"Don't be so quick to throw away your life. No matter how disgraceful or embarrassing it may be, you o keep struggling to find your way out until the very end."— Cre, Cymore

  <><><><>

  "Who are those people?" Roy asked, notig a group of girls gring at them.

  "Those girls are royal guards," Cire expined.

  "Why are they gring at us?"

  "Well... I think they're the ones we rejected at the ball," Cire said sheepishly.

  "I see." Roy uood.

  Those must be the noblemen whose advahey had rebuffed at the ball, and now they were using their try's representatives to get back at them.

  "They're probably here to take revenge on behalf of the prince. I'm sorry... I seem to have made some unnecessary enemies," Cire apologized.

  "It's alright. You did the right thing," Roy reassured her, patting her head.

  Cire blushed.

  'Those punks dare try to take revenge? I won't let them off easy,' Roy thought.

  He sed the audiend spotted the prince.

  With a glint in his eyes, he cast a curse on the prince.

  The prince, who had been chatting with other nobles, suddenly turned red-eyed.

  He roared and lu a nearby nobleman, tearing at his clothes.

  It seemed he was trying to... well, let's just say he was behaving inappropriately.

  Fortunately, he was just an ordinary human and was quickly restrained.

  But the otion attracted the attention of the shrine maidens, who promptly escorted the prince away.

  Roy smirked. Unless someone was strohan him, they couldn't remove his curse.

  And the curse would slowly drain the prince's life fortil he died.

  Roy then turned his attention back to the mai.

  A otion arose from the entrance of the hall.

  "She's here!"

  As the Crimson Princess ehe hall fell silent.

  She was apanied by four Elementalists, their faces and bodies hiddeh long robes.

  "Are those the members of the Inferno?" Fianna whispered, them discreetly.

  "Yes, that's Muir Alenstarl, the Military Elementalist, walking behind Ren. She's a monster from the Instrual School."

  Rubia had mentioned giving him her team members, so Roy had researched the Inferno's members in the library.

  Muir, notig Roy's gaze, quickly looked away with a frown.

  "Beside Muir is Lily Fme. She's an Elf,"

  Lily was a tall girl with long, emerald green hair and pointed ears that peeked out from beh her robe.

  Elves were skilled at stealth and moving through forests. It seemed she was the team's scout and intelligeherer.

  Anirl with vibrant blue hair stood out among the group.

  She had decorated her robe with extravagant gold and silver ors and carried a fan with a fmboyant design.

  "That's... the royal emblem of Alphas Theocracy. Could she be... Sadia Kahn?!" Cire excimed in surprise.

  "Yes, she's the eldest princess of Alphas Theocracy, known as the heir to the title of 'Twilight Witch',"

  "Besides that mohere's another formidable oppo..." Ri muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow.

  "The st one is Vivian Melosa, a researcher of cursed seals and a student at Areishia Spirit Academy,"

  "What?!"

  "A researcher of cursed seals?"

  "Is she the one who was illegally selling cursed seals at the academy?"

  "Did she sell the cursed seal to my sister?"

  ...

  Cire and the others were shocked and angry.

  Ellis, in particur, was furious. If it weren't for that girl selling cursed seals, her sister might not have resorted to such a dangerous method.

  She shuddered, remembering her battle against Velsaria.

  Ren, notig Roy's presence, walked towards him.

  The hall fell silent, the only sound being the clig of her boots against the floor.

  "Greetings, Roy-sama..." Ren, or rather, Rubia, k before him on one knee.

  The audience gasped.

  The Crimson Princess, the stro Bde Dancer, was bowing to the only male Elementalist on the ti?

  This was unbelievable.

  Even Cire and the others were stunned.

  The stro Bde Dancer, whom they admired, was showing such respect to Roy?

  What was going on?

  "Rise," Roy said calmly with a nod.

  Rubia stood up.

  "Roy-sama, what are our instrus?"

  "Just focus on the Bde Dance. Don't worry about anything else. Everything will ge after the tour," Roy replied with a fident smile.

  "Yes, Roy-sama." Rubia didn't question him auro her team.

  The audieed in chatter once again.

  But Roy and his group ighem.

  ...

  Fures appeared oar, where a bonfire burned brightly.

  These were the four Elemental Princesses who served the Elemental Lords.

  They annouhe details of the "Tempestuous Dance."

  The battlefield was a vast forest in the northern region of the floating isnd.

  It was a dangerous area, home to wild beasts and spirits.

  The Diviual Institute had deployed all its shrine maidens to erect a barrier around the area.

  It was impossible to escape through normal means.

  The teams would be randomly teleported into the forest and would have seven days to pete in the Bde Dance.

  There was only one important rule: no killing.

  The Bde Dance wasn't just a martial arts petition. It was a sacred ritual performed by pure maidens.

  Therefore, death would taint the ritual dedicated to the Elemental Lords.

  Each partit would receive a special spirit crystal, the "Magic Stone."

  The victor would be the team with the most Magic Sto the end of the seven days.

  They had to carry the Magic Stoh them at all times, though the method to them.

  The Magic Stone was ented. If a partit lost their stohey had to retrieve it within one minute or be forcibly teleported back to the main hall.

  <><><><>

  ...

  After seven days, the four teams with the most Magic Stones would be selected.

  These four teams would then perform the final Bde Dance before the Elemental Lords.

  Even if some team members had been eliminated earlier, all five members could participate in the final round.

  "May the Elementalists who offer their Bde Dance be blessed with good fortune aurn safely!" The four Elemental Princesses recited the blessing in unison.

  This marked the official start of the main tour.

  The partits stepped into the teleportation circle oar amidst the cheers of the audience.

  Before entering the circle, Roy turo his team. "Everyone, do your best! Victory will be ours!"

  "That's right!"

  "Indeed!"

  "Well said!"

  "Roy, why are you stealing my lines?"

  ...

  Fianna Ray Ordesia, the former sed princess of the Ordesia Empire.

  Ellis Fahrengart, the captain of the Sylphid Knights.

  Ri Laurenfrost, the eldest daughter of the Laurenfrost family.

  Cire Rouge, the younger sister of the Camity Queen.

  And Roy, their trump card.

  The firls and one boy, each with their own dreams and desires, faced the challenge of the Bde Dance.

  ...

  Roy and his team were transported to a vast, gloomy forest.

  A thick mist limited their visibility, and the sounds of birds as echoed through the trees.

  "The terrain is a dense forest... It'll be difficult to predict where the other teams are hiding," Cire ented, sing their surroundings cautiously.

  "Should I summon a wind spirit to scout the area?" Ellis suggested.

  "No, not yet. I don't want to attract attention with spirit magic," Cire replied, shaking her head.

  "You're right." Ellis readily agreed.

  As the battle began, Roy took a backseat, leaving the fighting to the girls.

  This was the best way to test their abilities.

  "I'll summon Fenrir to carry gage," Ri said, summoning her ice spirit, which materialized as a white wolf.

  Fenrir howled, and with a gaping maw, it iheir luggage, making it disappear.

  "That's so ve!"

  "In the Laurenfrost territory, people ofte lost in the snow. We sometimes use Fenrir to transport supplies and rescue them," Ri expined, petting Fenrir's head. The wolf nuzzled her affeately.

  "But Roy's magic is more ve," Fianna ented.

  "That's true."

  They all agreed that Roy's Ste magic was indeed more practical than Fenrir's carrying capacity.

  "Scarlet is so cute, and so is your Fenrir..." Ellis said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the two spirits.

  She had a weakness for adorable creatures.

  If she saw Roy's Pokémon, she would be ecstatic.

  "Hey, are you sure you want to keep chatting?" Roy interjected, his eye twitg.

  They were in the middle of a crucial petitiohey were leisurely chatting. He couldn't help but admire their carefree attitude.

  If this were a MOBA game, they would be flooded with pings for not leaving the base.

  "Ah, right. We o find a safe pce to set up camp," Cire said, snapping out of her daze and regaining her focus as the team leader.

  This area seemed to be oskirts of the Wind Elemental Lord's territory. The divine power here was weak, and the air was chilly.

  Although their academy uniforms were ented with cold-resistance spells, it probably wouldn't be enough to withstand the night's chill.

  "We also o sider the water source. It would be best to set up camp near a river or ke," Cire added.

  She wasn't just referring to drinking water. As Elementalists, they had to se themselves frequently to purify their bodies.

  "Anyway, our priority is to scout the area. Ellis and I will take the lead, with Ri and Fianna in the middle."

  Cire's formation was sound.

  And with Roy at the rear, they didn't have to worry about being ambushed from behind.

  This formation also allowed them to protect Fianna, who wasn't a strong fighter.

  And Ri's position allowed her to snipe enemies from afar.

  They adjusted their formation and cautiously ventured deeper into the forest.

  ...

  They had been traveling for about an hour.

  Small, glowing orbs, like fireflies, flitted around them.

  These were messenger spirits, tasked with transmitting images of the Bde Dao the main hall.

  They were trained not to intrude on anyone's privacy.

  But Roy khat their movements were being projected onto the s in the hall.

  "We 't find any water sources... How big is this pce?" Ellis pined, growing impatient.

  "This floating isnd is as rge as a small try, so the arena must be quite vast as well," Cire expined.

  "We should make a map," Ri suggested, brushing a branch away from her face.

  "My feet are starting to hurt..." Fianna whined, uo walking through such rough terrain.

  As a traudent, she hadn't received the same wilderraining as Cire and the others.

  "Do you wao carry you?" Roy offered.

  "R-Really?" Fianna looked at him with surprise and hope.

  "Of course. I did say I wouldn't interfere in your battles, but this shouldn't be sidered cheating, right?" Roy chuckled.

  "Yay!" Fianna cheered, hopping onto his bad ing her arms around his neck.

  Roy could feel her slender fainst his back.

  "Damn it!"

  "That's so sly!"

  "I o think of something too!"

  ...

  Cire and the red at Fianna jealously.

  "Ow, my feet hurt too!" Ri feigned pain, approag Roy.

  "Really?" Roy raised an eyebrow. Was she serious?

  "Yes, so... could I lean on your shoulder?"

  "Sure."

  "Thank you! Then... I'll take you up on that offer." Ri smiled and leaned against Roy's shoulder.

  "Ri, you're so ing! Roy, I want to lean on your shoulder too!" Ellis excimed, grabbing Roy's arm.

  "Hey, hey, hey! Look at our formation!" Cire protested.

  "Cire, you're so disho. You just say your feet hurt too," Rieased.

  "Don't be ridiculous! I'm perfectly fine. I walk on my own!" Cire retorted, her face flushed.

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