On the day of the final match.
At breakfast, my grandfather told me he had something to discuss with me.
After breakfast, my grandfather started talking in the living room.
“Uidor Gerushbeitz died about half a month ago.”
“Uwi…”
Who? I don’t recall that name.
“He was the lawyer who defended Firet and Lightstar.”
“Ah, that person.”
He was the one who had been suffering from a stroke, causing numbness in his left side, if I remember correctly.
“…I told him to get treatment, but he didn’t listen.”
“He suddenly collapsed and passed away.”
“I see.”
“By the way, there are some people who want you to check if Thomas has any illnesses.”
“Excuse me?”
“They’re all afraid of death. That’s why they want you to check if Thomas has any diseases.”
“I see… for Grandfather…”
Wait a minute. This might be a great opportunity to spread the faith of Deuro-sama!
“I leave it to you, Grandfather. Could you make the necessary arrangements? If I know in advance, I’ll make sure my schedule is clear. But there’s just one thing I ask.”
“One thing? What is it?”
“I want you to ensure that people I treat in their territories will promise to follow the faith of Deuro-sama.”
“I see. Deuro-sama is the god who granted Thomas his blessing. If they are relying on Thomas’ power, it’s natural for them to dedicate themselves to the faith of Deuro. Understood. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
In this world, healing is mostly done by priests. They use light magic to heal injuries.
However, diseases often can’t be cured by priests.
They don’t seem to understand the human body’s structure, and most importantly, they don’t understand the existence of viruses or bacteria.
At school, I am concentrating mentally in the waiting room.
If I lose due to lack of skill, I can accept that, but if I lose because of carelessness, I won’t be satisfied. So, I won’t let my guard down in today’s final match and will defeat my opponent.
“Thomas-kun, I’m going to check your magic tools.”
“Yes.”
I stand up when the teacher calls me. Entering the room are two teachers, Captain Susanna from the Temple Knights, and three other knights.
Today, I brought my weight sword.
One teacher checks my weight sword, while the other checks for any hidden magic tools.
“Everything is fine.”
“There’s no problem here either.”
Once the teachers determine there’s no issue, I head toward the arena.
My opponent, Lady Claudia , is already in the arena.
“So, the final opponent is you, Thomas-sama.”
“I can’t lose, especially for the honor of my father.”
“I’ve heard of Lord Roxfall. He’s legendary for being undefeated for five years. I’d love to be like him, but facing you, Thomas-sama, it’s not going to be easy.”
Ah, she gets it, Lady Claudia !
You can show more respect for your father!
“Both of you, it’s the final match. Compete to your fullest and have no regrets.”
“Yes!”
Following the referee’s instructions, we move to our starting positions.
And then, the final match begins.
“Start!”
“To the great Light God, Lightroid-sama, I offer my prayers. Light Arrow!”
As soon as the match begins, Lady Claudia launches a spell.
A light arrow, being light-elemental, is quite fast.
I dodge it by taking a half-step.
“To the great Light God, Lightroid-sama, I offer my prayers. Flash!”
My vision turns completely white. I didn’t expect her to use a debuff spell. It’s a good move.
“To the great Light God, Lightroid-sama, I offer my prayers. Light Arrow!”
Using a visual impairment to launch an attack is a good strategy.
But I can’t afford to lose!
I draw my weight sword and swing it upward. It feels like I’ve hit something!
“Huh!?”
The weight sword successfully slashes through the light arrow. Although I can’t see, I can feel the impact, and since the arrow didn’t reach me, I’m certain I cut it.
“Can you see!?”
“No, I can’t see.”
My vision is still completely white.
“To slash a spell like that, it’s unthinkable!”
“I just tried it and it worked?”
This is the first time I’ve ever slashed a spell while not being able to see.
We have Charmy at home, who uses light magic, so I knew such spells existed.
Since I knew, I had prepared countermeasures. I’ve been training to fight with my eyes covered since the beginning of the year. I never imagined I’d be able to cut magic this well, but I guess I got lucky this time.
“At this rate, I’ll overwhelm you with sheer numbers!”
Since my vision is still impaired, Lady Claudia seems to think she can overwhelm me with sheer force. I think it’s better not to say things like that out loud.
Transformation!
As soon as my vision clears, Lady Claudia stumbles and falls on her backside.
“Huh? What? What just happened!?”
I just swapped our visions.
She’s panicking because her magic took away her own vision, which isn’t something she expected.
I take the opportunity to swing my weight sword at her.
“Ah…”
Lady Claudia falls unconscious, slumped like she’s peacefully sleeping.
“That’s enough! The winner is Thomas Bard Roxfall, the Marquis!”
Her strategy of blinding me was good, but it’s unfortunate she didn’t plan for what would happen if she herself was affected by a status condition.
If she had trained like me to fight with her eyes covered, the result might have been different.
Lady Claudia , with her cute sleeping face, regains consciousness after about a minute.
“I feel like I just had a very strange experience.”
She’s confused because, despite being knocked out by a strong blow, she has no injuries.
It’s a good thing she wasn’t hurt, as it would have been bad if her pretty face had gotten scarred.
Afterward, there was an award ceremony, and I received the first-place trophy.
“In the afternoon, there will be a mock battle with the winner of the martial arts tournament. Rest until then.”
“Understood.”
