After leaving the stadium, Zeke met up with Viola and Sophia briefly. They both congratulated him on reaching the finals.
He was delighted to receive their heartfelt compliments. However, he was also too tired from the long day of fighting and scheming to stay and talk any longer. He promised the two girls to meet up the next morning before the official start of the tournament to talk more.
Viola seemed reluctant to let him leave like that. It was not in her nature to be patient. But after a serious look from Sophia, she decided to back off and let Zeke have a good rest first.
Zeke was on his way back home when he suddenly felt a presence enter his sphere of awareness. He immediately knew who it was and with a smile on his face, he turned to greet his mentor.
"Did you see me fight, old man?" Zeke asked.
Maximilian returned his smile and nodded. "Indeed I did. That was an impressive performance. It looks like your training with Gretchen and Margaret really paid off!"
Zeke was immediately in a good mood after receiving his mentor's recognition. The old man was never stingy with his praise, but he also had no problem telling Zeke the truth if he had made a mistake.
"What did you think of Roland's actions?" Zeke asked.
He was curious to hear his mentor's thoughts on the betrayal. Maximilian smiled at the crafty glint he could see in Zeke's eyes. A moment later, he turned serious upon thinking about his answer. The creases on his wizened face deepened visibly as he pondered the matter.
After a while, he sighed and said, "I can't say that I agree with his methods. However, the outcome was to be expected if I'm being honest. The rewards for reaching the finals were much too tempting for him to take a leap of faith. It is likely that if Roland had not acted the way he did, he would have gotten sneak-attacked by someone else. Your teams were never going to be able to execute the next part of your plan."
Zeke began to nod, he had been thinking along the same lines. But before he could even finish the movement, his head froze mid-nod. He stared up at Maximilian with wide eyes.
"How did you know that I was the one that came up with the plan?" Zeke asked, shocked.
Maximilian smirked at Zeke's expression.
"Did you think that the audience had no way of watching you guys down there? There was a giant screen on top of the arena, displaying the highlights of the battle from up close.
"Those hidden observers were not only there to keep you guys from harm. Their main mission was to record the fights for the audience. Everything you guys did or talked about down there was projected for all of us to hear."
Zeke had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he asked, "When did they stop the projections?"
Maximilian gave Zeke a knowing look before answering his unasked question.
"Yes, Zeke, your explanation on why you didn't intervene on purpose was also transmitted. We could also clearly hear how you quoted 'The heart of men'. I must say, you made quite an impression on us old-timers in the VIP lounge. Your calm analysis and logical decision-making were a sight to behold. Old man Victor even asked me if you already had a future wife lined up. Seems he has some young women he wants to introduce to you!"
Zeke's face turned a little red as Maximilian talked about the prospect of marriage. But he tried to play it off with a flippant remark.
"If that old coot wants me to marry into his family, then he would have to offer Viola's hand," Zeke said. "I won't settle for just anybody."
Maximilian sighed and gave Zeke a sideways glance. "That is probably not going to happen, Zeke. Viola is the daughter of the current patriarch, and she has almost a perfect wind affinity. I don't think they would allow her to marry outside the family."
Zeke was confused by this statement. "What do you mean?"
Maximilian sighed again and began to explain.
"Viola has a very high standing in the Windtänzer family. On top of that, her children might even have a perfect wind core. That is if she is paired with someone with an equally high wind affinity. They wouldn't waste the chance of having another perfect core, just so she can bring in a potential asset like you. They would much rather gamble on her children."
Zeke stood still, his eyes filled with clear disgust as he looked at Maximilian.
"She is not a broodmare, Maximilian," he said. "How can you talk like that about her?"
Maximilian looked back at Zeke with pity in his eyes, but he did not flinch from the accusation.
"Calm down, Zeke," he said. "I am just telling you what I think is going to happen. I don't make the rules of the great families, and I can't influence them. Of course, I'm not in favor of such treatment, but that doesn't mean I'll pretend I don't know what's going to happen. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Zeke immediately realized his mistake and lowered his head. His long hair fell down to hide his face. He had become emotional and blamed Maximilian, who had done nothing but provide him with his honest opinion.
Zeke took a deep breath to regain his composure, then looked up into Maximilian's eyes and gave him a deep nod. He wanted to ensure his mentor knew that he understood.
Maximilian returned his nod, satisfied with his student's response. The two of them remained silent on their way home, each lost in their own world.
Upon arriving home, they were immediately escorted to the dining room. There, a sumptuous meal was already prepared. Zeke only now noticed how hungry he really was and started digging in.
Maximilian watched with a private smile as Zeke gorged himself on what had to be three people's worth of food. The cooks had gotten excellent at preparing dishes with monster meat, and Zeke was not letting their effort go to waste.
After the meal had ended, Zeke wished Maximilian a good night and made for his room. A content smile on his face as he left. The moment he touched the comfortable mattress, he was out.
Zeke awoke in the morning with a spring in his step, the events from yesterday having finally settled in. He had made it to the finals! He had officially reached the top 16 of his year.
Furthermore, he couldn't wait to see the sour look on the faces of all his classmates. They had looked at him like he was trash upon learning that he didn't have an elemental affinity.
After Zeke had a light breakfast, he completed his early morning workout. For some reason, today, he could not feel the intense heartbeat. He would usually experience it after every workout. Zeke could only explain the strange phenomenon with the fact that he might have tired out his heart with the excitement of yesterday.
He took his customary shower and winked at his reflection in the mirror, as he had started to do every day.
Zeke saw Viola and Sophia from afar as he approached the arena. They were surrounded by a crowd of second and third-year students. The girls seemed to be locked in a heated debate.
He stepped closer to get a clear picture of what was going on, but almost turned around on the spot when he could make out what the argument was about.
"No, you guys are all idiots! Zeke is going to win this thing for sure! Didn't you see how easily he outsmarted everyone yesterday? He can win this tournament with one arm behind his back!"
A clearly agitated Viola hissed at the group of cowering second-year students. A well-spoken third-year student, however, was not intimidated by her demeanor.
"Miss Windtänzer, I do agree with the assessment that Ezekiel von Hohenheim might actually win in a contest of strategy," he countered her calmly. "He is a Mind Mage, after all. But that is as good as useless in a fight. I would highly recommend that you change your intentions and bet on someone else."
Viola was angered by the older boy's words but didn't know how to contradict him. What he had said sounded logical. Sophia, however, snorted at the student's words and turned her nose up at him as she countered.
"If Mind Magic was so useless in combat, then why is the emperor's last name Geistreich and not Feuerkranz? or Wellenrufer? or Steiner? or Windtänzer? I suggest you tread carefully with your words!"
The young man paled upon hearing Sophia's words. The way she had interpreted his statement almost sounded like treason. The surrounding people slowly backed away from the young man, clearly not wanting to be associated with him at the moment. This gave Zeke the space he needed to make his way to the center of the gathering, where Viola and Sophia were.
As he stepped up in front of the two girls, he asked: "What is this about betting, I hear?"
Viola and Sophia seemed a little sheepish upon being surprised by Zeke. Sophia still explained, "The older students have started a betting pool. It is backed by the Schatzkammer family. We can bet on any individual fight or on the winner of the entire tournament."
Zeke was intrigued by the idea. Out of everyone in the school, he was certain that nobody was better than him at predicting the outcome of a one-on-one fight among the first-years. He had spent literally weeks analyzing his classmates. He knew all their fighting styles and the outcome of their battles. Towards the end of the combat classes, he had managed to have his system predict the outcome of any fight with a 93% probability.
With a shark-like grin on his face, he asked the two girls, "Can I join in on the betting pool?"
It was neither Viola nor Sophia who responded. Instead, it was the studious-looking young man from earlier. He seemed thankful to Zeke for diverting the girls' attention away from his blunder. With an amiable tone, he explained the rules for contestants.
"As a competitor, you can still bet. But it is forbidden for you to bet on your own loss," the boy explained.
Zeke had expected such a rule, but he didn't think that it would be necessary. He couldn't imagine what student would throw a match in order to make a bit of money. Especially when they stood to win a veritable fortune of essence stones.
Zeke was rubbing his hands together with glee. He was excited to make his bet. However, upon hearing the amounts the other students were calling out, he remained silent.
"500 gold on Lena Wellenrufer winning the tournament!" someone called out. Another student chimed in, "I bet 300 gold on Leo winning the finals!"
Zeke was flabbergasted. He had a total of 52 gold, accumulated from a year of saving up all his earnings from the adventurer's guild. This also included every bit of money that Maximilian had given him. How were these kids so wealthy? A single piece of gold was enough to live for a couple of months in the capital in relative luxury.
Sophia saw the look on Zeke's face and immediately guessed at his predicament. She could see that the other students were giving Zeke disdainful glances. They had clearly noticed that he had fallen silent after his earlier bluster. She spoke up, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Zeke, you probably didn't bring any money since you are here as a competitor. If you want, you can use my money to play around a bit. I still owe you those 1000 gold from last time, remember?"
Zeke was incredibly grateful to Sophia for covering for him. He had long since noticed that she was excellent at reading other people's states of mind. Instead of using her ability to put other people down or elevate herself, she mostly used her talent to help out her friends.
Zeke nodded at her and replied. "Thank you. I really only brought a bit of money. I will ask you to lend me some as soon as the pairings are announced. I am going to bet on every single fight!"
This got people excited. Would Zeke really have the guts to bet hundreds of gold on every single fight? That meant that he was either supremely confident in his abilities or supremely arrogant. Only time would tell.