Academy Tournament.
This annual event garners significant attention from outside the Academy. It allows people to gauge the level of the cadets in advance and identify which graduates might be Talented Gems.
As a result, knights representing various territories and scouts from organizations flock to watch the tournament.
There are even rumors that ticket sales during this time account for the largest portion of the Academy’s revenue.
“So? Any promising rookies this year?”
“Not really.”
“Why? I see some Skillful Individuals.”
“Most of them are already affiliated with other organizations. That Big Man over there, Hundred from the first year, belongs to the Iron Mercenary Squad, and that Large-Breasted Girl over there is…”
Of course, the Academy isn’t a place one can easily enter just because they’re a Talented Gem. Those who stand here are mostly Geniuses who have shown promise from a young age or elites who have undergone rigorous training.
By the time the scouts discover a talent and try to make their move, someone else has usually already snatched them up and won’t let go.
Nevertheless, the reason they still come to the tournament is precisely……
“Hmm? That guy……”
“What? Do you know him?”
“No, I feel something, but I’m not sure.”
It’s often the case that hidden gems unknown to anyone are discovered at the Academy.
─Match Start!
Kaboom-!
─Th, The match is over! The winner, Arthur!
“……Ho.”
The thrill of discovering that gemstone is a sensation not easily felt elsewhere.
* * *
“Kail!”
“Arthur, good job.”
After the first match ended, I headed to Arthur’s waiting room. There was a sign prohibiting entry except for those involved, but if Arthur and I aren’t involved, then who is?
Arthur, who greeted me, plopped down into a chair and trembled his hands as if he couldn’t believe the skill he had just displayed.
“Phew…… I’m nervous.”
“You won, so what’s the problem?”
“Can I do it again next time?”
“What’s stopping you?”
With a chuckle, I lightly punched Arthur’s chest with my fist and reassured him to ease his tension.
“─You can do it. Trust me because I trust you.”
“Kail……”
“And anyway, even if you don’t win the championship, you’ve already beaten Hundred.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Didn’t you say something about a bet……?”
“Did I mention that? Truly a manly man.”
I let out a few dry laughs thinking about how Hundred kept displaying actions that were both petty and unmanly, then patted Arthur on the shoulder.
Winning the first match could be chalked up to luck, but I didn’t think he could breeze through the second and third matches without any problems.
The fact that she, an Aura User, could use the Eightfold Art was already widely known, and unless people were fools, they’d devise strategies to counter her.
“Don’t worry too much. Unless they’re Expert Level, they won’t be able to land a single blow on you, and in terms of endurance, you’ll definitely have the upper hand, so take it slow and gradually wear them down.”
“Wear them down, huh……”
─Cadet Arthur, please prepare for your next match.
“Ah, Yes!”
At the sound of the referee’s voice from outside, Arthur responded energetically and stood up. Whether from the recoil of using the Eightfold Art or the nervousness of standing before people, her hands were still trembling.
Seeing this, I grabbed her hands, interlaced our fingers, and looked her in the eye.
“Cheer up. I’m heading out.”
“A, Ah-? Uh, okay! Th, Thank you……”
“No problem. If you win the championship, we split the prize.”
Lightly waving my hand, I left the waiting room and walked down the corridor toward the stands. After walking for a while, I encountered a large man standing in the middle of the hallway far ahead.
That nameless man occupied the center of the corridor alone, and it seemed like I would inevitably bump into him if I tried to pass, so I politely asked:
“Excuse me, could you please move aside?”
“……Are you Arthur?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Hmm. I see. She’s a girl, after all.”
“I understand, so could you please move……”
As I naturally tried to pass by him, I sensed something strange and looked at him. How does this guy know Arthur is a girl?
When I stared at him intently, he glanced at me sideways and moved aside. His demeanor seemed to urge me to hurry past, but instead, I stopped where I was and leaned against the wall.
‘A Power Capacitor? But his body is too……’
Looking at his overly developed trapezius muscles, one could tell he had trained systematically for a long period. However, his muscles were slightly twisted to one side, and from that twist alone, I could deduce what kind of person he was.
‘He uses a bow. And he’s very skilled.’
The power of a bow depends on its bow string, and the tension of the string increases with the archer’s strength. The larger the archer’s back muscles, the stronger the bow they can draw, meaning an archer with such enormous muscles is a very threatening presence on the battlefield.
Perhaps noticing that I was staring, the man belatedly started looking at me.
“Anything you want to say?”
“Which territory’s scout are you from?”
“Scout?”
“Not one? I assumed so since you were lingering around here.”
“─A scout, yes. I am indeed a scout.”
As he spoke, the man began sizing me up from head to toe. Wondering if it was some occupational habit of a scout, I saw him suddenly flinch and glare at me intently.
“You……”
“What?”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Kail. And you are?”
“My name is Kaines. Kail─ would you like to come with me?”
“……What?”
Staring at Kaines, who abruptly tried to recruit me, I wore an expression of disbelief.
What the heck is this sudden nonsense?
* * *
Second Match.
Arthur’s opponent was a Sorcerer.
At this moment, Arthur inwardly sighed in relief.
‘Thank goodness.’
The Sorcerer who had implanted the dragon’s heart into her, the same Sorcerer who sent her to the Academy, had told her she had become an existence akin to a natural enemy to Sorcerers.
The dragon’s heart, which emitted astonishing amounts of energy resources every moment, naturally possessed considerable Magic Power, and considering Arthur was an Aura User, that Magic Power would increase even more.
Thus, he said that ordinary-level Sorcerers wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on her. True to his words, that’s exactly what happened.
“Match Start!”
Boom-! With the sound of the drum signaling the start of the match, Arthur simply endured and withstood the magic attack aimed at her with her body. Though it wasn’t a large impact for her, it clearly was for the opposing Sorcerer.
Shocked by the absurd countermeasure of blocking a perfectly executed spell with just her body and charging forward, the opposing Sorcerer could only blankly watch as Arthur rushed toward him.
Upon reaching him, Arthur lightly pushed him over with her shoulder and placed her sword at his neck, ending the match.
“Match Over─! The winner, Arthur!”
“……Good work.”
“G, Good work.”
Ignoring the Sorcerer’s dumbfounded expression, Arthur exited the arena. Clerics waiting outside came running to check if she was injured.
Realizing she was fine despite taking the magic head-on, the Clerics looked at her in disbelief as she returned to the waiting room.
Unfortunately, Kail didn’t come this time. Perhaps he thought there was no need to visit again since he had come earlier.
“Haa……”
Leaning against the wall, Arthur sighed while waiting for Kail when she heard a knock on the door and quickly stood up.
“Yes-.”
─Excuse me. Cadet Arthur, you have a guest…….
“A guest?”
If it were Kail, they wouldn’t have referred to him as a guest─ Arthur tilted her head in puzzlement and replied that the visitor could enter.
The door opened, and the so-called guest entered. Though it was a face she had never seen before, Arthur sensed from his presence that he was no ordinary person.
“Nice to meet you, Cadet Arthur.”
“Ah, Yes.”
“I apologize for the sudden visit. But these kinds of matters are better dealt with swiftly.”
The man lightly smiled and revealed the purpose of his visit to Arthur.
“Would you like to join our Imperial Palace Knight Order?”
“……Huh?”
It was an invitation to join the most prestigious Knight Order in the Empire.
* * *
“─So, you want me to team up with you?”
“Yes.”
Kaines spoke and revealed the name of his organization.
“I am the ‘Bow’ of the Holy Weapons, Kaines. I recommend you as the ‘Sword.’”
Hearing his words, I fell deep into thought.
Holy Weapons?
……What kind of unheard-of organization is that?
