Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 249 Laurel
On the Magic Ball field, the final match of the Magic Ball project at the exchange meeting was in full swing.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, in the support section specially prepared for members of the same Magic Ball seminar, Ritas spotted a "suspicious" figure.

"Ms. An, what are you doing?"

Like the others in the support area, An, dressed in a comfortable sports outfit of a fitted short-sleeved shirt and shorts, mingled among the trainees with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

“I was warned by Genryushi’s people for stepping on other people’s feet to watch the game before. So, I found a place where I could see the game more clearly.”

Ann spoke calmly, then after thinking for a moment, she put a finger to her lips, signaling Ritas to keep it a secret.

"."

When exactly did this person change their clothes?

Rather, it's more accurate to say that simply changing clothes allowed them to sneak into a place so close to the competition venue and players. This "Moneyball" project at the exchange meeting was quite a shoddy affair.
Ritas felt that Ann's recent actions seemed to be more active than before.

Or perhaps, in reality, An has never truly suppressed her personality. It's just that An is generally elusive and difficult to notice. Only recently has he started to pay more attention to An, thus becoming more able to frequently detect her presence.

After a brief conversation with Ann, Ritas turned his attention back to the arena.

At this point, it was the decisive game of the Magic Ball singles final.

Following Ritas's advice, Elise conceded the first game and then successfully won the second. Currently, she holds a commanding 8-3 lead in the deciding game.

In other words, Elise is going to win.

"Professor Ritas, I think it would be better to call a timeout now."

“Cadet Elise has been standing still for three rounds now.”

Is there such a thing?
Ritas observed carefully for a round and found that Elise did not move at all, but just kept throwing the magic ball in place.

Although he didn't know the reason for it at the moment, seeing that the opponent's score had quickly narrowed to 6 points, he decisively called a timeout.

Panting heavily and drenched in sweat as if he had been caught in a downpour, the tall figure stepped off the field and accepted the towel and water bottle handed to him by Ritas.

What happened that caused your performance to suddenly become erratic?
Ritas wanted to ask directly, but his mouth was already open when he abruptly swallowed his words.

Based on her movements and gait, he could basically tell that although Elise was very tired, she was not injured.

So, the problem may lie at a psychological level.

Ritas recalled the second game, where Elise, while not having the same dominant lead as in this game, had at one point pulled ahead 9-7. However, Elise's performance suddenly faltered, allowing the score to be tied, before she seemed to wake up and win the deciding point.

At the time, he was still relieved that the reform of the official competition format of Moneyball only changed the five-game, seven-point system to the current three-game, ten-point system, without introducing the concept of "winning two points". Otherwise, that game would have been more competitive.

In other words, when Elise was in the lead and about to reach match point, she stopped playing.

"In the upcoming match, Elise, you can consider making better use of the field's width. Your opponents have been quite clumsy in receiving and dodging corner kicks."

After thinking it over, Ritas gave a straightforward suggestion.

Saying "Don't be nervous" or questioning "What's wrong with you? Wake up!" directly might provoke Elise and have the opposite effect.

Now, we are finally in the lead.

"Um"

Elise, who seemed somewhat absent-minded, nodded mechanically.

Looking at her current state, Ritas had a premonition that "it might not work out."

Just as Ritas was pondering how he, lacking professional expertise, could possibly help, a voice rang out from the support section.

"Elise, try throwing a slow ball, a ball that's really slow."

Following the sound, Ritas and Elise turned their gaze and discovered that the person making the suggestion was Anne.

"If you've been throwing fast balls the whole game, suddenly throwing a slow one can have a surprising effect."

"." "."

Ritas and Elise remained silent not because they thought Anne's suggestion was outrageous, but because of Anne's actions.

Elise plays the Magic Ball in a rather unique way. She holds the Ellingo Ball, stretches her whole body like a bow, and then uses her long arms and legs to channel all her strength into the ball before throwing it out.

In contrast, An, who was explaining and demonstrating at the same time, simply raised his right arm and moved his wrist around, tossing the "ball" like a lucky cat beckoning.

Although it was just speculation, both of them felt that An's athletic ability was probably not very good.
The three-minute pause passed in the blink of an eye.

Having received some advice, but still looking dazed, Elise returned to the arena.

When the game restarted, Elise had possession of the ball.

The cheers from the surrounding audience reached an almost fever pitch the moment she took the ball.

Overwhelmed by these cries, Elise felt as if her soul had been ripped from her body, and every part of her body felt unlike her own.

She had experienced something similar when she was about to win the second game.

Simply put, it's nervousness.

However, Elise didn't want to admit that she was nervous.

Once, in that maze, facing a monster the size of a small mountain, she dared to rush up and punch it a few times. The opponent was just a student from some academy called Bra, not someone who would eat people. What was there to be afraid of or nervous about?
Therefore, the ever-shrinking field of vision, and the opponent appearing sometimes as small as a finger, flawless, and other times like a tower enveloping him—it must be some kind of mental attack magic!
Rather than suggestions like utilizing the space's width, Elise wished the professor had taught her how to defend against such mental attacks.

However, it's unlikely you'll learn it quickly if you only learn it on short notice.
With her mind a complete blank, Elise gripped the ball tightly. Thinking of using the width of the court, she tried to change her serving position, but her legs felt incredibly heavy, as if they were suddenly nailed to the ground.

Besides her legs not responding well, the constant sweating in her palms also made her very irritable.

Put the ball down temporarily, wipe your sportswear with your palm, and then pick up the ball again.
Why am I still sweating?

Put it down again, wipe it again, and hold it again.
The referee blew his whistle, urging Elise not to waste time.

Startled by the whistle, Elise panicked even more; not only her legs but also her arms seemed to have little strength left. And her palms were still very slippery.
It was at this moment that Elise recalled Ann's words: "Why not try throwing a very slow ball?"

So, before being fouled and penalized, Elise, with a soft, girlish motion, threw a slow, deliberate ball that surprised everyone present.

As the ball moved, Elise's gaze drifted toward the opponent's court.

Then, she saw it.

It was a ball that should have been easy to catch, but the opponent, who had suddenly become "flawless," looked rather flustered. For the few seconds the ball flew across the court, the opponent moved around aimlessly like an ant on a hot plate. Watching this, Elise's eyes gradually brightened.

It was only at this moment that she seemed to suddenly understand.

In fact, her opponent was also nervous and flustered, her body stiffened, her passing and receiving of the ball were haphazard, and sometimes she didn't even know what she was doing.

Lost in thought, Elise's Ellingo ball was returned by her opponent. Having made no attempt to dodge, she was struck squarely in the forehead by the magic ball.

The ball, its force weakening instantly, slowly fell and was caught steadily by Elise's hand.

She took a deep breath, and with her other hand holding the wand, she rubbed her forehead, which hadn't even been marked by the magic orb that supposedly "doesn't hurt when it hits," before her gaze sharpened as she stared at her opponent again.

Her opponent not only felt nervous, but also afraid. In fact, because she was behind, her opponent was the one who was more afraid and less able to unleash her full potential.

So, what need is there for a battle plan?
She can't afford to lose any more points in this match!
Soon after.

As the Ellinga ball traced the heaviest and fastest trajectory of the day through the sky, it struck the player from the Royal Academy of Magic of Blasche, even knocking him out of the arena.

Elise, who had won the competition, raised her hands high in celebration, responding to the deafening cheers that erupted around her.

"Wow! Elise really won!"

With the individual competition of the Magic Ball event now concluded, the awards ceremony will follow.

And the goddess of bathing returned from her bath precisely at this time.

"Bath Goddess"

"What's with that look? It's not that I don't think highly of Elise, it's that I think too highly of her, which is why I didn't watch the match! Haven't you ever felt that way? When you're watching a match live, the side you want to win often loses. But when you don't watch, they actually win. I was afraid of making Elise lose, so I went to take a shower with tears in my eyes!"

The goddess of bathing explained herself eloquently.

"Isn't it just a placebo effect?"

"Tsk, sometimes we really can't connect."

The goddess of the bath complained and turned her gaze toward the podium.

"I never imagined that Elise would be the first of your students to achieve anything significant."

"She has outstanding talent, but she has been avoiding it in the past."

Although it was just one award at the college exchange event, Ritas still acknowledged Elise's achievement.

Moreover, Ritas had a rather peculiar feeling at this moment.

Even though Elise's current achievements are entirely due to her own efforts, it can be said that they have absolutely nothing to do with him, her cheap coach and team consultant.

However, seeing Elise standing in a position higher than anyone else in every sense of the word, Ritas felt a kind of "happiness" that he had never experienced before, a feeling that was difficult to describe and categorize.

Even setting aside her extraordinary memory, Ritas felt that the sight of Elise's joyful face at the highest point was one he would never forget, no matter how much time had passed.

"Couldn't your academy make this podium a bit bigger? Even Elise can barely stand on it!"

"Indeed! Not just the podium, but the laurel wreath is also excessive."

Ritas, unusually, echoed the unreasonable whims of the goddess of bathing.

For this exchange event hosted by Earls College, the winners of the project were presented with gold and silver crowns. Of course, the crowns were not entirely made of gold and silver; only the leaf decoration in the center, about half the size of a palm, representing Earls, was made of pure gold and pure silver.

Elise appears quite normal from a distance because, although her body size exceeds that of an average person, her proportions are very harmonious.

So this coordination has resulted in the crown now basically floating on her pink hair.

"I feel like there are a lot of people congratulating me, especially from other colleges. Why are they all crowding around Elise?"

"They're probably trying to recruit Elise students."

"recruit?"

"Why would the Goddess of Bathing find it strange? Isn't it normal for the winners of a project to be recruited by other academies during the exchange meeting? Otherwise, how did that student Meimei and 'Shrimp Emperor' transfer to Ers Academy after the exchange meeting?"

Ritas was puzzled for a moment, then sighed and began to explain to the goddess of bathing.

The origins of the magic academy exchange fair can be traced back to a time when, unlike today, each magic academy had a fundamentally different system for training students. This resulted in students who were suited to one academy's system but not another. Thus, under certain circumstances, the magic academy exchange fair began to flourish. Perhaps many other factors were subsequently introduced, but the initial purpose of the fair was to help academies find students who were a good fit, and to allow talented students to choose their preferred academy.

"It seems to involve some ancient covenants. So, until now, during the exchange program until the end of this semester, students can transfer schools relatively easily. However, it would be somewhat chaotic if all students transferred around. Therefore, there is a supplementary rule that only the 'outstanding', that is, the winners of the laurels in each project, can be recruited and selected."

"Hey! What are you still standing here for! What if another school snatches Iris away?!"

"."

Would it have been useful if he hadn't just stood there?
Furthermore, students are not the property of teachers; it's perfectly normal for them to transfer schools. Would any teacher really make a scene and insist on keeping a student who was only supposed to be with them for four years from leaving?
Although he was mentally clear-headed, Ritas did not argue with the goddess of the bath.

on the podium.

Elise, the champion, still feels like it's all a dream. She's so happy she feels like her smile won't disappear for at least a month.

But amidst this joy, some annoying noises seemed particularly jarring.
Why not consider their long-established and more professional Magicball seminar? And why doesn't the upcoming Magicball team need a player like her?
Where did these random people come from?

When Elise was troubled, her tall stature came in handy.

She accurately spotted Ann, who was mixed in with the crowd.

Turning her gaze slightly to Professor Ritas, who was simply standing there holding the disc, Elise felt a subtle unease. Perhaps it was this emotion that triggered a chain reaction, as she suddenly grabbed Anne from the crowd and lifted her up.

Amidst the likely gasps of surprise from those who knew Anne's true identity, Elise happily spoke to Anne.
"Thanks to Teacher An's advice, I was able to win the final point. So, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Teacher An deserves half the credit for this victory!"

"so."

Even while being held aloft by Elise, Anne remained as calm as ever. After a moment's thought, she replied,
"Then I want the half with the gold leaf."

".Eh?"

Looking at the serious-looking Ann, Elise couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"It was just a joke, Elise. But if you really want to share, I won't refuse."

With a serene smile on her face, Anne reached out and adjusted Elise's crown.

(End of this chapter)