Chapter 178 - Episode 172: The Commemorative Festival ③
As the Le Gimli Tournament progressed through the first, second, and third rounds, fatigue accumulated in the participants who had fought consecutive matches. Therefore, to allow the top qualifiers to rest, exhibition-style matches were also held.
One of these exhibition matches was for women only. There were only a few slots available, but since all of them were beastwoman soldiers, they put on a powerful display of combat that was every bit as intense as the men's.
"Hah!"
"Uwaaaa! ...I-I lost."
The one who secured victory in the finals without taking much time was Matilda, the adjutant and direct bodyguard of Lord Noein. After receiving a kicking technique from her leap, a tigress soldier collapsed.
"Oh... even with that difference in physique."
"As expected of the Lord's bodyguard..."
The spectators looked on with admiration at Matilda, who had easily defeated an opponent two heads taller than herself.
"Ouch... As expected of Matilda-san. I couldn't win at all."
"No, I believe you were quite well-trained yourself... It is just that I continue my training on a daily basis."
Matilda and the woman soldier exchanged words. Although Matilda's status was that of a slave, because of her position, there was no longer anyone within the Arqvist territory who treated her as an ordinary slave.
Matilda had assumed she would naturally win this time, and she did indeed win.
She had a natural talent for combat arts to begin with, and furthermore, she had been receiving regular instruction from the Chief Retainer Yuri for the past few years. Behind this was a sense of mission—that she had to be strong in order to protect Noein. Now, even Yuri acknowledged that her strength was considerable.
That was why she did not boast of her victory recklessly, but internally, she felt happy that she had been able to show those around her that she was a fitting existence to protect Noein.
"Good work, Matilda. You did well."
The one who spoke to Matilda was Noein, who had gone out of his way to descend from the platform to watch her fight up close. At the direct praise from her beloved master, Matilda dropped to one knee and bowed her head.
"Thank you, Noein-sama. This victory is also a testament to my loyalty to you."
"I receive your loyalty once again. Matilda, you are my pride."
Noein spoke clearly in front of the residents, intentionally so they could hear him. Although Matilda's expression did not change and she remained motionless, she was filled with a joy that made her tremble internally.
I can't shower Matilda with affection right now because of the situation, but tonight, I'm going to praise her, pet her, and dote on her like crazy...
Meanwhile, Noein was thinking such things.
.....
As another exhibition part of the Le Gimli Tournament, there was a minors' division for those aged 10 to 14.
There were 16 slots for this division. Boys boasting of their strength gathered, ranging from children of soldiers to children of farmers and children of slaves.
Among them, there was one who, despite being small, fought well and advanced to the semifinals. It was the dialogue mage and honorary retainer, Konrad.
"Tei!"
Konrad boldly dove into the space of an opponent who was older and larger than himself, grabbing him by the waist. He made it look as if he were pushing the opponent down—then, suddenly bracing his feet, he pulled the opponent toward himself.
"Uoh!? Dangerous!"
Just as Konrad intended, the opponent stumbled forward. It looked as if the opponent would simply fall, but...
"Damn it!"
"Gyah!"
The opponent instinctively grabbed Konrad and pulled him close, falling on top of him. Since Konrad was the one who hit the ground first, it was the opponent's victory.
"That was close. Hey, are you okay, Konrad...-sama?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Also, please stop with the '-sama'."
"No, but you're already a retainer serving Noein-sama, and you're a mage-sama..."
Konrad gave a wry smile at the words of the boy he had fought, with whom he had often played in the past.
"Public settings aside, please talk to me like you used to in times like this."
"I-is that so? True... still, you've gotten strong."
"I'm an irreplaceable asset. I'm being trained by the Chief Retainer-sama so that I can protect myself when the time comes."
Not letting oneself die is also one of a mage's jobs. Konrad was now receiving combat training for self-defense.
"I see. Being a mage is tough too... well, I won this time, though."
"Hahaha, I thought it was a pretty good fight."
Konrad had heard that the opponent boy, valued for his blessed physique and athletic ability, would join the territorial army upon reaching adulthood. Konrad thought that fighting well against such an opponent was a success in itself.
Just then, Konrad's childhood friend, a young girl, came running over.
"Konrad-kun, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thank you... I showed you an uncool side of me, didn't I?"
"That's not true! It was amazing! It's so cool that you can fight and not just use magic!"
Konrad wore a bashful smile before his childhood friend, who was praising him with all her might. On the other hand, the opponent boy wore a slightly disgruntled expression. It was well known among their friends that he had liked this girl a little in the past.
"...Don't flirt in front of me. You two should just get married already."
"Eh!? B-but we're still minors..."
"Ahahaha."
Konrad, who had become an honorary retainer at the tender age of 10 and started working surrounded by adults, found the time spent talking and making noise with friends of his own generation for the first time in a while to be intensely enjoyable.
.....
The main matches of the Le Gimli Tournament resumed after the women's and minors' divisions. By this point, those remaining were all people known within the territory for their strength, including combat-class retainers.
The one who advanced furthest from the Merchant Guild was Victor, and the one who advanced furthest among the slaves was Zadrek, owned by Noein. However, they too were no match for the elite soldiers and retainers and were defeated.
The matches continued after that, and Rick, Dant, and Pence were defeated—leaving the finals to Chief Retainer Yuri and Radley, who was said to be the only one whose fighting skill rivaled his.
"The finals turned out as expected."
"There's no excitement in this at all."
In the center of the plaza, the two strongest people in the Arqvist territory faced each other while hundreds of spectators watched.
"There weren't any upsets in particular, either."
"Yes, I think it's a natural progression."
Meanwhile, Noein and the others watched the scene from the special seats on the platform. Not only Noein, Matilda, and Clara, but also the retainers permitted to ascend the platform had gathered, waiting for the final match to begin.
"Hey Pence, I heard Clara bet on you."
"That... I am sorry for failing to meet your expectations."
When Noein spoke to Pence in a teasing tone, Pence gave a small bow to Clara with low energy. A flustered Clara replied to Pence, telling him not to worry about it.
"You're awfully depressed. Were you that frustrated about losing to Radley?"
"...Well, I thought I had a chance of winning, for once."
According to Pence, he thought that since Radley was approaching his late thirties, his physical strength might have declined slightly, and he might be able to win.
"But it was no use at all. That old man is supposed to be getting older, but he's actually getting stronger. I wonder if the Chief Retainer will lose soon?"
As Pence muttered dismissively, Noein gave a wry smile. He thought that if Pence was calling Radley an old man, then Pence himself was already quite far gone, but he kept that retort to himself.
"Ah, it looks like it's about to start."
Where Noein directed his gaze, the soldier acting as the referee announced the start of the match.
The first to move once the fight began was Radley. Inferior to Yuri in physique, he lowered his posture and closed in—making it look like a charge, he suddenly leaped sideways to try and get behind.
As if expecting this, Yuri leaped backward while twisting his body to change direction.
Against Yuri, who tried to catch him, Radley leaped high, using Yuri's back as a stepping stone to move even further behind.
The spectators in the plaza cheered at the superhuman, three-dimensional movement.
After that, a back-and-forth offensive and defensive struggle unfolded.
"...This, it really wouldn't be strange regardless of who wins."
"Yes, it is a situation where the one who loses focus first and shows an opening will lose... I suppose."
Because both Yuri and Radley were experts, neither created an opening, and no decisive blow was born.
The match continued for so long that it felt as if they had been fighting for nearly ten minutes—and finally, Radley, who attempted a slightly forced attack out of impatience, was caught by Yuri.
"Deryaaaa!"
Yuri forcibly lifted Radley with one hand and slammed him into the ground. After confirming his victory with the referee's declaration, he lay down on the ground himself while breathing heavily.
"...Tch, I thought that today, for sure, I'd w-win."
"...Idiot... I'm not... giving in yet."
The two exchanged such a conversation while out of breath. The Le Gimli Tournament, which became the place to determine the strongest in the Arqvist territory, ended thus with Chief Retainer Yuri's stubborn victory.
.....
The finale of the Le Gimli Tournament was an exhibition match by the Lord, Noein Arqvist. However, it was not a match between humans, but a battle between golems.
"...Noein-sama, are you sure you're okay with two against one?"
"I don't mind. I'll show you the strength of the Lord."
To Gustav, who confirmed once more before the match, Noein replied with a fearless smile.
"Well then... I won't hold back."
"We've put in the training too, so we won't lose easily!"
Having their ambition tickled by Noein's unconscious provocation, Gustav and the other golem user—Alain—spoke. Among the seven golem users, he was a mood-maker type of existence, a youth who had manipulated his golem with a smug face to attract the attention of the residents' daughters during the flood control work where the golem unit was unveiled.
While the spectators watched with a certain sense of tension at the unusual situation of a serious contest between golems, the referee announced the start of the match.
"Alain, as we discussed."
"Yeah, leave it to me!"
Exchanging words with Gustav, Alain sent his golem charging at Noein's golem. The spectators stirred at the speed.
Alain could not compete with the other golem users in terms of fine technique, but in terms of simple charging power alone, he was not inferior even to Noein. When Noein saw the final result of his golem operation training, he had been slightly surprised in earnest.
While a charge of tremendous speed headed toward Noein's golem, Gustav moved his own golem to flank it. His plan was for Gustav to find an opening and attack while Alain distracted with the charge.
However, Noein dealt with it in a way that was unexpected to Gustav.
"What!?"
Noein's golem suddenly turned its back to the charge. Alain was surprised by the unexpected action.
Noein then made the golem leap—letting Alain's golem's charge hit the back of its legs, and using that recoil to spin in mid-air.
With a golem's weight, it is impossible to perform a full rotation in mid-air by one's own power. It was a movement possible only because he utilized the power of the opponent's charge. Seeing the heavy golem dance through the air, the spectators stirred.
While spinning, Noein's golem grabbed Alain's golem's head and, adding the momentum of its own descent to the ground, pulled it backward. Alain's golem fell clumsily on its back, and with the momentum of being pulled down, its head popped off and rolled away.
"Nooo, I have to repair it again!" the voice of the magic tool craftsman Daphne echoed from somewhere.
Seeing Alain, the distraction role, become combat-incapable so easily, Gustav sighed.
"...Ah, I can't win."
In a one-on-one, Gustav stood no chance against Noein's skill. In less than 30 seconds after that, Noein's victory was decided.
"Uoooooo!"
"Amazing! Noein-sama is amazing!"
"Golems can move like that!"
The resident spectators praised the Lord, who had achieved an overwhelming victory, one after another.
The reliability of the Lord is directly linked to the stability of the territory. It is not that being simply strong in combat is enough, but such an easy-to-understand display of power was extremely effective in gathering the support of the people.
"...From now on, as your Lord, I shall protect you all with this power!"
Making the golem thrust its fist upward, and raising his own fist as well, Noein declared. He thought he might be acting a bit too cool, but seeing the residents respond with cheers, it seemed it was well-received.
Even after the Le Gimli Tournament came to a close, the festival continued until night, and everyone ended the day while feeling the rich development of the Arqvist territory.