Champion Kalidahs.
The influence that name carried was immense.
So immense that it could send back a security squad that had been dispatched due to reports of a violent fight in the middle of the street with just a single word.
“Please wait a moment, Champion. Even so, to let them go without any investigation is a bit...”
《Anyway, those two... one person and one object? Anyway, capturing them would be impossible. The city is already in chaos as is, so don’t waste your manpower getting involved and just go back.》
“But they’ve even plowed up the ground like that.”
《That was me.》
“Champion!”
Thanks to this, the party was able to be released safely, and Peter, seemingly losing interest, disappeared somewhere.
Although he didn’t give a definite answer about participating in the tournament, judging by the atmosphere, he seemed likely to stay in this city for a while.
The Iron Stake Mercenary Company, who bought time while getting beaten by Peter until the Tin Knight arrived, had their efforts recognized and their status elevated from the “Association for Upholding Big Sis Dorothea (self-proclaimed)” to the “Association for Upholding Big Sis Dorothea (temporary)”, and they were able to receive treatment for their injuries.
Looking at the results, most things seemed to have been resolved smoothly, but Dorothea’s face was far from comfortable.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ puffs out his chest, saying justice always prevails!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ shakes his head, saying he told them to apply for the tournament from the beginning!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ solemnly declares that if Dorothea obediently accepts defeat and hands over her mana, there won’t be any bloodshed!]
“Shut up and stop it already!”
Clang!
Dorothea’s staff dented the Tin Knight’s helmet, but the Tin Knight’s bouncy dance didn’t stop. He had been in this state for hours already, apparently quite excited about the martial arts tournament event.
“Damn that champion.”
The champion’s declaration to hand over the belt to the tournament winner was like a bolt from the blue for Dorothea.
No, rationally speaking, shouldn’t you at least hold a grudge against the person who beat you up? But let alone gritting your teeth, you praise them and give them a gift? Does that even make sense?
Surely, it was those people whose thought process was strange, and she was normal... surely.
While grinding her teeth in frustration, the one who delivered the final blow to Dorothea was none other than Sophia, “Usually, a champion of a tournament has close ties with the organizers of that tournament, so if you think of it as bait for the tournament’s success, it doesn’t seem all that strange.”
It was the moment Dorothea’s mouth snapped shut.
She shouted in an irritated voice, “Alright, I admit I lost! I’ll acknowledge it!”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ sings a victory anthem!]
Dorothea, surrounded by a gloomy aura, and the Tin Knight next to her striking a victory pose with one arm raised.
Seeing the two, Adelaide tilted her head in confusion, “...But, come to think of it, isn’t this beneficial for both of you without anyone particularly winning?”
The Tin Knight got to participate in the martial arts tournament as he wanted, and Dorothea could secure the sacred treasure without any additional resource consumption or effort, so looking at the results, it could be said that both sides benefited. Adelaide found it difficult to understand why Dorothea was so gloomy and why the Tin Knight was so proud.
“Well, human hearts don’t always work in such a clear-cut manner. More importantly, are you alright, Miss Adel?”
“Huh? Why me?”
“Well, since Sir Tin is going to participate in the martial arts tournament, that means you’re primed to participate as well, no?”
“Ah.”
Adelaide’s mouth fell open.
That was right. There had certainly been such a conversation.
Only then did she realize—now was not the time for her to be worrying about others.
***Adelaide’s complexion had turned pale, but for her, a helping hand came from a completely unexpected direction.
The name of that savior was the tournament regulations.
“I’m sorry, but individual participation of magic dolls is not allowed.”
At the receptionist’s words, the Tin Knight staggered as if greatly shocked.
Shaking her head at the increasingly frivolous gestures of someone who looked so solemn on the outside, Dorothea asked, “It was your champion who told this guy to participate in the tournament. Even so, it’s not allowed?”
“Even if you say that, rules are rules,” perhaps mentioning the champion’s name had an effect, as the receptionist continued explaining with a troubled face. “In the past, mages also participated in this tournament, and their ‘familiars’ were treated as weapons or shields for warriors and could fight together... but as a result, most warrior-types were eliminated in the early stages, and it frequently happened that only mages remained in the finals.”
“Well, that would happen.”
Whether homunculi, spirits, or magic dolls, the familiars handled by mages often displayed quite excellent combat abilities.
Even magic dolls, considered the weakest among them, were impossible for warriors who couldn’t properly handle sword energy to deal with.
The strategy was simple—the familiar would bind the opponent’s feet, and in that gap, the mage could cast a spell to finish them off.
From the mage’s perspective, they might argue that they were moving the familiar with their own mana, so it was no different from a sword or shield, but it wasn’t the same for those facing them. The same went for the watching audience.
Sophia asked, “Then couldn’t mages participate alone, or familiars participate alone? At least there wouldn’t be unfairness due to numbers.”
“We’ve tried that too. But in the case of mages alone, they were defeated too easily by warriors, and in the case of familiars alone, there were complaints that ‘since they’re constantly supplied with mana and supported from outside, isn’t it essentially 2 vs 1?’”
“I see, so you were swept along by public opinion. Since most audience members would empathize more with warriors than mages or familiars, it’s a natural outcome if you think about it.”
“But—“ Dorothea said, smoothing her hair that had fallen down in irritation. “Then what are we supposed to do? The champion told us to come and fight in the tournament, but if participation is impossible, it’s meaningless.”
“Ahem, well, there are team matches, how about participating in those?”
“Team matches?”
“Yes, separate from individual matches, in team matches where three people form a team, participation of familiars is not restricted. Although they do take up one participant slot.”
“Does the champion appear in that too?”
“Kalidahs only participates in individual matches. However, there are luxurious prizes for team matches as well...”
“Hmm.”
Thinking that a mage, especially one with a flashy appearance like Dorothea, participating would help the tournament’s success, the receptionist raised his voice explaining how amazing the prizes were, but Dorothea’s reaction was lukewarm.
It wasn’t that she had no desire for material things, but their core objective in coming to this city was securing the sacred treasure.
With the Tin Knight unable to enter the important individual matches, Dorothea felt no need to participate in team matches that had little connection to the sacred treasure, anyway.
“You’re talking about trivial things.”
At that moment, a voice cut into their conversation.
The party’s gazes turned.
Twin-tailed hair that looked silver or gold, depending on the light. The owner of red eyes and a voluminous skirt.
Franka Aglaia was there.
The receptionist’s eyes widened.
“L-Lady Franka?”
Gently ignoring the receptionist’s voice calling her, Franka spoke to Dorothea, “The point is you need a stage to fight Kalidahs, right? Then there’s nothing difficult about it. We can create something like a battle between the individual match winner and the team match winners, attaching some excuse like a special event match. The top 3 from individual matches could form a team, or conversely, one representative from the team match winners could step up.”
Dorothea frowned, “You can do that as you please?”
“The Aglaia family is one of the biggest sponsors of this tournament—no, this city. If I set my mind to it, I can do that much easily.”
Dorothea glanced at the receptionist.
Judging by his reaction of seeming to recognize Franka’s face at first, and his lack of questioning of what she was saying despite being flustered, it didn’t seem like a mere bluff.
However, this didn’t make Dorothea’s face brighten, “What’s your motive?”
Franka was one of the competitors in gathering the eight sacred treasures.
For her to say she would help one of the sacred treasures fall into Dorothea’s hands, it was inevitable to doubt her intentions.
Franka spoke as if displeased, “I have my own circumstances. However...”
Franka trailed off.
She looked as if it was difficult to speak with so many ears listening.
“...Shall we move somewhere else first?”
***After moving to her own shop, not content with just that, Franka thoroughly locked the front door and blocked all the windows before finally opening her mouth, “To get to the point, I have no reason to stop you from retrieving the sacred treasure. I’m already as good as half-eliminated, anyway.”
“Eliminated, you say?”
“You made me make a Blood Oath. How can I gather the eight sacred treasures when I can’t take any hostile actions against you?” after complaining with a frown, Franka sighed. “After parting with you, I immediately went to confront my master. I thought my master might know a way to release the oath, and above all, I couldn’t understand the actions of taking only the sacred treasure while abandoning me and my children in that situation. It was a ridiculous mistake.”
Franka said self-deprecatingly, “Far from apologizing or helping, my master scolded me instead. Saying they couldn’t entrust the retrieval work to me anymore, they took away the compass and told me to reflect while assigning me to watch the shop here. Well, fine, let’s say that’s that. I failed, so I received treatment fitting that, but I can’t forgive taking my children away, even if it’s my master.”
Towards Franka, who seemed filled with resentment, Dorothea spoke coldly, “Your introduction is long. What do you want to say?”
“Retrieve my children,” Franka spoke, looking straight at the party. “I don’t think you can beat my master, but if I tell you the strategy, it might be possible to steal something from my master’s ‘world’. You get the ‘Gloves of Haider’ that my master took from me, and in the process, rescue my children. If you accept the proposal, I’ll also help create a stage for you to fight Kalidahs. It’s not a bad deal, is it?” Sёarch* The NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
“...Hmm.”
Dorothea fell into thought.