The audience seats were divided into four levels. Unlike the first and second floors, the third floor was occupied by the nobles, and the fourth floor was reserved for the high-ranking nobles. The highest level, the Sky Lounge, was where the imperial family resided. As one went up each level, the seats became fewer and the air fresher.
As if to prove it’s a class society, even the seating is differentiated. But I was now accustomed to such things, so it was no longer surprising.
“Oh, Princess Felicite, what a surprise to see you here.”
“Is that dress you’re wearing also made by designer Bergman? It’s truly beautiful.”
As I was escorted to my seat, people gradually gathered around me.
“With such excellent knights at your disposal, why haven’t you participated in the hunting competition before?”
These people would eventually become my solid client base. Maybe it’s time to start building a more sociable image.
“I apologize for interrupting your conversation.”
That’s when a soft voice was heard.
“Oh my, Grand Prince.”
Turning my head, I saw Ash, neatly dressed in a blue uniform, unlike the disheveled appearance he had the night before.
“I have some urgent matters to discuss with the Princess, so could you please excuse us for a moment?”
“Yes, yes?”
Ash’s polite yet firm request to clear the area surprised everyone.
What’s going on with him? Even when we were engaged, Ash always kept a distance from Siani in public, thinking her bad reputation could damage his image. And now, he was initiating a conversation with me, asking people to leave?
“Ah, yes. Then I’ll greet you next time, Princess.”
Sensing something strange between Ash and me, they returned to their seats.
There are so many seats, but why does he have to sit next to me and make a fuss? After dispersing the crowd, Ash naturally took the seat next to me.
“Now people are even starting conversations with you.” He handed me one of the two glasses of champagne he had brought. “I couldn’t find your favorite.”
“…”
I stared at the champagne Ash offered me. This man is clingier than I thought…
“I don’t drink it.”
Then, there was only one way to respond. A fortress of rejection.
“You don’t drink champagne. You don’t drink red wine.” Ash murmured, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair. “It seems the you I used to know is completely gone.”
“What, do you want an explanation? It’s funny to think our relationship ended cleanly.”
Ash chuckled at my comment. “You dream big. Was our relationship ever something that could end so easily?” His emerald eyes gazed up at me, mysterious and captivating.
“Waaaah!”
At that moment, the spherical field inside the stadium expanded even further. Uh? Is it starting? The majestic sound of drums signaled the start of the match.
“Our knights have also prepared much harder than usual for this competition,” Ash said, looking up at the spherical field above us.
“Prepared much harder than usual?” Somehow, his words resonated oddly with me. “What do you mean?”
“Who knows.”
After Jeff, now this man was acting up. He might have been Siani’s lover once, but to me, he was just a clingy nuisance.
“Worried I might cause some trouble?” It seemed Ash felt the same.
“Wouldn’t you be? I’ve seen you shoot sleeping bullets at people with my own eyes.”
His expression turned cold as I spoke casually. A strange war of nerves began between him and me.
“The emperor commands the games to begin immediately.”
Royal aides seemed to announce something in the control room. Normally, the emperor would give a speech before the games started…
What’s happening? It seemed that the process was abruptly skipped.
“Waaaaah!”
But there was no time to worry about that. The sound of horns and cheers drowned out everything else.
“If there’s a problem with your knights today,”
Just as the games were about to start, the lights illuminating the stadium went out.
“It’s your fault, Siani.” Ash’s voice reached me through the dark silence.
* * *
The game began.
“Waaaah!”
The fastest to advance was, as expected, Ash Benio’s knights, breaking through to the 3rd circle and opening the door to the 4th circle. There, a ruggedly designed rocky island unfolded.
“Kiiiiiik!”
Winged monsters flew menacingly between the rocks.
“We’ll finish this in 10 minutes.”
The leader of the Benio knights shouted to his team. From here on, it was aerial combat. Humans who couldn’t fly were expected to jump across rocks, a grand design by the Ministry of Magic.
Bang, bang, bang! The six knights of the Benio family, working in pairs, fired their shots. Some monsters were hit precisely, others evaded.
“Captain, doesn’t it seem the difficulty has increased?” One knight frowned and asked.
“Right. This level was supposed to be just a warm-up.”
“Looks like the Ministry of Magic really went all out this time.”
It seemed everyone felt similarly.
“Kiiiiiik!”
“Ugh, that b*stard!”
The monsters, now closing in, flew over the knights’ heads.
“Since the Felicite family is participating, it must be because of that. Ugh!”
With them struggling at this level, it was clear other families’ knights were stuck in the initial circles. Bang, bang, bang! Gunshots from various directions echoed throughout.
“Kwaeeek!”
“Keugh!”
“Gasp, why is it so hard?”
Forget 10 minutes. It took them over 15 minutes to clear just the lower-tier monsters of the 4th circle.
“Screeeeech!” Then, a fierce wind blew from afar, followed by a piercing bird cry.
“Now, it’s Blawing. It’s the highest-scoring one, so we must take it down.”
The leader of the Benio knights shouted again. “Aim for that one alone!”
But it was just the boss of the 4th circle. With all of them targeting it, it should’ve been easy to defeat.
“Damn, what the hell?”
The Blawing, fluttering in, moved too fast to follow with the eye. Bang, bang, bang! Numerous shots were missed without hitting a single target.
“Kiiiiiik!”
Mocking their efforts, Blawing flew over the knights’ heads.
“At this rate, will they spend all day just getting past the 4th circle?”
“It’s not fun if we can’t quickly advance. Boring.”
The audience’s excitement waned. Usually, the thrill was watching knights swiftly advance through to the 5th circle. The struggle made the event less interesting.
“Captain, we’re wasting too much time. Maybe a few of us should move on to the 5th circle.”
“No! Even all of us together can’t take it down!”
“Ugh!”
“Squeeeek!” Then, Blawing swiftly targeted one knight’s Astra.
“Such a shame they can’t handle it.”
The knight, struggling not to lose his weapon, elicited sighs from the audience. A subtle fear began to grip the spectators.
“What’s happening?” Ash too, muttered quietly, watching his knights struggle. They should’ve breached the 6th circle by now. But then…
“Huh?”
Bang! A single gunshot sounded.
“Waaaaah!” Suddenly, the previously subdued audience erupted into cheers.
“Screeeech!” A bullet from the rocks hit Blawing’s left wing, causing it to plummet.
“What?” As the Benio knights looked up in confusion, another shot followed.
Bang! The second bullet hit, and Blawing fell to the ground.
“Waaaaah!” The audience was once again filled with energy.
The previously agile Blawing was taken down with just two shots. However, the monster still maintained high speed.
“Where did that bullet come from? Which family of knights are they from?”
“Look over there, Captain!”
At that moment, a knight pointed to a boy with light purple hair standing on the rough rocks.
“…”
How did he climb up there? Before anyone could figure it out, the boy, wearing a mask, reloaded his Astra and fired into the sky. Bang! The final shot.
“Screeeech!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Oh my gosh, incredible!”
When Blawing, hit precisely in the head, plummeted, a loud cheer erupted. That Blawing, which six men struggled to defeat, was brought down by the hand of just one person. It couldn’t be more thrilling.
“Which family does he belong to? The Felicite family?”
“Seeing that mask, it seems so. Can we zoom in on the sphere a bit more?”
The judges hurriedly tallied the scores.
“…”
Simultaneously, the image of the boy who hunted Blawing with just a few shots filled the sphere.
“Pfft.”
This also broadcasted the boy’s expression towards the Benio knights…
“Idiots.”
That was vividly captured in the broadcast.
Lmaoo yass! That’s our baby boy !!
DAYUMMMM
THAT WAS SAVAGE REDIAN
SLAYYYYYY