The martial arts tournament in the Village of the Great Tree was traditionally held after the autumn harvest, intended to be part of the seasonal festivities. However, as the event grew in scale, the timing became a logistical nightmare.
The feedback came primarily from the civil official girls.
"Trying to manage the tournament during our busiest harvest window is just too much," they had argued.
Frau had translated for them more bluntly: "Hosting it at the usual time is simply impossible."
That was last year. Taking their words to heart, we moved the tournament to the period just before the autumn harvest starting this year. As for the harvest festival itself, we could always figure something else out later.
Since we had sent out the invitations, the usual crowd gathered. The Demon King arrived with the Four Heavenly Kings in tow, accompanied by the three beastman boys and the High Elf, Rigne.
The Demon King made a show of rejoicing over his reunion with his daughter, Yuri... though he visits the village so often to see the cats that the sentiment felt a bit forced.
The Four Heavenly Kings—Randan, Beezel, Gratz, and Hou—were all present. Wait, was it just my imagination, or was one of the beastman boys standing suspiciously close to Hou? I wondered what was going on there.
Looking at the three boys, I realized they had suddenly grown into young men. They looked much sturdier than before.
Then one of them got flattened by a tackle from Urza.
"What happened?" I asked. "You used to be able to stop her head-on."
"No, it’s just... Urza’s gotten bigger, and her power is on another level..."
Is that so? I hadn't thought she had grown much, but looking at her now... yeah, she had. Since we are always together, I hadn't noticed the gradual change. It was quite moving to see her growing up.
Progenitor-san and Fouche arrived next, bringing a new face with them—a knight clad in gleaming, high-end plate armor.
"This is Schneider Ifka, a Holy Knight serving the Church," Fouche introduced. "She was adamant about participating in the tournament, so I brought her along. I’ll vouch for her personally, so please grant her entry."
Since the request was made properly at the village entrance, I gave my permission. Then, I pulled Progenitor-san aside.
"Is there a problem with this person?" I asked. I assumed there must be some hidden reason he had brought a stranger along.
"No real problems," Progenitor-san replied. "It’s just that she’s the type who lives to find opponents stronger than herself. I was worried she would go on a rampage if she stayed cooped up in the Church, so I let her tag along. I should have asked for permission in advance; my apologies."
It was hard to complain when he was being so polite. A few extra guests didn't bother me, anyway. I figured he just hadn't had time to send word.
"Also, she’s a woman," Progenitor-san added. "The armor hides it well, but she’s not a 'he'."
"My apologies... Her name is Schneider?"
"Her real name is Chelsea. She has a bit of a complex about being a woman, so try not to bring it up."
Understood. I would be careful.
"One more thing," he said. "She’s one of the Heroes the Church has identified. Not a figurehead, but the real deal."
"...Is it okay to have her here with the Demon King?"
"She’s a Holy Knight under my direct supervision, so she doesn’t have that 'slay the Demon King at all costs' mentality. Besides, even if she did try something, the Demon King would probably just swat her away. I’ll step in if things get out of hand."
I certainly hoped there wouldn't be any trouble.
As for Schneider, she was busy alternating between screaming and fainting at the sight of Kuro’s and Zabuton’s children. Yeah, she seemed like she would be fine.
Dos, Raimeiren, Giral, and Draim were also on hand. Giral, Raimeiren, and Draim had actually been in the village for a bit already, helping out with the harvest.
The three dragons of the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race were currently flat on their bellies in their dragon forms, completely prostrate before Dos. They didn't move a muscle.
Dos looked down at them and said a single word: "Could you three actually beat Dandaji?"
The three who had been motionless suddenly flinched.
"Who’s Dandaji?" I whispered to Hakuren.
"He’s the reigning champion of the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race. An Ice Dragon, if I recall."
"The strongest? Wait, weren't those three competing for that title?"
"They’re competing for the 'Demon Dragon' title, but Dandaji is the strongest among their race as a whole."
"...I see." I realized I had almost underestimated the strength of the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race by using those three as a baseline.
"Just how strong is this Dandaji?"
"He’s powerful enough to trade blows with Draim. You can take Draim’s willingness to stand his ground against him as proof of his strength."
"Sorry, but how strong is Draim exactly?"
Hakuren laughed. "From your perspective, Village Head, Draim, Dandaji, and those three are all pretty much the same."
I was fairly certain Draim was stronger than those three, but I didn't press the issue.
Two former members of the Four Heavenly Kings arrived from Village Five. The Death Knight came from the hot spring, while the Lamia Race arrived from the Southern Dungeon and the Giant Race from the Northern Dungeon.
It was the usual crowd. People from Village One, Village Two, Village Three, and Village Four gathered as well.
In the past, only Kuro’s and Zabuton’s children held their own informal preliminaries, but starting this year, we decided to hold official preliminaries for everyone. The number of participants had simply grown too large. Both the General Division and the Warrior Division adopted a tournament format to narrow the field down for the main event.
...Wait, were those three dragons from the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race really competing in the General Division?
I checked with Giral, and he said that was the right place for them. I wasn't going to stop them, provided they stayed in their human forms.
As it turned out, all three were eliminated in the preliminaries. Every one of them was punched out by Urza.
There was no foul play in the brackets. It was all a matter of luck. Pure, unadulterated luck.
Aegis, the phoenix chick, was currently comforting Ojes of the Flame Dragon clan, who had the misfortune of drawing Urza in the first round.
Then there was the Holy Knight, Schneider. She had been caught in a joint lock by a lizardman child and reduced to tears. Now, she was seeking solace by hugging the Sake Slime.
I didn't really mind, but she probably shouldn't bury her face in it like that. The smell of the alcohol alone was enough to make her drunk.