“Emika Katsuhata in the quarterfinals was simply fantastic! It was truly the reincarnation of the sword master Kamizumi Nobutsuna! What did you think, senpai?”
“Always gotta be cautious with the hype, but I can say Japan’s world domination is just around the corner. Preserving our unique culture in this grand age of magic makes me prouder than anything.”
“My comrades say they’ve already made knights. If the performance from the quarterfinals is maintained, then winning is practically a done deal.”
We could hear the conversation of the Japanese men sitting right behind us.
They were discussing Emika Katsuhata’s recent match.
“In the end, what’s important is soft power. These Korean guys just try to copy the Americans, creating academies and whatnot, but look, they haven’t had any results for decades. I consider the sweeping away of our mage workshops a historical mistake.”
“Yes, I completely agree.”
“Emika’s victory is even more valuable as it’s a cultural win for us Japanese. You should emphasize this in your writing. Comparing with Korea would make for a nice angle, too.”
“Oh please, if it were Korea, they wouldn’t survive there. How could those students just drawing magic circles handle Emika’s 249 combo attacks?”
“Hahaha, that’s true!”
Even though it was just their private conversation, there were quite a few things that ticked me off.
Moreover, the journalists couldn’t even grasp the flow of the duel.
It was ironic that they called Cecilia’s unique magic a waste of mana.
In the end, Emika won, but if you just look at Manubia Rafflesia itself, it was a very impressive strike.
I raised my voice and spoke in their language.
“With the level of understanding these Japanese have about magic duels, it’s astonishing to think of all the comments they’ve been leaving. I’m just amazed!”
Suddenly, the clinking of forks and knives stopped.
A tense silence fell upon the hotel dining area.
People started talking again as if nothing happened, but the glances from some were less than friendly.
Just as we finished dinner and were about to leave the restaurant, the journalists who had been sitting behind us approached, handing me their business cards and striking up a conversation.
“I’m Morita Koichi from Sankei Newspaper. I never expected to meet NoName here! Are you staying at this hotel?”
“I’m not interested.”
“If you’re busy, I just have one question! Do you think Emika Katsuhata will win the National Exchange Tournament?”
The round-glassed reporter pulled out a notebook and was ready to jot down my answer.
His black pen had a recording function built into it.
“Hey, where are you? Hurry up!”
Adella waved from a distance.
I turned to the reporter and said, “I think Emika Katsuhata will win.”
“Of course!”
“But that only means she won; it doesn’t mean Japan won. It would be better for you to not project an entire country onto one person.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because you’ll be facing me in next year’s France National Exchange Tournament. For this year, I’ll wish Japan good fortune.”
“…”
“Here, I won’t need your business card, so here you go.”
*
We decided to huddle together in the hotel room to watch Emika’s semifinal match.
Adella and Professor Cheon failed to get tickets.
When I contacted the Katsuhata Sect, they promised to secure seats for the finals.
“Magic has changed so much since our time.”
Professor Cheon, sitting on a single sofa, took a sip of his canned beer.
“Just give me a sip.”
“Na-me Unni, what are you looking at? You should at least do some commentary.”
Adella placed her palm on my cheek and forcibly turned my face toward the TV.
Originally, Adella and I were sitting side by side on the bed.
But standing makes you want to sit, and sitting makes you want to lie down—it’s just human nature.
I couldn’t resist the drowsiness and lay down on Adella’s lap.
“Yawn… It’s the same as before. Emika creates a barrier, breaks it, creates a double barrier. When her mana runs out, Katsuhata wins; when her aura runs out, Mustafa wins. If the barrier breaks, wake me up.”
“Honestly, barrier magic shouldn’t even be above 2nd circle! Is this a magic sport or what? Argh!”
“There can be dull moments. If a team decides to play a ten-back strategy in soccer, that’s boring too. They do that for 90 minutes!”
“Well, at least they have the thrill of beating each other to a pulp…”
Adella’s expression darkened.
“It’s just because the match is slow. Emika must be struggling to break through that barrier.”
I kept explaining even with my eyes closed, using Adella’s warm and soft thigh as a pillow.
“Cool…”
“Hmm, this duel might not be as fun as I thought?”
“Yawn!”
Without hesitation, I bit her thigh as punishment.
“Ah! That hurts! Let go! Have you lost your mind?! Look, I’ve got huge teeth marks now…!”
“Does my pillow talk back?”
The contents of the match had long become an afterthought.
We only occasionally glanced at the screen when the commentators shouted excitedly.
The final victor was Emika, followed by a highlight reel.
In that match, Emika managed to escape the barrier, while Mustafa installed a magic mirror throughout the arena with an area-wide spell.
Desperately dodging visual illusions while launching long-range attacks, Emika made smart decisions.
She tracked the magic laser bouncing off the mirrors, piercing through the maze to smash Mustafa’s wand.
Emika won by surrender.
Maybe it was because it was a match that Japan hadn’t reached the finals in ten years.
Despite it being a clear snooze-fest compared to the quarterfinals, applause and whistles erupted from the audience.
But Adella seemed less than pleased.
“Barrier mages are seriously the worst. Can’t they be banned from participating? It’s pathetic seeing them surrender because their entire hand was revealed.”
“…?”
I blinked rapidly, trying to process her words.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t I say something wrong?”
I tilted my head back to look at Professor Cheon.
“My dad is also a barrier mage.”
“Oh no, should I be apologizing? Sorry, Saetbyeol.”
“No, no! It’s fine, sir! I definitely didn’t mean it like that! It’s not barriers that are the problem but the way that participant uses them!”
“The barrier’s encryption level seemed pretty high, didn’t it? She didn’t get to the semifinals just by luck.”
“Yeah, that surprised me. Reverse magic reflection has been frequently used in national defense lately; Egypt’s education level seems to be quite high.”
“I’m sorry! It’s my fault for blabbering without knowing anything!”
“Kyaaaa!”
Adella jumped on the bed like a frog and reverted to a seated position.
Now that the drowsiness had faded, I listened attentively to Emika’s interview.
[Congratulations, Katsuhata player on your victory! How about sharing the joy of reaching the finals with your friends over a video call?]
[Um… A video call?]
[If you don’t have any suitable friends…-]
[Of course, I have friends! Just give me a moment, please!]
Emika’s anxious expression was quite visible.
“Your face is completely betraying you, friend.”
Thinking that Emika clinging to her poker face might stem from her being unaccustomed to hiding emotions crossed my mind.
“I’ll head back to my room now. Don’t stay up too late. You and Na-me get it, right?”
“Yeah, good night!”
“Good night, sir!”
Professor Cheon returned to his room.
“Adella, can I go shower first?”
“Sure. I’ll shower in the morning. But aren’t you tired of drying your hair twice a day?”
“Not really. I’ve never thought of that. Just wash up well.”
“I shower every day, okay? It’s really unfair!”
I was glad the hotel had a clean and spacious bathtub.
However, since it was late today, I decided to wash my hair and put off bathing for later.
Whooosh—!
No matter what happens, I turn on hot water when taking a shower.
My long hair that falls to my waist became heavy with moisture.
Shampoo once, twice, and a gentle last pump for a bit more.
I thoroughly applied it from my scalp to the tips of my hair, personally removing the dust of life.
There’s a strange satisfaction with this that clean magic can’t provide.
Once I finished everything, a long wait was necessary.
I waited and waited until the shampoo bubbles all washed away.
Thud-thud—!
Knock knock—
“Yes?”
“Na-me! Phone call! Phone!”
“Tell them I’ll call back later.”
“It’s really important!”
“Ugh, just hold on. Give me the phone.”
“Wait, this is a video call, so I’ll get you a gown to wear first.”
“A video call?”
Who would be calling me for a video call?
I had just separated from Professor Cheon earlier.
Of course, it couldn’t be Principal Gu On-yu.
Could Seo Yu-na be calling because she missed me?
Not a single suitable candidate came to mind.
Adella hastily handed me a gown, and I wrapped it around hastily, peeking my face out.
Water dripped from my hair.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Katsuhata Emika.”
“Ah…! Why is she calling me instead of everyone else?”
“She just talked with her family and peers, and now it’s your turn. You should pick up quickly.”
“But if I answer this, wouldn’t I be live-streaming right now?”
“Oh snap, you’re right! What should we do?”
[Hello, is anyone there…!]
From the phone laying on the desk, a familiar voice could be heard.
“I guess just showing my face would be fine.”
What’s the big deal about coming out after a shower?
I raised the phone and aimed it at my face.
*
Emika’s family and peers were on fire trying to tease her.
“This is Emika-chan’s room from when she was 10. She really loved Korean idols, so the walls are covered with posters…”
“You haven’t seen Katsuhata-chan’s cute side? If you haven’t, you’ve missed out on half your life!”
Her parents revealed her childhood room without a heads up, and her peers spilled embarrassing secrets.
As the video call came to an abrupt end, the journalists begged for just one more chance.
“This is the last one…”
With a polite friend, polite friend, that’s how NoName came to mind.
In reality, Emika received a lot of help from Na-me to make it to the finals.
But when I finally called, a completely different woman’s voice came through.
“Hello? Oh wow, it’s a video call!”
The upper half of a woman flashed by.
A cute little waist and a delightful belly button were easily exposed beneath her white crop top.
Startled, the woman quickly turned the phone upside down on the desk.
“Isn’t this NoName’s number?”
“Ah, yes, but I’ll call her right now… Na-me! Phone call! Phone!”
Emika sat primly on a chair provided by the staff, waiting for Na-me to answer.
‘Who is that woman? She doesn’t seem like a friend; could she be a sister?’
Finally, light illuminated the black screen.
“Hello. This is NoName.”
That dry voice was undeniably her.
The bright expression on Emika’s face slowly shifted to panic.
“Your hair… were you in the shower?”
“Yeah, but why?”
“If you were in the shower, you could’ve told me ahead of time.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Her eyes darted off to the chat window.
‘I’m really not fine…’
[Live Streaming]
[Real-time Chat]
-This chick has no sane people among her family or friendswwwwwwww
-Here comes the super cute loli who fell into the water!
-She’s too cute!
-Katsuhata-chan is embarrassed again.
-Wow, NoName what the heckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Sudden appearance
-How come she’s popping out without even using her turn signalsㅋㅋㅋㅋ
