Chapter 49: The Joint Match Begins

The day of the Squire Joint Match had arrived. A special venue was set up in the training grounds of the Knight Order Headquarters, where the matches would take place. A barrier was erected to prevent the squires participating in the matches from getting seriously injured. Around the venue where the matches were held, many knights and fellow squires were watching. Since today’s matches are for the ‘Youngest Division’, covering ages five to eight, it seemed the parents of the participating squires were also present. Born into a knight’s family, many follow in their parents’ footsteps to become knights. Although a knighthood is only for one generation, if a parent serves as a knight without issue and their son also becomes a knight, serving for two generations, it is looked upon favorably by superiors. Even without significant achievements, if one serves diligently, there is a possibility of being elevated to Baronet or Baron after a few generations. Like when some noble family is dissolved or something. For such reasons, the rate of children of knight order members participating here is high. Jean, his sister Cecil, and even Bianca and Gloria have parents working in the Knight Order. However, since it is the youngest division, it doesn’t attract that much attention. Probably most of the knights here are off-duty, and the Captains of each Knight Order aren’t here either. They have work, after all. Bianca‘s father, the Captain of the First Knight Order, isn’t here either. Though I think he’ll come to watch the matches of the older group hoping to join the Knight Order. Of course, people like me who aren’t directly related to the Knight Order are also allowed to watch. It’s not open to the general public, but entry is possible with permission from the Knight Order. So it wouldn’t be strange for this person to be here, but…

“I didn’t expect Balay-san to come.” “Hmph, I have to check how well the brats can use the Magic Swords I made. Besides, I can’t just ignore the Magic Sword ‘Discord’.”

Sitting in the same viewing box as us is Balay-san, the legendary Magic Sword smith Balkblay. Next to him sat the Knight Order Grand Master, Jean‘s father, and Elliott, shrewdly taking a seat. Our viewing box is slightly higher than the other seats, somewhat like a VIP section. Basically, it’s a seat set up for Knight Order executives, royalty, and high-ranking nobles, but accompanying persons can also sit there. So Elliott‘s guards, Balay-san who probably got permission from the Grand Master, and as companions of me, a member of the Imperial Family, Estelle and her mother Julia (my swordsmanship teacher), and my guard Tanya Celesta were sitting in the same box. Grandfather wanted to come too, but apparently he’s been staying in the Royal Capital too much lately and neglected his territory, so he received an angry letter from his son (Mother’s older brother, my uncle) saying, “Come back at once!” and reluctantly returned to his territory. I drop my gaze to the tournament bracket in my hand. Sixty-four participants. It decreases to thirty-two, sixteen, eight, four, two, so winning six times means victory. The first round has already begun, and matches are taking place in the four arenas in front of us. We have to do this eight times? Even just the first round seems like it will take quite some time. At the four corners of the four lined arenas, dragon figurines holding crystals in their mouths are placed. Those generate the barrier, providing the skin barrier and paralysis effect to the participants inside.

“Ah, Lady Sakuraile! It’s Bianca-san!”

I turn my gaze to Estelle‘s voice. Bianca appeared in the arena on the front right from here. At her waist, she wears the Magic Sword ‘Ensemble’ in its blue scabbard. Her opponent was a well-built older boy. Isn’t that kid huge for an eight-year-old…? He has a physique like he’d be in a kid’s sumo tournament. His weapon is a spear… or rather, it’s shaped like a spear and an axe combined. I’ve seen that somewhere… Ah, the castle soldiers had it.

“It is a Halberd. A weapon capable of thrusting, slashing, and striking—various uses. For a squire to master it, considerable physical strength and skill should be required, but…”

Tanya Celesta, sitting in the seat behind me, explained. Does that mean that opponent kid is quite capable?

“Begin!”

At the shout of the Knight Order referee, Bianca lowered her body and dashed in. To intercept her, the chubby boy’s Halberd swept horizontally. Bianca lowered her body further to dodge it, and as they passed each other, she slashed the boy’s right leg with the Magic Sword ‘Ensemble’. Since a barrier is set up in this arena, his trousers were torn, but the boy’s leg has no injury. However, due to the barrier’s effect, his right leg should start to go numb. The boy, having his leg hit, became sluggish in movement, and his halberd swings lacked momentum. Bianca parried his attacks two or three times, and finding an opening, the Magic Sword ‘Ensemble’ hit the boy’s neck. The next moment, the chubby boy collapsed with a thud as if he had lost consciousness.

“That’s it! Winner, Bianca Latia Serenade!”

The referee knight announced Bianca‘s victory. Ooh, wasn’t that an overwhelming victory? As expected of Bianca.

“Bianca-san won!” “She did it!”

Estelle and I high-fived as if to say ‘Yay!’.

“In actual combat, that would have been a decapitation. It took a little time though.” “Yes. If I were to be demanding, I wanted her to decide it with the first strike.”

The evaluation from Julia and Tanya in the back seats is harsh. She won, so let’s be happy. The defeated chubby boy is carried away on a stretcher. Is he okay…?

“If they receive an attack on a vital spot like the neck, head, or chest, they become incapacitated like that. Don’t worry, it is not life-threatening. He will wake up in a few dozen minutes.”

Seeing me looking at the boy on the stretcher, the Grand Master spoke to me. Then it’s okay. Bianca seems to intend to win through without using the Magic Sword’s power until she fights Gloria. I understand the feeling, but I want her to use it if it gets dangerous. Losing would mean nothing.

“Ah, this time it’s Jean‘s turn.”

Elliott pointed to the arena next to the one where Bianca was fighting just now. There was Jean, carrying the Magic Sword ‘Fortissimo’ in its red scabbard. Heh, so permission was granted by the Grand Master. That means he learned to control ‘Flame Sword’, huh.

“Begin!”

When the match started, unlike Bianca‘s case, the opponent initiated the attack on Jean. The opponent, holding a sword just like Jean, struck from right and left, but Jean blocked every single one.

“Let’s go, ‘Fortissimo’!”

Bo! Just as Jean‘s Magic Sword ‘Fortissimo’ was enveloped in flames, the flames were immediately absorbed into ‘Fortissimo’, and the blade began to glow red. Leaving a trail like a red meteor, ‘Fortissimo’ was swung horizontally in a single stroke, slicing the opponent’s sword in two. Jean thrust the tip of his sword at the throat of the opponent, who was dumbfounded by his severed sword.

“Match over! Winner, Jean Ludra Staccato!”

When the referee knight announced the victory, applause and cheers rained down from the audience seats. He pulled off something flashy.

“Hoh. He’s become able to handle ‘Fortissimo’ reasonably well.” “Barely, though. Just managed it with gloves on.”

Watching Jean‘s match, Balay-san and the Grand Master exchanged such words. Wearing gloves means it still gets somewhat hot? Maybe he can’t maintain that state for long. However, is it okay to use the Magic Sword from the first move? Seeing that, I don’t think the next opponents will engage in a proper sword fight with Jean. For better or worse, Magic Swords have an element of ‘killing on first sight’. Come to think of it, my senior in my previous life said something like that. In actual combat, in a one-on-one fight to the death, it is rare to fight the same enemy again. That’s true. The loser is dead, after all. So if you can sublimate one technique you are good at and elevate it to a sure-kill strike, petty tricks become unnecessary. But conversely, if you miss that, it could mean there’s no next time. I think petty tricks are necessary too, though. The matches continued, and Jean‘s sister, Cecil, also passed the first round without danger. And the last match of the first round. A girl with blonde vertical rolls came to the arena with a Magic Sword possessing a black blade.

“Gloria…”

Though I can only see from afar, her atmosphere seems different compared to a month ago. The look in her eyes mocking people is the same, but I feel like an emotion of delight is oozing out somewhere.