Chapter 11 TSH Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 3

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The day of the tournament was clear and sunny. Participants were given numbered tags and assigned to various venues by their number to compete in the preliminary matches. Only those who won their way through the preliminaries would get to compete in the main event at the arena.

The matches were fought with wooden swords. They might be wooden swords, but a bad hit could still be fatal. However, even if a competitor killed an opponent during a match, they would not be charged with a crime. All participants had signed a waiver accepting any and all consequences.

Sieg won his preliminary matches without issue and advanced to the main tournament. The arena, the main venue, was packed to capacity, so successful that it was standing room only. Tiers of seats were arranged in a staircase pattern, surrounding the central stage.

Vendors moved through the aisles between the seats, selling simple snacks, light meals, and various sweets. Alcoholic beverages were sold at stalls outside, and attendees were allowed to bring them into the venue. Beer, cider, and mead were selling like crazy.

After each match, a deafening roar of cheers, loud enough to shake the arena, would erupt, adding to the festive atmosphere. It seemed they were using a magic tool for amplification, as announcements and play-by-play commentary boomed out, making for a very entertaining tournament.

Sieg was genuinely impressed.

It really lives up to its name as a city of commerce… They’ve even turned a competition like this into entertainment and a business.

In the time between his matches, Sieg went out into the city to continue his travel preparations. He did this because if he stayed in the waiting room, he’d just get hassled by the other fighters, saying things like, “This is no place for a child,” or, “Get lost, kid.”

After finishing his shopping, Sieg returned to the arena and warmed up to check his condition. With each match he fought, through the preliminaries and the main tournament, he was slowly getting his feel for combat back. Right after awakening as the Hero, his body hadn’t moved quite as he’d wanted, but he was in much better shape now.

I’m glad I entered the tournament after all… I get the magic item, too. Two birds with one stone.

Sieg breezed through the main tournament rounds as well, and now, only the final match remained. It had been an incredibly chaotic tournament. An unknown boy had advanced all the way to the end, causing a massive upset in the betting pools. To top it all off, his final opponent was also an unknown swordswoman. Almost no one had bet on either of them.

Sieg thought of the blacksmith he’d entrusted his sacred silver sword to.

I wonder if the master and his apprentice bet on me…

As Sieg was pondering this, an announcement began to echo from the amplification magic tool set up in the arena.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! IT’S THE FINAL MATCH OF OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY TOURNAMENT! THE PINNACLE OF OVER TWO HUNDRED WARRIORS WILL FINALLY BE DECIDED!”

Oooooooooooh! —

A massive roar echoed through the arena, followed by thunderous applause. The crowd’s excitement and anticipation surged, and the entire arena was electrified with a feverish energy.

“FIRST, LET’S INTRODUCE THIS YOUNG MAN! APPEARING LIKE A COMET OUT OF NOWHERE, HE’S MOWED DOWN ONE FORMIDABLE OPPONENT AFTER ANOTHER TO REACH THE FINALS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE—THIS MAN—”

A tournament official gestured for Sieg to enter. Sieg gave a wry smile at the introduction and walked onto the stage.

“THE MAN WHO HAS TURNED THIS ENTIRE TOURNAMENT ON ITS HEAD—THE BOY FROM THE FRONTIER, SIEG!”

Uwooooooooooooh! —

Mixed in with the cheers and applause, angry roars and jeers like, “Give me back my money!” “You gotta be kidding me!” and, “This is all your fault!” could also be heard.

Sieg ignored the insults, gave a slight bow, and waited in his designated spot. After a moment, the introduction for his opponent began.

“AND HIS OPPONENT, THE BIGGEST DARK HORSE OF THEM ALL! WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED A FINAL LIKE THIS!? HER FIERCE ATTACKS, WHICH BELIE HER GRACEFUL APPEARANCE, HAVE LEFT EVEN VETERAN FIGHTERS STUNNED! THIS COMPETITOR, LIKE A SINGLE, NAMELESS FLOWER—”

Sieg let out a breath and waited for his opponent to appear.

“LET ME INTRODUCE HER! THE VERY SYMBOL OF THIS TOURNAMENT’S CHAOS—THE MAIDEN DOLL, LADY JULIET!”

As his opponent emerged from the opposite entrance, the crowd erupted in cheers, and a wave of applause broke out.

Uwooooooooooooooooooh! —

“LADY JULIET!”

“JULIET IS MY BRIDE!”

“WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!”

Lady Juliet—the Fifth Princess, Cordelia—walked onto the stage, looking slightly embarrassed. With a somewhat troubled expression, she gave a small bow to the crowd. Her dutiful gesture only made the audience cheer and applaud even louder.

She’s quite popular…

Sieg remained expressionless as he gazed at his opponent, the princess. He knew she was participating; her name had been on the tournament bracket. He had hoped she would lose somewhere along the way, but it seemed things hadn’t gone so conveniently.

Having trained with extraordinary determination since childhood, Princess Cordelia’s skill with the sword was now among the best in the royal capital. If she were allowed to use her specialty, magic swordsmanship, not even a member of the Central Knights could stand against her. However, almost no one knew this. Emma was likely the only one who did.

The princess had trained silently, secretly, and all alone, piling up session after session to achieve her grand dream of joining the Hero’s party— The reason the princess had stopped in this territory was to test her own strength in the tournament.

The two faced each other in the center of the stage.

The princess, dressed in practical clothes, looked at Sieg as if he were shining.

“I knew my final opponent would be you, Sieg-san… I had a feeling it would be.”

Glancing behind her, he saw her guard, Emma, watching with a rare look of concern. Sieg replied,

“To me, you’re just another opponent. Nothing changes. I’m going to defeat you.”

Princess Cordelia’s face paled. She bit her lip and stared at Sieg. A strong light ignited in her eyes.

“I won’t let that happen. For I am the swordswoman who will stand by the Hero’s side.”

Their gazes locked. The tense atmosphere silenced the entire arena. Sieg, hiding his identity as the Hero, and Cordelia, concealing her rank as a princess— The referee declared in a trembling voice.

“Th-Then, the final match of the Tenth Anniversary Tournament… will now begin! Start!”

Hero Sieg drew his sword. Princess Cordelia kicked off the floor. The two prodigies clashed in the center of the stage.

The princess closed the distance in an instant, her posture low. Her speed rivaled that of a warrior enhanced with strengthening magic, but she wasn’t using any spells. She had been born with an immense amount of mana, which she constantly circulated throughout her body. The mana pathways formed in the process had come to supplement parts of her nervous system. As a result, her body moved autonomously, before her brain could even give the command. It was a unique constitution. Her weakness as a child stemmed from her inability to handle such a large amount of mana. The person who taught her how to control it could never have predicted this outcome.

Once in range, the princess unleashed a furious barrage of stabs without even looking at Sieg. He parried them easily, but most people, seeing it for the first time, would have been defeated in the first exchange.

She could attack without looking at her target. The princess’s expression was blank, her gaze unfocused, making it impossible to tell what she was looking at. But her attacks were astonishingly precise and incredibly fast. The sheer number of them was terrifying. It was a feat made possible by her unique constitution.

Before she could see, before she could think, her body would react perfectly to the situation. It was no wonder the announcer had called her the “Maiden Doll.” Her emotionless face and perfectly precise sword strikes made her look exactly like an automaton.

When Sieg had defended against the entire flurry, the princess swiftly distanced herself and closed her eyes as if falling asleep. The next moment—she was right in front of him. The crowd gasped at the teleport-like movement. Even Sieg was surprised.

The princess had just demonstrated the flash step technique he had spoken of the previous night. She must have visualized the movement over and over in her head, and her body had responded.

With her eyes still closed, she launched into another series of attacks. Fighting someone whose gaze you couldn’t read was incredibly difficult. It was nearly impossible to predict their intent or their next move. That’s how much information is conveyed through the eyes.

Sieg rolled to the side to dodge and quickly tried to create distance. However, the princess pursued him relentlessly, refusing to let him get away. Sieg found himself on the defensive against her unpredictable onslaught. Sensing a shift in his posture, the princess reacted.

“There.”

With a small whisper, the princess unleashed her ultimate technique. It was a three-move combination: a reverse diagonal slash, a spinning cut, and a thrust.

The audience was mesmerized by the fluid, linked series of attacks. But—Sieg dodged every single one. As the princess’s momentum left her off-balance, he swept her leg. He caught her arm as she tried to regain her footing and threw her sharply over his shoulder. A moment later, she was on her back on the floor.

“…Huh…?”

She stared at the sky, stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Sieg didn’t press the attack. He distanced himself and let out a breath.

A trick might work on a first-timer, but not on someone who’s seen it before… Sorry.

In his previous life, he had sparred with her at her own request. He had seen the prototype of this very technique back then. He hadn’t been able to dodge it all at the time, but now, reading her moves was simple.

In terms of pure stats, Sieg was already on par with his prime in the previous timeline. All he lacked was real combat experience.

The crowd murmured, watching the unbelievable scene in stunned silence. Even to a layman, the princess’s attack had been magnificent, seemingly impossible to dodge. And yet, somehow, she was the one on the ground.

Amid the quiet murmurs, the princess slowly got to her feet and looked at Sieg. Her face, for once, was contorted with anger. She glared at Sieg and cried out.

“Sieg-san! Why didn’t you press your attack!? Are you holding back because you know me!? Unforgivable… Do not insult my efforts!”

Fueled by anger, the princess charged. Sieg deflected her sword, swallowing the uncomfortable feeling welling in his chest.

…You let your emotions take over. With that, your defeat is certain.

He had intentionally not followed up on his attack, knowing it would wound her pride. Her unique ability only worked when she let her body move on instinct. When she tried to move with reason or emotion, her movements actually became slower.

Sieg felt a pang of guilt as he watched her dulled sword strikes, but he pushed the feeling aside and focused. He couldn’t get involved with her anymore. If she found out he was the Hero, it would become a huge problem. For the sake of his journey, he had to push her away here and now. And the quickest way to do that was—to become her enemy. Sieg steeled his resolve and, for the first time since the match began, took a proper stance.

Seeing this, the princess grew wary and halted her attack. The two faced off in the center of the stage. The strange, heavy atmosphere silenced the arena. Sieg’s expression twisted for a moment before he looked straight at the princess.

I’m sorry… but you’re going back to the capital. I’ll have to seriously injure you here. That way—you won’t be able to chase the Hero anymore!

—HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

With a piercing battle cry, Sieg unleashed all of his hidden fighting spirit. A sinister aura erupted from his body. A tangible, thick killing intent, imbued with [Intimidation], washed over Princess Cordelia.

“Ugh!”

She choked out a sound, her eyes wide. Tears welled up. Her whole body began to tremble, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably. A terrifying fear, the likes of which she had never experienced, overwhelmed her.

“…Uu… ah…”

Her strength gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. The intense aura reached even the audience, and those in the front rows began to faint one by one. The clear abnormality of the situation sent the crowd into a panic. Ignoring the commotion, Sieg looked down at the princess and spoke.

“The swordswoman who will stand by the Hero’s side, was it…? Fine, if you call yourself a swordswoman—”

Sieg raised his sword. It was impossible to believe it was just made of wood. Enveloped in his aura, the wooden sword glowed with a dull light, looking like a demonic blade from legend. Sieg took a large step forward.

“—Then you must be prepared to die!”

“—!!”

Unable to even scream, the princess could only watch as Sieg brought the sword down in a powerful overhead slash. Just before the merciless blow could land—

“We forfeit! We forfeit, we forfeit! We give uuuuuuup!”

Emma, the royal guard, rushed onto the stage. She spread her arms in front of the princess, her face a mask of desperation as she pleaded.

“We surrender! Please allow us to withdraw! I’m beggin’ ya!”

Seeing the guard protecting her master, Sieg reluctantly halted his attack. He let out a great breath and sheathed his wooden sword, then glanced at the referee and said,

“…You heard her.”

The referee blinked for a moment, then snapped back to reality and hastily announced.

“Eh? Ah! L-Lady Juliet has withdrawn! Therefore, the winner is the boy from the frontier, Sieeeeeeeeg!”

There was no applause from the crowd, no cheers. An air of confusion hung over the entire arena. Sieg scanned the venue and scoffed.

“What’s this? I won, didn’t I? You got a problem with that!? How about a little applause for the champion!?”

That one comment sent the crowd into an uproar.

“Screw you!”

“Who the hell do you think you are!?”

“I bet he cheated somehow!”

Sieg remained on the stage, enduring the jeers and insults of the crowd. While he did, Emma led the dazed, shell-shocked princess away from the arena. Sieg deflected the taunts and calmly dodged the wooden mugs being thrown at him as he slowly descended the stage.

The arena was on the verge of a riot. Sieg ran to the tournament headquarters and began to negotiate with the organizers. He argued—If I take the prize money, the crowd’s anger will never subside. At this rate, we could have a riot on our hands. So just give me the secondary prize. If I get the magic item, I’ll be on my way—

The officials, desperate to control the chaos, immediately accepted his proposal. Sieg told the officials, “Handle the rest however you see fit,” and after receiving the magic item, he left through a back exit. From the arena behind him, he could hear an official’s voice booming.

“A-Attention everyone! The winner has apologized for the disturbance and has declined the prize money and the letter of recommendation to the knights. In light of this, in an unprecedented move, we will be declaring Lady Juliet the winner by default—”

Sieg returned to the inn, went to his room, and collapsed onto his bed. He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes for a moment.

Did that work… I think?

He replayed the events in his mind. He hadn’t been able to injure the princess, but he had at least managed to push her away. She must have learned her lesson from this defeat. He wanted to believe she would no longer get involved.

Still… maybe that last part was an unnecessary gesture…

He was referring to provoking the crowd and causing a scene. He had done it thinking it would divert their attention from the princess and protect her dignity. It was the least he could do as an apology for publicly humiliating her.

After a while, Sieg composed himself and sat up. He took a small leather pouch from his pocket. Inside was the magic item from the tournament. It was a small ring set with a magic stone.

Sieg stared at the ring and used [Appraisal]. The results appeared in his mind.

[Ring of Concealment] When worn, makes it more difficult to perceive the wearer’s rank, stats, acquired Blessings, and class.

As he’d heard, it was a ring with decent cloaking abilities. However, there were plenty of magic items with this level of power. As a tournament prize, it was considered a dud. Not many people wanted it, and it wouldn’t fetch a high price at a magic shop. Nevertheless, Sieg had wanted this item for a specific reason.

The ring had a hidden function. Almost no one knew about it; Sieg had only overheard it by chance during his previous journey. To activate the hidden function, there was something he had to do. He had to infuse the magic stone with a massive amount of mana to release its functional limiter.

Sieg pinched the ring, took a deep breath, and began to pour mana into it from his fingertips. But it wasn’t easy.

…The resistance is stronger than I thought…!

Magic circuits were inscribed on the stone. By forcing an excessive amount of mana through those circuits, he could open a connection to the hidden circuits. Doing so would allow him to use all of the ring’s functions.

As Sieg poured all his mana into it, the stone’s color gradually changed from black to red. When it was completely crimson, he stopped infusing his mana. He panted, looking at the ring.

That used up a lot of mana… But that should have unlocked it.

He used [Appraisal] again.

[Ring of Disguise] When worn, obstructs appraisal and allows the wearer to freely falsify the results of stats, rank, etc.

Seeing the new result, Sieg breathed a sigh of relief.

Good… it looks like it worked.

With this, even if someone with an appraisal skill or item tried to check him, they wouldn’t find out he was the Hero.

Sieg immediately put the ring on and imagined rewriting his own stats. He gazed at his reflection in the water of the washbasin in the corner and appraised himself.

The results had been rewritten exactly as he’d imagined. He now appeared to be a moderately strong adventurer.

This is good. Perfect!

Satisfied with his day’s work, Sieg immediately checked out of the inn and moved to another one near a different gate. The princess and her guard would probably stay at the lord’s castle tonight, but it was better to be safe. He needed to avoid any and all contact with her.

Tomorrow, I’ll pick up my sword from the blacksmith, and then I’m gone.

After causing such a commotion, he had no intention of staying in this city any longer.