Liliella.

We will now begin the preliminary round of the Dragon Princess ceremony.

　The referee's voice echoes through the match hall.

Due to the large number of participants in the preliminary round of the ritual, it will be a battle royale, where several players will fight each other at the same time. The qualifying round ends when there are less than five players left standing on the field, and the player who stands will advance to the main game. This is done in four groups. Any player who falls from the field will be disqualified immediately.

So you're saying that 20 of us are guaranteed a spot in the tournament?

　Mina, who was listening to the conversation beside me, calculated the number of participants in the main competition.

''No, the maximum is twenty.''

　And immediately Leune corrected him.

'What?　Five is four games, right?

Mina, there aren't always five of us left.

...Oh, yeah, like that.

　Mina understands exactly what Leune's intentions are when Megri points it out to her.
　As expected of them, they've come through the Shuraba, these kids are so perceptive that it's hard to believe they're newcomers.

　Yeah, well, a shuraba is a shuraba to be dragged into.
　Rather than a shuraura, it's more like hell.

'Some matches only one person may remain. If there aren't too many of us, though, it's like there's a loser's rematch.

It's true. It's just as well you're a local, you know so much about this.

'Oh, yes. I've been gathering information for my own participation one day.

　And Leune smiles shyly as Mina compliments her.

''Well, there are four of us, so even if we were in the same group at worst, we'd all survive.

P-Ku-Ku...

　And someone who heard Mina's words let out a small laugh.

If you look, the adventurer-like players who were standing nearby seemed to have heard us.
They, or rather one of them correctly, was laughing at us.

'Kate, excuse me,'

I'm sorry, but I was just smiling. It's just too cute, like we're all trying to win out.

You know I'm sorry for my mate's bad language.　

No, don't worry about it.

　For now, I'll be the oldest one to deal with the girls.

'You girls have participated in this ritual before?

Oh, you've done it a couple of times.

　Twice, or ... do you think you'll get any useful information?

You guys, just because this is a tournament for women only doesn't mean you should let your guard down.

　It's the same adventurer named Kate who laughed at us earlier.

In the first tournament we participated in, the best guy in the world won the championship. He was definitely an S-ranked player.

'Kate's right. Only women are allowed to participate, which is why female competitors come. For what it's worth, it's mostly men who are active in the battlefield, so a lot of them come to public competitions to show their abilities.

　It's true that many male adventurers win tournaments and the like.
　This is partly because men are bigger and easier to build, and partly because they have better muscle strength.

　However, just as I was able to become an A-ranked adventurer, there are certainly women who are capable of doing so as well.
　Even if you can't win with simple muscle strength, you can still deal with it with lightness, and if you're a wizard, it doesn't matter how strong you are or how big you are.　
This is a place for those people who have that kind of ability but aren't recognized as such to show off their strength.

It's a good idea to focus on the enemy in front of you and not on your own interests. In the qualifying round, even the best players can lose in the blink of an eye.

Well, be careful not to show off your skills half-heartedly or you'll be subjected to a concentrated attack from the other adventurers around you.

Thank you for telling me what to do. You're good people.

Hey, come on.

Apologies for laughing.

　Kate turns away, blushing.
　Maybe she told me to apologize for laughing?
　Maybe he's surprisingly good.

'I will now call the players' numbers for the first game!　The players who are called up should be on the game stage over there.

　The facilitator calls out a number and the players take the stage.

'Number 76!'

I'll be there when you call.

Take care, Liliella.

Hang in there.

''But good luck, Ryu........Liliella!

Hang in there.

I wish you luck. Well, I think you're in good hands.

　It's not just Mina and her friends, but even Kate and her friends are giving me words of support.
　And as I step onto the stage, the players' eyes are drawn to me.

''........That's the dragon.......''

After all, the first time...

　Oh, this is totally noticed.
　This is definitely coming.

Then the first preliminary match...

　The players on the playing field hold up their weapons, but their cutting edges are pointed at you without any intention of hiding their aim.

''Huh...it can't be helped.

　I also set up my own spear in response and concoct my own magic power.

''Begin!

"Aim at the dragon princess!

　With the referee's declaration, the players rushed to me.
　I'm not the Dragon Princess, though.

　Lightly armed players, who look like bandits, attack me from the front and left and right.
　It's good coordination, but could they be my friends?
　Or was it a prearranged arrangement?
　Well, it doesn't matter.

I'll take it.

He didn't get it.

　I activated the ice attribute enhancement with my body strengthening magic, freezing my feet.

''Whoa!''

　Naturally, because the ground was frozen, the three of them slipped and lost their balance.
I'm going to be the first to say that I'm not going to be the only one.

''Guh!

Gah!

Ggh!

　The girls charged at high speed and fell to the ground in agony as they were hit by a counter with their own speed on it.

''Fire Arrow!''

Wind up!

Ice Arrow!

　Immediately after the three of them fell, a magical attack unleashed from behind was coming at them.

''Sweet!''

　I threaded my ice magic through the spear and intercepted all the magic that was released.

''No!　We're hit by a magic bullet!

Could it be a magic item?

　It's true that this is a magic item, but that's because your magic was weak.
　You'll be able to use it to get the job done.
　That's why it was far less powerful than the magic that Mina and Lex-san unleashed.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''Haha, you got careless!

　Finally, a group of women who were coming towards us reached me.
　They spread out like the bandits from earlier and surrounded me.

''What shall we do?''

　At any rate, the warrior's sword that came at me from the front is defeated with a spear and stabbed into the ground.

''Whoa!''

　Now the front is in the way of this player and the following can't attack me.

Haha!

　The players jumped up and attacked from both sides.
　You don't want to slip on the icy floor.

But that won't help you avoid them.

　I deflect the girls' attacks and avoid them.

''Fast!''

　I'm actually not moving that fast myself.
　It only looks that way because I'm sliding around on the ice that's spread across the floor of the game field with a thin blade of ice magically created on the sole of my foot.

　In fact, these boots have become a magic item that creates a blade of ice on the backside by channeling magic power.
By using these boots, you can now easily do what you used to do before, which was to slide on the ice while fighting at high speed.

　Furthermore, the ice also becomes a weapon, and its length and hardness can be adjusted depending on how much magic you put into it.
　Just like this.

Haha!

　When I raised my leg wide and performed a spinning kick, the ice blades that grew on the soles of my boots extended long enough to cleave the surrounding players.

　Yeah, I'm glad I tried it out on the dragon before the match started.
If I'd tried the new equipment's functions in a blitz against a human opponent, it would have been a disaster.

I slide my body around and evade the players' attacks, using the speed of my rotation as a force to swing my spear.
I poke the enemy in front of me. Next, without looking back, I hit the enemy behind me with my puller with a stone thrust.

It's a good idea to have a good time.　Nah, why are you attacking without looking at me...

　This equipment that Rex had made for me had one interesting feature added to it.
　It's a function that senses the temperature of the surroundings.

　This seems to be a magic item that replicates the ability of a snake, and he said it was a function that makes it easier to detect the body temperature of an enemy.
　It seems that by lowering the temperature of the surrounding area with ice magic, which is my specialty, I'll be able to detect a more pronounced difference in temperature.
　It's a good thing that I was able to sense the body heat of an attacker from an unseen direction and intercept them without looking back.

''This is pretty useful.

　Well, it's more accurate to say that the other equipment is too fussy to be useful in these situations.

But we can't stay in the middle of a siege forever either.

　No matter how well I've learned to deal with surprise attacks from behind, a disadvantage in numbers is still dangerous.
　I head out of the encirclement, avoiding the attacks of the players around me.

''Don't break the siege!　We're going to attack from all directions at once!

The players who were on the outside of the siege gathered in the direction I was moving and brought me back to the center of the siege.

''That's a good coordination for a tacked-on coordination.

The players who brought me back to the center of the encirclement unleash a simultaneous attack from all directions.



　I poured my magic into the blade of ice that was unfolding on the sole of my foot and extended the blade, which was as short as a knife, to a length that could be called a great sword.

''Nah!''

The ice blade that had been deployed on the sole of my foot stretched out, pushing my body above the surrounding players.

''Yes!''

By leaping further upwards, I jumped up into the air above the siege.

'Then that's it!

　Since you've gathered with me all the way, let's let me round them up, shall we?

''Ice Blizzard Sphere!''

　A fierce blizzard blows in from above to envelop the players directly below, and in the blink of an eye, the match stage is covered in snow and ice.

"Say, it's cold!

　The players are freezing and trying desperately to hold on to their feet to avoid being blown away.
　But this magic creates more than just a blizzard.

''Caaaaaaaah!''

　Blown away by the blizzard was a large block of ice as big as a person's head.
　That's right, it wasn't just wind and snow that was blown around by this magic, it also included ice.
　One by one, the players were blown away by the block of ice and dropped from the game stage.

　And when the magically created ice blizzard ceased, I was the only one standing on the match stage.

''Sho, winner Liliella!

　The referee declares my victory while shivering from the cold.

''Phew, we managed to win safely.

　But still, this magic is amazing.
　It's a good thing I learned it from Lex-san before the game.
　But it's a bit difficult to activate it on your own without the magic assistance of the new equipment.

A certain female adventurer...

What is that...

　Kate, who was standing next to me, muttered in amazement.
　But that was just as well.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to have to worry about it.

　Only ten or so seconds between them.
　In just a few dozen seconds, the Dragon Princess had annihilated dozens of participants.
　To put it bluntly, this isn't human karma.

''As expected of Liliera, this is not an overwhelming victory.

　Someone else put those words I was about to say into words first.
　If you look, it's the girls who were with the Dragon Princess.

　They were not surprised by the way the dragon princess fought, but rather looked at her as a matter of course.

''Yes, it was an easy win, even though some of them looked pretty strong. I can't use magic against all of them like that, so if you're targeted, you might have a hard time.''

　On the contrary, he said how he would fight.
　Don't tell me you think those kids can do the same thing as the dragon princess?
　No there is no way in hell I'm going to do that, is there?



　The girl with the spear beside them mutters anxiously.
　No, no, no, no, no matter how much it takes, that thing is impossible to deal with, you'll die.

　We've been marking the dragon princess who says she defeated the dragon, but we never thought she was such a monster!
　I won't say anything bad about it, so don't try to fight that thing.

'There's no need to shrivel up. You just have to hit it as hard as you can.

　Hey, you can't be irresponsible!
　This is your child's life in the balance!

I'm home.

　As I was listening to the girls, the Dragon Princess returned from the match stage.
　Up close, the dragon princess didn't even have a breathing pattern, and she didn't show any trace of fatigue from activating her great magic.

''Welcome back. That was an easy win.

'Not really. I didn't feel alive, like I was being targeted by all of them or something.

　Liar!　You had plenty of time to do that!

Yeah?　It looked like there was plenty of room at all, didn't it?

　That's right!　Tell him!

No, I don't think so. I've had a lot to do.

　...Is it true?

Come to think of it, they're about to start the game, too.　

　And the Dragon Princess turns her gaze outside the match venue.
　Is that over there the Dragon Emperor's ceremony?

Yeah, they're doing it in a big way. After all, Lex is there.

　Lex?　Is she talking about the Dragon Princess's companions?

I'm sure the venues over there are even more devastating than this one.

　Over here?　...Uh, what?　Could it be that the Dragon Emperor's Ritual has a monster like the Dragon Princess participating in it as well?

Ha, I feel sorry for the other participants.

　Ahahaha, the girl in the Dragon Princess' group laughs, but it doesn't sound very funny to me.
　Because there are three of her companions right next to her who are unconcerned about watching the Dragon Princess fight.
　Moreover, none of the three of them have had a fight yet.
　In other words, it's very likely that they will fight us, right........

''Hey Kate........do you want to abstain from this tournament?

　I whisper and try to suggest to my partner that I should give up the competition.
　But my partner doesn't say anything.

　Don't tell me you want to fight the Dragon Princess?
　Are you such a passionate character?
　I turn my head to Kate, who is silent.

'......

　Oh, no, I'm just letting go because the shock is too strong.

　Gyro ◆.

Then we will begin the next group of games.

　The referee calls out the players' numbers.
　I hurry the referee in my mind to call my number quickly.

'Number 27,'

There you go!

　When my number was finally called, I hurriedly made my way to the stage.

'But good luck with that, Jairo-kun!

　I can hear Norbu cheering from behind me.

'Oh!'　Brother Rex's first disciple, Gyro!　I'm going to go get a little victory!

　I replied without looking back and climbed onto the stage.