Chapter 162 - Episode 24: "I Like Fighting, but I Love Winning Even More"
Gokigenyou! It is I, Violia Nico Fortesia!
Finally, the long-awaited Martial Arts Tournament has opened!
The challengers have dwindled to a mere 23 people, but conversely, that means they are all elites, so I can have high expectations!
About half of the challengers were nobles from other countries.
As expected, it seems I am being underestimated because the country is ruled by a single woman. But you can only keep that condescending attitude for now. I shall see you in the finals. I shall beat you to a pulp.
……However, whether those foreign nobles can even make it to the finals is questionable.
After all…… our lot are participating this time……
「Warriors from other countries, huh. I'm looking forward to it.」
「It's my first time appearing in something like this…… well, being a spectacle isn't so bad.」
First, two battle maniacs. One of them is a werewolf and the other is a drug addict.
「I will definitely win! To make up for not being able to fulfill my promise at the last Martial Arts Tournament, this time for sure!」
「Know your place, you shitty brat.」
Next, two mages. By the way, Keeb calls Lital a shitty brat, but their ages shouldn't be that different. From my perspective, they are both brats and good boys. Ohohoho.
「Hmm. I sat out the last one…… but since it's a special occasion, perhaps I shall participate this time.」
And one Onii-sama!
Yes, I never expected Onii-sama to join the fray! But it couldn't be helped! If Onii-sama hadn't joined, there would have been 22 challengers! In that case, we couldn't have formed the tournament bracket!
Yes. In this tournament, there are four seeded spots.
First, Doran. His strength was proven in the previous Martial Arts Tournament, so no one will complain.
Next, Keeb. He is here as the representative of the Royal Castle's mages, so that's fine.
Then, Lital. He is also a Royal Castle official, so there should be no problem.
And! Onii-sama! Yes! Onii-sama is also seeded! Why? To reduce the number of pitiful victims as much as possible!
……By the way, since Chesta has no achievements or anything, I'll have him participate normally. Yes. Do your best.
……Now then.
Up to here, there are four seeded spots. The other challengers number 23. Doing it this way, do you notice that one general participation slot is empty?
Yes. There is one last person. The final participant. That is……!
「I am looking forward to it as well!」
Me! It is I—!
「Eh? Well, Violia, you're just going to appear in the finals, right?」
「No? Why don't you look at the tournament bracket?」
When I showed the tournament bracket to Keeb…… he had a shocked face. Yes.
「Eh, why is Violia's name there?」
「Because I am participating!」
「Hey, hey, hey, what happened to the part about fighting the Queen in the finals?」
「Since I will win my way through, you will end up fighting me anyway!」
No matter how you look at it, my victory is certain! Therefore, the only thing I need to be careful about is making sure I'm in a different block from Onii-sama! As long as I'm careful about that, I will surely be in the finals!
「……What will you do if you lose?」
「……In that case, I shall fight the one who won the finals……」
Th-that would be quite embarrassing! Therefore, I really cannot let my guard down! There is a battle here that I absolutely cannot lose! I will definitely win!
Winning is important, but enjoying oneself is also important. Well, those two are almost the same thing.
……And so, I joined the fray!
After quickly finishing the opening greetings, I headed straight onto the stage! Amidst the buzzing of the audience, the MC announced the first match!
「Uh, we will now begin the first match. The first match is Chris Bay Clarino versus Her Majesty Violia Nico Fortesia.」
Yes. My opponent is Chris. Yes. He had obtained an invitation and entered before I knew it.
While the buzzing of the audience reached its peak, I leisurely waved to respond to the crowd.
……Having Chris as the first opponent is quite a good look, isn't it? Yes.
「Damn…… who put this bracket together……!」
That would be Giovan. Since he is in charge of gambling, rigging the bracket is apparently important. So when I left it all to him, it turned out like this!
「I will defeat you here and obtain my freedom!」
「Oh? I have no intention of letting go of an excellent and convenient slave, you know? Well, do your best to come at me. 'Give it your all.' That is an order.」
And so, while provoking Chris, the match began.
……It seems Chris has been diligently training even after becoming a slave and has grown more than before. How should I put it, that arrogant part of him has vanished, and he has become even stronger. Without a doubt, he was a candidate for the finals of this tournament.
Well, it was just bad luck that he bumped into me here! I have also grown sufficiently during that time! No matter how much you train, you are no match for me!
And so, I won against Chris as well. Yes. The stage was broken a little, though. But well, I suppose I was able to provide the audience with a visually impressive fight to that extent.
「A…… A monster……」
「What a way to speak to your master. Well, it's fine. I shall forgive you. After all, I am in a good mood right now!」
Yes! Since I have become able to win against the trained Chris while still having room to spare, I am very happy to be able to feel my own growth!
……By the way, the 'training' I accumulated was, well, 'playing' with Onii-sama or 'playing' with Doran for a change of pace between official duties, but other than that…… I simply chose items with magical power from the treasures stolen from the old Royal Castle and wore them!
Having obtained national treasure-class equipment, I have become even stronger and more beautiful, and thus I am able to show the audience the figure of the undefeated, strongest Queen!
……Ah, come to think of it, the ruby bracelet that Chesta said he picked up from somewhere when he was stealing the dragon, horses, and carriage from the old Royal Castle. That seems to have been an item imbued with magical power, and it still fits perfectly on my left wrist! Good job, Chesta! You picked up something quite nice!
……Now then. As for that Chesta, he lost.
Why? Because he suddenly bumped into Onii-sama in the second match!
「You are the first one to keep dodging my steel pipe to that extent! I enjoyed it! You have my thanks!」
「One of the fingers on my prosthetic arm was cut off by a steel pipe…… what the hell is this? Is that really a steel pipe?」
Yes! It is Onii-sama's style of steel pipe techniques! Onii-sama's steel pipe can even slice through iron! ……Therefore, well, it can't be helped for Chesta. If you bump into Onii-sama, you will obviously lose. Yes.
The second match. My opponent was…… Lital. Yes, well…… Lital has a face like he's about to cry. Yes.
「Now, Lital. Let's enjoy ourselves. Show me the extent of your growth.」
「Oh God! Why does it turn out like this!」
I wouldn't know! In the first place, the one who made this tournament bracket was not God or anything, but Giovan who is working behind the scenes! If you have a complaint, take it up with him!
Yes. I won. Naturally. I could defeat someone like Lital, who was completely shaken, more easily than twisting a baby's arm.
「Come back stronger next time.」
「N-next time, I will pray to God that I don't bump into Violia-sama except in the finals……」
Therefore, it is useless to pray to God!
……Or so I thought, but Lital was muttering things like 'bribes' and 'directing attention to other participants.' ……It seems he knew who 'God' was……
And so the matches continued, and I won by instantly knocking down some random foreign noble…… and finally, it was the semi-finals.
「Now, Keeb. Let us continue the battle we couldn't finish back then.」
「……I wanted to do this in the finals, though.」
Now then. My semi-final was a match against Keeb. ……By the way, in these semi-finals, the ones remaining were me, Keeb, Doran, and Onii-sama—it became a battle almost entirely between seeded participants.
……And, Keeb and I were opponents who couldn't face each other in the previous Martial Arts Tournament. Yes. Expectations are high, aren't they?
Keeb has also considerably improved his skills.
After all, from the day he became a mage of the Royal Castle until today, he seems to have successfully ingratiated himself with the elderly mages who served the old Royal Castle and had them teach him all their magical know-how.
Being adored by a cute boy with talent and ambition, the mages of the old Royal Castle don't seem to mind. Keeb has completely become a popular figure in the Royal Castle. What a sinful boy!
……And so, the rough diamond that shines when polished is exactly what Keeb is now…… yes. His skill is even greater than the rumors.
Keeb's magic has, above all, increased in precision. I miss the lightning magic from when we first met, which I could dodge as much as I wanted as long as I moved.
Now, even the lightning magic follows me. Yes. The precision has really increased……
Furthermore, his rapid-fire speed has also gone up. Keeb is even doing things like firing two spells at once. The audience is greatly excited by this.
……However, he had a bad opponent!
I charged in without fearing Keeb's magic.
Since I now have anti-magic equipment, I can deflect magic to some extent.
Of course, Keeb had already factored that in. As soon as I approached, he used earth magic, which is difficult to block with anti-magic equipment, to try and stop me in my tracks.
……But! I had factored that in as well!
I vanished from right in front of Keeb's eyes. Yes. On that day when the old Royal Castle was burned, I imitated what Father and Mother were doing and used illusion magic.
「Eh」
Keeb, who was concentrating on me in front of him and the next spell he was going to cast, was late in reacting to my magic.
However, even though his reaction was late, firing lightning magic in all directions was not a bad move. Yes. Thanks to that, even though I was behind Keeb, the sound of deflecting the lightning magic gave away my location.
……Well, it doesn't matter anymore even if I'm found!
I tackled Keeb just like that from behind…… and gave him a hug, and the match was over!
「……I was hugged on top of the stage.」
「One naturally wants to hug cute children!」
「Ah, I see……」
Keeb was in a bit of a bad mood after returning to the waiting room. Well, the fact that he grew that much means he put in that much effort, and since it didn't bear fruit, it's natural to be in a bad mood. Yes. I understand the feeling well.
「……Hey, Violia.」
「Yes, what is it?」
That Keeb stared at me intently with damp eyes.
「I'll challenge you again next year. Just you wait.」
……Well, next year. I shall look forward to Keeb's growth.
And so the semi-finals…… the pair that wasn't me and Keeb was a one-on-one between Onii-sama and Doran.
Well, I already know the outcome of this. It's Onii-sama! The one who will absolutely win is Onii-sama! After all, it is Onii-sama!
……Which means the finals of the First Fortesia Martial Arts Tournament will be a sibling squabble of House Fortesia…… Well, that might be fine in its own way. In terms of showing off the strength of House Fortesia, it's the best possible combination!
……However, if we overdo it, this Fortesia Martial Arts Tournament will also end up being divided into 'Men's,' 'Women's,' and 'Fortesia' like the Martial Arts Tournament at my academy. No, that would be fun in its own way, though……
Doran and Onii-sama are facing each other on the stage.
Doran is empty-handed. Onii-sama is…….
「……Hmm. Well, since it's a special occasion.」
Saying that, he threw away his steel pipe!
Wh-what! For Onii-sama to throw away his weapon, the steel pipe! Which means…… which means Onii-sama will also fight empty-handed!?
I wonder what will happen! Well, I believe in Onii-sama's victory without a doubt! Ohohohoho!
As soon as the match started, the two clashed.
Doran tried to grapple with Onii-sama to throw him, and Onii-sama also grappled to throw Doran…… Eh, why did it suddenly become a grappling match?
In this situation, Onii-sama, who is lighter, is at a disadvantage. Onii-sama was easily thrown…… but he regained his posture in mid-air and returned to the stage so as not to go out of bounds!
「You are quite interesting! Hmm, I am glad to be able to fight like this!」
「I also wanted to try fighting you for real once.」
The two faced each other again, grinned…… and next, it was a constant exchange of fists and kicks.
Onii-sama is the type who dodges, and Doran is the type who blocks. Onii-sama is the type who wins with the number of moves, and Doran is the type whose every single blow is heavy. Hmm, a battle between two different types is interesting to watch.
……However, just because their 'types' are different doesn't mean their abilities are that different.
Doran possesses speed that might rival Onii-sama's, and Onii-sama possesses strength that might exceed Doran's.
Therefore, every single blow from Onii-sama, who wins with the number of moves, is considerably heavy, and the number of moves from Doran, who wins with the weight of each blow, is by no means small.
「It's a battle between a monster and a monster, hey.」
「Aah, I want to drop some lightning on them.」
Chesta and Keeb's comments are unavoidable. Yes.
……However, an end came to that offense and defense.
At the moment when Onii-sama's leg, aimed at the side of Doran's head, seemed to have successfully struck it…….
「……Hmm. You are truly a monster! You are worthy of praise!」
Doran had used the side of his own head as a decoy to catch Onii-sama's leg.
To catch one of the opponent's legs, he took the attack to the side of his head as it was.
It's quite a mad idea. Yes. No matter how sturdy a werewolf he is, it was Onii-sama's kick, you know? There's no way he'd be uninjured after taking it! His brain must be rattling!
……But Doran swung the caught leg of Onii-sama around…… and threw him.
「No, it was an interesting battle! I enjoyed it quite a bit!」
And so Onii-sama landed lightly out of bounds and wore a clear smile.
「Onii-sama! You held back, didn't you!?」
I pressed Onii-sama, who had returned to the waiting room!
After all, if it were Onii-sama, he could have returned even after being thrown by Doran using the rope hidden in his shoe, or he could have even returned to the stage by deploying wind magic in mid-air…… there was no need to go out of bounds there!
「Hmm? That's obvious, isn't it? What would be the point of the First Martial Arts Tournament being Fortesia versus Fortesia?」
「It would have become the legendary first one!」
「Hahaha. Even so, there is such a thing as appearances. I simply judged that I should yield the final match to him here.」
Ah, as I thought, Onii-sama was holding back!? Even though I thought I could face off with Onii-sama on the stage! I thought so—!
「……Besides, for the first Martial Arts Tournament, you'd want to decorate it with the Queen's victory, wouldn't you?」
……Oh.
Come to think of it…… that is true.
Yes. If I had fought Onii-sama, I would have lost to him. In that case, it was better to fight Doran after all.
It must not happen that I lose, and it's also somewhat irritating if Onii-sama loses…… Thinking that way, this is the optimal solution!
「That's how it is. Show your heroic figure to your brother.」
「Yes! I shall go and blow Doran away! Please watch!」
……And so, with Onii-sama pushing my back, I headed onto the stage.
Waiting on the stage was Doran. A battle with him, who is a monster even more than he is a werewolf…… well, there is no doubt it will be fun!
The audience seats are greatly excited. Both Doran and I probably look like we are equal in skill. Looking at the gambling situation Giovan showed me, the people betting on me and the people betting on Doran were about half and half. Well, since I will win, it's a pity for everyone betting on Doran.
「I can finally fight you.」
「Yes. I also wanted to try fighting you once.」
Come to think of it, the previous Martial Arts Tournament ended without me being able to face him.
Now that fighting has finally been fulfilled. It would be a loss if I didn't enjoy this!
「Now. Let's enjoy ourselves. And it's an order. 'Entertain me.'」
「I promise. ……I'll entertain both the audience and you!」
And so, we clashed!