Irina didn’t seem to be aware of it…. What’s was the difference? Who told them about that characteristic? I suddenly realised. —It was Rudiger Rosenkreutz. …Was this also one of his tactics…? He even knew the conditions for activation? …Damn it, we didn’t foresee this! The announcer asked Beelzebub-sama again
Would this count as misconduct?>>
No, the players of both teams were purely focused on offense and defence. After all, no matter which side they’re on, everyone is fighting on the field for their own team. This is no malicious intent in this game. If there was, what just happened would have been impossible. …That happened precisely because neither side wanted to back down.>>
That was Beelzebub-sama’s judgement. “…Using the characteristics of the card combinations, we did predict that something like this would happen, but I never imagined that the reincarnated Angels’ ability would be activated in such a manner…”
Ravel also seemed somewhat disappointed. “…In that case, Irina’s movements will be restricted…!”
My words caused doubt to surface on Ravel’s face. “Yes, she may become a seed that will be exploited by the reincarnated Angels’ ability. …It’s because the effect of this is tremendous. Irina-sama’s mentality has also been impacted by this.”
I looked at Irina. She seemed extremely affected by what had happened. Even her face had turned pale. …Irina was completely shaken. I moved closer to Irina and hugged her shoulders to encourage her. “Ise-kun, I’m sorry. I-I…”
“Don’t worry about it…it goes without saying that the match is not over yet. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be afraid, everyone is still with you! Of course, I’m also on your side!”
I smiled at Irina, allowing her to calm down. It wasn’t Irina’s fault. If we could help Irina more, then it may be preventable. …Moreover, it’ll be fine so long as all of us can overcome this together. “Let’s win, Irina.”
“Yes!”
Irina response seemed to be filled with energy again. I also felt a surge of passion within myself. …My breathing was only just starting to grow heavier. The score was [88 – 95], and we had finally been overtaken. The score had been reversed, but there was still half the time left in this game—. Kanji was Saint’s Trial. The match between Ise-kun’s team and the [Brave Saints] team had begun, and I — Kiba Yuuto and my comrades (the Gremory team) as well as Rias-neesan had come to a certain place. This was the spectator room for related personnel. Rias-neesan found the person that she was looking for. The other person also noticed Rias-neesan, and they smiled at her. “What an unexpected guest.”
Rias-neesan approached that person — and stood next to that man. “Good day, Rudiger Rosenkreutz-sama. May we sit with you?”
The man — Rudiger-shi waved his hand and said ‘please sit’ as he gestured towards the seats beside him. The members of our team also sat near those two. Shown on the display was Ise-kun’s team and the reincarnated Angel team that Rudiger-shi was supervising, both sides were engaged in a fierce battle with each other. In terms of the score — Rudiger-shi’s team was slightly ahead. Rias-neesan watched the match as she asked
“Rudiger-sama, may I ask something?”
“It depends on what you’re asking.”
“…Regarding what happened to Irina earlier, was that something you had been aiming for in advance?”
Rias-neesan was originally watching in a separate room, but after seeing Irina-san become involved in the formation effect of the reincarnated Angels, she said
“…I must find out for myself.”
And then we came over here. Rias-neesan must have thought that this was one of Rudiger-shi’s instructions, so she wanted to ask about the intention behind that move, or perhaps its true meaning. Rudiger-shi laughed eloquently. “Fufufu, as long as you know about the characteristics of reincarnated Angels, this is something that is certain to be included in the strategy from the beginning. However, I wasn’t aiming for that from the start. It’s just that various conditions were assembled in that situation, so right in that crucial moment before scoring a goal, they should make Shidou Irina waver — that’s what I suggested to them.”
“…I see, if you had intended on doing exactly that from the very beginning, it might not have been possible due to distractions. So that’s why you simply posed it to them as a possibility…. Is it just bad luck for Ise and the others then? No, since they’re on the same field battling with pure emotions against the Angels, it can’t be…”
Rudiger-shi revealed a thin smile. “Well, it’s difficult for that to succeed a second time. —Even so, once is enough. So long as that seed of anxiety has been planted into their minds. Mental stress can deeply penetrate into the performance of the body. Carrying that anxiety until the end of the match, I’m sure it’ll be difficult.”
Just as Rudiger-shi had said, Irina-san’s actions as displayed on the screen seemed rather unnatural, and she eventually showed an opening to allow the ball to be taken away from her. If she acted freely, it was possible for that effect to be used again, and so this casted doubt over whether she would be able to continue playing on the field whilst carrying that unease…. In order to help Irina-san, Xenovia who was also a [Knight] seemed to be taking on Irina-san’s share of activity as well by stepping up her actions against Rudiger-shi’s team. Seeing this, Rudiger-shi seemed to laugh with a hint of irony. “Xenovia Quarta on her own is certainly a very strong player. Basically, all she needs to do is grab the ball, and then she can be allowed to move around as she likes. That’s what she thinks as well. But, if anything happens to her comrades, she’ll do everything necessary to support them. Of course, that’s also because she has the ability to do so. —But, if she tries to do too much, then there’s a chance that she’ll reveal openings.”
Xenovia had increased her own mobility and defensive scope in order to help Irina-san — but the vulnerabilities in her defence also grew larger at the same time, so the Angels seized this opportunity to break through Xenovia’s defences. Again, the reincarnated Angel team has scored again—!>>
And then, they scored more points. Rudiger-shi looked at the display as if he had been expecting that to happen. “Look, Xenovia Quarta took responsibility for the area that Shidou Irina failed to respond to, and this has revealed a small gap in their defences.”
Rudiger-shi leaned against the back of his chair while putting his elbow against the armrest to support his face as he said
“If I recall, Xenovia Quarta…is the Student Council President of a Japanese high school, or so I’ve heard. She has a greater sense of responsibility than before, and her views have also widened a fair bit. Hence, compared to her previous focus on a strong offense, it’s easier for her to reveal openings now.