11 - Sophomore Year, Summer

It’s been about three months since Arthur’s May Ball. I didn’t have much anything going on during that time, so I’ll just skip it as it’s not that big a deal.

What is, is this year’s Magic Tournament, said to be the most exciting one yet. The reason, of course, is that the winner will have my hand in marriage.

What is even going on anymore? I can’t keep up.

I don’t mean to brag, but I am a good woman. As I realized when I first regained my memory, I had incredible skills, good looks, and an excellent personality as well—a perfect noblewoman with no flaws. There are plenty who would love to marry me and make me their wife, so now everyone is doing their best to do just that.

But seriously, what am I going to do about all this?

When I went to confront Arthur about it, I found myself disarmed by his politeness and charm then quickly backpedaled. When you think about it, he’s a master at deception and getting what he wants. He’s also a massive pervert, which I’d forgotten for a moment in all the chaos.

He even came to me before the start of the tournament and said, “I will be the champion.”

Then, like some rival character in a superhero manga, Serena came up behind him and said, “My apologies, but I will be the champion.”

“No, I will be the champion, you cannot hope to beat my brother,” Mordred says as he joins the fray.

Then Sergius and Lancelot came in, too, causing an even bigger ruckus.

“You’re quite popular, huh, Eliza?” Yoshie said.

“So it seems…” I mutter, my face was grim. “Well, it seems like you all believe you’ll be the champion. However, I’m not planning to lose myself, so how about we all settle this properly in the arena?”

At that, everyone calmed down and left to prepare.

The tournament proceeded smoothly, it was now time for the finals with the remaining 8 contestants. Serena is in the first half with Arthur, Mordred, and Tanaka Annjustis Masura. I don’t who that last one is, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of him.

When I asked Serena about that, she replied in shock, “You don’t know who Tanaka is? But he’s so famous!”

And before you ask, the second half is composed of myself, Lancelot, Sergius, and Stan—a quartet of MaSLo all-stars.

My first match is with Sergius. “I’m grateful for your help, but I’m afraid I cannot surrender to you,” he said as we met in the arena.

I was nervous, but when the match began and I summoned some golems, Sergius instantly lost all of his confidence.

“Forgive me, I surrender!” he cried.

“Oh come on , can’t you at least try?” I asked.

It seems my golems left quite the impression on him back when we destroyed the magic cult.

Mordred VS Stan was a victory for Mordred. Well, I suppose my disciple can’t lose to someone like him. (You didn’t hear that last part.)

Lancelot VS Serena was a fiercer battle. Even before the start, the air was charged and heavy.

“Prepare yourself, you who would wish harm on Eli!” Serena called.

“Prepare yourself, you who would abuse Prince Arthur!” Lancelot called back.

It was a clash of equals. Serena fires a hail of light bullets while Lancelot keeps on reinforcing himself against the assault. In the end, victory was won by the death of a thousand cuts.

“Eli, I won!” Serena said as she came back.

Because she did, I let her use my lap as a pillow as she rested.

She giggled and said, “You smell so good, Eli.”

Tanaka VS Arthur was an overwhelming victory for Arthur. Right from the start, called upon a huge magic sword and Tanaka surrendered at the sight. (By the way, for someone so famous, he had such a plain face; he looked like just another ordinary person, so much so that I couldn’t really recall what he looked like.)

Now it was time for me VS Mordred.

“I will not lose to you again!” he called out as we met in the arena.

“It looks like I need to teach you that it’s impossible to exceed your master,” I replied.

The match started, I summoned a golem.

“ Holy Arrow Rain,” Mordred muttered, a small enchanted bow appearing in his hands.

The golem crumbles from the barrage. “Alright, how about this?” I say, casting the same gravity spell from last time.

“ Mach,” Mordred said.

An arrow flying at sonic speed almost hit me, if I hadn’t thrown up a mud wall at the last second. My gravity magic falters, Mordred is still free.

“ Earth Sphere,” I cast.

The ground around Mordred rises up, he gets trapped in a sphere of rapidly hardening clay. He tries to break out of it, but the holes keep filling in, the sphere gets smaller and smaller until finally… he’s finished.

“Haah, I couldn’t surpass you,” Mordred mutters after he’s free.

“I don’t think you could ever beat me,” I said, “but, at least you’ve gotten stronger, Mordred.”

“Seems I have,” Mordred said. “Now then, will you marry me?”

What is he going on about?

“Hold it right there!” Serena and Arthur cry as they rush into the arena and fire spells at Mordred.

“Only the winner has the right to marry Eli!” Serena cries. “Right, Arthur?”

“Absolutely right!” Arthur replies. “Mordred, you are breaking the rules! And Eliza, kick me!”

“No.”

“The Perverted Prince is right!” Serena finishes. “No more cheating!”

You would think these were actually good friends.

“Now then, Serena,” Arthur said, “let us see who will marry Eliza.”

“Let’s,” Serena said. “I’m going to win Eli’s hand, you’ll see!”

Oh come on, it’s like I’m not even here.

The battle between them started soon after.

I think Arthur has the advantage in this fight. He has that legendary sword and can cast at the conceptual level, too. On the other hand, Serena has the rare Light attribute but she hasn’t yet reached that point.

There is a world of difference between those who use conceptual level spells and those who cannot.

Normally, every element has innate weakness like fire against water, but at the conceptual level, one could craft something like Greek Fire that burns just fine on water. 1 With enough creativity and talent, any weakness could be overcome.

The match begins.

Like a Hero King, Arthur sends a magic sword flying out towards Serena, Serena blocks it with a light barrier.

“Let us end this, Serena,” Arthur said as he pulls an enchanted blade from its sheath.

“That’s…” Serena mutters.

“The Holy Sword, Excalibur,” Arthur said.

But it looks completely different from last year. MaSLo’s Excalibur doesn’t look a thing like that.

“This Excalibur was wielded by a king from another world, and with it my victory is certain,” Arthur explains, walking towards Serena with an evil smile. “It is your loss, Serena.”

“I will be the one who’ll marry Eli!” Serena cries, undeterred. (Her words make me a little embarrassed.)

The battle continues. Serena is wavering now while Arthur is almost untouched.

From the stands, I cry, “You can do this, Serena!”

The rest of the crowd begins to cheer with me, like a ripple spreading with me at the center. Serena begins to glow up like a Super Saiyan —the hero’s 11th Hour Superpower. 2 How could I forget that she was still the Heroine of this game?

Serena is now as strong as Arthur, with or without the Alter-Excalibur. Eventually, he falls to his knees, and says, “It’s your victory, Serena.”

Shortly after, Serena fell to her knees, too. “Eli, I won!” she cries.

“You did it!” I called back.

Her smile was so bright then.

After that final match, Serena took an hour to rest with recovery magic involved, too. “Told you I wouldn’t lose, Eli!” she said as I visited her.

I feel like I’m falling for her all over again.

Serena was soon deemed unfit to fight any longer, so I won my second Magic Tournament and the right to choose whoever I wanted to marry.

“Congratulations on your second consecutive title, Lady Elizabeth!” Stan says.

“Hey, Stan, what are you doing back here?” I thought.

It was just before the start of the customary after-tournament party, hosted by the sophomores for themselves.

“Congratulations, Eli!” Serena says, wobbling a little on her feet but otherwise just fine.

“Thank you,” I said.

And just before the party was about to start, Arthur came up to me and asked, “So, who are you going to marry, Eliza?”

The air instantly changes.

“By the way, if you marry me, I assure you a problem-free life,” Arthur continued.

“Please don’t joke around, Arthur,” I said.

“Well… I wasn’t joking but never mind,” Arthur said. “Let’s get married.”

What a persistent pest!

“Yeah, I consider you a back-up plan at best,” I said. “I’m going to marry Serena.”

“Huh…?” Serena asked, her expression surprised and then delighted. Cute.

“I’m afraid this country doesn’t allow same-sex marriage,” Arthur said.

Serena looked like she was going to end someone. “Then you go do something about that,” she said.

“Oh, I’ll give it my best,” Arthur said. It was the first time in a long time I’ve ever seen him look that serious.

Serena hugged me and asked, “Will you marry me, Eli?”

“Yes, if you’ll have me, Serena,” I replied.

“It could only ever be you, Eli,” Serena replied.

Aah~ this girl is just too cute!

“Sorry for intruding on your moment, Eliza, but you should take a look around,” Yoshie said.

I did and found several soldiers surrounding me.

“Elizabeth Asteron, you are under arrest for subversion,” says their leader.

Huh?

Footnotes

Reference mine. Greek Fire is an ancient chemical weapon that was said to continue burning even when it fell into the sea. It was often used for burning down enemy ships. A reference to Dragon Ball Z. The “Saiyan” characters oftentimes glow with visible, golden auras as they power up. The 11 th Hour Superpower is a trope where the character gains a vital power-up at the last moment, either foreshadowed or as is being parodied here, whenever it’s convenient for the writers.