I stood in a dedicated section of the spectator stands in the stadium at the foot of Village Five.
I was dressed in rather formal, stately attire.
To my left and right stood Yoko and Reginleiv, both dressed in their finest finery.
In terms of height... I was the shortest of the three, wasn't I?
I tried not to let it get to me, but I couldn't help but wonder if the visual balance was off.
While I was lost in those thoughts, Yoko began addressing the crowd.
"Our wish has been granted! This year, as you can see, the Village Head himself shall observe the proceedings!"
Thundering applause erupted from the stands.
Once Yoko signaled for the cheering to subside, the Flying Carpet approached me from behind.
It rose up and spread itself out; I leaned back against it.
The carpet caught me, molding its shape into a comfortable throne. Once seated, I crossed my legs with an air of feigned importance.
It didn't really suit my personality, but this was the sequence of actions we had decided on beforehand.
Yoko and Reginleiv nodded with satisfaction, and Yoko made her declaration to the crowd.
"I declare the start of the Village Five Martial Arts Tournament! Strive for excellence!"
The stadium broke out in massive cheers.
Despite what Yoko said, this wasn't actually the first time I had watched a tournament in Village Five.
Since the Village Five Martial Arts Tournament is held several times a year, I’ve had many opportunities to see it. In fact, I’ve watched pieces of it several times already. I hadn't watched one from beginning to end before, but I had definitely seen them.
However, the Village Five Residents hadn't recognized that.
Apparently, watching normally from the stands in my usual clothes didn't "count." So, I left the arrangements to Yoko, and it turned into this.
The Flying Carpet also seemed to want to show off its trick of transforming into a chair, so it was happy to cooperate. Honestly, it was impressive—and quite comfortable.
I worried briefly if its shape might collapse, but it seemed fine. I made a mental note to thank it later. If it got tired of flying, it could tell me; I didn't mind having a real chair placed behind me out of sight.
Reginleiv had gone out around the end of spring to escort Malbit and her group back to the Angel Race Village. The escort was only supposed to be for part of the way, but as most of us expected, she ended up going all the way to the village. It seems she was busy handling various matters there and only returned very recently.
I told her she could rest during this event, but she had insisted on participating. Unlike Yoko, who had lines to speak, Reginleiv was just standing next to me. I didn't think it would be very interesting for her, but I was grateful for the support.
Near the wall close to our seats, Tia was complaining to Lu.
"By rights, shouldn't I be the one standing where Lady Reginleiv is?"
"If you're going to say that, then it's also strange that I'm not in Yoko's position," Lu replied.
"That's because you were too immersed in your research, Lu, and didn't get involved in this event from the start..."
"That goes for you too, Tia. I know several of the mineral ingots I secured have gone missing."
"You've also taken several of the mineral ingots I secured, Lu. So we're even."
Even if they were "even," they shouldn't have been taking things without permission. Etiquette exists even among the closest of friends. I hoped they wouldn't forget that. I suppose I should praise them for not touching the ones Gatto secured, though... no, I guess that’s only to be expected.
The Village Five Martial Arts Tournament proceeded briskly. When I had watched before, I thought the pace was more laid-back. When I asked Yoko about the change, she replied, "It is because so many participants have gathered in hopes of being seen by the Village Head."
They were moving through the matches with a quick tempo to give as many people as possible a chance to show their skills.
I see.
Oh, a familiar face appeared. The Shop Manager of the Bronze Cafe—the Bronze Knight. He was as handsome as ever, drawing high-pitched cheers from the women in the stands. His opponent was a swordsman who clearly prioritized muscle, which only made the contrast more striking. That said, the muscle-bound swordsman had his own fans; deep, gruff cheers were flying out for him.
I cheered for the Bronze Knight in my heart. It's not that I disliked the other guy, but I had entrusted a shop to the Bronze Knight, after all. Still, it was a bit of a pain not being able to openly cheer for one side.
The match was won by the Bronze Knight. The muscle-focused swordsman had two moments where he could have turned the tide, but Reginleiv explained that the Bronze Knight had likely induced those openings to make the match look good.
I see.
Besides the Bronze Knight, the Silver Knight and Iron Knight also made appearances. Both of them won without any trouble. I wondered what criteria they used to decide the matchups, as the difference in skill seemed a bit too large.
Apparently, they took a page from the Village of the Great Tree and used a lottery. In that case, it couldn't be helped. Besides, the matches were in a tournament format; the bouts toward the end were bound to be worth seeing.
Next was the Exhibition Match.
Pirika appeared on stage. Her outfit was Japanese in style—or more accurately, she looked like a samurai. Even her sword was a katana.
"It was just gathering dust, after all," Yoko noted. Apparently, she had given it to her.
Her opponents were... twenty people?
Wait, those twenty people were wearing martial arts uniforms, but they were actually golems. Since they were golems, I wanted to ask Tia for an explanation, but she was gone. Only Lu remained in the seats by the wall.
Tia wouldn't just leave on her own, so that must have meant she was the one controlling those twenty golems.
Each of the twenty golems carried a weapon. They were shrouded in a strange light, suggesting they were magical armaments. Lu explained with a look of pride that she had prepared them. I thanked her, but I couldn't help but think that was a bit harsh on Pirika.
The Exhibition Match began. As expected of golems controlled by Tia, the twenty constructs moved like masters, surrounding Pirika and launching an assault with their magical weapons.
However, Pirika dodged the attacks by a hair's breadth, cutting them down with her blade. I finally understood why the opponents had to be golems. Had her opponents been flesh and blood, it would have been a bloodbath. Limbs were being severed as a matter of course, and heads and torsos were being sliced clean in half.
Since they were golems, they weren't rendered combat-ineffective just by losing a limb, but this was an exhibition match. They were judged as retired once incapacitated and left the stage. It felt more like a choreographed performance by Pirika than a real fight.
Regardless, Pirika had clearly become stronger. More importantly, I was glad to see she was doing well. I had been concerned about her ever since the incident with Galf. I had heard she had recovered, and it seemed that was indeed the case.
Has she been able to move on from Galf?
I applauded Pirika as she stood alone on the stage after defeating the last of the golems. Loud applause erupted from the spectator stands as well.
Wait. Pirika didn't look like she was going to leave the stage. Even the Announcer seemed a bit troubled. What was going on?
"Master Galf! Please, face me!"
Pirika called Galf to the stage. Since I was here, Galf had also come to the venue... and there he was, standing up and stepping onto the stage.
Pirika said this with a beaming smile: "The loser must obey one command from the winner, whatever it may be. That is my proposal."
Wait, what? Pirika, you haven't given up on Galf at all? Surely not...
Ah, hey, Pirika, don't egg on the spectators so that Galf can't refuse! Before I knew it, the golems had surrounded the stage, preventing Galf from stepping down. So Tia was in on this too. When I looked back, Lu was gone as well.
She’s on Pirika's side too, then.
Galf, don't accept it! Run away! There's no shame in it!
I quickly ordered Reginleiv to intervene as an intruder, leaving the match between Pirika and Galf unresolved.
Lu, Tia, and Pirika would be summoned later for a thorough scolding.
Yoko: (I shall not mention that I knew exactly what Pirika was up to.)
Reginleiv: "It was actually quite fun fighting the two of them."
Iron Knight: "To think my victory was summarized in the narration..."
Silver Knight: "The description was totally biased toward the Bronze Knight!"
Chelsea: "You should be grateful your name was even mentioned. Truly."