Chapter 93
(Kyle
Calendar Year 506: Age 13)
Joint Elite
Tournament ⑤ - Day 2
Translator : PolterGlast
The night of various
schemes had passed, and the tournament entered its second day.
Following the results
of the first day, many people lined up at the reception desk to buy winner's
voting tickets from the end of yesterday's tournament. This morning too, queues
formed early and continued until closing time. Some had accurately predicted
the first day's winners and used their prize money to buy more tickets. Many
others bought tickets based on new predictions after seeing the first day's
results.
"It has to be the
Margrave. The number of soldiers and citizens is overwhelmingly different.
They're sure to win today!"
"No, no, they say
Viscount Kilias's actual strength is on par with a Count's. Won't they do well
today?"
"Well, no matter
what happens, our territory is guaranteed to be 1st or 2nd. So it's a one in
four chance!"
Voting tickets sold
like hotcakes, each driven by individual speculation. The tallying results
barely made it in time, forcing us to abandon the announcement before the
match.
And then, Part Two,
the Territory vs. Territory Battle, began.
"We finally
finished tallying. I apologize for the delay due to the last-minute rush,"
Claire reported, looking a bit worn out.
◯ Part Two: Territory vs. Territory Battle <Top Two
Group Voting>
【Tally Results】
Total sales of team
battle winner voting tickets: 5,000 gold coins
【Team Battle Odds】
Most Popular: Margrave
- Solis Viscount: 2x payout
Second Popular: Viscount
Kilias - Solis Viscount: 4x payout
Third Popular:
Margrave - Viscount Kilias: 6x payout
Fourth Popular: Solis
Viscount - Cornell Baron: 8x payout
Fifth Popular: Gorman
Viscount - Solis Viscount: 10x payout
"Everyone seems
quite influenced by yesterday's results, huh?"
Yes, the crucial point
is that yesterday's participants cannot compete in the team battle. The fun
lies in predicting which lord will place more importance on this.
"It seems
everyone is betting on us. That's a little reassuring."
"That's because
Carleen and Christoph are there. On the other hand, it was surprising that the
third most popular turned out like that."
"Well, given the
individual match results, many people probably considered that a viable option,
right? The pre-match reviews were pretty good, too."
Of the five
individuals participating from our side in the team battle, four have
experience placing in the elite tournament. That's an absolute strength.
The team battle is a
round-robin, five-person elimination match. The winner is determined by
subtracting losses from wins. The match continues as long as the Vanguard,
Second Spear, Middle Guard, and Vice-General keep winning, up until the
General. If the General loses, the match ends there. A win earns 1 point, a
draw results in simultaneous defeat with 0 points for both, and a loss is -1
point. If the Vanguard alone defeats all five opponents, including the opposing
General, the score is 5 points. The opponent gets -5 points. If victories and
losses are exchanged repeatedly, and the match goes down to the Generals, the
final score is 1 point for the winner and -1 point for the loser.
There's a strategy of
putting the strongest person as the vanguard to earn points, but fighting four
matches, 20 opponents consecutively, would be tough both physically and
mentally. The command of the person leading the five, and the order of each
match, is one of the highlights.
At this moment, I was
also participating in the team battle as a commander.
"Carleen,
Christoph, can you do it?"
"Yes, we can.
Please let us."
"Carleen, if you
get tired, I'll take over."
"Then let's start
with Carleen. Go all out! Show them what we've got!"
I decided to go all
out from the first match. The results from yesterday were a bit disappointing,
so today I steered us firmly towards victory.
<First match>
Viscount Solis vs.
Baron Cornell
5 consecutive wins | 5
consecutive losses
Viscount Kilias vs.
Viscount Gorman
1 win, 5 losses | 5
wins, 1 loss
Carleen, our vanguard,
won all her matches. Her five-person sweep was magnificent and was met with
thunderous cheers. And Viscount Gorman also made a similar move.
<Second match>
Viscount Kilias vs.
Viscount Solis
5 consecutive losses |
5 consecutive wins
Margrave vs. Baron
Cornell
3 wins, 5 losses | 5 wins,
3 losses
Carleen's winning
streak continued. She scored 10 consecutive wins all by herself, remaining
undefeated this time as well. At this point, those who had bet on Viscount
Kilias or the Margrave shrieked. Victory was already hopeless for them.
＜Third match＞
Viscount Kilias vs.
Baron Cornell
4 wins, 5 losses | 5
wins, 4 losses
Margrave vs. Viscount
Gorman
5 consecutive losses |
5 consecutive wins
Viscount Kilias and
Baron Cornell had a close match. In contrast, Viscount Gorman continued his winning
streak with 5 consecutive wins. At this point, it was almost certain that it
would effectively be a one-on-one showdown between Viscount Gorman and Viscount
Solis.
＜Fourth match＞
Margrave vs. Viscount
Solis
5 consecutive losses |
5 consecutive wins
Viscount Gorman vs.
Baron Cornell
5 consecutive wins | 5
consecutive losses
Christoph achieved a
clean sweep, replacing a visibly tired Carleen. Similarly, Viscount Gorman's
team also finished with a clean sweep. Although the overall winner was still
unknown, the voting results for 1st and 2nd place were confirmed to be Gorman
Viscount - Solis Viscount, regardless. A huge cheer and sighs erupted from the
venue.
＜Fifth match＞
Margrave vs. Viscount
Kilias
4 wins, 5 losses | 5
wins, 4 losses
This time, it was an
extreme combination of a last-place decider and a championship decider.
Therefore, we stopped simultaneous matches and held them one by one, allowing
the championship match to be the finale.
Viscount Gorman vs.
Viscount Solis
2 wins, 5 losses | 5
wins, 2 losses
For our side, Carleen
was the General, Christoph the Vice-General, Gail the Middle Guard, and Gold
the Second Guard. The Vanguard was intentionally just there to confuse the
opponent.
We went into the match
with a full-force strategy. However, surprisingly, everything ended by the time
it got to Gail. One of the archers who had supported Viscount Gorman's winning
streak was quite fatigued from consecutive matches. Although he defeated Gold,
the Second Guard, as their General, he narrowly lost to Gail, our Middle Guard.
By achieving
overwhelmingly decisive results in all matches, we were able to fully uphold
the prestige of the Solis Viscount army, renowned for its archers.
1st place: Viscount
Solis
2nd place: Viscount
Gorman
3rd place: Baron
Cornell
4th place: Viscount
Kilias
5th place: Margrave
Hastburg
Amidst thunderous
cheers, the awards ceremony and prize money distribution took place. Each of
the five individuals received 50 gold coins, and the three individuals who
achieved 5 consecutive wins (including one from Viscount Gorman's territory)
received an additional 50 gold coins each as a special prize.
And there were three
people overjoyed.
"We did it! We
got it right!"
"I never knew
voting could be so much fun!"
"Sisters, I'm just
so, so... ah, words fail me!"
Lady Flora, Lady Yuka,
and Chrisia were overjoyed. They happily reported their success to their
respective fathers.
"Father, I
guessed correctly for both the individual and team battles!"
"Is that so? That
sounds like you had fun. So, Flora, how many did you win?"
"Yes! 418
coins!"
"I see, I see,
that's wonderful."
"Father, please
listen! I, too, like Lady Flora and Chrisia, guessed correctly for both the
individual and team battles! Please praise me!"
"Hmm, Yuka, well
done. How many did you win, Yuka?"
"I won 324
coins."
"Hmm, that's
pretty impressive."
I felt a gaze from the
side. Yes, I know.
"Chrisia,
congratulations! That's an amazing read!"
"Yes! I won 212
coins!"
She jumped into my
arms, as if she had been waiting for this. After patting her head for a bit, I
deliberately spoke loudly enough for others to hear.
"212 gold coins,
Chrisia, that's incredible!"
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
The two older men
looked at their daughters in astonishment.
"I won gold coins
too!"
"Father, me
too!"
It seemed the old men
thought it was silver coins. Their mouths were agape.
Seriously, you
fathers, who are utterly doting on your daughters, you're giving them too much
pocket money (gold coins)!
Flora, including her
losses, probably around 45 coins.
Yuka, including her
losses, probably around 35 coins.
Chrisia probably
played it safe, so maybe less than 25 coins?
They spent this much
just on betting, so how much did they give them in total? Or did they, when
they saw they could win, suddenly throw in all the money they had? If it's the
latter... I feel a different kind of terror.
And another thing: the
two older men, who were surprised by their daughters' winnings, were also sly
foxes themselves. These people also guessed correctly for both the individual
and team battles. And I know they bought up to the maximum betting limit.
<Margrave
Hastburg>
Total Investment: 200
gold coins
Individual Battle Win:
50 coins -> Payout: 300 gold coins
Team Battle Win: 50
coins -> Payout: 500 gold coins
<Viscount
Gorman>
Total Investment: 200
gold coins
Individual Battle Win:
50 coins -> Payout: 300 gold coins
Team Battle Win: 100
coins -> Payout: 1,000 gold coins
They winked at me as I
grinned. It probably meant, "Don't tell anyone."
Seriously, just these
two parent-child pairs took more than half of the total team battle payout...
that's truly outrageous.
Thus, the two-day
joint elite competition came to a close. Based on this result, each territory
agreed to further hone their crossbow skills and hold another joint competition
in three years, bringing the event to an end.
※
At the final night's
dinner party, each of the guests seemed to have had a meaningful time, and my
father was in high spirits, pleased with their satisfied expressions.
"Lord Darek, I
also plan to attend the academy in the Royal Capital next year. I have many
anxieties, so please be friendly with me then."
"Lady Flora, of
course! We are the shield that protects the Hastburg family. We await your
arrival in the Royal Capital."
"Lord Takuhir,
I've really grown fond of Teigun! May I visit here again?"
"Lady Yuka, of
course! It's right next door, so please feel free to visit anytime. I'll guide
you to more delicious restaurants too."
Yeah, this is already
becoming a confirmed path, huh? I suddenly looked sideways and saw the
Margrave, Viscount Gorman, and my mother looking at me and smiling.
My mother, mixed in
with the sly foxes! I resigned myself to the fact that this was no longer a
probable path, but a confirmed one.
And that night too,
the "Night Inspection Team," led by the guide-parent pair, departed.
Soon... the Hannya
(female demon) might descend. Despite all the warnings I gave.
With a premonition
close to certainty, I gazed out the window, watching the group quickly head
towards the Third District and disappear into the darkness.
"Alright! All
that's left is tomorrow's duties. Can I finally get some good sleep the day
after tomorrow? I need to let everyone rest too."
I muttered that and
returned to work.
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