episode_0128

128 – Court Mage Contest #2

The royal capital, Royal Road, had a building that could be called a huge stadium.

It was once a place where knights from all over the United Kingdom came to hold tournaments.

It was built so massively that it could accommodate over 100,000 people.

Isn’t 100,000 1/3 of the capital’s population?

It was a really big stadium.

Was there a need to make the building this big?

Waaa, waaa!

A stadium full of loud cheers.

As we entered, found our seats, and sat down, Psyche spoke as if she was slightly moved.

“My grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather once won a joust held at this stadium! Do you see the Agarpe family flag over there?”

Sze-.

At the place Psyche pointed to, there was Agarpe’s flag and the signature of ‘Dervan Agarpe’, Psyche’s ancestor.

I guess it’s some kind of hall of fame that records tourney winners?

Psyche looks at the Agarpe family flag for a while as if she is moved, and then makes a gloomy expression.

“… It’s not the time for me to be this happy. There is news that the Black Knight Sir Roland has fought against the Orléans family’s private soldiers in the Palcea region.”

Is this a fight between Roland and Orléans?

Actually, Roland is also a member of the Orleans family.

“It means that if the Black Knights and Sir Roland win the battle against the Orléans family, the Palcea region will fall into the hands of the queen’s army. Then what happens next… .”

It was clear that if the Palcea region fell, they would then invade the adjacent Durgien region.

It would be natural for Psyche, whose family is based in the Durgien region, to be worried.

“It’s not the right time for me to be here like this. It is very painful that I cannot escape this royal capital.”

It was natural for Psyche to be distressed.

Because we are trapped in the royal capital as ‘hostages’.

We were guaranteed all activities within the royal capital and could go anywhere, but leaving the royal capital was prohibited.

It was because of the queen’s orders.

“Psyche. It is natural for humans to worry about their parents’ home.”

Psyche was doing such a natural thing.

“Hehehe, Durgien will soon become a sea of fire!”

─Milione was not doing it.

Milione, this guy.

Your hometown is also in Florence, Durgien’s city.

Aren’t you worried that that place will become a sea of fire?

Psyche also frowned slightly when she thought that Milione was very unpleasant.

“Miss Milione! You are a Durgien too! Archbishop Archibald will be there and there will be many of your relatives and acquaintances, so aren’t you worried?”

All heart.

One mind and body.

The couple was literally one body.

We were now more of a couple than anyone else.

joy-.

Milione snorted.

“Durgien is not a place that can be easily captured. The church’s forces are slowing down a bit now, but they will soon reorganize and focus on defense.”

Milione was right.

Durgien was a region located between the provincial capital of Barakhan and the royal capital of Royal Road.

Because it was located in the middle of the church and the royal capital, it was a geographically important place, and there was even a saying that whoever occupied Durgien would rule the united kingdom.

So, from the church’s perspective, they will desperately try to defend themselves.

Milione said.

“If that area is breached, the kingdom’s forces will push into Barakhan, so it would be natural for the church to defend it desperately. It will probably be the most intense battlefield.”

Psyche’s expression became even more gloomy when she heard that every place in Durgien was becoming an intense battlefield.

I said that to Psyche.

“It’s okay. If Miss Lucy wins this competition, there will be no war. Now, the participants over there are entering.”

Sze-.

I pointed to the participants streaming into the stadium.

There were many people wearing cone hats or holding sticks, from shaman-like people waving rattling bells to and fro, strange men holding snakes and scorpions in their hands, men holding crystal balls, etc.

A very diverse group of people came up on stage.

The number is quite hundreds.

Since it was a competition where age, origin, experience, etc. were irrelevant, people from all over the United Kingdom would participate in search of fame and fortune.

“Arrr, for Rust─!”

Then someone shouted loudly.

That person was Bokor, a curse witch with a snake wrapped around her waist.

“Geeek-!!! I like being a queen’s court mage!!! My goal is to win the competition and let the world know about Rust’s greatness!!!”

No, don’t do that.

I felt like my eyesight was getting dark in many ways and I looked around.

Where is Lucy’s figure?

“Over there! Miss Lucy is over there!”

Pot-.

At that time, Psyche pointed to the gap between the people.

To me, they all seemed small and simple, but Psyche had superhuman eyesight and seemed to have discovered Lucy’s appearance.

“Miss Lucy! Miss Lucy! Cheer up!”

Psyche waving her hands.

It was unclear whether Lucy heard Psyche’s story or not.

Sze-.

Everyone enters the stadium.

Marquis Sandros finally shouted.

“Then, the preliminaries begin! The rules are simple! It doesn’t fall outside the stadium! Anyone who falls outside the stadium will be disqualified, so be careful!”

widely-!

Marquis Sandros turned over a huge hourglass.

At the same time, a huge gong rang and the game began.

Daeeeenn-!

“Blow, wind!”

“Ice Pick!”

The wizards began attacking each other. Thanks to this, a large number of people standing on the outskirts poured out of the stadium and were injured by hitting their faces in the mud or falling down.

Wow—a loud shout.

I found Lucy in this crowded and confusing situation.

Lucy was running back and forth, holding her cone hat tightly with both hands.

“Huh… !”

Why not use magic to counterattack?

It was right then.

Daeeaeaeang-!

The gong rang again.

Then something surprising happened.

Dalgak, Dalgak, Dalgak-.

Dream.

I thought I could hear the sound of something mechanical working, and then the plain stadium started to tilt!

Seeing this, a woman who appeared to be the Walpurgis Witch shouted from the crowd.

“Oh! What is that! It’s a tilted stadium!”

Dream.

As the witch said, the stadium tilted.

45 degrees.

People began to fall on this high slope, which was higher than expected, and the stadium tilted endlessly until it finally reached 90 degrees.

# # #

Lucy Emma.

She was conserving as much strength as she could.

It was because my friend Watson gave me advice.

━Yinging yaing.

‘I like to preserve my magical power as much as possible! ‘The finals will begin after a large number of people have been eliminated in the preliminaries, so you need to save up some magical power!’

Following Watson’s advice, Lucy managed to hold on by refraining from using her magic as much as possible.

At that moment, thanks to a special device installed in the stadium, the stadium itself began to tilt significantly and eventually stood at a right angle of 90 degrees.

A situation where several people fell into the water installed in the basement of the stadium.

“Ugh!”

Lucy stuck her fingers into the grooves in the stadium floor and somehow held on.

It was easy to endure.

“I… ! I even tried hanging upside down from the ceiling at the Grande Convent… ! I even heard that he was possessed by a ghost… ! I can’t fall from a place like this… !”

Lucy gained strength not through magic, but purely through physical strength.

Soon the gong rang.

sss-.

A stadium that returns to its original state.

Of the hundreds of participants, only about fifty survived.

“Now, finalists, please come here and get a number ticket.”

“It starts with me! It starts with me!”

“I’ll get it first! With a good number!”

Took, touuk-!

Thanks to the people who kept tapping her on the shoulder, Lucy’s number was pushed back to number 46.

Lucy wanted to be number 12, but for now she decided to be satisfied with just passing the preliminaries.

The finals began immediately.

The content of the main battle was very simple: hit and destroy the target using magic. The more targets you destroyed, the more points you earned.

But something strange happened.

“Uuuu-. Suddenly hungry… .”

“Soo, I can breathe… .”

People who could be called hopefuls for the championship began to unexpectedly complain of abdominal pain and difficulty breathing.

They were so sweaty that they couldn’t even use magic, and Bokor, the sixth baptist of the Crusade, laughed at the sight.

“Stupid guys. You say you’re a wizard, but you can’t even protect against a curse! Dear Rust! Take a look! That Bokor has defeated your enemies!”

“You crazy bitch! What if I put a curse on you?”

“Judge! This is okay! Ugh-. Ship, ship… .”

A complete mess.

However, Marquis Sandros, who was watching all this, announced the continuation of the action.

“It doesn’t matter. Luck and skill. Keep going!”

phut-!

“Burn up, fireball!”

Lucy continued to fire fireballs, burning the scarecrows.

Because so many of her competitors disappeared, Lucy was able to take down 10 scarecrows in a row, which was enough to easily place her in the top 8 among the finalists.

‘You can destroy more! But Watson told me that there was no need to waste magic power if I was in the top 8. My magic recovery is a little slow. ‘You have to use your brain as much as possible.’

# # #

“Lucy That crazy bitch. You’re much better than you think, right? They say talent is the most important thing in magic. I never knew that crazy girl had such talent.”

Milione was amazed at Lucy’s appearance.

I was surprised too.

This was because Lucy was participating in the race, distributing her physical strength and magical power like an experienced marathoner.

You must have had a great coach or manager, right?

Soon Psyche spoke.

“Now that I think about it, it looks like that gold plate wizard named Watson didn’t participate. I heard you were a strong candidate to win. Were you shocked by what happened to Rust?”

“Well, Rust was at the level of complete rape.”

What are you raping, Milione, you crazy bitch!

I didn’t do anything!

anyway.

It was a great luck for Lucy that Watson, the favorite, did not participate in the competition.

Lucy easily won the finals and now only the tournament is left.

It was like that.

It was a tournament.

A match in which eight finalists face each other in a bracket to determine the final winner.

in other words-.

It was said that Lucy would be eligible to become a royal wizard as long as she fought and defeated three wizards.

Lucy’s first opponent is─.

“Geee!!! For Rust, eee-!!!!”

It was Bokor, the crazy cursed witch.

Why is it that Bokor?

“She’s a cute pink-haired girl, right? Pink hair is rare. I will cut off your hair and use it as an ingredient for my magic! Kihahahahaha!”

Bokor flicks his tongue very obscenely and opens his eyes brightly.

Psyche trembled at the sight.

“That woman is a witch from Walpurgis! Will Miss Lucy be able to defeat that terrible monster? !? I wouldn’t even have a fair fight… !”

It was the right story.

If Lucy falls like this due to foul play and cowardly moves, both my plan and her efforts will be in vain.

in other words-.

The story was that I had to do something before the game started.

Sze-. I stood up, feeling the presence of the mask on my chest.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom for a moment.”

“Hey. I’m going with you too.”

Milione gets up from his seat.

Why are you coming with me?