The best bout of the General Division was likely the fight between Frau and Sena of the Beastman Race.
While most matches ended within a minute, their battle stretched on for about five. Frau combined magic with a one-handed sword, while Sena, surprisingly, fought unarmed. The match devolved into a frantic chase: Sena tried to grab and throw her, while Frau evaded her reaches to aim for Sena's headband. In the end, they became entangled and tumbled off the stage together, resulting in a double loss.
Since it was a double loss, I couldn't award a Reward Medal, but I made sure to praise them for such an excellent match. Still, Sena... I had no idea she was a grappler.
The cheering from Beezel, Yuri, and the Demon King in the spectator seats had been incredibly intense during that fight.
"That was a close one," Beezel remarked.
"Just a little more," Yuri added.
The Demon King hummed thoughtfully. "Beezel’s daughter is quite capable, isn't she? But to think a young member of the Beastman Race could fight to that extent... Hmmm."
Once the General Division concluded, the Warrior Division began. This followed a winner-stays-on format, where the victor remained on the stage to face the next challenger. The participant with the highest number of consecutive wins would be crowned the champion.
Initially, I had considered a bracket system, but I abandoned the idea due to the high number of participants. Even if each match only took about a minute and the transitions went smoothly, it would have taken far too long. If we could have prepared multiple stages, it might have worked, but that’s a challenge to tackle in the future—assuming we hold another tournament next year.
The Warrior Division featured participants from the High Elves, High Ogre Race, Lizardmen, Dwarves, and Mountain Elves, as well as the Beastman Race from Howlin Village and the Lamias from the Southern Dungeon. While the winner-stays-on format seemed like the right choice for the schedule, it did feel like the luck of the draw played a significant role.
Around the time this division kicked off, Shiso-sama and Draim's Wife finished their help with the food and took their seats in the spectator area.
The rules were almost identical to the General Division, with one addition: besides the headband, participants wore cloth markers on both hands and both feet. In the case of the Lamias, these were attached to their tails instead of feet, and the Lizardmen wore them on both their feet and tails. A participant lost if two or more markers, including the headband, were taken.
The biggest difference from the General Division was that re-entry was permitted. As long as Flora, our resident healer, gave them medical clearance, losers could rejoin the back of the queue. We planned to keep the matches going until everyone had at least one turn and we hit our scheduled time limit.
The referee duties shifted from Hakuren to Rusty, and the announcer changed from Granmaria to Frau. Granmaria needed to prepare for her upcoming participation in the Knight Division. I was relieved to see that Frau hadn't sustained any lasting damage from her earlier match; it was likely thanks to Flora's healing magic.
On a side note, I really wished Beezel, Yuri, and the Demon King would stop cheering so fervently for the announcer.
The matches proceeded at a breakneck pace. As soon as a loser was escorted off the stage, the next challenger stepped up immediately. Because there were almost no breaks between bouts, few people could maintain a long winning streak. Most participants lost immediately after their first victory.
Amidst the chaos, a few stood out: Donovan the Dwarf, Ya the Mountain Elf, Galf from Howlin Village, and the Lamias from the Southern Dungeon. Four Lamias had entered the Warrior Division, and every one of them was formidable. They used swords for close-range combat and magic for distance. If an opponent got too close, they utilized an entwining attack with their tails. Once a Lamia coiled around someone, escape was nearly impossible. Rusty did a great job as a referee, stepping in to stop the match the moment someone was pinned.
So far, the only one who had managed to endure a Lamia's constriction was Donovan. He withstood the crushing pressure long enough to snatch the cloth marker from the tail right in front of him. Since he had already taken a marker from her arm earlier, he secured the win. Everyone else made avoiding those tails their top priority. In that sense, the Lamia Race were the real gatekeepers of the Warrior Division.
Once everyone had completed at least one round, Ya and Galf were tied for the highest number of wins at four each. Ya had fought with a disciplined strategy, maintaining a strict middle distance regardless of her opponent and winning her matches with a mix of one-handed sword strikes and magic. Her streak only ended when a High Elf closed the gap at high speed; after a messy, frantic brawl, both of them fell out of bounds.
As for Galf, he’d had some luck in avoiding the Lamias, but the High Ogre Maid standing beside me explained that he was genuinely powerful. His style relied on overwhelming opponents with a combination of strength and speed while ruthlessly targeting their weaknesses. The "two markers for a win" rule seemed to suit his style perfectly. Galf eventually lost to a Lizardman, apparently because he wasn't used to fighting opponents with tails. The maid mentioned that if he fought the Lizardmen a few more times, he wouldn't lose so easily.
"He wouldn't be able to survive the trip through the forest to reach this village if he weren't at least that capable," the High Ogre Maid noted. "Though, he did technically arrive via dragon this time."
That made sense.
The time allotted for the Warrior Division was nearly up. I figured it would end in a tie between the two of them, but the other participants seemed to read the room. A string of withdrawals followed until only Ya and Galf remained on the stage. It was clear they intended to settle things.
"I request a match," Ya said.
"I came here to win," Galf replied. "Don't hold it against me."
With Rusty’s signal, the final bout began. Ya wore hand and foot guards over her usual clothes and wielded a one-handed sword. Since she was proficient with magic, she tried to keep her distance. Galf wore the same weathered leather armor he’d had on his previous visit, looking every bit the veteran warrior. While he could use magic, he was no match for Ya in that department, so he pressed forward aggressively, trying to force a close-quarters struggle.
It was a battle of positioning—whoever could maintain their preferred range would win. To my amateur eyes, it looked like a masterful sword dance. I couldn't tell who had the upper hand.
Suddenly, a loud crack echoed, and Ya’s sword went spinning into the air. For a split second, I thought she had lost. But the moment her sword left her hand, Ya lunged forward, grabbed Galf’s arm, and threw him. Galf’s body spun three times in the air, but he managed to right himself and land perfectly on both feet. He had taken no damage at all.
However, he was standing outside the boundaries of the stage.
"Match settled! The winner is Ya!" Rusty declared.
With that, the champion of the Warrior Division was decided. Unlike the General Division, the champion here received seven Reward Medals.
"Thank you very much," Ya said, accepting them.
I also awarded three Reward Medals each to Donovan and the four Lamias as Outstanding Players. Naturally, I chose Galf as an Outstanding Player as well, but since he didn't seem to know what to do with the medals, I offered him an equivalent value in alcohol instead.
"I'll take one medal as a souvenir," he decided. "Trade the other two for sake."
I happily agreed. Finally, I gave a single Reward Medal to everyone else who had managed to secure at least one win during the division.
That concluded the Warrior Division. I was relieved that, once again, no one had been seriously injured.
We took a break before the Knight Division, which meant it was time for the main meal. Food service had actually been running since the start of the General Division. We had set up several stations in a buffet style—though it felt more like a collection of festival stalls. Everything was free and all-you-can-eat. We had set aside a dedicated dining area away from the stage, but it wasn't very popular; most of the guests preferred to bring their plates back to the spectator seats.
Sake was flowing as well, though I’d prohibited the participants from drinking until their matches were over. Since some people can't handle their liquor well, I made sure to warn everyone not to start drinking in earnest until the evening.
I had initially asked the High Ogre Maids and Civil Official Girls who weren't competing to serve Dos and the other VIPs, but the guests quickly started heading to the stalls to pick out their own food. Perhaps I’d provided too many varieties, but it was a festival, after all. The livelier the better.
I took the time to enjoy the meal myself. Since Lu and Tia were competing in the upcoming Knight Division, they had already finished eating and were off making their final preparations.
I wished them luck in my head while I enjoyed the festive atmosphere with Alfred, Tiselle, and the High Ogre Maids who were looking after them.