I’m a Mother-in-Law, but I Dislike Conflict with My Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I’m a Mother-in-Law, But I Don’t Want Family Conflicts Episode 24

The quarterfinals and semifinals that ended in an instant.

Now the two contestants who would compete in the finals stepped up onto the arena. When they appeared, cheers followed, but the Pie Fairy was overwhelmingly more popular than his opponent.

Nata had shown very entertaining duels in his three matches.

Like picking up the sword for an opponent who accidentally dropped it and encouraging them to try again.

Or repeating the same attack so that an opponent whose weakness was clearly exposed could realize their own weakness.

Or accepting the opinion of a defeated opponent who refused to accept the result, holding a rematch and extending his hand saying “That was wonderful cooking”…

‘Now that I think about it, it’s a bit cringeworthy.’

But it seemed to bring great joy to the spectators.

This is why the heat of the competition venue cannot be ignored. When you think about it coldly, it’s just a trivial show, but when everyone gets excited together, it feels like an incomparable famous scene.

Thanks to this, among the spectators, the Pie Fairy became a fairy from another world who upholds chivalry, a cook who would compete to the end even with a broken ladle for the sake of cooking.

…When put into words, it was an even more incomprehensible title.

“Finally the finals! Sir Fire Fist Black Horse and Sir Fairy with Pie Hat! Sir Black Horse who has continued his victories with unstoppable force, and Sir Fairy who has entertained us with interesting matches! Who will claim victory!”

When I raised my voice, the spectators all clapped and responded together.

A knight wearing a black horse mask like Nata stepped up onto the arena.

It was a knight with an impressive horse mask with eye holes, red-dyed gloves, and large upper garments to hide his physique.

‘Fire Fist Black Horse… that was Derek.’

Somehow Derek had become the final opponent. Since it wasn’t a bracket I had arranged, it was essentially a coincidence.

‘Derek’s lucky too.’

Derek’s skills were outstanding, but not to the extent of reaching the finals. Rather, the Duck Knight that Nata had defeated early on was stronger than Derek.

Derek reaching the finals meant he had good bracket luck.

‘Actually, the picture became better.’

Derek, who had been subtly stirring public opinion all this time, was the final opponent. He was fitting as a finals opponent.

After glancing at both knights, I was about to announce the start of the match.

Then, Derek suddenly raised his hand.

“Since this is the finals anyway, how about we reveal each other’s masks?”

“…What?”

When I glared at him wondering what kind of nonsense this was, Derek spoke to the spectators in his characteristically sly voice.

“My identity seems to have been somewhat exposed… All that’s left is Sir Fairy’s identity, but is there really a need to hide it? How about we remove our masks and compete fair and square?”

Since Derek’s swordsmanship was unique, more than half the spectators had already figured out his identity.

Anyway, only Nata remained as a masked knight.

Derek meant that if they were going to compete anyway, they should fight with their identities revealed.

‘Clever little schemer.’

There was no valid reason to remove masks based on his words.

But it was different for the heated spectators. They had been dying of curiosity about who the Fairy Knight was, so they unconsciously sympathized with Derek’s proposal.

Now the Fairy Knight’s identity had become more important than the tournament’s significance. His skill at handling the anxious spectators was quite impressive.

‘No way. If she removes her mask for no reason, it’ll just give them an excuse that she won’t fight with full strength.’

Derek, no… a considerable number of the Knight Order were treating Nata as a woman rather than a knight.

Even if Nata won after removing her mask, these were the types who would brazenly spout things like ‘I can’t put a sword to a woman’s face.’ This was a stuffy era where such old-fashioned talk would actually work.

Whether genderless or fairy, these weren’t opponents who would listen to such proper arguments.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to suppress that petty trick.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot do that.”

The fairy knight stepped forward.

He pressed his pie helmet down firmly and bowed to the spectators with exaggerated gestures as if he were a real fairy.

“This costume was made by a child. Her name is Tirina. A child who lives on South Bake Street.”

When the fairy knight, who had always spoken only in a playful tone, opened his mouth seriously, everyone’s attention was drawn to him.

“That child’s lifelong wish was to try eating pie. But for that child who could only afford black bread and potatoes, pie was nothing short of a luxury. This Pie Fairy’s costume was made from such a wish.”

“Such circumstances!”

“That’s right, they said the children made the costumes. They were kids from the slums…”

People let out sighs in small groups at the fairy knight’s words.

“…But how does that person know those circumstances?”

Someone with reasonable doubts appeared, but they were swept away by the public’s sentiment.

“That child will soon receive payment for making the costume and go buy pie to eat. I promised victory to the child who spoke so innocently. Though the child couldn’t come to watch the match, she said she would pray for my victory from wherever she was. Because…”

The fairy knight raised his index finger and cutely pointed to his pie helmet.

“Pie is the most delicious thing in the world. She believes that wearing pie will make me the strongest knight.”

“Ahahaha!”

“She really loves pie!”

The Pie Fairy finished his words with a grateful bow to the cheering spectators who were even clapping their hands.

“Therefore, I cannot remove this helmet, Sir Black Horse. Oh, of course, if Sir Black Horse cannot use his full strength because of the mask you’re wearing, you may remove it first. Though one child’s dream of riding a black horse would be dashed.”

“…”

With his playful yet subtle criticism, the atmosphere of the competition venue had already completely shifted to the fairy knight.

Watching this scene, I put down the megaphone and quietly asked the Margrave beside me.

“Is he usually that good with words?”

“…No. He’s rather taciturn, actually.”

“He was incredibly eloquent just now though.”

“It must be fairy magic.”

Could it be the work of the Pie Fairy rather than the Fairy Folk?

In any case, thanks to the fairy knight Nata’s response, there was no need for me to intervene. The spectators seemed to have been won over by Nata’s joke, as their burning curiosity was gradually dying down.

“…Tsk.”

In the end, Derek couldn’t back down. He raised his sword without even giving an answer.

Nata also raised a blunt kitchen knife that was half as short as a regular sword.

No one asked if he could fight with such a weapon even in the finals.

The arena was filled only with anticipation for what kind of match Nata would show.

And their swords clashed.

“Sir Black Horse charges! But Sir Pie Fairy smoothly dodges!”

As expected, my eyes weren’t wrong.

The match quickly tilted in Nata’s favor.

Though it was a fight that could have been ended immediately, Nata slowly cornered Derek.

‘This time there’s some emotion behind it.’

Anyone with keen eyes would notice it.

Nata’s attacks were quite different from the previous matches. Before, I could feel respect for the opponent, but now the movements were thorough, as if determined not to make even the slightest mistake.

When Derek tried to make a strong attack, she would penetrate and break his stance, and when he tried to retreat, she would trip him with her foot.

‘She’s making Derek look ridiculous.’

Most of the audience already knew Derek’s identity, so they seemed bewildered by the fact that he was being so helplessly overwhelmed.

“That fairy knight is incredibly strong.”

“Then who on earth is it? It doesn’t seem like Sir Derek is just playing around either…”

Countless knights’ names came up among the soldiers, but Nata’s name had never been mentioned so far.

That meant they were unaware of Nata’s abilities.

‘They probably think there’s no way she would even participate.’

The more that was the case, the greater the shock would be when Nata revealed her identity.

I was continuing the commentary quite enthusiastically when suddenly the tide turned.

Derek’s sword, which had been constantly pushed back, suddenly began to reach Nata.

‘What? It seems like he’s gotten faster somehow?’

His movements were similar, but Derek’s speed had changed. Both his attacks and defense gradually became faster than before.

It was such a subtle change that you might not notice if you looked closely.

“That bastard… using magic power.”

The Margrave beside me muttered in a voice filled with anger.

I took my mouth away from the megaphone and asked in a small voice that only he could hear.

“Magic power? The sword getting faster is because of magic power?”

“That’s right. In sparring with practice swords, it’s customary not to use magic power. Right now that fellow is subtly using magic power to enhance his physical strength.”

“Then isn’t that against the rules?”

“Since it’s not in the tournament rules…”

This was my mistake. I didn’t know there was such a precedent in sparring, and I had set the rules like an ordinary martial arts tournament.

I had limited the elimination criteria to things like going out of bounds and surrender declarations, just like in regular martial arts tournaments.

“Won’t other people say something if he does that? It would seem dishonorable.”

“Derek is originally a magic swordsman who handles various weapons like twin swords, spears, and bows, and his mana manipulation skills are top-level. Few knights would notice. …That aside, how did you know, Grand Duchess?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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