Chapter 24

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

After living with these three main activities—strength training with Lina's help, dungeon exploration—it seemed that a week had passed in the blink of an eye.

Before she knew it, the preliminary round of the Sword God Cup had started.

This preliminary round, in which four hundred C- and D-class swordsmen participated, was designed to be a ten-person match to avoid the hassle of one-on-one battles.

As a newcomer to the city and a D-class swordsman, I would be participating in this preliminary round.

『Now, let's start the fourth match! Contestants, please come up to the stage!』

Hmm.

It seems it's my turn.

I moved to my designated position on the stage.

This stage was unusually circular, with ten people standing at equal intervals.

Only one person out of these ten would advance to the next round.

The one who would continue fighting without losing their blessing until the end.

“Mr. Alair! Please do your best! —Wait, all the other opponents are Black Blade swordsmen!?”

Lilia, who had come to cheer me on, raised her voice, though it wasn't really necessary.

“Hahaha, too bad, aren't you, you jobless guy?”

“As that woman said, we are all Black Blade swordsmen.”

“Indeed, what a coincidence, isn't it?”

“Exactly. Who would have thought that all nine of your opponents would be from the same guild?”

My opponents grinned and said such things.

“What coincidence? It's clearly intentional! They must have planted someone in the organizing committee to manipulate the match-ups!”

Lilia shouted, but

“Hey, don't say such things that make us look bad.”

“It's the result of a fair draw.”

“Then show us the proof.”

They denied it with a straight face.

Unless they were incredibly foolish, they wouldn't have left any evidence.

Understanding this, Lilia couldn't retort and just grumbled, “Grrr.”

“You don't need to go through such trouble.”

I said.

“I just need to take them all down.”

My words made my opponents raise their eyebrows.

“You're being too cocky!”

“Let me tell you, we are all among the top C-class swordsmen.”

“No matter how many A-class swordsmen you've defeated, you can't win against this many.”

“You're definitely out in the first round of the preliminary round!”

They were angry, but the fact that they resorted to such underhanded tactics already revealed their true nature.

“Do you know? The weaker the dog, the more it barks.”

“““What did you say!?”””

“Just like you are now.”

“““You...”””

『Well...』

The referee, who was at a loss about what to do, decided to start the match as planned since everyone showed their willingness to fight.

『S, so let's start the match!』

The nine opponents drew their swords simultaneously and closed in on me.

“I have one more thing to tell you.”

I deliberately moved to the center of the circular stage.

“Fool!”

“You moved to the most disadvantageous position!”

“Hahaha, we win!”

They quickly surrounded me.

“The Sword Maiden's strength is best displayed in such group battles.”

Immediately, they attacked from all directions.

—“Sword Dance”

“““What!?”””

Hmm.

They are just C-class swordsmen, after all.

No matter how many there are, their strength is limited.

“...I, impossible...?”

“W, with this many... and I lost...?”

“M, monster...”

The nine swordsmen, who had lost all their blessings, let out shocked groans.

“It took about five minutes. Using the ‘Sword Dance’ continuously is quite exhausting, even for me... but this much time isn't a big deal.”

It looks graceful and elegant, but it's quite demanding to perform.

I had to sharpen my senses in all directions and read the moves with full concentration.

It was like continuously activating “Teleport” with intense and varied movements.

As a skill of the “Sword Maiden,” which is considered the top class, it is indeed physically draining.

However, thanks to my recent strength training, it feels a bit easier than before.

I probably can maintain it for about an hour now.

『T, the survivor is Alair of Dragon Fang! He has advanced to the second round!』

The second round of the preliminary was held the next day.

The number of participants had been reduced from four hundred to forty in the first round, and in this second round, multiple people would fight simultaneously again.

However, this time, five people would fight at once, and one would advance.

“Hmm? Are all of you Black Blade swordsmen again?”

When my match started, the other four seemed to have agreed to come at me.

“No, it's not that! The principle of this preliminary is to cooperate to defeat the strongest opponent!”

It seems they saw me as the strongest and decided to team up.

“I see. But if you want to defeat me, you should at least come with ten or more.”

“““What!?”””

With that, I advanced to the third round. From then on, it would be a one-on-one tournament with the remaining eight who had advanced.

“I would appreciate it if you could do it all at once to save time.”

I suggested to the organizers.

“W, what are you thinking!? If you do that, everyone will team up against you again!?”

“That would be faster.”

“The opponents are the swordsmen who have advanced this far! They are probably at the level of B-class swordsmen!”

“So, they are at Lilia's level? No problem.”

“It's complicated!”

“By the way, the organizers agreed.”

So, the eight of us, including me, went up to the stage at once.

“You're being too cocky...”

“You think one person is enough to handle all of us C-class swordsmen...”

“...Fine, I'll crush you with all my strength...”

The seven opponents glared at me with murderous intent.

...Why are they so angry?