68 – Southern Hunting Tournament (7)

I felt that the number of people who gathered was exceptionally large this year. Even those who participated in the competition, but the number of spectators who did not participate in the competition but gathered to watch it seemed to have increased significantly compared to the past.

Come to think of it, when I look at those who attended this year’s hunting competition, I see many faces that are still young. I didn’t remember the faces of everyone I met, but I certainly noticed a number of new faces I hadn’t seen before. As time passes, it seems that a new generation will naturally appear.

Of course, it was very likely that the news of Orcus and Noel’s participation had an impact, not simply because of their age.

Since they were members of the imperial family who rarely vacated their seats in the imperial capital, the opportunity to meet them was rare even for nobles. Considering that most of the children born and raised in aristocratic families go on to Estelia Academy, there are probably a few who want to catch the eye of Orcus and Noel, who will be enrolling from the following year.

When I thought about it, the children dressed up in such fancy clothes were like courting dukes. Of course, the most colorful of the peacocks is the male. Well, because the analogy is like that.

For some reason, it seemed that the overall atmosphere was cluttered.

I think it’s because the seats are filled by children who are not used to these seats yet. Although it seems to have calmed down to some extent with the appearance of their father and Orcus, if you look around, you can see children who show a little foolishness.

Anyway, I think experience is important.

Since they are also aristocrats, they must have been educated systematically in their own way, but if they did not have advanced experience in such a strict caste system society, they would not be able to help but be nervous unless they had a strong heart when they were in front of them. It’s certainly something I’ve thought about since long ago, but being able to remember my previous life is a considerable advantage not only in combat but in many other areas.

If I hadn’t had memories of my previous life, I might have been fooling around with those kids now.

Orcus is the guy I am. No matter how much experience he had in the ecliptic, at the young age of sixteen, he could stand in front of others so calmly without any emotional agitation. Noel… I don’t think it’s because he’s so excited that he doesn’t seem to be aware of other people’s gazes.

The more I moved, the more I felt people’s eyes on me increased. Heck, the only people with dark hair here are my father and I. In a way, it is natural for them to look at me.

However, unlike when looking at Orcus, the eyes of those who looked at me had a different emotion mixed in them. There weren’t many eyes that showed these emotions, but it wasn’t a few either. Although there are cases where it is somewhat ambiguous to judge, these eyes are very similar to Noel’s eyes I saw just now.

There were many things like selfishness attached to it, but after removing all of them, you can see the essence of it.

It was the desire to win that made the recipient’s skin hot.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand it, since he was at the age where he was in full swing. It may seem a bit old-fashioned, but I prefer to see my children burning with the desire to win as they are now, rather than despairing over their opponent’s background and skills. It’s because those guys can become something no matter which way they go.

Then why did they choose me as the target they wanted to jump over? There are many knights with excellent skills here besides me.

If there are three main reasons for this, the first is that I have the name Krauss. It’s a fact that I’ve already been tired of talking about, but Krause is the best military family in the south and a prestigious family. Arthur Krause, the head of the household and my father, was one of the few Sword Masters on the continent and was also one of the absolute strongest among the ten fingers on the continent.

And I am the heir to such a great family, such a great person.

This was the reason.

Objectively, the name Krauss has not had a single influence from Damien Krauss. It was all the achievements of his predecessors that made the name Krauss a solid stronghold that others could not touch. It’s a leap, but to put it a little badly, you can say it was looked down on.

In this case, the name Krauss attached to me may look like a trophy in the eyes of others. If my skills are less crazy than they think. When he beat me and achieved good results in the competition, he might be evaluated as the best martial artist in the South in the world.

If you’re lucky, you might be able to get the attention of Orcus and Noel.

A kid to the left of where I’m standing now was watching me and Noel together, and as soon as I separated from Noel, he was staring at me blatantly.

Well, the reason is that each person can have it differently.

Anyway, moving on, the second reason was my age.

This is not a matter of being young or old. It was simply because I was the same age as the other kids present here. I turned sixteen this year. Even if a slight difference is taken into account, the age of the other children gathered here will not exceed two years.

Each person is different, but originally around this age, it is the time to be psychologically sensitive.

This is the time that is often referred to as puberty. In such a time of exceptionally high emotional ups and downs, children of that age are now gathered in one place. As the children who participated in the competition, everyone must have polished their martial arts, and they will have confidence in their skills based on their efforts so far.

At such a time of stormy rage, a guy like me appeared in front of my eyes.

It was an opportunity to show yourself as a more unique existence to others.

If they go up against a renowned knight and lose, these children will not resent the defeat. It is because they know that the opponent was a knight and that he is still only a new chick. Wouldn’t an aspiring professional be more upset about losing to a player who is currently playing active duty than losing in a game with a friend?

The eyes that those children are looking at me now are the same. They will never consider me on the same level as the knight. There was something called common sense in the world, and common sense prevents imagination beyond its limits to some extent.

That kind of thinking makes them think about the possibility of winning. The existence of possibility leads to desire.

However, as much as the existence of me in the first place is a product close to a variable that cannot occur under common sense. The problem was that it was difficult to judge me with a general way of thinking.

It is also an area that cannot be broken unless you actually see and confirm that it is universal common sense. Well, even if it’s not me in this tournament, there’s Noel. In one way or another, the common sense of those children is destined to be broken.

now the last the third reason.

In fact, this last reason is the key. Because of this, it is the same as the two reasons above.

The third and final reason was in my actions.

I have often followed my father into these public places.

This started at a very young age, and from the time others thought it was too early, he followed in his father’s footsteps. You might think this is similar to Orcus, but while he acted directly, I didn’t. At that time, there was no particular role given to me. Just seeing what my father is doing and keeping it in my eyes. Father only wanted that.

At the time, I had a strong tendency to bury quietly without being noticed, so I didn’t try to take the initiative in doing something.

So, should I say that I have become a situation where I do not show my skills outside unintentionally. Only the knights in my family and a few people who have had direct encounters with me know about it, and my external image is not a guy who has a corner anywhere, but I’m not particularly obscure, so I’m going to take my place as the most heterogeneous guy among the successors of Krauss. It became.

If I had acted positively from the beginning, the gaze looking at me might have changed a lot from now. To others, I will be seen as a genius like my father. As if I didn’t bother to cover the superiority and inferiority with the article, many of those who wanted to compete with me might have disappeared.

However, this is also an assumption. What I have said so far is, in the end, just my opinion, not an absolute answer.

How do I know if there is a friend who doesn’t appear in the original work and has an extremely passionate personality that I don’t know about.

“The goal is to win…”

Although Noel has talked about winning easily before, in fact, winning in these competitions is one of the toughest things to do. Excluding the newly participating children this time, a large number of talented knights selected from each family participate in the tournament, so winning the championship is still a long way away for the newcomers.

If it was before, I would have been too.

Even though he had the ability to take on the challenge, he thought he would not stand out, so he would have entered the competition satisfied with a moderate grade, not a championship, although he stood above his peers.

But now I’ve decided to do something a little different.

The idea of quietly burying the original work has long since changed. I made up my mind to stand by Elena, and to do so, I needed to act differently. If he had made up his mind to stay by her side, at least he would not have become a burden to Elena.

Whether it’s skills or reputation, you have to rise to the top without missing anything.

Fortunately, Damien had an environment in place to satisfy that, and the important thing was how I behaved from now on. This spring hunting competition is the first official event to refresh your mind and participate. Noel and Orcus, who can be said to be short-lived disciples, are also full of motivation to win, but I, the teacher, couldn’t show my bad side.

‘Where is Elena…’

The preparations for the competition had been over for a long time. All I had to do now was mount the horse, but I stood by the horse and glanced around for a moment. I thought that I would be able to find it soon because Elena was so conspicuous, but it must have been my mistake. Hayley said this morning that she seemed to be in a deep sleep, so I just walked out and I shouldn’t have waited a little longer.

I wanted to meet you before the competition, but it seems that today is the day that doesn’t go as planned.

As if he wanted to run quickly, he calmed the guy who was kicking towards the ground. Everyone is preparing to go out, so I think I have to start now… It’s a pity, but when I get back from the competition, should I be content with staying by Elena’s side no matter what?

As I put my foot on the foot of the stirrup with half resignation, a purple eye caught my eye from afar.

Unlike usual, Elena was wearing a long-brimmed hat, but there was no difficulty in recognizing her.

Elena arrived in front of me, guided by Hailey and another knight. I ran so hard that my breathing, which was always even, was scattered wildly.

The others quickly moved away, and I immediately lifted my feet off the stirrups, came down to the ground, and stood in front of her. Elena was hiding her face with the brim of her hat with her head down, so I moved closer to her to see her face.

“Hey, wait a minute…!”

Seeing me approaching her, Elena quickly stopped me with her arms outstretched.

And it was so effective that as soon as I heard her words, I hardened on the spot like a statue turned to stone, as if under some spell. It was a matter of the heart. I was pretending to be okay on the outside, but I guess I kept it in my heart. Seeing Elena’s appearance as if nothing had changed from yesterday, a sense of uncertainty came over me, wondering if it would have been burdensome for her to approach me like this.

Did that emotion show up on your face?

Seeing my face through the veil of the hat, Elena immediately grabbed my hand. I don’t know what kind of expression I was making so she was so flustered that she held my hand… Anyway, it’s good. Again, the distance from Elena was reduced as before. I gently pulled her back to where I was with a little bit of strength in my hand so she couldn’t leave. There was no intention of rejection from Elena. She came to me without resistance, drawn by my strength.

Even as they got closer, Elena didn’t take her hand off her hat.

When I asked her if there was a reason, Elena hesitated for a moment before moving her trembling lips.

“That…the face right now…is weird…”

“Yes? I didn’t hear you. Could you say it again?”

“Ugh… Really!”

When I looked up and said as if I was making fun of anyone listening, Elena pinched my hand. But instead of frowning in pain, I moved closer to her, holding back the laughter that leaked out of my mouth.

I bowed down and met eyes with Elena, who was hiding under a hat.

Perhaps she had slept in late, but her face hidden under a hat was as smooth as someone who had just woken up, unlike her usual well-groomed appearance. Elena seemed ashamed to appear like that, but to me it just looked cute.

On the other hand, it was reassuring.

Now that I know that the reason Elena told me not to come near me was because she didn’t want to show me this disheveled appearance.

I wanted to stay like this a little longer, but unfortunately I didn’t have much time left. Slowly others started to leave. If I want to win, now is the time to start. Seeing the others leave, Elena hurriedly put what she was clutching in her other hand into mine.

What she handed me was a white crystal tied with a string.

To say it was an expensive ornament, it looked like it was made by hand by someone with poor manual dexterity. I asked her with a faint smile.

“This?”

“Should I say this is some kind of talisman?”

“Helena. Your mouth is shaking. The use of magic tools is prohibited in the tournament. Did you not trust me that much?”

“It’s not a magic tool!! If you keep saying that, I’ll take this back!”

“Ahh, I’m kidding. Just kidding.”

After I begged Elena and got the crystal again, I put the crystal she gave me around my neck and put it under my clothes. I received the gift at a moment I really didn’t expect. I’ve never seen her make an amulet in the original story. Thinking that this was just for me, now it was more valuable than anything else I had.

before getting on the horse.

I took Elena’s hand, which was still pinching mine, and kissed it briefly.

Is it because it’s not the lips?

Elena didn’t seem more agitated than before. The eyes that were looking at me were trembling slightly, but he didn’t avoid making eye contact with me.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes. Be careful.”

Today’s goal is to win.

It doesn’t seem impossible either.