Chapter 152

Naturally, countless people flocked to the dueling tournament. It was almost as if, with some exaggeration, everyone in the capital had come.

There were so many participants that the preliminaries alone took a full three days. A diverse range of people participated, from swordsmen to those wielding spears, bows, whips, and all sorts of weapons, competing against each other in martial prowess.

The spectator seats were also sold out. For people living with the constant anxiety of not knowing when magical beasts might attack, such a spectacle was an opportunity to escape their worries and focus their minds elsewhere.

The tournament was in a knockout format, where the winner of a one-on-one duel would advance to the next round.

"Where is the dragon? The seat is empty."

Spectators entering the arena first cast their eyes toward the special seat prepared for the dragon, but it was completely empty.

"He watched the first match and then left, saying it was boring. But I saw him. His appearance was truly indescribable, making it impossible not to believe he wasn't human."

"What? I wanted to see him too..."

"But he'll probably come to watch the finals. The winner of the finals will face His Majesty, right?"

"Well, His Majesty's martial prowess is well-known. He's the kingdom's finest swordsman. The key is who will make it to the finals."

The spectators briefly engaged in a war of words, naming those who had stood out in the preliminaries. The debate only ended when the whistle announcing the start of the tournament sounded again. The spectators' attention turned to the arena.

"Whoever makes it to the finals, it definitely won't be that guy. He's so small and thin that he looks like he'd fly away if his opponent just nudged him. How did he even pass the preliminaries?"

"His opponent must have been an even worse stick figure. I mean, such one-sided matches aren't fun at all. Instead of drawing lots, they should match opponents according to weight class!"

Both expectant and disappointed, the spectators focused on the duel. However, the reaction to this match was more subdued than before. This was because the weight difference between the two competitors who appeared in the arena was too great.

"It's like watching a child fight an adult."

Everyone nodded at someone's remark as they clicked their tongue.

This tournament's fighter was a man with such a massive build that he could be mistaken for a bear, while his opponent, a young man with brown hair, was so slender that he seemed barely half the size. Moreover, the bear-like man was holding an axe almost as large as his opponent, making him look even more threatening.

"Tsk, tsk, we're going to see some blood again this time."

The royal palace had announced that killings in the dueling tournament would not be legally prosecuted. Furthermore, participation wasn't limited to knights, resulting in a high participation rate of mercenaries and criminals. For these reasons, extremely cruel scenes occasionally unfolded.

Particularly in cases where there was a significant skill gap between opponents, cruel sacrifices often occurred. This was because quite a few participants wanted to intimidate their next opponents in advance.

"Plus, that axe-wielder is Gale! He's the one who killed his opponent in the preliminaries by splitting his head in half with one axe blow. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me queasy."

"Gale? I've heard that name too. Isn't he the one who's been committing all sorts of atrocities for money since his guild disbanded? That young man really met the wrong opponent. He'd be better off just forfeiting."

However, no one called for a forfeit, and the match began.

People thought that the massive axe would soon split the poor young man's head in half.

"Huh?"

"Wh-what?"

But a completely unexpected situation unfolded.

As soon as the whistle signaling the start of the match sounded, the man with the axe fell to his knees.

What's going on? Why did he suddenly kneel?

The puzzled spectators only realized that the man had died after he collapsed with a thud.

The referee, who approached the man to check his condition, soon raised the flag.

"The winner is Kor!"

The brown-haired young man sheathed his sword and turned to leave. His retreating figure leaving the arena seemed so composed, as if nothing had just happened.

The spectators were bewildered.

"What on earth was that just now?"

"Did he use a sword? Or a hidden weapon?"

"Did he perhaps sprinkle some poison powder?"

No one could answer such questions. This was because none of them had seen exactly what the young man had done.

However, some participants with good eyesight had seen it. The young man hadn't used means like hidden weapons or poison powder. He had simply swung his sword so quickly that it couldn't be seen.

They realized that this young man was a strong candidate for the finals.

* * *

At this hour, the brown-haired young man who was receiving the most attention was wrapping a bandage around his injured shoulder in his room.

Chirp! Chirp!

"It just grazed the skin. Don't worry."

The young man, who whispered to the small bird circling around him as if nagging, skillfully finished wrapping the bandage and put on his shirt.

In fact, upon visual inspection, he realized the wound was deeper than he had thought. It was fortunate that it was on his left shoulder, which he didn't primarily use.

Though his opponent's skill was also remarkable, it wasn't really a major problem. The young man had rarely experienced difficulties in one-on-one combat when facing humans. If he hadn't suddenly felt dizzy at the crucial moment, he wouldn't have been injured to this extent.

Chirp!

At that moment, the bird let out a loud cry and then quickly slipped into the young man's upper garment.

"Huh? Why are you suddenly doing that? Come out."

The young man wondered as he felt around his chest. Normally, the bird would have come out with this much coaxing, but it didn't. As if it was hiding from something frightening.

Could it be.

"How dare you slip in there."

Before he could turn his head to confirm who it was, two hands reached out from behind and felt over his clothes.

Chirp, chirp! Chirp!

"J-just a moment, please."

"Stay still. I'll catch it for you."

Though the young man tried to stop him, the large hands that abruptly entered by opening his upper garment roughly felt his bare chest.

What was this.

The young man, suddenly subjected to what felt like molestation, was at a loss for words. No matter how much his senses had dulled, it was impossible not to feel anything when his chest was being kneaded like this. Above all, the visual form entering his eyes aroused the young man's sense of shame. To be randomly groped by someone standing behind him, whose face he couldn't even see.

The ears of the young man, who had maintained a composed expression throughout, turned bright red.

"Lord Asad, please stop..."

Finally, unable to overcome his embarrassment, the young man pleaded while grabbing the other's wrist. A low laugh was heard, and then the hand withdrew from inside his clothes. In the hand was a small ball of fur.

"Caught you, you little thing."

Chirp, chirp.

"Why do you always dart away when you see me? I told you to stay quietly beside him."

Chirp, chirp.

"I know you can talk and are deliberately chirping."

"Please don't torment it too much. And I know Lord Asad deliberately didn't catch it and was just playing around."

"You're quite perceptive."

Asad chuckled and released Chirpy. Chirpy made a pitiful crying sound and perched on top of the bookshelf, as far away from Asad as possible.

While quickly rebuttoning his shirt, the young man spoke.

"And it's problematic for you to come looking for me like this. Didn't I tell you? Our plan is..."

"Nine."

"Yes?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. I know you're injured."

The hands that had been quickly fastening the buttons slowed down. The young man, Kinaine, raised his head to face Asad. He had been trying to dress quickly because Asad seemed unaware, but he had already been caught.

Asad was looking at him with his arms crossed. Though the room temperature remained the same, judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be in a good mood. Only then did Kinaine realize that the reason Asad had just played that prank was an attempt to lighten his own mood.

"Did you watch the match?"

"Well, I could say I did if I did."

If he saw it, he saw it, and if he didn't, he didn't—what kind of ambiguous answer was that?

"Let me see."

"It's not a serious injury..."

No magic was needed to undo the buttons he had diligently fastened. Asad, who had stripped off the shirt as if tearing it, stared at Kinaine's shoulder. Kinaine cast a forlorn glance at the buttons rolling on the floor.

"Nine, it's good that you're trying to recover the horned tribe's guardian spirit, but your plan is terrible."

Asad criticized harshly. As he reached out and stroked the brown hair, the color began to darken from that spot, as if ink had been poured on it.

The transformation back to his original appearance from 'Kor,' the tournament participant, happened in an instant.

"So let's just go with my plan."

"Lord Asad's plan? ...What is it?"

Asad answered confidently.

"First, we kill him, then we take the guardian spirit."

Just as he had expected.