Chapter 37: Imposter
King Klaus Midgar sat in his office room reading reports of his agents' discovery… of undead hordes being found in the underground labyrinth underneath the capital city after an anonymous source leaked the news to them. He has since ordered his knights to seal off all entrance to the underground labyrinth and ordered them to cover it all up in order to prevent panic during the Bushin Festival. So far it went smoothly according to the reports he received.
"Hahh… To think that he is so close. Between him, the Cult and Shadow Garden… which is the lesser evil that I should side with?"
He contemplated his next move as he stood up from his chair. He has more work to do but he has to watch today's match as he needs to see his daughter's match against Duke Normann's son.
"Iris and Claude. The two of them are promising young warriors. The pillars of Midgar's future generation. To face these incoming threats, it would be best to tie Claude to her. Though his sister seems to be opposed to it due to recent incidents. Today I shall reach a compromise with her." The king said as he walked towards the guest room.
Yesterday's dungeon crawling was fun. Not because the dungeon has anything new or unique compared to other dungeons but because I had an audience for my shadowbroker play! I even managed to impress Beta with my German! No treasure again though. My nemesis, the Necromancer. How stingy you are! At least I didn't find the dreaded Mimic this time so I'll spare your nose. But I should've left a bad review for bad dungeon design! Meh. No matter.
At least Epsilon found another Artifact contained within some kind of loot box. I dislike gacha but I hope the content is valuable. Out of the three Artifacts we found years ago, only one of them could turn some profit and Gamma was already one step ahead of me on that front.
Today I was granted access to the VIP booth by my sister to watch the Bushin Festival. Free luxury is good but this might make me stand out! I hope I don't meet anyone important.
"Pooch? What are you doing here?" And of course someone important has to be here. Curse my luck.
"I-I received VIP ticket from my sister." While she was choking me. I replied.
"Is that so? Good! Now you get to watch the tournament with me! Let's go!"
"Hey! Hey! I don't consent to this!" I said as she dragged me to her seat,
"Good morning, Alexia. Good morning, Cid Kagenou." Which is right next to Princess Iris, a main character! Nooo! A mob like me shouldn't interact with someone like her!
"G-Good morning, Princess Iris." I greeted politely.
"You're surprisingly polite in front of my sis." Alexia said.
"Well, she ain't like you." I retorted.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She replied.
"Tee hee hee. You two seem to get along so well." Iris said while smiling at our antics.
""No we're not!"" We replied in perfect sync.
"Oh my. To think that you're so close that-"
""I'm telling you! It's not like that! And will you please stop copying me!?"" We shouted, once again in perfect sync. This is getting us nowhere. I should stop shouting. Everyone else in the VIP booth is watching us now.
We sat down on our chairs and drank our coffees while eating some snacks. Alexia made a funny face when I told Iris that she can add milk and sugar to her coffee if she didn't like the bitterness. She ends up liking it.
"How come I'm the only one…?" Alexia muttered. Being the only member of Black Coffee Club must suck, huh?
"Cid Kagenou. I apologize for taking so long but I'm sorry about what happened to you during the Zenon incident." Iris said while bowing her head.
"That's okay! The knights were just doing their duties after all." I replied.
"If only they were doing duties they were supposed to. Hahhh." Alexia said while sighing.
"I hope you can continue to get along with Alexia. She barely has any friends."
"S-Sis! I have friends other than Pooch, you know!? I recently hang out with them a lot!"
"Pooch?" Iris said confusedly.
"It's a nickname I gave him!" Alexia said while grinning mockingly at my direction.
"I see! How cute!" Iris just nodded, ignoring the implication of the humiliating nickname.
"S-So… who do you think is the strongest fighter in this tournament, Princess Iris?" I asked in order to change the subject. The onlookers looked interested in this subject too.
"Hmm… If I were to choose, there are a few fighters that I considered strong. First is Miss Annerose, the former Seven Blades of Velgalta member." Iris said.
"Ah! I've seen her fight! She's so strong that I don't think I could hold a candle to her!" Said mob character A sitting beside Iris.
"Indeed! But I still believe you can beat her, Princess Iris!" Said mob character B, who is behaving like a bootlicker right now.
"Ever since that incident, the popularity of the Royal Bushin has diminished so-" Said the mob character B before being cut by mob character A.
"Hey! Don't mention that in front of Princess Alexia!"
"That's fine. I'm not bothered. So who else caught your eye, sis?" Alexia said.
"Let's see. Obviously I'm interested in a rematch with Claude." Iris said.
"Claude? The son of Duke Normann? I heard he defeated you in a duel years ago!" Exclaimed mob character B.
"Hey! Don't be rude!" Scolded mob character A.
"It's fine. It is the truth. His swordsmanship was very subtle and tricky. But I've improved since then and I intend to win this time."
"Ohhh! As expected of Princess Iris!" Said mob character B. Iris maintained a neutral expression while Alexia almost frowns from all the bootlicking. These people make such good mob characters. Should I try being a sycophant? Nah. There is a risk of attracting more attention to myself. Sycophants are not invisible mobs but attention seekers after all.
"Speaking of another student, of course I'm interested in your sister too, Cid." Iris said.
"My sister?"
"Yes. Claire Kagenou. Although she lost to Ro… during the school's preliminaries, she's a talented swordswoman who's now representing Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy alongside Claude." Said Iris while carefully avoiding the subject of Rose, who has been replaced by my sister as the school's representative after she attacked her fiancé, probably for having such an awful name.
"I see. Well, she got me the ticket to this seat, telling me to watch her fight." I replied.
"She's a good sister." Iris said. I disagree with that statement.
"And there's one person that I actually have little confidence in defeating." Iris stated. The onlookers are surprised by that statement. Interesting.
"Wh-Who could that be, sister?"
"Most people might not recognize her because she showed up wearing a hooded cloak and due to her long absence from the public, people didn't think she would actually show up but… there's no one else who would take the name Beatrix." Iris said. Beatrix, huh? That elf woman I met the other day and exchanged burgers with. She's strong but is she that famous?
"B-Beatrix!? The War Goddess herself!?" Said mob character A, answering my question.
"I-I can't believe that was really her! I thought that was an imposter or someone with the same name!" Said mob character B.
"It's really her. She obviously haven't shown her true power so far. That's probably why she flew under the radar for so long. But I watched her fight yesterday. She's good." Iris said.
"Ohh… But I believe you can do it, Princess! I'm rooting for you!" Said mob character B.
"Me too!" Said mob character A.
"Who are you interested in, Pooch?" Alexia asked.
"I dunno… Maybe Mundane Mann?"
"Mundane Mann?" Alexia said.
"Mundane Mann… I haven't seen him fight so I can't say." Iris said.
"Ah! I watched him fight! He was quite fast but he's weak. His stance is all wrong. I believe he's an amateur who got this far through luck!" Said mob character A, saying things I wanna hear.
"Well, we're gonna see him fight now. He's facing Annerose. Let's see how he fare against a former member of the Seven Blades of Velgalta." Alexia said, which reminds me it's almost time for my match against Annerose. The usual then.
"Where are you going, Pooch?" Alexia said when she saw me standing up.
"I'm going to the toi-"
"The first match of the day! Mundane Mann VS Annerose Nichtsehen!" I was cut by the announcer. What happened? I haven't entered the arena yet. I looked at the direction of the arena and saw something unbelievable.
Facing Annerose in the arena is… Mundane Mann… Wearing the armor and sword that Gamma provided me… But… I'm still here. What going on?
Impossible… There is an imposter… AMONG US!?
Pfft… I couldn't help myself.
I almost couldn't make it to Mundane Mann's match thanks to my sister complaining about me ditching her yesterday. I managed to convince my sister to let me go so I could prepare for my match while she would arrive late. I arrived just in time to see Mundane Mann facing Annerose. I see Iris, Alexia and Cid in the VIP booth. Cid looked as if he just saw a ghost. Pfffttt… Asshat also entered the VIP booth around the same time as me but I ignored him. He seems to be paying some attention to me though.
"Everything okay?" I asked Alexia while pointing at Cid.
"I don't know. Pooch just suddenly stopped responding." Alexia said.
"Hello? Earth to Cid?" I called out to him while snapping my fingers in front of his eyes but he still didn't respond. His eyes fixated on the sight of Mundane Mann in the arena… could it be... that….
HE'S A FAN OF MUNDANE MANN?
"Good morning, Claude." Iris greeted me.
"Good morning, Iris. Looking forward to today's fight?" I replied.
"Yes. Today is the day we'll have our rematch. I hope you're prepared to lose this time." Iris said.
"Right back at you, Iris."
I saw the bracket of today's match.
The first match is Mundane Mann VS Annerose.
The second match is Claire VS Imatry Notaloos.
The third match is Beatrix VS Rando Mook. Gotta love these names.
And the last match of the day is me VS Iris.
Today is the day I'll have the long awaited rematch with Iris. She hides it well but she's definitely desperate to prove herself in this tournament in order to recover her damaged reputation.
It all started with Alexia's kidnapping. The reputation of the Knight Order, and by extension, her reputation took a blow thanks to my sister's influence due to my arrest. Her being unable to do anything about the monster rampage is another blow.
Not to mention she's carrying the pride of the Royal Bushin Style, the most famous swordsmanship style in Midgar, after its reputation was tainted by Zenon, the famous instructor of the Royal Bushin Style. I also happen to study it but it is not my main style so it's all on her.
Then the school incident happened and although it all ends well, many students still died that day and I outperformed her, my superior in the Crimson Order.
She is also shaken after witnessing the battle between me and Shadow back then.
And now she's probably prepared to lose against Beatrix. It'll still be an honor to face the legendary swordswoman bearing the title of the Goddess of War even if you lost after all.
Unfortunately for you, Iris. I shall humiliate you once again today. But for now, I shall watch the show I provided. Now then, Mundane Mann… Or to be more precise, imposter. What are you going to do against the real one?
I went to my seat away from the princesses… which happens to be beside P-P-Pfft…. Asshat… Dammit. I have no mask this time. I must hold back my laughter. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.
"So you're the famous prodigy, Duke Normann's son, Claude Normann." Hentai Asshat said, making it much harder to hold my laughter.
Author's Note:
Is it just me or is this chapter kinda sus?
Wholesome07: Is Claude gonna face Mundane Mann?
Answer: You will see.
ACogintheSystem: I do hope after this arc, you have Shadow explain to Shadow Garden about his "past" with Necromancer.
Answer: Perhaps it'll be more appropriate for the Necromancer to do that as part of his villainous monologue. As I said, too much Seven Shades meeting scenes already. I count 3 so far.
Zero: Would be cool Necromancer have a domain expansion or reality marble to show his skills in magic is at it pinnacle.
Answer: Perhaps. I shall think about it.
J-More: the edginess is limitless!... and I love it!
Answer: UNLIMITED POWEEEEEERRR!
primenidus: Well things are going wayyyyyy south
Answer: Not south enough. Will go souther.