To cut to the chase, Lucas had fallen.
Though he managed to prolong the battle through various strategies, he was ultimately overwhelmed by the three consecutive jabs from Dusk Bringar’s finger. Lucas lost consciousness and was knocked down. I covered my face with both hands, sighing in regret. Ah, what a bummer...
Hoping to win a purely physical battle against a half-dragon, half-human was an unrealistic wish from the start.
"Whew, whew..."
Standing in front of the unconscious Lucas, Dusk Bringar was panting heavily, only to suddenly snap back to reality.
"I...I won, didn’t I?"
Dusk Bringar shouted towards the fallen Lucas while waving her fist.
"You were too relentless! I didn’t even mean to win!"
...What? Was this some kind of new trick?
As absurd as it was, awards must be given based on merit. I waved my hand to the side.
"It’s getting late; let’s wrap this up. Proceed with the award ceremony!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The unconscious Lucas was taken away for healing by the priests, and the mumbling Dusk Bringar was quickly escorted off the stage by me.
A podium for the awards was quickly arranged in the arena.
The presentation of awards for the third to eighth place was handled by Serenade, as she was the sponsor of the event.
"Hello everyone, I am Serenade from the Silver Winter’s Merchant Guild."
The moment Serenade, standing on the podium, flashed a charming smile and greeted the audience, cheers and applause erupted from the stands.
"Silver Winter! Silver Winter!"
"Serenade! Serenade!"
"Oh my god! Take me!"
"Buy me too! I’ll give it to you for free!"
...She’s really popular. Isn’t she getting more cheers than me?
Feeling both proud that Serenade had organized the festival well and a bit jealous at her popularity, I watched the award ceremony unfold with mixed emotions. Hmm.
Though the prizes for third to eighth places had already been distributed, Serenade had taken the extra step to prepare plaques for each contestant.
"Awards may come and go, but these plaques will remain as lasting memories."
Smiling at the sight of Evangeline cheerfully receiving her plaque, Serenade whispered softly in my ear.
"I also made sure to engrave our guild’s name on the plaques. Hehe."
"Ah, indeed..."
Beneficial for both the winner and the sponsor—a win-win.
While engaging in this small talk, it was time to present the finalists with their plaques. As the lord, that duty fell on me.
As I stepped onto the podium and Serenade stepped down, a disappointed sigh arose from the audience. Come on, people! Cheer and clap for me too!
First, the second-place prize. With Lucas unconscious, Evangeline accepted the award on his behalf. Holding both the second and third-place plaques in her hands, she burst into laughter.
"I have awards in both hands! I’m the true winner of this festival!"
"Step down, step down."
Evangeline’s antics amused the citizens, and I promptly ushered her off the stage.
And finally, the much-awaited champion.
I cleared my throat, looked down at Dusk Bringar who was fidgeting before me, and announced,
"The honorable winner of this year’s martial arts tournament is none other than this brave soul, Dusk!"
"..."
"The winner will be bestowed with the title of Honorary Knight of the Dueling Tournament, and will have the honor of serving as a knight under me, Ash ’Born Hater’ Everblack."
As I unsheathed the ceremonial sword for the knighting, Dusk Bringar recoiled in disgust.
"No, no! I won’t accept it! I don’t want to be your knight! No!"
"Would you prefer to lose then?"
That’s what I want too. Want to overturn the result?
Upon hearing this, Dusk Bringar clutched his head in agony.
"Th-that’s even worse! Losing is worse than dying!"
"Then you have to accept it. Come on, kneel."
"Agh!"
In the end, Dusk Bringar begrudgingly knelt in front of me, enduring the ceremonial sword touching both of his shoulders and then lifting above his head.
"...With this, Dusk has become an Honorary Knight of Crossroad. Do you swear to devote the rest of your life to the peace and well-being of the city?"
"Ah, ah..."
"Hey, the ceremony doesn’t end without the oath, Dragon. It’s just a formal knighting, let’s get it over with."
"I, I..."
Dusk Bringar clenched his eyes shut.
"I swear..."
Finally, after completing the oath.
Dusk Bringar trembled as he looked up at me, his face flushed red. His pumpkin-colored eyes were even brimming with tears.
"I’ve never even sworn an oath like this to the Emperor... You humiliated me like this... I won’t forget this, Ash..."
"You earned this humiliation yourself..."
You swept through the tournament just to earn this humiliation...
I snorted. After all, it’s not a proper knighting; it’s just a title for winning a gimmicky tournament. There’s really no reason to be so upset.
After handing over the first-place trophy made of glittering glass, Dusk Bringar waved her fist at me and scampered down from the podium.
"I’ll make you pay for this humiliation! You’ll see!"
Is it trendy these days to exit with a third-rate villain line? I see it often.
Anyway, the tournament is now over.
After the final round, the spectators, who had been slowly trickling out, now exited like a receding tide, leaving the barracks suddenly deserted.
I looked at the tournament bracket hanging on one wall and sighed.
"Oh man, it’s a total mess..."
In the end, I couldn’t prevent Dusk Bringar’s victory. My party members who had faced him all went down in defeat.
"..."
I briefly turned my head to see my party members enjoying festival foods and snacks while holding their trophies.
Defeat... Hmm, it seems like I’m the only one who feels defeated...
"Don’t be too sad, Senior."
Evangeline, who approached me, tried to comfort me while excitedly waving the trophies in her hands.
"The battlefield will be different from the tournament!"
"..."
She’s right.
We didn’t bring out our highest firepower and jokers, Damien and Junior.
If it’s a 5v5 party battle, we can truly showcase our abilities.
’That said, Dusk Bringar’s specs are absolutely ridiculous...’
It’s definitely inefficient and drains quickly.
But the base physical stamina and magical power are simply on an inconceivable level.
The amount of resources they had left could probably last them a day or two of battle at most.
’I need to reassess our PvP tactics.’
As I was thinking this,
"Woaaaaaaah!"
Lucas, having regained consciousness, rushed toward me, fell to his knees in front of me, and slammed his forehead into the ground.
"Please kill me!"
Ah, I should’ve seen this coming.
I chuckled and patted Lucas on the shoulder.
"You fought well, Lucas. Now, get up."
"But Sir! If she was the best fighter and she’s asking to be killed, what does that make me?"
Evangeline also tried to calm Lucas down.
"Here, the second-place badge and a full set of equipment crafting rights! Honestly, I think these are even better than the first-place prize, don’t you?"
"..."
Lucas took the second-place badge and the voucher from Evangeline, staring at them in silence.
"...Wah."
"Huh?"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah."
He started making some sort of bear-like noise...?
A sorrowful wailing came from Lucas. Evangeline, who was watching Lucas with wide-open eyes, muttered,
"Ah, he’s crying."
I broke into a cold sweat.
"What? He’s crying?"
"Seems like it! Look at those eyes filled with sorrow! Ah! Tears are starting to flow!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah."
Following Evangeline’s commentary, Lucas sat down on the ground with a face that looked like he had lost everything in the world and continued his sorrowful wailing. Is he actually crying?
"I just wanted to earn your praise, Sir. I was only trying my best..."
Lucas pounded his chest with a face full of injustice.
"But I got slapped for using Beast Transformation. And then you didn’t even let me escort you afterward. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah."
"I slapped you because I was worried... and I didn’t let you escort me because you hadn’t fully healed yet..."
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah."
Lucas continued to wail as he pounded his chest and then the ground.
"I planned to win first place, earn a spot as a Knight of Honor, and naturally reconcile with you. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I lost. It’s all ruined. Everything is ruined."
I was sweating bullets.
It was quite disconcerting to see someone who was usually as strong as steel wail so pitifully. What, what’s going on? What should I do?
Just then, Evangeline nudged my side.
"What are you doing, Senior? Lucas is crying! Apologize quickly!"
"Huh? I have to apologize?"
"Why did you even hit him? He’s old enough to understand words!"
Well, that’s true... he’s twenty-two, so he’s not at an age to be physically disciplined... No, nobody should be physically disciplined at any age, to begin with... but still...
"As a close friend, not as a lord or commander, try apologizing first!"
"Uh, okay."
"Now, repeat after me. I’m sorry!"
I opened my mouth to mimic Evangeline.
Sorry... Sor... So... S...
"You crazy bastard, you were the one who used Beast Transformation first!"
"Come on! Seriously!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah."
As I yelled out, Evangeline smacked her forehead, and Lucas started to wail even more sorrowfully.
***
"I apologize for the disgrace, my lord..."
Sniffling, Lucas apologized. I waved my hand dismissively.
"It’s okay, man. I apologize for going overboard at that time. There was no need for me to hit you."
"Sniff... No, it’s my fault. I was the one who disobeyed your orders..."
Young Lord’s Mansion. Drawing Room.
After a long time, the main party of five had gathered, enjoying dinner, desserts, and a drink.
Lucas and I had dramatically(?) reconciled. All thanks to Evangeline’s mediation.
"You sometimes get really hung up on weird things. Just because you’re the commander doesn’t mean you have to avoid apologizing first," said Evangeline, sipping juice through a straw. I responded while gulping down a glass of cold whiskey.
"Hey, I gave him punishment within the military system. How would it look if I apologize first?"
"What does appearance matter? Reconciliation among friends should be the priority. You’ll regret sticking to formalities later."
Anyway, I acknowledged Lucas’s achievements in the last battle and offset his earlier infraction of turning feral.
My personal apology to Lucas made up for the excessive punishment. It was a complicated process, but we managed to mend the rift between us.
Damien, who had been awkwardly watching our interactions, finally broke the ice.
"So, uh, can we all hang out together tomorrow?"
"It seems like tomorrow will be really fun," Junior picked up where Damien left off.
Junior, who had brought herbs from Silver Winter’s Merchant Guild, tightly packed them into a pipe and started puffing away.
"The last day is a Dance Festival, they said. Seems like it’ll be a lot of fun. Your Highness, you’re participating too, right?"
Ah, right. There’s a Dance Festival tomorrow...
Reluctantly involved, I clenched my sweaty forehead and downed the remaining drink. Now I even have to dance in front of everyone? Great.
While I was lost in thought, the rest of the party members started discussing their plans for tomorrow. Do whatever you want...
’Huh?’
At that moment, my eyes narrowed as I looked out the window.
Am I seeing things? It seems like there’s something blurry outside.
Rising from the sofa, I walked over to the window and opened it.
"Yiiikes?!"
There stood Dusk Bringar, looking pitiful. Startled by my appearance, she flinched.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, sweating nervously.
"...What are you doing?"
Dusk Bringar was pressed against the drawing room window, spying on the five of us enjoying our snacks and drinks.
Dude, it’s not like you’re the Little Match Girl or something, why are you peeping into other people’s happy homes on Christmas Day!
--TL Notes--
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