The construction of the new village was reportedly proceeding without a hitch. The same could not be said, however, for the Festival Executive Committee.
"For now, I think our best bet is to simply lift a festival from somewhere else and run it exactly as it is," one member suggested.
"I agree," said another. "If we try to mix different traditions together, nobody will be satisfied."
This was the conclusion reached by the committee after long discussions that, at times, even devolved into minor scuffles. In the end, they decided to simply write down the names of various festivals from different regions and choose one by drawing lots.
I really should have thought of that sooner. I seem to have a lot of moments like that.
"A combat tournament?"
That was what was written on the slip of paper I pulled.
Wait... is a combat tournament actually a festival? Who wrote this? Of all the possibilities, why did it have to be this one? I wondered for a moment if I could ask for a redraw, but we had used expensive paper specifically for the lottery. It was meant to be a one-shot deal—a final, indisputable declaration of intent.
And so, the nature of the festival was decided. It would be a combat tournament.
Immediately after the announcement went out to the village, the entire atmosphere seemed to shift. No, it definitely changed. The number of people practicing martial arts outdoors spiked, and the village suddenly felt much more high-strung.
At the same time, the frequency with which Lu, Tia, and Flora were called upon to use healing magic increased. Frau and the Civil Official Girls began gathering in the early hours of the morning for what looked like group distance running. Several Lizardmen headed into the forest to assist with the hunting more frequently than usual. I got the distinct impression that Granmaria and the other angels were flying about twenty percent faster than their normal speed. Even the Dwarves were getting in on it, training their bodies by hauling around heavy sake barrels filled with water.
Up to that point, everything was fine. It was still within the realm of acceptable behavior.
However...
"I'm going to head back to my parents' place to train for a bit," Hakuren announced.
I stopped her right then and there. Did she actually intend to participate? I didn't have the courage to ask that directly, so I forced the role of referee onto her instead. She looked dissatisfied at first, but I managed to persuade her by pointing out that I knew nothing about combat and that having someone truly powerful as an official would be a massive help.
The next problem followed immediately.
"I’m going to head back to my parents' place to train for a bit."
Rusty said the exact same thing Hakuren had. She clearly intended to enter the fray. I had already assigned the refereeing to Hakuren, and I couldn't think of anything for Rusty.
Wait... there wasn't any rule saying we couldn't have two referees.
"I want to fight too," Rusty insisted.
That plan was dead in the water. I had to think. I really had to think this through.
"Rusty, have you ever actually fought Hakuren?" I asked.
"Of course. But I've never won."
"Was that in your dragon form?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever fought her in human form?"
"I don't believe so."
"I see. In that case, I'd like to ask you and Hakuren to perform an exhibition match in your human forms. Hakuren, would that be alright with you?"
"An exhibition match?"
"Right. You'd be setting the standard for the rest of the village. Of course, since you'd be acting as masters demonstrating your skills, I'd have to ask you to refrain from entering the main tournament itself."
I tried to butter them up by leaning heavily on the "master" label.
"Masters... Well, I suppose I don't mind," Hakuren said. "But I wonder if little Rusty will be okay with it."
"Masters... I don't mind either," Rusty replied. "If Lady Hakuren is my opponent, I'm sure she'll be able to handle whatever I throw at her."
Thank you, both of you.
"Great. Then I’ll leave the exhibition match to the two of you. Oh, and I’m counting on you to handle the refereeing duties properly as well."
"Oka—y."
"Understood."
Perfect. I did a mental fist pump, savoring the victory of clearing such a difficult hurdle.
Now then...
"It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to punch you. I’m quite looking forward to it."
"It’s been so long I just hope your arms haven't rotted away from lack of use."
Lu and Tia were already engaged in a verbal opening skirmish. I didn't mind them getting fired up for the tournament, but I really wished they wouldn't do it while holding Alfred and Tiselle. I’d have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they didn't boil over before the event even started.
The tournament was divided into three categories: the General Division, the Warrior Division, and the Knight Division.
The General Division was for those who didn't make a living through combat. This included Frau, the Civil Official Girls, and the Beastman race.
The Warrior Division was for those who, while not professional soldiers, entered the forest for hunting and defense. The primary participants here were the High Elves, the High Ogre race, the Lizardmen, the Dwarves, and the Mountain Elves.
The Knight Division was the elite tier above the others. I decided that eligibility for this division would be restricted to those specifically selected by the Village Head. The roster included Lu, Tia, Granmaria, Kudel, Corone, the High Elf Ria, Ann of the High Ogre race, Daga the Lizardman, and the two Devils, Bulga and Stifano. I hadn't been aware of how strong the two Devils were, but apparently, it was common knowledge that a dragon's attendants couldn't possibly be weak. Between their own self-recommendations and the recommendations of others, they were placed in this top bracket.
Two more participants were added to the Knight Division.
The first was Uno, who had won the qualifiers held among Kuro’s pack. Since many of the females were pregnant, the qualifiers were apparently restricted to the males. Does that make Uno the strongest male? Did Kuro lose, or did he just choose not to participate from the start?
The other was a spider roughly the size of half a tatami mat, chosen during a selection process held among Zabuton's Children. It had grown quite large and was reportedly one of the veterans who had explored the dungeon where the Lamias lived. Thinking it would be awkward to announce the match without a name, I gave it one.
"Since you’re a bit rounder than Zabuton... I’ll call you Makura."
I know I have no naming sense, but the spider seemed happy, so that was all that mattered.
With Hakuren and Rusty serving as referees, Flora was the only one who explicitly sat out the competition.
"Are you sure you're okay with that?" I asked her.
"Don't you think it would be a disaster if at least one person didn't focus entirely on healing magic?"
"Fair point. My apologies."
"Just make sure you pay me back for this later. More importantly, aren't you going to enter, Village Head?"
"If I did, everyone would just hold back out of consideration for my position."
"Ahaha. True enough."
As the Village Head, I intended to focus all my energy on managing the event. That effort started immediately. I began clearing and expanding the forest on the south side of the residential area to create a proper venue. I had originally planned to hold it inside the village, but seeing everyone's terrifying level of enthusiasm made me nervous, so I decided to build a dedicated facility on the fly.
The arena itself was a square stage twenty meters on each side. I raised it about fifty centimeters above the surrounding ground and adjusted the surface by tilling and hardening the earth so it was neither too stiff nor too soft. I wanted to minimize injuries as much as possible. With that in mind, I made the area immediately surrounding the stage extremely soft for anyone who might be knocked out of bounds.
I designated one side of the stage as the participants' waiting area and planned to surround the other three sides with spectator seating. I initially thought sitting on the ground would be fine, but realized it would be hard for people in the back to see. Since the tournament was scheduled to last all day, food would be served, which meant people needed proper places to sit and eat.
Building individual chairs would have taken too much time, so I cut corners. I felled several large trees, laid them on their sides, and shaved the bark off the top to turn them into long benches. By using progressively larger diameter logs as I moved further back from the stage, I created a tiered seating effect. Once I added aisle space, it looked quite convincing.
I added a cooking area a short distance away and set up a dining space with simple tables and stools made from log slices. Finally, I built plenty of outhouses and made sure to secure enough Slimes for them.
In the end, I managed to pull together a fairly decent-looking venue. Now, it was time for the festival to begin.
However, there were several unplanned developments.
Draim, his wife, Dos, and Raimeiren all showed up to watch. They had the air of parents attending a daughter’s school recital.
Beezel and Yuri arrived as well, bringing along a handsome, middle-aged man I didn't recognize. I assumed they were there to cheer for Frau and the Civil Official Girls.
Then there was Shiso-sama, Lu's grandfather, who was suddenly just sitting in the spectator section. He was chatting amicably with Dos and the handsome stranger. They seemed to be acquaintances, though the stranger looked like he was in a slightly lower social position than the other two.
Six members of the Lamia race traveled all the way from the Southern Dungeon to participate. They asked to join the Warrior and Knight divisions, and I accepted them.
Finally, Galf and three others from Howlin Village arrived. Apparently, Draim had consulted with them and flown them over without me knowing. I had heard they were terrified of dragons, but they seemed to have adjusted remarkably well. Then again, I suppose anyone would get used to them after seeing dragons being used to transport farm crops. Since they all wanted to join the Warrior Division, I welcomed them in.
I hadn't exactly kept the tournament a secret, so I suppose the news must have leaked during some official correspondence. Should I have been more secretive? No, festivals are always better when they’re lively.
Unplanned guests aside, it was time to start the show.