“I’m counting on you, Master Goliath! I really don’t want to fight them!” Ryan whined at the top of his lungs.
They were surrounded by all the losing parties, and everyone in his vicinity was giving him a dirty look, but he didn’t notice. Not very smart, this one.
“I don’t know. Those ladies seemed rather powerful.”
“What?!”
“Especially that Tanya woman. I got the sense she’s several levels of magnitude stronger than you led me to believe.” Goliath’s playful mood had evaporated; that creepy persona was just a façade, after all. “I’m warning you now... there’s a chance—a small chance—that you may end up having to fight.”
“Wh... Excuse me?! Have you forgotten how much I’m paying you?!”
“Look, I’m just trying to run a business. If you don’t like it, I can refund you right now.”
“Rrgh...” But Ryan couldn’t bear to swallow his pride. Ambition was the one thing he had going for him.
“Here. Don’t worry, I’ll only charge an additional ten thousand seculs.”
“Huh?”
Goliath handed him a tiny scrap of paper.
“What’s this?”
“A trump card.” Goliath smirked. “You don’t want to let those little girls humiliate you, do you? Then hit ‘em with that.
Trust me, they’ll never see it coming.”
✦ ✦ ✦
At the start of the championship round, the two parties stood facing one another.
Tanya glared at Ryan. “Ready to get your ass kicked?”
“Hah! You won’t even make it to the leader battle; my party members are gonna trounce you. I’ve got a lot of money riding on this, so we kinda can’t afford to lose. But hey, you should be happy with second place, considering you got this far without any guys!”
“Oh yeah? Talk big all you want, because you’re going down,” Tanya spat.
All eyes were on the pink-haired Knight, and the crowd was going nuts.
■SCHEDULE■
—Doubles—
Goliath the Master Mercenary
Katherine Foxxi
VERSUS
Stone Cold Stunner (Alias)
Nadine Amaryllis
—Singles—
Goliath the Master Mercenary
VERSUS
Stone Cold Stunner (Alias)
—Leader Battle—
Ryan Daars
VERSUS
Tanya Artemiciov
On her way to the doubles match, Laplace (or Stone Cold Stunner, the world’s most arrogant pseudonym) was in high spirits.
“If we win the doubles match, I’ll forfeit the singles match. But if we lose the doubles match, then I’ll win the singles match!” she reminded everyone in her usual singsong voice.
“You seem confident, Laplace.”
“Heh heh! But of course. I’m the Great Sorceress, after all,” Laplace smirked.
Looking at her now, Tanya found herself impressed. Just a few short hours ago, she never would’ve dreamed of this.
✦ ✦ ✦
A few short hours ago...
“Laplace?” Tanya called, reaching out to cup the woman’s cheek. She was oddly distant.
“...Oh, sorry. I guess even a Great Sorceress can’t always keep her cool, hmm?” Laplace laughed. “I just... I never imagined Maxwell was still alive.”
Moments ago, during the intermission between matches, the arena had erupted into cheers and fanfare as the tournament organizers introduced the VIP guests: the Crown Princess Arianora and Maxwell the Court Grand Mage.
The instant Laplace heard the name Maxwell, she’d lunged at Tanya and clung to her for dear life. “How can this be happening?!” she shouted.
Maxwell was Laplace’s mortal enemy. According to legend, Laplace had hatched a wicked plot to destroy the capital, and thus Maxwell had sealed her away. It was but one of his many great and heroic deeds.
Normally Nadine was the one who smoothed things over, but she had stepped away.
“I’m sorry, Laplace... I just assumed you knew he was immortal...”
“Hah... Immortal...” Laplace bit her lip. “In my day, Maxwell hadn’t achieved immortality. That was—”
“You, right?” After all, this 300-year-old Sorceress didn’t look a day over 25.
“Right,” Laplace nodded. “Loath as I am to admit it, I’m immortal. One of the many great discoveries made in the golden age of sorcery 300 years ago.”
She had spent the past 300 years alone in the Western Wasteland, trapped in a body that would never decay. It must have been a miserable existence... The thought made Tanya shudder.
“And now Maxwell’s here...”
She could only imagine how humiliated Laplace must’ve felt in that moment.
“Do you want to... get a little revenge of your own?” Tanya asked.
A moment of silence passed, and then Laplace gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“No... I brought this on myself. If I didn’t want it to turn out this way, I should’ve stood up for myself back then. But instead of getting angry, I just shrugged my shoulders and accepted it... and that means it’s partially my fault.” The look on her face was something Tanya didn’t recognize. “Anyway, you won that duel in the wasteland, which means your revenge takes top priority. Besides, the bad blood between myself and Maxwell is old news. Now then, we should focus on the tour—whoa!”
She yelped as Tanya, the shorter of the two, pulled her into a hug. Instantly, her face flushed pink.
“Er... Tanya?”
“Just let me have this for a minute.”
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Wh... What if Nadine comes back and finds us like this?”
But Tanya only tightened her grip.
“I...” she began faintly, “I can’t begin to imagine all the suffering and misery you’ve endured. But...”
Laplace is a good person. She didn’t deserve to be isolated for 300 years. She must’ve been so lonely and bitter and hurt...
“...Please don’t blame yourself for what happened to you,” she finished, her voice shaking.
Laplace gently hugged her back. Oh, Tanya. I’ve loved you ever since I found you fuming in the wasteland.
“I’m flattered that you would empathize with me... that you would rage and mourn on my behalf.”
And as she ran her fingers through Tanya’s pale pink hair, she prayed: Dear, sweet Tanya... May your righteous anger triumph.
“I’m looking forward to this championship match. You’d better crush this Ryan fellow, understood?”
“Like a pancake.”
And so the peaceful moment passed.
✦ ✦ ✦
...Which brings us to the present.
“Alright, folks! This is it—the climax of this year’s Sparring Tournament!”
The announcer’s voice blared over the din of the crowd.
“This is our big moment,” Tanya told the others, who nodded in return. They could feel the pressure.
“Très bien! Just leave it to the Great Sorceress!” said Laplace.
“I... I’ll do everything I can!” Nadine chimed in.
First up: the doubles match.
“...Hmm?” Sensing someone’s gaze, Laplace turned—and spotted Goliath the Master Mercenary, the supposedly unbeatable Level 90 Mage, staring at her. Oho, I get it... Let me guess: he’s captivated by my “stone cold stunning” good looks!
Just then—
“Oh hey, it’s you,” called a shrill, high-pitched voice. It was Katherine Foxxi, Ryan’s girlfriend(?) with thick blonde hair, hourglass curves, and a pair of fox ears atop her head. Like Goliath, she was a Mage as well—and if he’d entered her into the tournament, then she was assuredly a strong one.
“Um... Katherine...!” Nadine called back in a tiny voice.
Katherine turned and looked at her. A moment later, her face lit up with recognition. “Oh! Oh my god, I just remembered you! You’re Nadine the dropout, aren’t you?! What are you doing here? I heard you were working at the Guild!” she sneered.
“Nadine is our Healer,” Laplace replied.
“Pffff! What, you couldn’t find anyone better? Ohhh my god, Nadine, I told you to go find yourself a man and settle down! You think you can be an adventurer at Level 3?! Why don’t you run along home before you hurt yourself? I’ll hook you up with one of the guys in our party, so ditch the dowdy braids and glasses, mmkay? Kyahaha!” Katherine cackled. “God, what a riot!”
As Nadine stared down at the ground, Laplace walked up and clapped her on the back.
“Let’s destroy them.”
At this, Nadine looked up. “R-Right!”
Championship Match, Round 1:
—Doubles—
Goliath the Master Mercenary
Katherine Foxxi
VERSUS
Stone Cold Stunner (Alias)
Nadine Amaryllis
And so the gong sounded, signaling the start of the battle between a powerful Mage and the world’s weakest Healer.