Angelica Kirklight had decided. She had to close her ears. She had to accept the pain that came along with the suffering.

“Allow me to shed light upon the reason for your defeat. Your effort—as meager as it was—has made you lazy. Because you thought you had the advantage against me. What you didn’t realize was that was all part of my plan.”

“…The duel hasn’t even started, though.”

One after another, the players were starting to fight on the stages spread out below.

The second prince of that kingdom, Roland Louis Ulyssia Elgacia, and Angelica’s best friend, Riol Glen, were no exception.

“‘Hasn’t even started’, you said. Unfortunately, the game is on. You just aren’t aware of it.”

“It’s neither a win nor a lose until one of us either surrenders, becomes incapacitated, or exits the stage.”

It was easy to see that they were talking—but to hear them from the spectators’ seats was a different story. Other players were also chatting, moreover, the cheering just wouldn’t stop.

“You’ve failed to grasp the meaning behind my words. Are you aware that one of those conditions you’ve just listed is your soon-to-be fate? It seems that you’re bad at guessing, too, what a shock.”

However, Angelica could tell exactly what they were talking about.

Especially because Tobias, who sat on her left, was repeating Roland’s line. On the other hand, Sharina, who was on her right, was repeating Riol’s line.

“For the first blow, I shall refrain from not chanting, because it’d too dull. Since it’s a comedy, I mustn’t fail to deliver.”

Roland always stretched his lines.

It’s painful!

He even mentioned something about ‘comedy’—!

It’s really painful!

Not to mention, he hadn’t only raised his index finger, but tilted his neck, too!

The pain is immense!

“Now, as for the kind of magic I’m about to use to make you bow before me… I’ll let you figure it out yourself. Watch, and learn. Even someone as dense as you can do that, right?”

As if he had seen through everything; as if the other person was beneath him—Roland happily spewed poison with a cool smile.

Both Roland’s actions and words matched that of the power-hungry, vile-mouthed, male lead of a romance novel—

—and that kind of male lead was supposed to be cool, too.

But as of the present, to Angelica, there was nothing cool about Roland—not even a single millimeter.

Why, how can it be this different?

In fact, why’s everything different?

Where, from when exactly did things go wrong?

Ah, right …from the very beginning.

“Alright—pristine silence, colorless world, display your scale—Aqua Ball!”

After those long lines which constricted her chest, Roland finally launched an attack. Roland casted a spell while snapping his finger.

In the next moment, a beginner water magic circle appeared underneath Riol’s feet.

“Eh?”

It was a beginner spell.

It was truly a beginner spell.

The spell she had heard through Tobias—the spell she had beheld—

—it was indeed just a beginner water spell.

“Eh, eeeh!?”

After all that prolonged nonsense, what came out was merely a beginner spell! The confusion staggered Angelica, who blinked her eyes numerous times. She was so sure the prince would conjure the water spears—a feat considered difficult even for advanced magic users.

“Fufu, were you surprised that it wasn’t the water spear? I know what you were aiming for. You want me bring myself to the brink of exhaustion through the use of advanced spells so that later you can finish me off with that amulet of yours. The one that expands one’s magic circle so it’d require more magic to activate. Not even an idiot would forget about that.”

Although the ball of water seemed larger than usual, it didn’t appear deadly.

Roland, who kept it afloat in the air, resumed his speech with confidence. “Tsk tsk tsk…” He even waved his index finger from side to side—such an annoying gesture it was!

“You faced my water spears that day, and Tobias also informed you that it’s my specialty. You most likely thought I’d use it during the tournament—and that’s how you fall for my trap.”

Roland’s speech never stopped… Tobias had been the only one speaking since earlier. Sharina, whom was in charge of repeating Riol’s lines, said nothing.

In other words, Roland was conversing one-sidedly, while Riol was silent the entire time.

“You must be utterly disappointed, right now. Today, I shall only use beginner spells. No matter how much you try to counteract, your amulets shall run out before my magical power does!”

But seriously, what can you achieve with only beginner spells?

Also, why won’t Riol say anything back?!

Angelica’s anxiety grew in proportion to Roland’s confidence.

“Moreover, you can’t use your trump card—that amplifying amulet—unless you’re sure I’m on the verge of exhausting my magic. Now, you’re nothing but prey. Admit your defeat, Riol Glen.”

A lump of water several times larger than a human head was merely floating. In contrast to the controllable but also unstoppable water spear, said water ball had a limited speed. As such, it wouldn’t cause much damage upon hitting—

—yet Roland believed he had already won.

“Alright, I shall conclude my explanation here as I start the main event. Everyone in the audience is waiting. Come on—sing and dance, you dense Pierrot—of your own struggle!”

As Roland raised his hands, the water ball fell towards Riol’s head.

“Ri, Riol-kun!”

At that moment, Angelica understood Roland’s aim.

Roland was going to entrap Riol’s head inside the water ball, making it impossible for him to breathe. Even if Riol tried to counteract with an amulet, Roland would just spam said magic to disallow Riol from breathing.

One advantage beginner spells held over advanced spells was that they could be casted in rapid succession. Not to mention, on that narrow stage, there was a limit to escaping—that, if one still wanted to qualify. It was only a matter of time before Riol, whom was inherently weak, collapsed due to shortness of breath and lack of physical strength.

Hence why Roland said, “For the first blow, I shall refrain from not chanting, because it’d too dull. Since it’s a comedy, I mustn’t fail to deliver.”

“Alright, let’s count how many minutes we have left—or perhaps, seconds? Do your best to entertain me, dense Pierr—gobo—!?”

Moreover, Riol’s amulets for destroying magic circles had a slight delay due to waiting for the magic’s activation—for him to also exploit that weakness! Angelica was terrified by his splendid strategy—

—but wait.

Did he just said, …’gobo’?

Was that meant to be in his sentence…?

“Gagobo—! Gobobobobo—!”

In an instant, the situation was reversed. The water ball which was supposed to envelop Riol’s head was instead surrounding Roland’s head for some reason. There was also the fact that the magic circle had moved from Riol’s feet to Roland’s.

“Gobobabbo gobobababbu gabbebababa—!”

Roland shook his head as he attempted to escape from the water ball. In the meantime, the water ball only grew in size, wrapping not only Roland’s neck, but also his shoulders, and his upper body. Finally, it became a round aquarium that engulfed his entire person.

“Gaboggobo! W, what have you done! Gaboo—!”

Desperately fighting the water, Roland managed to sneak his head out of the water ball, but only for a short moment.

“…What was that about my defeat, again?”

…What?

What happened?

To the right of the dumbfounded Angelica, Sharina, who had been silent until then, opened her mouth and repeated Riol’s line.

---

***T/N: IT WAS AT THIS MOMENT WE ERRUPTED INTO CHEERS AND SAY, “YASSSSSSSS KIIIIIIINGGGGGGG” TO RIOL.

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