Chapter 52: Ambiguity in the Car (4)

Chapter 52: Square 46: Black vs Gold

Elizabeth moved first, of course. A straight-line charge, but coming at a speed too fast to even blink through.

"Knew you’d come like that!"

I went to fling open the sack in my hand. But right at that instant!

"Too naive!"

Elizabeth threw the sword in her hand like a throwing knife. The exact scenario I’d been dreading most.

"Ngh! No way!?"

Aimed straight for my chest. Not a speed I could dodge. Elizabeth, assuming this had sealed the match, started slowing down. But her aim at my chest had been a miscalculation.

"...Whew, that was close."

The rapier, buried straight into my chest, wobbled violently from the impact. I pulled it out with a completely calm expression and tossed it, still wobbling, out the window.

"Alright, no weapon left. What’s your next move?"

Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide. Her expression made it clear she was thoroughly shaken.

"Y-you were hiding your real strength!"

"If you think that, then hurry up and come at me."

Elizabeth’s shock exceeded my expectations by a lot. Because this wasn’t some trick at all, I’d simply shoved a frying pan into my chest pocket.

"If you won’t come, I will!"

I threw the small cloth sack I’d prepared at Elizabeth. But seeing my complete lack of concern, Elizabeth snapped out of her hesitation.

"Ugh, enough! I have no idea what’s going on with you anymore. But even with defense, there shouldn’t be any offensive power behind it. Offense is the best defense! Let me show you that!"

With those words, Elizabeth charged forward, batting the sack aside with one hand. She’d already sensed the contents were pepper. She hadn’t missed the scattered pepper powder near the entrance earlier. So rather than slicing the sack, she struck it directly with her hand, to avoid getting blinded by scattered powder from a cut. The instant she struck it, thinking that, the inside flashed briefly...

BANG!

A small popping sound. But under the rules, a sound that could decisively swing the match. As the smoke from the small blast cleared, revealing Elizabeth’s figure, I couldn’t help a bitter laugh.

"What kind of reflexes do you even have..."

"That was... that gave me quite a scare. A very real scare!!"

What Elizabeth held now was a parasol. In that split second, she’d generated it and opened it instantly for defense. She always kept two teaspoons on hand for emergencies, as a medium to transform into a parasol when needed. But this had been a genuine last resort. I’d pushed Elizabeth right to her limit.

"Was that thing at the entrance calculated too, by any chance?"

"...Who knows."

My curt reply only fueled Elizabeth’s competitive fire further. She closed the parasol she’d used for defense and reset her stance at her hip, sinking her center of gravity low. The stance looked almost like an iaido draw.

"Here I come..."

Her gaze alone was chilling enough that retreating wasn’t even an option. Not expecting much, I threw the sack from my coat anyway.

"That trick won’t work twice!"

Elizabeth cut the sack apart with a lightning fast draw. If it had been an explosive crystal, the cut might have severed the magic circle and disabled it. But the second one I’d thrown was genuinely just pepper.

"Mmbwah!"

She managed to avoid a direct hit, but it seemed a bit of pepper got into her eyes. She curled up, pressing her hands to her face. Unable to bear the pain, Elizabeth formed a sphere of water in her palm with water magic and quickly rinsed her eyes. Pushing back her soaked hair, she turned her gaze forward right away, only to find me with a lit lighter aimed at a spray can. An attack magic barriers couldn’t stop, powered by science instead. Take a direct hit from this, and the match would be over.

"As a knight! I refuse to lose!!"

Faster than my spray, Elizabeth lunged at me. But right before the blade could land, I spat out a small chunk from my mouth like a seed. It was an explosive crystal, its magic circle deliberately scratched down small. I’d prepared it alongside the flamethrower as a last-resort countermeasure.

"Th-that’s not fair!?"

Elizabeth tried to shift into a defensive stance, but guarding the wrong direction meant risking either the explosion or the flame. That moment of hesitation bred panic. As a result, Elizabeth lost her balance mid-air and landed hard on her backside. I stepped back quickly and unleashed the flame without mercy. Naturally, Elizabeth blocked it with her parasol. But she wasn’t fully focused on defense. Her gaze was locked on the explosive crystal I’d just spat out. The small lump rolled across the floor without exploding at all.

"...Why didn’t that explode?"

Truth was, I’d scratched a small mark into the stone’s magic circle beforehand to disable it. Had to, or there was no way I could’ve put it in my mouth. Elizabeth, not knowing that, had her gaze fixed low, completely unaware of the sack falling from above.

"What’s going on? Don’t tell me it’s a du—bgyah!"

The sack struck her square on the head, sending pepper scattering everywhere. I’d been waiting for exactly the moment her vision would be blocked by the parasol. Hiding a pepper sack behind the spray can, I’d thrown it upward with my mouth the instant the parasol opened. Did you know? Pepper in the eyes doesn’t just hurt, it brings an intense burning sensation. That searing pain isn’t something easily endured.

"Ahh... my eyes, ...it burns!"

"...Feel a little bad, but this is my chance!"

I killed the flame immediately and sprinted with everything I had toward the far end of the hallway. I could’ve attacked Elizabeth in that state, but I judged that even that much wouldn’t land against someone that focused on defense. No point being greedy, better to stick to Plan B as originally intended.

"Ugh... I won’t forgive this!!"

Elizabeth rinsed her eyes with water magic again, same as before. Using a large amount of water, her hair and clothes were completely soaked. Dripping water everywhere, she rounded the corner of the hallway. Ahead, she spotted a slow, frail-looking back.

"That’s a dead end!"

Elizabeth broke into a run. Despite her impractical outfit, she moved with inhuman speed. Right as her blade was about to reach my defenseless black-suited back, Elizabeth suddenly slowed and hesitated to close the distance. ...The reason: a stench strong enough to raise goosebumps straight to the nose.

"Don’t tell me, that smell, is that..."

"Yeah, that’s right. Fermented sewer rat juice soaked into a towel! Come closer if you dare!"

I waved the towel around in my hand. Properly gloved, and with tissue stuffed in my nose for good measure. And for the final push, I hurled the vile-smelling towel straight at Elizabeth with everything I had.

"KYAAAAAAAH!!! What are you doing!? If that smell gets on my clothes, it’ll never come out!?"

Ignoring Elizabeth’s cursing, I dove straight to the dead end of the hallway. Pressing my back against the wall, I pulled two paring knives from my coat.

"...Looks like you’re out of tricks. You intend to fight with those?"

To that question, I said nothing, just smiled. An expression completely mismatched with the situation, and it only made Elizabeth more wary.

"Take this!!"

I threw the two knives forcefully. But these were an amateur’s throws. Normally, they’d be caught easily, weapon stripped away in an instant. But Elizabeth deliberately dodged wide to the side instead. Naturally, out of caution against some trick rigged into the knives. But the moment I saw her dodging motion, I made a big, exaggerated pulling gesture through the air.

"They’re rigged with string!"

Before I even finished saying it, Elizabeth had already spun around. Holding her sword vertically, bracing to block, she realized: Nothing was coming at all.

"Well, that was a lie though."

At my words, Elizabeth turned back around. But one beat too late.

"Game over. That was a good fight."

Elizabeth’s body dropped straight downward. Fully focused on reorienting herself, she couldn’t reflexively jump, and fell completely defenseless. This spot had been weakened beforehand, floor cracked from the first floor below. Essentially, an indoor pitfall trap.

"Ugh! ...Wait, this can’t be!?"

Where Elizabeth fell was right beside the pile of explosive crystals from earlier. And on the other side, a wall. It was a sealed-off space, a gap boxed in by the crystal pile.

"No... way, right?"

Looking down from above, I held an explosive crystal in my hand. The last one I’d brought here. I flicked it downward with my finger. The explosive crystal glowed red. Looking at the massive pile of crystals right beside it, Elizabeth’s face went pale.

"No, impossible! Retreat!!!"

Elizabeth burst through the window with tremendous force, escaping outside. Right after, an explosion echoed. But the sound was far too small.

"...Huh?"

Only a single explosion’s worth of sound. No way hundreds, thousands of crystals wouldn’t have chain-reacted at that distance.

"...What is going on here!?"

"...My lady."

At the voice from behind her, Elizabeth turned to find a small maid standing there, looking apologetic.

"Actually, um, those explosive crystals had small scratches put into their magic circles, so... they can’t explode." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

That explanation made sense on its own. But one detail still didn’t sit right with Elizabeth.

"How do you know that?"

"Um, well, actually, in exchange for letting us play something called a "handheld game," several maids and butlers... spent time scratching the magic circles on all the explosive crystals."

Elizabeth stared at the maid with a blank expression.

"That would have been during the two hours before the match started, correct?"

The maid closed her eyes and nodded firmly. At the same time, Selva’s voice came through the communication crystal worn as a necklace.

"This match ends with Lady Elizabeth’s loss, due to leaving the arena! A medical team is on the way, please remain where you are, both of you."

".......Pfft. Ahaha, ahahaha, ahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"

Elizabeth laughed, a genuine, unrestrained laugh, rare for her. Both of them had fought with everything they had, no question. No regrets left.

"M-my lady!? Are you... alright?"

"Fufufu, yes, I’m fine. Well then, things are about to get busy."

Twenty-eight minutes after the match began. The duel between the weakest warrior and the golden knight came to a close, with the weakest warrior’s victory.