Maybe it’s time to get serious. I made it to the finals, and now I’m facing the white-haired guy with wolf ears.

  This one’s not a joke… He’s wearing a full suit of armor except for his head with a sturdy long sword held in front with both hands. Gives off an air similar to Katja. Someone who learned through study and rigorous training with plenty of experience to back up the theory. Hehehe… After all the disappointing fights, I’m actually getting a bit excited…

  “Hi there. I hope you’ve been well.” Up on the stands, just before the fight began, two new girls approached the seats where Carol and the others were. “We saw you two from above and decided to stop by.”

  The whole group turned their heads. It was Galene and Abby. The heroine and the great sorceress (healer). Of course they were there too. Should have seen that coming. “From above?” Carol frowned.

  Galene calmly nodded, pointing to the VIP area. “The princess invited us to watch and got us a seat near her.”

  “But the atmostphere there is the worst… We had to leave for a while. The nobles don’t treat us with the respect we deserve!” Abby stomped after interrupting Galene. “Do they realize there’s only one Hero while there are a lot of them? We’re a lot more important, geez…”

  Ahh, yes… This shorty obsesses over status a lot, doesn’t she? Carol rolled her eyes.

  “That’s not nice, Abby. They were courteous enough.” Galene giggled while keeping her friend in check. “More importantly, what’s Iroha doing down there? Does she actually want to marry the princess? I didn’t realize she… Uhmm… Swung that way…” She tried her best not to let her face go red.

  “No, she’s not marrying her!” It couldn’t be allowed! It’d put the kingdom in jeopardy. Flanne asserted without hesitation. “She’s not going to follow through with it! It will never work out.”

  “It’s a complicated situation…” With a bitter smile, Ririna tried to explain. “You’re better off not asking.”

  “I see…” It was a tight fit, but both Galene and Abby managed to borrow a corner of a seat to stay low. “Either way, we’re finally going to see an interesting match, huh?”

  “Are we?” Carol asked with an unimpressed look. “You know the guy? Or are you just making a guess?”

  “You don’t know?!” Was she living under a rock? Abby was shocked. She didn’t know Carol that well, but she was pretty strong… Or became strong…? Either way, how could she be so clueless? “That’s Leo Valk. He’s the second prince of the beastmen country and one of the five strongest people in human territory! He even fought Galene as the final test for the title of Hero! Everyone knows him!” She glanced at Sarasa, who surely knew these kinds of things.

  “Ohhh… That’s who he was… No wonder his face seemed familiar.” And her reaction was not what she wanted…

  “Isn’t he your prince? How can you forget about him?” Carol casually asked.

  “Beastmen aren’t all in the same place, you know? The beastmen country is to the northwest, but I’m from the Fractured Lands to the east. He has nothing to do with me.” Finished with a shrug. That’s fair, Carol thought.

  “Can Iroha win?” She now turned to Galene.

  “He’s a very strong fighter, no doubt about that…” Galene’s voice held nothing but respect for him. “But I won against him when I was just starting out. Meanwhile, Iroha is a good match for me as I am now, so… What do you think?”

  “Ehhh…” Not too bad hearing Iroha getting praised like that. Carol couldn’t help but smile a little. “Well, I’m interested now.” She leaned forward in her seat, focused on the arena.

  “Welcome back, everyone. The grand finals are about to take place. Iroha Shinohara versus Leo Valk. These two have been through a lot today, and they look eager to get started.” The announcer was behaving himself this time. He still had the same party voice from before, but at least his tone was serious now. “I don’t want to be the one standing in the way of their fun, and so, let’s get started. The final round begins…”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Now!”

  There was nothing but silence after that announcement. Me and this Leo guy stared at each other, figuring out what would be the best way to make the first move.

  “Fufufufu…” Leo giggled. “Amazing… Just by looking at you, I can tell you’re on a whole different level from everyone here.”

  Oh? When he opened his mouth, I was expecting something cocky and dumb like the guys before, but… He’s being serious, isn’t he?

  “Your form is certainly lacking, but your strength is nothing to scoff at… Was it what brought you to the finals? Or the lackluster opponents?” He finished with a hint of provocation. Well… Not really… Just a healthy challenge.

  “Who knows?” I shrugged. “Could be either one, but… That’s what we’re here to find out, right?”

  Not that he deserves to be looked down on, but this guy really loves his staring matches, doesn’t he? He’s the observant and cautious type, waiting for an opportunity to make the first move. I know his kind, and I could probably go along, but…

  That’s not my style nor what I was taught…

  Agility Burst! I closed the gap between us in less than a second. I don’t know how strong he is, so I probed him using my speed and some swift strikes. Slash Flurry!

  “Woah!” He stumbled at first but managed to block all of my strikes. “That’s some amazing speed you got there… I can’t match that… How about something different?!”

  He tilted his sword and caught my strike. The clean bounce I needed to pull back quickly didn’t happen. He stepped forward. His sword turned while locked with mine until he managed to press down on me. I see… A contest of strength. Much more evenly matched…

  I have to give up on this one.

  I dodged to the side and let him push my sword to the ground. Took me some time to pull it back up, which gave him an opening for a heavier swing. If I block it normally, we’ll be back in a contest of strength… Gotta hit it back!

  Parrying Strike!

  His momentum died facing an attack just as strong. His eyes widened in surprise, but he went for it again. Parrying Strike! Again! And again!

  “Not letting me lock swords… You realized it…”

  “Of course. No reason for me to accept an unfavorable matchup.”

  He pulled back his sword. His next swing is coming from below. “Very well… Unfortunately, I have no choice but to keep trying.” Just as predicted… Parrying Strike!

  His sword bounced back just as he was raising it. What did you expect? Of course I’m not gonna let you- “Hmm?!” The sword stopped, but there was something else there!

  “Gaaahh!” A blade of air shot out of his sword and continued even after he stopped. He tricked me… I couldn’t react on time, and the slash hit my dress. Didn’t make it through, but it was enough to feel a sharp sting across the chest.

  “Still standing?” Without giving me time, he swung his sword again. Those air slashes flew across the ground one after the one. Trying to take advantage of me while I’m staggered? Burst Dash! That’s not gonna work.

  “Burst Dash!” Burst Dash Burst Dash Burst Dash!

  Okay… Almost had me for a moment there… Burst Dash! This time to dash forward instead of dodging. I’m not letting him keep the initiative anymore. Time to turn this fight around!

  “Heart Piercer!”

  Except for his head, he was wearing full body armor. Not trying to kill him, so I aimed the sword at his chest and got blocked. Good. Only the piercing damage got through. It’s effective but far from a killing blow.

  The results were immediate. The power of the thrust sent him sliding backwards, while the piercing damage brought him to one knee. This is good. Now he gets up, I do this a few more times, and I should be good. A nice clean fight without anyone getting too hurt!

  “I give up.” He dropped his sword and raised his hands. “You’ve bested me. I have no choice but to give you the win.”

  Ehh? What? Why are you standing up again then? He shook his head with a smile on his face.

  “No no… You can keep going. What the hell?”

  Leo let out a small laugh in response. “I could, but it wouldn’t change a thing. I can tell you still have more while I was nearing my limit. Seems like I still need more training.”

  “I- is it over, then?” The crowd suddenly erupted. I guess I did it… It was that easy!

  “There we have it, folks! Wooooooohooooooo! The final round has come to an end!”

  “She did it!” “Iroha destroyed that guy!” While the announcer prattled in the background, Sarasa and Carol jumped in their seats while clinging to each other. Then Carol noticed what she was doing.

  Meanwhile, despite the noise around her, Hecate was deep in thought. “Something’s off… This is a yearly tournament, right?” She turned to Ririna and Sarasa for confirmation.

  “Yes, that’s right.” Ririna nodded.

  “So, in the other editions, the prize of marrying the princess had to be something else, correct? After all, that’s not a prize you can give out multiple times.”

  Sarasa and Ririna didn’t respond. They looked at each other, then huge grins appeared on their faces. “You finally noticed…” Sarasa snickered.

  “The prize is always the princess… As for the reason why…” Ririna was interrupted by the announcer.

  “There we have it! The winner of this year’s tournament, and the person who gets to marry the beautiful Beatrize Elablyon, is… Iroha Shinoha-”

  “Stop right there!” *Shatter!*

  A stern voice echoed from the VIP stand above, and a greatsword flew to the middle of the arena, breaking the glass in its path. A rugged, grey-haired man jumped right after and landed next to the big sword.

  “I won’t allow it. No one gets to marry my daughter without my approval.” He pulled out the greatsword and pointed it at Iroha with one hand.

  “WWOOOOOOOOOO! THERE HE IS!” The announcer jumped on his table, and the crowd cheered with him. This is the loudest they’ve been all day. “Was there ever any doubt? Once again, the king jumps down to the ring himself for one last round! This is what you’ve all been waiting for, isn’t it, people?!” Yeah, echoed through the arena!

  “Huh?”

  “And look at that reaction! Nothing’s funnier than seeing the winner’s face as they realize how much trouble they’re in!” The crowd laughed almost as hard as the announcer. “Tough luck, Iroha. Can’t win against a doting father. The king’s leagues above all you fighters, and he’s on a 7-year win streak by now. Try again next year. Maybe he’ll mellow out by then. Hopefully not.”

  They’re all laughing so much… This doesn’t make any sense… This is the highlight of the tournament?! Seriously?!

  “You gotta be joking! Why set up the tournament like this if you have no intention of going through with it? Offer a different prize!”

  “Hmph…” The king just scoffed at me…

  All my shouting did was make the crowd laugh harder. “I’m serious here! Don’t treat my question as a joke! It makes no sense! Am I wrong?!”

  “Ahahaha… How many years do you think we’ve been leaving this tournament thinking the exact same thing?” With a shrug to the crowd, the announcer earned even more laughs. “We’re normal people. We don’t know what the king’s thinking, and that’s not our job. We just come here and laugh.”

  More laughter… Is this guy an announcer or a stand-up comedian? He’s a damn clown, that’s what he is!

  Bea… Where are you…? Off the corner of my eye, I see her up on the stands at the very top. Give me a hand here… This is ridiculous, isn’t it?

  Instead, she gently shrugged. What can you do?