Chapter 117: 27th Floor: Kalisha Takes the Lead
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: 27th Floor: Kalisha Takes the Lead
The heavy silence was broken by the screams of the two crown princess candidates.
Blood spurted, and half a beat later, Elina and Hayla's screams echoed simultaneously.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!!!"
"What was that..."
"The Mercenary King's head?"
"N-No way!!"
"Even if it's a duel..."
Normally, in a duel of honor, you rarely see someone's head explode the moment it starts, like Kalisha just did.
Most fighters exchange a cliché line or two, like 'In the name of justice, I will not forgive you!' or 'Come and get me!'
And once a winner and loser are decided, they cleanly accept the outcome, and that's that.
Of course, if emotions are running high, they might kill each other, but that's not the norm. And blowing someone's head to bits without a trace is something only a true villainess would do.
Kalisha, the Empire's worst villainess.
Surprisingly, the villainess they all cursed was acting like a real villainess!
But there was nothing to say.
The rules allowed for killing, and what's wrong with a villainess acting like one?
The villainess Kalisha's reputation went from -10,000 to -10,100!
Meaning, it didn't really matter.
Not just Lady Hindaz, but Elina was also shocked.
She didn't care about Kalisha's martial prowess; one of the men she was stringing along, who followed her around like a puppy, was dead.
Her supporter, who ranked about fifth among her prospects, had died in an instant.
She had expected he might lose, but she never imagined his head would explode like that.
But the next problem was...
The next contestant was Elina's own escort knight, known by the moniker 'Wolf Knight'.
The Wolf Knight, Barkan, was none other than Elina's Prospect No. 2!
He was a precious prospect, incomparable to the likes of the Mercenary King, who was only No. 5.
If he were to die with his head blown off like that...
'N-No, absolutely not! W-What should I do?'
Her sharp mind suddenly froze.
Meanwhile, Kalisha stared intently at the guy acting as both referee and commentator. But when he remained speechless, the Emperor intervened.
"What are you all doing? The winner of the first match is Kalisha Crawford. Everyone, applaud!!"
At the sound of his voice, which boomed without any magical amplification device, everyone clapped reluctantly.
Clap... clap clap... clap.
'Come to think of it, the Emperor is on my side, isn't he?'
He was supporting me for both personal reasons—looking after his friend's worthless daughter—and political ones—preventing a civil war in the future.
And surprisingly, there was someone else here cheering for me: the Crown Prince.
Since he could just eliminate me during the competition anyway, he was actually smiling at me for getting rid of one of his other candidates.
The Crown Prince's favorability has increased from -100 to -99.9!
Which is to say, it had no effect at all.
After the commotion died down, the next match began immediately.
"Th-This time, the opponent is, is~~ the str-strongest knight of the beastkin race. Lady Luminous's escort knight and... uh, since childhood... ah... a Swordmaster. Ah! A knight whose strength, unique to the beastkin, is comparable to that of a Swordmaster! It's Barkan!!!"
The flustered announcer stuttered, but then seemed to regain his confidence after glancing at his notes, and started the match with renewed vigor.
Tang!
Chrrrrk!
The metal gate opened, and someone walked out.
Squish, squish...
The Mercenary King's body had already been removed, but the bloodstain remained vivid. And the Wolf Knight walked right over it.
'What the, he's a real wolf knight?'
He looked human, but he had perky wolf ears on his head and sharp fangs.
The wolf beastkin, Barkan.
Abandoned by his parents as a child, he was dragged to the Empire, faced all sorts of discrimination, and was dying alone in a back alley when Elina took him in.
A fiercely loyal guy who would not hesitate to die if she ordered it.
As a beastkin, his kinetic vision and physical strength are extremely high. Do not underestimate him for his small build.
- so said the report from the Crawford intelligence unit.
And, of course, he was very handsome.
The complete opposite of the Mercenary King. If the Mercenary King was the manly, macho type, this guy was the cute, charming youngest member of an idol group, the 'younger man' type.
"You evil woman who tormented Elina! Die!"
The Wolf Knight charged first.
Wearing leather armor and holding a longsword, he showed no intention of holding back, aiming straight for my neck.
Whoosh!
But he couldn't reach me.
I lightly dodged the sword and kicked Barkan's leg.
Paaak!!
An unnatural sound, one that shouldn't come from a human leg, rang out, but Barkan didn't even cry out in pain and charged again, enduring it.
A single exchange.
No, it was too one-sided to even be called an exchange—it was a complete mockery.
With just that one move, everyone could feel the gap between us.
"No!!"
From the stands, as if anticipating what would happen next, came Elina's sharp scream.
Hwoong hwoong hwoong!!!
I leisurely dodged the sharp sword slicing through the air and glanced at Elina.
She must have thought Barkan's death was absolutely unacceptable, as she was pressuring Lady Hindaz to surrender quickly.
Hayla Hindaz was trying to stop her, her expression saying that was the one thing she couldn't do.
'What should I do... Kill him? Or not?'
Barkan's face was one of despair, having realized the gap in our skills after just a few exchanges. Still, he fought to the death, probably because Elina had asked him to.
Such a tear-jerking, devoted, one-sided love.
I wanted to kill this guy too and see the despair on Elina's face, but I remembered the conversation I had last night with my family's head of intelligence and head butler.
*
[If you kill the enemy decisively in the first match, they might get scared and surrender in the second. Surrendering in the middle of a duel of honor is a great humiliation, as disgraceful as refusing the duel itself. It's unlikely to happen, but it's something to keep in mind.]
'Is it really okay to kill him?'
[In that case, Lady Kalisha's infamy will spread once more, but it's not a huge deal. In fact, if you can use it to induce their surrender, they will suffer a greater blow.]
Right, I had a plan.
I definitely didn't just fly off the handle after seeing the Mercenary King's annoying face. It was all part of the plan.
Ahem!
And last night, they ran me through about 24 different scenarios.
Honestly, I don't even remember 10 of them, but this situation is exactly what was covered in the 8th simulation, which I do remember.
[If Barkan comes out, try not to kill him if you can help it. He is the most suitable person to bring over to our side later.]
'Hmm? The guy who's absolutely loyal?'
[He's still a man, isn't he? If Elina isn't chosen as the crown princess, who do you think stands to gain the most?]
*
I snapped out of my thoughts and returned to reality.
He was introduced as being on the level of a Swordmaster, but from what I could see, he wasn't there yet.
'Was it the Sword Saint Kyle I met on the 22nd floor? Compared to that guy, this one's a total rookie.'
His physical abilities and reflexes seem good, but he has too little experience. His attack patterns are so obvious I could dodge them while lost in a flashback.
It's not that he's slow, but more that he's predictable. That's the feeling.
'To offer loyalty and love to a master who will give him nothing in return. Don't worry, I'll save you soon.'
Just as I aimed my spear, ready to finish him off, a piece of white cloth was thrown from the other side.
Where did the piece of cloth come from? Elina, desperate that Barkan might die, had ripped off a piece of Hayla's dress and thrown it!
Hayla, on the verge of tears, desperately tried to cover her thighs.
Her dress was torn so badly that her pale thighs and a hint of her buttocks were visible.
"S-Stop!! We surrender! Lady Crawford, please cease your attack immediately!!!"
The commentator's biased intervention.
A surrender in a duel of honor.
Hayla Hindaz's torn dress.
The audience was bewildered by the situation.
They had been promised an exciting and thrilling show where the villainess Kalisha would be utterly humiliated, but that villainess was far too strong.
Terrifyingly strong.
And it wasn't even Lady Hindaz who surrendered—Elina, who was next to her, had forcibly torn her dress to signal it?
Something, something was strange.
'Weren't Elina and Hayla like close sisters, with Elina always using formal language and following her lead? And surrendering in a duel of honor... by someone from another family? Is that even allowed? And the commentator just accepts it? Come to think of it, why is that commentator the referee anyway?'
The crowd in the dueling arena began to murmur.
It was a shock on the level of having all their common sense turned upside down. And since it happened one thing after another, they were completely baffled.
The murmuring grew louder.
"This is a duel of honor? Isn't this just an underground fighting pit?"
"The villainess was a villainess, sure, but the other side is pretty disappointing too."
"Tearing and throwing Lady Hindaz's dress... even if it's for her own escort knight, that's too much!"
"Why do I find Kalisha kind of cool? I've never seen a woman that strong before."
"Enough! Everyone, be silent!"
Just then, the Crown Prince, who had been watching silently, intervened. He had enjoyed the first match, but the result of the second was completely different.
It would have been one thing if Kalisha had just killed that parasitic wolf knight, but instead, she had completely toyed with him, and Elina, who was always so composed, had made a mistake in her haste.
Above all, he hated the act of surrendering for that wolf bastard.
"This concludes the final event of the banquet! As per the duel's agreement, Lady Hindaz will be excluded from the crown princess competition. Dismissed!"
The Emperor, looking down at the Crown Prince from above, wore a smile that said, 'Hoho, look at this one.'
Leaving Barkan standing there, dazed, after dropping his sword to the floor, I walked out of the dueling arena.
"See you again, Barkan."
*
After that whole incident, I skipped the tedious final part of the banquet, claiming I was tired.
As soon as I got back, I received a pleasant caress from my maids under the guise of a shower, then lay down on my bed and opened the chat window.
"Alright, everyone~ You know what we're doing starting tomorrow, right?"
- ???
- This bitch is brainless
- Yep, learning complete
- fr, you're already done?
- You only pay attention to us when you need something, huh?
The first week was the basic knowledge exam.
When I asked the head butler what the hell that was, it was exactly what I'd feared.
He said there would be a written exam on basic subjects like history and math, and a practical exam on basic noble etiquette.
Why bother with this crap? Because these are the things Kalisha is worst at.
Although the results of the first week's exam don't count toward the competition score, they are publicly displayed for everyone in the Imperial Palace to see.
In other words, it's a perfect way to advertise that Kalisha is an incompetent candidate for crown princess.
But do you think I'd fall for that so easily? I have tens of thousands of viewers.
At first, I planned to have the viewers divide up the studying, but someone fed the whole thing to an AI, creating a perfect cheat sheet.
- But is this okay?
- Conscience where?
- That's cheating~~
- Where'd your conscience go?
"No, this is how it's always done. In guilds, the operating agents handle all this."
Not just the major guilds, but most small and medium-sized guilds do it this way too.
It's one of the ways Pantheon TV makes a profit. Password-protected rooms.
Pantheon TV is run directly by a Constellation, so it might seem like it doesn't need money, but there's still a lot of work on Earth that requires humans.
First, they have to build server rooms, and they need to pay salaries to the people who manage them.
So, to enter a password-protected room during an Awakened's stream, you have to pay a minimum fee.
Since it's much more beneficial to pay to create a password-protected room and have these intellectual tasks handled for you, most guilds, including the major ones, have people called 'operators' who act as a proxy brain.
When would Awakened, who have no time because they're busy training, ever study for trials? Operators are people who have professionally studied elements that can help with various clears, like true endings and hidden endings.
Anyway, this is my plan.
The exam questions? The viewers will solve them all.
Etiquette? I got a crash course from the head butler.
The etiquette test is basically just an extension of the written exam, so I can get a perfect score on that by cheating, too.
“So, I'm counting on you all!”
*
And so, a week later.
The long week of exams was finally over.
I heard the final scores would be posted in the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace in the morning, when people start heading to work, so I woke up early and went to see.
And the results were, as expected, exactly what I'd anticipated.
Kalisha Crawford.
Written: 99.
Practical: 86.
Elina Luminous.
Written: 78.
Practical: 98.
Keira Hanover.
Written: 60.
Practical: 55.
Not exactly overwhelming… but still first place.
‘But who the hell is this Keira, with an etiquette score even lower than mine… Did she give up?’
A large crowd had gathered at the results announcement area.
They had deliberately posted the scoreboard in the plaza to humiliate Kalisha, but as you can see, the result was Kalisha's victory!
'This is the power of modern technology. Yup!'
Just then, I heard the click-clack of heels behind me.
“What kind of trick did you use!!!”
Elina, who had also arrived to see the scoreboard, saw the shocking results and raised an objection.
“Hmm… I just studied, that's all.”
“Don't lie. I know you slept through every class at the academy and never studied!”
The non-hereditary nobles on their way to work in the morning formed a circle around us.
They were here to watch the fight between the crown princess candidates, the hot topic of the day.
“Then ask me yourself. No, wait, since I have the higher score, I'll ask you.”
“What…?”
My eyes rolled over to the chat window.
- Ask her this, I brought a super confusing one lol
Arrange the following events, which occurred at the end of the 7th Imperial Dynasty, in the correct order.
1. Suppression of the northern tri-state rebels via the Luaken Coup
2. Restriction of the northern tribes' movement through the signing of the 'Comet Treaty'
3. The arson incident at Astara Castle's armory
4. The exile of Crown Prince Lucian
5. Proclamation of Constitutional Edict No. 13 (mandating public firefighting)
'Oho, I have no idea what any of this is!'
First, I wrote it down on a nearby piece of paper as if it came straight from my head.
Then, after reading what I'd written aloud for everyone to hear, I handed it to Elina.
“Here, I wrote it down myself. Take a look and try to solve it.”
Get a taste of a killer entrance exam!
As expected, Elina's face went pale when she took the paper.
A moment later...
“H-How am I supposed to solve something like this!! Who even studies the end of the 7th Dynasty! And what's the point of putting them in order anyway!"
Unable to solve it, Elina threw the paper on the ground in anger.
“Why can't you solve this? The exile of Crown Prince Lucian came first. Then, his supporters caused the arson incident at Astara Castle's armory, and in the aftermath, Constitutional Edict No. 13 was proclaimed. Right after that, due to actions involving the northern tribes, the 'Comet Treaty' was signed to restrict their movement, and the Luaken Coup, which happened in response to that backlash, naturally led to the suppression of the northern tri-state rebels. Isn't that how it should flow?”
Wadadadadadada!
Kalisha's ultimate move—diligently reading the chat window—was a huge success.
Not just Elina, but all the non-hereditary nobles who had gathered to watch stared with wide eyes.
"Oh… There's a noble lady who studied that?"
"The end of the 7th Dynasty might not be politically significant, but it had many important events concerning the people's livelihood..."
"Mhm, it's an important part of history. These events set a major precedent for understanding and ruling the other tribes."
"Wow~ Lady Crawford has a side like this?"
"To turn the chain of historical cause and effect into a question... she's grasped the very core of it!"
We non-hereditary nobles don't take sides. We side with whoever is right.
Elina's ever-present smile completely vanished, replaced by a scowl.
"Alright, next question is math!"
"Grh… J-Just you wait!!"
Lacking confidence in math, Elina quickly fled.
Kalisha: 2 wins, 0 losses.
Smooth sailing so far.
'The next trial is... experiencing the life of the common people, was it?'