After an hour had passed, Rentaro finally returned to the academy, and as he walked through the front gates, his expression was completely different from before, because instead of looking broken or angry, he was smiling calmly as if nothing had happened earlier, as if the humiliation, the pain, and the betrayal meant nothing to him anymore.
His steps were steady, his posture relaxed, and as he passed by groups of students, whispers immediately followed him.
Some students looked at him with disbelief as one of them quietly said that the failure had come back like nothing happened, while another student let out a small laugh and said that he must be looking to embarrass himself again after what happened in the arena, and a third student shook his head and added that someone like him should have just stayed home instead of showing his face again.
Rentaro heard everything.
But instead of reacting, he simply kept walking, smiling faintly as he told himself that none of it mattered anymore, because things had already changed.
As he continued walking, his attention was suddenly caught by a crowd of students gathered around a large glowing board, and as he got closer, he noticed that everyone seemed excited, talking loudly about something important.
One student stood in front of the board and raised his voice, announcing that anyone could participate in the upcoming battle tournament, explaining that whoever won would receive a Legendary Spear, a weapon brought by the Aegis Seven, a group known as the strongest magic casters of this generation, and as the students heard that, their excitement only grew stronger.
Another student looked at the board and said that it was no surprise that the Five Royals had already joined, because of course they would not miss the chance to obtain such a powerful weapon, while others began discussing whether they should participate as well, some saying that even if they lost, it was worth trying their luck.
Rentaro stood there quietly, observing everything, and as he crossed his arms slightly, he spoke in his mind, asking his weapon what it thought about all of this while casually calling out its name, wondering why it was called Ciel, because he thought people could only bond with one weapon in their lifetime.
Ciel responded calmly, explaining that while most people only had one Bond, there were rare cases where weapons had been abandoned or lost by their original owners, and in some situations, individuals with enough compatibility could wield more than one, adding that such cases were extremely rare but not impossible.
Rentaro nodded slowly as he processed the information, and after a brief moment of silence, he asked Ciel if it thought he should participate in the tournament, his tone sounding casual but with a hint of curiosity behind it.
Ciel answered that he could participate if he wanted, but it warned him seriously that he must not reveal anything too unnatural, explaining that if people saw things like attacks passing through him without damage or impossible phenomena happening around him, it would immediately draw attention, and that kind of attention could become dangerous.
Rentaro raised an eyebrow slightly and responded by asking if that meant he could literally imagine anything, and Ciel calmly confirmed that his power was indeed imagination itself, reminding him that he should be careful with how he used it.
Rentaro let out a small laugh and said that he almost forgot about that, assuring Ciel that he would not go too far and that he had already thought of something simple, explaining that he would just imagine his weapon as gauntlets and give himself an extreme healing ability so that he could fight normally without raising suspicion.
Ciel agreed, saying that it could work, but reminded him again that he should act like he was injured or tired when needed, so that no one would suspect anything unusual, and Rentaro nodded confidently as he said that he understood.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward toward the entry desk, picked up a pen, and wrote his name.
The moment he finished—
The board glowed.
His name appeared.
Rentaro Hagane.
For a second, everything went silent.
Then suddenly—
The entire crowd erupted into shock.
One student pointed at the board and said in disbelief that the failure had actually entered the tournament, while another student laughed loudly and said that he must have lost his mind because there was no way someone like him could survive even one match, and another added that he was clearly looking for death after what happened earlier.
But Rentaro simply placed the pen down and turned away, his expression calm as if none of their words reached him.
Inside one of the academy classrooms, the Five Royals were gathered together, casually relaxing as they talked among themselves, until suddenly, all of their phones buzzed at the same time.
Clark picked up his phone and looked at the screen, and as he read the message, a smirk slowly appeared on his face.
Drexel, the blue-haired boy, leaned back in his chair and said that Clark should check the announcement, asking if he had just seen what he saw, while Clark let out a short laugh and said that it was amusing, because a failure like Rentaro had actually joined the tournament as if he believed he had any chance of winning.
Chanitshi, with his striking orange and yellow hair, crossed his arms and said that it seemed the humiliation earlier was not enough, adding that if he ended up fighting Rentaro in the tournament, he would personally make sure to teach him a lesson he would never forget.
A girl with a ribbon tied neatly around her neck stepped forward slightly and said in a calm yet confident voice that Clark did not need to worry, because she would handle it for him and make sure that Rentaro regretted ever stepping into the tournament, and as she smiled slightly, she addressed him respectfully as her liege.
Clark waved his hand casually and said that she could do whatever she wanted with him, because in the end, it did not matter who dealt with Rentaro.
Drexel then glanced toward the corner of the room where another girl was sitting quietly, her face partially hidden under a hoodie, and he asked what she thought about all of this.
Raven remained silent for a moment before slowly lifting her head, her mismatched eyes glowing faintly as she spoke in a cold and uninterested tone, saying that it had nothing to do with her and that they could do whatever they wanted.
The room fell quiet for a brief moment.
Back at the participation area, Rentaro placed the pen down and said calmly that it was done, adding that all that was left now was to wait, and after a while, the principal's voice echoed throughout the entire academy through the speakers, announcing that all students must head to the colosseum to watch the tournament, while the participants were instructed to go to the changing rooms.
Rentaro stretched slightly and said that he guessed that was his cue to move, but before the participants could leave, the principal continued speaking, announcing the matchups for the day.
The voice clearly listed the battles, saying that the first match would be between Shika and Drexel, followed by Velgard versus Yuki, then Aoi versus Oliver, and finally, the last match would be Raven versus Noah, adding that this was only the first batch and that the second batch would be announced the next day.
After hearing this, Rentaro quietly spoke to Ciel, saying that it looked like he was placed in the second batch, and Ciel calmly confirmed that he was correct.
As Rentaro made his way to the seating area and sat down among the other students, he could feel their eyes on him, and as whispers once again spread around, students continued talking about how the failure had entered the tournament, wondering how long he would last.
But Rentaro simply leaned back slightly, his eyes calm as he stared toward the arena, and in his mind, he quietly said that it did not matter what they thought anymore, because this time—
Everything would be different.