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nAs it turned out, after witnessing Zoemi’s fight the previous day many contestants have straight-up conceded, unwilling to test their strength against someone who had such power at his disposal.

nAfter all, if it required a sage to stop only one of the boy’s attacks, and said the attack didn’t even cause the boy to go into the state of mana depletion, meaning that he could have used it more than once during a fight, didn’t that put him at least around the sage level too?

nWith that in mind, only two duels would end up happening on that day, and Zoemi would be participating in one of them.

n”…?”

n|What…?|

nAs the black-haired boy was stepping onto the arena, so did his opponent, and the sight of the white-haired man in his late thirties wearing an apron was so out of place that Zoemi simply froze in shock, staring at him in disbelief.

n|Wh-where is his unique shadow? Is this supposed to be the guy I’m supposed to fight? I had never seen him before…|

nNo one is stopping him and the judges don’t look as if he should not be here… odd…

nZoemi thought to himself and Ludier’s shadow clearly shared his suspicion.

nIt wasn’t about the looks, as they could be deceiving – the lack of the unique shadow would suggest that the white-haired man lacked any mana whatsoever.

nAs for the eyes – the man was keeping them closed – or at least was squinting them enough to make it extremely difficult to see his pupils- but Zoemi was willing to bet that they did not share the color with the man’s hair.

n”Lord Banemor, is there a problem of some sort?”

n”…!”

nThe apron-wearing man called out to him very politely while smiling innocently, causing the boy to flinch.

n”Lord Zoemi Benevi Banmor representing the Victureo family will face mister William representing the Moyena family!”

n|HUH?!|

nWhat a strange name… and he isn’t even a noble…? So odd…!

nThe red-haired judge announced the contestants to everyone, and Zoemi’s confusion got only worse when the white-haired man was introduced.

nAlthough it sounded like Ludier’s shadow was also shocked, certainly, the two were not on the same page at the moment.

n”…mister William… you are not from around here, are you…?”

nZoemi breathed out in an attempt of calming down and asked, using the time before the start of the duel was officially announced.

n”Of course, I’m not, my lord. I am but a humble florist living in the Moyena territory. Never before in my life have I traveled outside of it, not to mention as far as to Victureo territory!”

nThe man gasped, all bashful from the high noble talking to a nobody like him – but the dead silence brimming with anticipation that has befallen the audience was confirming Zoemi’s suspicion that something was very, very wrong.

nWell, to begin with – how could there exist a possibility of any magicless commoner not only participating in the tournament for the nobles but making it all the way to the semi-finals?

n”Why have I never seen you fight…?”

nThe black-haired boy asked cautiously, keenly watching William’s every move.

n”That has to be because all of my fights had ended in a single hit, my lord.”

n|!!!!!|

nWilliam responded lightheartedly without ever changing his expression or opening his eyes.

n”…no – I spent a lot of time in the sickbay helping out with healing the contestants. Having people brought down in a single hit would make me pay attention to such an interesting florist capable of inflicting enough damage.”

nZoemi shook his head, refusing to believe the man’s explanation.

n”My lord, I would never dare to lie to you – just as I would never even dare to bring harm to anyone with noble blood flowing through them. None of my opponents were harmed enough to require receiving a treatment.”

n”…”

nThe white-haired man gasped and shook his head while making a fearful expression – his easygoing nature made Zoemi be on alert more than he ever was in his life.

nAlthough he spent a lot of time thinking that the world was just a game, this was the first time that he encountered someone who literally felt like a hidden-boss character.

n”How did you manage to do that?”

n”My lord, isn’t there a saying that a good magician never reveals his secrets?”

nThe black-haired boy asked and the white-haired man responded politely while pulling up the sleeves of his shirt and making sure that his apron is on securely.

n|That… is not an expression that magicians of this world use, isn’t it…?|

nAlthough I can agree with his words – no. I never heard anyone say it like that… Maybe that’s just the commoner’s way of thinking?

nZoemi gritted his teeth, feeling cold sweat drenching his shirt as Ludier’s shadow was unable to see the danger the black-haired bo had already spotted.

nWhat the hell was that supposed to be?! A commoner showing up from nowhere, and no noble is able to stop him? The guy is humble but confident at the same time, casually admitting that he is more powerful than all of the magicians he fought, to the point of being able to knock them for whatever was necessary for him to win, but not strong enough to harm them?

nThat should be the main event and not just a semi-finals fight…!

n”Then, I can assume you will try to do the same thing with me? Knock me out just for long enough for the judges to announce your win?”

nZoemi asked while reaching out with his shadow towards William – but encountering absolutely nothing that he could grab onto.

nThe white-haired man really had no mana, making the whole situation all the more bizarre.

n”…”

nWilliam did not respond to that.

nFirst, he furrowed his brows and lowered his head as if deep in thoughts, pondering about the proper answer.

nAnd when he finally looked back up…

n”No. I must see for myself the extent of your power. With your previous fight, you have shown the destructive power that could become a serious threat. You, my lord, and the young lady Vitureo who stopped it so effortlessly. I am thankful.”

nHe stopped smiling and his face became serious to the point of making Zoemi flinch.

n”…what are you thankful for…?”

n”Hmm, I wonder~?”

nThe black-haired boy asked, but the white-haired florist merely smiled.

n”BEGIN!”

n”Law of Capricorn.”

n*WHOOSH*

nOne of the judges called out, officially starting the duel – at that very moment William called and as soon as Zoemi blinked, the white-haired man disappeared from his spot!

n…or so would it look for someone not paying attention, as the white-haired man simply moved fast enough to use the opportunity of his opponent blinking…!

n”…!”

nBut that also was exactly what Zoemi was expecting from this secret boss-like encounter, to begin with, so he activated both the shadow enchantments and the shadow armor intending to use it to absorb any attack coming his way…

n*WHAM*

n”GHUOGH…!”

nJust for William’s punch to break straight through the boy’s defenses and tear the demonic armor to shreds in one punch aimed at his solar plexus.

n”HMPH!”

n*WHOOOOOSH*

n*SPLASH*

nThe white-haired florist scoffed and twisted his hand, adding a spin, and the next moment Zoemi was launched into the sky – high enough to actually hit the ceiling of the protective dome the water magician kept active for the protection of the audience!

n”…huh…? That’s it? That so-called magic sucks… And here I was worried that locals could pose a threat.”

nWilliam muttered to himself, opening his eyes just a little bit and revealing his pupils to be green while watching the body of the black-haired boy peel off of the protective barrier and start falling back down towards him.

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