“Wow!”
Soon the knights of the guard entered the stadium. As befitting their purpose of showing off their dignity, the homunculus were wearing fancy cloaks over their shabby uniforms.
The sight of the strongest knights standing in line gave off an overwhelming presence.
There are about 300 homunculuss in the palace.
However, it was reduced to 1/3 through the preliminary league matches.
Since the main event was in a tournament format, luck played a significant role in the matchup.
Therefore, the draw for the bracket was an unmissable spectacle on the first day of the tournament.
The results of the lottery had mixed feelings among those who bet money.
[The results will be revealed immediately on the magic screen. So, please come forward in order!]
The knights came forward in groups of three and took out balls with numbers on them.
In the queue, Elijah glanced at the two people in the same line as him and said.
“Isn’t this an incredible coincidence?”
Michael, Sylvestian, and Elijah are the strong candidates for this year's championship.
He was in a lucky draw group. Of course, it couldn't have been a coincidence.
“I think they’ll do something besides the lottery.”
Sylvestian has a guess. He let out a soft sigh. Michael wanted to ask what it was, but their turn to draw came sooner.
[Wow! Surprisingly, three strong candidates for the championship are gathered at the same time! Then it wouldn't be fun to just draw lots, right?]
Michael was becoming increasingly ominous. And usually, these sorts of premonitions were never wrong.
[Let’s hear the wishes of the three knights in advance here!]
“Ohhhhh!”
[Now, the subjects of the Empire are watching. I would like to ask for your careful response. Then, first, the direct knight of the 7th Princess, Sir Michaelis Agnito!]
Suddenly, a magic amplification tool was thrust in front of Michael's face.
'This is a big deal.'
Michael's expression hardened in the difficult situation. He was still provocative and romantic.
He was in a bad condition to find the answer to what would be good with a classic wish
'I thought it would be decided by the last day of the martial arts festival, but I let my guard down.'
There was no way that the answer he had been struggling with for a week would suddenly fall into his hands. He gave up.
Michael spoke as if admitting his guilt.
“I haven’t decided yet….”
[Oh my!]
A hundred thousand spectators simultaneously shouted, “Wow!” It was as if the world had become his enemy.
'There's no need to boo!'
I almost jumped up from my seat to protect Michael.
[Are you not confident that you can win, so you don't think about it?]
“That’s not it.”
[Then please keep that in mind.]
Alben, who had been watching the situation from the nobles' seat, looked depressed and put his hand on his forehead.
“Ah, my! I trust Sir Agneto. I left it to you, but it’s so disappointing and heartbreaking.”
“Calm down, Lord Redmon. Who would have thought he’d be interviewed on his first day?”
“Khuuuuk. Lady Arpel is right. Now that it’s come to this, I can only hope that the other direct subordinates will be worse than Sir Agneto... Ah, but SirAgnito has laid the floor so low that there is no hope.”
A hundred thousand spectators simultaneously shouted, “Wow!” It was as if the world had become his enemy.
'There's no need to boo!'
I almost jumped up from my seat to protect Michael.
[Are you not confident that you can win, so you don't think about it?]
“That’s not it.”
[Then please keep that in mind.]
Alben, who had been watching the situation from the nobles' seat, looked depressed and put his hand on his forehead.
“Ah, my! I trust Sir Agneto. I left it to you, but it’s so disappointing and heartbreaking.”
“Calm down, Lord Redmon. Who would have thought he’d be interviewed on his first day?”
“Khuuuuk. Lady Arpel is right. Now that it’s come to this, I can only hope that the other direct subordinates will be worse than Sir Agneto... Ah, but SirAgnito has laid the floor so low that there is no hope.”
“Um, let’s just watch for now.”
Even in the royal chambers, harsh criticism was heard.
I, who was looking down at the stadium with a sad look on my face, turned my head at the sound. There was Rosenite, laughing with her mouth covered.
“Sister Eve, you too. What if you really leave the wishing ticket to your direct knight?”
“So you’re saying you gave Sir Millard a wish?”
Instead of answering, Rosenite put a smile on her face, almost like a file.
She drew a curve. To others, it was a pretty smile, but to me, it was a hateful smile.
[Next, let us hear the wish of Sir Sylvestian Millard. Let's look forward to a wonderful answer that will revive the atmosphere that Sir Agneto poured cold water on!]
"I am..."
Sylvestian looked back at the Imperial Stone from a distance. After giving a formal example as in the picture, he said:
“Instead of dedicating the glory of victory to Her Highness the Eighth Princess, I would like to ask that she kiss me.”
I, Michael, and many others flinched. And then, a reaction like a fireworks display swept through the audience.
“Ohhh!”
“Wow!”
Cheers and applause poured out toward Sylvestian as if the winner had already been announced.
At this point, Alben started to pound his chest as if he was angry.
“That’s it, that’s it! A romantic, provocative, classic wish! Khuuuu!”
“What a wish that reflects good customs and manners!?”
“Now, Her Highness the Eighth Princess may be able to sweep away not only art but also theatrical trends.”
“After the selection ceremony, it was very clear what she had decided.”
“Then this is not the will of Lord Millard, but a wish that was granted by the instructions of Her Highness the 8th Princess?”
“Of course. It is probably part of a public opinion play that is conscious of the people. Ah, Sir Agneto should have done that!”
At the last words, Cedella expressed her concern.
“But for Your Highness to do it... doesn’t a public kiss damage the dignity of the royal family? How could you... in front of so many people?"
“Huh? Why are you kissing in front of other people?”
Alben suddenly changed his stance to pretend to be a sensible person.
“The people just need a romantic narrative. Who cares if you kiss someone else or not? Honestly, no one cares if you kiss someone else. I don’t want to see a kissing scene, Young Lady.”
Alben spoke on behalf of the people and even pretended to shoo away bugs with his hands.
Slightly surprised, Cedella asked back what she understood.
“There’s no need to prove your wish? Then I can just make any wish I want?”
“That’s right. You can just throw it without any burden, but our Sir Agneto is a former knight, so he can’t do that. Ha!”
Meanwhile, Michael was easy to see that Sylvestian false wish had been made under Rosenite's instructions.
Michael couldn't help but see Rosenite grabbing his friend's head and crushing her lips.
He couldn't open his eyes and look. Michael made a solemn promise to Sylvestian, staking his friendship on it.
“Don’t worry, Sylvie. I’ll definitely win.”
“...I appreciate that, but it’s an ungrateful favor.”
I sighed towards the distraught Rosenite.
‘Rosie... You never did this in my past life.’
In this life, Rosenite was evolving into the red rose of the empire, not caring about the public unrest.
“Rosie, stop bothering Sir Millard.”
“I don’t know why being kissed by the Imperial White Rose is considered bullying, Sister.”
“Sir Millard is a knight.”
“Yes. He is my direct knight.”
It meant that they were beings who had the duty to serve the royal family with their bodies as ornaments.
When I showed signs of discomfort, Rosenit took advantage of the gap and dug in.
“Are you concerned for Sir Millard?”
She muttered to herself, "What should I do? He's my direct knight."
It was when I turned my head straight ahead, not wanting to engage in any more conversation.
“If you care that much, do you want to change it?”
What the hell is this nonsense?
The expression drained from my face.
“Rosenite.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Don’t pay attention to my knight.”
Those were some pretty harsh words for me.
Rosenite flinched for a moment but quickly covered her agitation with a smile.
“Don’t be serious. I’m joking.”
“You learned a bad lesson from Betty. Take care of yourself.”
“I will. By the way, you quite like Michaelis Agnito. See? This is the first time I’ve seen you mark your territory.”
It was an expression worthy of a woman who left Sylvestian with a bloody congestion and boasted to the world.
I wanted to say something like that but held back because I didn't want to mention Sylvestian.
At that time, a magic tool for loudspeakers came over to Il Raiser.
[Finally, it is Lord Halsten's turn. I am looking forward to seeing if he will give a better answer than Lord Millard.]
Elijah's lemon-colored eyes glowed with a feline ferocity.
“Before I reveal my wish, there’s something I’d like to tell you.”
He turned towards the royal throne and continued speaking.
“The wish of the martial arts world is a time-honored imperial tradition. As you all know, the anecdote that started it all is a homunculus who desperately wants to serve a royal family member as its master. It is said that he fought and won the victory. In other words, he won it from the royal family, not from the owner. Asking someone to become your master is the root of this beautiful tradition.”
[Lord Halsten, why are you bringing up such a topic here?]
“Isn’t it true that I don’t necessarily have to ask my lord for my wish?”
The audience was in an uproar at the conclusion drawn.
Shocks are effective only when given in succession. Elijah immediately knelt down on one knee and stared straight at one spot on the royal stone.
I was in the direction his gaze flew and landed.
“I will use my right of wish on Her Highness the 7th Princess.”
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