Chapter 42

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The tournament entered its second day.

Zahha effortlessly overpowered his opponents with sheer strength, while Safina, seemingly having overcome her previous match, was winning with her speed.

As for me...

"Ugh... I'm so sleepy..."

Dark circles had formed under my eyes as I stood reluctantly at the competition venue. I had been up all night revising the script, reflecting on yesterday's mistakes.

The loud cheers of the audience were pounding in my sleep-deprived head, and my bad mood was getting worse. Even Tütte, who was waiting on the sidelines, was nodding off, swaying slightly as if rowing a boat, due to staying up with me.

"Then, let's begin the second round. Both fighters, step forward."

I stumbled forward to the center at the referee's command, feeling weak.

(So sleepy... No, no, I have to pull myself together! This time, I have to lose gracefully! Ever since Senior Karlis whispered something strange to everyone during the match yesterday, I've been getting more attention.)

Despite my thoughts, I was standing there in a daze, just holding the sword at my waist.

(If I mess up, it'll be like yesterday. This time, I'll attack immediately at the start... and then...)

"Begin!"

As I was muttering to myself, checking the sequence, I thought I heard the referee's voice. I lifted my head to look forward, and my opponent was already charging at me.

The overwhelming cheers, my lack of sleep, and the frustration of things not going as planned intensified my bad mood, making my temples throb.

"Haah!"

I shouted something incomprehensible, took a step forward, and drew my sword, swinging it at my opponent. The move, intended to intimidate and force the opponent back, resembled Safina's sword technique. The legendary sword, now harder (laughs), hit the opponent's body cleanly.

"Ugh!"

"Ah..."

The shock of the unexpected event instantly cleared my drowsiness, and my mind was filled with panic. The opponent, who had been completely caught off guard, fell to the ground and lay there trembling.

"Hey, that's not how it's supposed to go! Get up, get up! Is this how you want to end it? You're a warrior of Solos! Show some spirit!"

Panicked, I made unreasonable demands, and the opponent, groaning, tried to stand up.

"I had forgotten. Originally, Miss Safina learned that sword technique from Miss Mary. It seems the opponent had completely forgotten that she could use it. Miss Mary was always in such an unguarded position to invite an early attack, but the opponent should have been wary of her firm grip on the sword."

"Using such a thin sword for a quick draw, I thought it was just a fancy, blunt sword, but it doesn't seem to be the case."

"It's not a confirmed fact, but when Miss Mary had a sword made by Lady Deodora, she mentioned something about making something for her. Could it be that Lady Deodora..."

"If that's true, we can't underestimate her. If it was made by Deodora, the best blacksmith in the capital, then..."

The audience nodded in agreement as Senior Karlis, Zahha, and Safina provided unnecessary commentary from outside the venue.

(No, stop it! My reputation is going up again! I didn't mean for this to happen at all!)

I mentally facepalmed at the seniors' misguided explanations while desperately hoping my opponent would stand up.

"Ugh!"

Gritting his teeth and clutching his stomach, the opponent showed his spirit and stood up, trembling. I sighed in relief, thinking about the next move, and looked at Tütte.

Thud!

Just as I turned to look behind me, something fell to the ground. I cautiously glanced sideways and, to my worst fear, saw the opponent, who had just stood up, collapse again.

"Without delivering the final blow, you encouraged the weak opponent, watched his struggle, and greeted him with a smile when he finally stood up. Then, you turned to the waiting maid. It seems you had calculated that he would run out of strength there. But thanks to you, he avoided the dishonor of being instantly defeated. Truly, the 'White Princess' is as rumored, showing such noble qualities."

The audience erupted in cheers at Senior Karlis's completely misguided commentary.

"Winner! Mary Legaria!"

(My victory declaration synchronized with my inner scream. The loud cheers finally woke Tütte, who shuddered and looked around.)

(Did you... fall asleep standing?)

Feeling guilty for what I had done to Tütte, I approached her, and she whispered to me with a pale face.

"D-Did you win, Miss... What should we do?"

"It was beyond my control. Don't worry, next time..."

"But, Miss. From now on... the venue will change to the arena."

"Huh?"

As I realized what Tütte was saying, I collapsed to my knees.

"S-Such a thing, could it be... the top 8... How? What about the next match?"

"...The winner of the previous match was injured and, even after recovery magic, was advised to rest for a day. They decided to withdraw from the next match, so it's a walkover. Therefore, you automatically advance to the next round."

I had a vague memory of hearing this before the match, but it didn't register due to my sleepiness. The audience's cheers reached a peak, celebrating my entry into the top 8, the first to do so. It was said that I had collapsed in tears, overwhelmed by the achievement, or that the tension of maintaining composure despite being scared had finally broken, or that I was actually frail but had been pushing myself.

---

"What do I do! Hey! What should I do! What should I do!"

"Miss! C-Calm down! Don't shake your head, please!"

After leaving the venue, I dragged Tütte to a secluded spot and shook her shoulders wildly, almost crying.

At Tütte's urging, I stopped shaking her, and she looked dazed for a moment.

"In this situation... we should face Zahha or Safina and lose right at the start. It wouldn't be strange to lose to either of them in one hit."

"You're right. In this case, we should get one of them to help us!"

I latched onto Tütte's desperate suggestion.

"But Zahha seems a bit slow... maybe we should ask Safina. She'll probably help."

As I thought about this, Tütte, who was looking at the tournament bracket, started trembling.

"Miss, Zahha and Safina... if things continue like this, they will face each other in the semi-finals. And you won't meet either of them until the final."

"......"

A moment of silence.

"What do I do! Hey! What should I do! What should I do!"

"Miss! C-Calm down! Don't shake your head, please!"

And so, the loop began.

Thank you for reading this far.