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As for how this wind of change was gracing me—

It was morning, I just entered Master\'s office with a sigh, lamenting my fate of being stuck with another day of desk job, when he gave me the security task that I needed to take on in collaboration with the imperial guards.

The \'Rising Star Cup\' event that was going to be held at the Colosseum today would have young talents from each country participating in it. Participants from Yuglia were elected individuals from the Royal Academy, one per grade, who would be proving their valor while carrying the honor of their nation.

The first-year representative this year was, as one would expect, Leo.

The event reminded me of the competition at Rosemieur that I had heard about. Apparently, young mages test their mettle during the long spring holidays in the empire.

As today\'s event was something that would be attended by His Majesty and key nobles of the other nations, the imperial guards had their hands full with their protection.

The event was also open to the common populace as well, not just to VIPs, with around 30,000 tickets. Though they were such a hot commodity that they were immediately sold-out on the same day.

But money speaks I guess as the majority of tickets were actually bought out by the nobles of the other nations— so much for the common populace. Anyway, the audience was almost entirely made up of the upper class.

We, the 3rd legion, along with the police, were tasked to look after the general entrance.

As a matter of fact, I also thought about looking for a way to get a ticket since I was quite curious about the ceiling of foreign talents, but I had to give up after Master told me to focus on my knightly duties for the duration of the festival. As for how it went—

"Heavens, are you sure, Master!? Oh goodness, then I have to apologize for even doubting your goodwill! sniff I didn\'t know you were always looking after me...... No, I have really misjudged you!"

I tried to express my gratitude, but Master just clicked his tongue with his typical bloodshot eyes.

"Do you really think I had nothing better to do to pull some strings just so that you can take that mission?! It\'s just that the geezer Godorfun suddenly told me that I should let you watch the Rising Star Cup, using that decree as his weapon, saying \'Wasn\'t the order to make Allen run errands as a knight as long as it doesn\'t hinder his studies?\' or something. Damn that geezer! I swear, it wouldn\'t have killed him to tell me that beforehand!!"

Eh, I don\'t think I had any answer as to why as well......

Either way, it was a sudden windfall for me. I sent my eternal gratitude to Godorfun-sensei in my heart and left the central station while wearing the \'nihilistic\' mask over my face.

◆◆◆

"That\'s it. The winner is Leo Zatsinger."

The Colosseum erupted in rumbling applause when Godorfun-sensei, the umpire of this tournament, announced the victory of the local hero, Leo.

The matches were divided by grade level, where the representatives of the eight nations showcased their skill in a tournament-like format.

The condition to lose was if the umpire decided that the participant was no longer in a state to fight, a K.O. in short, a contestant lost their weapon, a contestant surrendered of their own will, or a contestant fell down from the stage that was 20 m on each side.

Weapons were allowed, but only wooden ones. The same went for armament in that they had to be made of wood or leather only. Emission magic with elemental factor was not allowed, but detection magic could be used.

Damn that Leo, did he train this summer vacation? He clearly got stronger......

Leo\'s opponent was by no means a pushover when it came to skill, but Leo\'s power level was just above the standard.

I was sure I could have won the tournament as well if I had been in his place, but that would have been quite an arduous path unlike his absolute dominance.

Well, I was only carrying my partian bow today but as long as they did not bar the wooden lygo bow and wooden arrows, I sure as heck could snatch the championship. But I wonder if that would be allowed since everyone was using close-quarter weapons.

Leo made a polite bow toward his opponent and left the stage while keeping his serious expression. That was my habit, where I would bow before and after a spar in regular classes, which had been recently picked up by the other students of Class 1-A.

He didn\'t put up any expression of delight or anything but... would it hurt him to not sprinkle his elegance in everything he did like those \'sparkly riajuus\' from the mangas.......

◆◆◆

"So he\'s that heavenly prodigy Leo Zatsinger...... What do you think, Grayfia?"

On the lawn next to the stage, the areas there had been turned into the player\'s stands for each nation.

In the Rosemieur\'s assigned stand, the leader of their participants asked the orange-haired maiden Grayfia, a 3rd year student from Rosemieur who was selected to represent her nation for her grade.

The woman, Grayfia, adjusted on her seat, showing her legs from the slit of her tight, glossy black mermaid-like dress and answered.

"Just like our Sierra\'s case, his opponents were too weak to reach a conclusion. Hmm, but his fame is well-deserved. You would expect him to use some pretty or neat style of swordsmanship, in line with his pretty face, but I could see a glimpse of his wild side... as if he had been regularly fighting with a ruffian-like friend.

I’m sure I would score the victory at his current age, no doubt, but I can\'t say what would happen after like two more years of training. But what\'s absolute is that our Prince Castick is no match for him in swordsmanship. He also loses in the looks department, so it was a good thing we decided to hold him off."

The man, their leader, was astounded to hear this self-conceited woman admitting that Leo might become stronger than her. He also considered himself to be someone capable of discerning talent, but maybe he might have to reevaluate Leo again if even Grayfia was so sure of his potential.

"......Stop it, Grayfia, that\'s discourteous to our Prince. But I would have liked to confirm his prowess in this charade if possible. He is said to be just as good with his pen as he is with his sword apparently, so he\'s most likely to become a threat to Rosemieur in the future."

Grayfia chucked, showing her peculiar long canine.

"I will try to provoke him after taking my championship. He seems to be the type to hate losing. If he takes the bait, I\'ll beat down that pretty face and break his heart so that he won\'t be able to hold his sword ever again. Well, there\'s no need to worry if he runs away as well."

".......Have you forgotten where we are? This is the kingdom\'s heart, and that <<Indomitable>> is here as well. Just don\'t lose yourself in the process and overdo it."

Grayfia just replied with a harrumph to the man\'s warning.

◆◆◆

After Leo\'s match, the contest between the second-year participants started, which was won by the representative of the Kwaal Republic.

The matches were filled with more sparks and sizzles in contrast to the first-year participants, but I think Leo would have won this one as well.

The representative from the Yulgia kingdom was a senior from the Hill Road Club. Unfortunately, he lost against the participant who would later become the victor.

And eventually, the curtain opened on the third-year matches.

Our representative was once again from the Hill Road Club named Rondy-senpai.

I recall that he joined the Hill Road Club at an earlier stage through Riyad-senpai\'s introduction and had told me gleefully how he had become stronger due to the club activities.

Riyad-senpai also told me that his abilities were one of the best in Class A, but I think he must have been practicing outside the club activities as well to be chosen as the representative.

His opponent was Olivia-san, whom I had the chance to meet yesterday. From her spirit and conduct, she also seemed to possess top-class caliber.....

I wonder who the goddess of victory would smile upon? I watched their match with bubbling excitement.

◆◆◆

"Begin."

In the split second Godorfun-sensei announced the start of the battle, the two participants kicked the ground and closed the gap between them.

Rondy-san\'s weapon of choice was a thick and sturdy club, meanwhile Olivia-san\'s was a rapier with a slightly broader blade.

Both of their weapons were wooden work for sure, but they came with elaborate designs unthinkable of wooden craftsmanship, meanwhile their hilts were designed in teardrop fashion.

A rapier probably had no chance in direct confrontation with a club. She was also not sporting a beefy build like Uncle Shell or Dante-san, so I really couldn\'t imagine her trying to parry the club with her wooden rapier.

A no-hit run while deftly managing incoming attacks was not simple either. Another problem was the abundant mana of Rondy-san which meant he couldn\'t be put down in a single attack from an edgeless rapier.

While I was analyzing the odds of victory for each side, Rondy-san made the first move.

Gripping the center of the club, he spun it to build momentum, then closed distance while swinging down diagonally from the top right.

Olivia-san deftly dodged that attack, stepping in closer to thrust her rapier, but Rondy-san was able to counter it.

I presume he must have considered the chance of his attack being dodged, which was how he managed to switch gears so soon.

He then followed up with a horizontal strike of his club while covering all the angles she could possibly dodge.

THUNK!!

A dull sound echoed on the stage.

"What the......"

The scene caused me to unwittingly mutter in daze.

Against all the possibilities I had thought, Olivia-san astonishingly accepted that strike with her rapier without breaking a single drop of sweat.

I really had no idea how such a thin rapier could take a club\'s attack head on. Admittedly the blade was a bit wider, but that was it.

In that case, that rapier was definitely not made of ordinary wood. Plus she even made sure to press down the base part of the club which showed her fine skills. The club couldn\'t easily be swung if the base was pressed down like that, after all.

But I think the thing that astonished me far more than anything was her confidence. She had that unwavering confidence where she could definitely take on a direct strike with her rapier. There was no way she would have chosen that risky maneuver of entering her opponent\'s range without that unshakable confidence. And with how she managed to gauge all that out even before experiencing the strength of Rondy-san, she was also confident that her body enhancement was incomparable to even the other contestants of the Rising Star Cup.

Olivia-san was rooted on the spot like a rock while it was Rondy-san who was forced to step back. In that timeframe, Olivia-san twirled on her heel while holding that rapier and kicked away Rondy-san.

The club left Rondy-san as it flew behind him.

"Game. The winner is Olivia Rudeon."

As Godorfun-sensei announced the winner, Olivia-san rushed up to Rondy-san and offered him a helping hand while saying \'It was a great battle!\'.

\'Uh-huh, I lost, huh?\' Rondy-san muttered with a faint smile and took her hand to stand up. The Colosseum was instantly filled with thunderous cheers despite the loss of their representative.

◆◆◆

"Are you kidding me, that duck face did that? No, what are the people of Justeria even doing here?"

The man next to her replied.

"Tsk! She\'s the daughter of the Rudeon house, the one holding the vanguard of the anti-war and pro Yuglia faction...... It\'s clear she had drawn her talent from that <<Roldeon>> family. I heard about her prowess, but they surely managed to conceal how great her talent actually was.

This Rising Star Cup had a tremendous effect in publicity. If they were to use that fame, it might be possible to subvert the kingdom\'s opinion and Justeria\'s senate as well. Can you win?"

"Spit! Not even in nine lives would I lose against that ugly duck. Democracy, freedom, and equality my foot. That just makes me want to puke. There\'s no hero without the sparkling adoration of the commoners. And history is proof that heroes are always from illustrious lineage and appearance. I will show that bitch how the world works.”