“I won!!!”
Liyakade’s small face was a little flushed from the words she’d just spoken, but she still laughed, shouting out a declaration of victory.
She relaxed her stance, then slapped Field on the shoulder, carrying a strong gust of wind that blew Field right off the stage.
Because Field had been distracted by Liyakade’s words, she hadn’t had time to gather fire elements to resist, so she was sent flying off the stage by Liyakade.
“Princess Field, eliminated!!!”
“You little—!!!”
Field pushed herself up, raising a fist and looking at Liyakade on the stage with shame and frustration.
It wasn’t that Liyakade had actually hurt her—she wasn’t in pain at all, which only made Field more annoyed.
Neither the audience nor the judges, nor Alice or Sistem, understood what had just happened on stage.
They only saw Field, who had been gaining the advantage, suddenly space out and then get blown off the field by Liyakade.
“Princess Field!”
Alice looked down at Field from the stage, still worried about her safety.
She thought Liyakade had hidden some deadly move and instantly defeated Field.
“Are you okay?!”
To be honest, it was indeed a killer move, but what kind of move—that was debatable.
“Sigh, after all that effort to create an opening for you, and you didn’t even take it.”
On the other side below the stage, Sistem muttered softly.
***
“Li! Ya! Ka! De!”
Field was both embarrassed and angry at this moment.
Not only had she failed to see under the skirt, but she’d also lost the chance to become Festival Flower and be with Liyakade.
“I’ll deal with you properly when we get back!”
“Kekekeke!”
Liyakade was now reveling in her triumph, standing atop the stage and looking down at Field with her arms crossed, letting out the kind of villainous laugh only a true antagonist could manage.
“It’s your fault for getting distracted in the middle of battle, Field. All because you were thinking weird thoughts.”
“You’re the one who brought it up first!”
Several orbs of light shot toward Liyakade from behind, it seemed Alice hadn’t given up.
However, Liyakade didn’t even look.
She just snapped her fingers lightly, and wind blades sliced all the light orbs apart.
“Next is you, Alice-chan!”
Liyakade turned, looking full of confidence.
“Um… Didn’t we agree just now? You’d eliminate Princess Field first and then give the Festival Flower to me, right? Does that still count? Eheh.”
“Alice-chan, what do you think?”
Alice still tried to play cute and sneak by, but Liyakade would never let such a chance slip away.
She charged straight at Alice.
Without Field’s support, the lower-level Alice had no chance against Liyakade.
Though Alice didn’t give up and used light magic to hold out for a while, she was still soon tossed off the stage.
“Alice, eliminated!!!”
“Congratulations to Liyakade, the final winner. Liyakade has become this year’s Festival Flower! Let’s cheer for her!!!”
“Liyakade!!! Liyakade!!!”
“I knew I couldn’t beat Miss Liakade after all. Congratulations, Miss Liakade.”
After stepping off the stage, Alice patted the dust from her clothes and looked up at Liyakade with a gentle smile.
“So frustrating…”
Field’s eyebrows were knotted in a cross, her fists clenched as she glared fiercely at Liyakade.
But in the end, she just let out a long sigh and shook her head in resignation.
“Still, congratulations, Liyakade.”
Even though neither of them won or gained the right to forcibly be Liyakade’s lover for three months, they were still happy for her becoming the Festival Flower in the end.
From being called the Child of the Curse at the start, feared for her strange hair color, forced by Irina Zi to do bad things and ruin her own reputation, to now clearing her name, breaking past old prejudices, and finally becoming the Academy’s Festival Flower—
Alice and Field were truly happy for Liyakade.
“Thank you, Alice, Field.”
Liyakade also smiled back at the two, basking in the cheers of the audience below.
At this moment, Liyakade felt nothing but relief.
Becoming the Festival Flower was wonderful, and this feeling of being the center of attention was amazing.
The cheers of everyone made her feel truly alive.
But, more importantly, neither Alice nor Field had obtained the right to force love.
If they had, she would’ve been in real trouble.
“By the way, Princess Field, what move did Miss Liakade use just now? How did she suddenly knock you out?”
Alice was curious about Liyakade’s killer move and how she managed to reverse the battle instantly.
“Uh, well…”
Field’s face was a little awkward.
She leaned in close to Alice’s ear, whispering Liyakade’s little dirty trick from earlier.
“Princess Field!”
Alice stared at Field, upset by her weakness.
“How could you be shaken by something like that!”
“Well… I was just a little curious. After all, she said it out of nowhere…”
“Sigh, fine.”
Alice just sighed softly, not pressing Field any further.
After all, they had lost.
Besides, when Alice thought about it, if Liyakade had said something like that to her, she might’ve gotten distracted too.
“Miss Liakade…”
Alice glanced resentfully at Liyakade not far away.
“How could you be so dishonorable…”
Perhaps sensing Alice’s resentful gaze, Liyakade looked back their way, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.
“Miss Liakade, as this year’s Festival Flower, you’ve also obtained the right to pursue any student in the Academy. Have you thought about who you might use it on?”
The Host asked Liyakade on the stage.
At this, Alice and Field’s ears perked up.
Although Liyakade had said earlier during Sistem’s questioning that she had no target, now that she was the Festival Flower, maybe she’d just been too shy to say it before, and she could have changed her mind.
“Well, even if I don’t say it here directly, this right will still be valid later, right?”
Liyakade asked the Host.
“Of course it’s valid.”
“Then I won’t tell you all yet.”
Liyakade winked playfully and made a shushing gesture to the audience.
“Eh!!?”
The audience, ready to cheer, suddenly felt their curiosity burn.
They were a rowdy bunch, and from Liyakade’s words, it seemed there really was someone.
“Could it be me?”
A boy in the crowd had already started fantasizing.
“Pah, don’t even think about it! Didn’t she already say she likes girls? Stop dreaming!”
“Is it Alice? Or Princess Field? They’ve been together throughout the Festival and even acted in a play. It’s definitely one of them, right?”
“Could it be Her Highness Sistem? She nominated Liyakade specifically so she could become Festival Flower and boldly confess. Don’t you think that makes sense?”
Facing the wild speculation below the stage, Liyakade just smiled mysteriously.
In the end, she never confessed to anyone on stage.
However, Alice and Field below the stage were both flustered.
Knowing Liyakade’s relationships well, the two knew she didn’t have any close friends at the Academy besides them.
So, even if Liyakade liked someone, it had to be one of them.
“Why did Miss Liakade change her answer? She said she had no target just now.”
Alice listened to Liyakade’s words, her heart pounding.
“Could it be Miss Liakade wants to choose me…”
“It has to be me! If it were Alice, Liyakade would’ve accepted already! I get it now, Liyakade must have worried about my status before, so she didn’t dare get close, afraid I’d refuse her because of it. That’s why she wanted to take this opportunity to confess!”
Field speculated, full of conviction, gazing at Liyakade on the stage.
“Princess Field! Your imagination is too wild!”
“You’re no better, Alice!”
***
“I didn’t expect this year’s first-years to be so strong.”
The Director, who had watched the entire battle from the side, couldn’t help but nod, stroking his graying beard.
“Yes, this year’s freshmen really are surprising.”
The Mage Teacher agreed.
“Sigh.”
The Director sighed, looking somewhat worriedly at Alice, who was bickering with Field below the stage.
“According to the Prophecy, there are still ten years until the Demon King’s revival. I hope by then, Alice—holder of the Light Attribute—will have grown strong enough to oppose the Demon King.”
“She will. At Alice’s current rate of growth, she should reach the level to battle one of the Four Heavenly Kings under the Demon King by graduation.”
The Mage Teacher pushed up his glasses, clearly having high expectations for Alice.
“Let’s hope so.”
The Director’s eyes held deep meaning—not just worry over Alice’s progress, but something more.
***
“Now, please welcome the Grade Director to personally present the reward to the Festival Flower!”
The Host continued with the final segment.
With that, the Director stood and went on stage, bringing the prepared reward.
“Student Liyakade, congratulations on becoming this year’s undisputed Festival Flower. Your strength is clear for all to see.”
The Director spoke as he walked up to Liyakade, handing her a small wooden box.
Opening it, a splendid Fourfold Element Amulet lay inside.
Even before putting it on, Liyakade could feel the powerful elemental force within.
“This is the Fourfold Element Amulet. It greatly increases magic recovery and training speed, and also allows you to create four elemental shields. It’s your reward and your honor. I hope you continue to work hard and set an example for everyone in the Academy.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Liyakade bowed to the Director, then took the Fourfold Element Amulet and put it around her neck.
Liyakade wasn’t too clear on the item’s effects.
In the original story, the Festival Flower’s reward was a Double Experience Amulet, which doubled experience gained from defeating monsters.
She hadn’t expected the reward to change, let alone to a Fourfold Element Amulet.
She’d never even seen this item in the original game.
If she followed the logic of the name, then it probably meant quadruple experience.
But as for what effects it really had, Liyakade would have to experiment to find out.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Director, he spoke a few words to the crowd, and the final segment of the Cultural Festival ended successfully.