After walking around with Lara for a while, I saw something that looked interesting.

"Magic Sword ...... Tournament?

　We stopped.
　There were a lot of people gathered around the reception desk.
　At the back of the room, you can see a special stage surrounded by ropes.

　What the hell is that ......?

The Demon Sword Tournament. It's the main event of Culture Day.
What's that?
It's a duel between the entrants. It's a winner-takes-all tournament, and the winner will get a prize. Look!

　Lara pointed at something on display above the reception desk.

The prize is an invitation to the southern country of Geoharwa!　And it's for two people!　It would be so much fun to go there with Kurt. ......

　Lara then glanced at me.

I'm not sure what to make of this.
No one can handle a magic sword like Kurt!　It means that anyone who is confident in either magic or swordsmanship can participate in the magic sword competition.

　Hmm. It seems that it doesn't really matter what kind of magic sword you use.

　Anyway, a tournament.
　Sounds interesting.
　As I've said many times before, people from other countries are coming today.
　There's no guarantee there won't be someone strong among them.

　That's why I'm going.

"Okay, Lara. I'm in.
Huh?

　I pull Lara's arm and walk her to the registration desk.

"Let's get you a ticket to the Southland. I'm sure I'll win, but ...... you should try your hand at it. If you're lucky, you might even get to fight me.
"Invitational tickets: ......!　Kurt, for me .......

　Hmm?
　Lara's eyes glazed over.

　Lara's eyes glaze over, but she quickly relaxes them.

"Uh-huh. I'll do my best too!　I'm sure I'll lose if I go up against Kurt, but I'll try to see how well ...... I can do.
That's the spirit.

　I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I'm sure you've heard of it.
　Lara says she's going to test how well she can do, but I'm sure she'll be able to do it against anyone as long as they're not too good.

"Excuse me. I'd like to participate in the tournament for the two of us. ......

　I'm sorry.

"The Demon Sword Tournament is about to begin!　The world's roughnecks, aren't you tired of just eating delicious food at festivals?　That's why we at ...... have created a place for you to run wild!　We've created a place where you can run wild and win prizes!

　When the host said this, the crowd surrounding the stage erupted in cheers.

　Quite a turnout, huh?
　It looks like there are about fifty contestants in the tournament.

Let's get to the first round!　Here's a vision from a neighboring country. Norman of the Order!

　The man whose name was called went up on stage to cheers.
　He has the appearance of a gentleman.

And Norman's opponent is ...... Kurt, the strongest adventurer here in King's Landing!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!

　There was more cheering than before.
　That's why I'm not an adventurer.

　Well, it's too much trouble to deny it.
　Without saying a word, I walked up to the stage and looked at my opponent, Norman.

"I heard you. I've heard that you're an SSS-ranked adventurer, a rarity in the long history of King's Landing.

　I've never heard of you.

...... Well, that seems to be the case.
But I'm no slouch. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.　I can't afford to lose to a mere adventurer.

　He's quite the narcissist, judging from the way he praises himself.

　Norman picks up his sword.
　It's a thin sword (rapier).

"Begin!
Aha!

　At the start of the match, Norman closes the distance to me and throws a sharp thrust.
　But that's by the standards of this(age).


　I sneezed once, then ducked, taking my time.

"......!　You did it!

　Norman's eyes widened in astonishment as he measured the distance.

But I'm not serious yet. You can't just duck.　If you can dodge them, dodge them!

　This is a man who wants to explain himself every time.

　Norman's body gushed with fighting spirit.
　He squeezed his rapier in his right hand and delivered a hundred thrusts, just as he had said.
　They were not aimed at the same place, but at my eyes, nose, heart and stomach.

"Hmm. Not bad at all.

　I back-stepped, and even used my right hand to dispatch the rapier that was chasing me.
　With a minimum of movement, I nullified a hundred thrusts.

"What the ......!

　Seeing this, Norman was stunned.

"What a surprise!　You avoided all of my thrusts with ......?
That's pretty good. It must be true that you are a platoon leader in the Order.

　But it's still too far for me.

　Now, I'll go on the offensive too.
　I picked up the magic sword that was hanging from my waist - not the pen that I had inserted in my chest.

"Okay, I'll show you my technique.
"What?

　Norman's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Norman narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Are you kidding me?　It's a pen. How are you going to beat me?
Don't you know that the pen is mightier than the sword? I'm saying it's enough to beat you.

　"Don't you know that the pen is mightier than the sword?

I'm not a mongrel like you!　I'm not a mongrel adventurer like you, I'm a platoon commander of an elite group of knights!　Insulting me means that you are trying to humiliate the entire Order ......!

　He's overreacting.
　He holds up his rapier again.

"Prepare yourself. I didn't want to use it here, but ...... I guess I have no choice. Take it!　The 200th Strike!

　Norman holds out his rapier.

　Norman thrusts out his rapier, but before he can make a single thrust, I put my magic into the pen.
　And I unleash a thousand thrusts a second on Norman.

"Aaahhhh!

　Norman was hit by the thrust and was blown to the ropes around the stage.
　But that wasn't enough to stop him.
　Norman's body went out of control, and he hit his head so hard that he fainted.


"No, Norman, Kurt wins by exiting the ring!　I'm so strong!


　When the MC announced my victory, the crowd went quiet for a moment and then cheered again.

"Whoa!　He's amazing!
"Of course he is!　Don't you know who Kurt is?　Didn't you hear about Kurt? He killed a dragon in the Empire.
I think he's gonna win this thing.

　Norman didn't know much about me, but I guess the people in the capital did.

"That's awesome, Kurt!　You're the coolest!

　Lara was also in the audience, jumping up and down with joy.

"That's what I get for prep work.

　I muttered and put the pen back in my breast pocket.