70 Raidagem?

『H-Half right?』[Nova]

Freyana nodded.

『I'm wearing a uniform because I asked the headmaster for one! That way I can go around school while keeping the secret of the school staff together!』[Freyana]

This was Nova's first time hearing about a secret.

『It was a secret?』[Nova]

Freyana looked at Nova with a confused look.

『Isn't it, though?』[Freyana]

Nova thought about the whole process of getting to the Eternea Plains.

『...I guess so, but why is it a secret?』[Nova]

『Tradition. Also, because the headmaster said that too many kids running around in Eternea Plains and talking to the staff of the opposite gender would piss her off.』[Freyana]

『...Who is the headmaster?』[Nova]

『Hmm… That's a secret for when you meet them! Just remember the principal and the headmaster are completely different people.』[Freyana]

『Ah.. Okay. So why is the cafeteria so empty today?』[Nova]

Nova looked around at the barren cafeteria.

『They suddenly stormed out a moment ago, did you do a ranking battle not too long ago?』[Freyana]

『Uh… yeah! How did you know?』[Nova]

She pulled out an ID that looked exactly like Nova's and scrolled with it.

『Do you not fiddle with your ID? There's this friends tab where you can add other students to your watchlist! Since I have you on there, I get a ping when you go into a ranking battle or have something going on! 』[Freyana]

『...So you're stalking me?』[Nova]

Her face grew nervous for a moment before her smile returned.

『...A little!』[Freyana]

『...So, did everyone else know too? I don't see them right now.』[Nova]

She nodded her head.

『Your friends left for your match and somebody yelled about "The Conqueror" beating the "Immortal". I don't really know who either is, but it seems that "The Conqueror" hasn't been seen in a ranking battle before!』[Freyana]

Nova felt a bit embarrassed, but he was happy to hear that his friends were supporting him.

『So are you going to eat with us from now on?』[Nova]

Freyana thought about it for a moment.

『I'll have to see. I also take classes on magic theory and stuff, but I do that on days off in your room.』[Freyana]

「...Sometimes I feel like it's less my room, more hers...」[Nova]

『Hmm.. It's kinda more my room than yours now, don't you think?!』[Freyana]

A chill went down Nova's spine.

『Hahaha… I guess so?』[Nova]

She chuckled when she saw his nervous face.

『It's okay! You can come relax in my room too!』[Freyana]

Nova uncomfortably shifted with the idea of seeing Bana or Freya walk in on him in Freyana's room.

Suddenly, she got a ping on her student ID.

『Oh! I gotta run back. People are coming back for dinner now, bye Nova!』[Freyana]

Her wings suddenly flashed and she disappeared into the kitchen.

『...I think she's out of my league sometimes...』[Nova]

Not too long after, his friends came into the cafeteria.

『Did he wuss out? I can't believe we missed him!』[Rai]

『Nova? No way, he probably-』[Leo]

『Hey guys!』[Nova]

Nova waved at them from the table, causing them to run over.

『Why are you here?! What about your match, bro?』[Andrew]

『I finished. He was overconfident and flung himself out of the arena.』

『...Pfft. Alright, let me tell you about what we just went through!』[Andrew]

They grabbed some food and rushed back to the table.

『So, on the way to see your match, some "Conqueror" and "Immortal" had a match, so everyone rushed out of the arena. 』[Andrew]

Nova's back began to run a nervous cold sweat.

『It seems like the match was done in a blink of an eye! The people said that the "Immortal" got hit so quickly and so hard that he couldn't even get up! The word is that the "Conqueror" is what the second years call a "Striker"!』[Leo]

The look in Leo's eyes shined intensely.

『What is a "Striker"?』[Nova]

『Each person gets categorized into a class of soldiers once they're in the military! Strikers are people with enough offensive power that they can obliterate monsters up to a rank above them!』[Leo]

This piqued Nova's attention.

『What are the other categories?』[Nova]

Leo had a troubled face.

『...We don't know.』[Leo]

Nova was taken a bit aback by this.

『Huh? How did you find out about the Striker thing?』[Nova]

『We overheard from some second years.』[Andrew]

『Yeah. One of them was screaming about wanting to recruit the Conqueror into his… Raidagem team?』[Rai]

『...Raidagem?』[Nova]

Even Andrew looked confused at the mention of a Raidagem team.

Leo did his job and began to explain again.

『...It's an extracurricular group where they clear areas filled with beasts for points. It's a competitive thing where the higher the rank of the group, the more prestige they have, along with more influence over the kingdom and the higher their starting rank in the military once they graduate.』[Leo]

『...You really match your image, don't you?』[Rai]

Nova hadn't paid much attention to Leo's image before, but he wore simple clothes along with a pair of glasses every now and then.

So basically, a stereotypical nerd.

『...Wait, what does that mean?』[Leo]

『Noooooothing!』[Rai]

Rai began to eat his food.

Nova had spent enough time with Rai to know when something was up with him.

He pointed at Rai and asked the group out loud.

『...Something wrong with him?』[Nova]

A voice spoke out from right behind him.

『Yeah.』[Jack]

『WOAH?! What the heck?! Where did you come from?!』[Nova]

Jack put his tray down on the table and ignored Nova's question.

『He lost the bet. Leo was talking about how we'd go monster hunting in second year and rack up some mana crystals that we could use to boost our mana and seed. 』[Jack]

Rai stopped eating and became silent.

After the atmosphere started getting silent as well, Nova decided to break the silence.

『...You good?』[Nova]

Rai suddenly threw his head up and shouted into the air.

『MY MANA CRYSTALS!!!!』[Rai]