Chapter 80 I met a fine maiden in the forest?
Holy Sword Tournament Arc
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(POV: Lumiere)
The week leading up to the preliminaries of the Holy Sword Festival had arrived, and the Shield Kingdom's royal family were already making their way to the Cross Kingdom's Royal Capital. This honorary tournament occurred every decade and could be hosted by either of the two kingdoms. The festival had become more than a celebration of Saint Melcius, it now offered great rewards for the top three contestants.
Third-place received a fiefdom and earned noble status.
Second-place the first was appointed as Holy Knight, given a larger fiefdom and promoted to noble status.
First-place was granted the most significant reward of all - permission to marry into the Shield Kingdom's royal family.
Previously, it was the Cross Kingdom. Hence, it was interchangeable.
Marrying into the king's family ultimately led to military benefits for the family and political for the first-place contestant.
Holy Sword, Devaniel was made of a regenerative magic steel.
So, a small piece of the sword would be utilized to create a new magic sword for the first-place winner.
The tournament was highly anticipated throughout the two kingdoms, with both the nobles and commoners eagerly awaiting the event.
The church was also invested in seeing the Holy Sword Festival succeed, as it played an essential role in promoting religion amongst the people.
...
<Royal Estate>
I watched in awe as the Knights of the Cross trained their bodies to perfection in the training grounds.
Sweat dripped from their foreheads as they went through the rigorous exercises.
Garret, Genny and I stood there, observing their every move with keen interest.
"Hey, are you going to participate in the Holy Sword Festival, Lumiere?" Genny asked me, a glint of excitement in her eyes.
"I've told you, like, three times today, no," I replied, teasingly.
Genny pouted, her rosy cheeks puffing up. "Aw, you're such a meanie." she whined.
"It's probably because the tournament doesn't allow magic arts," Garret chimed in, trying to console Genny. He added, "Only swordsmanship, spearmanship, archery and hand-to-hand combat are allowed."
"I know that," Genny rubbed her chin, pondering. "So you're saying Lumiere's that physically weak?" she nodded and smiled in agreement with Garret.
"I mean, you're not wrong," I sighed heavily. "I'm barely good with a kitchen knife."
Garret tried to cheer me up, "Well, the only way you can participate with magic is if you were a Magic Knight."
Magic Knights... a composite class of Swordsman and Mage.
Genny, folding her arms, agreed, "Yeah, there aren't too many of those around. I'm a Magic Knight, you know," she boasted.
I shook my head, "Yeah, I know, Genny."
Suddenly, a knight spoke up. "Um, Lady Genevieve... can we take a break?"
She transformed from a playful, bubbly angel to a fierce commander in seconds. "Keep working your lazy asses or your dead!" Genny shouted, her voice booming across the area.
The knights screamed in terror, fearful of their commander's wrath.
Their crunches instantly increased in speed, I could've sworn I heard one or two waists popping.
Garret and I chuckled awkwardly. "Typical," we said in unison.
Genny switched back to baby sister mode. "I really wish you could participate in the tournament." She sighed heavily, "I mean, if only you weren't so... unbelievably physically weak," she said, making me wince.
Wasn't she supposed to be cheering me up? Honestly...
"But why is it so important?" Garret chimed in.
She blushed and covered her face with her hands, but her eyes sparkled with mischief as she said, "Because if he places in the top three, he'll be granted noble status and then we can finally get married."
Garret and I both shouted "What?!" in unison.
"Mphm! But you promised when we were kids that you'd marry me," she reminded me.
"Y-yeah, I did. But that was so I could get some sleep that night." I sheepishly admitted.
"But you promised," she pouted, folding her arms under her ample bosom.
"We really need to talk about this later... when we're alone," I stuttered, feeling my face heat up.
Garret then announced his own ambitious goal—to become a holy knight and aim for second place in the tournament.
I patted him on the back. "You're pretty strong, I wouldn't be surprised if you took first place."
"Yeah!" he playfully punched me in the chest. Or at least, he meant for it to be playful, but I barely managed to catch my breath.
"Garret, m-my chest.." my voice came out in a rasp.
"Hey, don't blame me if you're too weak to take a hit," he laughed, a mischievous grin on his countenance.
...
After parting ways with Genny and Garret, I made my way to the forest near the royal mansion to check out some magicubella herbs.
They'd be turned into trees for Lord Randolph, and I had just enough skill to do a fairly decent job.
With Lord Randolph's help, I had established a tree trading business, allowing me to earn a profit by supplying the nobles with trees that he could sell to them.
Although Serena and I owned the business, Lord Randolph represented us and made sure that the nobles didn't know of the true supplier.
"I guess Eris kind of owns the business too... since we're engaged and all." I rubbed my chin.
Walking deeper into the forest, my [Magic Detect] indicated that there was some mana nearby.
Suddenly, I heard a sound, which compelled me to change my original course.
Following the source of the sound, I stumbled upon a girl dressed in a regal blue dress.
Her stunning and elegant features quickly caught my attention. She had an extremely long blue hair that cascaded down to the ground, and her blue eyes were enchanting as they stared at the magicubella herbs. There was a mole under her left eye. Her almost pale skin was pearly, and she looked composed and elegant all around.
Seeing her reminded me of the way Serena would naturally exude calmness and elegance.
I approached the girl in the blue dress, her mesmerizing eyes caught my attention.
"Nice to meet you, miss," she said in her smooth voice as she took a sniff from the herb she was holding.
I was about to introduce myself when I realized she called me "miss" I couldn't believe my ears!
"Excuse me, I'm not a lady, I'm a man," I protested, trying to hide my annoyance.
The girl raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you're a very beautiful man, then. Although a tad short," she said, smirking.
I could feel my cheeks burning with anger.
With her blue eyes fixed on the herbs, she asked, "So, what's your name, mister?"
"My name isn't important, what's yours?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"I'm Princess Aurora, daughter of King James," she said, rising to her feet.
The Shield Kingdom?s princess?!
That explains it.
She looked so elegant and composed that it was hard to believe that she could ever make a mistake.
Well...
Just as she took her first step towards me, she tripped and crashed to the ground, shouting in surprise.
This princess was... an elegant klutz.
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