Law of Space and Time

Chapter 15-1: Sinister Plot (1)

The second day of competition in the Pillow Sword Tournament was unfolding at a breakneck pace, and the tournament committee rescheduled all of the matches that were due to take place after Erwin's match, while the matches for the round of 64 were arranged for the next day. The first day of the tournament had been extremely spectacular, and it had concluded with that shocking display from Erwin, so the spectators were even more looking forward to seeing whether there would be any other surprises that popped up during the tournament.

Erwin rested for an entire night and only got up when it was close to noon. Thanks to Princess Onean's magic potion, his body was able to make a miraculous recovery, and even the tournament committee executives were unable to believe their own eyes. Only after conducting repeated physical examinations on him were they finally able to accept this astonishing reality.

Erwin wasn't very interested in watching the rest of the matches of the first round, so he left the contestants' area and headed toward the market.

"Master Erwin! Master Erwin!" Erwin heard someone calling out to him, and he turned to discover that it was Sherry.

"Why are you still here?" Erwin asked with a curious expression.

"After my match from yesterday, I went back to the academy at around noon to meet up with some friends. Only after I came back did I hear about what happened to you, and I wanted to visit you, but the administrators wouldn't let me in," Sherry sighed as he inspected Erwin up and down with a concerned expression. "Have you recovered from your injuries, Master Erwin?"

"I have. It's all thanks to Her Highness's magic potion. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to take any further part in the tournament," Erwin replied with a wry smile.

"Oh, I was wondering why Her Highness took Master Piro with her, so it was to save you!" Sherry said as he raised his eyebrows.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You saw what happened, I only met Her Highness for the first time yesterday!" Erwin had no idea how to explain his way out of this situation.

"It's alright, I understand. I heard that in your moment of peril yesterday, both Lana and Princess Onean swooped in together to save you. In addition to the spectacular show that you put on yesterday, I don't think there's anyone left in Sarus who doesn't know your name, Master Erwin!" Sherry said with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Erwin was rather embarrassed by Sherry's glowing praise, and he said, "It's nowhere near as glamorous as you make it sound. I was very close to losing my life yesterday, and I was very lucky."

"You can't just attribute that to luck, Master Erwin. I heard that no one has ever seen the magic that you used, especially that light shield spell that was capable of devouring other spells. It's a pity that I was held up by my friends yesterday. It sounds like I missed a really exciting match," Sherry sighed with a forlorn expression.

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"It was exciting, alright! It was probably the first time any contestant in the Pillow Sword Tournament has tried to commit suicide during a match!" Erwin said with a self-deprecating expression. A thought then occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, do you know what Sprinlay Foxes are, Sherry?"

"Why do you ask? Could it be that the magic potion used by Her Highness to save you yesterday incorporated some part of the Springlay Fox as an ingredient?" Sherry asked with a shocked expression.

Erwin nodded in response. It was clear that he had no idea how precious the magic potion that had been used on him was, and Sherry immediately gave him a quick lesson on the matter.

Only after hearing what Sherry had to say did Erwin realize just how precious that bone marrow potion was, and he murmured to himself, "What do I do? It looks like I owe Her Highness a massive favor now..."

"What else can you do? Just repay her in the future," Sherry said with a meaningful expression. "I'm sure you'd be more than happy to 'repay' her, if you know what I mean."

Erwin pretended to be oblivious to what Sherry was implying as he heaved a faint sigh.

Thus, the two of them continued chatting as Erwin led him all the way to the entrance of the Yanler Pub.

As soon as they made their way into the pub, Chase immediately approached them. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Erwin, the most sought-after man in all of Sarus!"

He intentionally spoke very loudly so that everyone's attention was drawn to them.

The pub was filled with many customers, and all of them immediately directed their attention toward Erwin upon his arrival. Not only had he put on a stunning display to score a massive upset over his opponent, both the princess and Lana from the Lazaar Family seemed to be fawning over him as well. As a result, Erwin had become one of the most well-known contestants of the Pillow Sword Tournament. In addition to that, Erwin and his friends frequently visited the Yanler Pub, so many of the customers were on very familiar terms with them, and they were all quite proud of Erwin for his achievements.

In response to Chase's loud announcement, Erwin could only pour himself a dark beer with a resigned expression, then raised his beer to acknowledge everyone in the pub.

"Erwin! Erwin! Erwin!" Everyone began to chant in a boisterous manner as they raised their own mugs and slammed the counter with their free hands.

Erwin made his way into the pub, acknowledging the ecstatic crowd as he did so. These people were even more elated than he was to have won the match, and he couldn't help but be rather amused by their enthusiasm. There were also some single ladies who gave Erwin seductive looks as he was passing through, and Erwin's heart was fluttering in his chest at the sight of their alluring displays.

"What an honor it is to be blessed by the presence of the mighty Erwin!" Kaiba exclaimed with a hint of mockery on his face as Erwin and the others approached him and Chase.

"I'm impressed that you managed to get up after just one night of rest. It looks like Her Highness really did use some incredible medicine on you." Larwood intentionally placed extra emphasis on the words "Her Highness" as he spoke.

Erwin could tell that his friends were about to stir up something again, and he hurriedly change the subject. "So how much did you all lose yesterday? That's what you get for betting against me!"

"Larwood and I lost a ton of money betting against you. As for Kaiba, that bastard betrayed us and bet several thousand Loonies on you in secret, so he's filthy rich now!" Chase grumbled.

"You see? Kaiba knows a diamond in the rough when he sees one! You guys should learn from him," Erwin chuckled with a gloating expression.

Kaiba nodded in response with a smug smile, then turned to Sherry, who was standing beside Erwin. "Who's this friend of yours?"

"Oh, this is Sherry. I only got to know him a few days ago," Erwin introduced. In response, Larwood and the others raised their mugs in acknowledgment and greeting.

It was clear that Sherry hadn't interacted much with nobility in the past, and he was looking a little nervous and awkward. Chase could see that he was feeling quite out of place, so he snapped his fingers and asked the front counter to bring them a few more beers.

After having a few beers, Sherry was much more relaxed around everyone, and he told everyone about what had happened between Erwin and Lana at the Old River Restaurant. He was already a little tipsy from the alcohol, so his story was greatly exaggerated. Unfortunately for Erwin, Larwood and the others loved hearing these types of completely baseless stories, and they all had a great time making fun of Erwin. Of course, they were so eager to accept Sherry's story as the truth because they were somewhat envious of Erwin.

Erwin paid no heed to their jibes as he shook his head with a resigned smile. Having already been friends with Larwood and the others for so long, he was naturally aware of what they were thinking.

For the second day of the tournament, all of the matches were completed by about 3 PM, and the sun was just beginning to set. With the conclusion of those matches, the top 64 emerged. Larwood didn't drink much, but Sherry had been coaxed into drinking until he was completely inebriated, and his face was looking as red as a boiled lobster. In contrast, Erwin had next to nothing to drink. He wasn't reckless enough to burden his own body with excessive alcohol so soon after recovering from such severe injuries. The three of them emerged from the Yanler Pub to check out the matchups in the contestants' area, and Sherry was virtually carried there by Erwin and Larwood.

To their shock and dismay, Larwood's opponent for the next round was none other than Sherry.

Erwin looked at their two names on the matchup board, then glanced at the time that the match was scheduled for before patting both of them on the shoulder with a smile. "I'll get up early to watch your match tomorrow."

Larwood and Sherry exchanged a glance, and both of them remained silent.

...

On the third day of the tournament, Erwin and the others all got up quite early. The match between Larwood and Sherry was one of the earliest matches of the day, and Erwin's match was also in the morning.

On this occasion, Erwin was set to the western contestant's spectating platform, while Larwood and Sherry had already gone to register for their match. Thus, Erwin made his way through the passageway on his own to the western contestant's spectating platform. From there, he looked into the venue to find that almost all of the seats were already filled.

Some of the spectators seated near the contestant's spectating platform immediately recognized Erwin, and they began to whistle at him before yelling his name. Initially, Erwin had thought that they were merely calling out a name that was similar to his, but as he turned around, he was surprised to find that there really were many spectators in the stands yelling his name while waving at him.

Erwin was rather taken aback to see this, clearly not expecting this sudden rise in popularity, and he waved at the enthusiastic crowd in a slightly wooden manner with a rather stiff smile on his face. However, his gesture of waving at the crowd only attracted more attention from the spectators, and as a result, more and more of them began to chant his name, thereby stirring up quite a commotion.

Right at this moment, a gorgeous red-haired figure approached him from behind, then said in a cold voice, "Stop waving at them, you attention whore! Everyone already recognizes you."

Erwin wasn't irked by Lana's scathing words at all, and he turned to her with a smile as he said, "You're here quite early today."

Lana ignored his greeting as she examined him from top to bottom. "Looks like Her Highness's magic potion really is a miracle worker. It's only been a day and you already look like you're fully healed."

Erwin smiled as he pulled a magic potion vial out of his pocket before dangling it in front of Lana. "Her Highness's magic potion did indeed work wonders, but your potion wasn't bad, either."

A begrudging smile appeared on Lana's face in response. "Looks like you're not a completely ungrateful brat, after all."

Erwin returned her smile with a warm and radiant smile of his own.

However, Lana's expression suddenly darkened, and her eyes narrowed slightly as she asked, "Where's Her Highness's magic potion vial? I bet you're carrying it with you as well, right?"

Erwin's throat immediately ran dry at the sight of her sudden change in expression, and he frantically looked around before casting his gaze toward the competition platform. "Look, Larwood and Sherry have entered the venue! It's a good thing I got up early. Otherwise, I would've missed their match."

Lana was rather amused by his terrible attempt to dodge the question, and she consoled in a gentle voice, "The princess was willing to use an extremely precious magic potion on you without any hesitation, so it's quite normal that you'd want to carry the magic potion vial with you as a gesture of gratitude to her for saving your life. What are you so afraid of?"

Erwin heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this and decided to come clean. "You're right, I am carrying it with me."

"So you really are carrying that promiscuous vixen's pendant! Tell me the truth: do you have feelings for her?" The tone of Lana's voice immediately took a dangerous turn, and even though she was still smiling, her teeth were already gnashing together in a hateful manner.

Erwin couldn't help but draw a sharp breath upon hearing this, and he didn't know whether to commend Lana's courage or be concerned for her recklessness. There certainly weren't many people in the entire kingdom who would dare to call the princess a promiscuous vixen!

"No, no, I only spoke with her that one time, and we barely said anything to each other!" Erwin hurriedly said while frantically casting a spell with one hand to conjure up a magic shield around his own waist. Otherwise, he was going to get zapped by another paralyzing lightning spell from Lana.

"Oh..." Lana intentionally dragged out that syllable as she looked at Erwin with a smile on her face. "So you barely said anything to her, but she was willing to save you in front of so many people and even use the precious Springlay Fox bone marrow potion on you. You must be a very charismatic man! Could it be that she fell in love with you at first sight?"

"It must be because Her Highness was impressed by my performance during my match, and she thought that it would be a pity for a young magician with limitless potential like myself to die so young, and that's why she saved me," Erwin explained in a shameless manner, then nodded as if to approve of his own explanation.