"...So Ayla was the one who posted that video of Ares beating up his half-brother —I mean, the second-year representative Aretrus?" Ziona asked curiously.
And everyone's attention was drawn to Ayla, waiting to hear her response.
"What are you on about? It can't be her, because I was by her side the entire time and didn't notice her recording," Lucas abruptly stated.
"...Who knows, she might have used one of the concealing-spell-enhanced stalking cameras that are currently famous in the market," Diana speculated with a smirk.
Lucas was speechless when he heard Diana's remark and simply stared at her.
"What? obviously, we would suspect her since she was the only one who was unoccupied and free while we were busy fighting," As she felt Lucas's stare, Diana gave an explanation while shrugging.
"...."
"...Yes, I did, in fact, record that video. But it was not me who edited and uploaded it to the internet," Ayla immediately clarified.
!?
"What! S-Are you sure you really recorded that video? Why would you do such a thing?" Lucas inquired, perplexed.
"...."
"...Although I filmed that video, but I had no intention of posting it on the internet; ...it was the Student Council President who edited and uploaded it," Ayla explained uneasily.
"Why did you record that at all, to begin with? And without Ares's approval at that? You know he had to deal with a lot of shit because of that right?
And he even was disowned because of that video as well," Diana questioned curiously.
"...I Honestly, didn't mean any harm to Ares; I just recorded it in case it came in handy someday. What if Ares defeats him and Aretrus still refuses to cooperate?
As a result, I videotaped the entire incident in order to use it against him and compel him to cooperate," Ayla explained.
Following Ayla's explanation, there was a brief silence.
"Yes, that makes perfect sense," Kevin suddenly spoke up and agreed with a nod.
"But you should have told us about it beforehand, and more importantly, you should have gotten Ares's permission before you did it," Diana pointed out still not satisfied by her justification.
"...Yes, you are correct, and I am really sorry for having recorded you without your consent, Ares.
Please accept my deepest apologies, and the next time I want to do something, I'll make sure to get your permission first," Ayla spoke out, with a sorrowful expression.
"...."
"Wow! Her acting is on par with yours," Irethiel remarked telepathically as she heard Ayla's explanation.
"...."
"How did that video end up in the hands of the student council president?" Livia asked abruptly while fixating on Ayla.
"I honestly have no idea about that either, but I am fairly certain that the video was uploaded from his account," Ayla responded.
"You don't have to worry about it, Ayla; As I don't hold you responsible for anything; instead, I'll just have to deal with the student council President later.
Though It's upsetting that the recording was leaked and uploaded to the internet, but I really don't care much about it," I commented while smiling at her.
However, I already know, Ayla must have leaked the video to him, and I also know what this bitch was attempting to accomplish by doing so.
"Why are you letting her off so easily? You had to deal with a lot of issues as a result of that video, didn't you?" Diana inquired with a dissatisfied expression.
"Because I know she didn't mean any harm by recording that video, and it's not her fault that the video was leaked and uploaded to the internet," I replied, smiling.
Lucas was surprised when he heard my response and just gazed at me speechless.
"...."
Hmph!—
Diana scoffed and folded her hand in discontent, turning her head sideways.
"When did you become such a Saint? Do you have something planned for her?" Irethiel inquired telepathically.
"...You just have to remember that I never forget my grudges," I declared aloud.
Ayla was taken aback by my statement and just stared at me, as was Livia, who was also staring at me blankly without uttering a word.
***
"...All right, now that this issue has been resolved. Can anyone explain why you guys have gathered here by skipping classes, and we didn't see any students on the archery range either?
What's going on with this?" Ziona questioned perplexed.
"It's because the tournament's date and a list of the Soreh academy students who will be competing have been announced a while ago.
And for the same reason, the participating students are permitted to skip classes so they can focus on their training," Kevin quickly replied to Ziona.
"...."
"...Does this mean that everyone here has been selected to participate? And do I fall into that category as well?" Ziona asked interested.
"Yes, everyone in this room, including you, has obviously been selected to partake from the first-year students, along with a few others," Diana stated.
"...There will be thirty students participating from our academy, with ten students selected from each year to take part," Livia suddenly said.
"So.., when does the tournament start?" I inquired, intrigued.
"...The dates have been shifted earlier than expected for unspecified reasons, so it will now take place three weeks from now," Livia said casually.
"...."
"Hmph! It's also the reason I forbade non-participants from entering the Archery grounds because I didn't want anyone interfering with my training, but here you guys are wasting my training time," Diana grumbled in frustration.
!?
"...So, that's how it is, huh?" I muttered after a brief pause.
'The fact that the tournament is starting earlier than it was intended to in the novel, demonstrates how my existence has already had an impact on the novel's events and will continue to do so on a number of upcoming occasions.
So I can't always rely on my understanding of the novel's events,' I reasoned to myself.
"If so, let's quickly deal with the Third Year faction leaders so that we can focus on our training," Ziona said abruptly.
"Yes, I also had the same thought. Do you have a plan in mind, Ares? So we can deal with them as quickly as possible?" Diana was wondering.
When everyone heard her, they all turned their attention to me to hear my response.
"...Yes, of course, I have a plan, but first let me speak with Erina before we make our move," I responded.
Though I already have a plan, but I need to talk to Erina about her preferred strategy for dealing with Zerix and his faction.
"...And you want to meet her by yourself? What if she tries something like Aretrus did?" Livia asked as she continued to stare at me.
"Don't worry, that won't happen," I reassured her while smiling.
***
While we were having a discussion, Diana abruptly turned on the news on the holographic screen.
[...The Hero Association has received a lot of criticism and is now mocked by everyone; they even lost millions of followers on their social media accounts in a matter of hours after one of the most well-known and popular youngsters on the platform claimed they targeted him for no apparent reason.
In his most recent interview, he claimed that he had saved his half-brother and ex-fiancee from the hero association members who had faked his half-brother Prince Aretrus's death in order to frame him for the murder.]
Our attention was immediately drawn to the holographic screen as we abruptly heard the news.
[Of course, the youngster in question is Ares Von Rothstaylar, who is now known solely as Ares after recently losing his royal status and being disowned.] one of the news persons made a statement.
[Yes, but among the young, he has earned the nickname "Ares the Executioner" and the title "youngest swordmaster."
He also became the most talked-about individual recently after SS-Rank Tania Elizabeth accidentally revealed that he was the pupil of the infamous Mika Amami, who she had just defeated.
And on top of that, a video of him ruthlessly beating his brother also went viral and is currently trending online.] The other news person beside him stated and halted for the other news person to continue.
[ That is correct; However, it didn't seem to have any impact on his fame; rather, it gave him a big boost because the general public seemed to really like it in contrast to how they felt about the hero association's ranking list.
And even after accusing the Giant Conglomerate Like Hero Association, he started getting support from a lot of elites.
As many concur that the hero association's ranking list is erratic because they too think that Ares and Mika Amami have been unfairly degraded by being ranked lower than they should have been.] The newsperson enunciated.
[And the information Ares provided regarding the release of the demon lord seal alarmed the general populace as well as numerous Kingdoms.
And after it caused outrage across the entire continent, even the monarchs are now demanding a clarification from the Hero association in order to verify the veracity of the information.
Therefore, In order to allay everyone's worries, the hero association has decided to hold a press conference later today.] The news person remarked.
***