"I apologize on behalf of my brother and the royal family."
Princess Molly bowed politely toward Simon, immediately making him flail his hands in panic.
"N-No! Your Highness!"
"I swear on my name that neither my brother nor Dresden will ever bother you again. In fact, if not for Senior Knox's reminder about what my brother might do after you won, I wouldn't even have had this chance to apologize to you."
At those words, Simon blinked and glanced toward Knox.
Molly continued before he could ask anything.
"But the current situation is not ideal at all. Moreover... Senior Knox's duel will be held soon, so please allow me to arrange a formal apology later. Then, goodbye."
"Senior?" Simon looked at Molly, then turned toward Knox with a questioning expression.
Knox merely smiled and waved his hand.
"Simon, I'll explain it later~. For now, just rest. I need to go to my arena for the duel. Bye~"
Without waiting for another question, Knox hurried away together with Molly and the female student dressed in a maid uniform. Simon watched the three disappear down the corridor, and only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
With Princess Molly personally stepping in, at least he no longer needed to worry about Andre retaliating against him.
Simon stood there for another moment before something suddenly clicked in his mind.
"AHHH! I also want to watch Knox's duel!"
His exhaustion from his own match seemed to disappear on the spot. Simon immediately broke into a run, hurrying toward the arena after them.
***
Over at the Fourth Arena, a duel was still ongoing. However, despite the match in front of them having yet to reach its conclusion, the spectator stands were already packed to the brim, somehow even more crowded than during Simon's duel earlier.
External audiences had been restricted from attending the second duel evaluation because it was held shortly before the midterm exams. Starting from this third duel evaluation, however, outsiders were finally allowed to watch again, and naturally, a large number of people had made their way to Kizen.
Among all the duels being held today, there were two matches that had attracted the largest crowds.
One was the duel in the Second Arena between Special Entry No. 1, Simon Polentia, and Special Entry No. 10, Malcolm Randolph.
The other was right here, in the Fourth Arena.
Clang!
Another fierce collision rang out from the arena floor as the two students currently fighting exchanged blows. Cheers immediately followed from the surrounding stands, but even those two students knew very well that the enormous crowd filling the arena hadn't gathered solely to watch them.
Or to be more precise, the spectators were indeed watching their duel. Their main purpose for coming here, however, was to wait for the duel scheduled immediately after theirs.
That fact became even more obvious when looking at just who was sitting among the audience. High-ranking nobles, prominent figures with considerable influence, wealthy merchants, recruiters from various organizations, members of royal families, and many other distinguished guests occupied the stands. There were even two Legion Commanders among them.
For a duel between ordinary first-years, calling such a lineup excessive would have been an understatement.
Yet none of them seemed to think they had wasted their time coming here. After all, the next duel would feature one of the most famous first-years in Kizen, a student whose name had already spread throughout the Dark Alliance despite having enrolled only a few months ago.
Special Entry No. 1, the White Devil, Knox Aznable.
And his opponent was hardly an ordinary first-year either.
Hector Moore, heir of the Moore Family, a prestigious necromancer family publicly known throughout the Dark Alliance as the Family of Dragons.
Although Hector wasn't a Special Entry student, nobody familiar with Class A would underestimate him because of that. His abilities were considered comparable to those of students admitted through Special Entry, and depending on the field being compared, he could even surpass some of them.
That alone would have made Hector a student worth watching, but today, he was facing Knox Aznable.
As the duel currently taking place entered its final stretch, more and more eyes began drifting toward the entrances leading to the student waiting rooms. Even while cheering for the two students fighting below, everyone knew which match they were truly waiting for.
Knox Aznable vs. Hector Moore.
"Damn, look how full this arena is!" said Rick, staring across the packed spectator stands.
"Urgh, I feel dizzy looking at this many people..." Merida muttered. Even someone as perpetually sleepy as her seemed a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of spectators filling the Fourth Arena.
"Somehow, I feel nervous even though it isn't me who will duel," said Cindy, rubbing her palms together.
"Well, actually, I'm nervous as well, Cindy. But I'm also very excited to watch a high-ranking duel!" said Simon.
Group 7 and Group 8 had naturally gathered together in the spectator seats, with Lorain and Serene joining them as well. Strangely enough, or perhaps unsurprisingly considering whose duel they had come to watch, the two girls weren't bickering like cats and dogs as usual.
In fact, both of them were watching their surroundings like hawks.
The reason wasn't difficult to find. Lorain and Serene weren't the only ones who had noticed it either. Cindy, Claudia, Merida, Simon, Meilyn, Rick, and Cami had all heard the conversations coming from a group of students sitting nearby.
They were Hector's supporters.
There was nothing wrong with supporting and cheering for the person they wanted to win. That was entirely their right. What made Lorain and Serene keep watching them like hawks was that these particular supporters weren't satisfied with simply cheering for Hector.
They were blatantly dissing Knox as well.
"Hehe, now this is Hector's chance to pay him back!" said one of Hector's supporters.
"Shhh! Don't say it like that! Watch your mouth! What if Hector hears that?" another hurriedly warned him.
"But I also agree with him. Knox Aznable is arrogant enough! So what if he defeated a second-year!" said another student.
"Right! Today is his downfall!"
Their voices weren't exactly quiet, so naturally, Lorain, Serene, and the members of Groups 7 and 8 weren't the only ones who heard them. Many of the surrounding spectators, most of whom were Kizen students themselves, had also caught every word.
Unfortunately for Hector's supporters, almost everyone who heard them had roughly the same thought.
Are these guys still daydreaming?!
Hector defeating Knox?
Oh, please.
Putting aside the fact that Knox had already defeated a second-year like Andre, that was hardly his only achievement or combat experience. Hector, meanwhile, had already been humiliated by Knox several times, yet these guys were confidently declaring that today would be Knox's downfall?
At that point, they might as well believe a necromancer could become a Saint!
Of course, if Knox had heard that particular thought, his reaction would probably have been immediate.
Damn! A prophet!