In the evening, the participants from all three grades of Silver Academy were invited to a banquet on the third floor of Dining Hall No. 1.
Dining Hall No. 1 was the most luxurious of all the academy's cafeterias.
The third floor was specifically reserved for hosting guests and formal banquets.
The guest house also had areas for banquets.
However, that was a thing of the past; now everything was held in the dining hall, where the environment and decor were superior.
To put it simply, a banquet was just a gathering where everyone ate and drank while leaders took the stage to give speeches.
During the event, Silver Academy was officially declared the winner and presented with a trophy.
The atmosphere was incredibly lively, at least for Silver Academy. The group from Indigo Academy was relatively quiet.
Initially, Eichi was reluctant to go up and accept the trophy, but he couldn't resist everyone's urging.
Left with no choice, he went up to receive it and even had to give a short speech.
The trophy was quite large and looked golden, though he wasn't sure if it was solid gold.
A Tyranitar was engraved on the trophy, looking very imposing.
The banquet speeches weren't very interesting, but the trip wasn't a waste; the food was truly delicious.
He hadn't seen such dishes usually, and it was obvious they weren't cheap.
Eichi didn't know about the others, but he certainly ate his fill.
However, an unexpected encounter occurred. As Eichi was enjoying the delicacies on his plate, he suddenly heard someone calling him.
"Hello."
He looked up to see a beautiful girl. Eichi had an excellent memory and immediately recognized who she was: Akemi, Sato's older sister.
She had left a deep impression on him during the third-year matches.
She was strong, but he didn't know why she was looking for him.
"Hello, were you calling me?" he responded.
"That's right. Who else would I be calling?" Akemi said with a smile.
"You're Sato's sister, aren't you?" Eichi asked.
Akemi wasn't surprised at all. "Sato told you, didn't he?"
Eichi nodded. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Akemi gave a charming smile that was quite stunning for her age. "Nothing much. I just wanted to come over and get to know you," she said.
Eichi was confused. "What's there to know about me? Besides, Indigo Academy lost. You seem to be in quite a good mood."
"I won my match," Akemi replied with a calm smile. "I did my best, but there was nothing I could do if the first-year juniors weren't up to the task."
"Besides, I just wanted to see what kind of person could defeat my brother."
"Now that I've seen you, I hope to see you again next time."
With that, she turned and walked away. Eichi was left completely baffled.
What was that about? She just left like that?
Regardless, Eichi didn't overthink it and went back to eating.
The next day, the whole school was buzzing. Calling it "boiling over" might be an exaggeration, but most students were shaken; everyone knew Silver Academy had won the exchange tournament.
The first-years, Eichi and Sato, were now famous throughout the school.
Most importantly, the academy had released the videos of the three matches.
People quickly became fans of the standout performers.
The reason Silver Academy won this time was largely due to the efforts of Eichi and the other first-years.
They were now completely famous, known by almost everyone in the school.
Previously, only a small circle of people knew them, but now it was different. They had secured victory for Silver Academy and upheld the school's honor.
Everyone held a great deal of goodwill toward Eichi, though Eichi himself had no idea he was so famous.
He carried on as usual, waking up, washing up, putting on his backpack, eating breakfast at the cafeteria, and heading to class.
He didn't know what the academy was thinking—making them go to class right after the competition without even a day of rest.
He arrived at the classroom after missing several days of school. Since the new semester had already started during the competition, they had to take official leave.
As he sat in his familiar seat, Tetsu and the others also returned to class.
However, today was also the day the students from Indigo Academy were leaving the school.
None of the three grades went to see them off; instead, they attended their classes.
At the academy square, several leaders stood by the buses, seeing off the Indigo Academy group.
By the vehicle, Director Yanagi said to Director Kimura with a smile, "Director Kimura, I hope your school visits again. You are always welcome."
Director Kimura replied with a laugh, "Certainly, certainly. Thank you for your hospitality. Until next time."
With a wave, he boarded the bus. The doors closed, and the vehicle slowly started, driving out of the academy.
The mood inside the bus was silent. They had come to Silver Academy with hot blood, wanting to win, only to return in defeat.
Director Kimura was dejected. The academy's original plan for this trip was to strike a blow to Silver Academy and showcase their own strength.
Unfortunately, they predicted the beginning but not the end; now they could only return dejectedly.
Director Kimura sighed, wondering how he would explain this when he returned.
As the buses slowly disappeared from view, Director Yanagi turned to the Vice Principal behind him. "They're finally gone."
"This exchange tournament was quite eventful, but the final result is good," the Vice Principal said.
He looked at Director Yanagi. "Yanagi, prepare the rewards as soon as we get back."
"Those kids like Eichi brought glory to our academy. Don't let them down."
"Don't worry, Director. I'll arrange everything," Director Yanagi promised.
The day passed peacefully, though there were minor interludes where students from other grades would greet Eichi on the road.
Upperclassmen would take the initiative to say hello, all very friendly, and Eichi would return the gesture.
It all felt a bit sudden, and he wasn't quite used to it.
In the evening at the dormitory, he suddenly received a notification to go to the conference room tomorrow morning to collect the rewards.
Finally, they're handing out the rewards, Eichi thought.
The next morning, after finishing his first class, Eichi called Tetsu and Kelly to head to the conference room.
The academy had already cleared it with their teachers, so it wouldn't count as a skip.
They walked quickly toward the room. On the way, they met Sato and the others, and they all headed there together.
There were also second and third-year seniors on the path. Eichi had heard from Teacher Lin that only those who won their challenges were called to receive rewards; those who lost were not invited.
However, because the first-years' contribution was so significant, Tetsu and the others were also invited.