In less than an hour, the individual finals will begin. According to the tournament officials, today's attendance is the highest ever, which inevitably leads to a large number of people using the stalls and bets set up at the venue, and the laughter of those in higher positions is constant.

'Are you nervous, Temma?'　

　My grandfather, who was here as my second, thought I was nervous to keep quiet and called out to me.
　Normally, we don't have a second for individual matches, but only one person was allowed to have a second for the final match. This was done under the guise of preventing the finalists from being escorted or forcibly recruited by the nobility, and in order to help the parties involved to concentrate on the tournament and take care of their personal affairs.

''No, I'm not nervous. It's just that I've rarely had to deal with someone smaller than me in an opponent's tournament before, so I was trying to figure out how to best fight.

　This is true. All of the guys I've fought have been bigger than me or about the same size. This is because many of them licked me because I was still young and wanted to take advantage of me.

I've never been in a fist fight with someone smaller than me because I'm not a big person. But I can say objectively that she's stronger than me in terms of strength and maneuverability, and Tenma is better in everything else. In other words, as long as you fight normally, Tenma has the advantage.

　I guess what Grandpa is saying is 'including magic'. That's certainly true.
　But it's not fun to fight as it's said and honestly true. This is a serious fight, but it's also a kind of festival. If you have the luxury of time, you can have a little fun with it.

"From the looks of it, you don't intend to use your magic honestly.......it's typical of Tenma, or something like that.......

　Grandpa read my thoughts and let out a dismissive voice.

"Well, anyway," he said, "I'm sure Temma will win. "Well, anyhow, I'm sure Tenma will win and I hope you'll do well for my pocketbook!

　With that, he took out a bill from his pocket to prove that he had bet on me.

"You're betting on it.......well, I'm betting on it. That's okay," he said. Grandpa, come join me in a little prep work.

　At my words, Grandpa took off his hood. In case you're wondering, Grandpa has a body that doesn't look like an old man. He's muscular and toned, with no lean muscle mass. And quite strong. Not in a magical fight, but in a fist fight.

　As expected, he's old, so his strength isn't as strong, but my grandpa's essence is that he's a technical fighter, and he fights with counters, jointed techniques, throws, and a less forceful style, and he can keep me down if he's on no magic terms.
　So these days, not only me, but also Jeanne, Aura, and even Aina are learning how to fight and self-defense from grandpa. I don't have the blessing of a warrior god, that is to say.

　Then, for a while, Grandpa and I sweated and warmed ourselves up with a light kumite. The attendant who had come to check on me was surprised to see my grandfather engaged in a high-level kumite with me, and he kept rubbing his eyes to make sure I was okay.



'Temma player. It's about time.　

　The attendant called me and my grandpa to the arena.
　On the way to the arena, I listened to the attendant's warning and left my bag with him.
　The entrance we were led to was not the one we had been using, but rather the one in front of the kings' seats, which was more than twice as wide as the previous passage.

'Now, please wait here for a moment. The Amur players will be here shortly, and you will enter at the same time.　

　Since this tournament was originally a battle cry tournament, the final is supposed to be the first thing the kings see in their faces. That would be the reason for the performance.

''Amour, over here please.

"Hm.

　It seems that soon after I got here, Amur arrived too.
　As I got close enough to hear footsteps, I turned around to see Amur's face, and there was a little girl there. No, it's simply that Amour isn't the bandit king version, that's the main body........................but it's not right.
　And behind Amur, there was a familiar man standing behind her, who was following her as a second.

'Yo, kid!

　The man raised his hand with a fierce smile on his face. That man's name was 'Blanca', the man I lost to. Most of all, he was also the man I struggled with the most in this tournament.

'Are you done with your injuries, Blanca? And why are you in Amur's second? Is it because we're both tiger beastmen?

　I replied to Blanca, who was talking to me in a very friendly manner, and she started laughing...with a fierce look on her face.

''Hahaha. My injuries are already healed! As for the second, me and your daughter know each other to begin with. I got beaten by you, so I just got some free time and turned into your daughter's second.

　It's probably half a lie to say that my injury is healed, but it doesn't seem to be any problem for me to walk normally.
　When I was talking with Blanca, Amour suddenly came between me and Blanca.

　Then he looked at me and then I realized something.

'Hey you're drooling.

　Amur turned back at my point and furtively wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his clothes before turning to me again.

'It's me, not Blanca, that's fighting.

　Apparently, Amour didn't like the fact that I was letting myself go of my opponent and talking nicely with Blanca.

'Yeah, my bad. I'm Temma. Nice to meet you.

　I apologized honestly and held out my hand.

'Hmm, Amour. Nice to meet you.

　Amur nodded and then shook my hand. Just as we finished shaking each other's hands, the time seemed to have come and the doors that had been closed before opened.

　When the doors opened completely, the first thing we saw was the bleachers of the kings at the front. All the royalty, including the king, stood up and looked at us all together.

　We are led forward by an attendant, and applause erupts. At first it was for me and Amur, but when I noticed Grandpa and Blanca following behind us, there was even louder applause and cheering.

　When the four of us reached the center of the arena, Grandpa and Blanca bowed to us and stepped back. This was a remnant of the old days, they said, and it was staged so that the seconds were accompanied by their attendants, and it was just the two of us who were competing against each other from here on out.

　After confirming that the seconds had retired, the king walked down the stairs to a position closer to the arena, lightly raised his hand and motioned for the crowd to be quiet.　

'Well done to both sides for making it to the final. I hear that neither side has reached adulthood yet. As the ruler of this country, I am happy to see such young people here. Whichever side wins, this match will be remembered in history. Both sides will keep this in mind and fight without regrets! Individuals, let the finals begin!

　When the king finished speaking, the enthusiasm of the crowd, which had been quiet, exploded again.
　Soon after that, me and Amur confronted each other at a distance.

　Then we put our hands in each other's bags and take out our weapons.
　Amur's weapon is the same type of axe that he used in his fight with Jin. However, the color of the axe is different. It's a darker black color compared to Jin's. It is probably made of magical iron.
　In contrast, I take the Adamantine sword that Ernest-sama gave me.

　When I saw that sword, a huge cheer went up. It seems that they were expecting a powerful battle from the weaponry of Amur and I.
　In contrast to the excitement of the crowd, many of the nobles seemed to have disappointed expressions on their faces as some of them were disappointed.
　They probably know who the previous owner of this sword was, and probably have the mistaken idea that I've already been called by Ernest-sama (Grand Duke).

Individuals, finals! Temma vs. Amur, the match begins!

　The final match had finally begun. As soon as I held my sword, Amur's body was shaken.
　It's the same move as the attack that Blanca used to destroy my arm. But it was slightly slower than Blanca's due to the weight of the weapon, and since this was the second time I'd seen this move, I was able to deal with it in plenty of time.

　In response to Amur's side-nagging strike, I swing my sword down from the upper level to intercept.
　However, although his speed was slower than Blanca's, the weight of his attack was more than Blanca's. That's why my body, which had been expecting an attack on par with Blanca's, was blown away by Amur's blow.

　The fact that I was blown away left me in a fairly defenseless stance, but fortunately Amour was also out of position, and in addition, I was blown away more than I thought I would be, and since the distance was much wider, there was no follow-up attack.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for, but it's not much of a concern because in reality it's just a difference in the momentum of your weapon. And since I'm properly receiving it with my sword, the damage isn't much.

''Besides, it looks like it's going to be difficult to fire continuously...''

　It's true that this is Blanca's secret weapon, and Amour's small body is not capable of firing it continuously.
　It's a good idea to use that technique when the distance between you and your partner is wide, it's easy to spot and deal with, so you can't use it with the distance between me and Amour.

　However, since I'm going to be on the defensive more often than not, I decided to make a bold move and put Amur in close combat.

　It's a trick, but I've tried to emulate Blanca's technique several times, so I can use it to some extent.
　If this technique were to become a surprise attack, it would be a bad idea, but it was effective in attacking the enemy, and I was able to beat Amur to the punch.

You can't use that move from this distance, can you?　

　I approached Amur only about two meters away and swung my sword. Defeated, Amur also swung his axe, and from there a battle of blows with heavy weapons began.
　From there, the exchange of blows continues for several minutes without moving from the spot. I was winning in terms of hand count, but there was a difference between the two in terms of weapon proficiency, and Amur, who was more adept with the axe, was able to outrun my attacks two or three times before delivering a powerful blow.
　Neither of us were decisive, and once Amur tried to distance himself from me.

　I thought this was a bad move and stepped forward to match Amur's move and swung my sword. But.........

Sweet.

　Amur sped up and fell back, my sword cutting through the air.

'I got it,'

　In a quiet voice, Amur fires a sharp blow at my torso.
　........Not good! By all accounts, it's powerful enough to cripple me in combat!　

I'll be in time!

　I let go of my sword as quickly as I could and strengthened my hand with magic to pin the axe blade. Then I did a sideways leap without resisting the momentum of the axe.
　It was a method close to a bet or two, but I won the bet and managed to minimize the damage.

　When the axe lost momentum, I put my feet on the ground and tried to throw it away, snatching it from a startled Amur.
　However, the moment I made the throw, Amur tried to pull out the axe with even more force. So I forced myself to stop throwing and let go of my hand.
　Then Amur suddenly loses his resistance and almost flips over backwards.

''Phew!''　

　Without missing the opportunity, I swing my fist.　　
　The blow nearly catches Amur's face, but Amur's arm interrupts when he is close to catching it.
　However, since I was defending myself inadequately, my fist succeeded in damaging Amur's face with my arm.

　As it was, Amur fell backwards, but without killing the momentum of his fall, he rolled backwards and stood up.
　As soon as he got up, Amur showed a stance as if he was preparing for my pursuit, but I prioritized picking up my sword rather than giving chase, so the flow of the fight was again interrupted and we had to start over.

　I readjusted my sword and stared at Amur. Where does Amur have such power in his small body? I took a stance, wielding an axe that was more than my height, I thought.

　And Amur rushed ahead. This time it was just a lunge, not using Blanca's technique, but it was still quite fast.
　If you get hit by this blow, there is a good chance you will be sent flying just like the first time, so this time you concentrate on avoiding it, but Amour only showed a pretense of swinging his axe and rushed in further.

''Mmm!''　

　With such a call, Amur swung his fist instead of his axe.
　I tried to cut down Amur, who came in between swords, with my sword, but I hesitated for a moment.
　This caused Amur's fist to hit me in the face, almost causing me to fall backwards. Amur's attack was a real challenge, but I managed to duck the second shot by twisting my neck.

　When I ducked the second shot, Amur tried to swing his axe, but my blow was faster than his.
　Amur reflexively tried to block the attack with his axe handle, but he didn't get there in time, and his sword struck his side.
　However, because of the distance between me and Amur, I couldn't pull Amur off with as much force as I expected.
　And, Amur grabbed my sword, leaving me defenseless.
　The axe wielded there. Amur held the axe handle short and adjusted it so that the blade part hit me.

''Screw it!''

　Amur swings the axe at me as if to strike me from above. A split second before the axe falls, I grab Amour's shoulder and pull him close to my body as I pull him towards me.
　And while doing so, I give him a head butt. He continued with a body, then an uppercut, and finally a big outer cut.
　He slammed into the ground with considerable force, but before he could put a stop to it, Amur rolled away from the scene.

　However, he dropped the axe in a quicksilver, so I didn't hesitate to let him throw it farther away.
　However, the axe was heavier than I expected, and it didn't fly five meters.

''Looks like you won't.......surrender.

　Although Amur is wobbling, his eyes are sharper than before the start of the match.
　He hasn't given up yet, and since Jin was beaten by Amur in this state, he can't let his guard down.
　The proof of this is that Amur's mood has begun to change. Until then, it was still a sign of a human, but now Amur is a fierce beast.......similar to the feeling that Blanca had when she got serious.

''Fugaaaaaahhh!''

　Amur comes rushing in in a straight line, without an axe. It seems that he doesn't seem to be thinking of defending himself.
　I tried to counter the carelessly rushing towards Amur, but Amur came running without a care in the world.
　I attempt a kesa-kiri (kasakiri) against such Amur, but Amur uses his left arm as a shield to block it.

It doesn't...hurt!

　It looks like Amur has magically strengthened his left arm, but from the feel of it being transmitted through the sword, the bone in his left arm must be cracked at the very least. And from the painfully contorted face, it's clear that he's a skinny guy.
　Then he grabbed the sword with his left arm, which was supposed to hurt, and struck at me with his right hand.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it. As a result, I was unable to evade as much as the finger was extended, and although it didn't hit my eye, it did graze my left temple and blood began to flow.

　The audience groaned at my bloodshed. Amur was gaining momentum and continuing to attack, but I couldn't let him take the lead.
　I let go of the sword in Amur's grip and pretend to go for an eye strike with the fingers of my right hand.
　Amur seems to have been distracted by that when he saw that my fingers were extended. So I withdrew my right hand in the middle and struck Amour's chin with my left instead.

　My left fist neatly shook Amur's head, and it looked like it was going to fall apart, but Amur held onto my body before it completely collapsed.

''Catch........me!

　Amur puts his arms around my body firmly and tries to force me up. I quickly buckled down and resisted, but because Amur, who is smaller than me, was squirming underneath me, I couldn't hold on as hard as I wanted to and floated in the air.

　And then he threw me to the side. The Amur's throw was so forceful that I was knocked to the ground without being able to catch myself properly. Right after I was slammed into the ground, Amur grabbed me by the legs and swung me around.
　Amur doesn't seem to be pushing himself particularly hard, even though he catches me with one hand and swings me around.
　He's probably the best in this tournament in terms of pure strength alone.

　I've almost been knocked to the ground a few times, but each time I've been able to avoid it by hitting the ground with my magic-enhanced hands. But it doesn't seem like I'm going to succeed that many times.
　The moment of collision with the ground a few times, I punched the ground as hard as I could and plunged my fist into the ground.

　It's a good thing that the fists are plunged into the ground, so the body that was being swung around by Amour temporarily stopped moving and lost its momentum.
　I tried to escape from Amur by standing on my head and exerting myself.
　But that's not enough to make Amur let go of my hand, and instead, he tried to hug my leg.

　If this is the case, he'll decide on my ankle joint. I decided that, and I slammed into the ground faster than Amur could hug my legs.
　Amur stopped trying to hug me and tried to prevent me from putting one hand on the ground to avoid a collision, but that was my aim.
　I kicked Amour away with the leg of the one that wasn't grabbed, aiming for the moment when Amour's consciousness went to the ground and his hands were on the ground.

　The kick hit him in the face, and Amour couldn't hold on any longer and let go of my leg.
　As it was, Amour hurriedly got away from me, which I was grateful for.
　At any rate, I forced myself to stretch out from a halfway position, so I did my best to get up, and if Amur had been forced to come at me here, I would probably have had to fight in a mid-waist-like stance.

　For the second time in a row, they took a pause between each other and took a stance.
　At first glance, it looked like they were starting over from the beginning. However, Amour was breathing heavily on his shoulders, and the situation was definitely becoming more favorable to me.

　I'm dirty all over my body and my equipment (leather armor) is scratched everywhere, but there is no fatal damage. The wound on my temple has also stopped bleeding.

　Amur's body looks similar to mine, but his face is different from mine.
　Amur's nose was bleeding quite a bit and he was having trouble breathing, which was probably why he was breathing on his shoulder.
　Looking at that amount of nosebleed, he probably has a broken nose. It looks like her nose is crooked, if only a little.

　I was about to ask Amur if he would surrender, but before that, he pinched his nose and forcefully corrected the bend in his nose and squeezed it.
　Then his nose almost stopped bleeding and he seemed to be breathing better.

'It's all right now. Continue.........''

　With that, Amour thanks me lightly. He probably misunderstood that I went out of my way to wait for the treatment, but I merely stopped moving, surprised that the girl had healed the bend in her nose on her own and stopped the blood.

　Most importantly, I was even about to recommend surrender, so even if Amur hadn't acted like that to heal her, I don't think he would have attacked her from me, but I'm sure he missed an opportunity.　

　However, the audience applauded, perhaps mistaking my not attacking them as a 'gentlemanly act'.

　I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but Amur and I didn't have time to be embarrassed and were looking for an opening in each other's hands.
　Me and Amur's weapons have fallen away from each other and there doesn't seem to be any room to go get them.
　Even if I were to take out a new weapon from the bag, they wouldn't let me take that kind of time.

　This means that you will have to use your bare hands, which Amur seems to want to do, and he is in a position to jump on you at any time.　

　Amour's nose has stopped bleeding and his breath is no longer irregular. I'm not sure if he has used magic, so he must be very resilient or have other reasons.
　As someone who has been biting into medicine somewhat, I am curious about this, but I don't have time to think about it right now.

　After closing the gap between us with a slow, abrasive footing, Amour finally came into my interval. At that moment........

Gasp!

　I let out a beastly voice and Amur moved significantly.
　Amur swings his right hand wide from the top and comes to strike me. Since it was coming at me with considerable speed, if this had been a surprise attack, I would have received a direct hit, but I was expecting this attack.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with this one.

　It was exactly what I was aiming for, so I stepped lightly to avoid it while halfway through, and tried to hit him with my left.
　But then two unexpected things happened in quick succession.

　The first one was that Amur's attack was too sharp, which caused a phenomenon like a kama-weasel to occur and slice through my arm. Well, even though it was a slice, it was just a scratch, so the wound itself wasn't a big problem.
　The problem was the second one, as Amour swung his arm down, he spun around with the same momentum.
　This was indeed a surprise, and I pulled back my fist without pulling it out.

''Nyaah!''

　As it is, Amour's heel(...) attacks me. It's a flying neal kick, as they say in wrestling.
　I guarded it with my retracted left arm, but I was shoved in with my guarded arm.

　Amur is light in weight for his small stature, so he didn't get shoved down as it was, but it was still powerful enough to break my shoulder and poke my knee, and I couldn't get my left arm up.

''Hmph!''

　As I poked him in the knee, Amour positioned himself and continued with a right kick to the middle of the foot.
　I rolled away from this kick in time to avoid it. But Amur's attacks didn't stop.
　He chases after me as I roll and stomps on me.

　After a few meters of rolling, Amur has an opening and I gain momentum and get up.
　Still, Amur doesn't stop attacking me and attacks me with his body.

　I jump with one hand and somersault to land on my feet, using the oncoming Amur as a jumping box.
　When I landed, my shoulder, which was sore from earlier, became even more painful, but I persevered and once I got away from Amur, I cast a spell on my shoulder to heal it. However, since I didn't have time, I focused on connecting the bones together and decided that taking away the pain was secondary. That decision was correct, and when he had connected the bones in his shoulder, Amur was closing in on him, so he interrupted his treatment and took up an interception position.

　From there, it was a melee, with both men stopping to beat each other to the ground.
　But the fisticuffs did not last long.

　I'm not sure if I've ever heard of this, but I'm sure I've heard of it.
　I'm going to be careful not to let Amur's attacks hit me, and I'm going to focus on evading them.
　I ducked and ducked using ducking and swaying, knocked Amur's fists off with paring, and counter-punched him.
　He has a sore shoulder, so he focuses on hitting each shot small and sure, because if he swings his fist out of the way, he could lose his balance and show an opening.
　I'll remember other boxing techniques I've read about on TV or in books and try to imitate them.
　It is surprisingly easy to remember the things you did for fun when you were a child, even if you are a hazy learner.

　This kind of (boxing) technique has not been established in this world, and even if you are halfway through the fight, it is very effective. Boxing techniques are specialized for fisticuffs, and their effectiveness did not change even beyond the world.

　It was only a matter of time before my fist, which also made full use of such previous life skills, caught Amour's face as his movements began to slow down.
　And the time had come.