
There has to be some kind of incentive that makes everyone take it seriously.
“Right…” I said.
“So what happens if we win?”
Utahime nodded.
She looked like she’d been expecting that question for a while.
“Of course you’d ask that.”
“It’s a good question.”
“It is,” she admitted.
“Participating and standing out in front of teachers, administrators, and other sorcerers can help you a lot with future grade promotions.
The more people recognize that you’re capable of handling difficult missions, the better assignments you’ll receive and, therefore, the more money you can earn.”
“Also, the winning school gets the right to host the following year’s Goodwill Event.”
My eyes lit up again, practically reflecting the yen symbol.
“That look again…” Utahime muttered, slightly uneasy.
I hadn’t even reached the next hallway when my phone started vibrating in my pocket.
Incoming call: Miwa.
“Nagi!” she blurted out the moment I answered.
“Where are you?
Are you far from the training field?”
“Not really.
I just left Utahime-sensei’s office.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
“Ah!
Then she already told you about the event, right?”
“She explained it to me five minutes ago.”
“Then come to the training field!” she replied immediately, sounding quite excited.
“Everyone’s here.”
I slowed down and changed direction toward the stairs leading there.
“Everyone?”
“Everyone who’s participating and, well…
Mai, Mechamaru, and I are here too.”
“Alright, I’m on my way.”
Besides my three classmates, there were three other people scattered around the area, either training or talking among themselves.
Miwa spotted me from a distance, raised one hand, and started waving to get my attention.
“Nagi-kun!
Over here!”
I walked over to her, glancing at the unfamiliar faces along the way.
“So you really are participating?” Miwa asked as soon as I reached her.
“Looks like it.
I just found out.”
“That’s crazy!” she replied, clearly excited.
“I’ve heard the Goodwill Event is pretty intense.
Although I’m a little jealous I can’t participate…
I probably wouldn’t be much help to you guys anyway.”
This poor girl needs a little more self-confidence.
Mai was sitting on one of the benches beside a small blonde girl with ribbons.
A broom floated beside her, calmly suspended in the air thanks to her cursed technique, I assume.
The two of them were chatting pretty casually.
Mechamaru was disconnected off to one side, his mechanical body completely motionless.
I guess Kokichi had better things to do with his real body.
Not far away stood Todo, looking much more presentable than when he had stumbled out of his room half asleep.
His hair was tied up in a bun, with several strands sticking out from the top, and he stood there with his arms crossed.
From the look on his face, he seemed like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“He’s mad,” Miwa whispered, leaning toward me.
I glanced at Todo.
“Why?”
“Because there’s no action.
He’s been saying this place feels like a funeral.”
As if he’d been waiting for someone to talk about him, Todo let out a grunt from the other side of the field.
“This is boring,” he complained.
“Why did they gather us here?
To stand around talking?
If something doesn’t happen soon, I’m going to break something.”
Near him, another boy had decided to completely ignore his complaints.
He trained in silence, calmly repeating a series of martial movements.
He had black hair, narrow, slanted eyes, and two strands of hair falling down both sides of his face.
He contrasted quite a bit with Todo.
“That’s Noritoshi Kamo,” Miwa whispered.
“He’s a second-year, just like Todo.”
Then she discreetly pointed toward the bench.
“And the girl with Mai is Momo Nishimiya.
She’s also a second-year.”
I walked over.
“Hi, I’m Nagi.”
“I already know who you are,” Nishimiya replied with a smile.
“The new first-year who’s participating.
I hope you’re strong; we could use the help.”
“I’m pretty confident in myself,” I said.
“But you guys know Tokyo better than I do.
How strong are they?”
Kamo answered without stopping his training.
“We have practically no chance of winning this year.”
He turned toward me and looked at me with genuine attention for the first time.
“By the way, I’m Noritoshi Kamo.
You’re Nagi Shirokawa, right?”
Kamo…, this guy is a member of the three big clans, like Mai.
“The third-years are about to arrive.
Once everyone’s here, we’ll talk in more detail about Tokyo and decide how to approach the group test.”
“But I’ll warn you now: with an special grade participating, I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do.”
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