Little Pink Starfish

“To everyone in attendance, thank you for your patience. To think that we have been given the opportunity to hold such a wonderful exchange match in our arena… I offer my deepest gratitude to His Majesty, King Augustin of Dias.”

The head of the Nadidrew family, which has long managed the arena in Dias—Carolus Nadidrew—spoke in high spirits. With only a few strands of hair on his head and a massive, bear-like muscular frame, Nadidrew exaggeratedly bowed to King Augustin.

The beastman slave system had long since been abolished in this country, but up until a generation ago, it was the Nadidrew family that had overseen gladiatorial beastman warriors and the tournaments held here.

In those days, battles of extreme cruelty and brutality were carried out in this very arena, but that was all in the past. Now, rather than forcing gladiatorial beastman warriors to fight, the Nadidrew family trains aspiring soldiers—both beastmen and humans alike—here in the arena, forging them into fine warriors. Naturally, those who dream of serving in the royal castle, regardless of their race, must go through the Nadidrew family.

“The Black Knights, the pride of Dias, and the rarely seen Fana’ara Temple Knights are facing off in an exchange match… How thrilling! Well, I’ll keep my dull preamble short… Let’s begin the match already! I’m so excited for this battle in our arena that, as you can see, I’ve lost even more hair!”

Laughter erupted throughout the crowd, followed by scattered applause.

Noah and Hugo, sitting nearby, also listened with smiles on their faces.

“However, we do not have the time to show you all the knights’ matches. Preliminary rounds have already been held, and we have narrowed down the participants to six knights who will compete here today.”

Eh? Preliminaries? When did that happen…? Theodore never mentioned anything about it… He could have told me…

Even last night, and again this morning when we greeted each other, Theodore had acted completely normal.

The Black Knights and the Temple Knights formed a line and made their way to the center of the arena. Cheers erupted as they stepped forward, and from that line, six individuals moved ahead, drawing the crowd’s attention.

“……!”

Among them, of course, was Theodore. For a moment, his jet-black eyes seemed to glance in Asher’s direction. Standing beside him was the Black Knight who had caused a commotion at the welcome banquet.

“That man… made it through the preliminaries?”

“Oh! You’re right! That guy from the banquet! And—oh! Asher-nii-sama, there’s also that guy from the Temple Knights who was arguing with him!”

“What do you mean, ‘arguing’?”

“Hugo-nii-sama, you were out riding during the banquet, weren’t you? Those two got into a fight! So then, Samuel-nii-sama suggested the exchange match to make them get along!”

“Hah, so this match was Sam’s idea… Well, whether they actually get along is another matter.”

“Eh~? But Mother said that the fastest way to become friends is to cross swords with each other.”

“Well… she’s not wrong.”

Two more knights from the Temple Knights stepped forward.

“That man… If I remember correctly…”

The Temple Knights’ Vice Captain, Zachary, with his light green hair, bowed toward Leachalf, who was seated in the guest section near the royal family.

Beside him stood a massive knight in full armor, his face completely concealed by a great helm adorned with bull-like horns.

“That’s Zachary, the vice captain of the Temple Knights, and their captain, Dita.”

“Dita-san…”

“You can tell just by looking at him—he’s ridiculously strong.”

“Hugo-nii-sama, do you know him?”

“No, but I’ve heard rumors, even in Dias.”

“He’s so big~!”

Noah leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. Hugo grabbed him by the collar and easily lifted him back into his seat.

“It’s dangerous, so sit properly, Noah.”

Asher laughed and patted Noah’s head, but then something occurred to him.

“Huh…? There are supposed to be six knights, but I only count five.”

“Obviously. The last one is Sam.”

Just as Hugo said that, Samuel stepped into the center, and the entire arena buzzed with excitement.

“Prince Samuel!!”

“Kyaaah! Samuel-samaaa!”

“The Temple Knights are amazing, but to see the Black Knight Theodore and the First Prince Samuel fight—what a spectacle!”

Nadidrew, apparently caught up in the excitement, blushed as he introduced Samuel, causing the cheers to grow even louder.

“Samuel-nii-sama is competing, so why isn’t Hugo-nii-sama?”

“……”

“Hugo-nii-sama?”

“……”

“Hey! Hugo-nii-sama!”

“Shut up! It’s not like I can compete even if I wanted to!”

“You wanted to compete?”

When Asher asked, Hugo made a sheepish face.

“Eh? No, um… Anyway, just watch the match!”

As they turned their attention back to the center, Nadidrew spoke again.

“To ensure fairness, we have determined the matchups ourselves. The first match will be Temple Knight Louie versus Prince Samuel. The second match will be Black Knight Theodore versus Temple Knight Zachary. The third match will be Temple Knight Captain Dita versus Black Knight Karl.”

“Eh?!”

Before the cheers, a loud voice rang out—it was Karl, the Black Knight from the banquet.

“No, no, no! I knew this lineup was ridiculous, but still! Shouldn’t they balance the matchups?! Me against him?!”

“What do you mean by that?”

Louie, the knight Karl had pointed at, glared at him sharply. Ignoring Louie, Karl glanced at his own opponent.

The largest of them all—the Temple Knight Captain, Dita.

“……”

Karl stared in shock, then turned back to Louie with a forced grin.

“W-Well… You’ve probably heard already, but Prince Samuel is strong enough to surpass us Black Knights.”

“Prince Samuel’s exploits in the recent Murofsua battle have reached Fana’ara as well. But do you know of our Captain Dita’s strength? He is far beyond what he appears to be.”

“Beyond what he appears to be?! That size, and even stronger?!”

Watching Karl turn pale, Asher tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“The moment they heard Theodore was competing, most knights withdrew. Surprisingly, even the Temple Knights’ vice captain and captain joined in, and the others forfeited rather than face them. Starting off with a guaranteed loss—it’s no wonder Karl looks like that.”

“…They all withdrew? They were so excited at the banquet.”

“They probably didn’t expect Theodore to participate. And since they started this whole thing, they couldn’t just drop out themselves. A few others did volunteer, but they lost in the preliminaries.”

“…Still, forfeiting like that…”

“If they were publicly humiliated by an overwhelming loss, their pride as knights would be shattered.”

As Hugo and Ward explained, Asher still found it strange. To him, challenging a stronger opponent was far more admirable.

As they spoke, the first match was set. Samuel and Temple Knight Louie stood face-to-face in the center.

“Samuel-nii-sama, good luck~!”

Noah waved enthusiastically, and Asher gave a small wave as well. Samuel responded with a bright smile, causing the crowd to scream in excitement.

The next moment, Nadidrew swung his arm down, and the sound of a brass instrument signaled the start of the match.

──────・・・・・・

“…So, how long do you think Louie will last, Captain?”

“Who knows… His opponent is Prince Samuel, after all.”

From the waiting area for competitors at the side of the arena, Temple Knight Vice Captain Zachary and Captain Dita watched the match with interest.

A short distance away, Black Knight Karl glanced at his own arm, then at Dita’s log-like arms, before sighing and slumping his shoulders.

Ignoring them, Theodore found his thoughts drifting back to Asher.

Asher had looked at him with concern, but the moment their eyes met, he had softened his expression and smiled beautifully. Just seeing that made Theodore’s chest feel hot, and he had to fight the urge to run to Asher and embrace him.

He let out a deep sigh but soon felt a strong gaze on him. Turning around, he saw Karl staring at him like he had just witnessed something unbelievable.

“What?”

“No, it’s just… Theodore… You actually sigh like a normal person? I thought maybe you were nervous about fighting the Temple Knights’ vice captain or something—”

“I’m not.”

“Geez… But seriously, why are you even competing? I thought this would be a great chance to test my skills, but as soon as everyone realized they were up against impossible opponents, they all started dropping out…”

“Even if I weren’t competing, your opponent wouldn’t have changed. You’d still be facing the Temple Knights’ captain.”

“No, it would have changed.”

A voice cut into their conversation—it was Zachary.

“Both the captain and I only decided to participate because we heard you were competing.”

He grinned, looking directly at Theodore.

“I’ve heard the rumors. Black Knight Theodore.”

“……”

Theodore gave a slight nod in acknowledgment, and Zachary extended a hand toward him.

“The captain and I are here because we want to fight you. I’m looking forward to our match.”

Theodore hesitated for a moment but then slowly grasped Zachary’s hand.

At that moment, the arena erupted in cheers. When they turned to look, they saw that Samuel had disarmed Louie, holding a sword just at his throat.

“As expected of Prince Samuel. No wasted movement,” Dita said approvingly as he watched the fight unfold.

“It ended sooner than expected… I suppose Louie was simply outmatched.”

Zachary tightened his grip briefly before letting go, a smile playing on his lips.

“Well then, Theodore.”

With a nod, Zachary turned and walked away. Karl, watching the exchange, frowned slightly as he glanced at Theodore.

“Hey, that vice captain seemed pretty confident. You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Rather than worrying about me, worry about yourself.”

“Come on, I am a Black Knight, you know… I’ll show them what I’m made of… probably… maybe… I mean, the difference in size alone is kind of unfair…”

His voice grew quieter and more uncertain until his final words were barely audible.

As Karl shrank in on himself, the match ended, and Samuel and Louie made their way toward them. Zachary greeted them with a smile and clapped his hands.

“As expected, Prince Samuel. I didn’t think the match would be over so quickly.”

“No, but Louie’s movements were difficult to predict. I struggled more than I expected.”

“Not at all… Your skill with the sword far surpasses the rumors. I couldn’t even come close.”

Samuel smiled graciously but then, for just a brief moment, glanced at Theodore with a slight furrow in his brow and a wry smile.

“Theodore is stronger than I am. I always tell him to hold back during training, but he never listens.”

“…I see. That’s… quite impressive.”

“So if I end up fighting Theodore today… I’d like to finally win for once.”

Samuel’s expression remained pleasant, but his eyes locked onto Theodore with an unreadable gaze. There was something off about him.

At the royal dining table the other day, Samuel had clearly been wary of Theodore. Yet now, he seemed strangely composed.

“Theodore, it’s our turn next.”

Zachary’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to see the vice captain watching him expectantly. At the same time, Samuel’s gaze shifted away.

Despite the strange sense of unease lingering in the back of his mind, Theodore stepped forward into the arena. The waiting crowd erupted into cheers the moment he appeared.

He couldn’t shake the odd feeling, but for now, he set it aside and focused on the opponent before him.

In the royal seating area, he could see Asher watching, worry written all over his face.

Resting a hand on the hilt of his sword, Theodore exhaled slowly and centered himself.

It didn’t matter who his opponent was—losing was not an option.

Nadidrew raised his hand, and the signal for the second match echoed through the arena.