Hero Vs. Female Warrior

The matches between the B-rank and A-rank adventurers wrapped up one after another, leaving only the S-rank matches. Incidentally, SS-rank adventurers were treated as part of the same division as S-rankers.

The venue was covered in defensive magic by a group of mages.

Large-scale magic was prohibited as a general rule, but there was still a chance an attack could spill over into the spectator seats.

‘Our first match is—oh! The Hero himself, Vanrost Rain, is making an appearance right away! His opponent is Smith River, a promising newcomer among the S-rank adventurers!’

The rookie adventurer was a giant of a man over two and a half meters tall. His entire body was packed with steel-like muscle, and he carried an iron club.

He was so huge it barely felt any different from facing a monster.

The cymbal signaling the start of the match rang out.

Before the man could even finish raising his club, Vanrost was already moving.

He leaped to the right to avoid the downward swing, then jumped backward to evade the club when it swept horizontally.

Vanrost chanted a spell.

“Binding Magic (Restrin).”

“Damn it…!”

It was a spell that restrained an opponent with invisible cords and prevented them from moving.

Thud!!

Vanrost Rain slammed his sword into the rookie adventurer’s stomach.

Naturally, the sword being used was a bladeless competition weapon.

The enormous S-rank adventurer’s eyes widened before he collapsed on the spot.

‘The Hero, Vanrost Rain, settles the match in spectacular fashion!’

At the announcer’s declaration, cheers erupted throughout the venue.

There really did seem to be a world of difference in ability between S-rank and SS-rank adventurers.

I had my doubts about putting them in the same division, but once you reached S-rank and above, there just weren’t that many competitors.

The only SS-rank adventurers participating in this Combat Tournament were probably the Hero, Nick, and Rosa.

The Hero waved to the audience with a smug look on his face.

But in the very next match, someone appeared who displayed skill on roughly the same level as the Hero.

It was Nick Bluestar, the hero who led the Twilight Ravens.

He electrocuted an S-rank monster controlled by a Monster Tamer with Thunderbolt, then knocked it unconscious with a single blow to the head.

With their main fighting monster defeated, the Monster Tamer raised a hand and surrendered.

Cheers just as loud as those for Vanrost rose from the stands.

‘He took down an S-rank Ice Pteras with ease! As expected of Nick Bluestar!’

As the announcer’s voice echoed through the venue, the commentator added an explanation for the spectators.

‘It actually takes considerable skill to defeat a monster without killing it.’

Those two really were the two biggest stars of this tournament.

The other S-rank adventurers had their matches as well, but very few of them ended things as cleanly as those two had.

Many of the matches were decided by judges, with competitors relying heavily on evasive tactics to keep their opponents from landing decisive techniques… and the spectators were starting to look pretty bored.

There were other popular competitors besides the Hero and Nick, and those adventurers tended to use flashy magic like fire and lightning… I see. The popular fighters weren’t simply trying to win their matches; they entertained the audience by using spectacular magic as well.

An arena wasn’t merely a place for fighting. It was also a place of entertainment.

‘And now, we come to a match that could easily be called our first main event! SS-rank adventurer Nick Bluestar versus SS-rank adventurer Rosa Linary!’

‘I hear Rosa Linary only recently joined the Hero’s party. I’m looking forward to seeing just how much stronger she’s become.’

With a handsome man and a beautiful woman facing off, the crowd became even more excited.

“Go easy on me, young lady.”

“I could say the same to you, kid.”

…Maybe they were having a conversation like that?

They seemed to know each other, judging by how strangely friendly they looked while talking.

The cymbal signaling the beginning of the match rang.

‘It looks like they’re starting with a staring contest.’

‘Neither of them will show an opening easily. The question is who will make the first move, and when.’

If they both kept waiting for the other to expose an opening, the match would never end.

Yuri was watching with bated breath as well, clearly sensing how different this match was from the earlier ones.

The next instant, Rosa thrust one palm forward and chanted a spell.

“Binding Magic (Restrin).”

Oh, that was a pretty good surprise attack.

In an instant, translucent threads wrapped around Nick Bluestar’s limbs, rendering him immobile.

After confirming that, Rosa’s eyes widened and she grinned before charging at Nick Bluestar with her sword.

But even if she could bind his body, she couldn’t bind his mouth.

“Fireball.”

Nick chanted a spell that launched bullets of flame.

He’d poured a huge amount of mana into it… More fireballs erupted than I could count at a glance.

It had been a long time since I’d seen that many fire projectiles at once.

Rosa clicked her tongue and dodged the barrage of flames coming at her one after another.

Nick must have cast a spell to nullify magic in the meantime. The Binding Magic broke apart, freeing him to move, and he readied his sword.

‘Oh! Nick has broken free of the Binding Magic!’

‘That was an incredible number of fireballs just now as well.’

‘Producing that many without a Magic Stone or a mage’s staff is quite impressive.’

Since they were using competition swords, they couldn’t use swords equipped with Magic Stones that amplified offensive spells.

The tournament organizers probably preferred having offensive magic weakened anyway. The last thing they wanted was for someone to destroy the building.

‘It looks like this will be a sword fight from here on.’

‘Both of them are extremely fast. We’ll have to watch closely ourselves.’

Rosa slashed at Nick.

Nick deflected the blow, spun around, and swept his sword sideways.

Rosa jumped backward and avoided it.

“Young lady, why don’t you quit the Hero’s party and come join me instead?”

“Depends on how much you’re paying.”

…Maybe they were having a conversation like that.

They were definitely talking about something while exchanging sword blows.

If Nick offered her more money than the Hero’s party did, Rosa would probably switch over to the Twilight Ravens without a second thought.

“That is, if you can beat me first, kid!”

I could faintly hear Rosa saying something along those lines.

Wow, she was really enjoying herself. She loved money, sure, but fundamentally, she also loved fighting.

Nick deflected every one of Rosa’s consecutive slashes.

After blocking the final strike, he drove a kick into Rosa’s stomach.

“Kh…!”

The instant Rosa staggered with one eye squeezed shut, Nick launched a rapid series of slashes of his own. Rosa deflected every single one.

“…Ah, this match is already decided.”

At my mutter, Yuri looked at me in surprise.

She watched the two continue exchanging sword blows for another moment, then turned back to me and asked.

“What do you mean, decided? They’re still fighting evenly, aren’t they?”

“No. It’s slight, but Rosa’s movements are slower.”

Rosa cast a falling-rock spell, and Nick leaped backward.

The cannonball-sized stone missed its target and slammed into the arena floor, leaving a circular crater.

“Wave Shock.”

The moment Nick cast the spell, Rosa’s body was sent flying as though an invisible beast had tackled her.

Rosa landed hard on her backside and immediately tried to get up, but before she could, Nick had already placed his sword against her throat.

Rosa gave a wry smile, shook her head, and raised both hands to signal surrender.

‘Oh! Rosa has surrendered! She surrendered! Rosa has surrendered! She gives up!’

‘You don’t have to say “surrender” that many times.’

Cheers and applause erupted throughout the arena.

It had been an exciting match, especially with all the magic mixed in.

Nick gentlemanly offered Rosa his hand.

Rosa grinned before taking it… Maybe she figured she should stay on good terms with someone who could become a future source of income.

“Rosa really is strong after all.”

“Did that bring back memories? Of what happened back then?”

By “back then,” I obviously meant when she had been expelled.

But to my surprise, Yuri shook her head.

“Thanks to her, I got to meet you, Roy. If anything, I’m grateful to her.”

“…I see.”

Yuri’s words made a thought suddenly occur to me.

Could it be that Rosa had realized Yuri was about to be thrown out alone without a single coin to her name, felt sorry for her, and deliberately entrusted Yuri to me?

—Nah. No way.