Chapter 112 - return to the palace
When I returned to the waiting area, Luna was already there waiting for me.
The moment she saw me, she smiled.
"You’re certainly having fun, aren’t you?"
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
"Ah... it’s just that his defense was really good, so I wanted to see how much it could handle."
I smiled.
Luna simply sighed.
"Hmph."
"The tournament is almost over now."
"How about we go around and find Amy and Elena?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
"I’m sure those two won their matches too."
"If they didn’t..."
I grinned evilly.
"I can finally make fun of Amy."
Luna looked at me before shaking her head helplessly.
"You really are something else."
We both left the waiting area.
However, instead of immediately heading toward Amy and Elena, we decided to walk around the tournament grounds first.
There were still many participants gathered throughout the area, and the atmosphere remained lively even though most of the battles had already finished.
Eventually, we reached the section where Amy and Elena had been competing.
But before we could enter, an organizer stopped us.
"Sorry, but we can’t allow you to pass until the tournament officially ends and the five winners from this section have been confirmed."
Luna and I looked at each other.
Then we nodded.
"Oh."
"That makes sense."
The organizer let out a massive sigh of relief.
"Thank you for your understanding."
We smiled.
Then I asked,
"We won all of our matches."
"Where are we supposed to go now?"
The organizer looked slightly surprised.
But after considering our ages and the fact that we had won all of our matches, she quickly understood.
"Oh..."
"You two must have qualified for the next stage."
"Please follow me."
She led us toward another area where several participants had already gathered.
When we arrived, I immediately spotted Chloe and Eithen.
There was also another participant from our section standing nearby.
I didn’t pay much attention to them.
Luna and I simply found an empty corner and sat down together.
"So, Luna..."
"What do you think your mom is going to tell us?"
Luna gave me a deadpan look.
"How should I know?"
"If I knew, why would I be here?"
Then she smirked.
I muttered quietly,
"What a useless princess."
She heard me.
Her smile slowly widened.
There was something strangely chilling about it.
"Can you repeat that?"
I immediately looked at her.
She couldn’t exactly hit me here because of her status and the number of people around us.
Knowing that, I smirked.
"Oh?"
"Didn’t I say I would show the world how evil you really are?"
"This is the perfect opportunity."
A black vein appeared on Luna’s forehead.
She glanced around to make sure nobody was watching too closely.
Then she suddenly extended her hand and pinched me hard.
"Ow!"
I immediately looked at her in horror.
Several people nearby turned toward us.
I quickly scratched the back of my head and forced an innocent expression onto my face.
"Ah..."
"Sorry."
"A big mosquito bit me."
"It really stings."
Luna watched me with amusement.
But the moment she understood what I was implying, her expression changed.
She leaned closer and whispered into my ear.
"You’d better be ready, Gray."
"After the tournament..."
"You’re going to face my wrath."
I looked at her with a mischievous smile.
"Oh?"
"If that’s the case..."
"I might as well take this opportunity to do a few more things."
Luna immediately understood what I was planning.
Her eyes widened.
"You..."
She quickly reached toward my mouth to stop me.
But before she could—
A familiar voice echoed throughout the arena.
The Empress had stepped onto the stage.
Both Luna and I froze.
I immediately looked toward the stage.
The Empress was looking directly in our direction.
For the briefest moment...
A sly smile appeared on her face.
Then it disappeared.
Almost as if it had never been there.
But there was no way I could miss it.
One of my strongest abilities was my perception.
I saw everything.
Luna and I immediately separated.
We both looked away as if nothing had happened.
Our faces were burning with embarrassment.
The Empress had clearly witnessed everything.
Yet she simply continued with her speech.
First, she congratulated all the participants who had successfully qualified.
Then she announced the rewards.
"The participants who have successfully qualified will be granted the privilege of participating in a special training program until next year."
"You will have the opportunity to train together and prepare yourselves for the main tournament."
"The strongest among you will then have the chance to compete in the main tournament."
"And those who succeed there..."
"Will earn the opportunity to enter the Secret Realm."
The crowd immediately became excited.
I listened carefully.
Most of this wasn’t new information to me.
I already knew about the main tournament and the Secret Realm.
But the special training program caught my attention.
Originally, I had planned to spend the coming year training with my family.
However...
This was an even better opportunity.
A training program personally organized by the Empress would undoubtedly provide excellent resources and strong opponents to train against.
It was a good replacement for my original plan.
I smiled slightly.
This could be interesting.
The Empress continued speaking for a while before finally concluding her speech.
Once she finished, the crowd gradually began dispersing.
Luna and I immediately stood up.
"Come on."
"Let’s find Amy."
Luna nodded.
"Yeah."
We walked away together, searching through the crowd for Amy and Elena.
The tournament was finally over.
But for us...
It felt like something new was only just beginning.
We entered the next section of the tournament grounds.
However, before we could go any farther, the Empress approached us with a teasing smile.
"Oh, my dear daughter."
"Looks like you’re having quite a lot of fun."
Luna’s face immediately became even more embarrassed.
"It’s all this idiot’s fault!"
"He called me a big mosquito!"
The Empress raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.
"Oh?"
Then she looked toward me.
I immediately raised my arm and showed her the small red patch where Luna had pinched me.
"What was I supposed to say?"
"A literal princess came over and pinched me."
I said it with an exaggerated hurt expression.
The Empress covered her mouth and laughed.
"Oh?"
"I didn’t know my daughter was like this."
Luna’s face became even redder.
"No, Mom!"
"This is all his fault!"
She immediately pointed at me.
The Empress simply laughed.
"Alright, alright."
"You two have fun."
"I’ll take my leave."
Luna and I nodded.
"Okay."
The Empress smiled before walking away.
We continued through the tournament grounds.
However, every now and then, Luna glanced at me with an expression that made it look like she was seriously considering eating me alive.
I pretended not to notice.
Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing.
Eventually, we found Amy and Elena.
As soon as we reached them, I looked toward Amy.
"So..."
"How were your matches?"
"Did you have any troublesome opponents?"
Amy immediately put on a smug expression.
"Who do you think your amazing big sister is?"
"I crushed the tournament."
"Hmph!"
I stared at her for a moment.
"Oh?"
"You want to know what I think about you?"
Amy nodded proudly.
"Of course."
I pretended to think deeply.
Then a grin slowly appeared on my face.
"A lazy glutton."
"That’s the perfect description."
Amy’s eye twitched.
The next moment—
Bonk!
She smacked me on the head.
"You brat!"
"Say that again."
"I dare you!"
I immediately raised both hands.
"Alright, alright."
"I surrender."
I had already said what I wanted to say.
And judging from the smug grin on my face...
Amy knew it.
"You..."
Her expression became dangerous.
"Brat."
"Today, I’m going to show you what happens when you defy your amazing big sister."
I laughed and immediately hid behind Luna.
"Luna, help me!"
Luna looked at me.
Then she looked at Amy.
A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face.
She simply stepped aside.
I stared at her in disbelief.
"...Betrayal."
Luna’s smile widened.
"Good luck."
Amy immediately moved toward me.
"You’re not getting away now!"
I ran.
Amy chased after me.
"Come back here!"
"Hahaha!"
Luna watched us with an amused smile.
After our little argument finally ended, we regrouped with everyone else and headed back toward the carriage.
Soon, we were on our way back to the Imperial Palace.
The journey was peaceful, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood after the tournament.
Once we arrived, the Empress gathered us together and explained what would happen next.
"You will have one day to rest."
"After that, once the other candidates have arrived..."
"The special training program will begin."
Luna and I looked at each other.
Our eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
We both nodded.
"Understood."
The Empress stared at us for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"What happened to children these days?"
Everyone around us laughed.
And just like that...
Our brief period of rest had already been decided.
Tomorrow would be our last peaceful day.
After that...
Our special training would begin.
⸻
A/N:
DreyEA, thank you so much for the three Golden Tickets!
I really appreciate the support!
And sorry for the low number of Chapters recently.
I’ve been studying for my exams.
Otherwise, my mom will kill me. 🫠