"It's about Laetitia."
Laetitia? What about her?
In Elise's eyes, Laetitia was indeed closer to her than most people, but nothing out of bounds had ever happened between them.
Elise had the awareness of a saintess!
She interacted with regular people, and even showed closeness to other girls. To her, such things were entirely normal—part of everyday life. As long as nothing improper happened, it was fine.
Like doing X with a man, or grinding XX with a woman.
She would never allow the saintess to be burdened with such a name!
A saintess must remain pure and untarnished by worldly desires!
Besides, it wasn't even certain that Laetitia had such inclinations.
"Haha, just teasing you," Sylvia chuckled lightly before revealing the truth. "I came to you because of my teacher, Ely."
"Your teacher, Ursula?"
Had Sylvia found her trail?
"Yes. I recently rushed back to Asterisk because I discovered her location hadn't changed." Sylvia's tone grew serious. "Ursula has been staying in this city and hasn't left!"
"So I came back early and even stopped by a few other academies. Unfortunately, it was just like before—I couldn't find her…" Sylvia's gaze dimmed a little. "I'm beginning to wonder if my teacher is acting on her own will."
She actually guessed it?
Well, with Sylvia's intelligence, figuring this much out wasn't all that surprising.
"Then let me help you, Sylvia!"
Elise offered without hesitation.
How could the Saintess just stand by and watch her friend suffer?
Of course she would lend a hand!
"You're my best friend, and your teacher is also like my teacher." A soft glow seemed to radiate from Elise as she spoke, her entire presence becoming more saintly. "If our teacher has been wronged, I won't forgive those who hurt her!"
Upon hearing this, Sylvia froze for a moment. Then, her expression melted into a bright smile.
"Thank you, Ely. I'm lucky to have a friend like you!"
Their conversation didn't last long. The two sat together in the room, watching the first day of the tournament matches. To them, the only one worth watching was Orphelia's match.
Neither the Prana levels nor the martial skills of the other participants stood out.
A Strega did appear, but her use of her own ability was poor. To the average person she might seem powerful, but to Sylvia and Elise, she wasn't worth noting.
There was nothing to be done but wait and see if any other strong contenders would appear in later matches.
...
The number of participants in the Lindvolus Festa was far greater than expected, but only the top 32 would draw the world's attention.
The so-called "Top Thirty-Two."
And from those thirty-two, the strongest would rise to the peak.
The current matches had been going on for four days. Although they garnered a lot of attention, they didn't reach the same level of hype as the top thirty-two—they were still just the preliminaries.
Even so, broadcasting the prelims generated a hefty profit—more than Sylvia earned as an idol, at least.
The first three days of matches concluded quickly. Orphelia and Sylvia both made their appearances.
Orphelia's match was an outright domination. With her ability and Prana reserves, average student-level combatants weren't even worth watching. She simply stood in place and waited for her opponent to pass out from the poison.
Sylvia's matches, on the other hand, were a bit different. In nearly every match, she would sing one of her own songs—and then defeat her opponent within that melody. It looked more like a concert than a battle and was immensely entertaining to watch.
The Integrated Enterprise Foundation noticed all of this and gave Sylvia plenty of camera time.
The audience loved it. Many stood and applauded after her victories to show their respect. Some even waved banners enthusiastically to express their admiration.
Each girl had her own unique fighting style.
Elise couldn't fall behind. She had to find her own way to stand out in the matches and catch the eyes of the audience.
With the tournament broadcast worldwide, it was the perfect opportunity to boost her fame and gain a massive surge of faith.
She had already come up with a plan. But it would have to wait until her first official match—ideally one with live commentary for maximum effect.
...
With the preliminaries concluded, the Sirius Dome opened fully, and the round of 32-to-16 matches began.
"Good day, everyone! We're here at the site of the first match of the Lindvolus Festa—Sirius Dome!"
With the announcer's voice booming across the stadium, the live global broadcast officially began, signaling the true start of the Lindvolus Festa.
Soon enough, the player entry notification reached Elise. Calmly, she adjusted her appearance and put on the "Saintess' smile" she had worn for over a decade. With graceful steps, she entered the arena.
As Elise appeared on the field, the crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers. She stood calmly at the center, smiling, as if nothing in the world could faze her.
Though Lindvolus drew massive attention, many spectators ignored the preliminaries and only tuned in once the top 32 battles began.
To stoke the excitement, the organizing committee had arranged a formidable opponent for Elise.
From Seidoukan Academy, one of the Twelve Originals—"Cuélebre" Feardorcha O'Neill. A formidable fighter wielding a genuine Orga Lux.
Technically, such a strong seed contestant shouldn't appear so early. But perhaps… Elise wasn't even considered a seeded contestant in their eyes?
After all, very little information had ever come out of Saint Galahadworth Academy about her. Even her training was routine, done during class alongside everyone else. She wasn't ranked and had no formal battle records.
Giving Elise such a powerful opponent may have been the organizers' way of saying: Even if she loses, it won't be shameful. As the Church's Saintess, at least she should be given some face.
"Oh? So you're my opponent?"
Across from her, Feardorcha looked at Elise while gripping his Orga Lux, clearly surprised.
"Try to hang in there, little girl. I'm not very good at holding back."
Everyone participating in Lindvolus had their sights set on victory. Feardorcha had no intention of encouraging her to surrender—that would be disrespectful to a fellow fighter.
Still, giving a first-timer a friendly warning was acceptable.
Hearing his words, Elise didn't react much. She simply smiled and replied:
"Thank you for your concern. My strength may be a little lacking… but perhaps you won't need to hold back?"
Just as she finished speaking, the announcer's voice rang out again:
"Now then, the first match of the Lindvolus Festa begins—right now!"