Chapter 34
Meanwhile, the audience could clearly see the three contestants quarreling.
“Heh heh, look at that. Even with four of them working together, they’d barely have a chance of finding the tiles, and now they’re already fighting.”
“So that means Lady Ariel’s group is down to just her?”
“What could she possibly hope to do alone…? Lady Clasta was far too hasty. If she had taken more time to calmly persuade him, even Georgie would have followed along.”
“On the other hand, Lady Inev’s team is flawless.”
“Yes, the four of them are working together earnestly to find the tiles. You’d think they planned it all out in advance.”
At that, Duke Vianev spoke up.
“Haha, surely not. This is simply the difference in leadership. Duke Clasta should pay more attention to his daughter’s social skills.”
Duke Clasta reclined lazily in his chair, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Or perhaps Duke Vianev just can’t win without resorting to such dirty tricks? Well, I can’t blame you. My daughter is rather extraordinary.”
“If that helps you sleep at night, think what you will. Not that it matters—once the preliminaries are over, your daughter’s wrist will be gone.”
“We’ll see.”
Duke Clasta’s eyes were fixed on Ariel, who had begun to move on her own.
“If you ask me… she’s only just getting started.”
After the three boys stormed off, shouting at each other, Ariel stretched her arms above her head.
“Well, shall we get started?”
The key was to find the hidden tiles.
Which meant that someone had gone around the mountain to hide them.
And if someone had moved through the mountains, they were bound to leave traces—
Trampled grass, broken twigs, footprints.
Swordsmanship and tracking are two completely different skills.
Back when she worked under Regan, she’d often had to track down runaway nobles or sneak into places unnoticed.
She’d picked up these skills simply because she’d wanted to do Regan’s assignments better.
Never thought they’d come in handy like this.
She let out a faint, wry chuckle.
Of course, plenty of people were wandering around the mountain.
But there’s only one kind of trail I need to follow.
Who would have hidden the tiles?
Naturally, the people working for the emperor, who was hosting the event.
All the contestants this year are kids. No way the emperor told them to hide the tiles.
So all she had to do was look for an adult’s footprints.
Adults were taller and heavier than children.
Their feet were bigger, their steps pressed deeper into the ground.
Following one such trail, Ariel flipped over a stone at its end.
“One for starters.”
[1 tile has been found. Remaining tiles: 4]
The nobles in the stands murmured as they watched Ariel find the tile.
“I thought she’d be helpless after knocking out all her teammates, but she’s the first to find a tile. Lucky girl.”
“Well, luck is part of skill, is it not?”
“Still, the way she snatched off that nametag earlier—she’s got some skill.”
“She probably just let her guard down, never expecting an attack from her own teammate.”
“But can she guard that tile all on her own? Really, eliminating all her teammates was too rash.”
Their gazes shifted to a team loitering near the finish line.
She’d be caught before she even crossed it, and the tile taken from her.
“Lady Ariel made the wrong choice. She should have worked to calm her teammates down and brought them along.”
“Fortune’s goddess may have granted her a tile, but… it seems she didn’t think ahead.”
No one believed she could pass the preliminaries.
But when Ariel proceeded to find four more tiles in a row, the entire audience fell silent.
[All 5 tiles have been found. Remaining tiles: 0]
The announcement boomed across the mountain, and the kids still searching froze.
“What? All of them already? It hasn’t even been an hour!”
“Damn it. Who’s got them?”
“Guess the only way now is to steal one… but who the hell has them?”
Rustle.
“Who’s there!”
From the bushes emerged Ariel.
“What are you? Were you eavesdropping on us?”
Ariel raised both hands in a gesture of peace.
“Don’t be so wary. I just wanted to see if you’d be up for teaming up.”
“Teaming up with us?”
“Yeah. You know I’ve got a bet going with Lady Inev, right? I have to win… but as you can see, all my teammates are gone…”
“So?”
“Well, even if you have a tile, you still need to cross the finish line to move on. So let’s form a temporary team, head for the finish line together, and target people with tiles there. If we get two, both you and I can pass.”
“And why should we take you in? No thanks.”
Ariel gave a regretful shrug.
“Alright, suit yourselves.”
Once she left, the boys began talking among themselves.
“You know… what she said isn’t bad.”
“Right. We’ll have to go to the finish line anyway. Might as well save our strength and wait there.”
“Exactly. If I get eliminated in the prelims, my father will kill me.”
“Yeah, we’ve got to at least get through the prelims.”
Their leader nodded.
“Alright, let’s head to the finish line.”
From a distance, Ariel watched them go, a satisfied smile on her face.
Contestants from all over the mountain soon converged near the finish line.
“What the—why are there so many people here? There’s no way to get through this crowd.”
Inev muttered in dismay.
“This isn’t right, Inev. Something’s off.”
“Yeah, way too many people. It wasn’t like this last year.”
Normally, contestants would clash and be eliminated over time, and the number of tiles would lead to diverse strategies.
But thanks to Ariel finding four tiles in under thirty minutes, everyone had made it to the finish line without losing any strength.
“So how do we get through that?” one teammate asked.
“What else? We push through,” Inev replied firmly.
As she approached, the nearby contestants all turned their attention to her.
Then someone shouted—
“Look! Lady Inev has a tile!”
In such a big crowd, it was impossible to tell who had yelled.
But the moment the words rang out, everyone charged at her.
“D-damn it! What is this?!”
“Lady Inev, you have to retreat!”
“I can’t—there are too many—ugh!”
Four people couldn’t possibly hold back dozens.
Inev’s sword moved with grace, almost like a dance, but it was useless against a stampede.
“Kyaah! Don’t pull my hair—ahhh!”
It was chaos.
Her neatly tied hair was in shambles, hands pawed greedily at her pockets in search of a tile.
What the hell is going on here?!
Meanwhile, Ariel sat perched on a tree branch, watching the brawl below with a leisurely air.
With so many people around, no one had realized she was the one who’d shouted.
Wow. It’s a real brawl.
No swords, just people ripping at each other’s nametags—like a marketplace scuffle.
Inev, clearly unused to this kind of fight, looked utterly drained as she was shoved around.
Still, her teammates were steadily eliminating opponents one by one.
Then, for a moment, Ariel caught sight of a tile in Inev’s pocket.
The glint in the others’ eyes turned feral.
“There it is! The tile! She really has it!”
“What? Where?!”
Oh, so she really did have it.
Inev gritted her teeth at the remaining opponents blocking her way.
They’d whittled down the crowd enough that she thought she might be able to break through—
—until Ariel dropped from the tree to stand in her path.
And grinned.
“So, you’ve got the tile, huh?”
Inev forced a smile onto her disheveled face.
“This is exactly why I can’t stand commoners. The moment I look tired, you pounce to take advantage.”
She tightened her grip on her sword.
“No matter how tired I am, I won’t lose to the likes of—kyaa!”
Sand flew into her face.
As Inev threw up her arms to shield herself, Ariel’s hand darted in and snatched the tile.
Brushing sand from her face, Inev screamed,
“What are you doing?! Get that tile from her!”
Ariel slipped it lazily into her pocket.
“You want this?”
“She’s alone! No teammates! Get her!”
“We can’t let her cross before Lady Inev! Get her!”
Now the mob surged toward Ariel.
She’d already used most of her mana searching the mountain.
She didn’t have the power left to take them all on—
“But if you want it that badly… come and get it!”
Her pouch flew into the air.
“Catch it! Grab it!”
“If I get that, I pass! Move!”
The pouch soared impossibly high, arcing far out of reach.
Everyone turned their eyes skyward, sprinting in its direction.
Fweeeeee!
A whistle blew.
[The martial arts tournament preliminaries have ended.]
“What? Ended?!”
“But the pouch is right there!”
Baffled contestants turned toward the finish line.
The one who caught the pouch ripped it open—only to find it empty.
Standing at the finish line, Ariel smiled at them and pulled tiles from her clothes.
One, two, three, four—
And the last one she’d just stolen.
Five in total.
The announcer’s voice rang out—
[The only contestant advancing from Group G is Ariel Clasta. That is all.]
