Advancement to the Finals
Lux’s Side
…The participants in the sword tournament, who had originally numbered nearly one hundred, had now been narrowed down to four.
Myself, Florence-san, and two others… Up until now, the matches had gone quite smoothly, partly thanks to practicing swordsmanship with Florence-san and Violet-san, but reaching the semifinals meant the level was bound to rise considerably.
In the worst case, I might end up facing Florence-san here, forcing one of us to bring the other down.
As I silently prayed to avoid that, tension mounting in my chest, Rezamiliana-sama spoke.
“In the first semifinal match, Floria Florence of the Duke household and Nora Ashwell, also of the Duke household, are to promptly move to the center of the arena.”
Hearing those words, Florence-san, who was seated beside me, stood up, turned toward me with a smile, and said.
“I am truly relieved that it seems I will not have to face Lux-sama in a semifinal match where we would be forced to defeat each other.”
“Ah! I was just thinking the exact same thing right now!”
Feeling a little happy that Florence-san had been thinking the same as me, I said that, and Florence-san replied.
“Well then, I shall go and claim my ticket to the finals first.”
“P-Please do your best!”
When I said that, Florence-san, still wearing her usual calm expression, walked toward the center of the arena.
Even though this was the semifinals of such a large tournament, she did not seem nervous at all… If anything, I might actually be more nervous about Florence-san’s match than she was.
Holding onto that tension, I shouted in my heart.
…I am cheering for you! Florence-san!!
Floria’s Side
Moving to the center of the arena, Floria glanced sideways toward Lux.
Then, she felt Lux’s intensely passionate gaze directed straight at her.
Lux-sama’s support feels as if it is resonating directly in my chest… Please rest assured, Lux-sama, I will not suffer defeat in a place like this.
“To be looking toward the audience instead of at the opponent before you in the semifinals… You certainly seem rather confident, don’t you?”
Facing her opponent Nora, who had spoken those words, Floria replied.
“My apologies, I certainly did not mean it that way.”
“Hah! I’ll defeat you, Floria Florence of the Florence household, and make sure the name of the Duke Ashwell household echoes throughout this entire nation!!”
“I see… In that case, please show me your swordsmanship to your heart’s content.”
“You don’t need to tell me, I’ll do it!!”
After that, when Rezamiliana told both of them to ready their swords…
“Begin!”
She gave the signal.
And in the very next moment, Nora closed the distance on Floria and swung her sword head-on… or so it seemed, before slipping behind her.
“Got you!!”
But Floria, having read Nora’s move, brought her sword behind her back to block the strike and said.
“If we are speaking only of body movement, it could be called a splendid feint, but I believe you ruined it by the way you held your sword while closing the distance with me.”
“Shut up! So what if you saw through me just once!!”
After that, Nora launched a series of continuous attacks at Floria.
Floria deflected them all with the minimum necessary sword movements, and spoke.
“As expected of someone from a Duke household who has made it this far, you are clearly well-versed not only in the fundamentals but also in advanced techniques… However… it seems unfortunate that I am still the superior.”
With those words, Floria parried Nora’s sword, and with the momentum of that parry, threw Nora off balance. She then took advantage of the opening and thrust her rapier toward Nora’s neck.
“Tch!”
“Your swordsmanship was fine as well.”
“…That is enough! The victor, Floria Florence!”
At the sound of Rezamiliana’s voice, cheers erupted from the audience.
Then, Floria quietly lowered her rapier, returned it to its sheath, and after Nora did the same, Nora spoke to her.
“…I’ll let you have this one, but one day the standing of the Duke Florence household will belong to my Duke Ashwell household instead! You’d better be ready!!”
“I shall look forward to it.”
With that reply from Floria, Ashwell left the arena.
After watching her back until she was gone, Floria also exchanged her sword for a new one and returned to her seat, where Lux, sitting beside her, spoke.
“Congratulations on advancing to the finals, Florence-san!”
“Thank you… Next is your turn, Lux-sama. I will be cheering for you.”
“Ah! Thank you very much!”
Lux’s Side
…In the second semifinal match, as I crossed swords with my opponent, I thought.
I have to win here and reach the finals… Not only for Florence-san and Violet-san, who practiced with me, but also for Siana and Elina-san… That is why I absolutely must win!!
Thinking only of that, I continued to clash swords. Gradually, I managed to grasp my opponent’s habits, knocked their sword away, and thrust mine at them.
“That is enough! The victor, Lux Rodwell! And with this, the finals are set: Floria Florence of the Duke household versus Lux Rodwell of the Count household!”
The moment Rezamiliana-sama announced that, the arena was engulfed in louder cheers than ever before.
I did it…! The finals…!!
Swept up in those cheers, feeling a surge in my chest, I went down the corridor beneath the spectator seats to change my sword, and then…
“Master! Congratulations on advancing to the finals!”
“S-Siana!!”
There stood Siana, and the instant I saw her… carried away by the emotion of the moment, I pulled her into a strong embrace.