NOVEL WEB chapter 54
Chapter 54
I quickly opened my float screen to check the tournament bracket.
Let’s see…
First Match:
Sara & Sophia vs. Nabal & Hasan
Second Match:
Tatsu & Lily vs. (*´ω`*) & Apple☆
Third Match:
Iko & Gobzou vs. Maris & Leon
Fourth Match:
Axel & Crow vs. Mitarai & TAX
The Tatsu-Lily duo is… um…
How do you even pronounce their opponents’ names?
For now, it looks like they’re up against someone called Apple Star (?) or something like that.
Looking at the headshots… it seems they’ll be facing a burly dragon and someone (?) wearing an apple costume.
If they win, they’ll face the winner of Sara’s team versus the A-rank adventurers in the coming days.
And if they win that, it’s on to the finals…
I bet the right side of the bracket is the tougher one, right?
Iko and Gobzou will probably come from that side, won’t they?
It’ll be a tough road to the championship, but… I hope they do their best.
For now, aim for the top three, Lily!
“Yama, you’ve stopped moving.”
“Oh, sorry! I’ll help! I’ll help!”
“It’s fine to watch the matches on your float screen, but please make sure you’re still working.”
Bre scolded me.
Actually, prompted by Bure’s words, a customer suggested we project it on the wall as a large screen.
Wait, we can view it on a big screen too?
I learned the settings from the customer and expanded the float screen across the entire wall.
It spreads like a projector, but the image quality is a bit rough.
Maybe the resolution is set low for individual viewing.
For now, since there’s debate about whether to have commentary or not, I’ll turn it off and just let the visuals play.
Come to think of it, Mungaga’s inn is pretty bare, so the large float screen really stands out.
And it seems like customers are more likely to get poisoned when distracted by the float screen…
Oh well, it’s fine.
I’m a bit curious about the main tournament too, so I’ll perform the feat of processing work with [Parallel Thinking] while also checking out the tournament footage.
Yeah, [Parallel Thinking] sure comes in handy.
“Oh, the first match is starting.”
“Who do you think will win?”
“I’m rooting for the Dual Sword Princess, of course.”
“You’re not saying she’ll win though.”
“The opponents are too tough.”
“Here’s your Set A. And this is Set B. Excuse me.”
I deliver the meals to the two customers who were predicting the outcome of the first match.
I resisted complicated dish names because “I can’t remember them!” so Mungaga changed them to simple ones.
By the way, Set A is mainly meat dishes, Set B is fish-based, and Set C is vegetable-focused.
Among them, Set A is the most popular.
Is meat truly justice?
Given the town’s characteristics, Set B is popular too, but Set A sells the most.
“Who do you think will win, waiter?”
“The A-rank adventurer duo.”
When I answered almost instantly, the customer fell silent.
Well, I’ve seen Sara’s stats before, and except for agility and intuition, they were barely above Level 1…
Even her agility and intuition were only around 100…
There’s almost nothing that can match A-rank adventurers whose stats all exceed 100, reaching 200 in their specialties.
And there are two such opponents…
Sorry Sara, but it’s an impossible game.
“Well… You might not know this as a production-class worker, but that Sara girl is said to be one of the three heroes of the monster races.”
“Three heroes?”
Not a thief?
Oh.
Heroes tend to barge into people’s homes, steal from treasure chests, and rummage through dressers, don’t they?
So that’s what they mean by hero. I get it now.
“Yes. Among them, Sara the Dual Sword Princess is famous for sealing her opponents’ attacks with overwhelming speed, never letting them land a hit. You still think the A-rank adventurers will win against her?”
“They will.”
I mean, even I could easily handle her speed, so I can’t imagine Nabal & Hasan struggling.
“Y-you’re quite confident…”
“Excuse me, waiter, can I order?”
“Yes, three Set A, one Set B, and one Set C, right?”
“Uh, yes, that’s right. How did you…?”
I bow to the customer showing a slightly strained expression and head to the kitchen.
“Mungaga, 3A, 1B, 1C~”
“Stop eatin’ just meat, ya fools! Eat fish! Fish!”
“Say that to the customers, not me!”
But despite his complaints, Mungaga whips up the dishes quickly. He’s really skilled.
“5A.”
Misaki comes in and places an order, but…
“You! You’ve been bringin’ nothin’ but A set orders! You ain’t up to somethin’, are ya!?”
“…………”
“Oi! Don’t look away, look at me!”
Yeah, Misaki’s been guiding customers to order Set A since earlier. No wonder Mungaga’s intimidating her.
Mungaga keeps working even as he scolds her.
As I deliver the meals Mungaga handed me to the customers’ tables, I glance at the final tournament. It looks like the first match is about to begin.
“Waiter, can we turn on the audio for this float screen?”
“Well, I can’t decide that on my own… Everyone, would you mind if we had commentary?”
Since no one openly objects, I turn on the commentary and adjust the volume to a comfortable level.
Hmm.
The audio seems to come from the float screen rather than near my ears. So for the viewers, it feels like watching sports on a wall-mounted TV.
A customer stopped me and asked if we had any ale, but I knew [Intoxication] and poison dishes wouldn’t mix well, so I told them we didn’t.
“Now, the first match will be a battle between two sides who have advanced with overwhelming speed—”
The commentator is explaining about Sara, Sophia, Nabal, and Hasan, but it looks like something intense is already happening in the arena.
Oh. Thanks to my [Observation Eye] skill, I can understand what Sophia is saying.
Let’s see, “How dare you defy my sister! Know your place! Sister, let’s crush these guys and secure our spot in the semi-finals!” …I think?
Um…
Despite her cute appearance with platinum blonde twin-tails and dark skin, Sophia seems to have quite a sharp tongue…
On the other hand, Sara isn’t underestimating her opponents… or rather, she’s quite wary.
Maybe they’re much more intimidating when faced directly.
Oh, Hasan started saying something.
“Hey, hey, are our opponents such weaklings they can’t even gauge our strength? With that level of skill, you’ll just embarrass yourselves. Hurry up and get it over with.” …I think?
Oh, Sophia’s fuming.
She has quite a short fuse, doesn’t she?
Then Nabal slightly opens his mouth and says, “This is work too. Don’t waste time talking.”…
Work…?
Huh? Did I misread that?
His mouth barely moved, so I might have misunderstood.
Maybe I mistook “This is the match” for “This is work too.”
“Here’s your water.”
“How did you know I wanted water? Thank you.”
Well, I can move with [Parallel Thinking]~
While I was handling payments for departing customers, preparing tables, and welcoming new customers, the first match had begun without me noticing.
“Oh! Sara makes the first move right from the start!”
The restaurant erupts as Sara closes in on Hasan with lightning speed, alternating strikes with her two swords.
I hope no one forgets to drink their tea because of this commotion… I think as I find myself captivated by the exchange.
“Amazing, they might actually win this!”
Bre stops in his tracks, watching the float screen and saying such things.
Sara’s attacks looked that fierce.
And Hasan seems to be entirely on the defensive against Sara’s onslaught.
Yeah, it looks that way, but…
Why isn’t Nabal moving to help Hasan…?
He’s just standing back with his arms crossed, looking calm while Hasan fights alone.
His attitude, as if he still has plenty in reserve, gives me an uneasy feeling.
“Something feels off.”
“Huh?”
Eventually, Sara, who had been dominating, accelerates even further.
It seems Sophia’s [Follow Wind] has taken effect. Hasan is fully occupied just deflecting the relentless storm of sword strikes. It looked like he had no way out, but—
Huh?
Is Hasan… smiling?
I thought I saw Hasan’s lips curl up slightly, but that can’t be my imagination, right?
It was an unpleasant smile, mocking and contemptuous.
My bad feeling turns into certainty.
“Stop playing around. End it.”
“Hey hey, boss, you’ve got no sense of fun.”
The moment I thought I saw Nabal and Hasan’s lips move like that—
Sara’s arms were instantly severed and sent flying.
“Huh?”
“What!?”
“What just happened!?”
It was truly lightning-fast—
Probably before Sara herself could understand what happened, her head was lopped off, and her form instantly vanished into polygons.
The excitement in the restaurant died down so quickly it was as if someone had flipped a switch.
I bet many people couldn’t even comprehend what had just occurred.
“W-what happened?”
“I-I don’t know… Weren’t they winning?”
“No way, Nabal & Hasan are too strong!”
In an instant, the place descended into pandemonium.
And Sophia forfeited the moment Sara was defeated. She probably doesn’t like pain. I think that was the right call.
“A dominating victory, no different from the preliminaries! Nabal & Hasan have won this battle of speed!”
The commentator is trying to hype things up, but the arena is practically in a state of mourning.
There’s barely any applause for the victors, Nabal & Hasan.
I guess that shows how much hope people had placed in Sara?