High Elves, led by Ria, performed a parachute drop from Helze’s back as she soared through the clouds. After landing, they quickly retrieved their parachutes and gathered at Ria’s position before launching their assault on the fort.
The fort was a simple structure built in about three days, but the Lamias and Mountain Elves were well-entrenched inside.
...
While it was technically the opening of the martial arts tournament, it looked more like a military drill. It was certainly exciting, though.
"If we’d done this at night, we would have won..." Ria muttered afterward.
Because they failed to plant their flag at the designated spot within the time limit, Ria’s team lost by decision. They looked quite frustrated. Conversely, the victorious Lamias and Mountain Elves were beside themselves with joy.
That was all well and good, but now the fort had to be dismantled. Time to plow! Everyone started moving, making sure to clear out anything they didn't want broken.
The martial arts tournament officially began. Since the opening ceremony had run long, the matches didn't start until around noon.
This year, in addition to the usual General, Warrior, and Knight Divisions, we held the Hero Division—which consisted of exhibition matches—and the newly established King Division. The King Division was created in response to feedback that the exhibition matches were unsatisfying since participants could only fight once. Initially, we had planned a battle royal where everyone fought at once, but we switched to a standard tournament format because the former was simply too dangerous.
Since the dragons had almost all moved to the King Division, I wondered if the Hero Division would have to be canceled, but it seemed Kuro’s Children and Zabuton’s Children were ready to pick up the slack. I was grateful for their enthusiasm.
Once the fort was cleared, I took my seat to watch the matches. It was a relaxing position, but I found myself feeling restless, especially during the breaks. Normally, Lu or Tia would be there to keep me company, but they were working hard as referees to cover for the pregnant Hakuren and Rusty. Kuro and Yuki were also preparing for their matches in the King Division.
As a result, there was no one sitting beside me.
Wait, I wasn't entirely alone. Some of Zabuton’s Children were there—the ones about the size of a fist who weren't participating in the matches. I gave them a few strokes.
I’d hoped Alfred, Urza, and Tiselle would make it back for the tournament, but they hadn't arrived. Apparently, they were quite busy. While that was a good thing, I still felt a little lonely. Their letters mentioned they would return in the winter, so I decided to trust them and wait.
Gol, Sil, and Bron were also too busy to make the trip. They had even planned to bring their wives along, which made their absence all the more disappointing. Then again, I had to consider their wives' circumstances as well. I couldn't afford to be selfish.
Still, I couldn't help but wish the distance between the Demon Kingdom’s Royal Capital and the Village of the Great Tree was a bit shorter. I’d heard that without using Beezel’s or Progenitor-san’s teleportation magic, the journey from the Capital to Village Five—the nearest point with a teleportation gate—took about a month.
I wondered if there was a solution. My mind went back to the monorail I was planning for Village Five. I considered whether we could connect Village Five to Shashato City, and then extend it from Shashato City to the Royal Capital.
When I consulted the Civil Official Girls, they told me it would be extremely difficult but technically possible. However, they added that it would be impossible to operate properly because the Wooden Rails would constantly be stolen. I’d forgotten for a moment that timber from the Forest of Death was incredibly valuable.
"In that case, what if we used regular Iron Rails?" I asked.
They told me those would be stolen even more aggressively because iron was so much easier to resell. That was the bleak reality I’d been forced to confront just yesterday. I felt bad for troubling the Civil Official Girls with my questions while they were so busy with tournament preparations. I’d have to apologize to them during the Review Meeting.
Oh right, Progenitor-san and Fouche were also absent this year. Apparently, they were busy supporting a newly formed nation—the one established after the Gorunzen Kingdom fell, I assumed. I wished them the best.
The matches proceeded smoothly, and the First Round for the General, Warrior, and Knight Divisions concluded. Since the opening had taken up so much time, we called it a day and shifted into banquet mode.
The next day.
We held the Second Round and subsequent matches for the Knight Division, the Hero Division exhibition matches, and the King Division.
Kierbit won the Knight Division. To my amateur eyes, she seemed to have become much stronger and more stable than in years past.
In the Hero Division, we saw matches between Kuro’s Children and Zabuton’s Children, as well as bouts between Lu and Tia, and Granmaria and Razmaria. The fight between Lu and Tia went the same way it always did. Rather than saying Tia won, it was more accurate to say she was the only one still standing at the end.
As for Granmaria and Razmaria... Granmaria likely had more raw power, but Razmaria completely dictated the pace of the match. Granmaria struggled, unable to find an opening to use her strength. Kudel and Corone remarked that it was more of a "teaching match" by Razmaria. Razmaria claimed the victory; apparently, she wasn't the type to go easy on her own daughter.
Then came the King Division. The Demon King had been entered into the bracket without any say in the matter. He didn't complain, though. He simply sat there in deep concentration, preparing for the drawing of lots.
I was surprised to see Pirika participating in the King Division. It turned out she was Mark’s recommendation. Mark had yielded his own spot, claiming she was now as strong as the Sword Saint of Two Generations Prior and that there was nothing to worry about.
I couldn't help but wonder if he was just using Pirika as a shield to avoid participating himself. When I looked at him, the sweat was pouring off his forehead. I see—no matter if he won or lost, his position would have made things complicated. Then again, weren't there other participants who had even more complicated positions? Oh well. Since he recommended her, I expected him to support her.
The King Division participants were Kuro, Yuki, Zabuton, Dos, Raimeiren, Giral, Guronde, Draim, Graffaloon, Domaim, Kuon, Kuorun, Sekiren, the Demon King, Pirika, and Yoko. It had been adjusted to exactly sixteen people. Despite the number of married couples, the pairings were decided entirely by a fair drawing of lots.
The highlight was definitely Pirika. Her First Round match was against the Demon King. He looked incredibly lively and formidable, yet Pirika held her own against him. Watching the two of them fight, I realized Mark’s recommendation hadn't been an exaggeration. In the end, however, the Demon King emerged victorious.
"Ow, ow, ow... that sword really hurts," the Demon King said with a grin as he received healing magic.
Come to think of it, Pirika’s sword had been forged by Wilcox. Gatto had been quite depressed after seeing Wilcox’s work, though he went right back to forging like a madman the next day.
Also, Wilcox... you used one of Guronde’s Scales for that sword, didn't you? I did say you could use whatever materials you liked, but I assumed you meant things like Magic Iron Powder. I wasn't angry, and I wasn't going to take it away, but I told him to please give me a heads-up before using Guronde’s Scales in the future. Gucci always looked so stressed whenever it happened. Peace was better for everyone.
Raimeiren won the King Division. It seemed Hiichiro’s cheering had given her the edge she needed. Kuro had defeated Kuorun and Yuki had beaten Domaim, but in the next round, Kuro lost to Giral and Yuki lost to Raimeiren.
Good, good. I was just glad there were no major injuries. I’d prepared several World Tree Leaves for Pirika’s treatment, but healing magic proved sufficient. I didn't want the leaves to go to waste, so I decided to give them to Lu later.
After that, we had the usual banquet and optional Free Battles. I felt this year’s tournament was a great success.
During the Free Battles, Pirika challenged Galf but was unable to defeat him.
"How?" she asked, bewildered.
"Reading an opponent's intent is the absolute basics of the basics," Galf replied. "There’s no way I’d lose to someone who only picked it up a few days ago."
"So that means..."
"It means you still have plenty of room to grow."
"Right!"
"Also, I watched your match. You’re lacking a finishing move."
"A finishing move... I’ll work on it!"
It looked like Galf’s pride as a mentor had been preserved.