128. Festival

128. Festival

“You have to submit it yourself….”

“I’ll submit it.”

“Yourself….”

“I’ll submit it.”

“Yes, yes….”

After submitting Priscilla’s application, who was still sniffing her scarf from afar, I checked the time and realized there was still some time before the match began.

Even so, there was nothing to prepare, so we just had to pass the time aimlessly. After playing with Ur, in her sword form, balanced on my index finger for a while, Claire tapped my shoulder and said.

“Skadi, do you know that in duels like this, the stronger opponent has to take a penalty?”

“A penalty…?”

“Yes. To ensure fairness in the competition, they equalize combat power. This is common sense, common sense.”

Good heavens, I never knew such common sense existed. I’ve lived in this world for 20 years and this is the first time I’m hearing about it.

Well, come to think of it, since this is a competition, fairness might be important. After a moment of thought, I understood and asked Claire.

“What kind of penalty is it?”

“Just a moment….”

Claire, enveloped in a golden aura, instantly dashed off somewhere. I could track Claire’s movements with my dynamic vision, but others seemed greatly surprised by something that flashed by like lightning.

Claire returned not long after. Claire was holding a large basket, and when she placed it on the ground, a heavy thud was heard.

It looks like the paving stones on the ground cracked, but is it just my imagination?

“This is it.”

“Sand… bags?”

“Yes. Since Skadi is strong, you’ll fight while wearing these.”

Claire handed me a sandbag from the basket as if it were the most natural thing in the world. When I received it, it was incredibly heavy, and the label on the outside read, ‘Caution: High Weight, Training Use 1500kg Compressed Sandbag’.

“Hmm, it’s quite weighty.”

Fighting while wearing something like this will definitely be a penalty. Even for me, who considers myself quite strong, it feels considerably heavy.

“Here, one more.”

“An-another one?”

As soon as I strapped the bag to my waist, Claire handed me more sandbags. Not just one, but seventeen more, which made it difficult to even move properly.

18 x 1500kg, how much is that? So….

Rounding 18 up to 10, it seems to be around 15 tons. I marveled at the surprising calculation and said.

“Penalties are amazing.”

“Yes. And Skadi, if I win… you’ll grant my wish, right?”

“Of course. Naturally.”

“Heh heh….”

I thought I would definitely win earlier, but wearing these absurd bags chipped away at my confidence a bit. Perhaps Claire might actually win.

At that moment, Ur shouted in my mind.

“Master, you’re being deceived! Look at those lewd eyes! She’s deceiving Master with lies!”

“Hey, Claire wouldn’t do that. Ur, you shouldn’t suspect others so much.”

“It’s true…!”

After Ur underwent my mother’s touch and became a wolf beastman, Ur’s sword form also changed quite a bit. It went from a simple white sword to a white sword with patterns engraved on it.

And surprisingly, if I stroked this pattern with my hand….

“Heeeng♡”

I was able to quiet Ur down.

After a brief period of adjusting to my heavier body, the first match began.

I could hear the cheers of the audience. I also sat down on a nearby bench and placed Claire on my lap. Claire leaned her back against me as if it were the most natural thing.

The first match was between Priscilla and an unnamed blue-haired girl. I watched intently, wondering what kind of combat style Priscilla would show. As soon as the countdown ended, a red glowing meteor fell from the sky.

“This is our family’s secret technique, ‘Wrath of Judgment’!”

The opposing girl couldn’t even withstand the shockwave of the meteor’s impact, let alone counterattack, and was sent flying far away to crash.

Fortunately, it seemed no one was injured thanks to the protective shield, but a large crater, glowing and melting in the center of the arena, caused the maintenance staff to sweat profusely.

Claire complained.

“Ugh, it’s cheesy. Do you really have to shout out the skill names?”

“Hmm… I agree.”

When I was young, I might have had a romantic notion about shouting skill names, but now that I’m an adult, it’s not really like that. It’s better to swing my sword one more time than to mumble meaningless skill names, and the main reason is that it’s embarrassing….

Even I, when I was young, thought of skill names while cutting down monsters with my sword, but now it’s so embarrassing that my face turns bright red. It’s a good thing I didn’t say them out loud.

Anyway.

The next match was Claire’s, but it was delayed due to the arena’s recovery. During the extended break, I enjoyed leisure time, resting my chin on Claire’s yellow hair, which was nestled in my arms.

Claire is short, so it’s very convenient to rest my chin on her. Her height is truly perfect-

“Ugh.”

“Hmph.”

However, Claire seemed displeased with being treated like a child and snorted, turning her head to cover my lips with hers. Our tongues sloshed together, and as I started to run out of breath, Priscilla arrived.

“Skadi! I did great… Ah?! That’s cutting in line!”

“Pah… Well, if you’re going to complain, you can do it when I fight too.”

“Ugh….”

Priscilla, puffing out her cheeks indignantly, then buried her face in my tail and began to inhale. The breath tickled the fur, making it incredibly itchy.

As I repeated kissing with my mouth and being tickled by the breath on my tail, the next match was ready before I knew it. Claire seemed reluctant to leave my embrace, but when her name was called, she finally got up.

“I’m going.”

“Okay.”

A golden dagger… Of course, when Claire held it, it looked like an ordinary long sword, but anyway, Claire headed towards the arena with the dagger she usually used.

At that moment, Priscilla pulled her face out of my tail and rushed towards me, taking my embrace.

Earlier, I was watching Priscilla and holding Claire in my arms, but now I was watching Claire and holding Priscilla in my arms.

“You’re wearing something?”

“Yes, sandbags. They said I have to wear them.”

“Is that so? How interesting!”

Priscilla adjusted her posture and leaned into me. Unlike the petite Claire, she was of average height, so instead of resting my chin on her head, I rested it on her shoulder.

I could see her red twin buns in my field of vision. Just like when we first met, it’s still a very distinctive hairstyle.

Naturally, I wrapped my tail around Priscilla and hugged her, and she giggled and stroked my tail. Even though she’s not a beastman, her stroking skills were quite adept. It was a calming stroke.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been like this, just the two of us. We’ve always been three or more lately….”

“Yeah.”

It reminds me of the old days.

It’s not really that long ago, but so much has happened that it feels like a distant past. I idly stroked Priscilla’s twin buns. Her hair felt soft, which was nice.

“Do you know how flustered I was when you first touched my chest? Hehe….”

“You were. But you’re okay now, right?”

When I poked Priscilla’s chest, she laughed as if tickled. Compared to her startled reactions in the past, she had improved a hundredfold.

Priscilla, looking at me with a bright smile.

I closed my eyes, caught up in the mood, and kissed her.

“Ngh….”

“Mmm….”

How long did we kiss?

Soon, the cheers of the audience filled the arena. Startled by the thunderous sound, I opened my eyes.

“Huh? What is it?”

“It seems it’s over.”

Aha.

Claire is indeed strong. I didn’t watch the match, so I don’t know who her opponent was, but the match must have ended in an instant, so it was clear that he was to be pitied.

I turned my head and looked at the arena.

As expected, the male student who appeared to be Claire’s opponent had collapsed onto the arena floor. It seemed he had been hit with full force right from the start, as the golden aura was still shimmering and sparkling throughout the arena.

Is it just my imagination that he looks more hurt than the girl who was hit by the meteor? Even with the protective shield, he shouldn’t be hurt….

At that moment, my name was called.

“Ah, next is me.”

“Good luck!”

“Yeah.”

I stood up with my heavy body and headed towards the arena.

Perhaps it’s due to the weight of about 15 tons, but every step I took, the sound of cracking spread from the floor. Since it’s a sand floor anyway, it doesn’t matter much if it cracks, but the sound is like that.

As I stepped onto the arena with the ground cracking with every step, a girl holding an ordinary sword and shield greeted me.

“H-Hic….”

… She greeted me.

I shrugged and greeted the girl who was my opponent.

“Hello?”

“Ah, hello… P-please go easy on me?”

“Don’t worry.”

A moment later, the countdown sound echoed. I clenched my fists a few times, gauging the strength. I’ve never hit with this much weight before, so I’m not sure, but this much should be enough.

“I’ll go easy.”

A flash of light occurred.