After the Shou s.h.i.+maron team competing against us was no longer in sight, the sheep started to increase their speed.

“There’s someone coming?! Are they catching up with us?!”

Murata, sprawled on the loading rack, was shouting, “I can only see a blur of red! And it’s very probable that they’re going to catch up. Eh? Those aren’t horses…woah…..my G.o.d! It’s a man-powered carriage! A man-powered carriage!”

“Musclemen?!”

Muscles, musclemen, the team of musclemen, that’s the Nagoya style of training muscles. Twelve very developed musclemen were pus.h.i.+ng forward amidst the snow. I could see steam rising from their flushed half-naked bodies. However, the sight of their grim and determined expressions would make people want to avoid them.

“They’re so barbaric, why aren’t they wearing any shoes?” (Wolfram)

“Your focus is wrong, Wolf, the main problem we have now isn’t that, now the main problem isn’t that at all.”

The musclemen carriage had sleighs attached to the bottom, so they would be able to travel faster on a wet muddy road covered with traces of rapidly melting snow. If our speed were to reduce by even a fraction, it was highly possible they could catch up with us.”

“We’re rounding a bend! Young sirs! Hold on tight! If you get shaken off, this carriage won’t be a.s.suming any responsibility for that!” (Jozak)

“Hold on tight then…. Woah, I bit my tongue!”

We made a 90 degree turn around that last bend at such a super high speed that the back portion of our carriage almost disintegrated. I never thought that I would get the chance to experience a tossing motion on board a tank pulled by livestock. The huge arena was visible a few hundred meters ahead; the bright brown walls made it look like a baseball stadium from afar.

Based on the excited expressions on the civilians along the roadside, we weren’t far from the finish line. However, just like when we had first landed on Donierson, they had their pinkies up while shouting. Children who were restrained by their mothers to prevent them from running onto the road were waving yellow flags with all their might.

“This is so exhilarating ~ the atmosphere reminds me of the welcome reception for marathon runners.”

“Yuuri, don’t tell me you think they’re here to welcome and encourage us…. That’s impossible. No matter how wimpy or naïve you are, you should have some limitation to your self-importance.”

“Huh?”

Just when Wolf was calmly telling me this, a white spherical object brushed past my cheek and smashed against the hood of the carriage. Sticky light yellow semi-transparent liquid flowed out.

It was a rotten egg.

“This can’t be, why are we so hated? I thought even opponents in this compet.i.tion should have a crowd to cheer them on?”

“Don’t forget, this isn’t s.h.i.+n Makoku, it’s s.h.i.+maron, and this is the capital Lambel! All these people want is to see Dai and Shou s.h.i.+maron against each other in the finals, they don’t care about the other contestants.” (Wolfram)

“You can say that this makes it more complicated.” (Murata)

Murata was fanning his right hand in front of his nose because of the pungent stink of the rotten egg.

“They probably don’t want compet.i.tors from another place to win, that’s why they attacked all the compet.i.tors with abusive language and petty actions. s.h.i.+buya, this is the hosting country after all, just like in baseball, we’re the guest team.”

“….even if their opponents are guests, they should just sit back and watch their performance on the battlefield, as practiced by the Pacific Democratic Union, this should be common knowledge everywhere?” (Yuuri)

“I can’t think of anything else to say, s.h.i.+buya, you’re too full of sportsmans.h.i.+p.”

“If even athletes don’t have the spirit of sportsmans.h.i.+p, what difference do we have from beasts?”

“The Beast is actually quite cute…! Don’t you often see him on entertainment programs?” (The Beast here refers to wrestler Bob Sharp in j.a.pan)(Murata speaking)

“I say young sirs, are you done with your discussion?! Do you want to win or not?” (Jozak)

“Of course!”

This was the reason we had come this far. After Jozak had made an ‘ok’ gesture with his hand, he swung the whip towards the side of the driver’s seat. T-Zou reacted quickly to this and cried out sharply to his team-mates.

The sound he made reminded me of my mother.

Run! Sheep, sheep, run along! This sounded a bit like 太宰治 (太宰治 is an author who wrote the book ‘Run, Milos!’)

When we reached the final stretch of the racecourse, we saw the ma.s.sive stone walls of the city ahead. There was an oval-arched entrance in the middle of the whole stretch of brown wall. In our process of getting there, the stuff the people threw at us was really rather rich in variety, other than eggs and fruit, we also had to duck to avoid strawberries and over-ripe tomatoes.

“Ah ~ now I remember, the Tomato Festival! The owner of my soul five past lives ago had been a Spanish baker…!” (Murata)

“Grandpa Murata, please don’t talk about your past at a time like this…”

T-Zou and the rest of Mary’s Little Lambs were charging at full speed towards the entrance to the city. Suddenly, the snow on the ground had vanished and the sleigh made a harsh grinding noise against the stony ground (within the city). The sheep had rushed straight onto the dark streets in the city due to their acceleration and were now performing some emergency braking. When the braking was finally starting to have an effect, the people’s angry cries were out of audible range.

Heavy barriers had been released down over the entrance and the gates firmly locked. The musclemen team directly behind us crashed into the gates head on with a dull thump.

“Good job, musclemen! But that looked pretty painful.” (Yuuri)

“This isn’t the time to pity others! They (Dai s.h.i.+maron) won’t be giving us much time (to prepare for the next stage).”

“Huh? But we’ve reached the destination in first place….”

Looking around suddenly, I realized that ‘Light As A Dream’ was now surrounded by more than ten soldiers from Dai s.h.i.+maron. Although the weather was freezing cold, every single one of them still managed to keep their hair light and floating. They were reluctantly informing us of our placing in the race.

“You’ve won the ‘speed’ event, and thus have qualified for the finals. Get down from the carriage and stand erect, every one of you!”

“We’d have got down without you ordering us around so loudly. Pfft, what kind of judges are these! So rough! Is this the way to behave to the winning team? I might report this to the International Judicial Committee!” (Yuuri)

“Forget it, maybe they’re just local volunteers.” (Murata)

Once we had gone under the shelter of the roof and were no longer under the snow, my nausea returned. This felt like the early symptoms of a cold, if I don’t get some hot herbal soup later, I’ll be plagued by a fever tonight. It’s strange that the colder the weather gets, the better I feel. Had I been a polar bear or a penguin in my previous life?

“….anyway, I…I feel like I’m ‘sheepsick’ right now…” (Yuuri)

“What…what’re you talking about? The….finals…..are…..being….held….right….now!” (Wolfram)

Wolfram looked rather dizzy and shaken himself as he stood up, it seems like he himself wasn’t in good condition.

“Huh? Don’t we get any time to rest? But we just arrived? This isn’t a triathlon. The hosts needed only to wait for us at the arena later. We’ve eaten and slept out in the wilderness for the past few days, we’re exhausted now.”

“And that’s why they’re doing this.”

Jozak, who was the first to leap down from the driver’s seat, extended his right hand to me. Do I look as bad as I feel?

“They’re going to do their best to stop us from winning. If there’s any chance at all, they’ll force us into a disadvantageous situation and completely defeat us. After all, if the winners are from a colony of theirs, the hosts won’t know what requests or wishes we might make.” (Wolfram)

We had only one wish.

Give back the box! Return the box to us!

I think that Dai s.h.i.+maron won’t be expecting representatives from Caloria to make such a request.

“Move faster! We’ve already announced to the audience that the team that excelled in the ‘speed’ and ‘intelligence’ events has arrived. If you waste time like this, the two million people in the audience might go on strike…..no, you can’t make His Majesty wait either.”

A man who looked like the group leader within that group of yellow and brown uniforms was shouting out orders loudly. The ‘His Majesty’ he had mentioned was of course not me, but was the great figure in this country instead. Murata was frowning slightly, while I could hear the soldiers making snorting sounds with their noses.

However, if the arena really is packed with more than two million people, then the atmosphere there would be more hectic than the baseball stadium on a non-holiday. Can we battle calmly under the scrutiny of all these people?

I ma.s.saged my aching limbs as we were hurried along a windowless corridor. This was the so-called backstage, a room that resembled a temporary resting room for partic.i.p.ants. I was summoned to approach some youths lined up in three rows, I could feel Jozak’s watchful eyes from behind. This reminded me of safety precautions, Saismoya and the others should arrive soon. Although they were progressing along with us, they had followed a completely different route, plus the fact that we couldn’t predict their time of arrival, hence there was only one guardian (Jozak) currently amongst us, and Jozak’s burden had thus been increased.

The closer we got to the entrance designed especially for the partic.i.p.ants, the louder and wilder the atmosphere in the arena seemed. The area above our heads probably also consisted seats for the audience, and an earth-shattering vibration seemed to be traveling along the ceiling (of the s.p.a.ce we were in), the people were probably stamping on the floor in impatience since we had yet to appear. The rhythmic vibrations were affecting the walls, I could feel a numbing sensation under my feet.

The storage s.p.a.ce (we were led to) resembled an open area typical found in baseball stadiums, there were no doors or part.i.tions here. There was a whole array of dangerous objects on the long table in the middle of the room.

“On no, we should change quickly….although I’m not that confident of my abs at this moment, there’s no more time to brood over such matters anymore.”

Strangely, the s.h.i.+maron soldiers started to panic when they saw me loosening my b.u.t.tons without ay hesitation.

“Wait a minute, partic.i.p.ant! What’re you doing?!”

“Huh? The audience and judges are all men anyway! It’s no use protesting even if I’m embarra.s.sed or hesitant, isn’t it? Since the rules stated that we males have to compete naked….”

“What’re you talking about?! This is a compet.i.tion to be held in front of His Majesty?!”

“s.h.i.+buya, this isn’t the ancient Olympics.” (Murata)

“This is just like you, this is exactly why I constantly nag at you for not being vigilant enough about matters.” (Wolfram)

Murata had lowered his eyebrows in shock, while Wolfram was angrily refastening all my b.u.t.tons.

“Listen to me carefully, Mazoku n.o.bles aren’t allowed to reveal themselves in public, even if you want to strip it’ll have to be for an emergency situation!”

“Emergency? What…what did you mean by that? Anyway, s.e.xual hara.s.sment can’t possibly occur between members of the same gender. Since I can’t strip, then let me don a uniform or a baseball jacket.”

As we were representing a colony, we’d have to march into the stadium with dignity. If we had all that heavy winter clothing on, all those fans wouldn’t take a second glimpse at us. I just wasn’t sure whether the Calorian cheerleading team would be there to spur us on.

“Just keep the clothing on yourselves! No need for extra measures, just select your weapons quickly!”

The s.h.i.+maron soldiers doubling as workers in this compet.i.tion were pointing towards that ma.s.sive pile of murder weapons at the middle of the room. Under the bright illumination of the fire torches, every single weapon was glinting with a dull copper glow.

“How can we use weapons from the opposing country? I have my own sword.”

“That won’t do, these are contest rules…”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t tell me you …”

The man who probably had the most potential in this compet.i.tion was wielding an axe in his hands while speaking in a cold tone. (Yuuri means Jozak)

“You’d have the nerve to give us low quality weapons so that we’d lose the battle within a few seconds, wouldn’t you?” (Jozak)

The soldiers’ expressions changed as they said, “All of you low-down colonized people, watch your language and behavior! These are all weapons that His Majesty kindly prepared for all of you low-down people, since you don’t have any proper weapons! Every single one of them is a high quality creation made by famous blacksmiths in our kingdom….”

“They probably aren’t that high cla.s.s, anyway the quality is really rather poor.” (Jozak)

Jozak had cut in on their talk. He was swinging his long and heavy steel axe above his head over and over again, so the soldiers in close proximity to him were forced to back off.

Although Murata wasn’t one of the compet.i.tors, he was inspecting the weapons one by one.

“Since this was decided by the committee, then there’s nothing we can do about it. If we lose our qualifications for this compet.i.tion by raising a meaningless objection here, then that really would be a double loss. Seeing that all the weapons here are sorted according to size and type, it wouldn’t be that bad to select weapons from amongst them. What weapon would you choose, s.h.i.+buya? It’s a pity there aren’t any guns here, else this would be an opportunity for me to teach you the ‘Gun[1]’..!”

“Is that….a new weapon?”

I’d never properly held a real weapon before this; moreover I wasn’t the fighting type, so I hadn’t had the opportunity to practice with my fists and my knees.

In that battle with Wolfram before, it was Conrad who had selected a light and convenient weapon for me. After that, the ‘weapons’ I had held had either been a walking stick which could produce flowers or a Mazoku sword that would change according to the mood of the person wielding it. Anyway, I don’t seem to have any relations.h.i.+p with a proper weapon.

On the contrary, it was the third son who had dealt with weapons for more than two million and four thousand days who felt my arm then said, “Your arm muscles are in pretty good shape. Why don’t you select the bow and arrow, didn’t you mention before that you were good at locking in on someone who’s running then zooming in for the kill?”

“Ah, that’s rather different from a.s.sa.s.sinating someone who’s running! Anyway what I had meant wasn’t really attacking the runner with a real weapon, (I meant) I was throwing the baseball accurately to prevent the other team from scoring, that’s (what I meant by) zooming in for the kill!”

The soldiers who were listening to our conversation were calling out nervously, “Arrows and bows are prohibited from the arena!” That really is rather wise; after all if a battling compet.i.tion like this allowed the use of missiles, there would be an opportunity for villains to a.s.sa.s.sinate the king. “Then what about the spear? Try to hold it.”

I accepted the dull-hued metallic weapon. This was a weight I couldn’t hold with just one hand, hence I placed the end of the long weapon on my right shoulder. However, my three companions all sighed in unison, “You look like a farmer holding a plough while working in the fields….”

I obey the law prohibiting the use of guns, bombs, bullets, chemicals and blades, so no matter how many weapons they prepare, there would never be a weapon suitable for me. If I’d known such a day would come, I wouldn’t have worked so hard at playing baseball, but entered the kendo or archery societies. If that hadn’t had any effect, I’d have entered the air rifle society or the stick-fighting society, oh right, there’s also the woodwork society…and the chain and saber society seemed quite interesting as well…. I went over the neatly arrayed row of weapons one by one to try holding them, but then Wolfram drew out his narrow sword and said, “Any weapon about this length would do for him. Anyway Yuuri doesn’t really need to go out and fight in the arena, he’s just here to fulfill the head count.”

“Ah, really?”

“Of course, even the Kohi holding a sword would have more chance at winning than you have, and also we can’t possibly let you face danger like this! Anyway we can win just by winning in two rounds, so leave it to me to get these two victories!”

Jozak, standing behind him, was mouthing silently, “Despite your childish face, your words are really rather good at stimulating people…!” I just wished that this prince could share some of his confidence with me.

“Huh?”

I had found a hilt that felt familiar to me, and I couldn’t stop myself from cheering out loud.

“What about this? This’ll probably do! Hey, madam, listen to me! This feels almost exactly like a metallic baseball bat!”

Of course it weighed more than a wooden or even limited edition baseball bat, but the familiar texture and ice-cold feel of it was an irresistible temptation to me.

“Heika…that…..are you really fine with it?”

However, Wolfram and Jozak had objections against its appearance.

“Although we’ve to keep it a secret, you’re still the Maou! A figure with such a high status wielding a stick as a weapon, that’s not on par with your ident.i.ty! And how can you live up to the reputation of all the past Maous?”

Rather than call it a stick, let’s say it’s more a metallic stick, and there were even protruding objects on its surface. This weapon would appear with the ghosts and demons every 立春 festival. However, no matter if I grabbed it with both hands or stood in an open stance (a stance in baseball) and tried swinging it, my movements felt so smooth and natural. Also, after several trial swings, it didn’t slide out of my hands.

(This weapon resembles the one used by the j.a.panese every 立春 festival, where it represents the ghost, and people would scatter beans on it to represent exorcism).

“Mm, this feels quite okay.” (Yuuri)

Contrary to the other two who had gloomy expressions on their faces, Murata who was covering his mouth with his hand and laughing seemed pretty happy. “What does it matter? Anyway, there’ve been heroes who defeated their sworn enemies using oars, so a miracle might occur here?” (Murata)

“Miracle, please appear! If there isn’t a miracle, I really don’t have any confidence at winning!” (Yuuri)

We arrived at the entrance to the arena after being hurried along by the harried-looking soldiers. We stepped onto the smooth stone slabs and faced the heavy doors before they opened. When I reached out and pushed the ice-cold iron doors open, the loud resonating cheers cascaded down on me like an avalanche.

“Woah!”

I hurriedly blocked the door with my back.

“What is it, Yuuri?” (Wolfram)

“Five…five million!”

Oh no, this isn’t even close to a large-scale baseball game. Based on the number of audience, their enthusiasm and their animosity towards the opponents, this was more like the grand finals held in 福冈巨蛋. Also, the seats were taken up by dirty men, and their booing cries were really rather scary.

“…let’s go back to the resting room and hold another pre-battle meeting.” (Yuuri)

“What’re you talking about? There’s no more time for us to be scared.” (Wolfram)

“Relax, s.h.i.+buya! Just try to think of the audience as potatoes.” (Murata)

“But potatoes don’t make noises!” (Yuuri)

“Then think of them as scarlet-eared poison bunnies, their calls are really quite loud.”

The mental image of a pink rabbit shaking its behind appeared in my mind.

The two Mazoku grabbed me from both sides and led me to the door. Murata quickly pulled the door open.

Loud and earth-shattering shouts and countless orange-ish light greeted us. Everywhere I looked, I could see torches that lit up the arena so that it seemed as bright as day. Only now did I discover that it was already evening.

Just when I was about to step into the resting area that was connected to the entrance, I felt the sensation of being the subject of heated glares and also a rush of cold air. This was we were standing at a spot resembling that of the resting area for a team in a baseball stadium. Logically the audience wouldn’t be able to see into that area, but at this moment the audience’s gaze was able to penetrate straight into the enemy camp, this was pretty strange.

“s.h.i.+buya, your mask.”

I quickly pulled off the goggles and with my woolen hat still on, I put on the s.h.i.+ny silvery mask. This had to be done because there must be at least one person in this trio to represent the colony (of Caloria). That’s right, I’m here right now not as s.h.i.+buya Yuuri, but rather as the leader of Caloria – Norman Gilbert.

“I was about to comment on why it’s so cold here, turns out that the architecture here isn’t really like that of a baseball stadium.” (Yuuri) There was no roof over the arena, so I could see white particles drifting down from the dark sky which couldn’t be illuminated by the torches. But to be honest, a roof wouldn’t have been compatible with this arena.

All the pa.s.sion from the audience couldn’t melt the snow, the arena was piled high with white snow.

I raised my head and looked up at the darkened sky.

The number of stars in the sky seemed to have increased.

“That’s so strange ~”

“Huh?”

“I think my flu symptoms decrease greatly whenever I come in contact with snow… logically this is impossible. Just think about it! Who on earth should feel better when they come into contact with a cold wind? Usually it would just make someone feel worse, not better.”

The ache at the back of my head, the difficulty in breathing, nausea, ache in my limbs, fear of the cold and even the stuffiness in my chest had disappeared mysteriously.

“Maybe I was a polar bear in my past life, it’s a pity I wasn’t a mountain lion.”

“That’s because snow is very fair to every kingdom.”

Murata placed his hand against my back as he mumbled a deep and incomprehensible response.

“The snow doesn’t belong to any element, and they’re drifting down from the clouds in the sky that were originally looming over another land and not this place, so no matter where the snow falls it will always be neutral.”

“….what…what did you mean? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Forget it, I think you’re a ‘dog-type[2]’ person, right?”

Do you mean that I’m the type that would rather run about happily in the courtyard, but would choose not to cuddle up in front of the warm fire? The arena was built in an oval shape rather like a stadium, and was encircled by high-rising seats for the audience; and to the north was a building of a similar color scheme with the stadium. It was rather too luxurious to be an inst.i.tutional building.

“Can that be a hotel? Just like in Disneyland.” (Yuuri)

“I don’t know, could it be a shrine? The kind where they sacrifice the n.o.ble spirits of warriors to the G.o.ds.” (Murata)

That’s for dead people?! That’s so unlucky!

There was a resting area for the team from the host country directly opposite us and it was at a great distance away. I couldn’t make out any silhouettes in that darkened room, so I couldn’t be sure about the physique of the compet.i.tors.

“Tch! They were rus.h.i.+ng us along, but why is it that our opponents get to take their own sweet time?”

“I just hope that they aren’t going to make us wait that long, or we might end up like 小次郎….” (in the battle between 宫本武藏and 小次郎, 小次郎had lost because of his impatience due to 宫本武藏being late on purpose)

If we ended up like小次郎……..talking about periodic dramas, I think水户黄门would be more suitable for the role.

The worker who had led us here raised his hand and stopped us from continuing our conversation. With a strange expression on his face, he announced, “Be quiet! His Majesty is about to make his appearance.”

About 70% of the audience had already stood up and were now facing the north. A s.h.i.+ny box-like seat was silently being lowered down from the roof of that building. The band started to play and the whole arena seemed to resonate with the singing of a male choir. However, listening carefully, I discovered that the singing was actually coming from the audience from the north, the others were just singing a few random lines. This happens in every baseball stadium as well.

Murata was muttering, “The real threat might not be this kingdom itself.”

I was trying to listen to what he might say next, but all I could hear was that soldier muttering, “His Majesty….?”

The person in that golden seat which had been lowered was not the king, but rather someone like a prince. Maybe he was appearing in place of his busy father? Or maybe His Majesty was ill in bed, although he was the ruler of such a large kingdom, he would have his own personal troubles.

Although he was so far away I couldn’t see his face clearly, just looking at the prince’s clothing was a sight well –worth seeing.

“小……小林幸子…” (Yuuri)

Or maybe 美川宪一.

I never thought I would experience a sight like this in a kingdom so far away. His Highness was decorated by white, gold and yellow feathers , he looked like a human-sized ostrich, I felt that this was actually rather vulgar…..but the luxurious decorations did manage to attract everyone’s attention. That carrier box which had delivered His Highness to his seat was raised back up at a speed much greater than how it had been lowered.

“Ah ~ the basket has flown!” (Yuuri)

“That’s from Simon and Garfunkel!” (that sentence is the same as the lyrics from ‘El Condor Pasa” by the famous 60’s group Simon and Garfunkel) (Murata speaking)

“I really don’t want to ask you exactly how old you’re anymore..” (Yuuri) This decision of mine was really rather smart.

When the (singing) ceremony had ended, our opponents finally made their move. Compared to our resting area which was very brightly illuminated by fire torches, the opponents’ resting area was shrouded in darkness. Although I couldn’t make out their appearances and gender, I could distinguish their heights.

All three of them were about the same height, with broad shoulders, long legs and the ideal physical build for an athlete.

“Uh, darn it…! Why are all three of them so manly?” (Yuuri)

“Why are you looking ready to cry over this?”

“If we’re judged by appearance, we’ll definitely win. If we don’t include Jozak.” (Yuuri)

“Ah ~ I’m so sorry, Heika. If we’re competing to produce breast milk, I’ll definitely not lose ~”

“My G.o.d…! Why do I feel that we’re now the perverted trio..?” (Yuuri)

I was now completely engulfed by my low self esteem; I had already lost psychologically before the compet.i.tion had even started. Two men who looked like they were judges trudged through the snow to the center of the stadium. Both of them had beautiful brown hair, these were typical soldiers from s.h.i.+maron. They gave us the ‘thumbs-up’ sign, probably this meant that the first round in the compet.i.tion was about to start. “Oh, right, we’ve yet to determine the order of appearance in the arena, who wants to go first? I think we should let the weakest person go first, just to tire our opponents.”

“You’re the last one.” (Wolfram)

“Heika is the last one.” (Jozak)

Although the words they had used were slightly different, they meant the exact same thing. Murata, however, raised a very unique example.

“s.h.i.+buya, don’t you usually read sports manga? In judo or kendo, they usually send out their weaker juniors first, they’ll only send their main champ up at the very last moment. As long as the juniors defeat their opponents quickly, there won’t be any need for the main champs from the opposing teams to face each other.”

“When have I become the weakest compet.i.tor….” (Yuuri)

“That’s actually a well-established fact.”

Once something becomes public knowledge, even if the person in question has a high status, they (the Mazoku) won’t be discreet about that fact in the least. Hence to the Mazoku, this type of behavior to their king was not in the least strange.

“If you want to know how good they really are, then I should go first…” (Yuuri)

“I’m going.” (Wolfram)

n.o.body dared object to Wolfram’s firm statement.

“If unfortunately I lose, then Gurrier should go up next, don’t let Yuuri get up there.”

“….alright.” (Jozak)

Jozak was smiling and nodding in approval, they were completely ignoring my opinion. However, rather than say I was sad that they had ignored me, I was more concerned about what Wolfram had just said. If unfortunately I lose….

According to my understanding of him, it was really hard to imagine that he would actually think of losing. I might even say that he had never felt intimidated in the face of any opponent before, and could maintain his confidence to the fullest at all times. I’d even thought that I’d have to get someone to teach this proud third son the meaning of humility.

“Wolf!”

I grabbed a sword from the wall. The weapon he had chosen was heavier than it looked, and the hilt was so rough it didn’t look easy to grip.

“Ah? The King himself is handing me a weapon?”

“Don’t joke about it, are you fine with such a heavy weapon?”

“Heavy? I’d purposely chosen a weapon that closely resembles the weapon I carry about.”

Von Bielefeld-kyo carefully accepted the weapon from me, drew out the silvery sword then unhesitatingly thrust its brown and insignificant sheath against my chest.

“This is for Heika.”

“What….”

“Don’t mind me, it’s just my personal way of concentrating.”

He stepped slowly up the stairs and prepared to enter the snow-piled arena. Instantly, the noisy shouts turned into cheers and the atmosphere was now even wilder than before. The opponent’s representative had also appeared. Because they were too far way, I couldn’t make out his appearance, but as he came up the stairs, he seemed to be chewing something in his mouth.

“Ah ~ he has his hair tied up in a ponytail! This is a sight we usually see in ramen shops.” (Murata)

Murata was casually giving his opinion, but I wasn’t feeling as at ease about the whole situation as he was. The man had on a yellow and brown army uniform, it seems that the first opponent we had to face was just an ordinary soldier from s.h.i.+maron. However, the unique blades he carried on both sides did make me feel very uneasy.

“Those are double blades!” (Yuuri)

Those blades were curved and of a length similar to the one our representative was using. I gripped the sheath Wolfram had handed me and pulled on his sleeve as I spoke. At this moment my voice sounded like that of someone else.

“Oh no, it’s Musas.h.i.+! It’s Musas.h.i.+! Are our opponents sponsored by the j.a.panese media?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I say Wolf, it’s better to let Jozak go first! Those double blades look pretty powerful to me, and you…you once….tied with me in a battle.” As I was bringing up something in the past, he was frowning as he raised his head and said, “So that battle made you lose confidence in my combat skills?”

“No, I didn’t mean that at all! I didn’t mean that at all….”

“You really think I didn’t go easy on you that time?”

“Mm!”

This was completely up to my own judgment. He was right, I was completely inexperienced in battle, and at that time I had been a rare double black. It was highly probable that he had gone easy on me to avoid injuring me and causing something he might regret later.

“Then let me tell you this.” (Wolfram)

His emerald green eyes were slightly narrowed, and with a smile extremely incompatible with a bishounen, he continued, “I didn’t go easy on you that time, you really did win then, and I hadn’t dared to use any petty tricks that had the potential to kill. But don’t worry, I won’t be as kind today. Because my opponent is someone I can’t find any respect for no matter how hard I try.”

After he had spoken to me, with his face close to mine, Wolfram turned his back on me and went out (into the arena). The fact that he had suddenly admitted that I had won actually made me feel like I had suddenly been attacked.

“…what…..that was too sudden.” (Yuuri)

“Aren’t you going to put that down?” (Murata)

Murata was pointing at the sheath.

“Didn’t I tell you before, von Bielefeld-kyo is not delicate in the least?”

“But his opponent has double blades?! I really can’t feel at ease about the whole thing.”

“Even if you have two baseball bats, you won’t definitely get a good strike, right? At least trust him a bit more! And also, can’t you put down that sheath?”

“….no, I’m fine with holding it.”

I wasn’t going to put something Wolfram had told me to hold for him on the ground, I could only watch his silhouette from behind as he left. The soldier from s.h.i.+maron who had also left his resting area reached the middle of the arena a the same time as he (Wolfram) did. Suddenly, I could feel someone looking at me, and my skin started to p.r.i.c.kle nervously.

I felt that somewhere from the northern audience seats, a warm and not unfriendly gaze was directed at me.

“Am I being too sensitive? I keep feeling that there’s someone I know here, but there can’t possibly be a friend I know amongst the audience.”

“Maybe it’s a young and lovely girl from s.h.i.+maron who’s attracted to you or von Bielefeld-kyo?”

“It would be lovely if that’s the case, but didn’t Flynn say that the World’s Best Tournament prohibits women from entering the arena?”

“Ah, right! Then it’s a cool and strong man from s.h.i.+maron?”

“That doesn’t make me feel happy at all….”

Just thinking about a long-haired hunk holding a bunch of flowers reminded me of a live wrestling program.