I Am Raising a Daughter in This Life

Finals (2)

pop! Puff!

From the start, it’s very flashy.

Although the sun hadn’t even risen in the sky yet, countless firecrackers exploded in the sky above the arena to announce the opening.

From yesterday to today, the contest to determine the winner has had a slight change in schedule.

In the morning, the semi-finals of the magic contest and the swordsmanship contest are held, and the finals of the magic contest and swordsmanship contest are held after the cooking contest finals.

It was arranged considering the rest time of the participants.

The match started a little later than the previous day because the number of participants was reduced, but the atmosphere in the arena was definitely much more excited.

It was also because the most special VIP in the empire was present here.

The middle-aged man who exuded a clear presence that could be felt from across the street to here was Emperor Leonhart Ox Faerun.

next to it… … .

“Dad, do you see Dina over there? Dressed very nicely. right?”

“That’s right. Don’t you feel like a completely different person when you’re like that?”

“huh. Ah, but I recognized Dina right away?”

“Lizee seems to like Dina a lot. Dad almost didn’t know.”

“Huh, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it.”

Rize’s friend and first princess, Diana Rita Faerun, was sitting in a completely different outfit from yesterday.

With her bright golden hair and eyes fully exposed, Diana gave off a true princess-like elegance along with her outfit.

Even so, his expression was a little stiff as if he was nervous.

On the other side of Diana, there was a boy with a similar but different atmosphere.

It was the first prince, Lucas Eden Faerun.

Good looking and tall for a 13 year old. He already has excellent skills to the extent of helping Leonhart with government affairs.

The ideal prince was there. It was to the point of feeling like it was a relief that Rize wasn’t paying attention at all.

“Rize, do you know who that person is over there?”

“excuse me? next to Dina? uhm, well I don’t know.”

At the place I pointed to, there was a middle-aged man who looked about the same age as Leonhart.

I tilted my head and gave the answer to Rize, who couldn’t guess at all.

“Count Gordon Carlisle. The lord of Findel here.”

“Ah, that is the Count. Then the grandmother next to him is also a noble?”

Most of the people Rize talked about were beautiful women with gray hair, and it was fitting to say that they had aged beautifully.

“that’s right. The Count’s older sister, Duchess Olivia Carlisle.”

“Duke? Aren’t you very tall?”

“That’s true, but that duke is an honorary position.”

At the mention of an honorary position, Rize tilted her head.

Was it a word I had never heard before? I have added an explanation as concise as possible.

“You have the status of a duke, but you don’t have a territory, and you don’t have any duties as a duke. It’s just being called a duke.”

“Ah Okay! There’s a guy in the neighborhood who calls himself the general because his voice is so loud. You’re like that old man.”

“… … Well, similar.”

In hindsight, it wasn’t much of a difference.

It’s just the difference between whether it’s nationally recognized or not.

Rize nodded, then raised a puzzled voice again.

“But why is that duke an honorary position? What great work have you done?”

“You are incredibly strong.”

“really?!”

Rize, who said it was just that, raised her voice and twinkled her eyes at those words.

I had no choice but to add a supplementary explanation with a wry smile.

“The best knight in the empire, the battlefield empress, and the goddess of victory, etc., are called by more than one or two names. He is said to have won almost every war he participated in.”

“Wow, you are a real general. what? So now… … ?”

“He retired because of a serious injury. That’s why you received the duke’s status as an honorary title.”

“Aha, so that’s right… … .”

Rize nodded, but couldn’t hide her regret.

I also thought it was very unfortunate, so I smiled bitterly and glanced over the audience seats for no reason.

Then Irina’s cold voice came from the side.

“You’re very knowledgeable about the nobility, too.”

“I know to some extent.”

“At least give me some room to intervene.”

“Would you like to change seats?”

“please.”

I smiled and switched places with Irina, and Irina, who was sitting next to Rize, started talking little by little about the nobles who were located near the emperor.

When I listened closely, it seemed to go beyond simply explaining who was who and pointing out people to pay attention to.

As expected, the Archduke of Bilheim did not come here, but there were quite a few nobles there, perhaps trying to impress the emperor.

Among them, there were some who definitely shouldn’t be involved.

I gave Irina the role of informing it, and I saw that Scarlett, who was on the other side of Irina, was also listening.

Since she was only in the mercenary industry, she probably didn’t know much about nobles.

Douglas wasn’t interested in that either.

After looking at them for a moment, I turned my gaze toward the center of the arena.

Finally, the first order, the semifinals of the Magic Tournament, began.

* * *

The magic tournament was splendid.

Perhaps because Leonhart came to see it, more splendid magic than yesterday bloomed in the arena.

No, it must be because of that.

It was because the magic that focused only on showing was spread to the point that Rize hated it.

Because it was a magic application that was far from actual combat, the two wizards who advanced to the finals showed their skills worse than in the semifinals.

Since he poured so much mana, no matter how much time he took to rest, there was no way it wouldn’t affect him.

Still, the emperor personally awarded the winner, so it can be said that it was an honor for the family.

I messed up the distribution of power, but I wondered if that was the case because I was still young, not even 20 years old.

On the other hand, the semi-finals of the swordsmanship competition were decided very quickly.

Both of Rize and Patrick’s opponents were good enough to advance to the semifinals, but compared to the two, they were far behind.

In addition, Rize and Patrick just fought the duel with all their might without thinking about showing it to anyone.

That’s why both matches ended in less than 30 minutes despite being played in best-of-three matches.

Still, the audience was very satisfied and cheered, perhaps because of the strong swordsmanship of Rize and Patrick.

In addition, there was an effect that the anticipation for the final match between the two who won so overwhelmingly increased.

In particular, the final of the magic tournament was less than expected, so the audience increased their expectations as the final of the swordsmanship tournament approached.

Ah, the winner of the cooking contest finals in the middle was presented to the emperor’s meal tonight.

The judging of the art contest was over, but I didn’t pay much attention.

And finally, Rize and Patrick appeared in the waiting room.

“Waaa!”

“Patrick! Patrick!”

“Rize! Rize! Rize!”

As soon as the two appeared, cheers and cheers erupted from the entire audience.

For a moment, I could even feel the vibrations, as if an earthquake had occurred in the area.

“Our Rize, cheer up!”

Of course, I shouted with all my might.

You can’t lose to someone you don’t know with something like this.

Thanks to that, the tickling feeling I felt while watching the finals of the magic tournament seemed to subside.

Douglas was still solemnly silent, but Irina and Scarlett raised their voices as much as they could and cheered for Lise.

The crowd’s enthusiasm was so strong that the host had no choice but to lift the loudspeaker and put it down, while Lise and Patrick looked puzzled and did not know what to do.

However, Rize soon met my eyes, smiled and regained her composure.

Eventually, it took quite a while for the intestines to subside.

“Thank you for your warm support, everyone. Can you be a little bit quieter, please? thank you. Thank you very much. Then can we start soon?”

Again, Nelson, who was in charge of the moderator and referee, came up and calmed the audience down.

Then, after bowing deeply toward Leonhart, he began to speak while looking around the audience, which had finally calmed down.

“Has Findel ever been this hot? We hope this heat continues, but we can’t put it off any longer! The 1st Swordsmanship Tournament to be held in Findel! The long-awaited finals! We introduce the two contestants right here!”

“Waaa!”

Ignoring the shouts again, Nelson raised his voice.

“First of all, the qualifiers, the round of 16, the quarterfinals, and the semifinals are all victorious! All of them won by an overwhelming margin! Will that momentum continue in the finals? 13 years old this year! But skills are more than that! Fae ae tri profit!”

As Patrick stepped onto the stage, cheers poured out as if the hall was about to leave. It was clear from the cheers and shouts of his name that Patrick was embarrassed and fed up.

Nelson immediately raised his voice, as if he couldn’t wait for the cheers to end.

“That opponent!”

I wanted to go ahead and make it quiet, but fortunately the cheers died down and Nelson’s voice clearly resonated throughout the hall.

“This is also a success! Preliminaries, Round of 16, Round of 8, and Round of 4! One way or the other, either side are monsters! But he is only 11 years old! Are age gaps and weight class gaps just numbers? Hey, hey, hey!”

With a shout that seemed to leave the hall again, I also called out to Rize.

I had no doubt that I would win, but I wanted to give my best effort.

Rize, who came up to the stage, fortunately did not seem to be shaken, took a little breath, and soon had a soft smile on her lips.

My daughter is the best!

I felt like I was about to burst into tears.

However, this had to be endured for Rize to win.

Gradually, the hall calmed down, and before anyone knew it, Rize and Patrick were facing each other with their wooden swords in their hands.

Nelson, who had been standing in the meantime, opened his mouth again, scanning the surroundings slowly with the loudspeaker in his hand.

“Then, from now on, 3 out of 5 wins! Let’s start the first match of the swordsmanship tournament finals aaa!”

As if they had exhausted their energy to shout, the audience responded with strong applause, and Nelson hung the loudspeaker around his waist and walked backwards.

Following Nelson’s instructions, Lise and Patrick took their positions, and as Nelson’s hand went up, the hall slowly fell into silence.

As if all those loud cheers were lies, there was so much tension that even though there were so many people in the arena, not even a sound of breathing could be heard.

and… … Nelson’s hand was down.

“start!”

It was Rize who jumped in first.

While lowering his stance, he dug right in front of the opponent, put strength on his stepping foot, and swung his wooden sword at the same time.

It was a technique that blew the opponent away like a ball, but… … .

Aww!

This time, it was lightly blocked by Patrick’s wooden sword.

However, Rize did not stop there, and twisted her sword while turning her body slightly.

As the balance collapsed, Patrick, who was trying to counterattack, was also forced to lose his posture.

Rize pressed Patrick with quick movements.

from top to bottom.

from bottom to top.

rotating in a spiral.

The audience was immersed in the numerous traces drawn in the air with a wooden sword.

Of course, in the midst of that, Patrick, who had solidified his defense, was calmly blocking the attacks.

Only the sound of wooden swords colliding did not stop in the hall, and Patrick, who was only defending himself, took a step forward.

Boooooong!

It was a simple swing, but it sounded like it was tearing through the air.

However, as expected, Rize had already stepped back.

Along with him, the leg that had not been used for an attack so far wrapped around Patrick’s wooden sword that had been swung downward.

Right after that, Rise’s wooden sword, stretched out as if it had become a single spear, touched the tip of Patrick’s throat.

“… … .”

There was silence for a moment.

Afterwards, people’s mouths opened all at once, as if they had promised with Nelson’s decision.

“The winner of the first match is Rize!”

“Waaa!”

Praise poured in for the match that was so splendid that you couldn’t take your eyes off it.

Rize, who continued to attack like water, was Rize, but Patrick, who defended all of them, was also worthwhile.

Still, I thought Rize was a bit ahead of me… … Reality, however, did not always turn out as expected.

“The winner of the second match in the finals! This is Patrick!”