Beatrice's Promise (5K)
No, how did those two know he was going to participate in the competition?!
Achoo!
"Your Excellency Elizabeth, what's wrong? Are you sick?"
"I'm fine, Mary."
Elizabeth smiled at her maid.
Inside the dimly lit carriage, a master and his servant traveled along the roads of the capital, accompanied by the faint swaying of the carriage.
Not a single ray of light could penetrate inside, all of which was blocked by the curtains.
Those who saw it were very curious. Why was such a luxurious carriage so well concealed? Was something shameful happening inside?
But soon, they were drawn to another carriage.
The car door bore the logo of the Snow Fox Trading Company, and everyone instinctively made way for it.
Inside, the renowned Nine-Tailed Snow Princess sat, accompanied by two trusted maids.
For no other reason than that the Snow Fox Trading Company is the Arcadia Trading Company's only partner guild!
Offending the Snow Fox Trading Company is equivalent to offending the Arcadia Trading Company.
As for their fate, they clearly remembered how the Major Corporate Alliance died.
All the presidents died suddenly overnight, and the entire chamber of commerce subsequently went bankrupt.
Although the former didn't know who did it, they still pinned the blame on the Arcadia Trading Company.
However, one figure stood out even more, wearing a tattered, faded gray robe and walking right next to the Snow Fox Trading Company's carriage!
Judging from the outline, it should be a woman, and a wisp of pale gold, as if faded, is visible.
Although the long hair looked smooth, it couldn't hide the fact that the person was dressed like a refugee.
But just then, as if sensing something, Elizabeth and the Snow Woman, who were sitting in the carriage, gently lifted a corner of the curtain and looked outside at the same time as the Snow Woman.
As a result, their eyes met those of the person in the gray robe.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
The Snow Woman's eyes widened slightly, and she snapped open her folding fan to hide her surprised expression.
"Oh my gosh, this is terrible..."
Elizabeth, on the other hand, tilted her head in a daze.
She felt she'd seen this person somewhere before, but he seemed a little different from the person she remembered. This person appeared more mature, had indigo eyes, and his hair color was subtly different as well...
The woman in the gray robe looked the two of them up and down, sniffed slightly, and tilted her head in annoyance.
"There's an elven scent, but it's very faint... Should we go up and ask?"
Just as the woman in the gray robe hesitated, an even more luxurious carriage passed by them.
It was also completely concealed.
Inside sat a man with a goatee.
Duke Doem Katzhart, Duke of the Oriana Kingdom, the capital of art, is also the fiancé of Rose Oriana.
Just by looking at his age, you can tell that this is a political marriage.
But for Duke Doem, the significance of this marriage went beyond that.
It was also his ticket to a higher level of power and authority!
[ —Duke Doem.]
Just as Duke Doem was thinking this, a detached voice suddenly entered his mind.
"Lord Mordred!"
Duke Doem immediately became excited.
This Mordred was the key figure who helped him climb the ladder of power; he was the ninth seat of the Knights of the Rounds from Diablos!
[Duke Doem, how are everything prepared?]
"Yes, Lord Mordred, everything is as you requested. I have obtained the Ring of Succession."
He personally plucked it from King Oriana's finger!
Thanks to that foolish woman, Princess Reina, otherwise he wouldn't have had such a smooth journey.
[Hmm, well done. I've arranged everything else. The First Children of Diablos will be supporting you. And through discussions at the Round Table, it's been decided that if you complete this mission, the throne of the twelfth Knights of the Rounds will fall into your hands. Be happy about that.]
"Yes, Your Excellency Mordred, I will do my utmost for this!"
I'm really looking forward to your performance—don't let me down.
"Yes... yes, I obey."
Duke Doem was so excited he couldn't express it.
He hadn't expected the task Mordred had given him to be so simple.
All you need to do is obtain the ancient artifact "Ring of Succession" from King Oriana and then activate it in the capital city of Midgar.
However, to use this ring, one needs to be a direct descendant of Oriana.
That is, to choose one between the demented king and Rose.
For some reason, Mordred insisted that Rose initiate the process.
However, this is not something he should be concerned about. All he needs to do is get this done so that he can ascend that elusive ladder to godhood!
Thinking of this, Duke Doem's heart was already burning with excitement, and he tightly gripped the ruby-encrusted ring in his pocket.
To participate in the "Bushin Festival," you must register at the arena counter.
Of course, this is just the treatment for ordinary people; swordsmanship instructors at the Magic Sword Academy don't need to go through such complicated procedures.
You can simply submit the entry form.
Furthermore, they can skip the preliminary rounds and directly enter the official competition.
Although it can't compare to the previous champion's privilege of directly representing the Magic Swordsman Academy in the finals, it's still quite good.
At least we don't have to go to the grass in an outdoor park and end up like we're fighting in underground boxing matches.
However, he discovered something when he arrived at the venue.
"There aren't many people..."
That's right, there aren't many.
There were only a handful of spectators in the huge arena stands.
The seats weren't even full.
Although it's an official competition, viewers usually focus on the semi-finals and finals, or on their favorite players.
After all, that was a true battle between the strongest.
This is completely different from the Nine Schools Competition.
As he casually won a match and walked through the players' tunnel, someone suddenly brushed past him.
It feels so familiar...
Mahiro subconsciously stopped in his tracks.
After a short pause, the other person also stopped.
They both turned to face each other at almost the same time.
Hidden beneath a gray robe, a pair of bright indigo eyes stared straight at him.
"You also have the scent of elves on you."
The woman twitched her nose slightly and stated this in a low, calm voice.
And asked:
Do you know anyone from the Elven race?
Chapter 221 Beatrice's Promise (5K)
Do you know anyone from the Elven race?
She spoke again, this time with a hint of probing in her eyes.
"Miss, it's very impolite of you to be interrogating someone like that."
Mahiro replied with a hint of helplessness:
"If you can't introduce yourself before asking questions, at least take off your hood as a sign of politeness and respect, right?"
"... Oh, right, I'm sorry, it was my mistake."
The apology was quite straightforward.
Immediately afterwards, she lifted the hood from her head, revealing her true face amidst a natural fragrance.
As expected...
When you sense a similar aura, you've pretty much guessed it.
The woman opposite him had a face that was strikingly similar to Olivier's, and her hair was incredibly smooth, but it had a pale gold color, like faded gold.
A pair of pointed ears, typical of elves.
However, the eyes are not deep blue; they are more like faded indigo.
Overall, it's like a battle-damaged version of the Alpha.
Unlike Alpha, the other party appears more mature and doesn't seem as shrewd; rather, they seem somewhat naive or endearing.
And two light blue lines appeared under the corners of her eyes.
However, it did not detract from the aesthetic appeal; instead, it added a touch of wild allure.
Just then, the woman opposite her spoke again, asking:
"So, do you know anyone from the Elven race?"
The same question was asked again.
Yes.
"Really?"
"Yes, and there's a lot of it."
There are hundreds of people, even your saintess and princess are with me.
"I'm looking for an elf."
"I see."
"She's a lovely girl."
"Oh~"
Have you seen it before?
"But the girls of the Elf race are all very cute and beautiful."
He wasn't being sarcastic; he was telling the truth.
Currently, there are indeed no ugly women among the elves; in fact, they are all incredibly beautiful.
But he still likes Alpha the most.
"She looks a lot like me."