"What? Princess Iris is also participating in this tournament!"
"But isn't she the greatest prodigy in the empire's history?"
"Indeed, she is a 6th-rank mage at the mere age of 22 and has received training in the knight order. It is said that she can match a 5-star knight in combat by imbuing her sword with her 6th-rank mana."
"It looks like we have to revise the predicted rankings for the first place. With Princess Iris participating in the tournament, she has the best chance of winning."
"Certainly, she hasn't lost even once on the same level or below. She is truly the pride of our Mozard Empire. The Invincible Genius!"
Countless whispers resonated across the venue. Many nobles chose to ignore the murmurs, approaching the princess. They exchanged greetings before gathering around her.
Most of the crowd assembled near the center where the princess was seated. In the corners of the banquet hall were Adrian and Silent Killer. Other loners were simply cast out due to status differences.
After a brief wait, the noble who had organized this tournament ascended the stage and began to speak with the aid of sound-enhancing magic, his voice echoing clearly across the hall.
"I, Duke Valentino, welcome all the esteemed guests present here! This is my first time organizing a tournament. I hope you all will be pleased with my arrangements, and if you have any grievances, you can inform me after the banquet.
You all have waited too long; allow me to announce the start of the banquet! Applause
Now, please come to the stage once you hear your name being called.
Once you are on the stage, pick a ball from the box on the table located at the center of the stage. It contains pairs of balls with identical numbers. Participants who draw the same number will be opponents for the first round.
Now let's start with the first participant."
After Duke Valentino exited the stage, the names of the participants started being called out.
"Silent Killer, please come to the stage."
All eyes turned towards the black-clad man who went on stage and selected a ball. After announcing his number to the staff, he returned to his original position.
Similarly, other participants were also called out, with everyone paying attention to the numbers these individuals received, except for five people:
Silent Killer, Fire Wizard, The Boulder, Princess Iris, and Adrian, who was engrossed in conversation with Demios.
"Adrian, why is this tournament so grand, and why are these powerful people participating in it? They shouldn't have any reason to do so," Demios inquired, puzzled by the motives of the participants.
"That's due to the prize for the first Place. It's just too attractive to miss" Adrian answered with a grin.
"Oh, what is the prize that can even entice a princess to participate?" Demios questioned.
Now he was genuinely curious about the prize. All the participants were from different backgrounds. Silent Killer from an assassin organization, Fire Wizard from a magic tower, The Boulder from The Mercenary Guild, others were nobles and mercenaries. Even a princess of the second-strongest empire wanted that prize. just what was it?
"A wish! The first prize is a wish that will be fulfilled by the duke if it is within his power. You can ask for money, fame, power, anything, and he will fulfill it!" Adrian informed.
"Oh, that's a really attractive prize. But then also, what will a princess request for? She has money, fame, power, and everything that one can want, even more than the duke has. Then, why is she participating?" Demios asked, confused about the motive of the princess.
"Oh, she? She wants the throne!" Adrian muttered nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.
"Throne? But how will the Duke help with that?" Demios stopped in between as she realized what the princess wanted.
"Indeed, she wants the Duke to support her in the fight for the throne. After she wins, she will request for the duke to join her faction. Even those people from different organizations have the same motive. They all want the Duke's support.
If the Fire Wizard wins, he will ask the duke's support for the tower. And when the tower decides to support a prince or princess, they will have a duke on their side. This will make them more attractive, and they can make more profits from the fight for the throne.
Similarly, Silent Killer and The Boulder also want the duke's support for their organizations," Adrian explained.
"What about Etheria then? Why is she participating?" Demios questioned.
"She has her circumstances. You will know later!" Adrian muttered.
"Winter Nightfallen, please come on the stage."
Adrian's name was called out. Adrian left the conversation for later before going up on the stage.
There were two colored balls in the box - blue and red. Most of the red balls were picked, leaving more number of Blue balls. Adrian picked a blue ball before opening it up.
It contained the Number 7, which he showed to the staff, who wrote his number on the board. Afterward, he left the stage.
After an hour or so, the process finally came to an end. A familiar face once again got up on the stage. It was the Duke who started with his announcement.
"The opponents for you have been chosen. There will be 8 rounds in this tournament, but since only 255 warriors participated, one person was advanced to the second round by default. You must be aware of who that person is."
Everyone's gazes fell on the princess, who ignored them, continuing with her business.
"You can see the tournament chart on the board. I hope the tournament tomorrow will be talked about for decades. I will conclude this banquet by expressing my gratitude to you all," the Duke ended his speech, leaving the stage.
Everyone's gaze fixed on the board mentioned by the Duke. Adrian also searched for his name. After a bit of scanning, he found it in the 11th round column.
"Macho Husband? Who the fxck is Macho Husband?" Adrian muttered with a ridiculous face upon reading his opponent's name.
"There, you see that couple sitting over there? The man of the couple is Macho Husband," a voice came from behind Adrian.
Adrian turned around, spotting Silent Killer approaching him.
"Huh? Why would you tell me that?" Adrian asked, finding Silent Killer suspicious.
"It's just that you could see me and follow my movements among all the people present, so I got interested in you. This mask also made me somewhat intrigued," Silent Killer answered.
"Alright then, I will take my leave now," Adrian said before vanishing in front of Silent Killer.
A shocked expression appeared on Silent Killer's face before returning to normal as he remarked, "Interesting!" rubbing his chin with his fingers.