The semifinals of the qualifiers, me against Greyman. I had fought and triumphed over Benkei, Baste, and many others, but there was something off about this guy. For proof, Greyman had been entranced by the gleam of his sword for a while now, looking nothing like someone ready to fight.
“Semifinals of Block B, begin!”
“Wait!”
Greyman interrupted the signal to start. What the heck? Just when I thought he was ready to begin, he raised a hand to halt me.
“Believe it or not, I’m a merciful man. It wouldn’t sit right with me if you were to lose without knowing the true potential of my equipment, would it?”
“Why are you so sure I’m going to lose?”
“Just because you defeated Benkei and Baste doesn’t mean you should get cocky. Their downfall was due to their lack of proper gear. It’s a shame for an A-Rank to fall so low.”
Greyman pointed his lavish sword at me.
“First, this here is the Ice Dragon Sword. Crafted from the fangs of the ‘Frostbite Ice Dragon’ that dwells in the far north, in Blizzard Mountain. Its cutting edge is top-class, and it has an added effect of ice magic.”
He lowered the sword and tapped his armor with his thumb. Could he be explaining everything to me? Honestly, I was curious.
“This is the Silver Mirror Armor, made by the renowned craftsman Borg. It cuts down on magical damage. And finally, this necklace enhances physical abilities and provides some protection against dangerous status ailments.”
What a stark contrast to my joy over the Mithril Sword. His armor looked hot, but that sword was undeniably cool. It seemed heavier than my Mithril Sword, but its power must be on a whole different level.
“Now, are you ready to begin?”
“Can I attack now?”
“That’s exactly what I won’t allow!”
With a mighty swing of the Ice Dragon Sword, multiple pillars of ice surged toward me. I wondered just how tough that armor was. Ignoring the ice, I kicked away the pillars and dove into Greyman’s range, putting a little force into my punch.
With a metallic clang, a hole opened in his armor. But I didn’t stop there; my fist reached Greyman’s abdomen, which the armor had been protecting.
“Guah!”
He flew out of the ring, blood spewing from his mouth. I could hear the sound of his armor clattering as he fell. Soldiers rushed over to check on him before carrying him away on a stretcher.
“The winner is Rua! The representative for Block B has been decided!”
“What was that? A monster?!”
“No way, it’s a trick, right? With someone like Greyman, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was bribed to throw the match.”
It’s not a trick.
“Well, it seems all the representatives have been decided. The matchups for the finals will be announced shortly, so please wait.”
After whispering with other soldiers, the one who declared my victory walked off. In the distance, representatives from other blocks were celebrating their victories. Tiferia’s block had already been eliminated.
“Hey, come up here!”
Seigel waved me over. I couldn’t see him well with all the girls around, so I wished they would move aside. I thought about jumping over but decided to just walk normally.
///
“You did it, Rua-chan! The buzz is all about how an unknown female adventurer made it to the finals!”
It seemed to be true; I could feel the eyes of the crowd on me. Adventurers in the audience were glancing over as well.
“There are C-Rank participants, but most got eliminated in the qualifiers. It’s been years since someone made it to the finals.”
“That’s me, right?”
With a strange sway in his hips, there stood Shinbu. He was the one who tried to kill Grundom. I still couldn’t believe he was an adventurer.
“Hey, Shinbu, I see you’re not participating this year. What’s up with that?”
“Unlike you carefree folks, I’m busy. Well, oops—”
What was he about to say? No, I didn’t care anyway. I didn’t want to chat with someone like him.
“If you’re busy, you shouldn’t have time to bother us.”
“I’ve got no use for washed-up adventurers. My interest lies here.”
Shinbu pointed at me with a mocking grin.
“You should hurry up and rank up to A-Rank. Just making it to the finals this time should guarantee you B-Rank.”
“Is that so? But what about Roel…”
“Huh?”
Shinbu finally noticed Roel, who had containers of drinks scattered around her, not knowing how many she had consumed.
“Oh, you’re surprised, huh…”
I didn’t think he could be surprised by anything. Well, I was used to it, but anyone seeing it for the first time would be shocked.
“By the way, if you’re registered in a party, that bottomless pit of yours will also rise to B-Rank, no matter how useless they are.”
“Huh?”
Did he come here just to mock me? He was really getting on my nerves. Roel gently placed her hand on my clenched fist.
“It’s okay, Rua-chan. I’m not bothered by it…”
“Well, you guys can just enjoy the festival. Leave everything to us.”
Saying something I didn’t understand, Shinbu dashed away at high speed. What a truly annoying guy.
“Annoying, right? But he’s holding the fourth spot in A-Rank. His skills and achievements are no lie. I can’t help but feel a bit jealous.”
“I’d like to have a match with him someday.”
Seigel was chatting while sipping juice offered by the girls around him. Maybe that’s why it didn’t sound sincere.
“Thank you for waiting! The matchups for the finals have just been decided! Please take a look!”
First Match
“Nebula” Nikka (A-Rank)
VS
“Crusher” Hecaton (A-Rank)
Second Match
Rua (C-Rank)
VS
“Hundred Emperors’ Heroine” Amane (A-Rank)
Third Match
“Sky Crown” Rupie (A-Rank)
VS
Queed (B-Rank)
Fourth Match
“Master Knight” Tiferia (S-Rank)
VS
Ronoi (Unaffiliated)
Words appeared on a large iron plate. My name was there, along with my opponent’s name. I wondered if my opponent would be a woman. What kind of person would she be?
“Oh, there’s someone advancing from B-Rank. A supernova following Rua, huh?”
It was true. There was someone else besides me who had made it this far without being A-Rank. And Hecaton, he was the one with that massive hammer. He had a rather unpleasant aura about him. His gaze felt cold…
“Still, most of them are A-Rank. Rua-chan’s C-Rank stands out even more.”
“That’s A-Rank for you. They’ve been through far more battles than we have. I’ve struggled to get to 16th place…”
“I want to hear it! I feel like I’ve heard it about six times already, but I want to hear it!”
Only the girls clinging to Seigel were listening intently to his story. I was a bit interested, but I didn’t want to join that crowd to hear it.
“Today, the first day of the Combat Tournament has concluded! The finals will begin tomorrow! Now, everyone, recharge your energy!”
With the soldier’s announcement, the Coliseum gradually emptied. After the qualifiers ended, I realized it was already past evening.
“Alright, tomorrow is the real deal, Rua. There will be many people coming just to watch the main event, so the attention will be different from today. And the King of Avangarde will be there too.”
“The King?”
“Yeah, it’s a chance. If you catch His Majesty’s eye, you might get favored as a result.”
“Fighting just to be liked by the King feels…”
The King of Avangarde. I understood that he was the most important person in the country. But fighting to gain his favor felt wrong.
“Looks like the crowd is thinning out. Ah, the night air feels great! This is going to make the drinks taste even better!”
“Gantetsu, I’ll join you!”
“I’ll join too!”
Roel was going to drink, but I wondered if she had another purpose.
“Well then, good luck tomorrow, girl!”
By the way, I wondered if Cynthia would come to watch again tomorrow. If so, what about the shop?
///
The way here had been hectic, but I decided to walk slowly on the way back. The town was even livelier at night. People were drunkenly half-naked on the streets, some sleeping, others dancing. The aroma from the food stalls lured Roel in.
“Rua-chan, you must be hungry after all that fighting, right? Let’s grab something to eat for dinner.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, I am getting hungry.”
We entered a barbecue stall that claimed to use Dark Buffalo from the Kuaau region. It sounded tastier than the nibbling bird, but as I had suspected, as soon as we entered, Roel ordered ten servings.
“The grilled meat has a perfect char from the grill, and the excess fat drips off, making it delicious!”
“The grill gives it a perfect char and lets the excess fat drip off. That’s why it’s delicious.”
Why did I repeat what Roel said? Maybe I was so impressed by how good the meat tasted outside. I didn’t know.
“Congratulations, Lua-chan! This is also a celebration for your advancement to the finals!”
“R-Really? Thank you.”
Even while gnawing on a bone-in rib, it felt a bit off.
“At this point, there’s only victory ahead!
…Oh, I’m not trying to put any pressure on you, though.”
“I’d like to win if possible.”
“You can do it, Lua-chan! You won today mostly with punches alone.”
“Yeah, but there’s Tiferia, right? I don’t know how that match will turn out.”
“That person who was all cuddly? That’s Tiferia… I found her a bit annoying.”
“Huh?”
“N-Never mind.”
Roel’s face turned slightly red as she looked away. I wondered what was going on. Was she feeling hot?
“I could feel her presence from far away, even though she seemed so gentle.”
It was palpable, even from a distant block.
—S-Rank.
As Seigel said, she might be a monster. It’s clear that she won’t be an opponent I can take lightly like before. I chewed on the spare ribs alongside Roel while contemplating tomorrow.
“You’ll get killed! You should forfeit right now!”
All eyes turned to the source of that voice. A girl and a young man were sitting across from each other. The girl was the soldier who had guided us before the preliminaries. Her distinctive hair, standing up like a single spike, made her easy to remember.
“That’s easy for you to say, Ritta. I’m A-Rank too, you know. It’ll be fine, just trust me.”
“The opponent is that Crusher?! The one who got disqualified last year for killing his opponent?!”
“You know my nickname, right? Meteor, just like the name suggests. My fighting style is compatible with his. I won’t let my guard down, but I really have confidence this time.”
“Why would you go that far…?”
Speaking of Crusher’s opponent…
“Meteor” Nikka.
“More than anything, I want you to watch my fight.”
“I don’t want to know!”
Without particularly chasing after Ritta, Nikka just sighed.
“Oh, and don’t worry, it’s not some romantic entanglement. We’re siblings.”
He chuckled while scratching his head. Still, feeling awkward, he paid and left.
“Ritta-chan is worried about her brother, huh… But what does it mean that he wants her to watch his fight?”
I understood her concern for her brother. However, I believed his feelings about the fight wouldn’t change. Even if I tried to stop him, he would definitely participate. Especially since he made it to the finals, there’s no way he could back down now.
///
“That was delicious!”
“Oh no, Roel… the money…”
“Just this once for the festival, okay?”
What was all that strictness about managing money for? But seeing Roel’s satisfied expression made even the contradictions feel trivial.
The lively night in the castle town was still bustling. At this hour, there were hardly any children around. The most I could see was a girl trying to break up a drunken fight.
A girl?
Oh, it’s Ritta.
“This fight is mine to handle, buhfu—!”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was flung away by the two fighters. Undeterred, Ritta tried to step between them again.
“She can’t stop them like that…”
“Yeah, I can’t just watch this.”
I supported Ritta, who had been pushed aside. Not realizing her own situation, she looked around in confusion before finally noticing me.
“Uh, um, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll stop them.”
With that, I approached the two men. The smell of alcohol was dizzying. Why do adults drink this stuff? Why do they drink to the point of acting like this? There were so many things I couldn’t understand.
“Hey! You bumped into me! Aren’t you going to apologize?! Huh?! These young punks today are just the worst!”
“Old man, just retire already. You’re a nuisance.”
It was a trivial reason, just a bump. Continuing this was pointless.
“Uncles, you’re in the way.”
“So what? You should just butt out—”
The fact that I wasn’t Ritta, who had been trying to intervene, seemed to surprise them a bit. But perhaps they didn’t care, as one of them tried to shove me aside and resume their fight. I grabbed his arm.
“It hurts! Let go! You’re going to break it!”
“What the hell?! Stop it! It hurts, you brat!”
“Both of you, stop. If you want to fight, then let go.”
Nodding in agreement, I released them. The two, still confused, staggered away into the crowd. I wondered how they could be okay after drinking so much.
“Um, I’m really sorry about that…”
“You shouldn’t do dangerous things.”
“But I have to be able to handle things like that. After all, I’m a soldier in the castle… I’m already being laughed at for not being able to do my job.”
So that’s why she was so desperate. She looked like she was about to cry, feeling pathetic for needing my help.
“Hey, Ritta.”
That relaxed voice belonged to Nikka, the one I had heard earlier. He seemed to be searching for Ritta, but despite his tone, he was out of breath.
“Are you okay? Did some weird guy bother you? …Hmm.”
His mention of a “weird guy” made him glance at us suspiciously. But then he quickly brightened up upon seeing me.
“Oh, you’re Lua, right? The C-Rank girl who made it to the main event, the one who’s been making waves!”
“W-Waves?”
“You didn’t know? Since then, everyone has been talking about you. There are parties and guilds trying to scout you for taking down A-Ranks.”
“Now that you mention it, I felt like I was being stared at a lot.”
“You’ll definitely be one of the highlights in the finals. It looks like we’ll face off in the second round, so be gentle with me… Haha.”
“That’s why there’s no way my brother can win!”
As if picking up where she left off, Ritta exploded again at Nikka. Why was he so fixated on the Combat Tournament, ignoring his sister’s words? There seemed to be some reason behind it, different from mine.