Jack of All Trades, Party of None

On the night of the sixth day of the thanksgiving festival, after finishing today's duties, I headed to the leader’s office.

The matchups for the martial arts tournament starting tomorrow, featuring A-rank and above explorers, were finally announced.

It seems the public already knows, so by now the taverns must be buzzing with bets on who will win.

“Leader, Orun here.”

I knocked on the door upon arrival, letting them know I was here.

A voice from inside said, “Come in,” so I opened the door and entered.

Inside were the leader, Ms. Selma, Will, and Jerome, an executive from the publicity department—four people in total.

“Excuse me. —Am I the last to arrive? Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, no problem. I’m sorry for assigning you so many tasks.”

When I apologized for being late, the leader apologized back.

“From tomorrow, I won’t be able to help much, so it’s only natural to assist while I still can.”

“Leader, let's get started. We need to decide our future strategy.”

Jerome suggested beginning the discussion.

Indeed, we had less than half a day to decide and execute the publicity strategy for the silver rabbits of the night sky in the martial arts tournament.

The busiest will definitely be the publicity department led by Jerome.

“Right. Selma, please hand out the tournament brackets to the three of them.”

“Understood. —Here is the tournament bracket for the advanced explorers' division starting tomorrow.”

Following the leader’s instructions, Ms. Selma handed us the papers with the matchups.

(So, it’s a knockout tournament without preliminaries like the open one held from day one. Let's see how the pairings look.)

I examined the bracket while thinking this.

“…It feels contrived. It’s too perfect to be random.”

Will muttered after looking at the bracket.

First thing I noticed was how few participants there were.

Only sixteen people in the main tournament.

Well, late notification was partly responsible, so it’s understandable.

Then, Will’s comment about the manipulative pairing.

Though the low number might mean it's coincidence, the organizer is Marquis Forgus after all.

“They say the pairings were created randomly. There are two from s-rank parties and one from a-rank parties. Members from the same party are placed in different brackets.”

Ms. Selma explained the official explanation.

“So, it means Wilkes and Orun will meet in the final.”

“Orun notwithstanding, I have to face the hero party’s ace before facing Orun, so getting to the final is tough, isn’t it?”

Indeed, Oliver and I were on opposite sides of the bracket.

I expected Marquis Forgus might pit us against each other in the first match, but it seems he saved the most exciting matchup for the final.

If I get eliminated before then, so be it.

“…Hey Orun, to be blunt, what are the odds I can beat this guy?”

Will asked me.

The others seemed interested too, all eyes on me.

“I think Will is a skilled warrior. I’ve never seen anyone wield dual-blade swords so well. That’s undeniable. —But it’s difficult for Will to beat Oliver. In ten matches, he’d probably lose nine or more.”

The atmosphere grew heavy with my words.

I knew this would happen, but there’s no point sugarcoating it.

“…Hmph, so that big a gap, huh? Still, the chance isn’t zero, right? That means winning at the tournament is possible. Orun, see you in the final! And don’t lose to the Sword Princess either, okay?”

I could tell Will was putting on a brave face, but it’s better not to dwell on that.

“—Yeah, got it.”

If all goes well, I’ll face Fuuka—the Sword Princess—in the semifinals before the final.

Other likely matchups are:

First round: Loretta, the ace of the rising a-rank party Jade Gale.

Second round: Derrick from the hero party.

Semifinal: Fuuka.

Final: Sorry Will, but probably Oliver. Next likely is Haruto, leader of the Red Copper Twilight.

“You probably already know the tournament rules, but just in case, let’s review.”

Ms. Selma started explaining.