Chapter 41: Wind Spirit King Sylph

I climbed up the stage.

The finalist finally came. It was the butler who welcomed us back at the Royal Palace.

I believe the Elf King is the true most powerful person in this country, followed by this butler. He has enormous mana, and his magic flows smoothly—evidence of the considerable amount of time he poured in training.

This is going to be a tad harder than when I fought with the general.

“The truth is, I had been taking care of Lady Tina since she was young,” Butler Guy said as we faced each other.

“First and foremost, I do not have the intention to marry Lady Tina.”

“Eh? Then why did you bother joining the tournament?”

“I presume Lady Tina does not wish to be tied in marriage at this time. At least, the three days since her return are definitely not enough to find a worthy partner for her. It is also impossible for her to be charmed by those good-for-nothing sons of nobility.”

…Oh?

Maybe this Elf is a good person, after all?

Ah, but I’m also an aristocrat’s son, you know.

Don’t lump me with those guys.

“My initial plan was to attain victory in this tournament and secure her fiancé’s spot. I was thinking of turning over this position to the person Lady Tina herself chose when the time comes.”

“Was thinking?”

“I have felt Lady Tina’s sincere desire for your victory in the earlier matches. This battle decides the person who will be her marriage partner; yet, she was cheering you wholeheartedly. If I may ask, are you mutually in love with Lady Tina?”

“…Yeah.”

“Oh, is that so. So, Lady Tina also desires to be tied with you in marriage.”

“Don’t tell me you plan to forfeit this match?”

“Haha, not at all. My role is to secure Lady Tina’s happiness, and I move accordingly. Now, I wish to ascertain for myself whether you do have the ability to protect Lady Tina.”

Hey, I already defeated the “strongest” guy in this kingdom, isn’t that enough already?

“Ah, your strength cannot be determined as acceptable just by simply defeating the Supreme Commander. Lady Tina can kill him in an instant, you know.”

Oy oy, what kind of trash talk is that towards your own country’s general? I don’t think he’s wrong, though.

“What I am seeking from you is the ability to protect Lady Tina; in other words, you must be in possession of a power greater than hers. Though my defeat will not be enough proof, it somehow will put me at ease, and I will be able to entrust her in your care.”

“In short, I just need to defeat you in order for you to acknowledge me, right?”

“I did say I. It’s a different story, whether the nobility will recognize you. Well, whether or not they do will be another challenge for you.”

“Got it, thanks for telling me this.”

“I also wanted to have a conversation with you. You have piqued my interest, being the human that you are and yet continuously winning your battles nonetheless.”

The Elf referee climbed up the stage. The match started.

“I will not go easy on you.”

“Likewise.”

I accumulated my magic.

“Fire Lance!”

I crafted another Flaming Knight and made him attack.

Unfortunately, the barely formed Flaming Knight exploded before it was released.

“If you use the same trick three times, it’s impossible that there will be no countermeasures against it.”

Butler Guy fired an arrow made from [Wind Magic], and he detonated the flaming knight.

“You’re right.”

Butler Guy posed his magic bow—

An ultrahigh-speed arrow flew towards me.

I created an orbiting magical barrier in an attempt to slow down the arrow, and I was able to circumvent it somehow. It was way too fast compared to Leaffa’s arrow.

“You did well in avoiding it. I do not wish to end the match with just that attack.”

“Take this!

Firelance!”

I shot a thousand [Fire Lances].

“!?”

Butler Guy flipped himself and escaped from the flaming spears, which struck the dome-structured magic defense barrier protecting the arena.

The barrier crumbled to dust.

All of the nobles in the stadium were in an uproar.

“Wh, what kind of magic was that!?” Butler Guy said.

“Good job, dodging that. That’s a thousand [Fire Lances].”

“T, thousand?”

“But there’s no meaning if you just evade it… How about this? Fire Lance!”

I conjured another 1,000 [Fire Lances] and suspended them mid-air.

“Huh!?”

Butler eyes’ bulged in shock while looking at the new set of spears filling up the sky. All of their tips pointed towards him.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to escape with this much. Ah, by the way, each of those spears contains the same amount of power as the ones before.”

“What, what are you!?”

“I’m the one and only candidate to be Tina’s fiancé. So, what would you do? If you don’t give up, then I’ll release all of them.”

“Ahahahaha, there is no way I can win against this. Umpire, I surrender!”

“Thanks. We don’t need this anymore, I guess.”

I pointed the flame spears towards the sky and launched them at top-speed.

“T, the grand winner is the human youth, Halt-Vie-Silveray!”

The referee declared victory.

At the same time, all of the Fire Lances I shot exploded. They scattered colorful flames high in the sky.

I already anticipated Butler would admit his defeat when he saw my attack, so I infused the spears with magic that would add color to the flames when they explode.

These are the fireworks that celebrate my victory.

“Come, Tina!”

“Ye, yes!”

Tina came running up the platform.

“I won! With this, will the Kingdom of Alheim acknowledge our marriage?”

I put my arm across Tina’s shoulders and asked the nobles and royals.

“The, there’s no way we will do that!”

“That’s right! We cannot accept that a mere human dares to marry Lady Tina!”

The aristocrats and ministers raised their voices in protest.

“Listen to me, all of you. I have asked Sylph, Wind Spirit King, to bestow her blessing and protection on this great tournament winner—to him, who will become Tina’s spouse. Sylph has accepted my plea. Do all of you wish to against the Wind Spirit King?”

It seems like Elf King’s rooting for me.

“That person must have used underhanded means!”

“He must have tasked his friends to cast auxiliary magic on him! Otherwise, how can a puny human use that kind of magic!?”

“That’s for certain! Fraud! Invalidate this match!”

I was accused of cheating, and the results of the match might be voided.

Just like what I expected.

I gave a signal.

‘That person never cheated.’

A voice echoed throughout the venue.

“Th-this voice!?”

“Wha, I can hear it in my head!”

It’s apparent that elves can hear that voice.

A whirlwind formed at the dead center of the arena. Sylph appeared right in the middle.

‘Whew, how many hundred years has it been since I last appeared in this country? I see new faces. I am Sylph, the Spirit King of the Wind.’

“Sylph-sama!”

The Elf King, who was already on stage in an instant, knelt before Sylph.

‘Ah, I met you before. So you’re the King now. Long time no see.’

“It has been so long. For you to grace us with your presence…”

‘That’s coz I already got the Leaf of Yggdrasil in return for the promise of protecting the winner. I already bestowed the blessing on those two. Then you guys wanted me to cancel it… Are you all looking down on me!?’

“!?”

The air temperature in the arena suddenly dropped. The nobles and ministers quaked in the face of the Wind Spirit King’s cold, murderous fury.

“T, that’s out of the question!! Alheim Kingdom celebrates the marriage of Tina Harivell to Halt-Vie-Silveray!”

‘Got it, thanks! How about everyone else in this stadium? Earlier, I heard you screaming about him being a scam.’

Sylph flew towards the spectator stands and drew closer to the aristocrats. With teeth chattering in fear, the nobles weren’t able to do anything except bow their heads.

‘I swear in my name as the Spirit King. Halt never cheated. He won the tournament fair and square.’

Nobody dared to refute Sylph’s words.

‘Seems like there are no complaints! Alrighty, it’s decided, the two of them will get married! Congrats!’

Tina and I were warmly wrapped in Sylph’s wind.

We exchange a kiss in the midst of that gentle breeze.