Main Tournament (2)

"Still though, the Demonlands has some really advanced magic tools, like this monitor."

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it in the Empire and I have no idea how it works. I wonder if an expert would know?"

After finishing his match, Wataru returned to the waiting room and made that comment while watching the monitor next to me.

I was just about time for Niku's match to start. Her opponent was a snake beastkin who was a poison first user.

(Although having limbs while being a snake seems strange, it's said that when they use a skill called "Complete Beastification," they transform into snakes.)

Even if it's through the monitor, I'll cheer for him.

"Um, Kehma-san. In the Demonlands, is using poison considered unfair or anything like that?"

Wataru asked me while pointing at the poison hand user who was facing Niku.

"Well, they say [If you don't have poison resistance and it affects you, it's your own fault]… Anyone participating in the main event should at least have poison resistance, so maybe the poison fist user is trying to lull them into a false sense of security by having another winning move?"

"I see… I wonder if we could call Kehma-san the leading expert in Demonlands culture research in the Empire at this point?"

"Hahaha, no way. Anyway, Wataru, there are plenty of people from the Demonlands all around us, so why don't you ask them instead of me? Why are you asking me?"

"Because they might say something like, [If you want to know, try beating me in arm wrestling first]."

"… They're making [I never thought of that] faces now. Your concern just became a reality."

Anyway, Niku kept avoiding all of the poison fist user's attacks and striking back, but her movements became slightly worse over time. If it weren't for me being used to seeing Niku fight, I would have missed it.

"Oh, Kuro-chan's movements suddenly slowed down. Did she inhale evaporated poison or something?"

Correction. Even without me, it wasn't missed. Is it normal for a battle professional to see something like that as [suddenly]? It just looked like she slowed down a little.

"… Well, maybe she's reaching the limit holding her breath."

"Wait, what?"

"I wonder if she's putting a constraint on herself by holding her breath, even though she could fight normally. Maybe she's being cautious of the opponent's poison."

"Kehma-san, are you saying that Kuro-chan has been holding her breath since the start of the match?"

"Apparently, breathing is a vulnerability. It'd make sense I guess."

"… With that sword technique, is it the Demon King Style?"

How perceptive. He was saying that I'm the leading expert on the Demon Country, but isn't Wataru more knowledgeable than me?

Eventually, even though Niku shouldn't have had any poison resistance, she ended up winning against the poison user without any issues.

When Niku came back, she was lively, wagging her tail back and forth. I patted her head, telling her she did a great job.

"By the way, are you okay? I thought I saw you getting scratched a bit. That was a poison attack as well, right?"

"I managed, somehow."

"Ah, okay."

Did she acquire poison resistance when she was training for the Demon King Style…? This girl's is becoming less and less human-like.

"Good job, Kuro-chan! That was a great fight!"

"Ah, Wataru, you didn't leave? Today, everyone only has one match, right?"

"How rude! Kehma-san and I were waiting for Kuro-chan's match to finish, you know?"

"Is that so? Thank you, Goshujin-sama."

"What about me!?"

In this main event, it was allowed to leave once their own match was over.

By the way, Sebas had already left quickly. He said he needed to do his daily training… I couldn't help but wonder if it was okay to leave the Ojou-sama's care to him, but well, that's probably just how it is.

"Anyway, we're planning on watching all of today's matches here."

"Really? Ah, I see. Rokuko-san was in the VIP seats, huh… It's more comfortable to wait until it's over rather than going in and getting taken away."

Yeah, if we messed up, we might be told to watch the matches next to the Great Demon King until the end. That would make my stomach turn, no matter how many times I layer it. I'll pass.

It was the strategy of [If we can't escape from the Great Demon King, then we shouldn't go to the battle in the first place].

"What do you plan on doing Wataru?"

"I'll join you. And let's go home together!"

So we decided to watch the remaining matches of the day together.

… Ah, by the way, we went home separately. After being eliminated in the first round, some people took this opportunity to challenge Wataru to duels. It's not like we'd let people use us as stepping stones to improve their skills, you know?

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Right, so we made it to the second day of the main tournament. Let's do our best today too! Yesterday was the first round of the main tournament, so there were a lot of people and we only had one match, but today we have two.

And if we made it through today, tomorrow will be the round-robin final with four participants. We definitely want to secure the runner-up prize, the [Divine Pajamas] by filling the spots with our own members.

At worst, we'd just need to negotiate and purchase it.

My opponent was a Dragonewt, who had the [Dragonification] skill that allowed him to transform into a mini-dragon. However, he was defeated without inflicting a single scratch on me.

After all, I'm a man who has defeated even ordinary dragons… I felt kind of sorry for him. Although he should have been strong, he was just a lizard about the size of a horse in front of the [Divine Blanket] and [Elemental Shot]. Perhaps I should say that he was about the size of a pegasus since he could fly…?

"By the way, Kehma-san, wasn't that magic you used yesterday amazing?"

"Yeah, but I won't tell you the details. I can't reveal my tricks to my enemies."

"Hehehe, I'm looking forward to our battle, Kehma-san!"

Following that, Sebas and Wataru won their matches as expected.

… Wataru had an intense battle with Gaigankin while consciously putting on a show for the audience. He was too composed.

As for Sebas… Contrary to Wataru, he won quickly without giving his opponent any chance to shine. It seemed that Aidi was giving him instructions on how to fight.

And then there's Niku…

"I'm sorry, I lost…"

"Ah, yeah. Good effort."

"It's too bad, Kuro-chan."

—she was defeated.

It's not that Niku did anything wrong; her opponent was simply stronger.

To be honest, I was somewhat relieved. Niku had become so strong that she was becoming less human-like and more like a demon or something. There was also the fear that she might suffer some irreparable injury somewhere.

"That magic swordsman was strong, wasn't he? Was that the Demon King Style?"

"Yes."

I thought that Niku had become much stronger recently after learning the Demon King Style, but she was no match for a more refined user of the style.

Still though, it felt like that magic swordsman was somewhat dishonest (though not as much as me). No, I'm convinced that he's the kind of person who shouldn't be participating in this tournament in the first place (though not as much as Wataru).

By the way, that magic swordsman was now in the waiting room, casting puzzled and impatient fervent glances at me from behind us… I secretly checked with Aidi using the mail function and there's no doubt about it. This person is someone we know.

Hey, should we talk later? Number 564?