S-Class Swap Match

Today was the day of the S-Class swap match.

I'd readied myself perfectly for this day… and now it had come.

Hyuuu… don… dondondon…!

Fireworks went up. It was daytime, so they were hard to see, but I could tell it was a lavish opening.

Waaaa…

The Great Arena of the world capital, Lasburg.

Without an introduction from an S-Class Master, you couldn't enter — this arena in the capital Lasburg.

If an A-Class Master ever got the chance to enter, it would only be at this S-Class swap match.

… Well, attending as a spectator was possible, anyway.

The venue was lined with well-dressed spectators.

In the VIP seats, I could see several S-Class Masters. At the A-Class Tournament the seats had been sparse, but the attendance rate seemed high.

Maybe because the S-Class number 17-24 Masters were competing? Or perhaps… they'd come to see the Masters about to promote.

It was hard to make out from a distance… but there was the somehow spaced-out atmosphere of number 1 Satoru.

Even from afar her glittering blue hair shone — the divine majesty of a goddess, number 2 Aqueria.

The somehow statue-like, unearthly atmosphere of number 3 Sairas.

And, though elderly, the imposing heavyweight presence of number 4 Leonhardt.

S-Class number 1 through 4 were all assembled.

There were several other S-Class Masters below them, but the presence of those top four felt set apart.

That said, S-Class number 17 through 24 weren't in the VIP seats. They were on the competing side.

Like me, they were probably in the competitors' waiting room beside the arena.

Waaaaaa…!

And the buzz of the venue grew louder.

Today's emcees seemed to have come out.

… Ohh… ohh…

What… beauty.

No, really… loss for words was the right phrase. My already meager vocabulary was being further drained away.

… Lovely.

One was white.

One was silver.

Such beauty in both of them.

Fantastic.

Mystical.

Few pairs would suit those adjectives so perfectly.

They were… beautiful girls who looked like a dream made real, otherworldly.

Long, slender, graceful limbs, narrow features, large eyes both beautiful and somehow childlike.

And their breasts were ample, too…

Ahh, geez… what…

I was captivated at first sight.

"Greetings, everyone — to those meeting us for the first time, hello. I'll be serving as today's emcee.

"I'm Anneroese."

The translucent, white beautiful girl spoke.

And then, the silver beautiful girl who seemed to embody mystery and fantasy.

She quietly opened her mouth…

"Hi～, hello! Today's commentator, Silvana-chan! Pleased to meetcha!"

A sharp peace sign right by her eyes.

… Eh? Flippant!

Waaaaaa!

Anneroese-samaaa～!

Silvana-samaaa～!

Uoooooooo…!

The venue was thoroughly hyped.

"Uh, well…"

From a god-or-Demon-Lord mysterious atmosphere to that astonishingly flippant delivery — I was bewildered.

… Silvana. That name was one I'd just learned from Lyuka.

The Legendary Master I'd heard about in Lyuka's history classroom, Invincible Silvana.

Since she was apparently still alive, a day to meet her would come in the far future… or so I'd thought.

… And it turned out, much sooner than expected, I was looking at her in person.

I was startled by her flippancy, but…

What beauty, though.

Despite being a vampire, sunlight seemed not to bother her. She stood proudly under the morning sun.

True, a night setting would suit her well, with that silver hair and red eyes. But under sunlight, her figure shone overwhelmingly beautiful.

She probably could eat garlic and the like too. She wasn't necessarily the same as Earth's vampires.

"… Eh, Silvana's that sort of person. Get all stiff over the 'Legendary' thing and you'll look like an idiot."

Yuria muttered, exasperated.

"… And the Anneroese-san next to her?"

"Holy Maiden Anneroese. Silvana's party member."

"Holy Maiden… ah."

A long while back, I'd heard there was another Holy Maiden besides Karen, whom number 1 Satoru held. So that was her.

"Anneroese-san is always together with Papa～"

"She's the chaperone, to keep that person from doing weird things. Bless her."

Mm, the daughter's treatment of her was rough…

"By the way, does Anneroese-san have a daughter…?"

"You're aiming for her! … Unfortunately, no. Silvana has two other daughters, though. One's an NPC, one's a PC. You may run into them somewhere."

Yuria sighed.

It seemed there wasn't much contact between half-sisters. Even with Patty — when they met they got along this well, yet they'd never met.

"You don't get together with Silvana's former party members or anything?"

"Silvana's former party members are S-Class NPCs, near the core of the system.

"They're all busy, so it's not really feasible to meet up."

Lyuka added.

… Indeed, Almaria-san and Pamela-san both looked busy day to day.

But… Silvana-san?

"That person's free. Doesn't do any proper work. A free spirit."

Yuria was talking about her great father with such an offhand air…

"… You don't like her?"

I asked, unable to resist.

"It's not that I dislike her… Strong, beautiful, and free.

"Her charm is undeniable.

"… Conversely, I make sure not to admire her too much. Because, you know, she's that sort of person."

Haahh, Yuria sighed. Complicated feelings, it seemed.

"Well, let's get on with the opening ceremony!"

Waaaa…!

Contrary to her daughter's feelings, Silvana's popularity with the public was apparently very high.

Beautiful and bright on top of it… certainly, she was overflowing with charm.

And then, a glamorous parade began.

The match would start in two hours. Veteran S-Class Masters and the like would mostly arrive closer to the time, it seemed.

Since this was my first time, I decided to take in the opening ceremony.

… Ursula had also already arrived at the opposite waiting room. Both sides were fully psyched up.

"Now, during the opening ceremony, allow us to explain the matches being held today."

Anneroese-san provided the play-by-play in a flowing, beautiful voice. Even just by voice, mesmerizingly beautiful.

Adding the sight of her made it even more enchanting. No… beautiful. And cute and charming on top of that… lovely…

Seeing her with Silvana, that one spot really did look like a scene out of myth.

"For the first match, S-Class number 24 Ursula Belzebute versus A-Class number 1 Akai Naoto."

Hearing my name from Anneroese's mouth was embarrassing.

"Fufufu～, the match drawing all the attention～"

So Silvana commented.

"Ursula-chan is a familiar face to everyone, isn't she. The S-Class idol — so cute, isn't she～. Mmh, cute!"

"Number 24 Ursula Belzebute, despite being last at 24, is top-class in strength even among lower S-Class. Some say she could even hold up in mid-S-Class."

The way Silvana and Anneroese introduced things had completely different tensions — it was funny.

"Well, she's the only kid with the three great Ultimate Jobs filled out — Demon Lord, Seraph, and Dragon King, ya know～. Seraph in particular is rare～."

"Why does such a powerhouse insist on the number 24 position?"

"It's said it's because her mama Esta was hung up on number 24.

"But also, in the year she debuted, she got pulverized by her contemporary Sairas-kun, and I worry her drive to climb just snapped. Maybe.

"I'd love for her to brush off the voices around her and do her best～.

"So says this me, who once pulverized Esta."

She said things people hesitate to say, bluntly.

… This person was hard to handle for current S-Class Masters.

"This year's debutant, Akai Naoto. He's been hugely watched as a Master who transitioned from another world, but currently he's drawing attention for his strength.

"Whether he'll keep ascending the elite course and achieve S-Class promotion in his first year — much watched."

"Yes, yes, the appearance of a young talent is wonderful～. The A-Class Tournament was truly splendid.

"I'm looking forward to what kind of battle he'll show us today, too."

Silvana praised me.

So she was paying attention to me too, then…

"… Silvana-san, what would the points of interest be?"

"Hmm, both sides have very beautiful, charming Garumon, so focus on their beauty and their performance.

"Patty and Yuria especially."

"Pft."

Having her name dropped out of nowhere, Yuria spat.

"Ahaha… Papa's a handful～"

Patty also wore a wry smile.

At the A-Class Tournament, the ones who really made names were Luna and Colette. Then Kanan, who became a topic for her amazing teleportation.

But the most famous would be Seika, who had a long A-Class history and was a top idol.

Bypassing all of them to name Yuria and Patty…

"… Well, it's true they're cute, so I don't think it's a problem to focus on them."

"S-stop it."

The two blushing was cute.

"After that… currently there are only five Seraphs in the world, and three of them are gathering here… so the fierce battle between Seraphs is also worth attention, I suppose."

"That's right. The Ursula side holds the three great Ultimate Jobs: Demon Lord, Dragon King, and Seraph.

"Naoto-san holds Hero, along with many other Ultimate Job Garumon. Among them, Seraph is especially in focus, then?"

"That's right. With Legendary Jobs increasing in number now, Ultimate Jobs are getting pushed off the list of the 24 Strongest Garumon, hm.

"But even among those, Seraphs are still well represented.

"That's why they're especially in the spotlight.

"… I see, the winner ends up with all three Seraphs together. Wonderful, hm, a Seraph harem.

"This makes me want to collect all five Seraphs.

"The remaining ones are Uriela Aisha and Gabriella Aqua. Gathering them all would be fun."

"Silvana-san. Is that all?"

Anneroese reeled the derailing topic back in. Practiced hand.

"After that, this being the third Belzebute vs. Michaela match is interesting too～.

"This is the third generation, third match. The first, Tiari vs. Mercheada, is famous.

"The second generation, Esta vs. Hilde — in fact, that happened too, didn't it."

"Yes. Once, about thirty years ago. Though they didn't actually face off directly…"

"It's fine, it's fine. As long as the matchup happened.

"Each generation has clashed exactly once. And the third generation is Ursula vs. Suzanne.

"Belzebute is on a two-loss streak, so they should be fired up, hm."

"I see. That's certainly noteworthy."

"Well, I haven't checked the lineup, so I don't know if Suzanne will actually come out."

"… Just check, then."

"Eh～, spoilers ruin it. I want to see it on the spot and go, oh, so that's how it played out."

… That was the kind of conversation they were having.

I see. The tone was joking, but the analysis was solid.

She had abundant knowledge from past to present. As a commentator, she might really be very strong.

I was looking forward to how they'd commentate.

"What's wagered on this match?"

"Yes, whichever wins makes the loser into a Sub-Master."

"Oh, hot! A match where everything's wagered on each other!

"There's a real-match feel to this. Looking forward to it!"

Silvana's energy was high.

"… Well, it kinda feels like fighting over which one will be on top during sex."

She couldn't help adding the punchline, could she!

"And so, this first match is packed with points of interest! To be blunt, I came today to see this match.

"Once it's done, can I go home?"

"Nope. Once you've taken the job, please commentate all eight matches."

"Boo."

… She really did fool around. But…

I'd grown completely fond of this Silvana-san.

… Or rather, Silvana's speech mannerisms were really similar to Yuria's.

No, the other way around. Yuria resembled Silvana.

Almaria-san was a buttoned-up, serious, gentle person, so I'd wondered where on earth Yuria's slightly clowning personality had come from…

Now I understood.

She said she didn't like her father, but admiring the same path, becoming the same body, even influenced down to personality and speech — it was obvious she really loved him…

I found Yuria even cuter all over again.

"For the second match, Zeiros versus Dalido. What's the point of interest?"

"Eh～? Plain. Nothing in particular…"

"Silvana-san."

Anneroese was smiling sweetly and calmly, and it was scary.

"… I'd love to say, but, well, hmm, I guess the focus would be on Zeiros's luck."

"Luck?"

"Yes, yes. To start with, the year Zeiros became S-Class, the A-Class Tournament was a real letdown, wasn't it."

"… Haa, letdown?"

"The leading contenders eliminated each other early, and somehow Zeiros slipped through to victory.

"The year before there was Shaina, the year after Eclair, the year before that Ursula and Sairas. Two years after was Naoto.

"Such powerful Masters — unstoppable no matter how lucky you got — just happened not to be there. That was lucky too.

"… And then the S-Class swap match: Old Man Wallace retired, opened up number 23, and Zeiros slipped right into that vacancy."

"Yes, that's right."

"And the next year, Eclair won. We figured Zeiros had been knocked down — but a 17-position challenge, of all things."

"Yes, indeed. 'Eclair-sama deserves the highest position possible,' said Sario in his interview."

"And the one who came challenging was Romos. Like at the A-Class Tournament that Zeiros won, Romos is just about the only upper A-Class Master that Zeiros can beat, right?

"Romos is also a mystery. Why would he challenge an unfavorable matchup like Zeiros?"

"Maybe he couldn't accept losing at the A-Class Tournament?"

"This year, Naoto-chan won out, and just when I thought 'oh, Zeiros is down again,' he got Ursula as his challenger.

"And this year the challenger is Dalido.

"Well, I understand Dalido's urge to challenge Zeiros. It really is where he has the best chance of winning.

"But Dalido — with his ace Seika-chan boosting his members' abilities, his party only counted as upper A-Class. With Seika-chan gone, he's a wreck now, isn't he? At a level where it's unclear if he'll stay in A-Class next year.

"If getting challenged by that isn't luck, what is.

"The S-Class borderline — it's called a borderline because it usually swaps over each year.

"At Zeiros's level of ability, three years of clinging on is a bit unusual, isn't it.

"How long this luck holds out is the point of interest."

"W-well, we don't know yet whether he'll stay this year. Dalido might still win."

"Nah, no way no way. I bet 1,000,000 on Zeiros in the toto-calcio. There's no matchup I'd predict as easily as this one.

"Dalido — the year he inherited Garumon from Austin, he shot up to S-Class and was treated as the rising star of expectation, but since then he's been completely useless. Well, he's a bit more skilled than Austin, but luck isn't something you can inherit.

"Still, that he's targeting a Master where he has even a 1% chance of winning means his drive hasn't gone, even after losing Seika.

"Well, let's look forward to next year and beyond. Provided he can keep A-Class, that is."

A merciless comment…

"The match is about to start! Looking forward to round 2!"

Anneroese-san's follow-up rang hollow.

"For the third match, S-Class number 22 Shaina Fervey versus A-Class number 3 Romos."

"S-Class's mascot, the cute, cute Shaina-chan is up. A little something to look forward to. Because Shaina-chan is cute."

"Please comment on more than just her cuteness — on her ability, too."

"Eh, cute is the most important thing, isn't it?"

"… Haa."

"Well, why Romos picked Shaina as his third option — that's the puzzle, hm.

"No matter how you look at it, his odds were better with number 19 Zares.

"Was he getting greedy, like 'one chance, maybe I could sleep with Shaina-chan'?

"Well, even if it's a low chance, I do understand the urge to bet on the chance to sleep with Shaina-chan.

"That part is manly.

"Shaina-chan is fairly good at multi-person battles, so I'd say Shaina-chan winning normally is the more likely outcome～.

"Romos's chance of winning may be a bit higher than Dalido's, though."

"Yes, do your best, Romos-senshu.

"For the fourth match, S-Class number 21 Ferugus versus A-Class number 6 Gadune."

"S-Class's number-one stamina man is up.

"Well, Ferugus is just going to win normally. Gadune… eh, why is he 6th? That kind of feel. He just got lucky with matchups. Well, lacking ability, I guess. All right, next."

"Talk a little more please!"

"Eh～. Then maybe the story of Ferugus's huge dick…?"

"Let's move on!"

Hey.

"For the fifth match, S-Class number 20 Gidsen versus A-Class number 8 Rudis."

"… Do I have to watch this? It's brutal."

"This is the job too. Hang in there."

I sympathized.

"Ugh… I wanna go home.

"Well, Gidsen too, you know. He's not useless.

"As for Ultimate One, being born that way is not the Garumon's crime.

"That Gidsen puts those Garumon in the spotlight like this — 'admirable,' if you want to call it that, is admirable.

"… But, call me discriminatory or whatever, I'd honestly prefer he do it somewhere I can't see. That's my real opinion.

"By drugs or magic, when looks aren't to your liking, changing them isn't all that hard.

"For an S-Class Master, if appearances are all that need fixing, there's no shortage of means.

"… Not doing that, leaving the grotesque appearance as is and showing it off — think any way you like, that's still in bad taste."

Tell 'em more.

"Rudis is unlucky to the bone, isn't she? In A-Class her ability is on the higher side, I'd say, but she loses fairly early on, doesn't she?

"This time too, in the first round she went up against Naoto-senshu, didn't she～?

"Because of that she got pushed down with the loser draw, poor thing. Well, I hope she does her best and slays the monstrosity.

"Sadly, Gidsen is pretty strong despite it all, so it'll be tough."

"For the sixth match, S-Class number 19 Zares versus A-Class number 4 Yowis."

"Plain. A match between S-Class borderlines. With Gidsen stuck at 20 and Melville stuck at 18, this is the sweet spot.

"Well, whichever wins barely matters. Whatever, no?

"Last year they swapped, didn't they?"

"That's not the case. If Zares wins today, it's a consecutive tenure."

"Eh? Was it? Such a faint impression! He was in S-Class?"

"Silvana-san, please stop saying 'who was that again' every time you see Zares-senshu's face…"

"I do memorize them when I need to…

"He's a bit stronger than Zeiros, which paradoxically makes his impression weaker. Wouldn't be out of place in lower S-Class — a real 'mob' feel."

"He's one of the world's most important S-Class Masters!"

"Well, above this there are a lot of intense ones, so memorizing him as the king of the mobs is fine too, hm."

Anneroese-san pulled Silvana-san's cheek and made her shut up.

"Please comment on the challenger Yowis."

"Eh～? For a lower-borderline group guy, how did he even get to 4th? Got lucky with the matchups, I guess.

"… So that means Zares is going for a three-peat too? Eh, no good. The likes of him — or him — pulling three-peats.

"A-Class, get it together a bit! If you all don't threaten S-Class, the overall level will drop."

"Don't say 'him' or 'him.'"

Anneroese-san had to cover Silvana's mouth again.

"For the seventh match, S-Class number 18 Melville versus A-Class number 7 Norris."

"Melville is famed as the strongest of the lower S-Class group. The point of interest, more than anything, is cute Uriela Aisha's performance.

"As the only lower-S-Class Garumon listed among the 24 Strongest Garumon, Aisha's strength is the real thing.

"Norris is among the stronger A-Class people too, but he drew badly. Well, with 7th, it can't be helped, hm. Told to choose between Gidsen and Melville, I'd pick Melville too. Even if Gidsen offers a higher chance of winning, fighting that is a no-thank-you. I'd rather fight the cute Aisha."

"And the eighth and final match, S-Class number 17 Eclair Feradria versus A-Class number 5 Aldis."

"For this one, focus on the Eclair party — every member is cute. Eclair's beauty especially is just… wonderful!

"… Also of note: Aldis deliberately chose Eclair.

"His options were Ferugus, Gidsen, Melville, Eclair…

"Normally Ferugus, right. Gidsen's a no. Melville and Eclair offer thin chances.

"With Ferugus… well, I'd say it's something like 6:4 or 7:3 with Ferugus favored, but practically equal in ability.

"The highest chance of winning was Ferugus.

"Deliberately picking Eclair — if he got dropped last year and came up with countermeasures, fine, but if he picked her out of resentment for being knocked down, the outcome will likely be disappointing.

"And as for me, I wanted Aldis, with a chance to knock down Gidsen, to knock down Gidsen.

"Well, that we'll see what should be an S-Class-worthy match as the closer is a good thing.

"… Once the first match is over, I'm taking a nap, so could you wake me up before match 8? During match 5 especially, I'll be sleeping."

"Now, the S-Class swap match Silvana-san is most paying attention to is about to begin!"

"… Heh."

Silvana's banter was fun, and my nerves eased.

"Naoto-senshu. It's about time."

The attendant came to call me.

"… All right, let's go."

We stood up.

… Preparations were in place. At last, the decisive battle with Ursula.