The Jerome Academy Disciplinary Committee.At the head of that group stood a girl wearing a modified uniform resembling a military outfit—purple twin-tails, and an eyepatch covering one eye."Chepesh… Jerome."Illeina clenched her teeth quietly as she looked at Chepesh.Suppressing her anger, she asked in a calm tone."What brings you all the way here?""What do you mean, what brings me here? Isn’t it obvious?"Crunch—Chepesh ground the debris under her boots and spoke in a sharp voice."What were you thinking, pulling something like this? You really plan to fight us?""If necessary, gladly.""Unbelievable. Don’t tell me you did this because you trust that idiot next to you?"Chepesh glared at me. I smiled lightly and deflected her gaze with practiced ease."‘Idiot,’ huh? That’s a bit harsh for a first meeting, eyepatch princess.""Stay out of this, outsider.""I’m not an outsider. I’m the President of the General Student Council. Everything that happens within the Union falls under my jurisdiction.""Heh. Fancy words. Whatever. Doesn’t matter either way. Kruulin, clean them up.""Yes, Madam President."At Chepesh’s chin gesture, the Jerome Academy Disciplinary members standing behind her began to move.Clatter—Dragging wooden clubs across the ground, they approached.Their fierce expressions and muscular builds were intimidating enough on their own.Jerome Academy’s students—all of them belonged to the Jerome Kingdom’s military corps. Their very breed was different from ordinary students.Even in the game, their average physical stats far surpassed those of regular academy students.Gulp—The Izelin students facing them looked visibly nervous.Philip too stood beside Illeina, moving as if to protect her.As I watched the approaching encirclement close in, I stepped forward."What now, Chepesh. You planning a brawl right here?""Why not? You’re the ones who broke the contract first. You invaded Jerome territory we lawfully acquired under a legitimate agreement, destroyed property, and drove out our students.""Hah. I don’t think the heirs of Jerome, who declared war on the peaceful Izelin, have much right to talk.""What are you babbling about? Survival of the fittest is the law of the world. Blame your own weakness."Clank—Swish—Chepesh kicked a metal rod lying at her feet, sending it spinning through the air. With a flashy motion, she caught it mid-flight.Pointing it at me, she continued."And I guess everyone’s forgotten how things used to be. Back in the day, fights like this were common between academies."Conflicts between academies within the Union.In truth, during the early days of the Union’s founding, it was pure chaos and destruction.Understandably so. These were people who had fought the Demon Race day after day through an age of war—students back then were far rougher and more violent than those today.After all, the Academy Union had been created to train knights and magicians to fight demons.And with the academies’ territories not yet clearly defined, battles over land were constant.To secure even a slightly larger domain, academies freely waged brawls ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) between students.There were even casualties. Enough said.I shook my head slightly."But that was a long time ago. Private wars between academies were completely banned after the Flight School Raid sixty years ago.""Hmph. So you’re saying we should just back off now?"At Chepesh’s irritable question, I replied politely."No. Instead, I have a proposal for you, Chepesh.""A proposal?""Yeah. And it’s not a bad one for you either."Until then, the Union had been run under a laissez-faire system that left most matters to student autonomy.But after a massive loss of life from inter-academy conflicts, they could no longer stand idly by.So, to replace those dangerous and barbaric private wars, a new, efficient, and civilized system was created.Namely—"Territorial War."A Territorial War.In the game’s lore, it was rare for disputes between lords to result in actual full-scale wars.Even if they did, they weren’t massive clashes of thousands—hundreds at most.Still, even small-scale wars consumed precious manpower—people who should have been plowing fields and tending crops.Nothing was more wasteful.Thus came the creation of the Territorial War system: a method for resolving disputes cleanly through selected representatives.A duel between chosen champions instead of an inefficient war.In that sense, the Academy Union—made up of academy territories—functioned like a collection of small domains.Back when students used to brawl in gangs, the General Student Council enacted this regulation.Ever since, unresolved disputes between academies could be settled through Territorial War.Of course, after the GSC collapsed and the Four Great Academies solidified into factions, the rule had become practically obsolete.'Still, Territorial War remains guaranteed under the Union’s Ten Basic Ordinances.'This time, I planned to use that.Chepesh tilted her head slightly, seemingly intrigued."Territorial War?""Yes. A duel between representatives from each academy. No need for messy gang fights—it’s a clean way to settle things.""Hmph. Why should I? We could crush you all right here. Why bother with something so tedious?"At her curt response, I calmly countered."No. Even if you win like this, nothing changes. You can’t shut down Izelin Academy, you can’t evict its students by force, and you can’t demolish its buildings. It’d be a pointless, hollow victory.""……""This whole affair would just be known as another brutal assault by the militaristic Jerome Academy. You’d be condemned for disturbing the Union’s peace and face outrage from students and nations alike. Hardly beneficial for you.""Naïve. If no one finds out, it never happened. Who would care about some backwater academy?""Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure everyone hears about it. I can at least do that much."I smiled leisurely, provoking her."You bastard…""But Territorial War is different. If you officially win under an authorized witness, you gain the legal right to demand Izelin’s dissolution and merger.""……""That means you won’t have to wait for the next Competitive War rankings or for Izelin to go bankrupt without subsidies. Nor will you need to bother with brawls like this. It’s not a bad deal for you."Chepesh fell silent, deep in thought.From her standpoint, there was no reason to refuse.Regardless of what had led up to this, the fact remained—Izelin had violated the contract and crossed into Jerome’s territory.If she demanded a Territorial War and won, she’d gain everything she wanted.And realistically, she probably calculated there was no chance of losing.After a moment’s contemplation, Chepesh nodded."…Fine. I’ll accept your proposal. When shall it be held?"I looked up at the sun hanging in the sky and smiled faintly."No need to drag it out. One week from now. Same time as today."***After her negotiation with me, Chepesh was on her way back to Jerome Academy.Even though she’d gathered her Disciplinary members and marched out only to return empty-handed, her expression was bright.With a slightly flushed face, she spoke to Kruulin walking behind her."Hey, Kruulin. How was my acting?""Need you ask? Even I nearly fell for it, Madam President."Kruulin, whose brutish face didn’t suit compliments, said something that pleased her."Flatterer. Anyway, things went much faster and easier than expected. All thanks to that fool, Loen. Heh.""Yes. I didn’t expect him to suggest a Territorial War himself."In truth, Chepesh had gathered her committee precisely to intimidate Izelin and push the situation toward a Territorial War.Even if the Union still followed survival-of-the-fittest ideals, the era of constant student brawls had long passed.She’d planned to use Izelin’s contract violation as justification to demand the duel—but Loen conveniently brought it up first.'Idiot.'For him to come up with something like a Territorial War—that was exactly what she’d hoped for.Of course, she hadn’t wanted to accept too eagerly, so she’d acted reluctant at first. It seemed her performance worked perfectly."So… one week, then."Chepesh nodded in satisfaction."Yes. With this, Father will finally recognize his daughter’s ability."Clutching the pendant around her neck, her eyes shone.Survival of the fittest—the principle of predatory supremacy cherished by the Jerome Kingdom.That same measure of worth applied even to royal blood.At last, Chepesh thought, she’d have a chance to prove her own value.***After they withdrew, I dragged my tired body back to Izelin’s reception room.Philip chattered excitedly beside me despite his exhaustion."Sir Loen, you were amazing! You drove the Jerome scum off and convinced them to settle with a Territorial War!""You don’t get it. Chepesh came here planning exactly that.""Huh? Then that reaction earlier…""Good acting. She could be an actress. Anyway—"I sank deep into the sofa and extended my hand toward Philip."Bring me Izelin Academy’s student roster."Philip quickly fetched a large tome resembling a dictionary."Ah, yes. Here it is."Taking it, I turned to Ciel."Ciel.""Yes."From her bag, she pulled out a similar book and handed it to me.Boldly printed on the cover were the words Jerome Academy Student Roster."…!"Philip and Illeina both widened their eyes.A student roster contained names, origins, talents, specialties, and grades—vital classified data for any academy.Such information wasn’t easy to obtain—but I was an exception."What’s the surprise? The GSC is provided with intel like this. But good foresight bringing it, Ciel."I hadn’t even asked her to. She didn’t bring me water when I needed it, yet somehow she’d prepared this.I could almost sense some malicious competence behind it…"Sir Loen, how exactly does a Territorial War proceed?" Illeina asked.I explained simply."Each academy selects five representatives. Those five fight one by one. The first to win three matches wins overall.""A best-of-five system… then strategy might give us a chance.""Exactly. We’ll have to use that."Since each person fights only once, proper matchup strategy could yield victories—pairing our weaker students against their strongest to exhaust them, for example.Of course, that only worked if the two sides were somewhat evenly matched.Illeina bit her lip and asked quietly."Then, what do you think our chances of victory are?""Do I even need to say it? Zero percent.""…?"That was the obvious conclusion.If their strengths were remotely equal, Chepesh wouldn’t have accepted my proposal so readily.In a straight fight of raw power, we’d never win—it was like children fighting adults."But with my involvement, it’ll be different. We’ll win. Cleanly."At my confident declaration, Philip hesitated before asking carefully."Sir Loen… do you perhaps have connections with any strong students from other academies?"In a Territorial War, only students from that academy could participate—except for one slot. Each side could invite a single external representative.If used wisely, that could secure at least one victory.Judging from how confident I sounded, Philip must have assumed I planned something like that."No. The invited external representative will be me.""…!"The three of them flinched simultaneously.Ciel was the first to speak."Sir Loen. Let me take your place instead.""Forget it. I can’t keep hiding behind your skirt forever.""……""Don’t worry so much. I’m stronger than you think. Let’s drop the subject.""Understood. Then… what strategy will you use to ensure victory?""I’ll start thinking about that now."Everything had match-ups—affinities.Even an overwhelming powerhouse could lose to the right counter.In the Mirrelin Saga system, every character’s traits, skills, and talents created a unique affinity web.And I possessed most of that data.If I prepared perfectly, defeat didn’t exist in my vocabulary.Rustle—I spread open both academies’ rosters side by side and began the real work."Alright then. Let’s begin."***The following week, I barely had time to breathe.Between my usual murderous lecture schedule, I spent every evening at Izelin Academy, drafting strategies.I trained with the chosen representatives, analyzed Jerome’s movements, and even secured an observer for the duel.Thus, a week of preparation flew by like an arrow.Ciel finished packing and glanced at the calendar."It’s today.""Yeah. Let’s head out."The day of the decisive battle had arrived.

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