Chapter 37
(Kyle Calendar
Year 504: Age 11)
The First
Top-Ranked (Champion) Tournament
Translator : PolterGlast
"Now, we shall
commence the glorious First Champion Tournament.
I am truly delighted
that this commemorative event has attracted many distinguished guests,
including Margrave Hastburg, making it a truly fitting occasion.
The participants are
all formidable individuals who have placed high in the regular tournaments. I
urge you to fully demonstrate the fruits of your daily training."
Father began his
opening speech with great enthusiasm.
The once-a-year
crossbow tournament, the Champion Tournament, where only the top three winners
from the regular tournaments could participate, was about to be held in the
town of Est.
This time, Margrave
Hastburg, Viscount Kirias, and for some reason, Viscount Gorman and Baron
Cornell were also in attendance as guests of honor.
Due to the unexpected
and sudden participation of these guests over the past month, my parents and
Raymond-san had been completely occupied with preparations.
Incidentally, after
the guests were decided, I also had no time to focus on the tournament
preparations.
"Seriously, the
size of the venue... it's impossible as it is, right?"
"The VIP seats
and security personnel alone... we don't have nearly enough."
Even Claire let out a
scream-like voice at the unexpected situation.
"Right...? Elan,
Mary, sorry, let's redo it from the foundation."
"Yes, we'll also
prepare stepped seating for the audience."
"Anne, to Master
Geld's place! Ask for suitable seats.
Christoph and Carleen,
confirm safe positions. We absolutely have to change it so they can't be sniped
by bows.
Everyone else, please
prepare for the tournament operations!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Oh, Claire, can
I leave you in charge of the operational aspects?"
"Yes,
understood."
Over the past year,
the individuals we had brought together not only as mages but also as the
executive committee had grown into reliable assets.
The gratitude of
having comrades... it was completely different from a year ago.
I managed to focus on
the reconstruction of the venue (shooting range).
And we made it just in
time.
This time, 30
participants would compete.
The regular
tournaments that could be held this year, due to the flood and disaster relief
efforts, numbered ten.
The top three winners
from each of those tournaments had gathered.
Once someone was
placed in the top three of a regular tournament, they were prohibited from
participating in the regular tournaments until the next Champion Tournament
concluded.
Also, the wind mages,
and of course everyone in all tournaments, were prohibited from using magic in
the shooting competitions.
The town of Est,
aiming for this tournament, had attracted many merchants, and makeshift stalls
and food vendors were set up everywhere, creating unprecedented liveliness.
Furthermore, many
citizens had gathered to watch this tournament, and to accommodate them,
temporary lodging facilities reusing the refugee camp on the outskirts of town
were prepared.
"The voting
tickets and polling stations, and the training of the staff, are
complete."
"Claire, is the
rehearsal for creating the odds table okay?"
"Yes, that has
also been completed."
"Then, as
planned, please put up the sign for registration starting five days
prior."
"Yes, I will post
them in various locations around the town."
The main attraction
this time was the [Winner Voting Ticket].
Well, it was a name
mimicking horse racing betting tickets, but it was a system where anyone could
vote (invest) on the player they supported (thought would win), and if they
were correct, they would receive a payout.
Since there were no
automatic calculation programs or calculators in this world, I made efforts to
keep it as simple and easy to participate in as possible.
There were two main types
of voting.
＜Winning Group Voting＞
The 30 participants
were divided into five groups (red, blue, yellow, green, white), and they would
compete for group victory based on the total individual scores of those
belonging to the group.
1st place (50 points)
2nd place (40 points)
3rd place (30 points)
4th place (20 points)
5th place (10 points)
Only the top five
individual scores received points, and the group with the highest total points
within the group would be the winner.
Those who voted for
the winning group would receive a payout from the stakes of those who lost,
with a one-in-five chance of winning.
The group divisions
were made by evenly distributing two regular tournament winners, two
runners-up, and two third-place winners into each group.
＜Ranking Group Voting＞
This was a vote to
guess the combination of the groups whose members would take first and second
place in individual scores. For example, if someone belonging to the red group
took first place, the combinations would be:
Red-Red (if the red
group monopolized 1st and 2nd place)
Red-Blue
Red-Yellow
Red-Green
Red-White
These combinations
resulted in a total of 25 possibilities to predict, with a one-in-twenty-five
chance of winning.
We firmly kept a
fraction of the betting money as a commission for the house, and the rest was
all allocated to the payouts.
Also, the stakes were
simplified to three patterns for each vote: a maximum of 1 gold coin, 1 silver
coin, or 10 silver coins.
The voting tickets
were in sets of two, with a seal imprinted across both halves. One half was
kept for operational records, and they were numbered sequentially.
The amount to bet was
checked in a checkbox, and the stubs were placed in boxes prepared for each
voting target, and the tallying began.
As announced in
advance, voting registration started five days prior, and every day, the
tallied voting status up to the previous day was made into an odds table and
posted.
The executive
committee and administrative staff were heavily burdened with the nightly
tallying work, the daily replacement of the display boards, and the voting
registration. I thought I had to give everyone a bonus when it was over...
That's how busy every department was, to the point of being overwhelmed.
Voting was closed in
the morning of the tournament day, early, and somehow all the odds were out by
the start of the afternoon event.
Apart from the public
voting I was conducting, it seemed Father was also running his own bookmaking
operation with the guests, merchants, and the Est commercial association...
I wonder if he's
calculating properly?
I became a little
worried, but honestly, I had absolutely no leeway to look after such things.
"Claire, how much
did the voting ticket sales come to?"
"Approximately
3,000 gold coins! That's amazing!"
"Huh?"
I couldn't help but
make a strange sound.
"After the odds
were posted, sales increased dramatically in the latter half."
There are definitely a
lot of people who voted multiple times by themselves...
I just hope they are
careful not to ruin themselves with gambling.
Not that I'm one to
talk...
It seems the merchants
from outside the territory are betting quite a lot.
Even if the house
takes 20%, that's 600 gold coins. That's a considerable income... well, the
renovations also cost quite a bit.
Since the winners of
each regular tournament were evenly distributed among the groups, the odds
didn't fluctuate extremely, but there were several long shots in the ranking
votes.
The Champion
Tournament proceeded smoothly, and as expected of the top winners from the
regular tournaments, the shooting continued to captivate the audience.
The spectators cheered
loudly for their chosen players' turns, and those who displayed excellent
shooting received great applause without discrimination.
Margrave Hastburg in
the VIP seats was in high spirits throughout, but occasionally watched intently
with a sharp gaze.
Viscount Kirias,
rather than enjoying himself, constantly exchanged words with the military
officers he had brought from his territory.
He seemed to be
considering whether there was anything to adopt.
Viscount Gorman
watched the matches with a consistently displeased expression.
I didn't want to get
close to him.
＜Part 1＞
In the fixed target
shooting of Part 1, Gale from the red group, probably the most popular in the
voting, finished in first place.
The red group was the
most popular in both the winning group and ranking group votes.
In second place was
Carleen from the white group.
Personally, I really
wanted to cheer her on.
Third place went to a
participant from the mercenary corps in the yellow group.
He seemed to be
nervous, having been spurred on by the commander.
The scores from fourth
place onwards were also close, and there was a good chance of a reversal in
Part 2.
【Winning Group Voting Odds】
・Red 2x
・Blue 8x
・Yellow 3x
・Green 16x
・White 4x
【Excerpt of Ranking Group Voting Odds by Popularity】
・Red-Yellow 3x
・Yellow-Red 5x
・Red-White 8x
・White-Red 10x
・Red-Blue 11x
・Long Shot Green-Blue and others 160x
＜Part 2＞
Part 1 concluded, and
Part 2 became moving target (tricky) shooting.
However, those who had
advanced through the regular tournaments dealt with it calmly.
Perhaps due to
pressure, Gale missed a target!
A sigh close to a
scream escaped from the audience.
Great cheers erupted
for Carleen, the only female participant.
Still only 15, a girl
who could be called a maiden, her marvelous skill drew loud applause and cheers
from the spectators.
She had struggled with
moving targets in the first regular tournament, finishing 9th. She must have
been very disappointed.
She had devoted
herself to training in her spare time, won the 6th tournament, and earned the
right to participate.
Her growth in skill
was remarkable.
＜Results＞
The overall winner was
Carleen!
She had brushed aside
all the men and older participants, winning at the youngest age.
Honestly, I was one of
the most surprised.
She was strong under
pressure, and everyone in the audience cheered for the unique shooter, the
still childlike, adorable girl.
Second place was Gale,
who was overtaken by Carleen at the end.
Christoph came in
third!
The white group, with
Carleen and Christoph's contributions (1st and 3rd place), scored 80 points and
became the overall winner.
【Results】
Winning Group Vote:
White Group Odds 4x
Ranking Group Vote:
White-Red Odds 10x
Those who had
successfully predicted the results rejoiced loudly.
The winning group vote
had relatively high odds as the second most popular, so simply calculated, 20%
of the total bets were winners.
The ranking vote had
odds of 10x, the fourth most popular, but with a considerable payout, and the
winners were looked at with envy.
Once the rankings were
finalized, the top winners were specially awarded prize money from Margrave
Hastburg as well.
1st place: 50 gold
coins and 50 special prize gold coins
2nd place: 30 gold
coins and 30 special prize gold coins
3rd place: 20 gold
coins and 20 special prize gold coins
4th place: 10 gold
coins and 10 special prize gold coins
5th place: 5 gold
coins and 5 special prize gold coins
This time, with the
addition of special prize money from the visiting Margrave, the prize money was
doubled, making the winners very fortunate.
Next year... there
probably won't be a special prize.
Only the pre-announced
prize money. Probably...
Thus, the First
Champion Tournament came to a close.
It ended in a storm of
cheers, and Father looked extremely pleased.
I later learned that
Father, who had been running his own private bookmaking operation on the side,
had apparently been using our odds as they were, and had almost suffered a huge
loss with the red group being dominant in the first half.
He had looked quite
pale and flustered, but he was saved by Carleen's come-from-behind victory and
apparently made a considerable profit as a result.
Seriously! That
satisfied look at the end was about that?!
He should at least
thank Carleen properly.
And shouldn't Father
give her a special prize too?
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