CHAPTER 324: SHURASAKI FESTIVAL—MAIN TOURNAMENT DRAW①

 

It was the opening day of the Shurasaki Festival.

The atmosphere in the city had changed completely since yesterday.

「This year’s main tournament participants have been decided! Betting closes when today’s draw begins!!」

「What!? Is it true Hozuki Retsuma didn’t make it into the main tournament!?」

「Yeeeeaaaaah!! I won a ticket to watch today’s draaaaw!!」

「Seriously!? Wasn’t it ridiculously hard to get one this time!?」

「Step right up, step right up!! Grilled squid, five hundred yen a skewer!! Come and get it! You won’t regret it!」

We were in central Amane-kyo. Despite the early hour, the entire city was already beginning to buzz with festival excitement.

Colorful banners fluttered in the wind around an enormous building, while stalls selling Bukyo specialties lined the streets.

Grilled squid, grilled fish, meat-wrapped rice balls, dango, sake. They even sold sweets shaped like weapons.

There were lottery stalls, shooting galleries, and apparently even gambling dens.

And everywhere I looked, there were people, people, and more people.

Beyond them, towering over the center of Amane-kyo, stood the enormous building that would host the Shurasaki Festival’s main tournament—the ‘Tenka Touden’.

It was a massive circular arena.

Beyond its white stone outer walls, rows upon rows of spectator seats surrounded the central ring.

An enormous wooden dome formed the roof, with an opening at its center that exposed the sky. Morning sunlight streamed through onto the fighting stage, illuminating Amane-kyo’s crest carved into the floor.

Multiple layers of magical barriers surrounded the ring.

Apparently, they were there to keep the spectators safe, no matter how fierce the battles became.

The crowd was large enough to fill that enormous arena to capacity.

The main tournament itself wasn’t taking place here today.

And yet—

「It’s starting!」

「Here we go! Here we gooooo!!」

「Now I’m getting fired uuuuup!!」

The spectators were already as excited as if the main tournament were underway.

Standing beside Kinu and Zen, I surveyed the arena from the competitors’ waiting area.

「…Man, this crowd’s really fired up.」

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

It was like an entirely different world from the Battlefield of Scattered Blossoms, where we had fought yesterday.

There had been plenty of excitement there, too, but it had still been a bleak, brutal battlefield.

Today was different.

There was laughter.

There were cheers.

I could even hear music.

Everything about the atmosphere practically screamed ‘festival.’

「Aun.」

「Hm?」

Just as I was getting a little carried away by the excitement, Kinu tugged at my sleeve.

「There were lots of stalls on the way here.」

「Yeah. There sure were! They even had shooting galleries and goldfish scooping, remember?」

「Lots of food.」

「Oh… That’s what you meant?」

「Sweets are important.」

「Let’s pick up a bunch of things on the way back.」

「Mm! Let’s get some for Yurai and Magarasu, too.」

Kinu nodded in satisfaction.

Beside her, Zen chuckled.

「You two really are always the same. Don’t you get nervous?」

「Hm? Well, a little, sure. But I’m more excited than anything.」

I looked up at the spectator seats again.

Things were different now.

Starting today, there would be an audience.

And we would fight in front of them.

The thought naturally brought a grin to my face.

Then—

「LADIES AND GENTLEMEEEEN!! Thank you all for joining us here at the Tenka Touden today!!」

A voice suddenly rang throughout the arena.

In that instant, the Tenka Touden shook.

「「「YEAAAAAAAH!!」」」

The crowd erupted as one at the announcement.

A lone man stood in the center of the fighting stage.

He wore a flamboyant outfit and held an enormous voice-amplifying magic tool in one hand.

「Beginning todaaaay!! The greatest martial tournament in our beloved Bukyo Kingdom!! Its name—the SHURASAKI FESTIVAAAAAL!!」

「It’s festival tiiiiime!!」

「Hell yeaaaaah!!」

「Who’s gonna win this year!?」

Cheers that were almost roars engulfed the entire venue.

My eyes narrowed involuntarily.

Incredible.

So this is… what the main tournament feels like.

「Thirty-two competitors have fought their way through the preliminary round that concluded yesterday!!」

An image of one section of the competitors’ waiting room appeared.

As an enormous magic tool projected the participants’ images into the air—

「First up, the very first competitor to qualifyyyy!!」

Kinu was the first to appear in a floating close-up.

「An enchanting fox woman!! She swept aside her fellow competitors with overwhelming magical power!! Will she take this year’s tournament by storm!? Her name is KINUUUU!!」

「Kinu-chaaaan!!」

「Good luck!! We’re rooting for you!!」

「Those fox ears! So cuuuute!!」

「Wooooooo!!」

「K-Kinu-tan… Hahh, hahh…」

H-Hey! Wasn’t that last guy in Recria, too!? Surely that’s just a coincidence… right?

Kinu’s ears twitched at the cheers.

「…Am I popular?」

「Well, you did qualify first.」

「Heheh♪ …But they’re still not cheering enough.」

She puffed out her cheeks, looking a little dissatisfied.

…I feel like Kinu’s personality is gradually becoming more like mine.

「Next, our fifth qualifier!! A wandering warrior shrouded in mystery!! GENMAAAA!!」

The introductions continued, and the next man shown was the one I had briefly spotted at the eastern gate yesterday.

Dressed in a loose indigo kimono, he puffed on his kiseru.

His expression had a distinctly languid air.

…So his name’s Genma.

I clenched my fists without realizing it.

I hadn’t even seen him fight yet.

That only made me more eager to discover just how strong he was.

「And now, our seventh qualifier!!」

The next person projected into the air was me.

「A young Kijin descended from the 【War God】, Doumeki Daigoku!! DOUMEKI AUN!!」

The instant my name rang out, the crowd erupted.

「It’s the War God’s grandson everyone’s been talking about!!」

「He’s the guy who came from another country, right!?」

「He qualified seventh!? He’s the real deal!」

「Hey, isn’t that a tachi he’s carrying!?」

…What the heck?

Seeing an image of myself floating in the air felt strange, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Actually, having such a huge crowd cheer for me felt pretty damn good.

「Aun.」

「Hm?」

「You’re famous.」

「…Haha. Grandpa is, you mean.」

「But by the time this tournament ends, no one will ever forget your name.」

Kinu smiled happily as the other competitors continued to be introduced one after another.

Each introduction drew another wave of cheers from the stands.

A man with an enormous kanabo strapped to his back.

A woman holding a naginata.

An old man wielding a kusarigama.

A warrior carrying two swords.

A spearman.

An iron fan wielder.

Some even carried weapons I didn’t know the names of.

I had yet to see what they could do.

Even so, I could tell they were strong.

「Now, now, NOW!! With our introductions complete!!」

The announcer raised his voice.

「Let’s move on to today’s main event!!」

A stir ran through the spectator seats.

An enormous pedestal was carried into the ring.

Thirty-two tags rested on top of it.

Each had a number engraved on it.

「The Shurasaki Festival MAIN TOURNAMENT DRAAAAAW!!」

A deafening cheer accompanied the announcer’s declaration, sending the excitement in the arena soaring even higher.

「Competitors will draw in the order they qualified!!」

I see.

Apparently, the sooner someone had qualified, the sooner they would get to draw a tag.

In that case—

「First up, our first qualifier, Kinu!!」

「Go on, Kinu.」

「Mm. I’m off.」

Kinu gave a small nod and walked toward the ring.

With everyone’s attention fixed on her, she approached the pedestal and looked down at the thirty-two facedown tags.

「Now then!! Our first qualifier, Kinu!! Which position will she draaaaw!?」

「…This one.」

Without hesitating, she picked up a tag and turned it over.

「Kinu has drawn… NUMBER ⑤!!」

I committed the number to memory and looked over the tournament bracket again.

The first-round matches were arranged in numerical order: ① versus ②, ③ versus ④, ⑤ versus ⑥, and so on. The first half, numbers ① through ⑯, formed Block A, while the second half, numbers ⑰ through ㉜, formed Block B.

So whoever draws ⑥ will be Kinu’s first-round opponent.

After that, the second, third, and fourth qualifiers were called up in order, filling in the bracket one slot at a time.

Every number drawn set the spectators off again, and the announcer stoked their excitement.

Then—

「Next up!! Our fifth qualifier—GENMA!!」

Showing no sign of nervousness, Genma slowly approached the drawing table with his kiseru between his lips.

「We have received reports that, during yesterday’s preliminary round, he defeated the tournament’s leading favorite, Hozuki Retsuma, without suffering a single injury!」

The announcer’s voice grew even louder.

A wave of astonishment swept through the stands.

「He beat Retsuma!?」

「No way!?」

「Weren’t they keeping the details of the preliminary round secret until now!?」

「How the hell did he beat him!?」

The preliminary round had been held without spectators, and its details hadn’t been made public until this very moment.

That was precisely why—

The revelation hit them so hard.

「Now, which position will Genma draw!?」

Genma stopped in front of the pedestal and toyed with his kiseru as he surveyed the twenty-eight remaining tags.

「…Well, this one’ll do.」

He picked one at random and turned it over.

「NUMBER ㉖!!」

Another cheer rose from the stands.

Genma himself, however, merely glanced at the tag without any particular reaction.

Then he turned on his heel and left the ring.

It was as though he were saying that neither his opponent nor his block would change the outcome.

There was something almost resigned about his cool detachment, as if he already knew how it would all end.

In stark contrast to Genma, the excitement in the arena continued to build.

And then—

「Next, our seventh qualifier! DOUMEKI AUN!!」

My name was called.

「All right, I’m up.」

I stood and headed toward the drawing table.

The crowd grew louder with every step. The moment I emerged into the vast open arena, their excitement hit me head-on.

Nearly thirty thousand spectators.

Every last one of them was looking at me.

Strangely, though, I wasn’t nervous.

If anything, I was enjoying myself.

I stopped in front of the pedestal. Twenty-six tags remained.

I picked one out—

「This one.」

And turned it over.

「Now then!! The number Aun has drawn iiiis—!!」

As the announcer shouted and the spectators held their breath, my upturned tag appeared on the arena’s projection magic tool.

「Th-there it is!! NUMBER ①!! Aun will be one of the fighters opening the tournament!!」

The crowd exploded with cheers.

I looked down at the tag.

The opening match, huh? …All right. I like that.

I still didn’t know who my opponent would be.

And I would have to make it all the way to the final to fight Genma.

There was one more thing, too.

I looked at position ⑤ on the tournament bracket.

Kinu’s name was already there.

I was ①. Kinu was ⑤.

In other words, if we both kept winning—

We would meet in the third round.

The quarterfinals.

「…Looks like I’ll be facing Kinu pretty early.」

Muttering to myself, I returned to the waiting room and met Kinu’s gaze.

「I get to fight you.」

「Looks that way.」

「Will you fight me seriously?」

「Of course.」

「Mm. I’ll go all out, too.」

Her eyes were clear and unwavering.

I couldn’t help smiling.

Kinu was my precious partner.

That was exactly why opportunities for us to fight each other with everything we had were so rare.

This time, however, was different.

When we had decided to enter this tournament together, we had both known this could happen. Kinu had chosen to participate anyway. …Actually, I even suspected that getting to fight me was part of the reason she had entered.

There was no way she would hold back, even against me.

And with Kinu as my opponent, I could go all out, too.

In fact—

If I hold back, I’ll definitely lose. Hell, she’ll kill me in more ways than one…

The thought sent a slight chill down my spine.

…No, seriously. Kinu really will get angry.

That was why, if we fought, I would give it everything I had.

Still, first things first. I need to make it that far.

For now, I was more interested in who my opening opponent would be.

The position paired with my ① was ②.

「Now then—」

I looked from the ① tag I had drawn to the thirty-one other tags shown in the projection.

「What kind of guy’s going to draw ②?」