In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
On this day, the War Festival hosted by the Frenzel family was officially announced open, making the city of Undine much livelier than usual.
Citizens pointed and gestured in the direction of the training field, which served as the arena for the fight, seemingly discussing the War Festival.
One carriage after another proceeded in the same direction, most likely heading to the training field.
Outside the training field, the Frenzel family's people stood guard.
Some were responsible for maintaining security and order, others for guiding and collecting entrance tickets, while some welcomed VIPs arriving in luxurious carriages, allowing everyone with tickets to enter one after another.
In such a scenario, Riezel's group also arrived quietly.
They remained the same old members, with Riezel, Yuri, Marilyn, Ain, and Ian, the group of five, walking together without any other members.
On the opposite side, the lineup was quite grand.
Apart from Alderman, Sefaz, and the mysterious closed-eyed swordsman, many knights and attendants were accompanying them.
At first glance, Riezel's group seemed somewhat outnumbered, but the attention of most people was actually focused on them.
"Is that Marquis Yuri Frenzel?"
"Those three women behind her, are they all her attendants?"
"I heard they're all Sword Masters."
"Amazing... Each one is so beautiful..."
"Yeah..."
People started discussing one after another enthusiastically, while Alderman's group, despite appearing more grand, didn't attract much attention.
It couldn't be helped.
Alderman's group was mostly men, and their fame wasn't high either, except for Sefaz himself being a Sword Master, the others weren't well-known, including Alderman himself.
Of course, when mentioning fame, it referred to strength.
People recognized Alderman as the former head of the Frenzel family, but in the end, he was just a Combat-Class Magician. He wasn't even a Tactical-Class, let alone a Strategic-Class Magician.
As a result, his support in this festival focused on combat wasn't very high.
On the other hand, in Riezel's group, Yuri herself was one of the continent's only eight Strategic-Class Magicians, while Marilyn, Ain, and Ian were all Sword Masters.
Although they were fewer in number, each one was elite, and of course, beautiful. After all, people were visual creatures, naturally more inclined to pay attention to something or someone beautiful, so it was understandable for their group to be more popular.
Even Riezel himself sparked considerable discussion.
"That's Riezel Brynhart, right?"
At one of the specially invited seats, a young nobleman dressed in finery turned to his attendant beside him for confirmation.
"Yes, he is indeed Riezel Brynhart." The attendant respectfully replied.
"Quite young, huh..." The young nobleman remarked. "Becoming a Tactical-Class Magician at such a young age. While not quite on par with Marquis Frenzel, he's certainly stronger than most Tactical-Class Magicians in the kingdom. No wonder the royal palace's people insisted I abandon all my work and rush over here just to bring this young man back for ennoblement."
This young nobleman had come from the royal capital, traveling a long distance. Apart from him, there were many other VIPs in the special seats, each with their own purposes.
Riezel was the focus of attention for many, with some even coming specifically for him.
"Is he the Tactical-Class Magician mentioned in the intelligence report, the one who hasn't been ennobled yet?"
"Yes, that's him."
"Good, let's find an opportunity to approach him and see if we can recruit him to our country before Jinas gets their claws on him."
In corners of the audience seats, whispers like these were happening, as if darkness pervaded everywhere.
And so, the opening time of the War Festival arrived right on time.
===
In the center of the training field, the two sides about to face off finally met.
"Are you ready?" Alderman looked at his daughter standing opposite him, asking without any expression.
"Let's get started already." Yuri didn't waste any words, simply dropping this statement before turning to walk back with the others.
Riezel lagged behind, his gaze involuntarily flicking to the closed-eyed swordsman standing behind Alderman. But after gazing at the closed-eyed swordsman, he suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?" Yuri noticed his unease and asked in a lowered voice.
"Haven't you noticed?" Riezel continued to frown, looking at the closed-eyed swordsman. "There seems to be some sort of change in him..."
"Really?" Yuri seemed not to have noticed.
Not only her, but Marilyn, Ain, and Ian also seemed not to have noticed any anomaly. Only Riezel had a feeling that something had changed about the closed-eyed swordsman.
The closed-eyed swordsman's aura became somewhat dangerous, somewhat horrifying.
If, when Riezel first saw this closed-eyed swordsman, he felt like he was facing powerful experts like Finn, Riveria, or Gareth. Now, the feeling he got from this closed-eyed swordsman was more like facing a floor boss, full of oppression and terrifying monster-like presence.
Although the feeling of power remained just as strong, perhaps even stronger than before, the change in the closed-eyed swordsman made him feel more hostile and filled with bloodlust.
Strangely, he felt an urge to immediately cut down the closed-eyed swordsman, which made no sense and left him quite puzzled.
"Alright, don't think too much about it." Yuri patted his shoulder. "Whatever it is, let's talk after the War Festival is over."
Riezel nodded, taking one more deep look at the closed-eyed swordsman before following Yuri and the others, leaving the center of the training field.
On the other hand, Alderman remained in the center and chanted a magic. It was a small magic that amplified his voice to deliver the opening speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I extend a warm welcome to each and every one of you gathered here today! I am deeply grateful for your presence at our Frenzel family's War Festival!"
As Alderman's voice reverberated loudly, the audience immediately quieted down.
"War Festival has been a tradition of our Frenzel family since its birth, once widely known. Unfortunately, we, the later generations, have been incapable of maintaining the brilliance of our ancestors. Eventually, this tradition faded away, not mentioned for decades."
"Now, the Frenzel family finally has the opportunity to reclaim some of its former glory, and it's time for the revival of this family tradition."
"Today, I, Alderman Frenzel, along with the family head, will recreate the War Festival, hoping that our ancestors will bless our family and restore its past glory."
After Alderman delivered the opening speech, he didn't waste much time and went straight to the point.
"The rules of the War Festival are as follows..."
Alderman announced the rules of the War Festival to the audience, which included three rounds with two victories needed to win, consisting of three fights with specific limitations on participants for each round, and so on.
Additionally, he made a special reminder.
"The War Festival is a tradition, a ritual... As such, it strictly forbids both sides from seriously harming their opponents, let alone killing them."
"Any violation of the safety regulations, regardless of which side, will be punished by the Frenzel family, even if it's me or my daughter, who is the family head."
"As for determining the winner, it will be based on destroying the medals worn by the participants."
After saying that, Alderman took out a medal and wore it on his left shoulder.
"Participants from both sides must wear this medal on their left shoulder."
"Once one side's medal is destroyed, victory will be decided, and the one who destroys it will claim the win."
"Additionally, once a participant has taken part in a round, they cannot participate again. Each participant is only allowed to participate once."
These were roughly the rules, with the rest being just some precautions, such as the training field employing barrier magic to protect the audience when the fight began, so the audience didn't need to worry about being affected by the fights.
"Now, each side, please send out a swordsman to participate in the first round of swordsmen."
After declaring that, Alderman left the center of the training field, and not long after, someone from his side entered.
"Good afternoon, everyone!"
Sefaz stepped onto the center of the training field, waving and greeting all around. His performance was akin to a football player entering the field, which indeed drew cheers from the audience, especially the teenage girls.
"Kyaaa—!"
"Kyaaa—!"
"Young Master Sefaz—!"
When they saw the first participant to enter was the handsome Sefaz, they all screamed one after another.
It must be said that the genes of the Frenzel family were indeed excellent. Handsome men and beautiful women, not a single one was mediocre. They were much better looking than the celebrities from Riezel's previous life.
"As expected, the first one to enter is my elder brother..." Yuri murmured as she watched her elder brother waving to the audience while approaching the center of the training field.
"I'll go." Marilyn said calmly.
"Um, go ahead." Yuri nodded. "Don't force yourself, just do your best."
"Understood." Marilyn bowed her head slightly, then calmly walked toward the center of the training field.
*Whistle~*
*Whistle~*
The stunning maid made a bold entrance, this time prompting a chorus of wolf whistles from the men.
"Ahh, are you my opponent?" Sefaz looked at Marilyn across from him and chuckled. "This could be tricky."
"Lie." Marilyn spoke without a trace of politeness. "You clearly don't think I could be your opponent."
"Then you've misunderstood me..." Sefaz shrugged casually. "If you unleash your family's specialty and use that swordsmanship, you would definitely be one of the opponents I least want to face."
Upon hearing that, Marilyn remained calm and quietly took out her weapon.
"Come."
Her calm and indifferent voice made Sefaz reveal a meaningful smile as he unsheathed the sword hanging from his waist.
In this manner, the first round of the War Festival had finally begun.