Opening

Thank you very much to mark74497 for becoming a patron!

------------------

Inside the resting room, some people were performing actions to relieve their emotions, while others were starting to get serious. Because there were many competitors in their class, including Bakugo Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto, whose expressions and emotions were the most obvious.

Unfortunately, Renault, who could have kept these two under control, had disappeared and was not answering his phone. This made Bakugo Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto, who had originally targeted Renault, became a bit irritable.

Mineta Minoru sat beside Kaminari Denki and nervously whispered, "Hey, what should we do? It's okay if the class representative isn't here, but why Renault isn't here either?"

"He said he had something to attend to and would be back before the opening ceremony," Kaminari Denki replied, swallowing nervously as he looked at the now-spark-filled resting room because of Bakugo Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto.

"It's really troublesome."

After about ten minutes of agony, the door to the resting room finally opened, and Iida Tenya returned.

"Is everyone ready? Huh? Where's Renault-kun? Why hasn't he come back yet!" he asked.

"..."

They also wanted to know.

However, prompted by Iida Tenya, several people simultaneously picked up their phones and messaged Renault.

At this point, Todoroki Shoto stood up and walked over to Midoriya Izuku, looking at him and saying, "Even if Renault isn't here, it doesn't matter."

"Huh?" Midoriya Izuku looked at Todoroki Shoto, confused.

Then Todoroki Shoto continued, "Although I don't know why All Might has high expectations for you and even Renault appreciates you, Midoriya, in terms of strength, I should be superior to you. Even if it's Renault, I should be able to fight him with all my strength. So, in this Sports Festival, I will defeat all of you."

Listening to the speech of Todoroki Shoto, Kirishima Eijiro exclaimed in surprise, "Oi Oi Oi, why are you suddenly declaring war in the class? Don't be like this, we're about to make an appearance."

As he spoke, he wanted to come up and comfort Todoroki Shoto's emotions. But as soon as his hand touched Todoroki Shoto's shoulder, it was pushed away.

"I have no intention of joining with you in friendship. In my opinion, Renault's previous speech was too mild. I'll do what I want." Todoroki Shoto said, then turned around and tried to leave the lounge alone.

"Ah, it seems quite lively," Renault said as he returned to the lounge, holding a box of piping hot takoyaki and eating them one by one.

"Didn't they say we're about to make an appearance? Why aren't you going there yet?" Todoroki Shoto said, looking at Renault's appearance with a somewhat stiff expression.

"Is this your attitude?"

"Attitude? Todoroki-kun, you're taking things too seriously. Don't you feel tired of acting like that all the time?" Renault said as he finished the remaining takoyaki in two or three bites, then patted Todoroki Shoto's shoulder.

"I feel like you're even harder to get along with than Bakugo."

"What the hell are you talking about, you jerk!"

Unfortunately, Renault didn't pay any attention to Bakugo Katsuki's yelling. After throwing away the garbage, he urged everyone to leave the lounge together.

Watching Renault walking ahead of him, Todoroki Shoto suddenly felt that his serious speech earlier was just a waste of effort...

-----------------------

The sports festival of U.A. High School for the three grades was held simultaneously in three different huge venues, which was not difficult for U.A. considering its large campus area.

By now, all the spectators in the first-grade venue had already taken their seats. Most of them were Pro Heroes, with some personnel from various sponsoring companies and technology development companies. Only a small number of ordinary people had obtained entry tickets, among which were Misaka Mikoto and her mother Misaka Misuzu.

However, Misaka Mikoto didn't pay much attention to the numerous heroes around her whose names she could barely recall. What she was looking forward to now was the entrance of the first-grade students.

Apart from the familiar Renault-senpai, Misaka Mikoto also knew from Renault that Class A had many outstanding students, including even the son of the Number Two Hero on the ranking list, Flame Hero Endeavor. It could be said that the talent was abundant.

"I wonder who is stronger, Endeavor's son or Renault-senpai?" Misaka Mikoto pondered to herself. However, Renault never talked about these things, so she could only guess for herself.

Soon, under the announcement of Present Mic, who was on the main stage, the first-grade students of U.A. High School entered the venue.

"First-grade competition area, students enter!" Upon hearing Present Mic-sensei's words outside, Iida Tenya, the class president, turned around and looked at his classmates, saying, "Let's go."

After walking through the long passage, the Class A students appeared at the competition venue.

Present Mic also showcased his rock and talkative nature to the extreme: "You must be looking forward to these guys, right?! The group of miracle new stars who have endured the attacks of villains and persevered like steel! Hero Department, Class 1-A, am I right?!"

Walking into the huge arena, Renault also saw countless audiences in the stands, heard the enthusiastic cheers and screams coming from the stands, and the crowded media reporters on the sidelines.

"Although I knew that this competition venue is very large, it wasn't until I stood here that I realized how exaggerated it is."

Hearing Renault's exclamation, Midoriya Izuku trembled and said, "R-Renault-kun, aren't you nervous?"

"Nervous? What is there to be nervous about?" Looking at Midoriya Izuku, who was staring nervously, Renault smiled and said, "Even if there are a lot of people, are they scarier than the previous villains? Don't keep looking like this, Midoriya."

At this point, Renault suddenly lowered his voice and said something that only Midoriya Izuku could hear, "No matter what, you are All Might's successor, so you should have confidence."

"..."

Upon hearing Renault's words, Midoriya Izuku was completely stunned.

Did he just give himself away?

'How did Renault-kun find out?'

'No, it's not that Renault-kun found out. Could it be that All Might told him?'

Midoriya Izuku immediately made up his mind and felt somewhat helpless. All Might didn't tell him about such an important matter, which scared him a lot.

Fortunately, thanks to Renault's interruption, his nervousness was relieved to some extent.

After Class A took their place, students from Hero Department Class B, as well as General Department, Support Department, and Management Department, also entered the arena one after another. However, the attention and reaction from the audience were far less intense than when Class A appeared.

It's easy to imagine the frustration these students must feel.

----------

Read up to 40 advanced chapters at:

https://www.p*treon.com/VALRRR