Well, Saria ended up winning the general participation tournament for the mixed swordsmanship battle.
The Great King’s dignity was preserved. Though, for his efforts, he was sent straight to the hospital.
In the Imperial swordsmanship division, Saijo-kun had to withdraw due to his injuries, leaving Eddy to take the championship.
…Look, I’ll admit it: sending Saijo-kun to the hospital was a bit of a blunder on my part.
Sure, there was the option of holding back. But honestly? No, that was impossible.
Against a practitioner of his caliber, if I had pulled my punches, I’d have been the one in danger. I would have ended up with the serious injuries.
Besides, if I’d slacked off, I would have been scolded for a lack of warrior spirit.
Saijo-kun might have even unfriended me for real.
In the end, I think one of us was destined for a hospital bed no matter what.
Galactic Empire People are so high-maintenance!
As for the Women’s Division, Ren threw a fit and insisted, "I am absolutely not participating!" so she was absent.
Consequently, the mixed swordsmanship battle was an overwhelming victory for Rikochi.
The Imperial swordsmanship division was, likewise, an overwhelming victory for Melissa.
The Women’s Division matches were basically just a massacre where those two trampled everyone else. It was terrible.
From next time, I’ve decided to move both of them into the Exhibition Last Boss slots.
Three days later, once Saijo-kun finally received medical clearance to participate, it was time for the humanoid fighter match.
This one was a battle royale format.
We couldn't exactly run a whole tournament for every single event.
The venue was outer space, after all.
In practice, it turned into a grueling game of tag: Me vs. Everyone Else.
Are they all stupid?
Taking a lesson from the destruction of the exclusive machines last time, the rule was that everyone had to use Standard Machines from their respective nations.
Chronos used the domestic production model of the Galactic Empire’s Standard Machine.
Since it was a mass-produced machine designed after the Zork War, its performance was actually quite high.
It allowed for manual operation, too.
The localization translation was perfect.
…Not that it mattered much. I’d been put through so much sickening training for emergency restoration via repair mode from the console that I could do it in my sleep.
I wouldn’t have had a problem even without the localization.
Apparently, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted with the color schemes.
So, I did.
"Your Feet: Chronos Transport"
An ad for the streetcar company.
"Granny Ha's Kitchen"
An ad for Ha-san’s shop.
"Everyone's General Trading Company: Kamishiro Group"
An ad for my own company…
"Kawagon Express"
…And an ad for the Pirate Guild.
I plastered the entire thing with sponsor advertisements!
Claire was also covered in ads, mostly for pro-wrestling organizations.
Saijo-kun, representing the Galactic Empire, had stickers for the spaceport and Amada Security all over his machine.
Seeing us covered in commercial tags, Lepsitol immediately followed suit.
The Lepsitol athlete delegation was soon drowning in ads as well.
Hmm, I guess Lepsitolians really do get along well with us; it’s just that their corporate governance was too abysmal for words.
The other countries, meanwhile… were totally put off.
Even the Ogre God Nation was genuinely weirded out, asking, "…Is that really okay?"
Shiyun even scolded the Taikyoku Nation pilots, saying, "We are absolutely not copying that!"
Latarnia was truly repulsed from the bottom of their hearts, muttering, "As expected… that’s just impossible for us…"
I wonder why?
With that, we launched.
Man, the Galactic Empire Faction and the Chronos Faction really stood out.
The enemy teams swarmed us instantly.
"Damn it! Leo, let’s cooperate until we take down the others!"
I formed a cooperative battle with Isono.
Isono had joined because his wife’s family had pressured him, asking, "Eh? You're not participating?"
Apparently, when he’d mentioned the story about Raymond to them, they’d told him, "Ah, right… yeah… we hear about stuff like that a lot… It’s okay. We’ll make sure to have a proper talk with our daughter."
It’s wonderful that he gets along so well with his in-laws.
As usual, Isono was wielding a Naginata and a rifle.
He’d be the one to fill in the ranges I wasn’t good at.
"Fuhahahahahahahaha—!"
Putting the pro-wrestling aside, he was finally able to go wild for the first time in a while.
Isono was totally pumped.
Beams came flying at us thick and fast, but he didn't care.
"I'm gonna wreck 'em!"
First, we targeted Latarnia.
The Latarnia army was being scattered like leaves.
And for good reason.
The Latarnia army’s tactics prioritized fleet battles.
Their humanoid fighters weren't all that strong.
Without reading the room at all, Isono rampaged through them.
But Latarnia was impressive in its own right.
They had coordinated a strategy with the Taikyoku Nation beforehand, using themselves as bait to lure us out.
The Taikyoku Nation’s legion appeared from behind the Latarnia army.
"Good grief, I have no choice!"
Saijo-kun joined up with us.
And that was when the traitor appeared.
A multitude of floating batteries suddenly manifested in the sector.
Ah—! You brat!
"Nyahahahahaha! Big brothers, prepare yourselves!"
Ah, you brat!
Tatiana betrayed us!
Tatiana opened fire on us all at once.
We scrambled to escape the idiot’s relentless barrage.
We were literally fleeing for our lives.
"Kukuku, Lord Leo! This is strategy!"
Ah, a communication from Shiyun!
Damn it, I was caught in Shiyun’s schemes!
Don't tell me Shiyun learned her plotting from Wifey…
"This isn't all!"
The number of floating batteries increased.
It wasn't Tatiana!
D-Don't tell me!
"EDGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
By the latter half of the skirmish, I was screaming, "UKYIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"Leo-san… let's settle this once and for all."
The one who had unexpectedly turned into an enemy was the protagonist of the Original Work.
And then… even more floating batteries were added to the field… it was Alyssa.
T-This is completely… we’re being treated like a Raid Boss…
There’s no way we can win this!
"Isono! We’re taking down Tatiana!"
I gave Isono orders in a tearful voice.
"Roger!"
We had exactly one advantage.
Tatiana and the others were also in Standard Machines.
Their floating batteries weren't as numerous as they would have been with an exclusive machine.
"Ah, he’s coming! Big brother, you idiot!"
"Shut uuuuuuuuuuuup!"
I raced forward, chasing after Tatiana.
I can still fight even in a Standard Machine!
Then, yet another unexpected person got in my way.
"His Majesty Leo! Prepare yourself!"
"Big brotheeeeeer!"
Shiyun's older brother stood in my way.
Fueeeeeeeeen!
It was the Taikyoku Nation Ace Pilot.
"Isono!"
"I've got my hands full with the floating batteries!"
"Saijo-kun!"
"I’m in combat with the Taikyoku Nation Imperial Guard Knights!"
I’m… in a total crisis!
This situation is way too disadvantageous!
"Big brother, prepare yourself!"
I slashed at him.
But my strike was parried by the older brother.
"I won't give Shiyun to you!"
"Big brother! Your objective is bugged!"
"Be quiet!"
He swung his sword at me.
Damn! He’s fast!
And just as it turned into a complete melee combat, another group arrived.
It was Lepsitol…
Specifically, the Ninja squad.
"There he is! Defeat the Master!"
"I knew they were in league with each other!"
"Ukyiiiiiiiiiiii!"
A total disaster.
I’m going to lose here.
Katori-sensei is going to find me.
He's going to make me practice until I’m half-dead.
…Wait a minute.
"The mastermind is Katori-sensei! It was you—!"
"Guhahahahahaha! You finally noticed, you dimwit!"
"Now, now, now! Try to break through this encirclement if you cannnnn!!"
"Ah—! You old man, you're still holding a grudge because you lost last time!"
"Of course I am, you idi-ot! Come on, try and defeat everyone!"
"Pigyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
In the face of such a pinch, I reverted to making monkey noises.
However, a saving grace appeared right then.
"Honestly, the Captain is useless without me~"
Melissa-tan…
"It can't be helped, I suppose. I'll take your side."
Claire-sama!
"Honestly, you humans… I suppose it can't be helped."
Ren!
My wives had come to save me.