Chapter 52
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Slimes in the Arena
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Amid the boisterous shouts and ecstatic cheers, Camilla sank into her chair with a distinctly unenthusiastic expression.
Slimes. Monsters. Those otherworldly creatures with forms utterly unlike any animal, governed by physical laws all their own, had largely been eradicated.
These days, only the weakest specimens were preserved for human research purposes, viewable solely in the magic towers where demon arts were studied—they weren't made available to the general public.
But every so often, for spectacles like this one, a few were artificially recreated.
From the audience's perspective, it was only natural to feel thrilled and exhilarated at the sight of monsters straight out of books or fairy tales brought to life before their eyes.
Camilla didn't think there was anything wrong with the emperor's flair for the dramatic.
Not everyone present hailed from the Cheiker Kingdom, after all, so it was a fine opportunity to flaunt their nation's superior magical engineering.
'...But these preliminaries are going to be a lot crueler than usual.'
She muttered to herself inwardly while tapping her own arm.
In human-to-human duels, injuries weren't as severe as one might expect, no matter the circumstances.
The handling of swords and shields had become somewhat standardized, and even techniques designed for stabbing or slashing inevitably caused hesitation when it came to truly harming another person—instinct stayed the hand.
Besides, while this tournament permitted unavoidable wounds and allowed attacks right up until a surrender was called, it wasn't structured to encourage killing.
'Slimes might look cute, but they're monsters all the same. Any parent who truly cares about their child might just pull them from the preliminaries...'
Camilla raised her hand to tap her chin.
As for whether the Setia House children participated or not, she had no intention of meddling.
She left it entirely to the parents' discretion.
But with the house lord watching from here, any parent eager for even a sliver of recognition for their child as a Setia would push them to compete, no matter what.
Probably three of them. The Setia side branch children—and Charlotte. Those kids might end up seriously hurt.
She knew exactly why the emperor had chosen slimes out of all the possible monsters.
Slimes were the quintessential monster that shrugged off physical attacks. Unless one could wield magic, they posed a genuinely troublesome foe in the Shadow Blade Day tournament, which judged purely on martial prowess.
Charlotte had no idea what was unfolding in the arena until the first group had entered and the second was on deck.
All information about the venue was blocked in advance to ensure a fair competition for everyone.
Waaaaa—.
Waaaaaah—!
Wooooo—!
'Looks like the second group's match just wrapped up.'
The cheers of hundreds, even thousands, slammed into her ears all at once.
She had no knowledge of what had transpired in the first or second groups, but Charlotte nodded calmly to herself without a hint of worry.
'Joseph made it through. No doubt about that.'
Of course, part of it stemmed from having read in the novel that he passed the preliminaries, performed well in the main tournament, and only dropped out midway—but her confidence was rooted more deeply in faith in his abilities.
He possessed the skill to contend for the championship.
He was no one to falter in mere preliminaries.
That was why Charlotte hadn't tipped Joseph off about the monsters in the prelims.
Fairness was an important principle, after all.
But in stark contrast to her composed demeanor, the other children fell into panic as their turn loomed.
"Wh-what do we do?"
"It's... it's our turn now."
"Slimes, they say. What do we do? I'm scared."
"One per kid, right? I... I don't think I can."
"Me neither. I've never even seen a real monster before."
Charlotte glanced at the three children huddled together, whispering frantically right beside her.
Ironically, they were familiar faces.
A few of the kids who had stood around laughing when Lancelot tormented her.
The ones who had watched impassively as she nearly drowned.
Judging by the great bear emblems etched on their shields and weapons, two belonged to the Setia side branch, while the third sported a blue eagle crest, marking her as the daughter of the Tantinus marquis house.
The three children, who looked to be around ten years old, clung to each other's hands, trembling pitifully—but Charlotte had no intention of offering them any comfort.
'If no one steps in to help, maybe they'll learn that people need to consider the consequences before they act.'
She had no obligation toward them whatsoever.
'Lancelot's probably in the same group. He'll sort himself out, whatever.'
Come to think of it, it was unusual for Lancelot—who must have picked fights with her at least a hundred times by now—to remain so quiet.
She turned her head and spotted him sitting in the farthest corner, his face lost in inscrutable thought.
It was utterly out of character for a boy who usually craved attention, but Charlotte chalked it up to pre-tournament nerves sharpening his edge.
Another gaze grated on her more.
Charlotte turned to trace the stare back to its source.
A lanky man with striking platinum hair tied in a long ponytail leaned against the wall, glaring at her.
Byaki, from the same group.
As if he'd been waiting for their eyes to meet, Byaki flashed a mocking sneer.
'Always so many annoying types around. And what's with that face? Did half his mouth break? Why's he grinning like that?'
But having endured years of humiliations, Charlotte barely registered such half-hearted provocations.
She could prove everything with her skills anyway.
Whether Byaki saw her as a joke or not.
It would all be settled soon enough.
Waaaaa—!
At that moment, the crowd's roar erupted once more.
A knight strode purposefully through the entrance, parting the prelim participants to reach the opposite wall, where he declared in a ringing voice,
"The third group, step up."
Clunk.
As the knight tapped the wall twice with his hand, a latch somewhere released with a sharp click, and one entire wall of the room holding the third group slid open.
Dazzling sunlight poured in, stinging the eyes.
The roughly forty children in the room buzzed and turned their heads.
What had seemed a bustling, festive site upon arrival now appeared brutally stark when viewed from the arena floor below.
Beneath the gaze of countless spectators peering down loomed a massive iron cage. And inside it, bizarre round blobs rolled about chaotically.
Each contained a small, glinting coin-like object—the one you'd need to seize to pass the prelims, as the announcer had explained.
'They look just like... jelly or pudding. Straight out of the books.'
As Charlotte calmly assessed the slimes in her mind, she noticed the girl standing right beside her collapse to the floor.
'The Tantinus marquis's daughter... what was her name? Kate?'
But there was no time for prolonged reflection.
Three mages atop the iron cage raised their long staves in unison, performing the same gesture. The gate slid smoothly upward, and the enormous jellies within rolled and bounced forward toward the cluster of children.
'No legs, no eyes, and yet... ridiculously fast.'
Schling.
Veterans like Byaki showed no panic, drawing their swords in sync and charging ahead.
Charlotte drew her own blade without fanfare.
Most came equipped with shields alongside their swords, large or small, so among them, Charlotte—who carried only her slender blade—was the quickest off the mark.
Arriving before a massively plump orb at least three times her height in diameter, she noted up close how transparent its skin was, clear enough to see the floor on the opposite side. She swung her sword in a casual arc across it.
Thud.
'Physical attacks really don't work at all.'
Thank goodness she'd read up beforehand.
Even with a properly sharpened edge, the blade didn't penetrate in the slightest. It was like striking hardened rubber—the sword simply bounced off.
'No, they're so fun and pretty. Do we really have to kill them?'
In that fleeting thought, grotesque tentacle-like appendages erupted from the slime right in front of where she stood.