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After watching the tournament together, the three went on to play the game amongst themselves, watching other events on the Magic TV, and so on.

Time passed and it was time to go to bed. The next morning was Mira’s fourth day as Iris’ bodyguard, and the day when the main combat tournament finally started.

Everything was set up so all the action was clearly visible through the Magic TV too, so Iris and the First Lieutenant were in high spirits since early in the morning.
Mira also watched with them, but was careful to keep her mission in mind.

The strongest combatants from across the continent had gathered for that tournament, to decide who was truly the strongest. Even the first qualifier matches attracted a large audience.

They were far more numerous and active compared to the previous events, so the venue’s security also had their work cut out for them.

(There’s so many people there…)

Mira had also sent Popotwise to fly over the venue, using Sense Sync to see it for herself, already planning how Iris’ visit would go later on. Popotwise’s route had actually started at the Adams’ residence too, just to make sure things were going well with Meilin.

Currently there were no issues there, as the maid Vanessa had kept her word and was looking after Meilin. It did not matter how rowdy Meilin usually behaved, her hair was beautifully dyed, and her outfit fully fitted.

Mira also wanted to look for Bruce, but there were so many people there, and his appearance did not stand out a lot, so it was impossible.

(At this point…maybe I should consider going by air.)

The free-for-all category was clearly the more popular one, having the biggest crowd watching.

Event staff had their hands full guiding the throng of people to their seats, and Mira shuddered to think of how it would be further on in the tournament once the fights heated up.

Initially she had thought of using Worthramble’s power to quietly sneak Iris in, but seeing the state of things, she realized that someone would bump into them and discover them almost instantly.

(Maybe I could have her riding with Worthramble on Hippogriff, and I’ll follow right next to them on Pegasus to keep them safe.)

That was one of Mira’s many preemptive ideas.

If anything, Iris’ powers as the oracle were the biggest hurdle. Regardless of the venue’s size, they could not simply give her a large dedicated space while neglecting the many other attendees.

And even if they secured a spot for her, the moment she used her powers again, the enemy would know that location as well. In other words, they would have to switch strategies every time she had to work.

The important detail there was August, who was kept under check by her. If he was dealt with first, then things would be far simpler.

(I think she said the qualifiers and preliminaries will go on for around a month.)

Alma had told them various things during breakfast, including that and other details.

The highlight event was the free-for-all tournament. Qualifiers for it were played out as a battle royale between ten participants. The main stage would be divided in four, with a different battle royale playing out in each quadrant, and with a fifteen minute time limit.

Then the winners of those battle royales would enter a preliminary tournament, and those who won four matches in a row made it to the main bracket. The main bracket was scheduled to be filled up in around a month, but Iris had mentioned she really wanted to see the preliminaries as well.

According to Alma’s estimates, the battle royale rounds would be done in around two weeks. So there were two weeks to figure out how to get Iris into the audience and back safely.

(Time to show off my skills then.)

It was going to be a difficult task, but Alma had requested that Iris be kept in the dark about it.

Iris was looking forward to watching the tournament in person, but knowing her kind nature, she would rescind her wish if she knew how difficult it would be. So it was necessary to make it seem like taking her there was an easy task.

And Mira had plenty of allies who could make that possible.

Maybe it was time to bring everyone together and come up with a specific plan. All of that circled in Mira’s mind as she watched the battle royales on the Magic TV with the other two.

***

While everyone in Nirvana had their eyes on the tournament, yet another secret meeting happened in a dark room of a certain mansion.

“…So it would seem that she was already active in other places, before she became widely known as the Spirit Queen in Sentopolly.”

One of Ira Muerte’s leaders, Ignaz, who was in charge of trading weapons, had spent more time looking into the Spirit Queen’s past.

‘A Wiseman’s pupil, huh… That’s troublesome if true, but do you really think she is one? I’ve seen thousands of charlatans claiming that already.’ An irritated response came from the organization’s *cleanup* team’s leader. Garroba.

Their continued research into the Spirit Queen had unveiled rumors that she was the pupil of Danbulf, one of the Nine Wisemen.

But Garroba did not sound very convinced yet, with plenty of reason. Danbulf and many of the other Wisemen were still unaccounted for, and there had been far more people claiming to be their pupils.

Some had the skill to back the claims up, but it had been more than twenty years since the last time that happened.

In present times, it was more common for people to study the many stories and fighting styles of the Wisemen, basing their own skills on them, and then calling themselves their pupils.

‘I’m more curious about that Phantom Thief, who is he? Is he strong?’

One of the stories they had newly uncovered mentioned how the Spirit Queen had managed to recover an invaluable treasure the Phantom Thief Fuzzy Dice had stolen.

No one else had managed to accomplish that in the past, so that also became a big story.

“He’s pretty strong, supposedly. I really can’t say for sure, since anyone who tries to fight him just gets put to sleep before anything happens. On top of that there were no witnesses when the Spirit Queen fought him. They were already done by the time the guards arrived, and the Phantom Thief gave up on the treasure.”
‘That’s not really helpful…’

At first glance that seemed to showcase the Spirit Queen’s strength. But it was far too unreliable.

‘But then she just donated that treasure to the church, to help out orphanages, didn’t she? And that’s literally the same thing the Phantom Thief does. At the end of the day that just made the Spirit Queen look better, while the Phantom Thief lost nothing. If I had to say, the two just staged the whole thing.’
“Yes, that event does stink. But there’s also no point of reference between the two, so it doesn’t help us measure anything.”

In the end, there was nothing much they could glean from that story, and the two were still far from grasping how strong she was. There was only one thing they knew for certain. Which was…

“Either way, it’s still better than having to deal with Noin of the Twelve Apostles.”
‘That’s true. At least we don’t have to pry at that impregnable iron wall.’

That much they could agree on.

‘But moving on. How’s the other situation? It’s been quite a while since they got Jorg.’