'So, what's this?'
I went for a walk and came back around an hour after. It seemed like Sakurako did the same as me, but only returned just now. Arcana, Sirius and I were just eating our breakfast of boar bacon and Sunrise Chicken eggs. It tasted different from usual bacon and egg but in a good way.
Sakurako slammed a piece of paper onto the table. It seemed to be an advertisement. At the top, in bold otherworldly letters, it read "MELEE TOURNAMENT."
'Ah, that, I saw that too when I went out earlier.'
Arcana finished slurping on her bacon. She set the knife and fork down. I've barely begun eating myself because of the utensils. I'm too used to chopsticks that it feels weird eating with a knife and fork, though I did eat like that in the village. Sirius went "ah!" as he looked at the poster.
'That's the tournament poster! Or is it? It looks slightly different.'
His crimson-haired sister took a gander at it.
'It does. Before I could've sworn it said, "duos," but they've completely removed that word.'
'That means the conditions of the tournament changed, right?'
'Seems so.'
The siblings said to each other. From the exchange they were having, I'm guessing the tournament was the reason they came here. Let's read it. I snatched the paper off the table and stuck a piece of bacon into my mouth. I chewed it well and swallowed it, then proceeded to read the paper.
'"Melee Tournament, that takes place on Thursday 18th May, Year 345 of the Stellar Calendar. King Malcolm has set this up as a fun festival for the relief of the people of Riel. Others are welcome to join as well. The outline of the rules are:
~No magic is allowed.
~Weapons are permitted but they shall be provided by the Riel Royal Family
~If any hidden weapons, toxins, or the like, are discovered, the participant shall be disqualified
~Any type of martial arts is allowed, as long as no weapons, poison, and the like, are used.
~Participants must be above the age of 6 to join.
~Each round shall last ten minutes max unless a knockout takes place.
~If any rules are broken, the participants shall be disqualified automatically
To sign up, please sign up at any inn or Riel's Adventurers' Guild.
– – - - – –
The prizes for those who are in 1st-5th place will be:
1st place: Python, Military recommendation and 100 platinum Ørn, 50 gold Ørn, 50 silver Ørn
2nd place: Holy Weapon, Military recommendation and 50 platinum Ørn, 75 gold Ørn, 50 silver Ørn
3rd place: Military recommendation and 50 platinum Ørn, 50 gold Ørn, 25 silver Ørn
4th place: 25 platinum Ørn, 50 gold Ørn, 10 silver Ørn
5th place: 25 platinum Ørn, 25 gold Ørn, 5 silver Ørn
(Python is a cursed weapon. Whoever pulls it out of its sheath is stuck with it forever. Another name for it would be The Blade of Shadows.)
Please sign up before the 18th of May if you want to participate. The matches shall start at midday on that same day." Or so it says.'
The rules are pretty vague when it comes to weapons and poisons. I'm glad that it said that anyone above the age of 6 can join since my body's age would be 8. Still, they wouldn't pair children with people who are experienced martial artists, would they? Right? Right?!
'It says we can sign up at any inn, meaning we can sign up here.'
'That's pretty convenient.'
Sirius says to Sakurako. Arcana picked up her plate and utensils.
'I'll go get us four applications. Since they changed the tournament, I guess Sirius and I have to sign up again.'
Wait, we never said we would apply, did we?
'Go for it.'
I say, continuing to eat my bacon and eggs. Around three minutes later, Arcana came back with four application sheets. She passed them out between the four of us. I put my plate and utensils to the side while taking up the application. Arcana also handed us pens. I was surprised to see pens in this world.
'Now, I'll sign this and win! All for Alty!'
She started writing her details. Is she writing in human language or dragonic runes? I never said I'd be entering it, but, hell, why not?! If I get first place, then I get a nice sword, military recommendation and money!
'Wait, how much is a platinum Ørn?'
Sirius stopped writing for a second and answered.
'5 gold Ørn equals 1 platinum Ørn.'
That's money right there. Okay, time to start writing. I pressed the back of the pen and the nib came out.
The first thing they're asking for is my name. I'll write "Altair Nox." Ah, I accidentally started writing in Japanese hiragana. Let's scribble that our and write in human language, which they call Asurian. Thanks to Auto-Translate, I can write in human language.
I wrote "Altair Nox" in English. Somehow they understand that language here. The next one is age. I'm writing 8 before I decide to write 25. And so I did. Next is height... Uh... What's my height, Ai?
«Your height is 131cm.»
Oh yeah, it said that on my status, didn't it? I wrote down 131cm. Now, for weight. How much do I weigh, Ai?
«You weigh 30kg.»
Do they use the same weight measures?
«Yes, but they also use Azuls.»
Yeah, I'd rather use kilograms. I filled out the rest of the form and handed it to the innkeeper. I obviously lied when they asked for my race. I put human, the same as how the Oni siblings put it. That's when it was decided. Apparently, they use the same days and months in this world, and today was Wednesday. Meaning that the tournament would start tomorrow at midday. Since we're signing up before the 18th, it's fine.
I thought about it. How there was a slight chance that we would fight each other for the price of first place. I guess that's why the two came here. For the cursed weapon, Python. With my physical abilities, I think I can get far, but skill is a different thing. My close-ranged fighting skills are absolute shit.
Let's see how it'll work out. This tournament is bound to have a lot of strong guys, right? Let's test my limits. I have a feeling that the tournament will be full of fun and surprises. Crap, I can feel a smile leaking. I haven't been this happy ever since that one rom-com I liked got an anime adaptation. There are things I can enjoy in this world too, I guess.