It's about a month after the Duke's Council, and it's the day of the Myrddin Knights' greatest battle.
　The rules are simple. You can use any weapon, magic, or skill at your disposal and you can even kill your opponent.
　No excuses....slugfest.

　I'm able to do this, of course, because I made a few changes to the arena instead of being able to get help from the master.
　It's good that I turned it into a dungeon, but the problem is that I'm only using magic stones equivalent to a normal dragon, so my magic power is limited.
　That's why I decided to have a knight test the performance of the dungeon, and this project is going to work.
　I hope it's successful: ...... I'm worried about having enough magic power.

　And today's main attraction, the knights, are having a great time at the lottery.
　It's been almost two years since the founding of the Order. It's been two years since the order was founded.
　There were barely one hundred at the last examination, not enough for a knight of the house of princes.
　The first test was too hard. That plus Bernhardt's, so we've never had more than double-digit recruits in a month.
　no wonder they're the greatest knights in the world.
　but they're strong enough to be Class A adventurers.

　it looks like the results of the lottery are in.
　It looks like he's happy and sad to see his group.
　Today's schedule is the preliminary tournament in the morning. It's the final tournament in the afternoon.

　Each of the twenty-five players will fight in a scramble, and the last three standing, twelve players in total, will get a chance to participate in the tournament.
　The other two are seeded.
　The seeds were drawn by lot between Bernhardt, Alma, and Hermann, and the winner was Bernhardt and Hermann.
　Those three are exceptional, so no one complains about the seedings.
　Most of them will just feel lucky that their odds of qualifying are reduced.
　You'll be rewarded for just getting to the tournament.

"Well, now that we're grouped, is it time?
　And I'm in a special seat in the arena watching with Shelly, Belle, Elsie and Lou .
　Leena and José will be downstairs all day to tend to some minor injuries that the dungeon didn't heal.
　And Frank has been asked to come downstairs for an event.

　I really wanted Leena and the others to have some fun, and I wanted to set it up so that I could heal all the wounds ...... but doing that would deplete my magic power quickly .

''I think it's about time . Ah, the first group has come in.
　After the lottery was over, the men entered the arena as if they were ready to go.

Hahaha. Everyone is too nervous!
　I gazed at the faces of the knights who were being laughed at by Lou, and their expressions were definitely strained .

''Well, if we start and move our bodies, the tension will ease . For that matter, it's boring to just watch, so let's try to predict who will win out of these guys.''

'Okay . The one who seems to be able to win out of all this is ...... that full-body armor Rob with the axe?　In terms of strength alone, you're second only to Mr. Bernhardt in the Order. And of course, the deputy commander, Claude, is the most experienced and competent.
　I lightly suggested it, and Shelly pointed to it and gave me a commentary on it, calling my name .
　You're my knight and you know more about knights than I do. ...... Well, you've had plenty of time to interact with the knights while you've been challenging the dungeon.
　It's like you've been challenging dungeons for the past month.

"Let's see how the first game pans out.

　And meanwhile, we're ready to start fighting.
　I'll be the one to give the signal to begin.
Begin!
　As soon as my voice rang out, the men started to move in unison.

'It's like a battlefield.'
　They were slashing each other's swords, and blood was flying, it was a real battlefield.

"Sir, are you going to enjoy seeing this?

People who come to the arena like this sort of thing.
　I heard that even in the arena of the imperial city, slaves kill each other.
　Compared to that, it's harder to feel sick when you know you won't die.

''Well, I'm usually afraid of accidents, so I don't allow anyone but demons to be killed.
　Would you be okay with a game like that once a week?
　It would take an awful long time to get magic from a regular customer, so we'll have to leave that much time between them.

''That's natural. You're on the edge with our magical power, right?

That's right. And it's limited to healing only major wounds, right?

Well, you know . I can't heal more than two dozen people over and over unless I limit myself to fatal wounds.
　Just hold them back long enough for Leena and the others to heal, and you'll save a lot of magic power to use.

Oh, that Robb that Shelly was talking about killed five people at once!
　We were talking about the specs of the arena, and Lou shouted about the fight, completely ignoring it.
　No, in this place, Lou was right.
　We should have a look at our knights' heroics.

You're right. We're down to two.
　There are five men standing in the arena now.
　Robb and the Lieutenant Commander are unharmed, the others are only slightly wounded.

There. I told you.

Oh, I'm holding Robb down by himself.
　While Sherry was bragging about it, a knight was engaged in a fierce battle with Rob .
　How could he move so much with that wound? .......
　Who is that man who is avoiding Rob's attacks, but returning his attacks firmly?

'What?　Oh, by the way, ...... That guy has been growing rapidly lately, Mick . I think it's only been about three months since he joined the team. He's gotten that strong~


　Seriously. Shelly, you know how many new people have joined.
　That's more surprising to me than what Mick did.

It's amazing for such a short period of time. Oh, there's one more person left in the meantime.
　Rob and Mick were fighting a fierce battle, and their opponent, the XO, beat them both.
　Yeah. That's settled.

Okay, recover all of them.
　He saw that the vice-captain had killed the last man and made a recovery.
　Sometimes it's important to note that this isn't resuscitation.
　Downed knights are stopped in time before they die, keeping them alive until the match is over.
　Then at the end of the match you heal the wound and move forward in time.
　There's a lot to do and this one will use more magic, but it's many times better than resuscitation.

"Feng ...... have you brought everyone to life?

Yeah. We're all up.
　I looked around the arena, and everyone seemed to be conscious.
　Those who still had wounds were being healed by Leena and the others.

That's good to hear. But I'm going to have to use my magic three more times. I'm going to have to get Sherry and the others to join us at lunch.
　I don't need to heal a large number of people for the afternoon tournament, so I shouldn't need that much magic.

Fine.
Copy that.

Okay, the second group is coming in. What do you expect next?

First of all, of course Alma: ...... That woman is strong.
　Alma's group. Yeah?

Hmm?　I've seen that somewhere: ...... Ah!　Bernolt's wife?!

Correct.

No, what are you doing here?
　What about the kids!　Oh, there's Bernolt in the audience taking care of him.
　But still, ...... when did you join the Order?

Lately I've been bringing my kids to the Order, teaching magic to the knights who have the attributes. So, I'm supposed to be inducted into the Order, at least.
　Not as a knight, but as a teacher. Well, that makes sense.
　It's nice to have a valuable wizard.

So why did you join us today?

'He used to be an S-class adventurer, you know?　That's because if there was a festival like this, of course I'd be there.
　Is there a reason for that?　I mean, was Bernolt's wife like that kind of combat maniac?

'Yeah, ...... I'm a sweet mom on the outside,'
　That guy with the wand, smiling, doesn't look like he's going to kill a lot of people.

　And now it's time for me to give the signal to begin.
"Begin!　...... Huh?

Oh, .......
'Ahaha!　Blink!
　As soon as we started, Alma and Bernold's wife all beat them down .
　I knew Alma would do that, but I didn't know that Bernold's wife would go so far ......
　She's not exactly a former S-class name.

What are we going to do about this ......?
　As I watched the people who had been killed in the blink of an eye get up, I was thinking about how to fix the situation.
　Yeah...... one more person, what should I do?

You can't help it. It's a pity, so let's get someone other than Alma and Bernold's wife to partition and fight for another slot.
　There was just too much of a gap between us.
　Next time you two should be seeded as well.

Are you sure?　Won't you run out of magic?

I'll go fill that up for you.
　Pour it out before the end of the game and you'll have enough for one round.

Are we coming?

No, I only need one dose. I'll see you two at lunch, please.
　I don't need that much yet, so it's bad enough to have them pour their magic into an empty room for minutes on end .
　Probably because it's going to be interesting to see if there's a fight for the next slot.

'Yeah, okay.'

Okay, just give me a sign and let me do the honors.

Fufu...... it's going to take some time.
　As soon as I transitioned to the room with the dungeon core, I began supplying magic power.

　30 minutes later
That should be enough to keep us in the morning with plenty of time to spare.


　I kept pouring out my magic until I heard the end signal and thirty minutes passed.
　I didn't need to do this much. Well, let's just think of it as the day's loss.
　It was a long battle, though.

I'm home.

Welcome back. Hey, listen!　Now that was an insanely hot match!
　When I came back, a very excited Shelly came over to me.

At the end, the young and mid-level knight got into a one-on-one match, and after a long period of uncompromising fighting, the mid-level knight finally defeated the young knight with his determination and spirit. That was amazing. ......

Yo, that's great. ......
　Don't be so happy to see me when I haven't seen it, you're going to be disappointed you didn't see it.

　Oh, next time!
Who should the third group look out for?

'Yeah ...... is that beastly, little Kel?　Not as fast as Alma, but he's a fast mover. Also, it's worth noting that along with Mick, Van is a fast-growing newcomer. And Raza who passed his second tryout and Ralph who passed his fourth.
　No, Shelly, you know a lot about this. I'm gonna have to start hanging out with the Order a little more.

"Raza and Ralph are familiar to me, too. Shield fighters and swordsmen who can wield them with impunity.
　It was when I was still an examiner.
　I remember not beating Hermann, but they were both strong.

It's gonna be a crowded group here.

　Then enough of this: ......
That was easier than I expected.
　My prediction was wrong, and the third group game ended without any confusion.

''Kell-san beat Ralph-san early on, you know.
　Yeah, the beastman Kell beat everyone, no matter who they were, and that was huge.

"Kell's so powerful.
　That one will play well in the tournament.


And finally, fourth and final group. Who's gonna be next?
　Of course, I don't know this time either .
　I'm shocked that there are more knights whose names I don't know than I thought.
　Maybe next time I should secretly remember the characteristics and names of the knights.

''Yeah ...... I'm wondering who would win this group. Maybe Stan, who can use magic and sword in a balanced way?　Personally, I'm rooting for Estella, the only other female knight besides Alma,
　Estella ...... that woman with the thin sword.

Estella, you work so hard every day!
　Oh, you're a hard worker.

I wish you the best of luck with that.


Begin!

Oh, and the stun moved quickly. In a melee like this, magic has an advantage.
　At the signal to begin, Stan sent his magic flying over a wide area, just like Bernold's wife did earlier .

''But because of that, the other knights focused on him and targeted him .

'Well, I guess so. She's not as powerful as Bernold's wife, so she couldn't take out that many people. Well, if you can use a sword, you can survive it. What about Estella?

It's still there. But I've got a wound on my leg. Can we go to nine ......?
　My right leg is limping, so I'm not very strong. ...... I don't think it's going to be easy for me to survive until six more people fall down with that thing.
　That's what I thought, but then she continued to live, covering her injuries well.

Five of them ...... four ...... oh ......
　That was a close one.

So close, but so close.
　Seeing Estella's frustration, I gently stroked Shelly's dimly lit head.
　I hope that Estella will use this disappointment as a springboard for further growth.

　Thus, the morning qualifying competition is over.