Chapter 41

Thank you for the bookmarks, ratings, and everything. I'm so excited I'm practically jumping up and down.

"It's my turn to shine, isn't it?"

"I... I'm getting nervous... Will I be able to follow the script properly?"

Right now, Tütte and I are hiding in a secluded spot not far from the waiting room, consulting each other while facing each other. For some reason, we're both crouching.

"By the way, Miss? Why aren't you waiting in the waiting room?"

"If I stayed in that tense place, I might have become so nervous that I couldn't function."

"Ah... Then I'll go to the waiting room and see if it's your turn, Miss."

With that, Tütte stood up and tried to leave, but I grabbed the hem of her skirt.

"Don't leave me alone, I'll get even more nervous!"

"But your turn is—"

"It's fine. I asked Safina to come and get me when it's close to my turn."

"Is it really okay to rely on Lady Safina?"

Just as I was thinking this, Safina, the very person we were talking about, came running over, panting.

"Sorry, Miss Mary! It's your turn now!"

As she ran over, Safina panted and told me this.

"Why did you wait until the last minute?"

"Probably because she was indecisive about whether to come get you or wait a bit longer, and ended up waiting until the last minute."

To my simple question, Tütte answered with a look that said, "I knew it."

(After such a match, she's still indecisive... But it's so typical of Safina, it's kind of endearing.)

While I was feeling warm inside, Tütte took my hand and started walking quickly towards the venue.

"Wait, wait, Tütte. What's the rush?"

"What are you talking about? The way Safina was rushing, everyone might already be in the venue! Come on, Miss, hurry up."

"Wait, I need to prepare my mind—"

I was led by Tütte to the match venue, and as expected, all the opponents were already there.

(Oh... I'm so noticeable... Everyone's looking at me...)

I left Tütte behind and slowly made my way to my match venue. To my surprise, there were quite a few spectators, probably because of the presence of Prince Magilka, Zaha, Safina, and senior Karlis.

(Everyone seems more interested in the audience than in my match... Especially Zaha and Safina are the most popular right now...)

I took a deep breath and looked at my opponent, who was staring at me as if trying to figure something out.

(I was so flustered by all the commotion that I didn't realize it until now... But now, standing here, I'm starting to feel that I'm really going to have a match... Oh, I'm getting nervous.)

I gripped the legendary sword (laughs) at my waist, feeling the tension in my hand and confirming the hardness of the sword.

"Begin!"

With the referee's command, cheers rose, and I decided to draw my sword and face him with a bold attitude. He followed suit, raising his spear and pointing it at me.

"Hehe! Come on, dance for me on my grand stage!"

My bold attitude and provocation seemed to surprise him, and he just stood there, weapon at the ready, watching me.

(Okay, I managed to say the lines from the script! First, the planned first attack didn't come... But why?)

As I was wondering, Karlis-senpai was giving an unnecessary commentary to the audience.

"Is that... on purpose?"

Safina, surprised by Karlis-senpai's words, asked back.

"Yes, Miss Mary's opponent is a different type from you all. His skills and strength are average, but he excels in strategy. His fighting style is to investigate the opponent, manipulate them, and make them dance on his stage, leading them to defeat."

"So, at the start of the match, Miss Mary is letting the opponent use his preferred strategy, essentially telling him to dance on his stage. I was worried it might look like a stage performance."

Magilka, relieved by Karlis-senpai's explanation, gave a strange interpretation.

"Yes, it's a great confidence booster. Thanks to this, the opponent's initial momentum has been dampened. It might be part of Miss Mary's script."

Unaware of the strange conversations going on around me, I was diligently following my own script to lose cutely.

(First, I'll attack with a confident air... and then let the opponent counter...)

I repeated simple attacks to let him stop my attacks. The next moment, the defensive opponent turned to attack. I blocked it, grimacing and stepping back. This triggered a series of thrusts from him, and each time, I showed a pained expression and deflected them.

(Okay, I'm on the defensive as per the script... I'm struggling to block each attack, and I'm showing my weakness!)

I was so pleased that everything was going according to the script that I had to resist the urge to smile. While I was focused on defense, Karlis-senpai's off-the-wall commentary continued.

"He's getting frustrated... He's being manipulated by Miss Mary the whole time."

"To me, it looks like Miss Mary is under pressure."

Magilka, who was watching with bated breath, responded to Karlis-senpai's commentary.

"No, that's clearly an act, it's too exaggerated. Besides, to the untrained eye, Miss Mary's defense is a bit ahead of the opponent's attacks, waiting for them. This makes the opponent feel like they are being forced to attack."

Zaha, excited, added to the commentary.

"Also, Miss Mary... she's trying not to laugh. This is psychologically overwhelming for the opponent, who is supposed to be attacking."

Safina, who was closely observing my actions, added even more to the commentary. The audience let out an "Ooh" in response.

"Ahhh!"

Unaware of all this, I let out a cute cry, pretending to be pushed back and falling to my knees.

"Miss! Please stop! The match is already decided!"

Tütte, following the script, extended her hand to me, intensifying the sense of my being cornered. The audience buzzed in response.

(Hmm, isn't Tütte being a bit too theatrical?)

While I didn't notice my own acting, I started to worry about her overly dramatic delivery.

"I'm amazed... to have even a third party prepared... and that maid is also acting. This means they had a pre-arranged script. To have someone else, especially with a pre-arranged line, declare the loss instead of doing it yourself is the ultimate way to show the difference in strength to an opponent who relies on strategy."

Karlis-senpai's off-the-wall commentary went beyond amazement to outright shock.

"No, it's not over yet! I can still fight!"

I said this, staggering to my feet, and he stepped back to reposition himself.

(Here, I need to show that I'm trying my best...)

"...a desperate all-out attack, countered..."

"!!!"

(Oops... I said it out loud... When I get back up after being countered, Tütte will reluctantly throw in the towel, and I'll lose by TKO! Perfect script!)

With the certainty of my defeat, I raised my sword...

"I surrender..."

"Huh?"

I was stunned by his words.

"Winner, Mary Legaria!"

The referee's loud announcement turned the murmurs into cheers, and the match ended.

"Damn... I lost completely... There was no opening at all. I have to admit, you're impressive."

With a clear face, he offered me his hand, and I responded with a blank look as he left the venue. I then walked over to Tütte, who was still in the back, holding the towel prepared for a TKO, unsure of what to do. She handed me the towel, which I accepted.

"Hmm... When the maid declared my defeat, and I said I wasn't satisfied and could still fight, he probably decided to abandon all strategy and go for a desperate attack. He realized what was happening from my muttering... The final touch was the maid's towel. Even though she hadn't been instructed by me, her act of preparing to wipe my sweat showed that everything was going according to my script, completely breaking his will to fight..."

"Miss Mary... you're scary... to use the opponent's preferred strategy to crush them completely..."

"Amazing, Miss Mary!"

Karlis-senpai's bewildered commentary, Zaha's frightened expression, and Safina's sigh of admiration greeted me. Finally, I understood the situation.

Mary Legaria, first round, victory.

By the way, I later found out that in this world, there was no concept of throwing in a towel to signify a loss during a match. Tütte didn't understand why throwing a towel meant a loss, but she followed the script without asking.

Thank you for reading this far.