Kays Translations

Chapter 130 – Quarterfinals

Felix and the others returned to the stage, waving their hands in response to the enthusiastic cheers.

“Great job, everyone. Wow, what a splendid victory. But does Felix-san have a surprisingly bad personality?”

Isamu joked with Felix while congratulating everyone who had returned.

“That guy was just spouting nonsense, so I couldn’t help but play a little with him since it got on my nerves.” 

Felix replied, explaining the situation without touching on his own character flaws. How typical of him.

“Hahaha, I see. Is that so? Well, I must thank him, as he demonstrated his skills to the fullest extent possible, and then some.” 

Isamu chuckled, looking at the relaxed and laughing members of the Klaufeldt family as if achieving a resounding victory over Duke Yaderud’s family was simply a matter of course, surprising the knights from other territories who were standing by for the next battle.

Without paying attention to the reactions around them, the Klaufeldt family proceeded to the audience seats.

The subsequent matches all ended with the seeded teams claiming victory, determining the teams advancing to the quarterfinals tomorrow.

Despite the talk about the Klaufeldt family’s upset victory, the overall development seemed to lack major surprises.

The pairings for the final day would also be announced in the morning, so Isamu and the others decided to rest without excessive preparations for potential opponents.

And so, on the morning of the final day, Tiramisu brought the tournament brackets as usual.

“Oh, we’re up against Margrave Innocenti’s family… We might not be able to play around like yesterday.” 

Isamu murmured as he looked at the tournament brackets.

“Yes, indeed. Among yesterday’s matches, Margrave Innocenti’s family, Marquis Felker’s family, and Count Erikson’s family left a strong impression.” 

Felix nodded in agreement as he looked at the brackets together.

“The Erikson family is in a different bracket, so if we face them, it would be in the final… As usual, if we consider the standard route, drawing against all the strong teams means it’s quite tough.” 

Isamu remarked, indicating that facing all the perceived strong teams would be a challenging path to victory.

“Well, regardless of the opponent, we don’t intend to lose. Let’s go without any pressure.” 

Felix said.

“”””Yes!”””” 

Everyone responded in unison.

After having breakfast and inspecting their equipment, the group headed to the venue for the matches.

Despite it being before the matches, the atmosphere in the venue was quite lively.

Today, with the king and members of the royal family in attendance, it was a true royal match, drawing spectators eager to catch a glimpse of them. The stands were packed with spectators.

Even around the entrance designated for participating teams, enthusiastic fans crowded around, cheering loudly when their favorite teams appeared.

“Eeeeee, Felix-samaaa!”

“Ulysses-sama, do your best!”

“Tiramisu-chan, you’re so cute today too!”

Following yesterday’s matches, it seemed that the Klaufeldt family had gained some fans, albeit a small number. Felix was the most popular, followed by the mysterious Ulysses and Tiramisu, who despite being a female knight, took on a frontline role.

“Wow, it’s Mizeroi-onii chan! We’re cheering for you!”

And Mizeroi had managed to attract some dedicated fans.

“That’s great! There are people who understand how great Mizeroi-senpai is!!”

“…Ahaha.” 

Mizeroi could only respond with a wry smile to Tiramisu’s innocent joy.

After entering the venue, instead of going to the audience seats as before, they were escorted to the waiting room prepared for each team.

It seemed to be part of the anti-cheating measures as they couldn’t change pairings from this point on.

“In yesterday’s match, Marquis Innocenti’s family seemed to be equipped with earth-type magic armor.” 

“Yes, although it’s partially reinforced with metal, leather armor wouldn’t normally provide that level of defense.” 

In the waiting room, a strategy meeting was being held between Isamu and Felix.

“While we can manage the increased defense, there’s one concern.” 

“A concern?” 

Felix asked, noticing Isamu’s serious expression.

“Yes. Please listen carefully, everyone. It’s something that could potentially trip us up, so I want everyone to be aware.” 

Isamu said, his cautious words drawing everyone’s attention.

With the final briefing concluded, they relaxed and stretched while awaiting their turn. Then, there was a knock on the door.

“Lords and ladies of the Klaufeldt family, the previous match has ended, so please prepare and gather at the entrance gate.”

As the Klaufeldt family was the second match, it meant that the first match was over. The teams that had played before were likely Marquis Felker’s family and Margrave Zabadak’s family.

Observing the knights from Margrave Zabadak’s family emerging from the same entrance gate, it seemed that the winners were indeed Marquis Felker’s family.

With that, if they won this match, it was confirmed that the next match would be against the Marquis Felker’s family in the semifinals.

After a short wait by the entrance gate, they were called to enter the stage. Today, the head of the family would also enter with them, so Selfers led the way, walking to the center.

From the opposite side, led by Nazario, the team from Margrave Innocent’s family walked towards them.

Facing each other in the center, there was none of the tension that had been present during the match against Duke Yaderud’s family the day before.

It was Nazario who spoke first.

“Hehe, I never thought you’d make it this far.”

With a genuinely happy expression, Nazario spoke.

“I’m honored, Your Excellency. We’ll have a good match today.”

Selfers replied with a slight bow. Ideally, he would have liked to show more respect, but they were in formation before the match, so this was the limit.

“Haha, unexpected indeed… Well, let’s leave it at that. Regardless, it’s clear from yesterday’s match that you haven’t made it here by luck alone. Today, I’ll be counting on you.”

“I’ll be counting on you too.”

With that, the two lords firmly shook hands, eliciting thunderous applause from the audience.

Taking into account yesterday’s match results, the odds had shifted significantly. The Klaufeldt family was at 2.5 times, while the Innocenti family was at 1.6 times. This indicated a significant gap and reflected the excitement surrounding the match.

As they headed to their starting positions, Isamu gave Felix the final instructions.

“As I mentioned earlier, please be a bit cautious.”

“Understood.”

And with that, the familiar signal was given.

“While they’re formidable opponents, we’re going to win! Please stay safe!”

“””Stay safe!”””

This greeting also elicited small cheers. Some fans even joined in the chant, indicating that it was a popular catchphrase.

As both teams lined up at the starting line, the venue fell silent as if someone had poured water over it.

Then, the referee’s voice boomed.

“Begin!!”

At the start of the match, it was the Klaufeldt team that moved significantly.

Mizeroi and Tiramisu took the lead side by side, with Liddell and Marcella slightly behind and to the sides, and Felix activating his Lightning Sword in the center rear. Meanwhile, Ulysses began chanting a spell on the spot.

The Innocenti team, on the other hand, showed a slightly surprised expression at their opponents’ actions but chose not to rush and instead opted to wait on the spot.

With a formation that slightly emphasized the vanguard with four frontliners and two backliners, the four members at the front stood ready with a few steps of spacing between them. The two backliners also began chanting spells simultaneously.

The opening move came from the Innocenti team’s magic.

Behind the Wind blade, the Rock Fist Rock Fist chased after.

Both spells seemed to have a slightly elongated range, possibly aimed at dominating the battlefield.

In response, the Klaufeldt team slowed down their running flanks slightly to chant spells and immediately activated them.

First, Marcela’s Wind blade activated, charging straight into the opposing Wind blade.

*Crack!*

A dry sound rang out as both invisible blades shattered.

Immediately after, Liddell’s Wind Wall intercepted the Rock Fist.

Several strikes pierced through the wall of air, but their power was significantly weakened, so neither Mizeroi nor Tiramisu were affected, dodging or deflecting with their shields.

“What!?”

“They blocked the magic while moving!?”

The most surprised by this situation were the opponents’ rear guard, but that was to be expected.

Concentration is required when using magic. Manipulate, collect, visualize, chant, and activate magic power. Each process requires concentration, although the degree of concentration required varies.

In particular, there is a big difference in the power of magic depending on whether or not you concentrate when gathering magic power and imagining the magic effect.

Therefore, using magic while moving is generally considered ineffective as it cannot fully unleash its true power. Yet, the two individuals in front of them, without batting an eye, neutralized their own magic cast while moving.

It was unreasonable not to be surprised.

For the surprised pair, it was a natural result.

Their “true power” was equivalent to the power of old magic, so the magic they cast while moving reached the level of new magic in terms of power alone.

Unable to stop the advancing enemy vanguard, the Innocenti team’s vanguard, each maintaining a certain distance, prepared for a one-on-many battle and fortified their defense.

However, here again, the Klaufeldt team took unexpected actions.

Despite being able to create a numerical advantage in a many-to-one situation, Tiramisu charged in alone.

“You dare to challenge us one-on-one!?”

To one of the surprised enemy vanguards, Tiramisu swung her Lightning sword.

“Here I go~!”

Leaving a faint trail of purple light in the void, the Lightning Blade approached the enemy vanguard.

“Tch!!”

The enemy vanguard, who had likely witnessed the battle with the Yaderud family, knew they couldn’t completely dodge it and prepared their shield with a grimace.

The sound of metal clashing followed by the Lightning Blade emitted sparks.

“Guuuuuuuugh!”

the enemy vanguard uttered a painful groan but remained conscious.

“Wha!? Just like Isamu-sama said!!”

Surprised by what she saw, Tiramisu quickly distanced herself from the enemy vanguard and returned to Mizeroi’s side.

“Did the power weaken after all?”

Mizeroi asked briefly.

“Yes. The power suddenly weakened after reaching that armor!!”

As Tiramisu described, the lightning emitted from the Lightning Blade approached the opponent’s torso as usual.

However, on the surface of the armor they wore, the lightning weakened abruptly and disappeared.

“From the looks of it, the lightning indeed weakened due to the opponent’s magic armor. …Isamu-sama’s insight is truly impressive.”

Felix, who had caught up, sighed as he watched the two.

Both Liddell and Marcella, who had stopped at a distance, also watched.

They recalled the precautionary points that Isamu had mentioned during the pre-match briefing.

“Since it’s magic armor of the earth attribute, there’s a possibility that it’s not compatible with lightning-based magic. Please consider the possibility that lightning might hardly have any effect, as I mentioned before.”

Indeed, the situation had turned out exactly as Isamu had said.

Tiramisu charging in alone was because she had the best balance of offense, defense, and speed within the team and was the best candidate to test the waters first.

“Let’s switch to the enhanced mode!”

Felix instructed his allies, unsheathing Felis 1 Enhanced and activating it himself.

The other members simultaneously activated their enhanced modes as well.

“What!? Another magic sword!?”

“And everyone has one!?”

The surprised enemy vanguards, who had been unable to move immediately due to lingering numbness in their arms, widened their formations again to observe the situation, protecting their members.

Felix glanced back briefly, and Ulysses, who had moved slightly forward, nodded slightly.

Then, Ulysses began chanting a spell.

At the same time, all five of them, including Felix, began to move.

Liddell and Marcella on the flanks tried to bypass the enemy vanguards and circle around towards the rear.

The remaining three charged straight at the enemy vanguards.

The enemy rearguards also began chanting spells, but Ulysses’ magic, which completed first, was activated.

“Let the flames rising from the earth become a blazing wall and obstruct the path. Flame Shield!”

With a booming sound, a three-meter-high, five-meter-wide wall of flame appeared in front of the enemy’s rearguards, separating them.

“Kuh!”

Interruption of the incantation due to the heat of the flames that appeared in front of them caused the opposing backline to jump back.

“Nuun!”

Successfully closing the distance without being obstructed, the three vanguard members of the Klaufeldt team immediately launched their attack. First, Mizeroi swung his slightly longer and thicker Felis 1 Enhanced sideways.

“I won’t let you!”

The vanguards of the Innocenti family chose to stop and receive the attack, holding up their shields to block it.

*Clang!* A sound louder than when the Lightning sword was blocked reverberated in the surroundings. And a large gash was carved into the metal shield.

“What!?”

To the opponent who was astonished, not expecting their shield to be slashed, Mizeroi pressed on with his assault.

“Kuh…”

Attacking the defenseless shield, Mizeroi struck it four times in total, finally severing about a third of the shield.

“What kind of sword is that!?”

The opponent was astonished at the reduced size of their shield. They quickly glanced left and right, one engaging with Tiramisu, while the remaining two were occupied with Felix in a two-on-one situation, leaving no room for support.

As Mizeroi continued his onslaught, the opponent vanguard, having discarded the now useless shield towards Mizeroi to halt his advance, wielded his sword with both hands to counterattack.

“Take this!”

A blow swung with all his might was blocked by Mizeroi’s shield.

*Clang!* Along with a faint glow emitting from the shield.

“What!?”

The opponent, baffled by the unexpected sound, quickly regained their composure and continued their attacks.

As Mizeroi grinned while the sound of the clash again contradicted its appearance, he maintained his cool demeanor while parrying. Normally, under this pressure, even if defending with a shield, one would gradually retreat. However, Mizeroi calmly managed to fend off the attacks.

Then, stepping forward with the fifth strike, Mizeroi swung his shield to deflect the opponent’s sword.

“Shima…!”

The opponent’s body, which had been diverted by a full-force strike, shifted forward. Seizing the opportunity, Mizeroi swiftly moved to the opponent’s exposed back and struck with his sword.

*Gyiiiin*

The sound, unlike that of cutting leather armor, resonated as Felis 1 Enhanced deeply cleaved through the armor.

“Impossible… to think you could cut through this armor…”

Before the astonished opponent could finish, Mizeroi struck his hilt into their head, cutting off their consciousness.

Having rendered one combatant unable to continue, Mizeroi glanced to his right, where Tiramisu was overwhelming her opponent with skillful shield manipulation.

Seeing no problem there, he looked to the opposite side, where Felix, who had been fighting two-on-one, had already disabled one opponent and was now holding his sword to the other’s throat.

“Kuh, is it over…”

As the man surrendered, Tiramisu also severed her opponent’s shield and sent his sword flying with a powerful blow.

*Clang, clang…*

The sound of the shattered shield and the flying sword reverberated through the arena.

“That’s it!! Due to Margrave Innocenti’s family having only two combatants able to continue, the winner is the Klaufeldt family!!!”

“”””””Woooohoooo!!”””””

The referee’s declaration of Klaufeldt’s victory echoed loudly through the arena, accompanied by the cheers of the spectators.

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