The moment that Professor Barret declared that Henry had won the match, the members of Dud Manor all rose up from their seats and cheered loudly.
Not long after, a thundering applause spread throughout the Grand Stadium. Everyone was very impressed by Henry’s performance. They believed that even without Ethan’s help, the Mage Slayer of Brynhildr Academy, who was rumored to have the blood of Giants flowing inside his body, would still have won his match hands down.
The guests who had come all the way to the Academy to look for potential candidates to hire after they graduated, looked at Henry with favorable impressions. 𝗈𝚟𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t
Some of them already knew how strong Henry was, while the others had just witnessed his strength for the first time.
Even though he was considered a Dud, and could only use one type of magic, he was still a talent that many in the Wizard World would love to have under their wing.
“That was a great battle, and although there were a few mishaps at the start, I hope that you all enjoyed it,” Professor Rinehart declared as his voice, which was magnified several times, spread in the surroundings. “I will see you all two days from now in order to watch the battle between Dud Manor and Terra Manor. This battle will decide who will be the Champion of the Clash of Manors.”
The Headmaster’s announcement was greeted positively by the students, and all of them couldn’t wait to see the final battles of the tournament.
——————————
Back in the Dud Manor…
“Sir Henry! I didn’t know you were that strong!” Ethan said as he shook hands with his Head Prefect, whom he now idolized. “Can you spar with me from time to time? I’d like to learn a few things from you.”
“Of course,” Henry replied with a smile. “I’d love to train with you, Ethan. I have high hopes for you as well.”
“I want to join the training as well, Sir Henry!” Noah, who thought that this was a good opportunity to get hands-on training with the strongest student in the academy joined the conversation.
“No worries.” Henry nodded. “In fact, both of you can spar with me at the same time.”
Ethan and Noah was quite happy with this arrangement. They believed that if they sparred against Henry, they would be able to hone their fighting skills to the next level.
Just like last time, Chloe and Nicole were invited to the Dud Manor’s victory celebration.
However, only Nicole came.
Chloe was part of the Jaeger Manor, and she felt that it would be bad if people thought that she celebrated her own manor’s defeat by joining the Dud Manor’s victory party.
Because of this, she decided to stay in her manor for the time being.
Eren and the members of the Jaeger Manor knew that Chloe was very supportive of her cousin, so they didn’t make things difficult for her.
They also appreciated that she didn’t go there to celebrate their Manor’s defeat, which earned her the good will of her Manor Mates.
Back when Ethan fought Langston for Chloe’s sake, the members of the Jaeger Manor often teased her that the handsome teenager was her knight in shining pajamas.
But, right now, almost every member of the Jaeger Manor hated Ethan with a vengeance.
Lily had also locked herself inside her room, and refused to come out, even though her close friends kept on knocking on her door.
They only stopped when Eren told them to leave Lily alone before going to his own room to tend to his injuries.
The Head Prefect of the Jaeger Manor refused to be taken to the infirmary by the medics, and only asked for some healing potions to help speed up his recovery.
While the Jaeger Manor was licking the wounds of their defeat, the victory party in Dud Manor was in full swing.
“Did you see how awesome I was during my battle?” George, who had returned from the infirmary after hearing that their Manor had won, asked as his smile reached from ear to ear.
“Yes,” Ethan replied. “The way you were sent flying by your opponent with a Rock Blast Spell was amazing.”
“Psshhh! He just got lucky because I didn’t use my full powers,” George waved his hand as if his opponent was not a big deal. “If I fought for real, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
Everyone in the Dud Manor, except for Henry, just laughed at George’s declaration. They didn’t know if Henry’s best friend was lying or not, but since they won, they just decided to turn a blind eye to his statements, and toasted with him for a job well done.
While this was happening, Nicole, who was seated beside Ethan, refilled his glass with red wine.
No one knew how George managed to smuggle these wine bottles into the academy, but since they were in the mood to celebrate, Henry allowed everyone to drink a glass of wine, but no more than that.
He believed that everyone would be able to handle a little bit of alcohol in their system, and not cause problems for anyone.
“You were amazing earlier,” Nicole said with a smile. “It seems that our training has paid off.”
“And I am very thankful for your help, Nicole,” Ethan replied before taking a sip of the wine that Nicole had offered him. “I hope that you will continue to help me in the future.”
“Of course I will,” Nicole commented. “Although I don’t want to admit it, seeing you grow through our training makes me look forward to how proficient you will be after a year has passed. I believe that if you continue to work hard, you will at least be half as good as me in close combat.”
“Only half?” Ethan arched his eyebrow.
“Only half.” Nicole smirked before talking like an old woman. “I’ve been training all my life. Don’t think that you will be able to become as good as me in just a year of training. You still have a long way to go young man.”
Ethan chuckled because Nicole reminded him of his Grandma during their training sessions on how to wield the Pitchfork.
The party continued until late in the night.
Nicole helped carry Ethan to his room because the handsome teenager was too tipsy to walk by himself.
They didn’t expect him to have such a low alcohol tolerance, since a single glass of wine was enough to make him drunk.
Everyone was either too full to move, or had already retired to their rooms at that point in time.
Luna was one of them. She left an hour ago to rest.
Because of this, only Nicole was left to carry the drunk teenage boy back to his room and tuck him in for the night.
The pink-haired beauty supported Ethan’s body and laid him on the bed before going back to the door to lock it properly.
After that, she walked back to Ethan and helped him remove his shoes and clothes.
Originally, she only planned to help remove his robes, but after seeing how helpless Ethan was, she decided to take everything off until only his pants were left.
Nicole then caressed the side of Ethan’s face to make sure that he was truly asleep.
Seeing no reaction from him, she then traced her finger down his chin, his neck, collarbone, and chest.
“You shouldn’t let your guard down like this, Ethan,” Nicole muttered. “How will you be able to survive in the Magical World if you’re like this?”
The defenseless teenage boy, who was sleeping peacefully, was unable to reply to Nicole’s words.
And was also not aware of the pink-haired beauty’s touch, as she started to explore his body.
