Chapter 49: Each Battle and Lunch in the Stands

The next morning, in a sunlit room of the inn, Chris tried to get out of bed—only to let out a groan as a dull pain spread through his entire body.

“…Ggh…”

The accumulated fatigue from days of camping, fighting in the swamp, and yesterday’s first tournament match seemed to be catching up with his young body all at once.

“Chris, hurt?”

Rowena peered at him with concern, and Chris quickly puffed himself up to hide it.

“N-No, it’s nothing! This is, uh… the pleasant pain of getting stronger!”

“I see.”

Rowena nodded, looking like she half understood and half didn’t.

Watching their exchange from the side, I shrugged.

(It’s just muscle soreness… youth, huh.)

After getting ready, we headed toward the arena. Along the way, Chris kept moving awkwardly, clearly trying to hide the pain.

At the entrance, Gideon, who had already arrived, spotted us and waved with a hearty laugh.

“Yo! That was a great fight yesterday, Chris! Keep it up today!”

“You too, Gideon! Let’s both give it our best!”

The two laughed and slapped each other on the shoulders.

They no longer looked like temporary allies—they were closer to comrades-in-arms now.

They headed off together toward the waiting room for participants.

Rowena and I took our seats in the stands again, waiting for the second round to begin.

Chris’s match was the third bout of the second round.

His opponent wielded a peculiar weapon—a sword with an unusually long hilt.

By shifting his grip, he could extend it like a spear one moment, then shorten it for close combat the next.

Chris was thrown off from the start by the constantly changing reach.

(That’s a troublesome opponent…)

Unable to find his rhythm, Chris focused on carefully defending against the attacks.

But his defense wasn’t merely passive.

Step by step, he observed his opponent’s movements, gradually and surely guiding the fight into a distance he was comfortable with.

It seemed his experience in the swamp had given him the composure to read the flow of battle.

As the tense exchange dragged on, his opponent must have decided it couldn’t continue like this.

He suddenly stepped in faster than before, unleashing a flurry of thrusts.

Chris had been waiting for that moment.

He shifted from defense to offense in sync with the attack.

The clash of metal rang sharp and intense across the arena.

And then, aiming to finish it—

Chris drew in a deep breath and unleashed the technique he had shown me before.

“Hah!”

A powerful diagonal slash came from the right.

But perhaps due to fatigue from consecutive battles, it lacked the same sharp precision as before.

His opponent barely managed to block the strike.

However, the impact threw him off balance.

His torso was completely exposed.

Seizing the chance, Chris released the coiled strength in his body and unleashed a sharp rising slash along the reverse trajectory.

It struck squarely into the opponent’s chest with a heavy impact.

The man collapsed on the spot, and the match was decided.

As the crowd erupted in cheers, I felt relieved at the victory—but couldn’t help pressing my fingers to my temple.

(That idiot… using a move like that this early…)

Without considering the risk of revealing his trump card, Chris had forced a win through sheer determination.

His inexperience gave me yet another thing to warn him about later, and I let out a quiet sigh.

After his match, it was time for the lunch break.

“Ed, I’m hungry.”

“Yeah. Let’s go get something.”

“Excuse me, could you hold our seats?”

I asked a kind-looking man sitting nearby, and he grinned.

“Sure thing! While you’re at it, grab something for me too!”

He tossed me a small leather pouch of coins.

I caught it with one hand and headed out with Rowena.

The food stalls outside the arena were packed with people.

I bought skewers dripping with meat juices, bread, and fruit water from the busiest stall.

When we returned, the man happily dug into the hot skewers.

“Thanks, man! So, you guys travelers from somewhere? This town’s really coming alive, huh?”

We chatted idly while eating.

Then the fanfare signaling the end of the break rang out.

The first match of the afternoon began.

Stepping into the arena was Gideon.

His opponent was a nimble longsword user.

The man skillfully kept his distance, refusing to enter the range of Gideon’s battle axe.

Gideon’s powerful swings cut nothing but air.

The frustrating stalemate continued for a while.

Then Gideon suddenly stopped attacking.

Instead, he raised the flat side of his axe like a shield and waited.

The moment his opponent saw an opening and rushed in—Gideon swung.

Not to cut.

But to strike.

With overwhelming mass, he slammed the man’s sword and entire body aside.

A dull, bone-rattling thud echoed as the longsword user was sent flying.

The match was over.

The crowd roared at Gideon’s overwhelming victory.

Then the referee announced the next match.

“Next, the fifth match of the day! Entering the arena—Chris!”