Group C

I decided to switch gears and focus on the game. Still, it was hard to forget the sense of irritation entirely.

"There is no point in being so bothered. Or did you actually think I would be tempted to follow that bonehead?"

"I know. But he just came out of nowhere with that proposition. It gets to you."

"Perhaps. I have lived long and yet have rarely met someone who was so rude. He seemed rather proud to be a light elf, but I never saw much worth in it."

He really had been proud of it. Something about being the chosen race. Elves seemed to be quite rare already, but were light elves so few in number?

"There are some who say we are direct descendants of the ancient elves. That is all it is."

"What? That seems like a big deal to me."

She never told me that! Direct descendants of ancient elves! The ones that died out a thousand years ago…

"Whatever blood may have been there is too thin to mean anything now."

"That may be…but, bloodlines are important…"

Well, they usually were important to the protagonist… There would be fights over being purebloods and all…

"There really is no point in any of it. Besides, no one can use ancient magic."

"True…"

But there was a meddlesome part of me that started to wonder if such abilities couldn't be unlocked somehow. I don't know…a special item or something that would awaken the old blood…

Yes, truly meddlesome. Daniela didn't want it and wouldn't be happy if I pushed it.

"By the way, where is Lemon?"

"Hmm? Oh, she should be near the front…ah, there she is."

It wasn't too hard to spot the person with ash-colored hair. I saw her small head very clearly. She was looking around and trying to find us in the crowd. She was as cheerful and cute as always. A little different from Daniela.

"Look. She saved seats for us. We should hurry. It's because of you, you know? You complained about not being able to see. So she got front row seats this time."

"Now I feel terrible…"

Daniela said with a wince. All the more reason to hurry.

I led Daniela by the hand and we waded through the crowd of people until we reached the front row.

"Ah, the two veterans! You're late!"

"Sorry-sorry. This white weirdo got in our way."

"What? I've been hearing people talk about Adlus and some Adventurers he was angry with. Was that you…?"

She was looking at me like I was a monstrous idiot.

"He was trying to take Daniela away. I only reacted in an obvious way."

"Ahh… Yes, Adlus is known for doing that around light elves…"

"I see… What a good-for-nothing."

Seriously. I'll beat him to a pulp in the main fight.

"He approached me once before. But then he rubbed at his eyes and apologized for the mistake."

"…"

"Well, you have nothing to worry about Miss Daniela. Since you have Asagi here with you."

"Indeed. And Lemon, sorry about yesterday… I am afraid you went through much trouble because of what I said about the seats."

Daniela bowed her head, but Lemon frantically waved her hands dismissively.

"Oh, it was nothing! These just happened to be the seats that were open!"

"I see… Thank you, Lemon."

"Oh…Miss Daniela…"

Daniela raised her head and gently stroked Lemon's ash-colored hair. Lemon's face brightened and the two of them stared at one another for some time. Nice.

"Ah, it's about to begin. I'm so glad you arrived in time."

"All right, Lemon. Sit here next to me. We will watch it together."

"Yes, Miss Daniela!"

Daniela threw an arm around her and pulled her closer. Lemon's hand was also on Daniela's arm now. They had sure gotten closer…  I would feel rather lonely as I watched the game. Still, it wasn't exactly hard on the eyes.

It was Group C today. The Adventurers who would be fighting were Rank B. Daniela and I were around that level in Replant. That meant that these guys would be strong enough to kill a wyvern solo.

"No, I believe that was because of your skills, Asagi."

"Oh, really?"

I had had a pretty bad start, and besides, Rex and the others had weakened it for me.

We watched these strong fighters battle it out in the arena. But was it just me? Or did there seem to be a lot more today…

"Ah, it is not just you."

"Really?"

"Yes. There are a higher number of B-Rank Adventurers. It's harder to break through to Rank. Some people will never even make it. And so there are up to eighty Adventurers here today."

"Ouch…"

According to Lemon, there were not many Adventurers who could reach Rank. Indeed, your rank was affected by your level, but it was also affected by quest completion rates. You could have a really high level, but if you didn't complete quests, the guild could refuse to raise your rank.

That being said, you couldn't just complete a bunch of lower-ranking quests either. It was a matter of trust. However, Rank quests tended to be very dangerous, and so B-Rank became a kind of pool where many B-Rankers collected.

"People enter the tournament for the chance of fame. It will also help you get better quests and raise your rank… A final desperate attempt of B-Rankers, you might say."

"I see… So in a way, it's a relief measure."

"Yes. After all, it's best that there are a lot of high ranking Adventurers."

Well, winning the tournament alone wouldn't mean much by itself. It was really about how many moves and tricks you could steal. That's what B-Rankers needed to do.

I had been blessed in a way. Beowulf had made me his thrall, and I had received special skills. Of course, it didn't hurt to have someone like Daniela next to me as well. I would have likely stayed at G-Rank…had I been alone.

So I had to be thankful to them… Beowulf. I wonder what he was doing now.

I thought about such things as the fight continued. A battle royale of eighty fighters. They may not have had enough experience and skill for the guild, but they looked pretty capable to me. Perhaps it was sheer desperation. They wanted it so bad. Winning was the only thing they were thinking about.

However, it tended to make you lose sight of things. If you aren't fully aware of your surroundings, you end up losing fights that you could've won. But how many of them would realize this…

"Ahh…"

"Did you see that, Asagi? The woman with the spear."

"I did. Impressive…"

One spear-wielder was expertly taking down opponents, front and back, left and right. She pulled back from a forward thrust in order to attack the person behind her, then she blocked a sword without killing her momentum. The spear then twirled above her head and came cras.h.i.+ng down. Yes, it was great. I took notes with Jack of all Trades, Master of None.

And she could defend quite well too. Her flexibility was especially impressive. She could even lower herself into the splits… I would scream in pain if I had to do that.

She dodged attacks by crouching, all the while, swinging her spear. It was hard to attack a target that was close to the ground. And just like that, another enemy had their legs fly over their head and was defeated.

And there was more. Once, she evaded attacks from both sides by jamming her spear into the ground and lifting her body high into the air. Then she swung her spear, drawing a circle and throwing the two attackers off of their feet.

It really was quite a sight, seeing so many opponents fall, one after another. I felt like I was watching a martial arts film. The audience loved it.

It was as if one person fell with every swing.

"That one is clearly on the rise. Not like these others who are stuck in B-Rank."

"Indeed. She will be Rank soon enough."

Lemon and Daniela nodded. I agreed. Imagine how deadly she was with her real weapon…

"However, she does not seem to use magic."

"Do you think she really got this far with that spear alone…?"

"Perhaps. She certainly has the skill for it."

This was the kind of battle that felt good to watch. And it also had the bonus of being educational for me.

However, it was about to come to an end. She blocked swords and dodged magic as if a dancer on stage. Her enemies dwindled until there was just her and one other person left. However, this was the Imperial Sword Tournament. And there were two winners.

In other words, the fight was finished. The winners of Group C were the spear-wielder and one lucky guy.

"His face… He looks as if he has already lost."

"Yes, Miss Daniela. You can see that he's already hit the ceiling."

You had to be greedy for victory. Lemon added. I suppose that was her motto in life. I didn't know if I agreed with it, but I understood her. You could say that it was also an important trick to living. I thought this as I stared at the spear-wielder.