Chapter 50: Lottery Grouping

After saying these words, Renault stopped talking and smiled as he patted Todoroki Shoto's stunned shoulder before walking back. As he exited the passage, Renault turned right and headed towards the rest area, paying no attention to the two people hiding around the corner behind him.

During his conversation with Todoroki Shoto, Renault had already sensed the presence of someone familiar at the other corner, Midoriya Izuku and Bakugo Katsuki from his own class. Although he didn't know why the two were together, Renault didn't pay too much attention to it or expose them.

After Renault left, the two of them exchanged a glance and then left from the other side without saying anything.

It was now 1 PM and all the contestants had returned to the arena, with the afternoon competition about to begin. However...

"Yaoyorozu, what's going on with your cheerleading uniforms?" Renault asked.

Several Class A girls couldn't answer, and instead looked over to the professional cheerleading squad specially invited from the United States by U.A. After looking over there, Renault then looked at the reactions of Mineta Minoru and Kaminari Denki on his own side, immediately understanding what had happened.

It turned out that they had been tricked.

However, Renault had no time to comfort anyone as the chief referee, Midnight, stepped onto the stage and called upon the 16 qualifying contestants to gather for an explanation of the rules for the third round.

Meanwhile, in the audience, Misaka Mikoto looked at some of the Class A girls and exclaimed, "What kind of attire is that? And what is up with that unscientific development?"

She looked at them and then at herself, and fell silent. Misaka Misuzu, who was sitting next to her, saw this and smiled silently without saying a word.

"After the Recreational Game, we'll move on to the third round, which is the One on One Fighting Tournament! You will face off one-on-one through the lottery, and after multiple rounds of elimination, a champion will be crowned. Now, let's begin the lottery!" announced Midnight as she reached for the lottery box.

However, just as he was about to pick it up, one of the contestants, Ojiro Mashirao, raised his hand and said, "Um, I forfeit."

This immediately shocked the members of Class A.

"Why? Ojiro-kun, this is a great opportunity to showcase your strength in front of the Pro Heroes!" protested Iida Tenya, the class president.

Ojiro Mashirao lowered his hand and said, "Until the end of the Cavalry Battle, my memory of it is almost completely blank. I think it might be due to that person's Quirk."

'Hmm?'

Renault raised an eyebrow and looked over at the purple-haired General Department student. His name...Shinso Hitoshi? What kind of name is that?

However, based on Ojiro Mashirao's words, it seemed to be some sort of telepathic Quirk?

'So that's how it is...'

And at this moment, Ojiro Mashirao continued to speak, saying, "I know this is a rare opportunity, but as someone who hasn't done anything, I can't just take a spot for granted. This is a stage that everyone has worked hard to compete on!"

Despite everyone's attempts to persuade him, Ojiro Mashirao still couldn't accept himself continuing the competition and persisted in giving up.

Approaching and patting the shoulders of Midoriya Izuku and Iida Tenya, who were still trying to persuade Ojiro Mashirao, Renault said, "If Ojiro insists on giving up, then let's follow his wishes. But we still have to see what the chief referee thinks."

After Ojiro Mashirao announced his withdrawal, another Class B student who faced the same predicament also expressed the desire to give up, giving reasons similar to Ojiro Mashirao's. Everyone's attention turned to the chief referee, Midnight.

Midnight looked at the two players who wanted to withdraw and swung her riding crop, saying, "I love this kind of childish speech... I agree to let the two schoolmates withdraw!"

It's no wonder that U.A. is U.A. after all. As the chief referee, sensei directly made the decision based on her own preferences.

Looking at the other students who did not advance under the stage, Midnight said, "Since there are two vacancies, the team that was eliminated last in the Cavalry Battle, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu's team, should take their place. Is that okay? You four should discuss among yourselves who will participate in the Fighting Tournament."

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, who was called out by name, was stunned for a moment, clenched his fist, and looked at his previous cavalry battle teammates. The four of them immediately gathered together to discuss. After not too long, they came to a conclusion. The strongest among the four, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and Shiozaki Ibara, would participate. Based on Class B's reaction, these two individuals' abilities were considered quite good in Class B.

"Well then, let's begin the lottery next!"

Midnight held the lottery box and began arranging the grouping for the match. Renault, holding the number one slip in his hand, unexpectedly said, "It seems like I'm often the first one up, but I don't know who my first opponent will be. Hmm?"

Feeling a gaze upon him, Renault turned his head and saw a guy named Shinso Hitoshi looking at him, also holding the number one slip. It looked like he was the one.

Glancing at Renault, Shinso Hitoshi smiled slightly and said, "Please teach me a lot in our first match."

Renault didn't bother to say much to this guy and had already guessed his Quirk to some extent, so he didn't answer and walked directly toward his Class A schoolmates.

Ojiro Mashirao then approached and whispered, "Renault, that guy's Quirk is likely to control opponents through speech."

"I had a feeling about that. Don't worry, I still have confidence," replied Renault.

"I know." Ojiro Mashirao nodded solemnly.

"But you still need to be careful. I have a feeling that guy is the type who will use speech to provoke you for victory."

"He has to be able to provoke me first, and I also have to consider the consequences of being provoked. What do you think?" Renault replied confidently, and Ojiro Mashirao was relieved and began to prepare for the upcoming Recreational Game.

The grouping for the 16-person Fighting Tournament and the complete sequence was displayed on the big screen. After looking at it, Renault couldn't help but marvel at his good luck.

On his side, he would only meet Todoroki Shoto in the third battle, which was the top-four stage. Bakugo Katsuki was in another group of eight people, and his first opponent was Uraraka Ochaco, and his second opponent was Midoriya Izuku.

Renault surveyed the crowd and saw Bakugo Katsuki, who was smiling villainously, facing Midoriya Izuku, who had a surprised expression on his face.

'Well, Midoriya, good luck to you.'

As for Renault, except for his first opponent, Shinso Hitoshi, his top four opponents would be decided between Aoyama Yuga and Ashido Mina, which wasn't too difficult. He just hoped that when he met Todoroki Shoto later, that guy would truly let go of his heart knot, otherwise it wouldn't be fun.