It was a midsummer night destined to be noisy.
With the New Star Tournament underway, the excitement stretched all the way from the Main District to the Reverse-side District.
Even the Reverse-side District, usually the most scholarly and relatively quiet area, was now filled with people discussing the daytime matches.
As Vanason walked along, nearly all the conversations drifting into his ears concerned the New Star Tournament. Though Vanason had not gone to the Infinite Battle Tower to watch, the whispers borne on the night wind had let him piece together most of what had happened during the day.
For instance, the Cat Lantern Witch from House of Lilith had advanced; Lady Monica had made a stunning appearance; a prodigy from Sky Mechanical City had been knocked from the saddle by the Porcelain Doll; Summer Dew Ridge, newly arrived on the Prosperous Continent, had produced two dark horses—Si Man, who transformed into a shadow goose, and Dong Liz, who remained extremely mysterious, always wearing a hat and grinning strangely...
Although the people Vanason heard discussed were mostly witches, female contestants were actually relatively few in the New Star Tournament. Precisely because of that, discussion had centered on those few witches.
Of course, male contestants were discussed as well, but even when Vanason heard it, he let it drift past his ears like the wind.
Besides the heated talk about the New Star Tournament, the topic Vanason heard most often along the way was Angel's class. After all, most people in the Reverse-side District studied under Ashilia, so it was only natural for them to pay attention to Angel's lectures.
Yet as he listened to the discussions carried on the wind, Vanason shook his head from time to time.
Only fifty people could enter Angel's class this time. More than half