Six Captains, now including myself, and five Vice-Captains stood within the arena. Behind us, 180 soldiers from all of the different corps were arranged on the arena grounds.
The auditorium was filled with the nobles and citizens of the Empire.
The Imperial Family was sitting in the ceremonial seats in front of us.
Henceforth! The martial arts tournant of the three countries shall begin! [?]
-Waaaaaaa!
The green-haired Pri Minister, who was standing in between us and the Emperor, raised his voice while the audience cheered in unison.
The stage was set for the fight to determine the representative of the country four days from now.
I was currently in the waiting room given to the Knight Corps mbers, along with about 30 other people, waiting for my match.
Todays scheduled matches would determine the representatives of the Knight Corps and the Swordsn Corps.
At any rate, the number of participants in the qualification round was much larger this year.
It would be unreasonable to have everyone fight in one day, so two teams would fight each day, and the representatives would be chosen from each team. On the last day, the chosen participants would fight to determine the representative of the country.
The order of the matches was chosen by lottery. As such, day one was the Knight Corps and the Swordsn Corps, day two was the Archer Corps and the Spear Corps, and day three was the Mage Corps and the Fighter Corps.
The matches between the Knight Corps were currently taking place, and the matches for the Swordsn Corps were scheduled to happen afterwards.
The fights began at about 10:00 am and would last well into the night.
There was a festival taking place around the arena, so there were stalls selling food and drinks and it wasnt a problem to stay the whole day to watch.
I was selected early in the qualifying rounds, so I was quite pleased.
The sooner your round was over, the faster you could rest and observe the other corps.
Besides, speaking of all days
Knight Commander, Knight Squad Captain Luke. Your match is about to begin, please move to the entry gate. [?]
***Conrads POV***
I was sitting in the authorized military seating section of the arena, together with Adolf, Celestia, Brandon, and Amy.
Alice was watching with so school friends, so she was sitting with the general audience.
Although I did not know where Claude was, he was undoubtedly watching from sowhere.
Even though it happens every four years, it seems to be especially lively this ti. [Adolf]
Adolf, who was sitting next to , muttered.
Certainly. Wouldnt you say that there are more people than the last ti? [Brandon]
Brandon said with his arms crossed.
Indeed, there was a much larger crowd than there was four years ago.
Naturally! Its because the Black Knight is participating this year! [Celestia]
Celestia said proudly.
Amy nodded as she voiced her agreent.
Not surprising. The Black Knight is the hero of the Empire, the person who stood alone against and defeated a dragon. Everyone gathered to try to catch a glimpse of the hero. [Adolf]
Adolf said, in a convinced tone.
Hearing those words filled with a sense of pride.
Truly, that person was amazing.
In fact, there was never a mont when I was not amazed
-Waaaaaaaaa!
Suddenly, the crowd began cheering.
I looked up and, just as I expected, the contestants had entered the arena floor from the entrance.
Oh! The Black Knight is following along. [Brandon]
Brandon said when he saw the Commander.
Eh? Is the Black Knight carrying a wooden sword? The shape seems to have changed to a [Adolf]
Adolf tilted his head to one side.
That wasnt surprising.
The normal design of a wooden sword was a cross shape.
However, the Commander was carrying what looked like a long stick with a gentle curve.
When you looked at it closely, you could see that it was similar to Sakuya.
Its apparently referred to as a bokken. The Commander previously told that the cross-shaped sword was difficult to use and proceeded to build a wooden sword specifically for this day. [Conrad]
I gave a brief explanation.
By himself? Not a woodworker? [Adolf]
Adolf asked.
He said sothing about the image not being transmitted well [Conrad]
I recalled when the Commander had told about it while carving out the sword with wood working tools.
I showed the craftsman Sakuya and explained what I wanted, but the overall imageI ended up deciding to build it on my own. [Chie]
Was it because the explanation had not been clear enough? The Commander had worked on the sword with drooping shoulders, looking depressed.
But, it looks kinda lumpy. [Brandon]
Brandon muttered while looking at the wooden sword.
Brandon, do not say that to the Commander. The person himself seed quite sensitive about it. [Conrad]
I rembered a figure that breathed a heavy sigh upon the completion of the wooden sword.
About that? What kind of guy would have the personality to care about such small details? [Adolf]
-Beshi~tsu
As I was listening to Adolf, he was suddenly hit.
What are you [Adolf]
Adolf sent a sharp gaze toward Celestia while rubbing the back of his head.
Maybe he has a sensitive side to him. [Celestia]
Nevertheless, the Commander, who usually said things like its normal, beca so delicate that I had started to worry.
Besides, with the various things that had happened in the last six months, on top of coming to an unfamiliar place, it seed like an odd thing to be so worried about.
However, Alice
Even if you hide the gender, she is still a woman. [Alice]
said that with a smile on her face.
Apparently, it was difficult for a man to understand such things.
When I told her that I didnt understand
You just dont understand a womans heart, brother. [Alice]
She told with half-closed eyes.
What did that an?
(giggle) [Amy & Celestia]
For so reason, Amy and Celestia were laughing.
Itiscute. [Amy]
Truly. [Celestia]
What? [Three Clueless n]
We tilted our heads to the side, confused about what the two won were talking about.
***Claudes POV***
Its the Black Knight. [?]
Ah, finally. [?]
I was watching the matches with Alice and three of her school friends.
I didnt have work today, so I was wearing plain clothes.
I was wearing cream-colored pants with black leather boots, as well as a dark brown jacket over a black shirt.
When Chie saw my clothes before I left
You, your casual clothes are rather plain. [Chie]
is what she said.
Even I had normal looking clothes.
Everyone had at least one pair of ordinary clothesis what I would like to say, but Chie has never gone out in normal clothes.
Apparently, she wanted to hide her identity; her hair and eye color in particular.
Though, even I had no idea where she ca from.
I hadnt even heard of any rumors about people with that kind of hair and eye color.
Was she from a group of people that lived in hiding sowhere or sothing?
Claude? Is sothing wrong? [Alice]
Alice spoke to as I was engrossed in my thoughts.
Useless, useless. It was a rare chance to be with Alice outside of work. Thinking about these things was unnecessary.
Generally, it was unnecessary to dig any deeper into Chies background.
Uh, no. Its nothing. [Claude]
Hm? Is that so? [Alice]
I gave a slight laugh in response.
Its just that his opponent is poor. The battle will be over in the blink of an eye. [Claude]
I purposely diverted the topic.
Well, those were my sincere feelings though.
Certainly. Even a Squad Captain wouldnt be able to reach the feet of Black Knight-sama. [Alice]
Alice said without hesitation.
Really, Alice always thought about her master first.
To be honest, I envied Chie.
Oh~ [?]
In response to our conversation, one of Alices friends, who had short, blue hair and glasses, let out a voice.
Alice was wearing her maid uniform, while the other three were wearing their servant school uniforms: a white, one-piece apron over a brown servant dress.
They were wearing clothes ant for a normal student servant, unlike Alice, who was employed.
Alice was wearing a black dress with a white frilly apron. It was easy to tell that Alice had better quality clothes than the other girls.
It was certainly a lovely appearance.
Well, aside from that.
Eh? What is it, Ashe? [Alice]
Apparently, the girl with short, blue hair was called Ashe.
Even though we greeted each other a little while ago, she had not introduced herself.
I was worried about it until a mont ago, but it seems like your acquaintance here and the Black Knight have a close relationship? Forgive , but you dont appear to be a noble and dont seem to be a part of the military either? [Ashe]
The other two nodded, agreeing with Ashe.
Thats right! You and Alice seem pretty close! [?]
How to say it? Its like you received enough of an education but, at the sa ti, are still missing sothing? [?]
The girl with long green hair wrapped in a bun behind her head spoke first, and the girl with a black headband on her red, shoulder length hair followed up.
These two people carried an intense aura.
Honestly, I was weak to this type.
I liked elegant won, like Alice.
Though, sotis she scares
Alice, this girluhclassmateuh, friend is? [Claude]
I sohow managed to ask.
However, the girl with the headband and red hair
What this girl! Is that any way to address a lady?! [?]
She said sharply, with a red face.
As I thought, intense.
Okay, okay, calm down, Karen. Claude, this girl is Karen, a classmate and friend from the servant school. [Alice]
As Alice introduced her friend Karen and tried to calm her downI gave a slightly cramped smile.
Then, the girl with blue hair is Ashe, and the one with green hair is Lorna. They are also classmates and friends. [Alice]
Nice to et you. Call Ashe. [Ashe]
Lorna. [Lorna]
I had one thought as the three were introduced.
Their personalities were completely different.
Ashe gave off a quiet atmosphere, and as a friend of Alice, that was understandable.
However, the other two gave off a very intense atmosphere, so the fact that they were friends with Alice was hard to imagine.
Lorna seed to have a bit of a haughty attitude, while Karen was the type who would imdiately go ballistic.
It was definitely a strange combination.
Ladies, this is Claude. Hes a friend who I beca acquainted with through my relationship with the Black Knight. [Alice]
Alice introduced to the other girls.
Well, she didnt actually lie.
It was a fact that Chie and I are friends.
I also did et Conrad and Alice through Chie.
Please, your friend? This barbaric person? [Karen]
Karen made a bitter expression while pointing her finger.
This rude woman.
The other two girls were surprised and opened their eyes widely.
Hmphsorry for being so uncivilized. [Claude]
I retorted with a slight glare.
I expected this type of reaction, but it still didnt sit well with .
Uh, Alice? No matter how you explain it to us, you are joking, right? [Lorna]
Lorna asked Alice while trembling.
Now theres two rude won!
Hey, both of you [Ashe]
Ashe was trying to suppress the two.
Now, this girl seed sensible.
No matter what, its not a joke. [Alice]
Alice told them with a smile on her face.
The tension in the air between two strong won was unreal!
Ordinary won would be completely intimidated.
Rather than that, could you quiet down? I would like to focus on the match. [Claude]
I dropped the tone of my voice as I spoke to Karen and Lorna.
The three girls besides Alice gave a blank look for a few monts.
Although they seed to want to retort, they also appeared to be interested in Chies upcoming match.
We all turned our attention towards Chie, who was in the arena.
She was currently standing in the center of the arena, lightly shaking the wooden sword while waiting for the match to start.
To be frank, I already knew how the tournant would end.
I could confidently say that Chie would be the representative.
For that reason, I hadnt really co here to cheer, but to watch her fight.
Only Chie and I knew that we had once tried to kill each other.
We had beco friends after we trained together.
Well, we didnt do that as much recently.
For Chie, I wasnt her only training partner.
Since Chie began serving as a training officer, the amount of ti that we trained together has fallen.
Of course, it was also hard to get Conrad to train with , since he trained the other soldiers as well.
Well, another reason was that I was the Imperial Army Covert Investigator, and the only people who knew of my attachnt to the military were His Majesty, Conrad, Alice, and Chie.
I couldnt participate in general training, so my training partners had all but disappeared.
Since thats the case, Ill use what Im best at: observation.
However, Ive never seen Chie in a one-on-one battle.
One of the several covert missions that Chie and I set out on was a long-term mission to suppress thieves.
At the ti, it was believed by the general public that Chie had gone to subjugate so demons.
It was a thief suppression mission, so the battles naturally revolved around multiple opponents, and I was unable to witness a 1-on-1 fight.
Therefore, the tournant this ti was a precious thing that I would witness, no matter what.
Sotis, it frustrated to know that I would never be able to win against her.
I an, nobody had ever seen her get serious.
In other words, even though we had seen her fight before, her real power was unknown.
In the case of the thief subjugation as well, the only reason we were able to succeed was because of Chie.
Its not funny!
Just how amazing can she be!
She wouldnt mind this kind of thing, but I wanted to at least be comparable.
I rembered her figure that seed to be crushed by anxiety when it had been ti for her first mission.
On seeing such an appearance, I had called out to her.
However, she returned to her usual self shortly after.
After seeing such a thing, I finally understood.
She was just a normal person.
Everyone who lived in this city knew of her greatness, but it was different from the things that I knew.
Sure, Conrad and Alice could take pride in having known Chie ever since she first ca to the Capital.
However, that made want to beco closer to her.
I wanted to reach the point where we could entrust each other with our backs.
Conrad might have had similar thoughts, but he was only thinking as a subordinate.
The feelings were similar, but different.
That was my goal now.
For a person who used the word friend to describe a helpless assassin, it was only natural for a true friend to return the favor.
***Chies POV***
At the mont, I was standing on the arena grounds with a wooden sword, facing my opponent.
My opponent was Luke, a Squad Captain who had thick, dark gold hair and was about 180 Kuaito tall.
He wasnt an iken, but had a manly face with cool features.
He was equipped with chain mail, instead of plate armor and a helt.
His wooden sword had the shape of a cross.
The use of real blades in the tournant was prohibited to prevent death.
Mages were provided with a bracelet that acted as a type of magic limiter.
Well, it was a festival ant for fun, not for killing people.
I quickly made a wooden sword for this day.
However, because of my lack of knowledge in woodworking, the finished product left much to be desired
Commander! Best regards! [Luke]
As I gently swayed the wooden sword, dissatisfied, Luke bowed his head in a manner that clearly showed that he was nervous.
Hey, hey, even though its just a match, are you going to be okay?
Hey, hey, if youre so nervous before the actual match, you wont be able to fight properly, you know? [Chie]
I tried to encourage him to relax but
M-My apologies! Commander! [Luke]
It was useless. He was completely tensed up.
It cant be helped. Truthfully, I wanted a normal match, but looks like Ill have to change my plans.
Sotis, it was necessary for the Squad Captain to take the field on behalf of the Commander or Vice-Commander.
Well, the more dangerous missions were lead by the Commander or Vice-Commander, but for small punitive missions like goblin suppression, the Squad Captains usually served as a lead.
Even then, no matter how earnest the person was, the tension and anxiety to complete their duties and make precise decisions could take a toll.
Well, this young man had only recently beco a Squad Captain.
His skill with the sword was considerable, but if there was sothing that I could criticize, it was that he lacked the experience to lead people.
For that, he only needed the experience!
Therefore, my priority was to not make my opponent beco too tense.
Then, both contestants! Take your positions! [Referee]
In response to the referee uncle, Luke readied his sword.
He held the sword in his right hand and lowered his posture.
He held the long sword with one hand because we had many mounted knights who often used a weapon with one hand.
Mounted knights held the reins with one hand and the sword with the other.
Knights could also use lances, but most used a sword.
As I thought about such things, I clasped my sword tightly.
I held the sword with both hands, holding it to the lower right and behind . If soone looked at from the front, it would seem as if I was empty-handed.
Uh, that [Referee]
The referee let out a voice while noticeably perplexed.
On your command. [Chie]
I said to the referee.
To Luke, who was also perplexed, I said,
Luke, on the command, give it everything you have. [Chie]
Eh? Ah, but [Squad Captain]
Luke was more and more puzzled by my words.
Its fineco at with everything you have. [Chie]
Towards the end of my statent, I dropped the tone of my voice.
When he perceived that, his confused face suddenly tightened.
He seed to have switched to being combat-ready.
Good. Just like that.
ThenBegin!! [Referee]
The referee gave the command.
Just as I told him to, Luke kicked off the ground and charged at .
He attacked while brandishing the sword from above.
For a normal person in the military or a guild, it would look like a movent that was too fast to avoid.
However, I avoided it by pulling back.
Maybe it was within his expectations. Luke imdiately threw out attacks one after another.
Attacks converged on over and over from all sides.
I dodged each one.
Whats this, he can fight perfectly fine after all.
With this, its alright.
Well, about ti to finish this. [Chie]
!? [Luke]
After saying that, I created a little distance with a strong jump backwards.
I opened the distance between Luke and in an instant, while fending off an attack, which left Luke surprised.
Hey, hey, standing around surprised like that, youre leaving yourself open! [Chie]
!? Damn it! [Luke]
It was useless once an opening had been made. I quickly stepped to the front.
And
From below. [Chie]
I am defeated. [Luke]
Luke let out a voice of defeat as the tip of my sword stopped right before his throat.
T-The winner! Black Knight! [Referee]
Waaaaaa!
The referee announced the winner without managing to hide his surprise and amazent.
The audience gave an enormous cheer.
I removed the wooden sword
Thank you very much. [Chie]
and lightly bowed to Luke.
Ah, thank you very much! [Luke]
Luke also took a deep bow, attempting to mimic .
While my bow was about 45 degrees, Luke easily lowered his head to about 90 degrees.
In Japan, you only lowered your head 90 degrees for an apology, but since this wasnt Japan, I decided not to mind it.
The aning behind how much one lowered their head was a cultural difference that was unknown to this country.
It is best to react with good judgent and in a calm manner. [Chie]
! Yes!! [Luke]
Luke gave a reply as I walked away, in order to leave the arena grounds.
Though no one could see because of the helt, I heard him as I was leaving the grounds, and a smile spread across my face.
The training with Claude was totally worth it!
After I received this body from Amaterasu, my opponents movent always looked slow. However, even if my physical abilities were improved, it didnt an that complex and precise movent was possible.
Just because a humans stamina and strength are great didnt an that they could do anything.
After secretly observing soone for a ti, you could eventually read the signs and predict what actions and movent they might take.
It was originally a skill I got from Earth, where I observed the other person to find the precise opportunity to escape.
I never thought that the tactics I had used to avoid Yuusuke would be useful in a place like this.
When I was only recalling battles from manga, ani, and gas, I could only mimic the form.
With the help of missions and the training with Claude, I was able to incorporate everything in a battle and finished a decent style.
In fact, while I was attempting to train based on my own knowledge of how to fight one evening, I was approached by Claude.
Since it was offered and it was a good chance, I imdiately accepted.
Honestly, I could have trained with the soldiers, but then I would have wanted to hold back.
It wasnt like I was looking down on the other soldiers or anything.
My previous fight with Claude led to understand the level of the soldiers in the military, so I beca insecure.
However, I would never say that they were weak.
The difference in strength between Captains and Vice-Captains was still quite large, but most of the soldiers were at a more normal skill level.
Even when compared with Claude, the difference was clear.
You could say that Claude was at the level of a Captain.
No, maybe not yet.
Though he was inferior to Conrad, he could get a draw with a Captain if he was lucky.
It was because we fought each other one-on-one that I knew such things.
Therefore, I was comfortable with training together with him.
After training with him for so long, I began to understand his style better.
His best weapon was that he was fast and light.
He used acrobatic moves, and his speed sotis made you lose sight of his movents.
For training, Claude used a wooden cross-shaped sword and I used Sakuyas sheath for training instead of real weapons.
Incidentally, I put a barrier around us that made us invisible to people outside, since I trained in normal clothes.
After all, if I always relied on the defense of my armor, the training would have no aning.
Therefore, even if it was just a wooden sword, if it was aid at a vital point, I would still feel fear.
So, I studied.
It was a fight against an experienced human.
Claude might have been confident, but I always won the battle, even though I was also always desperate.
He was always frustrated, but it was vexing for too.
I am always being helped by him. He was strong both ntally and physically.
Conrad and Alice also supported greatly, but in the end, the relationship was still master and subordinate, and as such, I was the one they relied on.
If Claude had not stayed, it wouldnt be wrong to say that I would have been crushed by my position.
The only person whom I could rely on as a friend was Claude.
Therefore, I want to be comparable to him.
As for the current , even though it was a fake strength, I wanted to reach a point where I was able to support him.
For now, my goal was to beco an existence who, for the first ti, would be called a best friend.
As I returned to the waiting room, I clenched my sword even more tightly than before.
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