Late, I know. 

The second round of the battle-tournament progressed without any problems, if you don"t consider killing to be a problem, that is. Two n.o.bles have been killed since this compet.i.tion commenced, the deed done by the hands of the same man. However, no guilt could be seen on his face.

It was the 58th match of the second round, and I was in the stands with Shirone by my side. In front of me was a sight, which I would never have been able to witness if I were to continue living in my peaceful world. Two men were standing in the middle of the field.

*THUD*

Correction, one man is standing while gripping the hilt of his sword, whose blade is tainted with blood, and the other turned into a corpse just a moment ago, is lying beside his feet. The winner raised his sword, crimson blood dripping from his seemingly unbreakable blade. I could hear people vomiting in the distance, but I had no such urges.

With Zoysan"s voice surrounding me, I turned my head in the direction of the special room where the royalty was seated. Sylvia was there as well, her face white with horror, cold sweat running down her forehead, her expression screaming "NOT AGAIN!!". The King, the leader of the people, the one man whom everyone in the Kingdom respected and revered, had a satisfied smile on his face. Looking at his son raise his sword to declare his victory, the King"s eyes went gentle.

"Master, that man, he is mocking you, isn"t he?"

Shirone spoke up from the seat right beside me.

"Yes. I defeated both of my opponents with one attack. And by cutting down both of his opponents with one attack as well, he seems to be issuing some kind of challenge to me."

"He"s a fool. Isn"t he capable of judging the difference in power between you two?"

"Shirone. Please refrain from insulting the next King of the country like that."

She puffed her cheeks with a "hmph" and crossed her hands. Looking at such an indescribable and usually cold beauty perform such a childish act, I subconsciously bring my hand on her head and stroke her hair affectionately. Her cold and white face, now tinged with warmth and redness, rotates in my direction.

"Master, I will not change my opinion even if you do something like that."

Smiling once, I retract my hand from her head, unsatisfied as she was, she didn"t say anything.

"Well… I can"t see myself losing against him, but you never know."

"You won"t lose."

I divert my attention back to the field in front of me, looking at the figure of him raise his sword, blade crimson with the blood of a n.o.ble, an unexplainable chill ran through my back. It felt as though he was hiding many more cards than I had ever imagined. Antic.i.p.ation, excitement, anxiousness, expectation, and many other feelings were whirling inside my heart.

"Shirone, if I were to send you out to fight as my servant, how would you feel?"

"a.s.suming that I would prove useful to you in that battle, it would be a joy beyond any other."

"Given your cold and stoic expression, it"s hard to imagine that."

"Master, we intelligent beasts have feelings as well. And we do not lie to the one we serve."

"Heh~ I am flattered."

"You know how I feel, and yet you ask me these kinds of questions to tease me. I feel anger as well, you know?"

"Is that so…?"

Honestly speaking, the reason I initiated this pointless conversation was that I needed something to take my mind off of the situation concerning Vernyx, and because she noticed my intent, Shirone played along.

My interest in the matches vanished as soon as Vernyx walked off the field, and as such, I led Shirone back to the inn, only to send her back to her world afterward. After sending off the freshly summoned Kuromi, I entered the sea of dreams for that night.

The next morning, at around 8 A.M, my eighteenth day in this world began with a start when the door of my room was lightly tapped.

"Come in."

I said with a yawn. She cautiously pushed the door and entered the room, accompanied by a fresh citrus scent. Her damp black-purple hair falling to her waist, her impressive body, and her face which resembles that of a high school senior, her movements graceful and refined, she was the perfect idol for a high-schooler. Looking at her dressed in a type of clothing that resembles a kimono, I dived into the river of nostalgia for a second.

"Tell me… What is it with damp hair, fresh smell, and the 8 A.M knocking? All four of you effectively follow the same morning schedule. It is sweet and all being woken up like this… but I am starting to get suspicious."

Kuromi averted her gaze with a swift movement of her neck.

"It"s a woman"s secret~"

"Hey, you…"

I wanted to speak further, but I determined that it would just be a waste of time, so I station her on the couch and complete my morning routine at super speed. Enjoying a rather heavy breakfast, we head towards the dome. Since my match won"t be commencing anytime soon, I decided to show Kuromi around the festival. During her previous shift, I was busy and Kuromi just ended up following me around as I worked the whole time, but today, it is different.

Playing games, eating snacks, observing tricks, listening to sweet melodies, and of course, standing out, we spent the former part of our day looking around the festival. Compared to the first day, the number of shops and stalls had substantially increased, and as such, the spike in the number of visitors was observed as well.

At about 3 P.M, we leave the festival and enter the dome. My match, which is the tenth in the third-round, will be starting in a bit. The third round of the battle-tournament was composed of thirty-two matches conducted across two days. I was expecting them to finish these thirty-two matches in one day, but since the weak have been eliminated and the strong remain, the compet.i.tion"s level has intensified and the battles are taking more time to reach their conclusion.

For example, my match, which is the tenth one, will be conducted at around three-thirty, meaning that the nine matches before mine took more than seven hours to complete, that being the case, the committee decided to decrease the number of matches. It seems like they were aware of the fact that the quality of the battles would drastically increase, not hindering their economic strategies and financial policies.

The ninth battle ends after a long and satisfying fight. Both the compet.i.tors were warriors, utilizing their swords to cut open their opponent"s skin, it was a battle of brute strength. After the half-dead opponent was taken off the field by the hardworking members of the organizing committee, Zoysan announced a ten-minute break, after which, my match would start.

The time pa.s.sed quite slowly, but maybe that was just because I was honestly excited about my next battle. This is an opponent that I would most likely win against, however, the simple thought of getting to battle them here is exhilarating.

>

"Woah~~~!!!"

She was speaking into a mic, even so, her voice was overwhelmed by the intense cheering of the audience. I walked onto the field, dressed in a blue shirt over a white t-shirt, black pants, and black shoes to match. My opponent entered the field from the opposite gate. clad in armor that reflected many brilliant colors, it"s easily a legendary-cla.s.s item. No sword could be seen hanging from the waist, emphasizing the fact that my opponent is a pure mage.

No spells were cast, no attacks were carried out, it was just silence between us, with the cheering of the audience turning distant by each pa.s.sing second. My opponent raised her hand, a single piece of ice formed in her palm, and then she threw it at the artifact that was supposed to transmit our voices over to the speaker-like artifacts around the dome and all the similar artifacts which were stationed at various places in the Capital.

"I do not wish to fight you."

She said in a grim voice, her expression full of anxiousness.

"Why?"

"A woman never raises her hand against the man she loves. No matter the circ.u.mstance, she must unconditionally obey and follow her loved one"s orders. She can"t raise her voice in front of her partner, however, she can stand against the entire world for him."

That is some serious 1800"s way of thinking, not that I am complaining.

"Sylvia, listen to me, it"s not that I am refuting your words or saying that your way of thinking is flawed. However, I truly wish to fight you. You will be fighting me for my entertainment, and entertainment is the one thing that I desire. Won"t you please reconsider?"

Her eyes went wide for a second, she pursed her lips, after about fifteen seconds of thinking, she asked in a low tone.

"Would you hate me if I fought you seriously?"

"Honestly, I would hate it if you didn"t."

She lifts her face and looks me straight in the eyes. The hesitation from before has vanished from her face. It feels like she has been released from some form of emotional shackles. Her eyes burning with fighting spirit, she puffs up her abundant chest and says in a confident tone.

"Toru, I would like to fight you with everything I"ve got!"

The corner of my lips curl up.

"Come at me, Sylvia."

>

"Ice Magic- Wrath of Khione"

Bio: I am an editor currently affiliated with confused translations and Gakusei translations, on top of that, I am a big anime, light novel, manga, and web novel enthusiast.

Join my discord , hit me whenever with any queries or doubts you may have, I"m always active over there.