By Zephyria A library filled with wooden bookshelves. In one corner of the place filled with the smell of paper, a spacious desk was set up. Hugo placed the thick file he had just pulled out on the top of the desk and sat down next to it.
While bringing the already cold coffee to his lips with one hand, he mechanically flipped through the stack of documents floating in the air with the other. His eyes also crossed a certain width. The list of personal information of the league participants quickly flashed through his vision.
He repeated the same action, then stopped as he flipped through another page.
D67-808
Gilard Gastovar
Alias: Beast
His sunken eyelids moved slightly. The participant number at the top and the league alias caught his eye. Hugo stared at it for a moment, then took the paper out of the stack of documents and placed it on his left. There, several papers that he had previously pulled out of other files were lying around.
D67-314
Benetra Lacrusia
Alias: Belle
F114-296
Jack Cutter
Alias: Appendix
Special Note: Retired
Hugo, who had his arms behind him, put down his coffee cup and stared intently at the paper. The fact that the code in front of the participant number was the same as D67 meant that they had submitted their applications at the same reception desk in the same region, even if there was a time difference.
Then, the blue eyes that were scanning in order stopped at the real name of someone named ‘Jack Cutter’. He shouldn’t be thinking this about someone’s name, but he got a slightly playful impression. The combination of the name of a notorious unidentified criminal and the surname ‘Cutter’. It didn’t feel like a real name.
Of course, there was a unique surname, Hazelnut, near him, but he was the second son of a hazelnut orchard who had officially applied for a name change to the country, so that was that…
Knock, knock—
The concise knock from outside the door cut off his thoughts. Hugo answered, fixing his gaze as if he already knew who the visitor was.
“Come in.”
With a click, only a head peeked in. It was Flynn. At the same time, the tightly closed door opened halfway, and the noise from outside flowed into the quiet room. The boisterous cheers and the heat of the audience could be felt intact.
The heavy drumbeat and the performance announcing the start of the event echoed widely. Before Flynn could say anything, Hugo realized that the time was approaching and checked his wristwatch.
“Do I have to go now?”
“Yes, the official event starts in 5 minutes, so it would be best to move now.”
“What about the battalion commanders?”
“They are all seated.”
“I’m going to get an earful.”
Hugo, who slightly frowned, got up from his seat. He fastened the button of his jacket and gestured to Flynn to the table and instructed.
“Flynn, make a separate note of the participant numbers I’ve taken out, and put them back in their place and reorganize them.”
“Understood. Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Roughly. When I finish the schedule and return to headquarters, I’ll check the original application.”
“Yes, should I give Gabe a heads up in advance?”
“No, there’s no point in leaving an official viewing record. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
Hugo left a simple word and hurried out. Flynn, who was about to organize the documents, suddenly turned around.
“Ah, Commander—.”
Click—
But the door was already closed, and the noise was neatly cut off as if nothing had happened.
Flynn, who was trying to catch his superior, stood blankly for a moment, scratched his cheek, and continued to organize the scattered files and papers. Recently, whenever the Commander attended a game, he would disappear after the end of the schedule, saying that he had something to do. As a result, the adjutant and attendant had to face difficult situations from time to time.
“I should have asked if you were going today…”
Of course, it’s not like he’s causing problems with important schedules or not saying anything at all, but he doesn’t tell us the specific destination either. On days when there are urgent approval requests from all directions or when a council member asks about his whereabouts, it’s ambiguous to make excuses with momentary wit. There was an incident where the entire mansion froze over before.
According to other attendants, they often talked about how his uniform was getting wrinkled or dirty lately, and that he seemed to be having trouble sleeping late at night, wondering if he had any worries. Whenever that happened, Flynn would feel like he wanted to assist his master and dare to wonder about his private life, but he would quickly remember his duty and pull himself together.
Even if there was a strong scent of someone else on his dusty cloak, it was the duty of a true adjutant and attendant to refrain from speculation.
Flynn, who had finished organizing with such quick movements, was about to move to the bookshelf with a pile of files in his arms.
“Huh?”
Something that was under the thick stack of documents fell at his feet. Flynn, who put the files back on the desk, bent down and picked it up.
‘What is this?’
It looked like a game chip from a gambling table. The number engraved on the thin Token was 0.
There was a very small hole in the middle.
Gambling is always a popular pastime in the aristocratic world. Since the stakes are high, the rise and fall of a family can be at stake. However, the Commander always kept his distance from such things unless it was an unavoidable situation such as showing his face in social circles or entertaining important guests.
‘Could it be that you’ve developed a new hobby?’
Flynn stared at the Token with a puzzled look and carefully put it in his uniform pocket. Then, he put the files back on the bookshelf and wiped the fingerprints with a handkerchief so that no traces would be left. Finally, he took the coffee cup and followed the path that Hugo had taken earlier.
When I came out to the outdoor spectator seats, the cheers became even louder as if the sky was about to fall. As this was the first match to be open to the public, professional commentators were with us from start to finish. The amplification magic and the sense of realism were added to their powerful voices, and the floor was rumbling. The unique structure of the stadium also played a part in this. This was not a coliseum or a semi-circular shape, but a perfect spherical stadium floating in the air.
When many lords allow the construction of stadiums within their territories, they try to reflect their characteristics by considering various symbolism and commercial benefits. The lord of Nebaron called his family the descendants of the celestial realm and struggled for a long time to differentiate himself from Celestia, and as a result, the Ether Nexus Stadium, which was built, was evaluated as a fairly successful attempt.
Waaaaaaah—
Except for some areas at the top and bottom of the stadium where light comes in, 270 degrees of the sphere’s 360 degrees, up, down, left, and right, are all densely packed with spectator seats and broadcasting facilities. If you sit on one side of the spectator seats and look up diagonally across the street, it looks like people are sitting on the ceiling.
The reason this is possible is because of the special gravity action method of this stadium. Due to the expanding nature of the Ether that fills the inside of the spherical stadium, the force pushing outward from the spectator seats acts like a second gravity, allowing you to step on the ground as if you were walking lightly on the ground. However, the gravity in the center of the stadium is rather weak, so you can experience a fairly long airtime even with a light jump.
This point was the characteristic of the stadium and the variation factor of this game. In other words, even participants who cannot fly can obtain effects similar to flying ability.
It would be advantageous for most participants, but it would not be welcome news for Lion, who originally flew like the wind.
Hugo, who was moving busily, arrived at the box seat where the upper-level officials of the Council were sitting, just in time. There were some glares for appearing late, but after a brief nod, he headed to the battalion commander-level seats in the outdoor space above the box seat.
As he fluttered his cloak and passed by, his subordinates greeted him silently. Hugo, who received it with a nod, naturally stood in the upper seat between Deputy Commander Shorendo and 2nd Battalion Commander Loren. On the way, the 11th Battalion Commander’s seat was empty, and the gazes of 3rd Battalion Commander Meterion and 8th Battalion Commander Venom followed him. But they were quickly withdrawn.
“Have you arrived?”
Shorendo whispered softly. Hugo nodded and stood in his place and looked straight ahead, and at the same time, the orchestra’s melody began to spread magnificently from one side of the stadium. At the same time, all the commanders and members of the Council, including Hugo, raised their right arms and saluted. The audience also stood up and took off their hats and stared at one place.
The huge imperial flag, with small floating ships at the four corners, fluttered like a wave and slowly revealed its majesty in the sky.