act13d5

卡西米尔 3上

Cheers—!

Congrats, kid! That was a beautiful match! You're much stronger than V now!

Yes, she is, but who made you the judge!?

Huuhh?!

Why are you two fighting again...? Hey now, stop it. You're disturbing the other customers.

Ahaha... They're arm wrestling already...

That was a good one indeed, kid. This one is for you.

Ah... thank you!

Not only did you manage to find Szewczyk's weakness, you even finished him in one blow. You did really well.

The fight lasted for almost twenty minutes. Maria had been at a disadvantage during most of the fight, but she turned the tables on him with just one crucial strike—

—Very well done.

I-It wasn't anything special... I wouldn't have been able to do it if he wasn't wearing a flawed set of armor...

I'd never heard of the model Jack 2 before... If the cooling system could paralyze the armor even for a short time, then it's definitely still a prototype.

—That said, Szewczyk's an experienced competition knight, and endorsing untested products actually isn't that uncommon at all. He also managed to hide the armor's weaknesses well.

Don't be so humble. It's barbaric, but the Major has always been about results and results only.

O-Okay...

...Maria!

Yes, ma'am!

Don't get too ahead of yourself!

Right!

You need to know how to control your emotions—Don't just act normal, you need to proactively reflect on yourself and normalize your emotions...

...The less you think complacency's an issue, the more dangerous it is. It's very difficult to realize yourself just what victory does to your emotions...

And that carelessness... will... be the end of you!

G-Got it!

...Auntie? Are you drunk?

No! And don't call me 'Auntie!'

—I won!!

Sod it, Kowal. How did you get this buff in just half a year?!

I've been fixing pipes. You've got a problem with that?

Hmph...

Kowal, Vogelweide, is Zofia...?

Maria... Call me 'Auntie'... one more time... I'll... mess ya upp...

Yeah... Looks like she's really drunk. Don't see that often.

I... I'm not... drunk!

Fine, whatever you say. Maria, take your aunt to the couch in the back. Let her sleep it off there.

Eh... O-Okay... Auntie, lift your leg up...

Who's yer 'Auntie?!'

Zofia can usually really hold her liquor... Well, not that she can drink as much as me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just because you had drinks with a few folks from Yan once, you're all full of yourself? Have you no shame, trying to beat a young lady at downing booze?

She's under a lot of pressure... It's her first time watching a match as a coach, and she had to listen to Greatmouth Mob jabber on and on.

That brings back memories... *Sigh*, I've been like this ever since Maria won. I guess I'm old now.

What are you talking about? We're all about the same age!

I guess that means I'm actually old, then.

Hey.

...Yeah, how long ago was it when Zofia first stepped into the arena? Twelve years ago? Fifteen?

How old you are is none of my business, and I don't remember exactly when, but Zofia's not that old...

It was nine years ago, wasn't it? The Blood Knight, The Radiant Knight, The Black Knight... It was three seasons ago.

The Black Knight... That Caprinae, huh? Feels like a lifetime ago.

Well, she won the three Majors before that too. The media likes to treat her like some sort of emblem of that generation or something.

Oh, the three-time consecutive winner?

Yeah, normally, they don't pick words that common when they come up with titles, lest they get repeated and complicate things.

But that Leithanian lass. She actually deserves the title 'Black.' She's a monster, no mistake.

I heard she's working for some large company outside the country, tsk, tsk.

Someone like her's no knight... Not in my book.

I-I see...

...Maria, has Zofia ever told you anything about her career in the Major?

No. There are the videos and stats from each season, but she hasn't told me anything herself...

I think Auntie Zofia made it to the top 16 that year, and during the round of 16...

That's right. She was heavily wounded.

Her opponent was the 'Fissure.' That reminds me, did he enter the Major this year?

*Sigh*... Why are we talking about the past? We're here to celebrate Maria's win!

That wasn't a very fun story anyway. Let's move on to something else!

Actually... I'm kinda curious about that...

I managed to win, but it doesn't seem like Zofia's very happy about it... She didn't even say anything and went straight to drinking...

I'm sure she thought really hard about all this for me... I don't want to let her down... so I want to know more about her past and how she feels about everything.

Well... You're just like your sister when it comes to that.

Me?

That's right. You're always quick to notice if something's amiss, and you always try to do something about it.

That last attack of the match. Did Zofia teach you that?

N-No, actually—

You copied Margaret's move?

Eh? Oh, umm... Yeah... was it obvious?

Hahaha, of course. You two are so alike! And I'll never forget that day.

The miracle of the Radiant Knight, the youngest ever champion. She accomplished all that without help from anyone else.

And she doesn't show it, but Zofia actually really looks up to Margaret.

She was just a lady-in-waiting to your family, but she really tried her hardest. She even had us old farts help her train...

She entered the preliminaries, won, and made it into the Major... From the beginning all the way to the end, she didn't accept any sponsorship offers, nor did she ever ask anyone for help.

Heh... I even introduced her to a few small businesses I knew back in the day, but she turned down every one of them.

...Those companies are all trash. She made the right call to turn them down.

Shut up. That's exactly why 'Fissure' defeated Zofia.

What happened...?

Maria, a competition knight needs a lot of resources... That's something you'll come to know... The weapons and equipment you bring to battle could be the difference between life and death.

Szewczyk probably only lost to you because the armor they made him wear had a design flaw.

Suppose he wore a set of armor that had no flaws at all, maybe even with far superior capabilities. What happens then? Do you think you could've won?

I...

...Probably not...

That's the kind of opponent Zofia faced. Flawless armor, weapons, and support. The difference between them was immense.

Zofia paid for her own equipment. She perfected her technique all alone, and she made all the connections herself. It was just her, and she fought so hard.

...*Sigh*.

We never did anything for her except watch her get hurt and throw in the towel.

Was there anything we could've done?

Marcin...

At the very least, you could help Zofia train the kid.

Hahaha, I doubt Maria would want to be coached by ol' one-armed Marcin, the same man who had a hand in Zofia's injury, indirectly.

No, I would love to! I've always admired all of you! I mean it!

Hm? It's not often we get other customers. How unusual...

You'll probably go out of business at this rate.

...Uh.

Excuse me... Are you Maria Nearl, the knightess?