I somehow scraped through the first round, bulldozed the second, and now found myself in the final.
My opponent, Enri, stood at 2-0.
I was standing at 2-0 as well, even though I'm using a fake name. There are no rules against that. Poor Lord was 0-3 and had locked himself in his room, crying ever since I vaporized his "Absolute Defense." When our battle started, he was so confident and made sure I knew nothing could get through, so I deleted it entirely. He was unable to retrieve it for future fights.
I still felt a little bad about that.
The second-round mage had been easy; the moment he cast a spell, I erased it, and he burst into tears and surrendered on the spot.
Honestly, I almost felt sorry for him, too.
Anyway—final match.
"Let the match begin!"
The whistle blew, and I sized up the girl across from me.
She looked about eighteen, with silver hair so long it pooled on the ground, a black gothic dress that screamed "final boss," and a strange mask-like magic tool covering only her eyes.
The live commentary called her a genius who rocketed to B-rank in a single week, but no one knew how.
Every opponent she'd faced claimed a black fog swallowed the arena the instant the fight started, and then… they just woke up outside with no memory of what happened.
In other words, her fighting style was a complete mystery.
The distorted magical power leaking from her mask told me she was hiding her true identity as well. Great. Just what I needed.
She walked forward with a soft smile that didn't match her creepy aura at all.
"Nice to meet you, Reiji-kun," she said, voice gentle and warm. "Please go easy on me, okay?"
The gap between her appearance and personality was so big my brain short-circuited for a second.
She even held out her hand like a normal, friendly girl.
"Uh… sure," I answered, shaking it.
The instant our palms touched, tingling shot through my arm almost similar to maybe how Sp*derm*n feels when he gets the 'tingle' when in danger.
I yanked my hand back with a strangled gasp.
No magic flow, no activation gesture, nothing. Also, I always keep body-enhancement active, so normal attacks shouldn't even tickle.
What the hell was that?
Enri's eyes widened behind her mask, genuinely shocked.
She stared at her own hand like it had betrayed her.
"…You're still standing?" She muttered, almost disappointed. "I put way too much in… oh well."
Then, louder, to the referee: "I forfeit. I can't win against him."
The entire arena froze.
She bowed politely, turned, and walked away as if nothing had happened, silver hair trailing behind her like a funeral veil.
A few seconds of dead silence later, the commentator finally remembered how to speak.
"W-WINNER! D-class adventurer, Reiji Layo!"
I stood there, mouth open.
What just happened?
The championship ended with the crowd booing the anticlimax, but a win is a win.
I was led to a fancy private room to collect my prize money and the promised legendary magic tool.
They also told me "Someone important" wanted a word with the champion. I sighed as it was apparently mandatory; there was no escaping.
I flopped onto the huge sofa and started daydreaming about how many magic tools I could buy with royal-level gold.
A knock.
"Excuse me."
The door opened, and a girl with golden ringlets and sapphire eyes stepped in, wearing a dress that probably cost more than my entire existence.
"First time meeting you properly. I am Elena Timid Noblest, sixth princess of Magi Kosmaia… and the organizer of this tournament." Elena, boy, that name sounded familiar. A Princess?
I bolted upright so fast I almost pulled a muscle.
"Y-Your Highness—"
"No need for formalities," she cut in smoothly, closing the door behind her. "Especially not between fiancé and fiancée."
My brain blue-screened. "Huh?"
She smiled like an angel declaring war.
"You can drop the fake name, Jirei Lago-sama. From today onward, you belong to me."
Then, with perfect confidence and zero hesitation:
"I've decided to make you, my husband."
What is wrong with all these girls!