Maou No Utsuwa

Westmid presents a vibrant state of defeat but also a post-war economy. An event was to be held there to further enliven the inhabitants.

It's an imperially-sponsored swordsmanship tournament that Claudia proposed and was really set to happen.

The swordsmanship tournament, which was also originally open during the old imperial period. The fact that it will not be back in a long time will make the residents feel a visit to peace, and Westmid is showing more excitement than its organizer, the Imperial Upper.

Many tourists also come from the surrounding cities and villages. Westmid is very busy with representatives from all over the country and their supporters.

The venue will be the former Royal Arena. It is the same venue as during a swordsmanship match against King Ruthua College, where Kamui was set to bomb its name during the Royal College.

"... Kamui Kreutz doesn't come after all?

Emperor Nikolai, sitting in the center of the spectator seat as many knights surround him, groans in dissatisfaction.

"Apparently so. But isn't that good?

General Baskin, who had refrained immediately beside him, replied to the grunt. Hopefully, a strong man will emerge who can beat Kamui, but on the contrary, he will have difficulty with the result that he can show overwhelming power.

"Hmm. So, besides Kamui, how many blind people are in it?

Emperor Nicolai doesn't really think about the political side. I was simply delighted to see the battle of the strong and was unhappy that there was no Kamui on this occasion.

"... that means looking at the battle ahead"

"Is there no one named after you? What about Lutz? What's his rank? Who else outside the republic?

"From the Kingdom of Graz, Barol, the Knight of the Kingdom, and from the Kingdom of Oppenheim, Leonard, the Knight of the Kingdom as well, are participating."

Neither Lutz nor Rank participated. General Baskin answered only the question of participants outside the easily answered Republic.

"I don't."

Emperor Nicolai seems unhappy, but this is a natural consequence. He has become the knight of the kingdom, but he is formerly the knight of the aristocracy. There is no way that Emperor Nicolai knows the name of the knight of the aristocracy of the Old Empire or anything else.

"That's natural. This tournament is about finding the best people buried in the field."

Claudia came into the conversation on behalf of General Baskin, who shut up.

Claudia is right, this tournament is for the Empire to find the unnamed strong and hold them.

"That's true... but aren't you bored if you don't see a good fight"

"It's okay. I'm sure there are strong people in the world who aren't known."

As always, optimistic Claudia. However, this optimistic statement helped curb Emperor Nicolai's dissatisfaction.

"Looking forward to that? And then you can't keep your eyes off all the battles."

"Right. I look forward to it, too."

It was a tournament that started with these two expectations, but there was actually a strong one. The huge prize money promised to the top entrants and the status of the Imperial Knight. Apparently, this played a role.

"Who is that?

In the arena where Emperor Nicolai stares, Barol, the knight of the Kingdom of Graz, had been overwhelmingly attacked by his opponents since early in the beginning.

"... looks like someone named Holst"

After examining the roster of matches, General Baskin answered Emperor Nicolai's question.

"Knight of what country?

"As far as the material goes, I don't seem to be a knight or a soldier"

"You're not even a soldier, are you that strong?

While we're talking about this, we're settled in the arena. Holst's victory.

"I knew you had hidden talent."

Claudia seems happy with the way she wants it to unfold. It doesn't look like he had any doubts about being strong even though he's not a military man.

Anyway, it's not going to have to be the boredom that Emperor Nicolai was worried about.

Emperor Nicolai doesn't have the time to be bored without worrying in the first place. There are more than a hundred participants in the tournament. The emperor is not allowed time to watch all the games.

At the end of the concurrent battle, which was taking place in parallel, Emperor Nicolai was to leave to return to his post.

The tournament will continue even with Emperor Nicolai gone. Those who watched it also enjoyed the tournament without worrying.

And Kamui, who is not supposed to be here.

"... that's fair."

"What about World War II?

There is also Lutz next to Kamui.

"Same as World War I. Holst, Elvin, Harry..."

Looking at the match table, Kamui gives his name one after the other.

"No gambling"

There are people complaining about it from the side. Dark.

"Are you in a position to call it that?

"It's my position on the torso, so I can say it."

The society behind Westmid is completely under Dark's control. Naturally, it's Dirk's organization's job to divide bets.

"The torso is always made to make money."

"Even so, you make less money. If you want to bet, you're on the official side."

Torso certainly doesn't lose money, but it's not the first time Kamui loses on these bets. As for Dark, being bet on Kamui is only annoying.

"You bet flashy, you stand out, don't you? 'Cause this is the kind of guy who's kind of impatient."

Saying this, Kamui deliberately messes with her hair. Kamui's hair, which is supposed to be silver, is now dyed brown. Because it's inconspicuous, it was Kamui's prank that he bothered to dye his hair. It's fun to be grand without hiding your face, but not find out if you are.

"Why don't you bet to a discreet degree?"

"... you have no choice. I wanted to make money and eat steak for the first time in a while."

"What, no steak?

Looks like Rutz was looking forward to it too. Unlike Kamui, Lutz wears clothes like a magician's robe and wears a hood from his head.

"You don't have to win a bet on anything else, most things have edible gold, right?

"Yeah, but somehow. We want an excuse to have fun on our own."

"You can make an official bet. You just have to keep betting on him on everything, including the winnings, right? That's all we can do, because we can play in our finest stores for nights."

"Betting on Nicholas isn't funny seeing results"

The Republic has not given its representatives. It's just that no one in the Empire recognizes Nicholas as a strong man.

"If you take it personally already. See, if you don't buy it soon, World War II will start."

Those who entered World War II are showing up at the venue. Just a few more moments, and it's the beginning of the match.

"Whew!? I haven't bet yet!

Kamui rushes to take his seat and rushes to the polling station outside the venue with all his might. Look at that, Dark is a frightened face.

"Sounds kind of fun, huh?

"I'm enjoying it, but half of it is deliberate."

"Why?"

"You want to fight yourself, don't you? Neither do I."

Even if it's just a sword tournament, it doesn't make a difference that it's a battlefield where the strong get together. Unlike in college, I don't have to hide my strength. Now I'm just looking at it, and neither Kamui nor Lutz can stand it.

"Then I wish I had fought"

This word of Dark doesn't mean I wish I had gone to a sword tournament.

"Sooner or later it will. Peace doesn't suit Kamui after all."

Lutz correctly received the meaning of Dark's words.

"... if I hear that, I'll be depressed?

"It's the only way. Because the battle is for Kamui."

Kamui isn't looking for a fight. The battle is for Kamui. Dark doesn't know what Lutz is going to say and what he said.

But I thought it was a strangely tight word.

"... Lutz says a good word once in a while, doesn't he?

"Sometimes it's extra"

In the end, this day lasted until the Fourth World War, when the Eight remained victorious. Nicholas also remains in it. It was winning in due course.

◇ ◇ ◇

Quarterfinals the next day. The game is still played today as Emperor Nikolai and other heavier ministers of the Empire watch. Emperor Nikolai plans to watch the game until the end as the winner will decide today.

The first match of the quarterfinals featured Holst, noted by Emperor Nicolai on the first day. With the advent of the Expectant Swordsman, Emperor Nicolai was looking forward to seeing it, but the result fell out of his initial expectations.

Holst was defeated.

"... opponents?

"I'm Kevin."

"What's your affiliation?

"... not written"

This Kevin was also an unidentified person.

"Talent buried in the field. As planned..."

"We plan to take the top eight as Imperial Knights. Will it be all right?

General Baskin is anxious to recruit the inept as knights of the Empire. But General Baskin is not asking questions. Even if I ask Emperor Nicholas, I can only judge the rejection. It is the role of General Baskin, a heavy minister in the military, to think of a solution to that.

"You can find out your identity later. If you're a loser, you don't have to hire them."

It's Claudia who's been making statements that I don't think about anything. But this is the right answer. Anyway, finding someone strong enough to counter the Republic is our top priority.

There's no point in worrying about the winner's qualities right now.

The next battle begins while such an argument is being made at the viewing table. As a result of a rather promising battle, a man named Harald became the winner.

This person, and his opponent, were still unaccounted for.

"... it wouldn't be a Republic ploy, would it?

Only those buried in the field will win. When this happens, I think it's someone's ruse. And if we were to impose such a ploy, the republic would come to mind first.

"No way?"

"I can't help worrying about that now. That's what happens when you get results."

To the same optimistic idea, just Emperor Nicolai also has a bitter look on his face, but surely the noise now will not solve anything.

I decided to keep watching. Whatever the nature of the contender, the match itself is a high level of content that also satisfies Emperor Nicolai.

"Oh. The next opponent has a proper affiliation..."

General Paskin has told his next opponent that his affiliation says so.

Two opponents who came up to the arena. One of them is politely bowing his head to the dust.

Two opponents facing each other to take a stand. Both sides moved in the voice of the decree of the referee, but the battle was dismayed. It's a win for those who were bowing their heads.

"Do you belong better if you win?

"... Yes"

"What country?

"... it's Nort Ende"

"What?"

"The knight of Northende, like Nicholas Corinth."

"Were you in..."

If you belong to Northende, that means the Republic of Artenkreutz. Emperor Nicolai is surprised that there were participants in the Republic.

"Nicholas... you're the one who was under Hildegand"

"You know what?

"I never talked to you. I just know because Hildegand was following me when I came up to the castle."

Nicholas doesn't like to stand out. Claudia's impression of Nicholas is faint. Still, I remembered his name because he was in the castle as one of the Prince Therese sects.

"Are you strong?

I don't think he was at the college tournament.

"Hmm. Still going to the semifinals"

"... you're strong after all"

The two misunderstand Nicholas' prowess. But I can't help this. Except for the republicans who know what Nicholas is capable of, only about those who fought Nicholas in the struggle against the Empire in the former eastern border territories. Those who fought were not on this occasion, and even if they were, they would not recognize Nicholas in their memories in the turmoil.

Four, including Nicholas, won after the fourth game of the quarterfinals. Go on, it's the semi-finals.

The first game is against Kevin and Harald. The battle between the powerful turned out to be quite intense, but Kevin's finals were decided in a place called Single Paper.

And the next battle is the advent of Nicholas. Opponents are from Harta, one of the coalitions of urban states called Elvin.

"Well, how about this fight?

The first match of the semifinals was a promising battle. Emperor Nicolai expects a similar heat battle in the next battle. However, in this tournament, Emperor Nicolai's expectations do not seem to be met.

Stuffed in time at once with the signal of initiation, Nicholas swings the sword up from the bottom and breaks the opponent's erection, from which he flips the sword even further and swings it down.

Elvin, the opponent, was just as good where he reacted aggressively to this, but he can't stand the momentum of the sword of Nicholas being swung down and dropping his sword to the ground, not until he completely rebuilds it. Now the match is settled. Nicholas wins.

"... How strong is he in the Republic?

"I don't know. But aren't you weaker than Kamui Kreutz?

"I guess..."

Now Emperor Nikolai noticed. I thought of people who could defeat Kamui, but the imperial ones didn't know what Kamui was capable of in the first place. All I know is the power of my time at Imperial College. Seeing Nicholas' strength now won in front of him, he was to be reminded of Kamui's strength.

Emperor Nicolai's feelings cool at once. It seems impossible to defeat Kamui directly from the front.

Even when it was finally the final, Emperor Nicolai's feelings never thrived. On the contrary, it will get colder and colder.

The final is also a complete victory for Nicholas. I won a battle that was utterly unsafe.

"... you're done. Then I'll go back."

"What!? No, sire!?

I have trouble getting back from this scene by Emperor Nicolai. When the battle is over, the closing ceremony is next. From Emperor Nicolai's mouth, he is to praise the winner and to inform the Imperial Knight that he is to be appointed.

"Are you asking me to praise the strength of the Republic?

Seriously, extremely emotional behavior in the emperor. Even so, no one can stop Emperor Nicolai if he says he will do so.

That's what emperors and kings are for. Of course, it assumes that there is power, because royal authority has been an absolute empire since the days of the Kingdom of Ruthua.

"... what's wrong with this?

General Baskin groans in a troubled manner as he looks at Emperor Nicolai's back as he leaves.

"Then I'll take your place, won't I?

"What? Master Claudia?

"'Cause when His Majesty's gone, I'm the only royal family you've got, right?

Claudia is right. There are no other royals in Westmid who are not the Empire. On these occasions, it would be Claudia if she were to serve as an emperor's substitute.

"... can you do it?

"It's terrible. I'm a king, too."

Claudia gets angry with General Baskin's questionable voice with her cheeks inflated. When I was shown these tricks, I was increasingly worried about General Baskin and the people around me, but I couldn't skip the closing ceremony, leaving Claudia as my substitute.

◇ ◇ ◇

A closing ceremony is held on the fighting platform provided in the centre of the exercise area.

Only the top eight participants are rising on the table. The other participants have left the venue as soon as most of them lose, and those who remained are just distracted by the general audience and watching the closing ceremony. Neither is the Imperial side going to let anyone but the top eight join us from the beginning.

The closing ceremony is both an awards ceremony and an imperial knight's recital.

"... something, I don't think it's been a long time since I've seen how harsh I am"

The award is over, and the reign of the Imperial Knight is finally taking place on the platform. It is Claudia, the understudy of Emperor Nicolai, who is carrying it out.

"I'm a little impressed. Do you remember him well? Oh, could that be bullshit?

Lutz is impressed because Claudia, in the Knight's reign, imitates as it is the words that lead to the Knight's vows that Empress Sophilia once spoke to Kamui.

"I don't remember clearly either, but I think it was like that. But..."

It was only because it was Kamui that Princess Sophilia was aligned with the dialogue she spoke aggressively. If you are a knight, even if you are not Kamui, you may be able to respond. But many of those who remain are not.

And maybe one Nicholas who can respond is not going to be an Imperial Knight.

Without anyone returning the words of their vows, the venue was engulfed in silence.

"... Nicholas is out. It's cold."

Kamui praised Nicholas for ignoring Claudia, laughing bitterly at the atmosphere of the venue where the subtle air flowed.

"Because you know how glamorous that woman is, don't you? Silence is best when dealing with me. I know that too."

Lutz knew how horrible Claudia was to interpret all the other people's words at his convenience. Even though there was no damage because I kept my silence from the beginning.

"From the beginning, was that it? I think it was easier to understand."

The person you can roll over your palm with real ease. Claudia was such an opponent for Kamui.

"It's been a long time since I've known anything. I wondered how I could make a much better face."

"Oh, you have that."

Even though I remember doing a lot of terrible things, I didn't remember Kamui seeing Claudia's anger emotions. Now that seems unusual.

"It's not Kamui's fault?

Dirk, who was listening to the two conversations, seemed to think Claudia's change was caused by Kamui.

"Me? Me, I was trying not to have too much contact?

"I have absolutely no contact with her. So I can only judge by her actions that are audible to my ears. That's why I think. She's always Kamui's, no, I'm sure it's not just Kamui's. I'm imitating someone."

"... is now Master Sophilia? Speaking of which, Dee said you wanted to be Sophilia."

Claudia admired her sister, Sophilia. The longing passed, and jealousy mingled with it, and he sought the same thing as his sister, and at the end of the day he sought his sister's thing.

"I wanted to be replaced... and I succeeded as a result, and so I blew it off?

"... I don't know. I don't know if I know. It's possible that he's actually up to something right now."

Claudia has taken many actions outside Kamui's imagination. That's why Kamui cares about Claudia.

"Speaking of which, about what you were asking for"

"Whoa, you got something?

"As Kamui thought, there's a new face. I just don't know what my identity is. It may not be an official of the empire or kingdom, as it does not stand on the tabular stage at all"

"... why would I let people in? Is it because you think it's easy to handle?

Around Claudia there are people who try to use Claudia. Or, as a harmless opponent, I'll allow Claudia to do whatever she wants. That doesn't even make me unhappy.

"That's the way you put it. It fits in itself. I mean, keep them alert, and on the contrary, use them. Shiatsu."

Just change the way you say it a little bit. Impressions are different. The way Dark put it, it's the image of a bad girl as it is.

"Oh, that's no. Even I have a strong impression of that look and tricks."

But what I know about Claudia's appearance and tricks makes me uncomfortable with the image of a bad girl.

"... I wish I could turn it off"

"It's convenient. Is this what you think, I mean, I'm a good fit, too?

"Maybe."

"New face. I want you to find out your identity if you can. I don't know if we're close or not, but in any case, we should be coming up with something soon."

"Is that it? That far?

As far as intelligence is concerned, the Northende are better. It was supposed to be something I was used to diving into a castle in this capital and exploring information.

"It's the Imperial Army that's guarding the castle right now, I have trouble with different ways of defending it. I don't want them to think that the Demons are making weird moves in case they find me and even if they don't"

"Well, not now."

At the end of the liberation of illegal slaves, we will not need this reluctance. We still need time for that.

"And the south and west are noisy. Some of them are spinning manpower that way."

"... you're in trouble, aren't you?

Deefleet is showing his own movement. That is not desirable for the Kamuis today.

"Yes, but I can't complain. It's about another country."

"I made him king of other nations... well, can't I tell you this? Are you worried about her? I wonder what you think?

"... oh, cele. He's always been reluctant to talk to his husband. It could be stressful."

"Well, why don't you dissolve it?

Dirk tells Kamui to go see Serene.

"... because there's nothing between me and Sele"

"What? Kamui is not dull!?

Dark is surprised at Kamui for easily seeing through his little plot. It must have been dull to fall in love.

"You know, definitely not, but try waking up some weird crap here and now? How angry do you think Hilda would be?

These days Kamui has consciously tried to make time for Hildegand and the two of us. Thanks to this, Hildegand is in a good mood, but yes, that's why Kamui thinks something should not happen. This is a prudent time.

"What. Mr. Hildegand, I'm still not used to Kamui's femininity."

"Because it's not bad"

Femininity is not bad. It's just female-friendly for nothing.

"Well done, Nicholas. Let's invite you to the steak."

Rutz, who remained silent from the way in, seemed to be waiting for the closing ceremony to end. Even though Nicholas is still about to get off the fighting bench, he's going home.

"Right. Do you want to go then?"

On this day, a growing commotion in the name of Nicholas' victory celebration took place all night in the Glades. Memories in the old Imperial Capital, which I also miss for Kamui, Lutz and Nicholas, seem to have made them forget their time.

Dare I say I did? Because now they know that it is only a break in between, until the days of the battle that will eventually come again.