The Gatekeeper Chapter 45- One-punch victory

"I am sorry~!!"

It has been fifteen days since I arrived in this world, I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel lonely, but the fact that this world hasn't failed to entertain me remains a large factor that leads me to live my life here with a smile on my face.

I am currently in a V.I.P room situated in the dome. The first round of the Athena festival battle-tournament ended about an hour ago, and I was about to leave the premises to return to my hotel room along with Nirvana, however, my return was interrupted by someone demanding an urgent audience with me.

The messenger who arrived at my location while panting and gasping for air was an aide of the royal family, and as such, I was prepared for what the meeting entailed. However, my expectations were betrayed when I found a girl clad in a beautiful and expensive gown bowing her head in my direction as soon as I entered the room.

The first words she spoke were that of an honest and heartfelt apology, the only ones in the wide and decorated V.I.P room were us, as I had Nirvana return to the hotel first, allowing her words to reverberate loudly in the almost empty surroundings.

"It's fine."

I replied in a voice that carried my satisfaction over the actions she took two days ago.

"No! It's not! I realize that I went too far."

She said so and bowed her head even lower.

"I am telling you, it's fine. He was pretty annoying, one minute more and I would've done the same thing. Now, why don't we take a seat?"

She nodded silently and followed behind me as I led her to the single grand couch resting in the middle of the room. It was a three-person couch, She sat in the middle while I sat beside her. She refused to lock eyes with me, her expression was regretful, her eyes swollen.

"I was under so much pressure these past few days that I couldn't even make time to come meet you. I was so lonely that it started to hurt. Noble families were bombarding us with questions related to that match, and what I said during it. It seems like my brother covered for me by finding loopholes in my statements, they say that I never explicitly mentioned that I was in a relationship with anyone. 'In Love' and 'in a relationship' are different, he said. I didn't expect my brother to come to my rescue, it surprised me."

"Paparazzi never leaves you alone, huh."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. I am just glad that you are alright."

"I am not alright! I am exhausted. I am mentally and physically worn down. I had to work for fifteen hours a day since we returned from the journey. All my deskwork was piled up, and in light of the recent incident, I've been confined to one room and have been forced to work non-stop! They nee-"

While she was busy ranting about her life, I subtly picked her up by her waist and placed her on my knees. Her cheeks turned a faint shade of red, but she didn't say anything. Sylvia leaned backward, placing her head on my chest.

"Let's stay like this for a while."

"Can I complain?"

"Sure."

"My brother. Because of him, the work I had to do increased dramatically. I still don't understand the reason why he had to go and kill that noble that he fought. I had to personally go to his family and apologize on behalf of the royal family. And after what happened with Mortanze-san, we were already in the red in terms of compensation money."

"A princess has it hard, huh?"

"Well… That's what I get for cutting off a noble's limbs out of anger. In that moment when he insulted you, my whole vision turned white, and all I could feel was intense rage, I tried to hold back, but I was unable to do so, and I ended up paying for his treatment from a time mage in Principality of Sea POSEIDON."

She said with a tired voice and turned her face in my direction.

"Spoil me. Or I don't think I'll last the Athena Festival."

After that, I indulged the admired and revered beauty of Athena Kingdom for a while before parting with her and returning to the inn.

The day ended, and the next day arrived.

It has been sixteen days since I was thrown into this world, if I were to take Haruki's word for it, then in my world, it is January 7, Wednesday. The third semester has already begun in school, and according to Haruki, the atmosphere isn't what it was before I disappeared.

The girls from the university division have stopped coming to the high school campus, the female faction of the high school and middle school division have been down in the dumps, and surprisingly enough, it seems that even the boys that outright hated me before have been acting sentimental over my (supposed) death.

The matchups for the second round of the Athena Festival battle-tournament were revealed yesterday, and as such, the second round would begin as soon as the festival begins for the day. The first round ended up being quite bloody, out of the twelve commoners, only five made it to the second round, and the remaining seven were killed. The only two choices for the commoners were to either be killed or win. Killing the nobles which the commoners were facing wasn't an option for them, the most that a commoner did to a noble was send her into a coma, which was done by me. However, I didn't face any repercussions as I didn't physically damage her, her coma is due to shock, and according to doctors, she could wake up at any time.

The only noble that got killed was the one that battled Vernyx, and the battle was so quick that it was creepy. As soon as the battle started, the noble conjured a barrier, but the prince simply unsheathed his sword and sliced the noble's neck along with the barrier he had conjured with all his strength. I didn't have any attachment to the guy, but I was associated with him, and thus, was rather shocked by the outcome. Shocking wasn't the fact that he got killed, rather, what I found unusual was how easily the prince had killed his opponent. It was like he mowed him down without any resistance.

Today, my match is with one of the commoners remaining in the competition, Tamuin-san. I am already regretting the fact that I will have to knock a commoner out from the tournament, but what can you do? My match is the thirty-first, so I am not sure whether it will be tomorrow or today, and as such, I will go directly to the stands rather than the participants' room.

Yesterday was a very pleasant day, or rather, it was better than the others. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Toru, and honestly speaking, I was unsure of whether I would ever get the chance to spend time with him again, so the time I did get to spend with him was a blessing in disguise.

Currently, it's around 7 P.M, and Toru's match is about to start. According to the schedule I received, Toru's match should've been conducted tomorrow, but because of the preceding matches ending earlier than expected, his match was moved up to be the last one of the day. Today, I am fine, I know that there isn't any danger to his life, the opponent whom he'll be fighting is a true warrior, his chivalry is unwavering and his soul is pure, and as such, I don't think that either of the participants should die, I believe in Toru, he won't kill someone necessarily, he even spared that woman's life.

<>

Toru will win, I am sure of it. Toru losing to someone, I don't think it's possible. In the last round, he managed to win against a battle-hardened warrior without even laying a hand on her. I overheard my brother and Bernard-sama talking about it, and according to them, Toru's killing intent might be on their level, my brother was especially excited, he was mumbling things like, "Looks like I made the right choice" and "I can't wait to crush him", while sitting by himself. And if my brother is saying such things, then that means that Toru is as strong as I imagine him to be.

Today, Zoysan is alone in the commentary box as Adelsan is with us, and because of that, she looks exhausted, but she's still doing her job with the utmost devotion.

The two men enter the field, surrounded by the light generated by an artifact, and the thunderous sound of applause and cheering of the audience which hasn't died down even after a whole day's worth of effort.

Tamuin-san is of an overwhelming stature of over 220 centimeters, his shoulders are wide and his back is huge. His bold and well-trained muscles are proof of his unwavering determination and acknowledged strength. He is carrying a single golden battle-ax on his back while being clad in black armor, both the armor and the battle-ax that Tamuin-san wields are legendary class items, and as such, are quite special.

On the other hand, Toru is equipped with the simple attire of a white t-shirt, blue pants, and a purple coat. You could find a person dressed in such clothes anywhere in the world, except on a battlefield, but Toru insists on wearing such clothes instead of armor or other protective gear. I tried persuading him, but it bore no fruit, he was insistent on fighting without any gear, he said that he isn't used to armor, and won't wear it unless it is absolutely necessary.

<>

As soon as Zoysan announced this, the dome went crazy, applause and cheering filled my ears, and among the hundreds of thousands of voices, a single calm voice reverberated throughout the arena.

"Nice to meet you, Tamuin-san, I've heard a lot about your heroism and bravery. They say that you recently took down a group of bandits by yourself? Looking at you, your reputation certainly doesn't fail you, huh? It's an honor to be fighting you like this."

"My, someone sure is humble. Toru-kun, I was present at the party, you know? I fell asleep midway through, but I was a witness to your nomination, and if he acknowledges your strength, then there is no doubt that you have what it takes to stand before me. However, it sure is sad that I will have to defeat you here and now… The low number of commoners makes me anxious, and I have to eliminate one of the few there are? It's truly disappointing."

Both of their voices are deep and calm, no sign of fear or tension could be felt from their demeanors alone. It just feels like a reunion of two old friends, nothing more, nothing less.

"Is that so? From my perspective, no matter who loses, a commoner will be exiled from the competition. And I don't plan on losing, I haven't experienced the fun of battling yet. Let's make this a fun battle and hope that both of us make it out alive."

"You are quite the warrior, huh."

"Well… When you've spent half your life being targeted by enemies, you can't help but develop certain qualities."

As soon as Toru finished speaking, Tamuin-san lifts his battle-ax in the air, and dashes in Toru's direction. Closing the distance between them, he brings his heavy battle-ax down with tremendous velocity.

However, the battle-ax fails to reach Toru's body as it's sharp cutting edge is caught between Toru's index and middle fingers.

"You're looking down on me, huh? That's truly disappointing. Not even that noblewoman looked down on me, her every blow carried her intent to kill. I suggest you put your back behind your attacks from now on, or I may kill you while defending."

Toru releases Tamuin-san's battle-ax, which leads to him stumbling behind. Clear frustration could be seen on Tamuin-san's face. He regained his balance and launched himself in Toru's direction again.

"Now, this is fun."

Toru said so while moving his body in all directions to evade the incoming barrage of attacks from a frustrated yet focused Tamuin-san. I could follow their movements, and that's how I know that this battle was a level below than the one between Toru and Lomentsan, I believe that the others felt it too, so they have an expression that potrays that they already know who is going to win.

It seems like Toru doesn't like to waste time as he was seen punching Tamuin-san's stomach immediately after his barrage of attacks had ended. Following Toru's punch, Tamuin-san's huge body, now just an unconscious vessel, fell on the ground face-down. The battle didn't even last a full two-minutes, and it only took one blow by Toru to end the battle.

<>

"WOAH~~~!!!"

Surrounded by the cheering and applause of the audience over the victory attained by the most unexpected participant in the whole tournament, the day's event came to a close, only to resume tomorrow morning.

Chapter end