(Heartfelt thanks to 'Yatogami Toka' for the 10,000 reward! And thanks as well to 'Jian Jiao,' 'Kong Shui Yin Yue,' 'Black De Melody,' 'HysteriaKing,' 'Fleeting Years, Dawn Dreams, Tree,' 'Three Thousand Loli Hearts,' 'hkds2,' 'A Certain Shut-In,' and 'The Invisible Observer' for their rewards!)
In the Elf Forest, Noah, Claire, and Linse Laurenhrost followed Freya along a sunlit stone path.
The other team, their opponents, walked at the very front. They seemed to be discussing tactics, occasionally glancing back at Noah's group, but they only cast cold looks at Claire.
That attitude left Noah rather puzzled.
Why were they targeting only Claire?
Did Claire have something special about her?
Beside Claire, Linse Laurenhrost stayed close to her, unusually refraining from arguing with her.
Claire herself kept her lips tightly sealed. Her usual aggressive wildcat-like demeanor had completely vanished, and she remained silent.
Only Est held Noah's hand. To match Noah's pace, she sometimes took large steps forward and sometimes made little jumps to clear obstacles, looking utterly adorable like a small animal.
As for Freya, she walked between the two teams as though intending to keep them apart. She turned around, glanced at Noah, Claire, and Linse Laurenhrost, then spoke.
"If you want to participate in the Spirit Sword Dance Festival, you need a team of five. Why do you only have three people?"
"We just haven't filled the roster yet." Noah shrugged.
"Isn't it said that even if a team hasn't gathered all its members yet, it can still participate in the academy's arranged matches?"
"That is true, but this year's Spirit Sword Dance Festival is a five-person team event. For every day you delay assembling your team, you lose a day to build teamwork and coordination. That puts you at a serious disadvantage." Freya spoke calmly.
"Besides, although