Chapter 64: Blue Ring Martial Arts Tournament

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Translator: Soafp

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Four days before the orc attack, in the study room of the Cashew mansion in the royal capital:

A man around 50 years old and another around 30 were having a discussion.

“What are you saying! I won’t allow that!”

“It’s fine, father. This information is from a reliable source.”

“I won’t let anyone touch Blue Ring. There’s a demon there…”

“Regarding the incident with the Gran family, I exaggerated the report because I didn’t want to take responsibility. There’s no way someone capable of using such magic exists.”

“Even though a whole forest burned down…”

“Even if that’s true, do you really think a 12-year-old kid did it?”

“It seems so.”

“That’s ridiculous! Then why did we have to run away? We could have burnt down the city of Cashew!”

“We were shown mercy…”

“Don’t be absurd! The head of the Cashew family fearing a 12-year-old is unacceptable!”

A man around 30 entered the room.

“Norg, your voices can be heard all the way in the hallway.”

“Brother, can you talk to father instead of me? I’m not good at this.”

“I reported to Father about Blue Ring.”

“Even you are afraid of a kid?”

“Out of 26, 22 were defeated in an instant. Yorg was among them.”

“Yorg, you mean Vice Captain Yorg of the Cashew Knights?”

“Yes. The invincible Yorg. That man who returned from any battlefield was consumed by a 12-year-old’s magic.”

“That’s absurd. There’s no such magic…”

“Cashew won’t interfere with Blue Ring until the demon dies or disappears. This is the decision of the current head and the next head.”

“Is Cashew going to let this slide after being intimidated by a 12-year-old?”

“That’s a demon, not a human.”

“No, it’s a 12-year-old kid! Enough! I’ll handle this myself!”

Norg exits the Cashew family study room, visibly angry.

“Father, what’s Norg doing?”

“It seems like someone convinced him of something foolish.”

“Foolish?”

“They say that a demon is returning to Blue Ring with an Elven daughter. They’ve offered military power and funding if we hand over that Elven girl.”

“An Elf? It seems suspicious…”

“Yes, Norg is pitiful, but he has to be cut off…”

“He’s my brother… I’ll try to talk to him.”

“Things have already started moving. It’ll be too late after that.”

“I need to talk to them now…”

Before they could finish the conversation, they were injected with a paralyzing poison. It seemed like they couldn’t move their bodies.

Norg appeared at the door.

“Father, brother, I’ll protect Cashew’s honor. If I kill the kid, you both should wake up. For now, throw them in prison or something.”

One of the people in black attire bowed and took the lord and heir as per Norg’s instructions.

“Now, let’s see what you’re capable of.”

Norg issued instructions to the people in black attire, more as a formality than a command. It was clear that he was only a disposable tail if things were exposed. Only he seemed pleased, not understanding his own precarious position.

Back in the Blue Ring territory, breakfast the next day.

“Alright, let’s see who’s the strongest today!”

It seems that in Ice’s mind, they’ve elevated from a mock battle to a full-blown martial arts tournament…

“Mom, isn’t it supposed to be a mock battle?”

“That would be boring, wouldn’t it? Don’t you want to know who’s the strongest? Harva is quite powerful.”

“Harva…”

My tension clearly affected the situation. The lines were drawn sharply.

Those who cowered from the tension, those who reacted to it, and those who cowered but tried to resist it.

Reacting were Ice Witch, El, and Ashera. Trying to resist were Lewis and Nero.

It appears that we six, along with knights and volunteers, were preparing for a martial arts tournament.

I looked at my father. He subtly avoided eye contact… there must have been a lot happening the previous night.

After breakfast, we headed to the knights’ training ground.

While en route, Lewis and Nero started a conversation with me.

“Aldo, your house is interesting.”

“Yeah, can tell why you turned out like this.”

“Is that so? Isn’t this normal?”

“If this is normal, then humans have subdued all races.”

“That’s a bit far-fetched.”

While we chatted nonsense, Ice Witch and Ashera observed us with interest.

“Mom, Ashera, you seem like both have something to say.”

“It’s nothing. Just surprised that Aldo made friends.”

“Yeah. Aldo suits being alone.”

“Hey, that’s too much! Ashera, I’m always surrounded by people!”

Not just Olivia and Anna, even the maids burst into laughter. If teasing me makes them happy, then I guess it’s fine. I looked up at the sky.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Ice again came up with a crazy idea.

“Al, El, I’ve spoken to the Knight Commander and the Mage Commander, so gather the volunteers.”

“Understood.”

I went to talk to the Knight Commander, while El went to speak with the Mage Commander.

Surprisingly, the conversation went smoothly. We gathered volunteers from the knights and returned to the original location.

We had volunteers from the mage unit too. The team consisted of me, El, Ashera, Ice Witch, Lewis, Nero, Harva, and Mage Commander Grano, eight in total.

“Nii-san, you’re the only one from the mage unit?”

“Rafi, everyone’s busy. Please don’t stir things up too much, okay?”

The Mage Commander, Grano, looked visibly irritated. Mother, you’ve gone too far.

‘Harva, if Al wins, I’ll let him share the bed with Ashera as promised!

“Madam… Please stop joking. Ashera doesn’t like it either.”

“I-I don’t mind…”

Ashera blushed and looked down, and I started to approach her. She also slowly drew closer, looking at me from under her eyelashes.

But there was an obstacle just a step away…

“Aldo-sama, if you wish to get any closer, you’ll have to defeat me first.”

Kuh. I was frightened by Halvah’s serious killing intent…but…

“Hoooh…”

Suddenly, Harva collapsed.

“I’ll be the one to defeat you, father!”

Harva lay paralyzed, unable to move. I alternated between looking at him and Ashera, feeling strangely complex, as if I was looking at my future self.

The tournament is a single-elimination bracket. If you lose once, there’s no second chance. Only those who keep winning will achieve glory!

After a strict lottery:

Match 1: Lewis vs. Ice Witch

It was a swift defeat. Ice Witch immediately unleashed a frontal magical attack upon the match’s start… Quite an unpopular move, to say the least.

Match 2: El vs. Nero

Another clear victory. El didn’t allow Nero to do anything, ending in El’s win.

Match 3: Ashera vs. Harva

This is the highly anticipated match. In terms of strength, Harva naturally has the upper hand, but can he attack his daughter? Is Ashera weak enough to be easily defeated?

“Ashera. It’s for your own good. Please forgive me.”

“I hate you, Dad…”

“Hooh..”

This was the opening Ashera was waiting for!

However, Harva’s original strength is much higher. Ashera’s attacks didn’t hit as planned.

Ashera got serious.

“I didn’t want to see Dad lose.”

“Hooh?”

Harva also got serious.

Ashera enveloped herself with ten layers of magic! Then she screamed while surrounded by this magic.

Harva employed a single-handed sword with shield knight’s technique.

He managed to dodge Ashera’s rapid melee attacks using the shield with ease. However, Ashera’s 10 simultaneous magical attacks were being fired randomly. It resembled a scene from a certain anime’s Fanelia.

Despite being Harva, having only two arms couldn’t guarantee avoiding ten simultaneous magical attacks amidst rapid melee movements. He should have settled this before it reached this stage. Harva could have done it.

Was it the love for his daughter or the curiosity to experience her as a warrior? It’s uncertain, but Harva, faced with Ashera’s determined wave-like assault of magic, regretfully kneeled.

“I give up…”

On this day, Harva lost to Ashera for the first time.

Before the fourth match, Harva approached Chief Commander Grano. Even without hearing it, I could understand the content. Did I awaken some special ability?

“Aldo-sama. I want to lose to Ashera before Rafi, but my life is in danger.”

Chief Commander Grano was sweating profusely.

“Let’s fight fair and square!”

“Ye…”

Before I finished saying “yes,” the attack had already begun.

Fair and square…

I finished strengthening my body in an instant and prepared for magic.

Being my mom’s disciple, my magic was accurate and powerful.

But that’s all.

I remembered fighting with my mom and gradually attacked Grano.

There was no dramatic development from there. I gradually pressed on against Grano and ultimately won.

Next up were the second-round matches.

Match 1: Ice Witch vs. El

It wasn’t an overwhelming match, but El effectively used a shield against Ice Witch’s magic, cornering and winning the match.

Match 2: Ashera vs. Aldo

This match was extremely challenging.

If I win, I get to share a bed with Ashera. Being too desperate might repel her, but then again, I want to share the bed.

I agonized… This was the most I’ve struggled recently.

And the conclusion I arrived at was…

“Ashera. I want to share a bed with you, but I’ll fight seriously this time! I want to share a bed, but I’ll give up this time! I want to share a bed but…”

I was looked at as if asking how much I wanted to share a bed! But Ashera was smiling.

“I understand. I’ll fight seriously.”

With those words, both Ashera’s and my spirits sharpened.

“Here I go.”

“Bring it on.”

The serious fight between the two of us began.

The result? I got beaten up badly. I managed to push for a while, but when Ashera landed a status ailment, my movements worsened instantly.

In the end, I was beaten up badly as usual.

Match 3: El vs. Ashera

In a sense, this match was somewhat anticlimactic.

At the start, Ashera made a move, but El skillfully used a shield and avoided effective hits. After a while, El countered Ashera, leading to the decisive blow.

Finally, I had a third-place match against Ice Witch, which I won.

Results:

1st place: Elphus
2nd place: Ashera
3rd place: Aldo
4th place: Ice Witch
5th to 8th place: Others

And so, the first Blue Ring Martial Arts Tournament concluded with El’s victory.

I received grateful words from Chief Commander Grano and Harva, “Please don’t disturb our training.”

Everyone who participated in the battles, and even those who didn’t, seemed to have thoughts about the tournament.

Particularly, Lewis and Nero were impressed by Ashera’s true strength and appearance.

“If Aldo dies, I’ll marry her.”

When they jokingly said this, Ashera shouted, “I’m Aldo’s wife!” But they laughed, seemingly mocking her.

And so, the second day in Blue Ring came to an end. Before sleeping, I murmured that I wanted to share a bed and then drifted off.