My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

After being discharged from the nurse, Luke, instead of putting on the components of his armor, chose to keep them in his inventory.

"Luke, you're going to be okay, aren't you?" Nathalia inquired worriedly. 

The half-wolf placed his large hand on the top of the girl's head and stroked. "Don't bother with that...it shouldn't be a big deal."

As the two left the infirmary, they found Martha and Ayumi waiting for them. The long white corridor was empty except for the presence of the four of them.

"Hi, are you okay? Did they explain anything to you?" The Matriarch asked, in a voice caring enough to show concern but not so much to reveal to Nathalia her relationship with the half-wolf.

Luke looked at her and smiled slightly. "It's okay...they don't know what happened, but they told me to see a doctor who specializes in my race."

In Luke's mind, if even the doctors in the medical wing of the Central Palace couldn't help him, maybe no one could. And he didn't want to frequent some crazy guru who could open him up with bizarre tools.

"Where are Shiro and the other two girls?" He inquired to change the subject as quickly as possible and push away the negative thoughts.

"They are resting. Phase Two should start in two or three hours. All the birds have already been killed." Martha replied. She had an unwavering expression as always.

Nathalia was surprised at this revelation; after all, Phase One was still going on until half an hour ago. She hardly had time to rest. "Wasn't that too fast? How many people passed?"

"From what I talked to Mikaela Åkerman, Phase One was scheduled to last twenty-four hours, but the clans are pretty tight this year, so only 389 participants passed." Ayumi revealed.

"How many died?" Luke inquired; after all, Phase One is known for having a lot of deaths.

"Over two hundred people didn't come back. That's why I say rest now... there's no telling how Phase Two will be..." Ayumi said as she walked away, with Martha following closely behind her.

"Wait a minute... have you heard from Alexis?" Luke asked. He was still worried about the secondary mission.

"She's made some progress, but she's asked that you focus on the tournament. You are one yourself, Luke."

The half-wolf had no choice but to accept that answer. The night before, he had passed the address of Matthew's girlfriend to Alexis so that she could find him. However, Matthew could still reject the plan, thinking that an S-Class might draw too much attention, so Luke was apprehensive. But he decided to take the wise counsel of the women and focus on the tournament. 

As soon as Ayumi and Martha left, Nathalia and Luke were directed by a competition auxiliary to the lodgings in the Central Palace itself. Since there were no more single rooms, the two were left together in one room.

Nathalia threw herself on one of the beds in the room and sighed with fatigue. "Ah... Phase One was not easy at all."

"From what I remember, last year's Tournament of Legends didn't have that many deaths." Luke said as he sat on the bed and admired the room. All the furniture in the room was white and had gold details. "By the way, why are there so many rooms in the Central Palace?"

Nathalia pouted and began to ponder this as well. "Maybe it was some kind of house in the past? Or a church with nuns? Anyway, forget about it. Tell me about what the other tournaments you've seen were like..."

"Well, each one is very different from the other. The powers of the Sensorials allow for a huge range of possibilities. They can create many complicated situations for the participants."

"Like for example...?"

"There was one time that Phase One threw all the participants into the middle of the sea. There was also another that the participants were left in the desert for three days... It's extremes like that have made the Tournament of Legends the success it is."

"That sounds incredible to me..." replied Nathalia. She had her head resting on her right arm and looked contentedly at Luke as she watched him. "Why have you never participated?"

Luke took a few moments to think and give the girl an appropriate answer. 

"I guess... I never thought I would draw so much attention... I was taught to be discreet and that it would save my life and those of my friends... And here I am, contradicting yet another lesson from my master." 

So the Adventurer duo had to wait for a little over an hour in their room until a tournament auxiliary knocked on their door and instructed them to go down to the main courtyard of the Palace. They went downstairs and found hundreds of people gathered. In a way, this was nothing compared to the sea of people in the square at the beginning of the competition.

In that courtyard, some people wore the armor of powerful clans and others who could prove their strength with just a look. Livia Strogueher saw her companions from afar and exclaimed: 

"Hey, Nath! Over here! We're here!"

All the competitors present turned to look at the girl, and she felt so pressured by the angry stares that instead of her excitement deflating, she began to burst into flames. Livia's pride was something unshakable so far.

"Ha! Those Strogueher always think they're the powerful ones, don't they? This year they don't seem so strong to me." a girl, who was holding a spear, sneered, not hiding her debauched smile. 

"Shut up, Danubia... Don't tease them." A large, muscular man standing next to the woman scolded her.

"Wait... that's the half-beast hired by them, isn't it? Wow, and who is that girl next to him?" A young boy whispered to his companion.

That comment reminded everyone of the rumours that went around town a few weeks ago about a half-beast who managed to defeat the Tournament of Legends Champion at the Strogueher selective and was also hired.

Half-beasts had consistently been underestimated and hated by many, who judged them simply for being too different from ordinary humans and Elves, so for many people, it was a nuisance for someone of that race to be so strong.

Luke didn't mind the buzz and walked over to Shiro, Jilly and Livia. 

"How are you?" questioned Shiro, concerned. He hadn't heard from the half-wolf since he saw him being taken to the infirmary. 

"I'm fine." He replied and punched the big guy's armor lightly in the chest. "So, what are we waiting for?" In front of the courtyard, there was a stage over ten feet high.

"Looks like that Sensory Magician is going to present Stage Two in person."