Huh?!
“The second semifinal is about to start!”
The host’s voice brought my attention back to the stage. The two fighters were making their entrance. This time, one was wearing a blue set of armor, while the other was in all black. They were both big—no, actually, the one in blue was both tall and bulky, while the one in black was slender despite his height.
The man in black’s outfit was also different from that of the other three. The knights had been wearing half-faced helmets that only protected the top of their head but left their faces open, while his helmet completely obscured his face. I couldn’t see what he looked like at all.
Considering he was the only one with a different style of armor, I assumed he was the civilian the prince had mentioned. Why is he hiding his face?
I was curious, but I was even more curious about what the prince had just said regarding his and Lord Kyros’s meeting. I turned back to look at the prince and asked, “Why did the two of you fight?”
“The reason was stupid,” he replied. “You know how Kyros hates the kingdom’s elitism? Even though he’s of a very high rank himself.”
“Begin!” the referee exclaimed. At the signal, the giant in blue screamed and thrust his sword forward to keep the man in black in check. However, the civilian didn’t budge.
The prince rested his chin in his hand and gazed at the arena while continuing his story. “The academy we attended… Well, let’s say it was a little selective. It’s reserved for royalty and important nobles, and the student with the highest status after me was him, the son of a duke.”
“Then you must have understood one another at first,” I said.
“No, it was the complete opposite. At the time, I looked down on the masses, to be honest. I took it for granted that he shared my views, so I started talking to him. ‘Next year, they’ll allow commoners into this academy, can you believe that? I don’t want to breathe the same air as them!’ I’d told him. Do you know what he said back? ‘There are plenty of smart commoners, just like there are morons like you in the royal family.’”
“H-he called you a moron?!” I couldn’t believe my ears. What the prince had said wasn’t very nice, that was for sure, but calling a member of the royal family a moron to his face was lèse-majesté!
“That’s why you fought?” I asked.
“Yep. I thought he was an ass and threw the first punch, and Kyros didn’t hesitate to hit back. In the end, we created quite the commotion! Ha ha ha!”
“Oh my…” The prince is a lot more hot-blooded than I thought!
The way he laughed about it confused me, though. What was so funny about getting into a fight? Still, I let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad the two of you get along well now,” I said. “Just thinking of you two fist-fighting makes my chest ache.”
Prince Luifon let out a perplexed hum.
Suddenly, a very, very loud metallic clang resounded. It was much heavier than the sound that had concluded the previous match, almost like a bell had been cracked open. I looked down, surprised, to see the giant on the ground.
“It’s over already?!”
“You saw how the knight was trying to keep his opponent at bay with the tip of his sword, right? Well, the man in black got past it and settled the duel in one blow. That sound was him shattering his opponent’s armor,” the prince explained.
Sh-shattering?! I strained my eyes, and sure enough, the blue set of armor was cracked open. The knight was still on the ground and appeared unconscious.
“H-he’s not dead, is he?”
“No, don’t worry. Our warrior in black held back so as to not crush the knights’ organs beyond the armor.”
I didn’t know the first thing about swordplay, but I trusted the prince knew what he was talking about. Still, I could hardly believe what I’d seen was an instance of “holding back.”
“That man in the black armor seems really strong,” I whispered, shivering.
While his opponent was thankfully still alive, the tournament’s staff was in an uproar. Several people had come running to the stage to surround the blue man and yell at one another.
“Bring a stretcher! Hurry up! And we need the medical squad!”
“No one will be able to carry him like that! We need to remove his armor first.”
Oh no! I couldn’t handle the sight of blood…
In the meantime, the host announced the winner. “Congratulations to the jet-black warrior!”
Cheers louder than ever erupted all around the coliseum. The civilian had taken down yet another knight, and the crowd was jubilant. The warrior in black didn’t even bother waving at the crowd, though. Instead, he crouched next to his opponent, wrapped his arm around the man’s waist, and stood back up. Then he carried his opponent away with the medical squad trotting behind him.
He helped his opponent and the medical staff!
Prince Luifon laughed. “He is strong. Who knows? He might just be able to shatter real armor, not merely the special suits we use at sporting events.” The thought made me shudder.
I was staring vacantly at the empty stage when I felt the prince poke my shoulder. “Say, my little Marie, don’t you think he’s cool?”
“Huh?”
“That warrior in black. He achieved victory over someone much bigger than himself with a single hit. Most girls would be fawning over him. You know, screaming stuff like, ‘Aaaaah! You’re so strong! So dashing! Take me now!’” The prince proceeded to point out women in the audience, and sure enough, plenty of them were standing up and yelling things along those lines.
I knew that nobles usually loved these sorts of tournaments. I supposed the less connection you had to the battlefield, the more fun you could have watching mock battles. But I still couldn’t personally see the appeal. “I don’t think being good at fighting is attractive.”
“Isn’t being strong and dependable what makes a man most attractive?” the prince asked.
“No, it’s terrifying. When I see them swinging their blades, I can’t help but wonder if one day it’ll be my turn—if one day those very blades will be pointed at me…”
“Wow, that’s some pessimistic thinking!” the prince remarked loudly.
He crossed his legs and put his chin in his hand before looking straight into my eyes. His sharp, ice-blue eyes were staring straight into mine.
I-Is he glaring at me? “I-I’m sorry…” I said weakly as my body shivered.
“Why are you apologizing?” he asked.
I had no answer. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but one thing was for certain: I had done something wrong for his mood to turn so suddenly.
I looked at my feet and remained silent. The prince kept staring at me without saying anything either.
The next moment, a nice aroma wafted through the air. I turned around, intrigued, and saw Mio with a mountain of food in her arms.
“I’m back. How is the tournament going?” she asked.
“The final round is about to begin,” I replied. “The civilian made it to the finals.”
“Oh, is it that man in the black set of armor?” Mio asked pointing at the stage.
The two finalists were currently walking back onto the stage. Trumpets sounded, and the two men stood opposing one another. The civilian in black was a head taller than the knight in green.
“In the past two matches, the smaller one won. Being bigger isn’t necessarily an advantage, right?” I asked.
“In a real battle, a powerful blow can do the trick no matter where you hit, so having more reach is a considerable advantage,” Mio replied between bites as she gnawed on a piece of deep-fried chicken. “But when the spots you can hit are restricted, being smaller makes those areas smaller and harder to hit.”
She offered me some chicken, but I refused politely. Unlike Mio, there was a limit to how much I could eat.
On the stage, the two swordsmen bowed at one another.
Considering what Mio had just said, I took it the knight had a slight advantage. He was swift and had great technique, while the man in black seemed to rely on brute strength more.
When I explained my reasoning and declared that I thought the knight in green would win, Mio smiled.
“I don’t think so,” she whispered. “The one in black will win. He’s stronger than you think.”