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Worthwhile Defeat

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Day 2 of the second semester Interclass Competition.

Today, Roy-kun’s team, Blue Shell, has a match. Their opponent is Team C from Class 3-A. It’s certain to be a tough battle.

In the classroom, I, along with the others, waited with bated breath for the commentary broadcast to begin. The battlefield for the match was the practical training area. It seemd Roy-kun and his team had set up their base in the forest. Meanwhile, the enemy team, Gegel Atro, had established their base in the wasteland.

Judging that a direct frontal assault from first-years was unlikely, they appearred to have focused on countering ambushes, deploying in a location with good visibility. Then, the starting signal for the match was fired.

When the match began, Blue Shell’s tactics were a bit surprising. They tied together grass underfoot, created patches of muddy ground to trip advancing soldiers, and set ropes in strategic locations to hinder the opponent’s movements. Using various traps within the forest, they bewildered the members of Gegel Atro.

As the instructor pointed out yesterday, our team, Catrap’s strategies tend to be grand and highly effective if they work but have an element of gambling. If they failed, we would be quickly cornered. In contrast, Roy-kun’s approach was far more grounded yet effective. A major advantage was that most of the tools for their traps could be sourced locally.

With their array of traps, Roy-kun’s team steadily defeated the soldiers of Gegel Atro. Hearing the commentary, we cheered every time an enemy was taken down. However, Gegel Atro wasn’t simply getting defeated. Even when caught in traps, they quickly counterattacked and took down Blue Shell members.

From the commentary, it felt like the battle was evenly matched, and it seemed like it would turn into a war of attrition. However, the outcome was decided in an instant. Roy-kun’s base was ambushed, and Roy-kun was taken down. The ambush was led by a Raider (Commander), Rohio-senpai.

According to Hana, Rohio-senpai was a renowned Raider (Commander)and was likely the best in the academy. Since the match had been so close until then, the classroom was filled with sighs of disappointment. However, the instructor’s post-match summary was highly positive, filled with praise for the defeated Blue Shell.

On the other hand, there were numerous criticisms directed at Gegel Atro’s methods, despite their victory.

“You lost this time, but if you continue to put in the effort, your first victory isn’t far off. Keep at it.” (Instructor)

With those words of encouragement, Roy-kun and his team returned to the classroom.

“That was close.” (Lux)

We offered words of comfort to the members of Blue Shell.

“We tried out a lot of things, taking inspiration from Lux and the others, but it’s not so easy.” (Roy)

Roy-kun said, though he seemed satisfied, as if he felt some progress had been made. Through this match, it became well-known throughout the academy that Blue Shell is a formidable opponent.

Next, tomorrow brings the match between Saxon’s Earl Crush and Geller’s team.

 

—

 

Day 3 of the second semester interclass competition.

Saxon faced Team Knight (Ritter) Mogi from Class 1-A.

There was some bad blood here since Mogi previously harassed Geller. Currently, Mogi seemed terrified of me, Saxon, Roy-kun, and Maria. They often ran away whenever they saw us in the school building.

This match was quite one-sided. Naturally, Saxon’s Earl Crush claimed victory. Earl Crash consisted of motivated students from Class 1-C, while we, Catrap, were considered the underdogs. In other words, Earl Crush was effectively Class 1-C’s initial elite team.

On top of that, Mogi had a mental block against Saxon. A commander’s weakness of spirit inevitably affects their subordinates. Saxon won without much trouble. When Saxon returned to the classroom, I congratulated him.

“Beating weaklings isn’t worth bragging about. The real challenge starts next.” (Saxon)

Next was the match for Geller’s team, Londo, from Class 1-A. Their opponent was Team Slash from Class 2-A. Despite facing second-years, Londo, under Geller’s command, secured a steady victory. However, those of us who’d had a tea party with Geller were a bit surprised by the match.

Geller had changed his tactics. Instead of his usual strategy of sacrificing soldiers, she focused on keeping them alive. Of course, facing second-year students meant they didn’t come out unscathed, but compared to his previous approach, this was a significant shift.

With this, the first round of matches concluded. Saxon’s, Geller’s, and our teams advanced to the second round despite being first-year students.

 

—

 

*Today’s Journal*

It was unfortunate for Roy-kun, but it was great that Saxon and Geller won.

From what I later heard, it’s rare for three first-year teams to advance.

It seems our year is considered to have many promising students.

That includes us, Catrap. It’s a little embarrassing.

Well, there’s not much time to dwell on embarrassment. Tomorrow, we face our second-round match.

Our opponent is Team Knight Hit from Class 3-B.

This will be our second time facing third-years. The first time was in the second round of the first semester interclass competition.

Back then, we lost without putting up much of a fight, but this time, it should be different.

As I wrote this far in my journal, I glanced at my beloved rifle, Counter, leaning against my desk.

My rifle, Counter, seemed to be silently slumbering, indifferent to my thoughts.

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