--I was looking up at the sky.

　I looked up at the sky.

　Knowing that it was probably around the time that the third game card was announced, I exhaled to the heavens beyond reach.

　I walked a few steps outside the entrance for officials.
　The fountain square in front of me was crowded with people who had probably not been allowed into the venue.

　I adjusted the brim of my cap, which I was wearing very tightly, and made a shelter to block the sunlight.

　If I didn't do that, the sunlight would flood my eyes - and even though I didn't want to cry, my vision would water to protect my eyes, wouldn't it?

　It was a good thing that no one recognized Leafy Lean Glide as she stared blankly at the drifting clouds.

　She wouldn't be able to do anything about it now, and more than anything, she wanted to be alone, away from the arena.

　--Top 8 of the main competition.

　That was Leafy Lean Glide's final score.
　I'll admit, she was strong.

　Izuna Sienzan and Arawn B. Smiles were big obstacles.
　And the honorable mentions.
　Not to mention Prim Lancaster, who fought hard against Aylan, and Richter L. Klingbloom, who fought against himself.

　If all goes as planned, the semifinals will be Aylan B. Smiles versus Richter L. Klingbloom. To be honest, Leafy had no idea who was going to win.

"That was strong, d*mn it. ......

　The words were muttered without power. But for some reason, the corners of his mouth were relaxed.

　It was fun.

　I asked for a rematch.
　The words "if you have time" finally reminded me of his true title.

　And he's so strong, it's a scam.

　But...

　There won't be a next time.

　My father-in-law won't understand how great it is to be in the top eight of the finals.
　That's what I thought I was going to bring home with me.

　I'm just a country boy. I thought that if I was good enough, it would not be impossible for me to win the tournament. No matter how much I claimed that I had worked hard, my father would not be satisfied if I failed to win in the final.

　If you learn from this, stop being selfish and do your duty as a noblewoman.

　That's what he'll probably say to you.

"Fu ......

　With this, my martial arts tournament is over.
　It was fun to win the qualifying round, but it was a dull experience.


"Well, I'll be back soon. Good luck with the match.

"Good luck with that. I'll see you there.


　I couldn't respond to the cheers on my back.
　I'm really disappointed about that.

I wanted to win.

　I wanted to win. I wanted to win and keep fighting here forever.

That was close.
What?

　A voice.
　I turned to see a man walking by the fountain.
　A man with two swords, holding a cowboy hat to keep it from blowing away in the breeze.

What, you were watching me?
"What do you mean, "what do you mean? You know how hard it was to get tickets?
I don't know.

　Arrows, a hexenbiest hunter with a double sword.
　He's one of the last people Leafy will remember from his martial arts tournament, and the last person he fought to the death to win the preliminary round.

　He scratched his cheek a little embarrassed and looked away from the man standing in front of him.

...... I'm sorry.
Why are you apologizing?
That's ...... it.

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.
　You can't help but feel awkward about your disappointment.
　However, I felt annoyed at myself for saying so.
　That's why, in a childlike silence, Arrows shifted his gaze from Leafy to Spectacula.

　The walls are high.
　The only sound was the cheers of the excited audience. Strangely enough, Huta and Pasta's commentary is almost inaudible outside. It's strange that I can't hear the live commentary of Futa and Pasta.

　It's strange, isn't it, that you're so excited even though you're no longer a fighter?
　Is it ego that makes me think that?

　Ah. The walls of Spectacula are really high.

"Did you have fun?

　Arrows said, looking at the high walls of Spectacula.
　One look at the wall and you can see a hint of envy in his eyes.

　I remember the last words he said to me in the game where we decided to go to the finals.


I remember his last words in the game that decided the runoff: "The runoff. ...... Have fun with me too.


　Needless to say.

"Yeah. It was great.


......, I have nothing to say. I'm not sure what to say. "Genius hexenbiest hunter," he said.
"You're too much of a genius.
What are you doing?
Are you gonna do this?

　One second I'm shooting you.
　Eye to eye.

　Arrows raises one eyebrow, and Leafy blurts out.

Stop it, stop it. You're all pathetic. Losers don't look good together.
"Yeah.
"......?
No. I just thought you were starting to look better.
I don't suppose you've come to console me, have you?
No, I'm here to laugh.
I'm gonna kill you.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.

　Arrows raises his hands to show that he is not hostile.
　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them.

"...... Who is that?
"Hmm?　Oh. I guess that's the point.

　In Arrows' fingers was a letter. There was a carefully sealed envelope in Arrows' fingers.

I could see that you were enjoying yourself, and I didn't bother to come and see what you were up to because it was just a confirmation of that.
"You're really shitting me.
It's just that I was entrusted with something along the way.

　Then Arrows held out the letter.

"From whom?
"I was given it by Sir Richter L. Klingbloom. He said it would be better for you to get it than for me to go get it now. It was nice of him to remember me from our preliminary match. So I took it.

　As he listened to Arrows' words, Leafy picked up the letter. He checked that it was indeed addressed to Leafy and turned it over.

　Where the sender's name would normally be written, there was no name.

　But what was strange was the way Arrows said it. "I was given...".
　As if to say, the sender wasn't Richter.

　And then I realized. I put my hand on the wax seal to open it.

　The royal coat of arms.

"......?














　--Arena Spectacula.

　The second match is over and there's a break.
　If you're a fan of the game, you'll want to take a look at this.


　Lilac M. Fangini vs Bob


　The crowd cheered as the card was decided, of course hoping to catch a glimpse of Lilac.

　On the other hand, Bob, who was known to be a member of the royal guard, was greeted with friendly jeers and scorn. He was treated like a villain (heel), but he must be popular in King's Landing because he was laughed at.

　And now, Lilac M. Fangini.
　The already warmed up venue was on the verge of a frenzy, as the crowd had originally turned out in large numbers to see her fight.

　Aylan vs. Prim and Leafy vs. Richter were as exciting as Lilac had imagined, or maybe even more than she had imagined.

　She just hoped that she hadn't disappointed her.
　That's what Futa was thinking.

"Lilac-sama's first opponent is Bob, huh?
Do you know him?

　"You know each other?" Pasta, who was drinking spectacle juice next to him, tilted her head.
　Although I've heard about the reason for continuing the theatrical mode until the break, it's more than a little creepy. But knowing that he would be pinched with a smile if he showed it, and not wanting to make the atmosphere any more awkward, Futa did his best to ignore it.

"......, it's showing on your face.　Oni-chan?
Forgive me.
I don't know if that word is funny anymore.

　He smiled.
　I'm not sure what to say.

Bob is a friend of Prim's, a guard, and I've known him for quite a while. He's a common spearman, and Prim has been teaching him a lot.
He was very tenacious in the preliminaries, wasn't he?
Yeah. That's why I was wondering what Lilac-sama would do.
"......, sure.

　Bob showed extraordinary persistence in the final qualifying round.
　It's a very muddy style, where he almost fainted several times, but still managed to make it through on the condition that he was the last one standing.
　His martial arts skills are not so remarkable, but his endurance and willpower are something that Futa honestly admires.



　What on earth could make him so strong?
　Huta was genuinely curious about his endurance, which could not be read from his trajectory.

　But that's why the match against Lilac would be difficult.
　If they fought normally, Lilac would have a one-sided fight and keep knocking down Bob who kept getting up.

　I don't know if Lilac would accept that or not.
　It was hard to tell.

"I don't think you're going to play games in front of your brother.

　Pasta murmured in distress as she gently brushed her lips.
　But Pasta knew that Lilac would have thought of something.

"Well, Pasta...
"Hmm?　What is it, big brother?
"......
Don't give me that look, or I'll kill you.
He says horrible things with a childish smile. ...... No, how did you decide on the cards?

　Yes .
　If Lilac is setting up all the cards, she probably made sure that she and Futa would meet in the finals.
　Even Futa could see that coming.
　But he didn't. So it was an accident that he hit Bob at random.

　While Pasta was evaluating Lilac as a wily male, Futa was genuinely worried about this card.

　She also knew that Pasta and Lilac were in charge of this project.
　She would know best about the card.

"Well... The princess is surprisingly fair there, you know?
"Surprising" is too strong a word. "Surprising.
Really?　Well, okay. She really wants to be a sword champion.
Really? - Yeah.

　I want to be a champion of the sword.
　Those words remind me of the vow we made that night.

　The day Futa was accepted by Lilac. The night we danced on the balcony.

"I want to be the champion of the fighting swords. I want to one day see what you've seen. If Futa could do it, why shouldn't I?
"Show the country. It doesn't matter what your profession is. It doesn't matter what your profession is, this country is the place where you can freely handle what you are good at. Wouldn't that be just the thing?

　True to her word, she's on her way to becoming a champion.

So it was completely up to luck as to which of the qualifiers I would hit. Just.
"Just what?
The semifinals and finals could be a setup.
Is that so?
I'm just guessing, but I think that's the condition of the ...... buyout of Aylan.
What do you mean?
You don't know?

　You know," Pasta continued.
　Her guess was something like this.

　Now that he's blamed Conrad for Arawn's crimes, he's going to use her for his own purposes. At the very least, they'll use her as a hand to liven up the spectacle.
　But there's no way she's going to be able to defeat that murderer. If what she is looking for is a fight, the card Lilac can play against Arawn is not money or security, but Futa.

　If that were the case, she would probably offer to play Futa in the final.

　Lilac has no intention of losing. If he wants to beat Futa in the final, there is no other way but this combination.

Well, that's all speculation.
...... I think that's a little too far-fetched.
Do you think so?
I'm not going to talk about what I'm going to do with my hand, but if I say it's random, then it's random. Because if you use that logic, it means that Lilac-sama doesn't think she can beat me.
"Isn't that ...... true?
No, ...... he always tries to win. No matter how many times you fight, your will is real.
............ Hmm. I don't know anything about sword fighting, though.

　I'm not sure I know anything about fighting swords," Pasta spat, somewhat frustrated.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.
I'm sure you're not the only one.　I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this.
...... That's certainly not impossible, but...
But still.

　As if he had lost interest, Pasta rested his cheek on the desk.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with your time.

If you say so, then you must be right.
What's that?
Nothing.

　Is it okay to imitate a child?


　What's wrong with that?
　Or do you really want Lilac to be that bad?

　There were many things he wanted to say.
　But if there was one thing Futa really wanted to tell her...

"You know what? Pasta.
"......

　I'm not sure what to say.

I'm sure you're not the only one.
I don't care what ...... you say.

　But the words did not seem to reach anything.


　Just.


　The two of them didn't know at that time that this question and answer would be the key.