#729 Rival Lineup

After several more rounds, we somehow managed to clear the preliminaries.

Kudos to my Susano-O Zero. 

All the skills I accumulated as a plastic model enthusiast were worth pouring into.

Of course, I’m also grateful to Belena, who’s been diligently piloting the God Figure.

Our preliminary group moved along quite smoothly, seemingly wrapping up faster than the others. 

Other preliminary groups are still in the throes of intense battles.

In pursuit of the honor of advancing to the finals, contestants are throwing down with their customized God Figures, each a testament to their skill. 

...Ah, youth.

“Belena, why don’t we use this time to scout our likely rivals in the finals?”

“I’d rather take a short break...!”

Belena appears quite exhausted from the preliminaries, so I’ll let her rest for a bit.

All right, even if I’m alone, I’ll go and check out the potential rivals. 

I wonder what sort of people we’ll be facing...

***

The moment I ventured out to observe, I was immediately filled with unease. 

After all, we’d already faced a variety of Hades-like figures in our matches, each one reminiscent of the Cambrian explosion.

If I find another eccentric character, won’t it be too overwhelming for me?

Pondering, my gaze drifts toward the other preliminary blocks.

The person battling there... looks somewhat familiar.

“An elf?”

It’s rare to see an elf participating in a demon event.

Moreover, I know this elf personally. 

Isn’t that one of the elves working on our farm?!

“Poel? You’re participating too?!”

Poel works on our farm. 

Her task, if I recall correctly, is glasswork.

“There’s no way we elves, proud artisans, would ignore such an event! Look, Lord Saint! This is our high-caliber God Figure masterpiece!”

The God Figure Poel showed me is... made entirely of glass.

It’s transparent!

“Crafting a deity figure while maintaining such transparency with glass! I pride myself that we elves can only achieve such a technique! Its beauty will undoubtedly be recognized widely in this tournament!”

“Sure, it’s beautiful. Truly beautiful, but...!!!”

What a remarkable sense of transparency. 

The glass’s transparency, the subtle refractive changes caused by the figure’s curves, and the magical pattern of light passing through it.

Its beauty surpasses any God Figure that has appeared in the tournament. 

But beauty alone...

“The match starts... and ends.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Just as I feared, Poel’s proud glass figure shattered with a single blow from the opponent. 

I suspected this might happen, given glass’s fragility. And indeed, it did.

It would undoubtedly rank top-class in terms of transparent beauty, but this is an all-out brawl where superiority is decided through combat.

Using a glass figure is simply too disadvantageous.

“Poel... You missed the point, didn’t you?”

Her opponent didn’t hesitate to break it, huh? Even if it’s within the rules... it’s still heartless.

Feeling a twinge of pity, I collected the shards and quickly returned to the farm. Our teacher will likely be able to reverse time and restore the glass statue.

“Gooohohoho! It seems you elves have failed!”

“That voice...!”

Is that Pops Edward the dwarf?!

Dwarves are also participating in this tournament?!

“We dwarves—being the world’s finest craftsmen—are the ideal participants for this tournament! I’ll present an artisan’s God Figure that outdoes any elf’s makeshift work.”

I was expecting this, but not to the point of them actually participating. I wonder what kind of figure the dwarves have crafted.

“Behold! This is a pure gold statue of Hephaestus, crafted solely by a dwarf!” 

“Wow...!”

It’s all glittering gold!

Again, they’ve chosen Hephaestus as their motif.

However, the Hephaestus the dwarves have envisaged is quite colossal, which is slightly odd for me, having seen the god himself.

Nevertheless, the wow factor of the Hephaestus figure showcased this time is not merely its size.

It’s made entirely of pure gold.

It glimmers so brightly it feels like looking into the rising sun.

Moreover, it’s not just gold; diamonds and rubies are embedded throughout, enhancing its grandeur.

“What do you think? I can confidently say that my Hephaestus figure is the most lavish among all the figures in this tournament! There surely can’t be anything that surpasses this!!!”

Well, yeah, I suppose so.

If you’re talking about the price of pure gold and gemstones, it’s definitely top-of-the-line.

Probably worth tens of millions of yen, even.

But as I’ve been repeating, this tournament is about determining superiority in battle by operating the God Figure...!

“The match begins!”

“Gwaaaaaaah! It won’t moveeeee!”

What did you expect?

Gold is one of the densest elements on Earth.

If you construct a figure out of such gold, it will undoubtedly become immobile due to its weight.

The small magic stone for the God Figure simply doesn’t provide enough power to mobilize pure gold.

As a result, it’s as immovable as a rock.

I’m surprised the opponent’s figure managed to push the insanely heavy gold lump out of the arena.

“The match is over!”

“Noooooooo!”

And thus, the pure gold figurine staked on the pride of the dwarf race was anti-climatically eliminated.

“The reason for his loss was a simple misunderstanding of the tournament’s purpose...!”

Like Poel, the dwarves were captivated by the visual brilliance and the excellence of the design, overlooking the competitive nature of the God Figure Battle.

While the result was regrettable, the value of those figures hasn’t changed, so I hope they’ll take pride in their creation at another opportunity.

...Okay.

Now that I’ve finished watching this block, let’s take a peek somewhere else.

Are there any other notable rivals?

As I scan the arena...

“Oh, Lord Saint.”

“Demon King?!”

To my surprise, I ran into Demon King Zedan. 

This is quite a high-profile encounter for a chance meeting.

Moreover, it feels out of place for the ruler of the Demon Kingdom to be in a gathering of hobbyists, even if the organizer is his father.

“I, too, am participating in this tournament. So far, I’m doing well in the preliminaries.”

“Whaaa?!”

I couldn’t help but express my surprise.

The Demon King, known for his seriousness—unlike the Great Demon King—is participating in this playful event...?!

“Please, don’t look so taken aback... I have my reasons...!”

The Demon King seems a touch embarrassed.

“In truth... my son, Goetia...”

Ah, right, right.

He’s your firstborn with Mrs. Astres, isn’t he?

Among my circle, he was the first to be born...

Five years old? Six years old?

Although he’s quite mature for his age, he’s still in that adorable phase, isn’t he?

“He’s grown quite a bit—has a straight back, sturdy legs, and he’s become quite articulate. His training as the successor is already underway, and it’s going smoothly.”

“That’s wonderful to hear.”

Isn’t that a good thing?

As a father myself, I can wholly empathize with the joy the Demon King is experiencing.

“But... the more elated I am, the more worried I become.”

“Oh?”

“My son, Goetia... perhaps because he’s my son... he’s growing up a bit too serious. Despite his tender years, he hardly ever laughs, focusing solely on his studies all day.”

Really?

I haven’t seen Goetia in a while, what with being caught up with my own family and farm...!

“Being serious is commendable, but too much of anything can be detrimental. Particularly as he’s destined to inherit my role as Demon King, I worry that his overzealous seriousness might cultivate a narrow mindset. Consequently, I thought developing a sense of playfulness would benefit him.”

So, that’s why you’ve entered this tournament?

“I thought it’d be lonely for a child to participate alone, so I joined in. Naturally, he can’t exactly say no when his father is involved. I want Goetia to have age-appropriate fun. Even with the burden of his grand responsibilities, someone who hasn’t enjoyed their childhood can’t be expected to mature properly.”

I couldn’t agree more.

In that case, you have a fantastic assistant at hand, don’t you? Goetia’s grandfather, also the tournament organizer, is a bonafide pleasure-seeker...

On second thought, that won’t do.

Even when teaching someone about playfulness, there should be a measure of moderation. ...And that man clearly has got no sense of limit.