713 -703- [ Elf Speeder ]

For some reason, the weather today is unusually gloomy.

The sun is completely hidden, and the sky remains overcast, making the air feel heavy as if a storm is about to come. The temperature seems to have risen as well.

In this situation, early in the morning at Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, a piece of news circulated.

"I heard that 'Surround Roar' lost last night?"

"It seems to be the case."

"All the automatons were heavily injured, and because of magical exhaustion, they could hardly fight back, but their opponent didn't take away her gloves, and instead, they kept forcing her to stand up."

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

Early in the morning, these discussions spread throughout the entire academy.

"Isn't the opponent ranked 87th?"

"I didn't expect the 87th rank to be this strong."

"I thought there wouldn't be any opponents for 'Surround Roar' outside the top 50."

"It's surprising that even among the lower ranks, there are such talented individuals."

"Most importantly, even though her appearance is so beautiful, she showed no mercy during the fight."

"Fortunately, she didn't attack the puppeteer, or else her qualification would have been revoked."

"But why didn't she take 'Surround Roar's' gloves away?"

"How would I know?"

"I was there at the time, but even I don't know why she didn't take 'Surround Roar's' gloves. I only knew that the opponent seemed to enjoy the process of pressuring 'Surround Roar,' with a happy smile on her face the whole time."

"Oh my..."

"Thank goodness I didn't participate in the Night Party..."

The students were discussing these matters, making the entire academy lively early in the morning.

Listening to these discussions, Rozen walked with Yaya to the medical department building and arrived at the infirmary.

As soon as he arrived, Rozen saw a familiar face he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Loki..."

It was Frey's younger brother, Loki.

Even after some time apart, Loki still had that cold and unapproachable demeanor, accompanied by his mechanical automaton, Cherubim, which emitted an intimidating aura that made people hesitant to approach.

It was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that Loki's mood was in a terrible state.

And that was only natural.

"Are you here to see Frey as well?" Rozen inquired of Loki.

In response, Loki remained silent, his mood still visibly grim. He stared in the direction of the infirmary, devoid of any expression on his face, but his hands were clenched tightly.

Though it wasn't apparent on the surface, Loki must be deeply concerned about Frey's condition. After all, she was his only biological sister, and with such a sudden turn of events, it was impossible for him not to feel distraught.

Therefore, Rozen didn't mind Loki's indifference and continued to ask, "How is Frey's condition?"

To this question, Loki remained silent for a moment before providing an answer.

"...The Night Party prohibits direct attacks on puppeteers, so she wasn't seriously injured. Only those damned dogs are in bad shape."

Loki responded indifferently, "Frey's condition is due to magical exhaustion, and she inadvertently activated 'that thing.'"

The reference to "that thing" likely meant Frey's heart, as magical exhaustion could have caused her heart to become overactive, ultimately leading to its activation. This wasn't an impossible scenario.

"So, as I said, why didn't she just listen to me to forfeit and wait for me to win?" Loki exclaimed.

"With her skills, winning at the Night Party was simply impossible. In that case, she could have hidden behind someone else and reaped the benefits. Why doesn't she understand?"

Loki's voice was tinged with frustration and agitation, unlike anything Rozen had ever seen. Despite the harsh words and lack of empathy, one could see his true emotions.

Rozen had a good idea of what was happening. It was likely that Frey had prepared herself to suppress "that thing" when it was activated due to magical exhaustion, causing issues with her heart. This likely resulted in her collapsing and being taken to the infirmary.

But this situation...

"I'm afraid the 87th rank deliberately led her to this, didn't they?" Rozen mumbled softly, prompting a reaction from Loki.

"What do you mean?" Loki finally looked at Rozen, his gaze fixed firmly on him.

Facing Loki's gaze, Rozen spoke with a neutral expression. "Didn't you hear how people in the academy described last night's battle? All the automatons were heavily injured, and Frey almost couldn't fight anymore due to magical exhaustion, yet her opponent didn't take her gloves. Instead, they kept forcing her to stand up."

This was the description circulating in the academy regarding last night's battle.

This explains that the 87th rank intentionally didn't take Frey's gloves and continuously provoked her to make her continue fighting. Rozen had to make this assumption.

"It appears the opponent knew in advance that Frey had some problem with her body, even if they didn't know the specific problem. Judging from Frey's condition when she fought Veyron on the first night, it was clear that there was a method to forcibly draw out enormous magic power from Frey, at the cost of her enduring pain," Rozen calmly explained.

"They continued to force Frey to stand up and fight, presumably to push her into a situation where she'd use this method," Rozen speculated.

What was the purpose of such actions?

"To derive pleasure from it?" Rozen sighed slowly, and his voice resonated softly. "It seems another scumbag has appeared, following Bronson."

This was Rozen's most genuine sentiment at the moment.

"The 87th rank..." Loki's eyes flashed, his expression unchanged, but his tone was filled with restrained anger.

"Who is this 87th rank?" Rozen asked Loki once again.

Loki, with a gloomy expression, responded honestly, "I don't have time to pay attention to lower-ranking individuals, but her registered code is 'Elf Speeder.'"

"Elf Speeder."

This was the name of the cruel tormentor.

And then...

"Her name is Alice Bernstein, and she seems to be quite well-known within the academy," Loki mentioned a name that made Rozen's eyes widen and left Yaya covering her mouth.

"Alice Bernstein..."

Rozen had only heard this name for the first time last night, and he had met her in person.

"I see. So, this is the gift you prepared?" Rozen murmured to himself.

There wasn't even a hint of a smile in his eyes.

This indicated one thing.

"Congratulations, you've successfully provoked me."

That was the situation.