"Dong—dong—dong—dong—"
The clock tower of Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart rang out, its light yet solemn chimes turning into echoes that reverberated endlessly above the academy...
Behind the Central Auditorium of Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, on the lawn between the Medical Department building and the law school building, a stage had been set up.
Lighting trucks were arranged around the lawn, their cables laid out and ready to go. At the front stood the temporary stage, with a passageway behind it. The Central Auditorium lay to the left, while a Roman-style grandstand stretched around the entire lawn to the right.
Across the lawn, students dressed in black robe-like formalwear gathered in twos and threes. They chatted amongst themselves while nervously watching the stage, creating a low but restless din.
This lawn was the venue for the Night Party, as well as the battlefield where its contestants would fight!
Naturally, the students gathered on the battlefield in black robe-like formalwear were the glove holders qualified to participate in the Night Party! Meanwhile, students unable to participate in the Night Party had filled the grandstands, chatting even more noisily than the glove holders below.
There were roughly fifteen minutes left until the Night Party began.
The official matches for the glove holders would start the instant the six o'clock bell rang.
It was now 5:15 in the afternoon.
The opening ceremony would begin at 5:30, and the time until six would be reserved for opening speeches.
During this waiting period, the glove holders on the field were one thing. The spectators in the stands, meanwhile, were taking the opportunity to enjoy food bought from nearby vendors and stalls, bustling about as though they had come to watch a circus.
There was nothing strange about that.
To the glove holders, the Night