「28th Miami Martial Arts Competition」
Red and blue placards were waving here and there.
“Wow, President, look over there. It’s a martial arts competition.”
Klisha’s almond-colored eyes sparkled as she spoke, holding a large ice cream in one hand.
“Do you know martial arts, President?”
Eugene slightly raised one of his handsome eyebrows and replied.
“Is there any man on the continent who doesn’t know martial arts?”
Martial arts, after all, was the so-called ‘national pastime’ that boys on the continent of Asha began learning as soon as they could walk, a form of physical training if said nicely, but more often referred to as a no-questions-asked brawl.
Klisha smiled brightly and replied.
“That’s unexpected. I thought the Northern President wouldn’t know because you’re so handsome and elegant.”
“Elegant… you say.”
“This looks fun. Should I give it a try too?”
Eugene glanced at the lady beside him with a cold, unimpressed look.
“Lady, that tournament is for ordinary people who haven’t trained in martial arts. If I recall correctly, you’ve learned runes. It doesn’t seem suitable for you to participate.”
Klisha said with a smile.
“Well, so what? I just won’t use runes. I’m confident that I won’t lose even with pure martial arts.”
On the stage, a young man who looked about twice Klisha’s size was roaring.
Judging from the fact that the audience kept chanting ‘Long Live the King of Martial Arts’, the man seemed to be Ruben, the previous winner of the martial arts competition.
Eugene, who looked back and forth between Klisha and the man on the stage, opened his mouth with a look of disbelief.
“Why on earth will you……”
“They say the winner gets a prize money.”
The young man with red eyes placed one hand on his forehead and asked.
“So why do you want the prize money……”
Klisha said with a bashful smile.
“I’m trying to help out with your resort business, President. It’s not a lot of money, but… well, if you’re mentioning it to me, hmm… it seems like things might be a bit tough for you these days…..”
Eugene was at a loss for words for a moment.
“That….”
“?”
“Haa… No, it’s fine. And you really don’t have to use the prize money……”
But before Eugene could even finish speaking, Klisha dashed up onto the stage like the wind.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Whoa.”
All at once, the crowd’s attention turned to the red-haired intruder on the stage.
A young lady adorned with a large flower in her hair, wearing a light green sleeveless dress and a red sash around her waist, dressed beautifully in Tremo, the traditional attire of Miami.
A man who appeared to be a judge approached Klisha and said.
“Are you participating as well, miss?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm… Well, it is a competition open to both men and women, but we’ve hardly had any female challengers until now.”
“That’s okay.”
As the judge hesitated and scratched the back of his head, the crowd booed here and there.
“If she’s a challenger, let her in! The lady says she wants to compete!”
“It’s been a while since a young lady gave us a good show!”
The judge, looking troubled, asked,
“Do you know the rules before stepping up?”
“The rules?”
“You have to push your opponent out of the circle drawn on the stage within three minutes. Only pure martial arts are allowed, no weapons of any kind, but making contact with your opponent’s body is fine.”
“Hmm.”
The judge took a deep breath and continued speaking at a faster pace, observing the crowd’s reactions.
“If neither competitor is pushed out after three minutes, the match immediately continues with three minutes of full combat. If there’s no knockout within that time, the judges will total the effective strike points to decide the winner. Do you understand?”
“Well, it’s similar to the martial arts rules in my hometown.”
When Klisha turned her head, she saw a bulky man standing arrogantly in the center of the stage. He had probably pushed all the challengers out of the circle without even going into full combat.
“I understand.”
“…….”
The red-haired intruder slightly stuck out her red tongue and wet her lower lip as she spoke.
“How much is the prize money here?”
Eugene, who was watching the situation with his arms crossed under the stage, was not happy at all.
Issac Mezerine. The Red Lion of Schmarin!
Just how did you raise your daughter?
Is that really okay?
Why is a noble lady, who was also once an Empress at least in name, standing there smiling nonchalantly among almost naked men?
‘Ha. This is ridiculous.’
His Highness the Archduke of the Servan Empire, whose culture was even more conservative than Perza’s, found the entire situation somehow displeasing.
* * *
At that moment.
Issac Mezerine and the Emperor’s capture team, having arrived in Myuta, unpacked their belongings at a five-story inn near the central plaza.
“Welcome. Will you be staying the night, or just here for a meal?”
“Four people. Checking out tomorrow morning. And take care of the horses too.”
As the youngest-looking young man dismounted and handed over the reins, a young girl with impressive freckles spoke.
“We don’t have a stable at our inn, but if you head to the central plaza, there’s a large horse care service called [Tomma Horses]. They take in horses from long-distance travelers, change their shoes, and even give them baths. Would it be alright to leave them there, sir?”
Huain turned his head and looked at Issac.
“…… Hybrid…. Is it alright to leave the horses somewhere else?”
“…….”
Issac waved his hand as if he didn’t even need to think and said.
“It’s just one night, so it should be fine. Tell them to take them.”
“Yes.”
“Ah! And, guests. There are no single rooms available right now, so you’ll have to stay two per double room. With the Founding Festival approaching, it’s the same for every inn, not just ours.”
“!”
The pale young man who was getting off his horse stumbled at the girl’s words. Mirhi, who almost fell off his horse, was quickly grabbed by Sir Morona who was next to him.
“Be careful. If the Count dies from a fall here, people will truly say it’s the curse of Cuckas.
“…….”
Mirhi recalled a few days ago.
After encountering the ‘Master Bird’ in the backyard and returning in a panic, he somehow felt uneasy seeing three war heroes cheerfully laughing and chatting in the reception room.
“No! What are you all doing here? I, I just came back from the backyard almost meeting death! Do you know? I barely….. escaped death trying to catch a bird presumed to be a Karkas!”
“Oh? You saw it? Was it really there?”
“Yes, it was. It’s huge, really, really big! And it makes a sound like ‘kweeeek’, just like that, you know?”
Issac, who had been lost in thought for a moment, rubbed his chin and spoke.
“But still, why do you keep calling it the guardian bird, Karkas?”
The almond-colored eyes of the old hero darkened slightly.
“Was that bird a bluebird?”
The capture team’s gaze turned to the Viscount for a moment.
The red-haired former hero reached out to the teacup that had just been brewed, the faint fragrance of which was filling the room, and continued speaking in a calm tone.
“But there’s no bluebird in my house, though?”
“Huh?”
“In my family’s backyard, there are only red birds. There is a small bird that everyone loves because its feathers are the same color as Klisha’s hair… but I don’t think there’s a bird that big in red?”
Mirhi muttered with trembling eyes.
“…The polka dot by the eye… Lord Lian also mentioned red feathers back then…”
Sir Huain, who was nibbling on a piece of cookie, spoke up.
“But if it’s that big, red, and has a polka dot by the eye… isn’t it not a Karkas but the divine bird, Cuckas?”
“!”
“Wow, Count Mirhi. You actually saw the divine bird Cuckas? That’s amazing. By the way, you were trying to catch the divine bird? Wow, Count, your luck is going to be……”
“…….”
Captain Morona of the Royal Guard lightly tapped the clueless Huain on the shoulder.
“That’s enough. He’s going to collapse at this rate.”
“…….”
Mirhi, who could only let out squeaking sounds, soon saw his vision flicker into darkness.
* * *
“Wow. That young lady isn’t backing down against Ruben at all.”
“Yeah. She looked so delicate, I thought she’d fly away with a single tap, but she’s surprisingly tough.”
“Just you wait. Ruben’s probably going easy on her. He doesn’t want to make a pretty lady cry.”
“Hahaha.”
On the stage of the Miami Martial Arts Competition, the pushing phase had already passed, and former champion Ruben and Klisha were now glaring at each other as they moved into hand-to-hand combat.
“Haa. Haa. Little lady, you’re pretty good.”
“Hoo. you’re not so bad yourself.”
“Shouldn’t you be out of breath by now? How about giving up?”
“Hoo. You’re the one who should be worried. If this keeps going, your pride and everything else will be trampled. Are you okay with that?”
Infuriated by Klisha’s unyielding retorts, Ruben’s face turned as red as it could get, and with a roar, he charged at her.
“Don’t regret this, you little brat!”
As Klisha gave a slight smirk and stepped back, Ruben’s hand suddenly accelerated.
“Rune?”
Klisha gritted her teeth.
‘This! This is cheating!’
Even Klisha, who boasted exceptional reflexes, was quite taken aback, as she had never expected anyone to openly use runes in an ordinary martial arts competition.
‘So this is why my uncles kept nagging me not to let my guard down and to always be prepared, day and night. Damn it.’
Klisha managed to dodge at a fairly quick speed, but completely escaping without using the rune was practically impossible.
Besides, even if it was a small-scale competition, it was still a competition. Just because the opponent broke the rules, it doesn’t mean you can break them too.
In the end, Ruben’s fierce hand brushed against Klisha’s shoulder, and the shoulder strap of her one-piece dress that had been thinly fastened was cut off.
“!”
‘Oh no. The fabric is too thin…..’
At that moment.
A young man with a chilling expression cold enough to freeze a dozen people on the spot stepped down onto the stage.
With a speed so fast it was impossible to see when he jumped up, the young man grabbed Klisha and hid her in his arms, his red eyes briefly locking onto Ruben.
“What, what?”
“Did anyone just see that? Where did that young man come from?”
“Wow. I thought the wind was blowing.”
Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, the young man with black hair and red eyes quietly spoke.
“Do you want to die?”
