"Wow...!　I'm fighting........?

　As soon as we arrived at the venue, Prathi's expression lit up.
　By the way, we're in the ocean now.

　Prati has now reverted back to her mermaid form and is pulling the soap bottle we're in.
　Ground people like me and Junior can breathe and not get wet in the sea because we are inside the soap bubbles.

　More importantly, it's a martial arts swimming competition.
　It was far bigger than I had imagined.

　The competition seemed to have already begun, and men's bodies were clashing all over the venue.

"Unnuah!
Nuggaaah!

　The screams of men who don't want to put too much into their ears echo.
　You can hear it even under the sea.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.
　They each held a spear and shield in their hands and were fully armed in their attire.

''Well that's the basic fighting style of male mermaids.

　Prati said as she pulled the soap bubble we were riding on.

'While the female mermaid fights with potions, the male mermaid's weapon of choice is her own well-honed body. Two arms and a thick tail fin. The clash of power and strength they produce!

　Smells like sweat.
　What a sweaty convention I've come to, what a sweaty convention I've come to.
　Is this okay with Junior's education?　Aren't you afraid to show it to me?

　In the midst of all this, the first match I saw was quickly being won.
　Two male mermaids swam from the full distance of the set match field and accelerated to clash with each other.
　Pike and shield, shield and contraption clashed with each other.

''Guhaaa!''

　And one of them was blown away.
　The deciding factor in the game would be the pure difference in acceleration.

'There is a winner!　Winner, Wild!

　The crowd erupted with the declaration of a referee-like person.
　It wasn't the only place where the match was taking place, there were any number of match grounds to look around and men were clashing with each other.

''Great ... it's a lively crowd,''
'At this time of the day, it's probably a qualifier. There's no end to what we could do if we played every single game one by one.

　Prathi explains.

'I see, it's a qualifier, so we're doing it at the same time...!　How many of them are in the contest?
There's at least a thousand of them, right?
A thousand people?

　That was an order of magnitude higher than expected.
　I didn't know it was such a large convention...?

The whole mermaid nation is participating in this tournament, so I think it's still not much. It varies from year to year, but I'm sure the average number was about the same. After all, this is how the best male mermaid in the country will be decided.
'I thought mermaids.......were a more elegant species.......'

　It's kind of like this, it's like a fairy tale with love and love....
　There's a great concentration of men after I stepped into this tournament.

　It's just like a man of the sea!

　As you go through the venue, manly lines fly out along with the heat of the men.

''Whoa!　A fight with you is truly doomed!
"We are bound by a red thread!　To fight!
All my life!　Practice is hard work!　That's exactly what it was for today!
'Come on!　Let's enjoy the fight!
'More!　Tell me about yourself!　What kind of training you've had!　What are we fighting for!
Fighting is the supreme form of communication beyond s*x!

　Manly.

　I walked through this heartburn-inducingly masculine venue and by the time I reached the VIP bleachers, I was full.

"Master........I'm getting heartburn.......I'm getting heartburn...!

　Even Veerle, my companion, is struck by the air and goes crazy at the dreaded male mermaid festival.

　And the one waiting for you in the VIP section is...!

"Ah, long time no see, you're here!

　It's Queen Sheila, the queen of the mermaid kingdom.
　You are my son's grandmother.

It's been so long, Mom. You look much younger than you used to.
You know what I mean?　Moms are women, too, and they should be beautiful every day!

　Mother and daughter rejoice at their reunion.

　The bleachers for the royalty are specially constructed, a temporary (but still luxurious enough) building with chairs to sit and watch the game.
　The strangest part is that somehow, in some kind of logic, the air is filled with air, so that from now on, me and Junior, the groundlings, can relax without Shabon.
　Perhaps this is due to the mermaid's unique pharmacological magic.

　The inside was spacious enough, and even more so, it felt like the space of a royal prince.

I'm so glad you've been able to come to the depths, Saint. Junior has grown up again...!
''It's been a while........?

It's not "far away" but "deep", how can you say that...?

　Moreover, Queen Sheila wasn't the only one waiting at the VIP seat.
　There are a variety of unexpected faces in this room.

Sister Veerle, I thought I'd see you again if you were here.
Ardhegg.

　He is a member of the dragon clan.
　Moreover, he is a newly turned Geyser Dragon, the pinnacle of the clan, and is not one who would normally attend a mermaid's event by mistake.

　The reason why he was invited to the martial arts tournament was probably because of his friendship.

　Mr. Ardhegg and Prince Arowana are close friends.
　In the past, they traveled the world together and worked together to defeat the previous generation of Gaiser Dragons.
　Since they are such friends, it's not a problem for them to play together.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that the ultimate life form of a dragon is attending an inferior race's event. The dignity of the Geyser Dragon is diminished.
'There's even Marie!

　What was even more surprising was next to Ardheg's.
　Bloody Mary, the Glaugrinzel Dragon, who is called one of the strongest of the female dragons, was there.

''Why are you with us?
''What?　Is it strange for me to be with Ardhegg?
It's funny!

　The way you and Mr. Ardhegg are sitting side by side, you act like you're the first lady.
　What in the world has happened without my knowledge?

Ardhegg is still an inexperienced gaiser dragon. I will always be there to guide you so that you won't be underestimated by a lesser race.
''Huh........?''

　I sighed at the picture-perfect tsundere attitude.

It's been a long time since I've seen you, sister Marie. Has she gotten stronger since then?
Hee?

　Veerle is happy to see Marie and her sisters again.
　However, the most important thing is that Marie-san is terrified.
　Is this an after-effect of the defeat the other day?

'For coming so much for little Arowana!　My child is really a lucky man!

　Queen Sheila is buoyed by the breadth of her child's friendships, but looking at her again, the dragon emperor.......
　

''Just so you know, your husband is the one with the most awful connections in the whole group, right?

　Prathi pointed out to me somewhat calmly.

''........Speaking of which, isn't the Demon King here today?''

　The Demon King is also an important friend of Prince Arowana, and I think it's a good idea to invite him for the sake of friendship between the nations.......
　Queen Sheila replied to that.

Queen Sheila replied: "Of course, we've talked about that. But, you know, we have never been able to welcome anyone from another country to this tournament. We haven't had the know-how of welcoming and guarding them.......

　Even if you research and prepare for it, there wasn't enough time to prepare for it when you thought of it, so this year they decided to forgo it.

When it comes to the Demon King, he is a guest of honor, and if he is rude, it would be an international problem, wouldn't it?　In that regard, it's rather easy for you guys to be 'royalty-related'. You just have to treat them like royalty.
Is it that easy...?

　Once again, the severity of their treatment of us scared us, but we decided to fulfill our purpose for being here.
　In other words, it's a watch of the WUWA competition.

　The venue was already full of excitement at the preliminary round.
　Some of the winners will advance to the finals.