LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 42 – Martial Arts Tournament III
"...Well then, Althea, I'll be heading off too."
As soon as Siegfried's battle was over, Regalus stood up.
"We're about to finish all the first round matches, and then, after a short break, the second round starts immediately. It's my first match of the second round."
With a stretch, Regalus said.
"Huh... so soon?"
"Yeah, because we're finishing all the matches today, you know? So until all the matches are over, I won't be able to come here. But if I lose, I'll come. Though I don't plan on losing. Even if I don't come here, you'll still cheer for me, won't you?"
"Of course, I'll cheer for you!"
"Thank you. Knowing that Althea is cheering for me gives me strength."
With his usual gentle smile, Regalus gently patted Althea's head, then turned to his mother.
"Mother, then I will fight with all my might not to bring shame to the name of Monclair family."
"...Regalus, you don't have to be bound by the name of Monclair. You are you... Putting too much pressure will dull your combat. Fight as you wish." Clara said with a warm smile to her son.
"Y-Yes!!," Regalus left the place genuinely happy, and Althea muttered to herself.
Seeing Brother so happy... it's rare, isn't it?
After all the first round matches were over, with a short break in between, the players for the first match of the second round entered. The audience was highly excited.
Facing Regalus was a third-year student named Jack Lauren, who was said to be a talented student destined to join the knights after graduating from the academy. By the way, he's the eldest son of a viscount from what I heard from my mother.
He ranked third last year and is aiming for victory this year, according to rumors.
Various conversations could be heard among the students in the audience.
"Monclair, huh... Probably strong, right?"
"The son of the father who holds the greatest military power in the kingdom... What's that like?"
"The pressure must be immense..."
"Yeah, but against Jack... it shouldn't be that tough, right?"
"It's tough, it's tough. I heard Jack didn't lose to any of the knights during the entrance test for the knights' order. There should have been some lower-ranking members in the test, but at least one mid-ranking member would join, right?"
"Yeah... Monclair's son, under that pressure, but Monclair has its limits given they were recently acquired archducal peerage."
Probably a third-year student, Althea, who heard the conversation, stood up to protest, but Clara, her mother stopped her.
"Mother, why are you stopping me? They said such things... We don't know the outcome of the match yet. Father also said Brother is strong..."
"Althea, there's no point in protesting here, right? Nobody in this academy knows Regalus's true strength, except His Highness."
"But...!"
"It's okay. Just show your strength. ...Or do you think Regalus will lose?"
"I don't think such a thing... Brother will definitely win."
"Then, watch with peace of mind. Look, Regalus is looking at us again, right? You're going to wave and cheer for him again, aren't you?"
Looking in the direction her smiling mother indicated, Althea saw Regalus looking at them just like during the first round.
Althea shouted louder than during the first round.
"Big brother! Do your best!! Definitely, definitely win!!"
Though it was an act unbefitting of a young lady, this time Clara didn't admonish her daughter.
Encouraged by Althea's cheers, Regalus smiled satisfactorily and walked towards the center where his opponent awaited.
After the signal to start, the two began to clash swords without even checking each other's condition.
For those with a certain level of strength, they could see each other's sword movements, but for the general audience, they could only hear the sound of swords clashing.
"What a great fight. Monclair is still a first-year, right? To keep up with Jack's speed..."
The students who had said earlier that Regalus would lose were now surprised.
Is this the speed of a third-year? If it's this speed... my brother will definitely win...!
The moment Althea thought so, Regalus's attack speed increased.
Although they had been exchanging attacks until just now, now Jack Lauren was on the defensive.
"What's this? His speed suddenly increased? Could it be... did he cast a body enhancement spell?"
With one student's words in the audience, the surrounding area began to stir, but the referee teacher shook his head and continued the match.
"Althea, can you see Regalus's sword movements?"
While keeping her gaze on the arena, Clara asked.
"Huh? Oh, yes. Just barely... I can still see them."
"I see... You're quite good too. ...It's a pity, but I can't see them anymore."
With a wry smile, Clara muttered.
In the audience, there were those who suspected foul play, those who tried to discern the sword movements, and those who were split fifty-fifty.
The match ended without a decisive blow as the allotted time elapsed, and it concluded.
The outcome, victory or defeat, was left to the "judgement" of the referee teachers, and the result was Regalus's victory.
Due to murmurs of suspicion in the audience, after the announcement of the winner, Regalus underwent confirmation of magical enhancement through a special spell uttered by the referee teachers. However, it was proven that there were absolutely no traces of magical enhancement. With this proof, the audience stirred in another sense.
"At 12 years old, that speed..."
"What kind of training is the young lord of Monclair family undergoing exactly?"
Listening to the murmurs, Althea secretly held her head high, wearing a satisfied smile.
Following that, there were more impressive matches, with no major injuries, and the martial arts tournament dominated by Holy Sacrament Academy ended with the victory of second-year student Yugg de Starry Stars and the runner-up being his cousin Saril.
Unfortunately, Regalus faced Yugg, who won the semi-finals, and was defeated, while Siegfried clashed with a third-year student from another neighboring country, Radiant Sun Kingdom, in the fourth round and was also defeated.
In the martial arts tournament where most first-year students ended up facing last year's strong contenders in the first and second rounds ,of course, they were no exceptions, Siegfried, who advanced to the fourth round, and Regalus, who broke into the top four, received generous applause from the audience.
