The first match of the Party vs. Party event A has begun.
Only five-person teams can participate in this event, so how many teams are actually taking part?
In theory, up to eight teams could participate, but realistically, that’s unlikely.
My party has ten people in total, but only one team is participating.
At this point, it’s unlikely that eight teams will participate.
Suzuha’s party has fifteen people in total, but considering their abilities and members’ enthusiasm, it’s hard to imagine they would participate with three teams.
The remaining boys total sixteen people, but how many of the scattered boys on the island will be able to gather before the event starts?
Anyway, we won’t get the ‘return right’ unless we win all the matches.
“Deepo and Genju, I’ll leave the base defense to you. Genju, please transform into a phantasm.” “Leave it to me.” “U-Um…!”
“Since the starting point is the base for both sides, Shouko, please have Mashiro ride Masiro and have her sniff out the scent of people. The direction of the enemy is where their base is.” “Got it!”
“Chiyu, get on Mikuron’s back with me. If anything happens, please use ‘Strength Enhancement’ on me.” “Okay. Understood.”
We quickly confirm the plan and start moving swiftly.
I hop on Mikuron’s back with my childhood friend and follow Mashiro, who has already started running ahead.
The forest scenery rushes past at a tremendous speed. “Souma! We’re almost there!”
“I got it! Mashiro, Mikuron, please!”
The only concern for this event is whether we can attack our classmates.
Even though we were told that we won’t actually get hurt, the resistance to attacking people doesn’t go away.
We are about to fight familiar faces in our usual forms, not through the game screen.
As a way to overcome this, I thought it might be a bit underhanded to rely on Shouko’s summoned beast.
“Chiyu, please don’t stop ‘Strength Enhancement’ and ‘Intermediate Healing’ until the end of the match.” “Okay. Leave it to me.”
I don’t feel right making the phantoms carry all the burden, so I’ll move if necessary.
“U, uaaaaaah! It’s out again!”
“That’s not fair! How am I supposed to fight with a knife like this?”
I could see two ragged-looking boys.
One of them fell to the ground, so I dropped the ‘stone cage’ on him like last time, immobilizing him.
The other one shouted, “Shit! I don’t want to spend another day here!” and charged at me.
Mashiro casually dodged him at the last second and gently pushed him.
But the result was anything but gentle.
It’s like in movies where people get thrown by a bus. That’s exactly what happened.
The knife boy was thrown away like it was nothing and slammed into a nearby tree, then slid down and stopped moving.
“U, ugh… Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. It’s like an avatar.”
Thousand Heals told Shokushi, who looked worried.
“No, I heard the rules too, but… Ah, Mashiro, you didn’t do anything wrong. Thanks for fighting for me.” Shokushi hurriedly patted Mashiro.
Soon enough, we could see the enemy’s base.
“Shit! What are they doing?”
“T, that’s a big wolf! And what’s that!? A dragon!? This is too much!”
Standing in front of the base were two more ragged-looking boys.
One of them held a thick branch as a makeshift club, while the other wielded a crude stone axe.
It seems they’ve acquired new weapons on this island.
Unfortunately, it’s not something that can stand up to the phantoms.
But what worries me more is… ――Where’s the last one?
Suddenly, Mashiro barked at me, looking diagonally upward. “Die…!!”
Someone jumped down from a nearby tree.
In the boy’s hand was a wooden spear. There was no tip… rather, it looked like he had sharpened the end to ensure it could pierce through.
If I look closely, it’s that guy with the pistol.
He’s falling toward me, brandishing a spear.
With “Strength Enhancement” bestowed upon me, I grab the approaching spear and pull him down to the ground. “Gah…!?”
He should have taken quite a beating, but this time my body isn’t damaged, and my movements are getting slower and slower.
It looks like he can still move, because he’s getting up.
I tried to immobilize them with the ‘Stone Cage,’ but it wasn’t necessary. Besh!
Because the tail of the black dragon, Mikuron, was swung as if to knock down a bug. “Gyaah…!”
The former pistol man let out a short cry and was sent flying far away, disappearing.
“Ah… Thanks, Mikuron.”
Mikuron snorted, as if to say, ‘What an annoying guy!’
It seemed angry that he had acted to target me.
When we turned our gaze back toward our base, the remaining two were surrendering by throwing down their weapons and raising their hands.
“Souma, can I leave this to Mashiro?” “Yeah.”
Mashiro tapped the enemy base three times with her forelegs, and it collapsed.
“Ugh… When can we go home?”
「Give up, we’ll never get off this island…」
Seeing the two pessimistic boys makes me feel like I’m doing something bad, but I shake off that thought.
Giving them victory would delay the return of my teammates.
If I have to choose, I choose my friends. If I choose, I shouldn’t hesitate.
Still, I don’t want to make my classmates suffer, so I thought I’d propose a trade through Lumina-sensei as soon as possible.
If they have food, shelter, and clothing, their mood will surely improve.
Just as I thought this, my vision turned white—and I found myself in a white space.
As usual, there’s a blackboard and seats, but only our team was transported here.
「We won…! Everyone, you’re amazing.」
「You really are amazing. We didn’t do anything.」
Deep Ho and Illusioner congratulate us. 『The first match has ended.
「Party A」 versus 「Party B」—Winner: 「Party A」』 appears on the blackboard.
「We’re Party A, right?」 『The second match has ended.
「Party C」 versus 「Party D」—Winner: 「Party C」』 「Huh? Isn’t that too fast?」 The Servant tilts her head.
「Maybe they’re running simultaneously? Well, if that’s the case, they’re also making a quick decision.」
When the match started, the crystal in the air said, ‘First Match.’
They’re running simultaneously, but the teams are named in order of their age, so we were the first match, and C and D were the second.
「Or maybe the time flow in this space is adjusted.」 「Yeah, that’s possible too.」
We feel like we’ve only been here for a few minutes, but in the second match’s arena, thirty minutes might have passed… It’s possible.
Even if the match times are different, the space’s adjustment makes it seem like the decisions were made simultaneously.
「…Since there’s no announcement, does that mean there are four teams in total?」
『The number of participating teams is four』, the mystery blackboard replied.
With four teams, that’s twenty people, so half the class is participating.
Considering the situation on this island, that’s quite a lot.
「…So if we win three matches, we get the reward, right?」
I nodded at Illusio’s words, saying, “That’s right.”
For some reason, that alone made her face turn red.
――Dream World said that Illusio liked me, but…
While it’s true that we were in the same class in first year, I can’t recall any reason for her to feel that way. 「Let’s aim for a perfect record.」
「That’s right! If we win all three matches, we get five ‘Return Rights’!」
「That’s right. Since we had to remove Mr. Dangui from the party to participate in the event, we won’t be able to get the bonus this time.」
As an additional member, Mr. Lumina is someone who can provide numerous benefits to the party.
One of those benefits is that the number of ‘Return Rights’ obtained from event rewards increases by one.
However, to participate in this event, the number of people had to be exactly five.
So, we had to temporarily remove Mr. Lumina from the party, meaning we won’t get the extra reward this time.
「Well, it’s understandable. Fighting against other students would be tough for Mr. Lumina anyway.」
I already have ‘Return Rights’, but apparently, I can transfer the duplicate ones for free.
In other words, if we clear this event, six out of the ten of us will have the right to return to Japan.
『The preparations for the third match are complete』
The blackboard displayed the message, and then our vision turned white once more, and we found ourselves in the forest.
「Basically, the strategy is the same. Let’s go.」
Will we face another team of boys, or will we be up against the participants from the Seiou Party?
Whoever our opponents are, we can’t afford to lose.
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