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Eto.

That refers to the twelve characters from the original story.

They're girls serving under the Dark Hand.

They each correspond to one of the twelve zodiac animals—Ne (rat), Ushi (ox), Tora (tiger), U (rabbit), Tatsu (dragon), Mi (snake), Uma (horse), Hitsuji (sheep), Saru (monkey), Tori (rooster), Inu (dog), and I (boar)—and have traits of those animals.

For example, Ratu from Ne can share her senses with mice.

In the original work, these Eto have no real emotions and attack the protagonists, only to meet tragic ends.

But in this world, eleven of them (everyone but Barrett) serve as Arc's assassination squad.

Originally, they also worked as assassins for the Dark Hand, so what they do hasn't changed much.

What's different is who they serve and why.

That difference is very important to them.

All the Eto are deeply loyal.

They owe an unpayable debt to Arc, who saved them from despair.

They're willing to give their lives for him.

Their mission is to serve Arc and destroy the Dark Hand.

This time, at the magic tournament, they can personally take out the Dark Hand.

They're more motivated than ever, and it seems that thanks to them, the Dark Hand's attack was handled quietly—no one noticed and no one got hurt.

By the way, Arc himself doesn't know the Eto took part.

It's a strange situation, where the leader who's supposed to give orders knows nothing, yet the organization still runs smoothly.

Anyway.

In this world, the tragic events from the original never happen.

Once again, Arc shatters all depressing developments.

◇　◇　◇

"Mwahahaha!"

"Finally, the finals!"

"My opponent is the Student Council President—Medusa."

I hear she can use stone magic or something like that.

Well, she's got no chance against me!

I'll beat her in an instant.

But that'd be too boring.

I hope Medusa puts up a decent fight.

"Hehehe. So it's Lord Arc I'm facing, just as I thought."

"Of course. No one else could've reached this stage. And no one else is allowed to hold the winner's flag."

The moment I joined, it was obvious the tournament was mine.

I can't lose.

"I'd call it bragging, but you're not lying, so I can't deny it.Still, as Student Council President, I can't afford to lose without trying."

"Don't worry. You're up against me. Even if you lose, nobody will blame you."

"Hehehe. True."

So, do me a favor and lose gracefully, okay?

Be the perfect supporting character who makes me look good.

◇　◇　◇

Medusa Gorgon—the Student Council President.

She's one of the best in the academy.

Her stone magic is powerful both offensively and defensively. In offense, it's overwhelming; in defense, it's an unbreakable wall.

And the position of Student Council President isn't easy to get.

Especially under the current headmaster, you can't get it just because of family status.

It's a merit-based system.

Of course, merit-based doesn't mean everything is decided strictly by skill alone.

In reality, that's impossible.

But anyway—

Medusa worked harder than anyone else to become Student Council President.

She had to, given her circumstances.

She comes from the respected Gorgon family.

However, the Gorgon family has long been called a "cursed bloodline."

That's because of a strange series of deaths in the royal capital over ten years ago.

Everyone who died turned to stone, so people quickly blamed the Gorgon family.

Just being suspected wouldn't have been so bad.

But the killer was indeed a member of the Gorgon family.

Someone cast out of the family went on a mass murder spree in the royal capital, killing dozens for fun.

After that, the Gorgon family became known as a cursed line.

Because of that, Medusa spent most of her life facing distrust.

"When you make an effort, sometimes it's rewarded. Of course, not every effort succeeds.But our academy will fairly recognize your hard work and the results of it.Work hard, students. The future of the academy—and this country—depends on you."

Those were the headmaster's words at the entrance ceremony.

Medusa believed those words and kept working hard.

That effort paid off—she became Student Council President.

There are still people who talk badly about her.

But even more people respect her.

She likes how this place judges people by merit rather than lineage.

She likes the students who admire her.

She likes this academy.

And she's proud of what she's accomplished.

Still, Medusa doesn't think she can win against Arc.

He's on a completely different level.

He uses chantless magic, easily wins every match, and shows no weaknesses at all.

He even showed amazing reflexes in his battle with Barrett, suggesting he's good at close combat too.

Truly no flaws.

"That's why he's the perfect final opponent," she says.

Medusa has been the strongest in the academy.

She has the pride of a Student Council President.

Even if her opponent is Arc, she has no plans to lose.

"There's no way I'd just hand the strongest title to some first-year."

Seeing Arc, Medusa smirks.

"I'm going all-out from the beginning."

The field this time is rocky and dry.

Visibility isn't great, but that doesn't bother Medusa.

She'll just blast everything away.

Once she senses where Arc is, she starts her incantation.

The reason people call her the strongest—

She can use a top-tier spell with tremendous power:

Meteor.

Even most first-rate magicians can't handle it, much less a student.

"—Meteor."

High above the field, a massive rock appears.