Lunamaria had appeared before Princess Lilianne, left her with those enigmatic words, and then vanished. An entire year passed without Lunamaria showing her face again, and eventually, Lilianne had all but forgotten the encounter.
Then, exactly one year later at the annual Martial Arts Tournament, Lunamaria returned.
"This is terrible, Division Commander!"
"What happened?" Lilianne asked, looking puzzled as a subordinate knight came rushing into her waiting room.
"Vi—Vice Division Commander Sieglinde... she lost!"
"What? Sieg lost? That’s impossible. Who in the world could have..."
Lilianne and Sieglinde were already in a league of their own. Within the Order of Knights—and even on a national scale—their combat prowess was unmatched. Lilianne was well aware of this, and she had been certain she would be facing Sieglinde in the finals again this year.
Thrown by the news, Lilianne immediately asked for the name of the victor. If anyone was capable of defeating Sieglinde, the only person within the Order who came to mind was the Knight Commander. However, the Knight Commander had already been inducted into the Hall of Fame after winning ten years in a row and no longer participated in the tournament.
"...It was the Black Lily. The adventurer known as Lunamaria of the Black Lily."
"Luna...maria."
The moment she heard the name, the image of the blue-haired woman from a year ago flashed through Lilianne's mind. Her hand naturally tightened around the hilt of her sword.
Before she could ask for more details, Sieglinde herself walked into the waiting room assigned to the Second Order.
"I’ve returned. My apologies, Lilianne... I lost."
"Yes, I just heard. Is she truly strong enough to defeat you? This Black Lily?"
"It’s less that she’s strong and more that she’s clever," Sieglinde admitted. "I was completely shut down. I’ve heard that because adventurers usually work in small groups, the elite ones have to be jacks-of-all-trades... and she was exactly that. It felt like she had memorized all my combat habits. She wouldn't let me fight the way I wanted to at all."
"She was that good?"
Lilianne knew Sieglinde's strength better than anyone. That was precisely why it was so hard to believe she had been neutralized so thoroughly.
As she listened to the details, Lilianne began to realize that Lunamaria was formidable in a very unorthodox way. She had perfectly read the properties and timing of Sieglinde’s Enchantment Magic. Throughout the match, she had performed masterfully—boldly discarding weapons to switch to others mid-swing or interfering with the exact moment of a spell’s activation to keep Sieglinde off-balance.
"Please be careful, Lilianne. You might have the advantage in pure physical ability, but she is a terrifyingly versatile opponent. You should go into this assuming you’re outmatched in terms of technique."
"I understand."
Lilianne nodded solemnly at Sieglinde’s warning. She picked up her greatsword and headed toward the arena.
The finals of the Martial Arts Tournament began. Standing before Lilianne—who had advanced through the brackets as expected—was Lunamaria, the woman who had toppled Sieglinde.
Lunamaria held a short spear in one hand and a shield in the other. Behind her, a massive array of weapons—swords, axes, and more—were thrust into the dirt. Since Magic Boxes were prohibited during the match, anyone who wanted to switch weapons according to the flow of battle had to lay them all out beforehand.
Seeing this, Lilianne acknowledged that this would be a troublesome fight, just as Sieglinde had predicted. She silently raised her greatsword into a combat stance.
Lunamaria had been quite talkative a year ago, but now she remained silent, as if honing her focus. However, the moment the referee signaled the start of the match, she finally spoke.
"It’s been a year, Princess."
"...I believe I told you my name."
"Oh, I remember it. Of course. It was Gorianne or something like that, right? A name perfectly suited for a crazy meathead."
"......"
Lilianne did not have a thick skin when it came to insults. As a princess, she simply never encountered anyone who would mock her so directly to her face. A vein throbbed on her forehead.
"Are you... ready?"
"Spare me the lecture. Just come at me, Princess."
"Why you!"
Incensed by Lunamaria’s irritating smirk, Lilianne kicked off the ground. Magic power crackled through her body like lightning as she lunged forward.
She closed the distance with staggering speed, but just as she reached her opponent, Lilianne fell straight into a pitfall trap—one Lunamaria had secretly dug with magic while they were talking.
"Pff... Hahaha! You fell for it! That was perfect! Tell me, how does it feel? 'Are you ready?' you said, acting all cool, only to fall into a hole like a complete moron. I’d love to know your thoughts!"
"......"
At Lunamaria’s relentless mockery, Lilianne sat in the hole, trembling with sheer rage. She tried to leap out in a fit of fury, but she slammed her head hard against a wall of air deployed like a lid over the pit.
"~~!?!?"
"You’re so simple. It’s almost adorable. You fall for traps exactly the way I want you to."
"I—I won’t forgive you! To use such cowardly tactics... I absolutely will not forgive this!"
With a face flushed with indignation, Lilianne shattered the air wall with a single swing of her sword and leaped out of the hole. Her eyes burned with a resolve to never show even a hint of carelessness again.
"How naive. You really are soft. Haven't you realized yet why I bothered with a pitfall?"
"What do you—"
"Too late! Look behind you! My Special Move Formula is already complete!"
"What!?"
Lilianne hurriedly spun around, but there was no such formula behind her.
"Just kidding!"
"Wha—!?"
Lunamaria’s dropkick slammed into Lilianne’s defenseless back, sending her skidding across the arena.
"Y-You! You coward!"
"I’d prefer you call it strategy. A win is a win."
By now, Lilianne looked like her head might explode from anger. Still, she forced herself to keep her guard up. She fired off a few magic bullets to confirm there were no more pitfalls in her path, then kicked off again.
Suddenly, her feet were yanked out from under her by grass that had wound around her ankles without her noticing.
"Wait, what?"
Stunned by another trap, Lilianne began to fall forward. Before she could recover, Lunamaria was right in front of her, swinging her arm wide. In her hand was a cream-covered pie.
"Got the perfect angle!"
"Why a pi—buho!?"
The pie slammed into Lilianne’s face, painting her features a stark white. An indescribable silence fell over the stadium. Lilianne wiped her face with her sleeve and screamed.
"What are you laughing at! I’m going to destroy you!"
"Heh, come and get me."
Sieglinde, watching from the stands, realized she was seeing an expression on Lilianne she had never witnessed before. Lilianne had always been precocious, for better or worse. She had never let her emotions explode like this. But now? As she lunged at Lunamaria with stubborn fury, Lilianne was angry... but she also looked like she was having the time of her life.
"You’re not half bad. In that case, let me show you my tonfa techniques!"
"That was a kick! You aren't even using tonfas!"
"Oh, I’m using them. If you can’t tell, you’re just a brat."
"I am not a brat!"
Lunamaria switched through her arsenal while they bickered, while Lilianne clashed her sword head-on as if they were in a common street brawl. They looked less like a princess and an adventurer and more like two old rivals.
The exchange continued until Lunamaria switched back to a spear. Lilianne let a faint smile cross her lips. She used the thrusting spear as a platform to leap into the air. Looking down at the surprised Lunamaria, she raised her greatsword high with a mischievous, innocent grin—the face of a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.
Seeing that expression, Lunamaria let out a quiet chuckle.
(That’s it... that’s the face I wanted to see.)
The two of them were actually smiling at each other in the heat of battle. Watching them, Sieglinde felt a pang of envy.
"I’ve got you now!"
"Too naive!"
"Wha—!?"
As Lilianne swung the greatsword down, Lunamaria threw away her own weapon and caught the blade between her palms—a bare-handed blade catch. It was the same move Lilianne had used in the previous year's tournament.
Lunamaria didn't have the raw strength to break the sword, so she simply twisted the blade, throwing Lilianne off balance. If they were on the ground, the difference in strength would have made this impossible, but Lilianne was in mid-air with no leverage.
A kick followed, slamming into Lilianne and sending her flying. However, the damage was minimal; she hopped back to her feet with a bright smile.
"The next one is going to hit."
"Fufu... so you can make a face like that after all, Lili."
"Li... Lili?"
"A nickname for Lilianne. Using nicknames is the trend in the city right now. Though I suppose a princess wouldn't know that."
"I did know! I knew that... really! I even call Sieg 'Sieg'!"
Snapping back stubbornly at the provocation, Lilianne looked entirely child-like. It was as if the true self she had suppressed beneath her royal duties had finally broken free.
"Well, I was lying about the trend, though."
"Y-You! I’m definitely taking you down! Get ready, Luna!"
"Luna... Luna, huh? Not bad. Very well, come at me, Lili!"
"Here I come, Luna!"
Raising her greatsword again, Lilianne charged with a genuine smile. Forgetting her royal status and the thousands of eyes watching her, she threw herself into the first "brawl" of her life.
???: "Hoh, as expected of Lunamaria-san—someone I highly evaluate. Those were masterful tonfa techniques."
Serious-senpai: "...Wait, she didn't use tonfas at all, did she?"
???: "While it may look like she was just carrying redundant equipment, there was an incredibly high-level psychological game at play. To not recognize that technique... you truly are third-rate."
Serious-senpai: "Wait, am I the crazy one here?"