After that, I continued to win steadily, and finally made it to the finals.

　It's no surprise that I haven't had a single hard fight so far.
　If I had to say, the fight with Desmond was a bit of a bone of contention. ...... But only a little. He's not ready to give me a real fight yet.

Lara, if you win the next round, you're in the finals?
Yeah!

　I said to Lara as she walked onto the stage for the semifinals.

One more win and you'll be fighting Kurt.
"Yeah, I guess so.
I'll do my best.

　Lara clenched her fists tightly.

I'm sure I'll lose in the finals against Kurt. ...... But I still want to give Kurt my all. Kurt taught me his magic.
That's good to know.
Is that so?
But I don't like the idea of trying to lose. I think you should do it with the intention of winning. That's what makes it worth my while.

　I said to Lara.

"Yeah, ......!　But we have to win the semifinals anyway. I'll do my best.
I'll be rooting for you.

　Lara exchanged a few words with me, and then stepped onto the stage for the semifinals.

　At that moment, an explosion of cheers erupted.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.　Where's all the power in that cute little body of yours, Lara?

　As it was the semifinals, the actual voice sounded even more powerful.
　In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find it on the web.

And the girl's opponent was Horace!　I'm not sure what to make of that.　This is a great way to make sure that you don't end up in a situation where you can't get out of it.

　Lara's opponent was a muscular man.
　He seemed to be three times the size of Lara.

　Horace, as he was called, carried a huge axe on his shoulder with ease.
　Horace looked down at Lara and opened his mouth to say.

"What?　You've come all this way, and I'm dealing with a woman?　And she's a bit on the short side. You're wasting your time, little girl. Give it up.

　I challenge you.

"Don't underestimate her just because she's a woman. Why don't you give up, Horace?

　But Lara is not intimidated.
　In response, Horace clicks his tongue, "Tsk.

I don't blame you. But don't regret it, okay?　It's not just because she's a woman that I'm underestimating her when I say this.

　As Horace continued to speak, the referee lowered his hand and announced the start of the match.

　At that moment, Horace raised his big axe and said, "I'm going to win.


I'm telling you this because I know for sure that I'm going to win.


　He disappeared from Lara's sight.

"What ......?

　Lara's eyes rolled back in her head as Horace suddenly vanished from her sight.
　But he had reflexively activated his detection spell.

"Perish!

　Horace walked up behind Lara and swung his axe at her brain.
　It was a blow from a weight so great that it made the cutting power of the axe irrelevant.
　Hmm. Apparently, you are quite agile for such a huge body.

　But.

"Lara can handle that.

　I muttered to myself while watching the match with my arms crossed.

"Aah!

　Just as the axe was about to be lowered, Lara used her body-enhancing magic to evacuate the scene.
　As a result, the axe pierced the floor of the stage, causing the earth to shudder loudly.

"Mm.

　The attack was evaded, but Horace had a faint smile on his face.

"Avoiding this blow? Is he using some kind of magic?　He looks a little different from the others.
"Well?　Will you take back what you said about giving up?
No way.

　There's still room for Horace.

Try attacking me this time. I'll play it all back for you.
"Then ......

　Lara raises her hand in front of her and deploys a magic formula.
　Fire Spear.


　And not just one. He fired ten Fire Spears at Horace at the same time.

Aaaaah!

　But Horace swung his axe to face the Fire Spear.

"Oh no!

　Lara let out a squeal.
　Lara let out a yelp, because Horace had used the wind pressure from his axe to obliterate all the Fire Spears.

"Haha, you can't beat me with a soft attack like that.

　Even after pulling off such a feat, Horace still had a look of "no big deal" on his face.

　He's got a funny way about him, doesn't he?
　Lara's magic is not soft. Red magic has a short range, but it's a very powerful magic.
　And the distance between you and Horace is not that great. It was a very accurate shot, but without using any warding magic, he was able to neutralize the magic with just his axe wielding.

　Shadgar, the land of the east, is it?
　A country that didn't exist a thousand years ago. I'll keep that in mind.

"It's time to get a little serious.

　That was the signal.
　Horace kicked up the ground, instantly reducing the distance between him and Lara to zero.

"Mmmmmmm!

　Lara was trying to withstand Horace's onslaught by using body strengthening magic and even warding magic.
　But that man, wielding such a heavy axe, shows no signs of fatigue at all.

Hahahaha!　Interesting, interesting!　I'll deal with this too!

　On the contrary, Horace is laughing and attacking Lara with his axe.
　Lara, as expected, is unable to fight back against the barrage of attacks.

　Eventually.

"Aah!

　Lara lets out a short scream.
　As she fights off the attack, she falls on her buttocks, losing her momentum.

It's over.

　Horace calls out to the fallen Lara.

　It would be impossible for Lara to recover from this.
　Lara's magic is wearing off after so many battles.

"Gee, givea......

　Lara seemed to understand this.
　He brought his hand forward as if to control it, and was about to tell her so.

　But Horace kept his axe at the ready.

"Ha, I didn't hear you. And I'm the kind of guy who likes to get things done right the first time. I'm not going to allow you to ...... say that now!

　And then he tried to sidestep Lara.

　Lara meditates on the inevitable axe attack.


"The game is already decided. Stop him.


　Just as Horace's axe was about to hit Lara.
　The moment Horace's axe was about to hit Lara, I used my transference magic to move there and catch Horace's axe with one hand.

"Mu ......

　Horace, sensing the danger, pulled back his axe and moved away.

What the hell are you?　I believe your name is ...... Kurt. Why are you interrupting me?
That's my line. If this were a real fight, you'd be right. But this is a fight. How do you know if it's even a fight?
"A fight is only over when the final blow is delivered. It doesn't matter if it's a fight or not.

　I knew from the first glance that he had a belligerent personality.
　However, if she had swung the axe down, Lara would have been seriously injured, if not killed .......
　Even if that were the case, I could heal her with my healing magic, but the pain she would feel would be immeasurable.

　That's why I'm here to help.

"Qu, Kurt!　Thank you!
Good. Lara, back off. I'll handle this.
Yeah, yeah!　You'll avenge me!

　Lara said, and walked off the stage.

　She glanced at the judges.

"Oh!　One of the candidates for the championship, Kurt, intervened!　Let's call it a win for Horace and move on to the final.

　I heard such a voice from the stands.
　Thank God. It's a relief.

　And there's something ...... that's bothering me.
　I'm not sure what to make of that.


　It's a rare thing to see, but I'm not sure if it's you...

"Hmph!　I didn't know you'd come all this way to die!

　Horace moved to me with the same body movement he showed Lara, and swung his axe at me.
　It's an unstoppable barrage that can leave ten marks in one blow.

　But that's just based on the level of this(age).

"Wind.

　It was annoying, so I let out a sigh and swatted it away with my hand.

　Then.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!

　The force of the blow sent Horace flying backwards.
　Horace's body flew to the edge of the stage and stopped there.

"That's a very weak attack. Did you think you could hurt me with that?