I finally made it to the top 8 the day before yesterday.
And even when visiting here as a spectator put me into all that mess the last time, I still came back to watch the matches.
This was the first match of the Top 8. But that was not the reason I came here.
Victoria Chauvet.
Her battle style reminds me so much about my sister that I couldn't help but watch her again.
I remember watching this elegant style everyday through the window of my house, slightly peeking at my sister who was training outside.
"Hooonk! "
The match started and the large number of the audience made a huge uproar.
The Heart stadium, which was constantly changing itself with every round since the preliminary rounds changed itself again.
But this time, there was only one arena. A large arena with a much larger space for the audience.
Since there were no other matches currently apart from this, so the number of audience present here was simply unbelievable.
I could see the Princess and her two friends at a little distance towards the front but I don't think they could notice me.
'Clank! '
'Clank! Clank'
The match progressed and the sound of swords striking each other could be heard. They looked evenly matched for a normal person. But if anyone with a little knowledge of swordsmanship watches this right now, he would definitely realize.
Victoria was pushing her opponent. And that too, to a vast degree.
It was like her opponent didn't have a chance from the beginning. Every one of her opponent's attacks were easily deflected and Victoria didn't even need to show her full strength.
Her graceful movements were predictable but difficult to counter.
Although Victoria had some openings on her side, her opponent was still not good enough to make use of those.
But just when I was spectating the match, I noticed something strange.
***
"Uh... I need to use the washroom. I'll be back in a second." Penelope said as she stood up from her seat.
"Okay" Her friends replied, their complete attention was still in the match.
"And you, I am telling you again. Don't follow me. I am just going to the washroom and nobody takes a guard there."
It was a female guard assigned to protect the three young ladies by the King.
"But Lady Penelope, His Majesty asked us.."
"Stop! Hey, my dear Violet. You tell them, please."
"Just leave her be." The princess asked the guard with a gesture of her hand.
"B-But... "
"What!? Do you want to ignore the words of the Princess?" Penelope spoke. She was good with her mouth and so she knew they were not following her to the washroom after this.
Finally the guard gave up and Penelope made her way towards the washroom.
But there was someone else following her. Another lady wearing normal clothes but also using a veil to protect her face. But it was not what seemed suspicious.
She was constantly stealing glances towards the three young ladies for a little while and also tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.
And right now, she was clearly following Penelope.
The lady slightly touched her lips across her veil and realized that she had a smile on her face. The lady softly murmured to herself in a low voice.
"Looks like it wasn't a big deal after all."
Oblivious to her, a pair of deep golden eyes were staring down at her intently. His face had a serious expression and his gray hairs swayed in the wind as he seemed to be in deep thoughts.
****
'She's being followed.'
Finding a lady hiding her face through a veil was suspicious enough but she was even acting very strange. She tried to listen to their conversation and started moving as soon as Penelope was left alone.
'It may be someone assigned by the King to protect her secretly and it is best for me to ignore it'.
But still, even though I thought of Penelope as nothing but a stranger, nonetheless, a possible trouble I needed to avoid, I knew she talked to me with the intention of making a friend.
'Sigh! '
Amidst the large number of audience, I left my place and started following them.
***
"Hmm...hmm ~"
Crash!
"Oh! I'm really sorry. Are you all right, young miss."
Peneloped stopped her humming music as someone crashed into her out of nowhere.
"Ah... What the hell? That hurts."
Just as Penelope was about to come out of the washroom, a lady wearing a veil bumped into her.
It looked like she was in a great hurry.
Penelope fell down and saw the lady extending a hand towards her.
"I am really sorry, I was in a rush. I should have been more careful. "
"It's fine. Just leave".
She didn't want to needlessly exaggerate the situation since the guards would follow her if it reached their ears.
"By the way, you look really beautiful, miss. Where are you from?" The lady in the veil exclaimed.
"Well, I am not really willing to answer someone hiding her face."
Though she appeared really friendly to strangers, she knew when to draw a line.
"Haha... It is just because of an old scar. Please don't mind."
"Yeah, whatever."
Penelope decided to leave before the lady would start another one of those small talks. But just as she went outside, she saw someone looking anxiously towards the washroom.
It was a boy with gray hair and deep golden eyes.
The boy was a little restless but once he saw her coming out, he sighed in relief.
"Marcel? What are you doing here? "
"Did something strange happen inside? I-I mean with a lady wearing a veil?" He looked really restless and scanned her top to bottom.
She narrowed her eyes slightly as if trying to study what the boy was thinking.
"Not really. She just bumped into me and apologized. And yeah, it looked like she was trying to start a conversation with me."
He thought something for a couple of seconds and then replied cautiously.
"....I see. Well, I'll tell you honestly. I saw that lady trying to listen to your conservation for a little while and it looked like she was following you. Though I might be wrong."
"Oh~ Were you worried about me? How cute~"
His eyebrows twitched a little but soon he replied in a serious tone.
"I don't think it's a funny situation, Lady Penelope. I heard some rumors about someone suspicious trying to cause an incident during the tournament. I don't know what they want, but you should be careful."
Penelope wanted to joke with him but seeing his serious expression, she changed her mind. She was not someone who didn't understand how to behave.
"I see. I'll check up on her once just in case."
Just as she was about to leave, the boy called her again and a knife appeared in his hand out of thin air.
"Take this. It's just a precaution. And yell if something goes wrong."
She nodded and with the short knife in her hand, she carefully entered the washroom. But to her surprise, it was completely empty.
'What? Where did she go?'
She checked everything a few more times but no matter how much she looked she couldn't find anyone. There wasn't even a window to escape from.
Penelope gave up and went outside when someone else entered to use the washroom.
"What happened?" The gray haired boy asked.
".... There was no one inside. "
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes" She confirmed.
"Nobody left from here either. It's too suspicious. You need to tell the guards about this."
This was not a situation they should try to hide. It was better to seek assistance.
"Yes, I understand. And here..."
The boy took the knife and it vanished into his ring. He immediately bowed his head and turned around to leave.
"I shall leave then, Lady Penelope. Be careful. "
"W-wait! Marcel..."
"Yes? "
"Thank you for today"
She said that by completely bowing her head. She was really grateful even though he did nothing but only warn her.
"No problem at all, Maam"
The gray haired boy had a warm smile on his face.
***
'What was that?'
Although I followed her, I didn't have any choice but to watch from a distance. I couldn't just beat someone up if they looked a little suspicious.
But after talking to Penelope, I was certain something was not right.
Another reason why I followed her was to see if the veil lady was related to the Doctor.
'It's not completely impossible.'
By the time I returned, the winner of the match was already announced. Of course, it was Victoria Chauvet.
She won without a single wound on her body.
'As expected.'
I returned to the inn after watching the match. I was analyzing Victoria's match and thinking of various ways I could proceed to defeat her while having my lamb curry.
I also heard the rumors about the second match of the Top 8. They said it was a very close match between a dwarf girl blessed with Stigmata of Purification and a guy with black hair and pale red eyes with Stigmata of Blood.
A lower ranked Stigmata that can use one's blood as a weapon.
Of course, I knew who the guy was.
Sylas Zyair.
He became the second semi-finalist after Victoria Chauvet.
'I may have to fight against one of those two or maybe even both in my upcoming matches.'
It didn't look easy in any way.
'Although I never saw Sylas fight, I know that he's strong based on my previous interactions with him. And I don't know what secret he's hiding.'
'How did he know that I am a demi-god? '
'How is Victoria related to my sister? '
I could only find these answers as I moved forward. The real tournament was starting now and I wanted to find these answers in my upcoming matches.
But before that, I have to win tomorrow to reach the semi-final.
I already heard about my opponent. He was a guy named Morgan Rosewood, a descendant of the Rosewood family.
The family of Rosewood was a noble house that has fallen now. In other words, a fallen noble family. And this family was known widely because of their sword technique called 'Dance of the Dragon'.
And Morgan Rosewood belonged to that family.
'I don't know if he can use 'Dance of the Dragon' or not but it won't be that easy'.