On my way to the arena to prepare for my second fight, I met Oliver in the corridor. As promised to Alesia, I gave him a little tip.
"Use your shield more. No one uses a shield in the battle except for Bill. Play defensive and only attack using <Shield Bash> when you see the opening in your opponent's defense. That's your chance to knock them back and end the fight in a move."
The aspiring knight looked a bit confused when I suddenly stopped him and said that in my passing. But then he bowed and thanked me with a wide smile.
I waved my hand and went to the arena after I used <Heal> and <Cure> on him. That would hopefully make him feel better and cure his sore hands.
My opponent was someone from the Patientia Academy again. This one wore 5 magic items, which was a little bit excessive. He used all slots he could just for two or three bonus statuses.
'A bit stupid.' I thought as I raised my sword.
Just like the first one, when the battle started, my opponent rushed toward me with confidence in his skill. I parried his sword and kicked him away, making him roll on the ground a few times before coming to a stop.
The crowd and even my opponent expected me to finish the battle at once, but I didn't do it. Instead, I smirked and gestured for him to come again. I wanted to show Oliver how to deal with an opponent who rushed toward me.
Somehow, my opponent let out a relieved sigh as he grabbed his sword. Then with careful preparation, he began to attack me again.
Those attacks were monotonous with no variety. I could block and parry them with closed eyes if I wanted to. But seeing many spectators watching, I didn't do that because that would come out as me being arrogant.
Instead, I casually gave some hint of how to attack me as I lowered my guard, but that was still useless. His attack was too weak and slow.
Having given him enough chances, I decided to end it with a simple thrust toward his neck. He looked terrified as my sword grazed his neck slightly, drawing red blood from a small cut wound created by the wind.
Gulping, he let go of his sword and surrendered.
My second fight ended just like that. And as I walked back, I received a call from the [Earring of Communication] I had on my right. It was from Beatrice.
(Master, the King and the Queen are on their way to the Royal Academy! There is someone with gray hair in the same carriage as them. I heard that he's called Duke Blacktomb. I am following them in an invisible state right now, but that person seems to notice my Mana but can't determine where I am.)
'Duke Blacktomb noticed her <Illusion Magic>? No, he noticed her Mana just like how Alesia could detect Beatrice but was unable to locate her.'
That meant Duke Blacktomb was at least on a level similar to Alesia in the <Mana Sense> skill.
Looking at my <Presence Detection> radar, I noticed their dots in the same place. The third dot had no name and no mark, so that should belong to the Queen. I decided to mark her first and turned her into a friendly blue dot.
Looking at the other side, the Pope, Sana, and Ertha also seemed to depart from the church in a carriage. So they decided to watch the top 5 fights as I had expected. Then they would return for tomorrow's long-range division final and the award ceremony.
Going toward an empty area in the corridor, I answered Beatrice's report.
"Alright. Tell me when they arrive."
(Yes, Master!)
With that, the communication was shut off. As the Castitas Church's Paladin, I needed to welcome the Pope and be seen beside her when she arrived, so I went out of the hall to wait for her carriage to arrive.
This would also be my chance to meet the Queen for the first time. Pope Juriel and Archbishop Sana would at least greet them before entering the arena hall together.
I met some people on my way outside. They wished me luck and hoped to see who advanced to the final round and fight me.
Of course, I appreciated their support and said I would do my best. Yes, I would do my best not to humiliate my opponent too much.
From my estimation after looking at my radar, the carriage from the church would arrive first in 5 minutes, and the Royal Family carriage would arrive 5 minutes after that. That was enough time for me to cast another <Holy Shroud> on Pope Juriel in case something happened to renew its duration.
The direction where they arrived was also different. The church came from the church direction through the street led to Castitas Church, which was on the west side, while the Royal Family came from the East side from the Capital City's direction.
So they wouldn't meet until they arrived at the Royal Academy, in front of the arena hall.
Going to the west entrance of the Royal Academy, I stood near the gate while using the quick change menu to wear my Paladin uniform I got from the church. A pure white blazer and long pants were donned on my body.
I also took out the ceremonial sword with a luxurious design and pure white color, strapping it on my waist.
People immediately looked at me, and I became the center of attention. However, no one approached me as I stood in the middle of the street as if waiting for something. They knew that whoever got my attention was important, and the people who walked by the west gate walked on the side of the road instead of the middle.
Before long, a white carriage pulled by two white horses appeared in the distance. No one sat in the driver's seat, but the carriage drove nicely and stopped in front of me.
The door was opened, and Ertha stepped out, bowing at me. Then she raised her head and pointed at the carriage.
"Your Holiness! Please come in. Her Eminence Pope wanted to meet you."
"Alright." I nodded and entered the carriage.
Inside, Sana and Pope Juriel sat side by side. The former's expression looked as if she was in heaven. Her happiness was reflected clearly in it as she looked at Pope Juriel with a dreamy look and respect.
Juriel looked at me with a smile. Her eyes were still hidden beneath a white blindfold, but the dress she wore fully covered her body to the neck without leaving any skin except for the facial area to be shown.
The door was closed by Ertha, and the carriage began to move again.
At that moment, Juriel broke the silence with a soft greeting.
"Good afternoon, Paladin Arthur."
"Good afternoon, Pope Juriel. And good afternoon for you too, Sana."
Sana was snapped out of her daze as I called her. Her face turned slightly red as she nodded softly.
"Good afternoon, Sir Arthur. Please forgive my late greeting."
"It's okay." I smiled softly at her. Then I looked at Pope Juriel and began to cast <Holy Shroud> and <Blessing of Angel> simultaneously.
She looked a bit surprised, and her mouth was opened a little.
"Just in case." I said, "We are going to meet the Royal Family, right? There is also a Duke from the Sin Kingdom with them, and he's quite sensitive to Mana. So I put <Blessing of Angel> on top of recasting <Holy Shroud> to further hide your aura, Pope Juriel. It would be bad if he got oppressed by it."
"I see. You're quite knowledgeable about it, Paladin Arthur." The Pope nodded and said in an intrigued tone.
"I had a chance to see his barrier a few days ago," I replied casually. I had finished casting the skill, and Pope Juriel's body was covered in golden light for a moment before it disappeared. "It's done."
"Thank you."
Just after I finished casting the skills, I felt the carriage slowed down considerably. Then it stopped and the door was opened from outside by Ertha. Even now, I was still confused about how she could do that while blindfolded.
"We've arrived, Your Eminence, Your Holiness."
Pope Juriel nodded. Sana got out of the carriage first and held Pope's hand to help her step down the carriage while carefully not stepping on her dress.
I followed right behind her and stood side by side.
In front of us was a black carriage with a blue logo belonging to the Royal Family. They also exited the carriage at the same time and looked at us with warm smiles.
King Cassius wore exaggerated black ceremony clothes, while the Queen wore an off-shoulder dark blue dress that exposed her cleavage slightly. They didn't wear a crown or a tiara, only some gold accessories like necklaces and rings.
The Queen's blue hair was tied into a bun, sealed by beautiful red rose accessories.
'So that's the Queen. She's beautiful and elegant.'
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