Chapter 255: [255] Where Is There a Place to Plug In?
Eiji stepped through the pitch-black gate and returned to the Rakudai world. Looking around, he found himself at the exact starting point where he had begun.
"So this is what happens when two traversable worlds appear simultaneously..."
A momentary dizziness washed over his mind, followed by a connection to his counterpart in the Type-Moon world. Fifteen years of memories from that version of himself flooded in.
It felt like operating both hands—capable of working in unison or independently.
Eiji turned back to look at the pitch-black gate.
The two characters symbolizing the Type-Moon world had vanished from its surface, leaving only the name of the Danmachi world imprinted on the door.
"Does this mean the Type-Moon world is no longer accessible, but I can still return to Danmachi?"
A wave of regret immediately washed over him.
If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered pretending to be a gentleman!
"Whatever, I need to get back to school first!"
With a thought, Eiji made the illusory realm disappear before his eyes.
The sensation of transcending everything gradually faded as his feet firmly landed on the grass. He then sprinted toward Hagun Academy in the distance.
The distance to Hagun Academy wasn't far. With his newly enhanced speed, it took him only about ten minutes to rush back to the school's entrance like the wind.
"What? A whole month has passed?!"
Eiji stared in shock at the answer given by the security guard.
Damn it!
This is bad!
In a month's time, he would've had over a dozen matches. By now, the selection tournament was likely in its final stages. Missing so many matches meant he was effectively disqualified, with no chance of becoming a representative for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.
"Heh, ha! Looks like I'll have to resort to some special measures!"
Eiji covered his face and laughed.
Then, leaving the confused security guard behind, he stormed toward the faculty office building in a frenzy.
"Chairman, I'm coming in!"
On the top floor of the office building, Eiji shouted loudly.
With a kick, he flung open the double redwood doors and strode into the luxurious office adorned with red carpets.
"Haa... Eiji, have I given you the impression that I'm easy to talk to?"
A beautiful woman in a suit sat behind the desk, her high ponytail swaying behind her.
Seated in her chair, she lit a cigarette, her elegant face wearing an exceedingly kind smile.
"If you don't give me a proper reason, believe me, I'll teach you a lesson right now—no holding back."
What kind of lesson?
Wait, now's not the time for dirty thoughts!
"Chairman, I believe the current selection tournament system is deeply flawed!"
Eiji walked up to the desk with righteous indignation, slamming both hands on the table with a bang, embodying the image of a champion for justice.
"The matchups are way too random! This inevitably leads to truly skilled individuals being unfairly eliminated while less capable ones slip through!"
His words weren't entirely baseless—Hagun Academy's selection tournament system did have issues.
Although each participant had to compete in over twenty matches, the opponents were entirely random.
The top six performers across these twenty matches would earn the right to represent the school at the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.
But this meant some might face consecutive matches against top-tier opponents, while others cruised through weaker ones, resulting in genuinely strong candidates being left out.
Ahem...
"So, what do you propose we do instead?"
Eiji's imposing demeanor was overwhelming.
His seriousness made Kurono Shinguuji, the chairman, instinctively avert her gaze. Her usually unshakable heart was now racing uncontrollably.
How had this guy become even more ridiculously handsome after just a month?
She cleared her throat, mentally picturing her husband and daughter's faces to steady her wavering composure, then feigned solemnity as she posed the question.
"I propose a losers' revival tournament!"
Eiji's eyes sharpened as he seized the opportunity to present his plan.
Back in the Danmachi world, he'd already considered the possibility of missing the selection tournament and secretly devised a strategy to return to the competition.
A loser's revival tournament was his solution.
Many participants—like Kanata Totokubara and Takeshi Momotani—likely lost to seeded players and would welcome a second chance. Combined with Eiji's own influence, proposing a revival tournament stood a high chance of approval!
Of course, if he'd returned only to find the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival already over, he'd have had no choice but to accept defeat and apologize to his senior sister.
Fortunately, the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival wasn't until August. It was only early June now, leaving at least two months.
"I see. A revival tournament would indeed be fairer, ensuring the six strongest candidates are selected from the entire student body."
That face of his kept swaying in her vision, disrupting her focus. She pretended to close her eyes in contemplation.
"But have you considered the manpower, resources, and time required to organize this?"
The standard selection tournament already took two months.
Adding a revival tournament would demand another half to full month, assuming participation remained low.
"We could adjust the format. For example, a single-elimination bracket?"
Hagun Academy only had around 700 students. If they adopted a knockout-style tournament—especially with limited revival participants—it could be wrapped up in about a week.
"We'll discuss that later."
Kurono found it hard to refuse him outright but wasn't ready to commit to changing the system, so she shifted the topic.
"By the way, you have a match scheduled for this afternoon. Aren't you going?"
"...Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me! Was the notification not delivered?"
"Hold on."
Eiji set down the two backpacks he was carrying. One oversized backpack clattered with the sound of colliding bottles, while the other was much smaller.
She hadn't noticed earlier.
How was this guy carrying such a heavy backpack yet moving so energetically? Had his physical abilities improved dramatically?
Kurono pondered thoughtfully.
From the smaller backpack, Eiji retrieved his student handbook and charger.
"Chairman, where is there a place to plug this in?"
"Over there."
Kurono gestured toward a corner with her chin.
Though his phrasing struck her as a bit... suggestive, making her, a married woman, struggle to keep a straight face.
Eiji plugged in his student handbook. As expected, hundreds of notifications popped up upon startup.
Aside from messages from his senior sister Touka, the expired l0l!, and the wealthy benefactor Kanata asking about his whereabouts, there were numerous match notifications from the selection tournament committee.
Strangely, despite his absence, the tournament notifications had continued uninterrupted for the past month.
Shouldn't someone who missed over a dozen matches have been disqualified and removed from the roster?
And yet.
He had a match scheduled for this very afternoon.
***
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