The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 5 - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Champion

The tournament proceeded in fine fashion, and Jade and Finn won their way through the bracket easier than expected. Every opponent was a skilled competitor, but to be entirely honest, it seemed that only a handful of them had entered with serious designs to take the throne. Jade and Finn simply stood out above all the rest. Everyone was steadfast in their predictions that one of them would take the tournament.

That extended to the entrants as well. Most of them were either combat junkies who’d just wanted to fight or people who’d wanted to test their might. Nevertheless, the higher in the bracket Jade and Finn climbed, the more tough fighters they met. And as strong as the two of them were, even they weren’t able to beat these opponents so easily. Their opposition fought back, leaving wound after wound on their bodies.

Every time an opponent struck Finn, Ewan would fly into a massive uproar. But Ruri’s mounting concerns about Jade’s safety made her scream just as loud as Ewan. However, to a dragonkin, those were nothing more than flesh wounds.

The only thing that Ruri could do was pray from afar, but Quartz and Agate were extremely nonplussed, most likely because they were confident that Jade was in no danger of losing.

“Hmm, hmm, hmmmm, hmmm!” Ruri hummed in joy. She was happy to see so much of Jade’s dashing performance throughout the competition.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Ruri,” Agate commented, charmed by her high-spirited display.

“Of course,” Ruri replied. “Jade is climbing higher and higher in the tournament, after all. I’m happy to see it.”

“Well, His Majesty can’t put on an unbecoming show while his beloved mate cheers him on from the crowd,” Agate said with a smile beaming across his face.

Ruri could more or less tell what was on Agate’s mind as he looked at her with that big grin. He was pleased as punch that the two were showing signs of romantic affection.

“That aside, is that song you’re humming from your land, Ruri?” Agate asked. “It’s quite the beautiful melody.”

“It is, isn’t it? But I’m not sure what land it’s from, if any,” Ruri admitted. Since the song she was humming came from the ghost in the pocket space, there was no way she could have known its origin.

“Err, I don’t follow,” Agate replied.

Suddenly, Ruri looked at Quartz, who wore a look of shock, like he couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“Quartz-sama?” she asked.

Quartz came back to his senses upon hearing his name, but his face was still pale and tense.

“What’s the matter, Quartz-sama?”

“No, it’s nothing. Nothing...at all...”

It certainly didn’t look like nothing, but Quartz didn’t seem like he was willing to elaborate further. Then he fell silent, almost contemplative.

Ruri was curious as to what had startled him, but she decided to concentrate on rooting for Jade instead.

Despite some difficulties along the way, Jade and Finn had made it to the finals, as most expected. All that was left was their match. To the victor went the title of Dragon King.

“I-I’m starting to get nervous,” Ruri admitted. Her heart throbbed like mad even though she was just a spectator. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Ruri was close with both of them, so she wasn’t sure who to cheer for. As Jade’s mate, the right thing to do would be to cheer for Jade, but Finn was like an older brother to her. She wanted to cheer for Finn, but if Jade ever found out that she had, he would probably get upset. Maybe rooting for Jade was the best call here...

As those thoughts ran through her mind, the signal for the start of the match sounded. But neither competitor took a single step forward. Instead, they stared at one another, their swords drawn and poised. Despite this, no crude jeers to hurry up came from the crowd. The tension wrapped around the entire coliseum. Not a single person in attendance could make a peep.

Then, out of nowhere, their swords fell and clashed with a loud shiiiing. Everyone realized that they’d been so entranced by the sudden development that they’d forgotten to breathe. They all slowly exhaled in unison. Then an explosion of roars filled the coliseum, each one directed toward their competitor of choice.

Ruri got caught up in the voices of the arena and cheered as well, but most of all she was hoping that neither got hurt. But despite her hope, it was highly unlikely that a fight between two skilled combatants would yield no injuries. Bit by bit, their swords slashed new wounds into each other.

They were pretty evenly matched in strength. But while it seemed that way for a while, Jade soon started to push Finn back ever so slightly.

“Brother, hang in thereeeee!” Ewan exclaimed.

Finn’s expression, which had been the picture of sturdy serenity this entire time, finally started to crack as a distressed grimace flashed across his face. Then Finn staggered, if only for a second. But that small gap was more than enough for Jade to pour on the pressure even more.

Finn tried to regain his balance as he fended off Jade’s fierce offense. Jade, however, used his magic to knock the sword right from Finn’s hands and pointed the tip of his own sword toward Finn.

“I’m bested,” Finn said.

Applause and shouts shot throughout the arena. Ruri and Celestine both clasped hands and rejoiced.

“He did it!” Ruri exclaimed.

“That he did,” Celestine agreed.

Ruri felt sorry for Finn, but she had ended up cheering for Jade halfway through the match.

Finn had a right to feel frustrated, but although he’d lost, his expression looked more refreshed than anything. “It seems I am defeated,” he said with a wry grin as he took Jade’s hand.

“It got pretty close halfway through, though. I just managed to win.”

“You haven’t been exercising much due to your official duties, so I thought I stood a chance.”

“I’ve been keeping myself up in private. And since Ruri is watching this time around, that’s even more reason why I couldn’t be bested.”

“I shall train myself even harder for the next time,” Finn replied.

“Well, just know that I’m not going to rest on my laurels just because I won.”

Jade and Finn congratulated each other with calm smiles. In contrast, tears streamed down Ewan’s cheeks as he grieved for his brother’s loss. Finn had accepted the results of a hard-fought battle in stride, but it looked like Ewan was going to be stuck in a gloomy rut for quite some time.

With the finals concluded, everyone thought that the tournament was over with and that Jade would retain his title of Dragon King. Yet Jade stayed where he was and shouted to the stands, “Master Quartz!” Many of the people who were readying to leave, thinking that the festivities were over, stopped what they were doing and curiously listened in.

Quartz, not having been informed of this sudden turn of events, looked over to Agate as if asking for an answer. Agate looked just as clueless, though, and shook his head in surprise.

Jade looked at Quartz and yelled, “Master Quartz! I request you spar with me! I may have become king after you, but I cannot consider myself the true Dragon King. Only the strongest becomes the Dragon King. I’ve never sparred with you even once, Master Quartz. I wish to defeat you and proclaim the title of Dragon King with pride. Would you do the honor of granting my most indulgent request?”

Quartz had given up being king in order to search for his mate. As a result, Jade had become the next king without a bout to decide it. Normally, whoever defeated the previous king would become the next king, but Jade must have felt apprehensive about foregoing that stipulation.

Quartz smiled, undaunted. He then jumped down from their private booth and descended upon the arena, directly facing Jade.

“Do you really intend to fight me?” asked Quartz.

“Yes, it would be an honor,” replied Jade.

“Fine, then. If you insist, Jade, let’s do battle.” Quartz unsheathed and readied his sword.

Seeing this, Ruri flew into a panic. “Agate-san! Is this all right?!”

“Whether it is or isn’t, there’s nothing we can do. We just have to let His Majesty do as he pleases.”

“But...!”

“They should have fought a long time ago, actually. One must defeat the previous king to become the new king. That was how it continued for quite some time, but Master Quartz’s departure was a bit of a special case. At the time, there was no shortage of people dissatisfied with the young king who hadn’t even defeated his predecessor.”

“Oh, was that so?” Ruri asked.

“Indeed. Now, of course, everyone acknowledges His Majesty as the Dragon King, but at the time, there were those who were overtly dissatisfied.”

Ruri was shocked. “Who said that?! I’ll make sure they pay for their slander!”

The only Dragon King that Ruri knew was Jade, so Jade was the Dragon King as far as she was concerned. To hear that anyone had qualms about that was inconceivable. Nevertheless, a Dragon King was chosen based on strength. It was natural for some to be unwilling to accept Jade after he became king without fighting the strongest dragonkin at the time, Quartz.

Jade must have known that as well. While he was well recognized as king now, he most likely felt inferior because of the circumstances. That was probably why he wanted to use this chance, while Quartz was back, to show that he was indeed the Dragon King—for his own benefit, above anything else.

This was quite a risk, though. It would be fine if he beat Quartz, but if he lost, it would be like saying Jade wasn’t qualified to be the Dragon King. He couldn’t afford to lose in front of the masses. And though it was hard to believe that Quartz would ascend the throne again even if he won, it would undoubtedly be a source of anxiety for Jade as he proceeded as the Dragon King. It also might cause even more discontent than when he’d first become king without fighting Quartz.

“Agate-san, is Quartz-sama strong? Which of them will win?” Ruri asked.

“Master Quartz was once king himself. Of course he’s strong. At the time, he claimed victory against scores of powerful challengers with his overwhelming strength. He’s had bouts with His Majesty before, but I haven’t seen His Majesty win a single time.”

“He what? That’s terrible news!”

“That was a rather long time ago, though,” Agate explained. “His Majesty has developed and has become powerful enough to win this tournament as king. As for who would win if they fought now? That’s hard to say...”

“But what are we going to do if Jade-sama loses?!”

“Hmm... I would say His Majesty’s future would look very grim.”

While Ruri made a huge fuss up in the booth, Quartz and Jade had already started their fight.

“Oh no. They’re doing it,” she whispered when she saw them.

Unlike the cautious wait-and-see tactic that Jade had used with Finn, both he and Quartz intensely clashed swords from the very start.

“They’re so fast!” Ruri gasped. She couldn’t even track where their swords were swinging. They seemed to be evenly matched at first glance, but that was just in Ruri’s amateur opinion. It was too early to tell who had the upper hand. All she could do was sit and watch, unable to stop them. Ruri could technically employ the spirits to break up the fight if she felt so inclined, but it wasn’t her place to interfere with the match Jade had been hoping for.

The gentle Quartz may have looked more suited to be holding roses than swords, but he was reacting and dealing with Jade’s attacks one after another. In addition, Jade had just finished his match with Finn. He was probably fatigued, which put him at a huge disadvantage.

Ruri’s hunch was right on the mark. Jade gradually began to lose ground.

“Oh nooo! Jade-sama, stay firm! Stay firm and don’t give up!”

“Ruri, settle down, will you?” Rin scolded, unable to watch Ruri acting so foolish.

Still, there was no way Ruri could settle down. “Now’s not the time for that. Jade-sama, you can do it!” she yelled out.

That was when a violent kabooom echoed and a set of earthquake-level tremors shook the ground.

“Oohyaaaa!!” Ruri screamed, covering her head and crouching down.

Shrieks came from all over the spectator stands. Jade and Quartz lowered their swords and looked around them. Not a single person could grasp the situation.

“What...was that?” asked Ruri.

The quaking soon stopped, but everyone clamored, wondering what the noise could have been. It almost sounded as if something had been demolished.

“I will go check out the situation,” Agate said. “Beast King and Beloveds, I implore you all to please wait right here. Especially you, Ruri. Stay put.”

“Why are you singling me out?” Ruri was unhappy that Agate had assumed that she would do something. She would have stayed put even without being told to do so by name.

As she waited for Agate to return, Ruri heard what sounded like cannon fire and explosions in intermittent spurts. Her worries grew.

Panic had briefly descended upon the spectators, but Jade had ordered them to stay in their seats until they received confirmation on what was happening. They were now remaining calm, in part due to the sense of security Jade had instilled. After all, this coliseum housed a host of dragonkin—the strongest breed of demi-humans around—who were ready to defend them if the situation called for it. Nevertheless, the spectators still couldn’t wipe the worry off their faces.

A few moments passed, and then a single soldier could be seen running up to Jade.

After he heard the message, Jade briefly talked with Quartz. Quartz returned to the booth along with Agate soon after. Their faces looked grim. It was very clear that they hadn’t come bearing good news.

“What just happened?” asked Ruri.

“A large number of suspicious ships have been spotted in the waters around the royal capital,” Quartz said. “They wouldn’t respond to any warnings, and when our navy tried to employ force, several kraken impeded them out of nowhere. Apparently, those ships entered port and opened fire on the capital.”

“Why would they do that?” Ruri asked.

“Who they are and their purpose is unknown. Jade is going to retaliate with the dragonkin who are able to fight. We need you and the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King to evacuate to the castle at once, Ruri. The safety of Beloveds is always top priority.”

Ruri looked at Celestine, who nodded and stood up.

“Okay, I will,” Ruri agreed. “But will Jade-sama be all right? Especially after all that fighting?”

“Yes, he’ll be fine. He isn’t that soft. Right now, the safety of all of you is more important. Now, hurry on.”

In addition to Quartz, several soldiers stood outside their box, waiting to escort Ruri and the others. But just as they were about to head off for the castle with them as their security detail, Kotaro stopped in his tracks.

“Kotaro?” asked Ruri.

“I’m going to take a look around. I feel a disturbance. Rin, take care of Ruri,” Kotaro said.

“You got it,” Rin replied.

“Hey, wait! Kotaro!” Ruri shouted, but Kotaro had already run away before she could try to stop him.

“Don’t worry, Ruri. It’s Kotaro. He’ll be fine.”

Ruri nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.” She looked back for a second, but then she quickly turned back around and made her way to the castle.