Chapter 325 Part 1
(Kyle Calendar Year 514: Age 21)
The 1st Royal Capital Tournament ②: Two Heroes Stand
Side by Side
Translator : PolterGlast
In the end, yesterday's meeting, under the guise of a
tournament briefing, ended up being a Supreme Council meeting from start to
finish. When I asked at the very end, 『What about the explanation for the tournament?』, a single slip of paper was merely handed
out.
On it...
Overview of the First Royal Capital Tournament
◆ Event Overview
The nobles sending representatives to participate in this
tournament shall be from the following organizations, which have progressively
adopted the crossbow and can set an example. The individual match preliminaries
will be held for half a day in the afternoon, the main tournament will take
place the following morning, and the team match preliminaries will be held in
the afternoon. On the final day, the semi-finals and finals of the team match,
along with the awards ceremony, will take place.
◆ Participating Organizations
〇 Kyle
Kingdom
- Royal
Capital Knights
- Her
Highness Clarice's Royal Guard (Participating in individual matches
only)
- Frontier
Duke Hastburg Territory
- Frontier
Duke Hamish Territory
- Frontier
Duke Model Territory
- Count
Clay Territory (Participating in individual matches only)
- Count
Cornell Territory
〇 Westlights
Dukedom
- Archduke's
Direct Territory
- Marquis
Gorman Territory
- Marquis
Solis Territory
◆ Participation Regulations
In this tournament, each territory shall register and enter
5 members for the individual matches and 5 members for the team matches.
Furthermore, participating in both individual and team matches is not
permitted. Regardless of which event they participate in, changes to the
registered player names from those submitted in advance will not be permitted.
The announcement of the participating players' names shall be made immediately
prior to the matches.
◆ Additional Rules
Basic operations will follow past similar events, but some
unique changes shall be implemented.
(Individual Matches)
The preliminaries will be a tournament format with 5 people
divided into 10 groups, and only the top will advance to the main tournament.
The main tournament will be a knockout format among the 10 who won through the
preliminaries.
(Team Matches)
The preliminaries will be divided into two groups, with the
first and second place from each advancing to the finals the following day. The
matches will be a round-robin within the group using a 5-on-5 elimination
format, narrowing down the participating groups by half in the preliminaries.
The following day will be the semi-finals, and the finals will be a tournament
format. Furthermore, in the finals, superiority will ultimately be decided by
the combined score of the elimination matches and a group target shooting event
involving all members. The participation order for each team match may be
submitted immediately prior to the match.
◆ Winner Betting Rights
Winner betting
will be conducted for both the individual and team matches. For both, voters
shall bet on the origin territory of the first and second place winners. For
individual matches, they are required to predict the exact placement, while for
team matches, they shall vote for the combination of the top two without regard
to exact placement.
Winner betting
tickets will be sold in various places in Kylar starting 5 days before
the event, and the reception deadline is set as the day before the event for
individual matches, and until the start of the team match finals for team
matches. General betting shall be 1 silver coin, 10
silver coins, and 1 gold coin per ticket, with a maximum of 10 tickets. The
special counter shall only accept two types: 10 gold coins and 100 gold coins,
with a maximum of 10 tickets.
「……」
The implementation details are almost a complete rip-off.
But... will the counter operations be alright?
I had reassuring companions like Claire and the
reception staff who were accustomed to various matters, and we had accumulated
experience and know-how over time from the regular tournaments. If you try to
do it all at once, there's going to be chaos, you know?
I mean, what is Her Highness Clarice's Royal Guard?
I'll ask Yuka later.
Even so... the team match regulations really show the Old
Raccoon's cunningness. An event involving all members added to the finals;
with this, you can't hide your trump cards while steamrolling through. Does
this mean we will be forced to expose all our hands...?
Well, of course, I won't be exposing all my hands either,
though. Wearing a sinister expression on my face, I spent the night before the
event looking over these tournament regulations.
※
On the day of the event, the festival itself was finally
underway, but the morning was for the face-to-face meeting with the King of Fearalt.
Originally, that was the main event, but...
Partly because of that, nobles from all over the Kingdom
were unavoidably gathered in the Royal Capital. They probably intended to hold
the tournament amidst that public scrutiny to promote enlightenment among each
noble, but that objective is far too obvious.
Then, after waiting in the anteroom just before the throne
room, I was invited into the throne room separately from the various nobles and
high-ranking civil officials lined up inside.
「His Excellency the Senior Frontier
Duke of the Kyle Kingdom and His Majesty the Archduke of the Westlights
Demon Territory Dukedom, enters.」
Give me a break, such a pompous way of making an entrance
is... While thinking so, I was invited through a different entrance than usual,
a door leading onto the dais in the throne room.
『Huh? It's different from usual.』
Usually, the dais where His Majesty the King sits is not a
very wide space, but it had been expanded to nearly double the size, and seats
were prepared on both sides so as to flank the throne. Beside the throne, Her
Highness Clarice stood modestly.
I, of course, do not know the etiquette toward royalty in
this world, or this country. No, there's no way I could know. Seeing me
bewildered for a moment, His Majesty sitting on the throne grinned and urged me
to the seat on the left.
『Eh? I can sit? Really?』
While panicking, I had no choice but to bow to His Majesty
the King and sit in the indicated seat.
Below the steps, well over a hundred people were kneeling
with their heads bowed. Feeling like I was in a place where I didn't belong,
somehow... perhaps because I wasn't used to it, the scenery I was seeing made
me feel uncomfortable.
「His Majesty King Krieger of
the Fearalt Principality, enters.」
Ah, what should I do? Is it fine to greet him sitting down?
No, of course not. In my case, nothing changes the fact that I am a subject of
the Kyle Kingdom, but His Majesty Krieger is from a friendly
nation on equal footing with the Kingdom.
Hesitating for a moment and standing up, His Majesty also
stood up equally. Then, exchanging handshakes with a smile, he offered the
seat. I bowed and sat down last.
Hmm? Is this correct? I wonder? In movies and such that Nishida
saw, there were scenes where they hugged in such cases, but in this world... It
was a mix of being full of anxiety and a half-defiant feeling of 'whatever
happens, happens'.
「King Krieger, I sincerely
appreciate the King himself visiting via the Empire and the Demon
Territory Dukedom. To traverse three countries, I was somewhat surprised
when I heard the story.」
(Or rather, couldn't you have visited the Kingdom straight away?)
「I too wish to apologize anew to the
King of Kyle for the
immense trouble the disgruntled nobles of our country caused. Believing it was
necessary for me to personally make the trip for that purpose, I have come.」 (Besides, if I had entered from
the western border of the Kingdom, I wouldn't have been able to make
time with Lady Clarice.)
「My, my, a polite apology from the
King himself carries the weight of a thousand gold pieces. However, I hope we
did not cause you any trouble along the way?」 (I mean, you were meeting with Clarice in the Demon
Territory Dukedom, weren't you. So shamelessly... I never thought the two
of you would openly return to Kylar together.)
「Not at all! I was able to spend a
meaningful and precious time. Thanks to my friend, Lord Takuhir, there
was also an unparalleled encounter, and I believe it was a great harvest.」 (I never thought I would be able
to meet the future Emperor of the Empire, after all.)
「I-I see... that is splendid indeed.」 (How brazen! It must have been
prearranged anyway. Even so... Archduke Westlights, were you on
that side too!)
Hmm? Somehow... His Majesty the King's gaze is very
piercing... He definitely thinks I acted as a go-between for their
rendezvous... I think His Majesty Krieger is referring to the Third
Prince of the Empire, His Highness Grat, but... I mean, please
stop this exchange of sarcasm with full smiles on your faces! Well, His Majesty
is probably just sulking one-sidedly, though.
「By the way, Your Majesty, it seems
there is a special reason for you to have traveled all this way to Kylar.」 (Let's get to the main topic
already. If this continues, unnecessary sparks might fly my way too. I
mean, since the seats are prepared equally, it's fine for me to interject,
right?)
「Oh my friend, that is right.」
Saying so, His Majesty Krieger slowly stood up and
knelt before the King of Kyle. Seeing
that, many nobles and civil officials also began to stir.
「Just for this occasion, I speak not
as the King entrusted with the Fearalt Principality, but as a single
man. I wish to welcome the King of Kyle's
daughter, Her Highness Clarice, as my wife. The marriage proposal has
already been established through messengers, but I have come to make this
request as a matter of a man's honor. Please, grant my wish...」
Saying so, he bowed his head deeply. He's good... It's not
often that the King of a country goes that far to desire Her Highness. Even Her
Highness Clarice is, uncharacteristically, getting misty-eyed with
emotion... no, her eyes are sparkling.
「Wh-wh-what... a splendid resolve. I
too am one who desires my daughter's happiness and peace between our two
nations. I cannot say no...」 (No, I had intended to complain a bit and trouble him...
but to think he would go this far for her. So he is truly the great man
the rumors say. If I find fault here, I will be ridiculed for being
small-minded.)
「I offer my congratulations on the
birth of a friendly nation bound by strong ties to the Kyle Kingdom
through Her Highness Clarice. Congratulations.」
「「「「Congratulations.」」」」
At my words, it seemed as if everyone in the venue spoke in
unison.
「U-Umu... First of all, it is a
joyous occasion. To add flair to this unparalleled auspicious event,
festivities have been prepared in the Royal Capital. Furthermore, the
King of Westlights has offered to add flair to the celebratory banquet
tonight. I wish for King Krieger to fully enjoy his stay in Kylar.」
「「「「Ooh.」」」」
Which thing is the surprise of the lords directed at?
Did they perhaps think tonight's event would just be the
usual flower lights and a shower of blossoms? Well, that in itself is still well-received,
but actually it's different. Well surely... everyone here will be astounded. I chuckled secretly.
「I am grateful...」
「Allow me to add one thing. For this
auspicious event, I have also been entrusted with a celebratory gift directed
to His Majesty the King, King Krieger, and Her Highness Clarice
from the future Emperor of the Griffonia Empire, His Highness Grat. May I have the honor of
presenting it?」
「「「「Ooh.」」」」
Of course the assembled lords would be surprised. The Third
Prince is now the de facto top leader of the Empire, replacing the
Emperor who has gone into seclusion and lost interest in internal affairs and
foreign expeditions. To hear that a celebratory gift had arrived from there.
Needless to say, there was a reason for this that only we
parties involved knew about.
His Majesty Krieger and His Highness Grat had
exchanged cups many times and hit it off completely. Their ages were similar,
but it was also significant that they were both eccentrics who acted
disregarding customs and status. Learning of the reason for this visit during
the drinking party, His Highness Grat prepared celebratory gifts
immediately after returning to his country and sent them, entrusting them to
me.
「This will surely serve to celebrate
the future of both our nations and mark the dawn of a new era. It is truly a
most joyous occasion. Then once again, I look forward to sharing tonight's
banquet with everyone!」
The event concluded with His Majesty's final words. First of all, I'm glad it ended safely, but for me, the real performance starts from here.
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