The Opening Ceremony

3rd Person POV

Above, there was a separate platform that seemed in line with the upper rim of the monumental circular structure. Upon it was 7 thrones spaced apart. They were all extravagant thrones made of precious metals, shining and shimmering in the light of the midsummer's sun.

2 were made of gold, shaped like a lion's roaring head with a pair of Inferno Rubies for eyes. Another 2 were silver masses, like a mountain, a seat carved into its body with cyan gems decorating it. The final 3 thrones were shaped like a twisting tree. Its bronze branches and emerald vines intertwining together, twisting to the sky.

Dozens of knights were lined up at the foot of each throne. They were the Royal Knights of each Kingdom, serving the Kings under their respective names.

The knights of Sapin served under the name of the Order of the Golden Lion. All of them were dressed in elegant plate armor — which was made for ritual purposes — and adorned in a long, red cape.

The knights that served the Kingdom of Darv, the Knights of the Earthen Hearth, guarded the King of dwarves. They donned hardy, black armor that, with their stocky builds, made them seem like great black towers, like black rooks on a chessboard.

And finally, the knights of Elenoir, who fought under the banner of the Knights of the Sacred Branch. Unlike before, they were dressed in a white robe like armor, silvery white pauldrons, arm guards, plated boots, etc., decorating their bodies in various places.

They were the culmination of knights that had reached the level of at least the yellow core, and each one stood at the heights of strength that a typical person could dream of.

30 of these Royal Knights stood in their places, guarding their respective thrones.

The appearance of all the Royal Knights of all these different kingdoms in this one place could only represent one thing.

The Kings and the Queens, the royal families of the 3 great kingdoms, were about to appear.

—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of flags were raised with the golden lion, the silver mountain, and the emerald tree threaded into them. They fluttered in the wind, and the thunderous sound of the drums resounded rhythmically throughout the now silent stadium.

Simultaneously, the thousands of spectators and the 90 contestants turned to the altar where the thrones were located.

"The rulers of the eastern plains and the eastern sea! Their Majesties, King, and Queen Glayder!! The lords of the southern mountains and the desert between! Their graces, King and Queen Greysunder!! The Sovereigns of the northern woods, the Elshire forest! Their serenities, King and Queen Eralith and his eminence, Virion Eralith!!!"

An official wearing white clothes and a narrow-brimmed hat shouted, and all the people of Ingesseum bowed down at the same time.

As the continuing reverberations of the drum shook the skies and the earth, a group of 7 people appeared on the platform, followed by a platoon of Royal Guards.

—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

In line with the people's coordinated steps, the halberds struck the ground as if creating a wave. The group's steps were steady, and they looked even grander amidst the salute of the Royal Guards.

They were the royal families of the three kingdoms of Dicathen, which had survived the Beast Era.

They were the royal families who had led the continent to its current point.

They were the dynasts of Dicathen.

—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sounds of the halberds striking the ground and the drums being banged accompanied each step, their deafening sound resounding across Ignesseum.

—Doong! Doong! Doong!

The drums slowly died down as the Kings and Queens approached their thrones.

However, the people did not dare lift their heads.

The pressure from the aura of the royal families, though individually not as strong, together, were simply too weighty for the ordinary person.

In the silence, the human king raised his hand.

—Boom! Boom! Boom!

The human Royal Knights slammed their halberds thrice in response.

The opening ceremony had finally begun.

**

Asher POV

"Rise, what use is a joyous occasion such as this if all of you are so glum?"

At the human king's words, the crowds in the stands and the contestants rose to their feet.

I finally had the opportunity to look at the other kings and queens of the other kingdoms of Dicathen.

My eyes zeroed onto the platform and observed the kings and queens, but rather than them, my gaze ended up twisting to the Royal Knights. They were all indeed incredibly powerful.

Suppose I wanted to beat even one of them. In that case, I'd need to blow myself up but… the fact that blowing myself up would only account for 20% of my estimated future power…

Hehehe.

Ahem.

I wiped the drool from my face and looked over the Kings and Queens. They were pretty stereotypical for each race. The human King had blazing red hair with an authoritative face while his wife, the Queen, was a dazzling beauty with ice sculpture like features. The dwarven King seemed like an elderly dwarf with white hair, and the dwarven Queen looked similar but younger, as evident by colored hair.

As for the 3 elven rulers… well, I already knew how they looked like.

Merial lightly waved when she caught sight of me to which I returned a smile.

But, before I could turn my gaze away, my eyes jolted back up. Right, among the Royal Knights, two familiar people could be seen. Alea and Aya.

…

Their looks, which were considered beautiful even amongst the elves, made them stand out even brighter than their fellow knights.

Alea's greenish white hair, which was surprisingly tied up in a ponytail, waved in the summer breeze while Aya's inky black hair loosely flowed as a couple strands spilled out from behind her ear.

—I can see you staring~

I flinched at the voice and quickly turned away.

It seemed that Aya had caught me.

However, I wasn't the type to just take a hit quietly. I muttered, barely above a whisper.

"But if you saw me stare, that means you were staring at me, no?"

—…

I turned back with renewed confidence, and the swiveled my head away.

Though I wasn't 100% sure, I was 99% sure that she was smiling at me.

"I'm sure that all of you are far more excited for the tournament than some old man's speech, so I will keep this brief."

The crowd laughed at the King's light hearted words but I didn't find it funny at all…

…Was this what they called cultural diffusion?

While I was in the midst of wandering through the profound recesses of my uncontainable intellect, the King continued his speech.

"We all stand here at the dawn of a new era. An era of peace, of unity. However, such change is not something that even we, your high lords, can so easily accept. Especially in the aftermath of the war."

He paused briefly as the audience solemnly nodded.

…I picked my nose.

Look. I'm sorry. I really am, but… I honestly couldn't care less.

"That is why it is so praiseworthy that you all are willing to take this step forward, a step forward to a new horizon. This tournament, an event hosted for the first time in the history of our great motherland, shall stand as a reminder! A reminder of the beginning after the end!"

The entirety of the stadium broke into applause and cheer at the King's words as he returned to his throne.

Next, the dwarven King walked forward, and he smiled gruffly.

"May we step into a new age of prosperity."

He spoke simply and curtly, but it seemed that this was what the dwarves were into. The dwarves began cheering in their own way, which involved stamping the ground and making deeper, disorganized cheers. In a way, it sounded like an echo inside a cavern.

Finally, the elven King stood and walked up, which, at long last, elicited my attention from something other than my face's twin caverns.

"…"

Alduin paused as he looked over the stadium, the elves expectant at what their leader had to say.

After a brief silence, the elvish king finally opened his mouth.

"…May the tournament, commence."

His words weren't loud, but they contained the power of a ruler, a monarch.

The stadium blew up once more, with cheering and shouts of various kinds: the symphony of peace.

Amidst this, I stood and couldn't help but think:

…What a beautiful scene.

**

[Later that night.]

"…So why are you here?"

I asked a certain woman with a lifted brow.

The certain woman, Alea, shrugged nonchalantly at my question.

"Who said I wouldn't come?"

"…"

I opened my mouth to try and refute, but nothing came out.

…Damn, she's right.

I closed my mouth and looked away in indignation.

"Pft."

Alea smirked with a triumphant face before looking behind me.

"…But on that note, why are you here."

I looked behind me and saw Virion just chilling on a chair.

"…Yeah, why are you here."

"…Can't I just be here?"

Virion looked at us with a hurt face, but after 4 years of dealing with this guy, something like this didn't faze me one bit.

"Nyo."

"No."

"Bah."

Virion grumbled and looked away, causing me and Alea to snicker.

"But really, how did you guys come here?"

It had been on my mind since the moment they appeared upon the platforms. How did they get here before me? We left before them.

"…Gate."

"???"

Huh?

Gate?

What?

I looked at the old elf with a glare that was demanding answers.

"…Pft."

"Oi!"

It seemed I had yet to grow older before my glare could evolve to its final, fearsome form.

"Kahahat! There's a gate that was opened for the safe passage of the royal family."

Virion cackled like a madman as he spoke.

"…Is it really that funny?"

"Pft…"

Even Alea started laughing.

"…You haven't, pft, seen yourself, have you?"

Alea spoke between giggles as Virion stifled his chortle while walking to get a mirror.

"…What's up?"

When Virion returned with a metal sheet that the humans used as a double for a mirror, he asked me a rather random question which caused a question mark to appear over my head.

"…?"

Seeing my reaction, Virion smirked, showing his teeth.

"…My big brain intellect."

As if by reflex, my face scrunched up at the ridiculous comment. What big brain? Your brain can't be bigger than the size of my child…

…Oh my.

My glaring face, which was reflected in the mirror, was absolutely adorable.

…Can people get this adorable?

"…See?"

"…Nope. I don't."

"…"

I couldn't see but, Virion and Alea were giving me incredulous looks as I was currently in the middle of squishing my cheeks and such, appreciating how cute I was.

My milky white hair and my golden eyes that looked like a pair of gems on a snowy plain were truly something to behold. And… why were my cheeks so squishable??

"Dayum, you aren't gonna find something like this anywhere else."

"Oh, God…"

Virion closed his eyes and sighed as he took the mirror away.

"Hey!"

"No."

"Boo."

I pouted but decided to be content with what I managed to see.

"Anyways, will you be here for the tournament?"

"Pretty much. Our job is just to sit there watching you youngsters butt heads."

"…That's it?"

"…Yeah."

"Hah."

The room became rather silent after that, Alea playing with my hair. It seemed that she was trying to tie it up into a braid or something.

"…Oh, actually."

Around when Alea was done, she spoke up.

"…?"

I tilted my head slightly so as not to disturb her hands.

"…I heard about what happened."

What was she talking about now?

I looked over to Virion, but rather than his usual sarcastic smirk of denial of knowing the answer, he had a genuinely terrified expression on his face.

"…"

Seeing his pale face, my own face became white with fear.

"…Uhm, yes?"

"…Hm, hm, hm."

Alea softly hummed as she finished my hair.

As soon as I felt she was done, my neck began to creak as it turned around to look at my mother.

"…!"

Although she was smiling… how do I put it?

…It was like Aya's smile.

True fear began to spill into my consciousness, as I felt sins, I was pretty sure I didn't commit, crawl on my back.

"…Y-yes?"

Even still, I managed to muster up the courage to ask.

"Huhu, you see… I heard from Aya."

…Aya?

"…Who do you think you are?"

"???"

What?

What was it I did??

The only other time she was this pissed was when I let a palace maid tie up my hair…

…

It couldn't be… could it?

I turned to Virion for support, but he was already gone.

I whipped my head back to Alea with pure dread in my eyes.

"…Your cheeks are mine."

She looked down at me, her eyes seemingly glowing as she spoke with a smile.

"…Boy."

**

Virion POV

I leaned against the door.

I felt bad about abandoning Asher; I did, but…

I shuddered as I recalled what happened the last time Alea had that look in her eye…

…That look of a… what did Asher call it?

Right.

…A yandere.

—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I closed my eyes and spoke softly.

"…Your sacrifice shall not be in vain, comrade."

A/N:

Indeed, it shall not.