The barracks were packed with the smell of blood and sweat. With the prelims of the Prince bracket complete. Now I, the princess and Rou wait for our matches.

Well, I mention Rou but I haven't seen her since this morning. I heard from Aqua she was practicing but even now I couldn't find her. I worry slightly about it but my mind is also preoccupied with the upcoming fight.

Everything so far has been luck really. I didn't kill a sea dragon. Aquarou threw it at me. The sharks, lizard, and everything else could barely even be considered fights. I mostly just overwhelmed them with strength. But doing that now would result in the death of my opponent. Something that would be frowned on obviously.

No, now I had to actually think carefully about my actions. I needed to avoid magic while striking my enemies down as fast as possible. This was the clear technique in this tournament. This was really less a tournament and more a chance for magicians to show their instant destruction magic. Each hoped theirs would be enough to overwhelm the Prince or Princess.

"Have you seen your first match-up yet?" Clove asks seeing my nervous expression.

"No, is it bad?"

"You got unlucky with the draw. Or perhaps it was Rou who got unlucky with the draw."

"What?! I'm fighting Rou?"

"Mhm, it's likely why she isn't here. She has to psyche herself up to properly fight with you. I understand the feeling, knowing I'll meet you in the semi's is terrifying."

"Well, who knows, I might lose. Maybe it will be you and Rou in the semi's together."

"Hmm, well I doubt it. I haven't seen you use a sword before but I am sure you are skilled. And while Rou is good with her firearm she has volunteered not to use it. Although not against the rules for her to use it she is giving herself an unnecessary handicap, same with El."

"Well, you can't blame them. Now knowing what they are, they don't want to be seen as people who hurt others."

Clove moves a step closer before guessing at my meaning. "Demons?"

"Exactly. If they wounded someone badly in this tournament they would have trouble forgiving themselves. So long as it doesn't put them in danger I don't mind them handicapping themselves."

"Even Rou?"

"No. I want her to go all out in our fight. If she shows up without her weapon I will refuse to fight her until she equips it."

"So stubborn." Clove says with a smirk. "But, I agree. I think a battle between gun and Cole would be interesting. Would you like to borrow my barrier?"

"Of course not. That would be no fair. No, I will come up with something to counter her."

I say that but it's easier said than done. Even with agility, it's not like I can completely dodge a speeding bullet. And even with strength, I doubt I can stop a bullet. No, she will be a difficult opponent, probably the most difficult of any from my crew.

"Oh, is this the new name?" A random voice from beside us two asks roughly.

The man stood near a foot taller than me. He had muscles slightly smaller than the grotesque Brute. He was a specimen of a man, if not for the scarred face.

"Embar," A similarly aged woman beside him chastises. "You are in the presence of the princess. Show some manners."

"Ah, my mistake I thought I was hallucinating seeing her down here with us lowly contenders." The man snarls rudely.

"Well, that's because this year I may as well be one." Clove returns to the man with a smile. "In fact this year likely won't end with a battle between me and my brother. It wouldn't even astound me if we both fail to make it to the Finals."

The man is looking at her with a look of confused shock. The woman beside him seems to be rubbing her chin and analyzing me carefully. "So this would be the 'Mr.' Moedy I assume? I didn't think it was such a common name."

"He doesn't look so tough." The gruff man says snorting. "I think the princess is just overcome with lust."

"Embar!! My apologies princess. He is just in pre-fight mode. I hope you can forgive his words."

"I suppose. Truly I just hope he can make it to his second round so he can see for himself."

"Mm, I couldn't ask for more." The man growls before taking his leave.

I suppose there is always one.

Once the two are a good distance away I ask.

"Is he trouble?"

"For you? No, probably not. Of everyone here, he is most like your fighting style. He focuses on strength behind his gauntlets. He rarely uses magic from what I have heard. If anyone, the girl beside him, Roya was the dangerous of the two. She has some mysterious mind control ability that works only on men. You should be wary of her."

"Oh, that's ominous."

"She is generally a good person though, and you won't meet her in the tournament."

"Why not?"

"Because I am her first opponent. Her magic is useless on me, I think she would actually have a decent chance against Calis if her luck in the draw was better."

"Well, I suppose I should thank you then."

"Of course."

"Any other people to watch out for?" I ask turning around and glancing at the other awaiting contestants.

"Him," She says pointing to a small dwarf carrying a heavy mace. "And him."

Her second motion is towards a man with thick black hair and cat ears, he wore a scowl but I couldn't help but find the ears adorable.

I need a cat girl.

~ ~

"Ladies and gentlemen. A particularly interesting match will be taking place next. It's rookie vs rookie. Moedy vs Moedy. Captain vs First mate. Please put your hands together for Cole Moedy on the right side, and on the left Rou Moedy."

The crowd roars a deafening sound. Perhaps down here in the bowl of the stadium the sound is amplified. I politely wave around to the crowd, paying special attention to the box where my crew sat and watched.

I step onto the stage in the center and glance around for my missing opponent. There is no way Rou choose to back out right? I thought she would be excited about this opportunity.

Finally after the crowd, noticing her absence quiets down a bit, she appears from the opposite doorway.

Her face was filled with nerves for a moment until she locked eyes with me. Her face became confident and she stepped towards the arena without glancing at the crowd.

"Are you ready?" She asks after stopping a few paces from me.

"I am, are you?" I ask glancing at her equipment. She indeed carries

her gun. I was happy. It seems she has also gotten an upgrade from Triff. The end of the gun barrel was shortened and a small magic stone was placed above the barrel.

"I am, it took longer than I expect to get used to this thing but…" She holds the gun up, running a hand along it. "This is a weapon that can counter Captain."

"Mhm, it looks interesting, I'm interested to see what Triff was able to do with it. Though for some reason I feel like she is experimenting with weapons meant to kill me."

"She did say it was a good opportunity," Rou says smiling at my joke.

I extend my hand to her to indicate to the announcer we were ready. For some reason, it felt like the announcer and even the crowd were giving Rou and I a quiet moment to talk. Now that it was over the murmur again returned.

We both bowed towards the direction of the box and then took our places.

"Begin!"

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Rou's gun erupted fire the moment the announcement finished. I expected as much so I leap upwards. She foresaw this though so she followed up with two shots above my original position.

"How?" I ask almost subconsciously.

"Don't get complacent." She says whipping the glowing barrel around and pointing it where I landed.

I follow her instruction and leap again, clearing her head and landing a few steps behind her. She slides her hand down the barrel of the gun and swings its butt at me with full force.

I can dodge it, or punch it. If I punch it, it could destroy the gun and likely her left arm. Not an option. I push off the ground again with my left foot sliding backward nearly ten feet.

This was a mistake. My trajectory was easy to track, and I couldn't move in the air. Rou again readied the gun and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

*BANG* *BANG*

How was this gun firing so often? It's possible in my world, sure. But that concept doesn't exist here. I had seen her fire this gun before Triffs upgrades, it took nearly fifteen seconds for Rou to reload it. Just what had Triff done?

"It's nice right?" Rou says after I struggle to body dodge the rounds fired in rapid succession. "It's a three point magic tool. Fire, earth, and wind, it was what Triff came up with after hearing about the guns in your world."

So it was based on concepts of my world after all. I really need to pay closer attention to this magic tool making once this battle is over.

But she made a fatal flaw. She told me what made her tool tick.

"Well I'm sufficiently impressed, then shall we finish this now?" I ask dropping the blade I carried pointlessly

"Yes, I've had my fun. It was a good match Captain." She readies her gun for a final assault.

We both knew it would end now.

Rou stared down the barrel of the gun aligning it to me carefully. She takes a deep breath and steadies her aim. Once sure she closes her eyes for a moment. I had seen her do this before, it was the same expression she had before judging the wind while navigating. Her eyes burst open as they typically do and she grips the trigger firmly.

*BANG!*

The Fire affinity stone, triggered by the hammer, activates an earth stone creating a perfectly round bullet which is accelerated by the wind stones at the end. The small stone flys from the barrel at over eight hundred feet per second.

"Hold your ears El," I say in almost a whisper.

I flex my arm muscles and with full strength clap my hands a single time, creating a shockwave of wind and sending the bullet flying off course. I pump a leg and run at full force towards Rou.

She nears the ground but I am able to cut the distance in time and catch her falling body.

Right, she was unconscious the moment I clapped. This battle is already over.

I glance up at the box with Rou in my arms. El is properly covering her ears while the rest hold their heads in pain. Sorry about that everyone.

"W…well that was… indeed something. I thought Cole Moedy was doomed, In all my years of commentating, I have never seen a match quite like that. Let's have a round of applause everyone!"

Half the crowd, hearing the man's words clap on cue while the rest only seem to notice after a moment.

Those church healers are going to have their work cut out for them, they can cure burst eardrums, right?

Seriously can they? Because the blood coming from both Rou and I's ears seems ominous.

~ ~

"Can you hear me now?" Aqua asks waving her hand in front of my face.

"I'm deaf, not blind, and yes I can hear you now. But really great work. I didn't imagine it could happen so quickly. But what about Rou, is she ok?"

"Yeah, she should be fine. She's still unconscious, she just needs some time to sleep off the shock."

That's an interesting attitude from a healer.

"Do you think I went overboard?" I ask honestly curious. I think perhaps I went a little too far, but I also wanted to face her with full power. This seemed like the only way.

"No way, in fact, I think you went rather easy on her. When you leaped over her at the beginning you were in her blind spot for a whole second. Even I could have taken advantage of a gap like that. Calis pointed it out at the time."

"Ah, so it was that noticeable? Well, I was interested in seeing her skill. I didn't want it to end too soon. Well, either way, I hope she will forgive me."

"I doubt she holds any hard feelings. I think the opportunity to attack you full force was probably fun. Rou rarely gets the chance since her main weapon is a firearm."

"I was wondering about that, why was she suddenly okay with it now?"

No matter how you look at it Rou was firing bullets at me that would have probably done major damage.

"Well look." Aqua turns her back to me and lifts her shirt enough so I can see the small of her back. A large purple welt was visible. It looked painful. She returns her shirt and turns back to me.

"So it wouldn't have hurt me too badly even if it hit?"

"That's right, Rou begged Triff to make something that could fire both accurately and rapidly. Triff claimed that it was impossible though, and that the firepower would be worthless. But apparently, all Rou wanted was to hit Captain, even just once."

"Ah, now I feel bad. I should have taken that last shot."

Aqua laughs and pats my left arm roughly "Captain just has a high pain tolerance."

In the place her hand sat, a small purple bruise was forming on my arm.

So it was during my foolish backward retreat? I was wondering how I dodged that second bullet. So she had already won at that point, huh?

"Ah, now I feel weak. I will definitely not take a hit next time."

"Is Captain in here? Where is he?" A frantic voice asks rushing into the room. The source was behind a curtain but I could tell its owner.

"Rou, what are you doing up so soon after passing out. You should rest properly." I say towards the sheet.

Swish

"There you are, Captain! That battle… that was…"

"Yeah, you did great Rou." I pat the purple bruise on my arm and wince. "I'm sorry for knocking you out."

"It really did hit then?" Rou cheers with a fist in the air. "Yes! And don't apologize, I didn't even realize it happened until a few minutes ago. Is it true you clapped for me?"

"Well, something like that. I knocked you out with a shockwave. It would have been really dangerous if you were closer but I am glad you seem ok."

"Yep, no problems. I heard you were deaf though!"

"Ah, I was. You were too. You can thank your sister for us being able to have this conversation."

"It was my pleasure. Captain so rarely gets hurt I was giddy with the chance to lay my hands on him."

"Of course, only Captain can hurt Captain."

"Well the tournament isn't over I may need your help again."

"Or maybe Aqua will be the one doing the damaging!"

"I don't know the Prince might be tough. Let alone El." Aqua says pondering the coming battles.

As if hearing the words El, as well as Clove, Mirna, and Alice enter the room and congratulate both me and Rou on our battle. It was still mid morning so the tournament would continue after an extended lunch break. It seems the church has brought out a force of healers to deal with the burst ear drum issue.

I'm supporting the economy I guess? Or maybe I'm just making some priest really happy. It seems churches in these things often follow one of two archetypes. The evil organization or the flowery pure believers. Sometimes both.

I suppose it's like my world too now that I think about it.

~ ~

"So Mirna, am I correct in assuming the stares we are receiving from the kitchen staff are because your reputation has spread?"

"Bad chefs. No spices. No salt. No butter. Fixed problem. Good lunch for Captain." Mirna says between bites of potatoes and steak.

"So that's why these potatoes are so delicious?" The King asks stuffing a large forkful into his mouth.

"So it wasn't my imagination? Three warriors, a faithful servant, and an expert chef. It almost seems like all the spots in the Hero's party are already full."

"Wha…" Calis says taken aback by the Queen's words.

So his intention really was only to fight the Demon King? I almost feel bad he won't get the chance. But he can fight at least one of the demon subordinates after lunch. So he should just wait patiently.

"Well not necessarily, there can never be enough allies to defeat the demon king," I say doing my utmost to hide the smile.

The girls around the table seem to contain themselves alright so we are in the clear.

"Of course." The king replies thinking about it. "So what will you do after the tournament? I know it's early to talk about this but I understand you are someone who is constantly on the move."

"Well, I don't know exactly. The plan was to visit the other side of the country so El can visit her home. But I understand that it's a several month journey by sea."

"Yeah, and it's not much shorter by land. Getting through the Calderville gorge takes a month itself. And you would be heading the direction of the Infinite dungeon so monster attacks would be high."

"That's what I've heard. I will probably visit some of the port cities on my way to the elven forest. I also have ETC to grow so perhaps opening another branch would be wise."

"You're going to expand the business more?" Aqua asks hearing about it for the first time. I had, of course, talked about the expansion to the yellow sands area but going on an expanding spree was another matter. It would mean training crews and spending gold. Two things I wasn't thrilled about doing.

But honestly, I have gotten really into making money by doing nothing. It's a nice position to be in. I actually get giddy when checking my balance now. Carol gave me weird looks at the time though.

Amassing wealth is something a demon king would do right?

We finished lunch in the box with everyone eagerly chatting about the upcoming bouts. I had expected Rou would be sad she wouldn't be able to participate but it seems she is just happy she could fight me so quickly.