INOTV 21

Chapter 21

 The World of Competition Ⅲ

One hour before the tournament began.

“Where did Sara go? I only told her to take a quick look around…”

Having finished his preparations, Derek began worrying when Sara still hadn’t returned.

Outside, enormous crowds had gathered already, and the excitement surrounding the tournament had turned the area noisy and chaotic.

Unless someone raised their voice considerably, it was hard to even hold a conversation.

“Phew…”

Worried that Sara might be getting pushed around among the sea of people, Derek finally went out to search for her.

“……”

But Sara was nowhere to be found.

Anxiety gnawed at him, and Derek bit down on his lip.

What if something actually happened to her?

The thought kept surfacing no matter how hard he tried to ignore it.

Then, suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye from behind.

For a moment, Derek thought it might be Sara.

Let’s follow and see.

He quietly trailed after the figure.

But there was already quite a distance between them, and the person walked so quickly that after only a blink, they vanished.

As Derek scanned the surroundings, he soon noticed the Dayburn Marquis family’s waiting tent nearby.

His expression hardened.

Don’t tell me… Sara’s here?

“No way.”

Shaking his head, Derek tried convincing himself he was overthinking things.

He should just return to his waiting room.

Yet his feet refused to move.

Bad premonitions were rarely wrong.

After hesitating, Derek slowly approached the Dayburn tent.

Careful not to be noticed, he slightly lifted the edge of the tent entrance.

Then he heard familiar voices accompanied by warm laughter.

[“They’re candies. Recovery candies, candies that supposedly clear your energy… I bought all kinds of good ones.”]

[“……”]

Inside the tent, there were only two people.

Holding his breath, Derek listened in on their conversation.

[“I’ll cheer for you. Though I can’t do it openly.”]

The moment he heard Sara’s words, Derek felt his blood boil.

Seeing glimpses of Sara’s smiling face made anger rise within him.

She had never once shown him that kind of expression.

Yet she showed it so easily to Cassian.

“……”

Grinding his teeth, Derek struggled to suppress his emotions.

The fist clenched tightly at his side trembled violently.

And yet, even while angry, he didn’t understand why he was angry.

Seeing the two together, so comfortable and affectionate, shocked him at first.

It felt as though he had accidentally stolen a glimpse of a secret he was never meant to see, leaving an unpleasant feeling in his chest.

Right.

That had to be it.

He had simply been startled seeing his precious younger sister alone with an unfamiliar man for the first time.

That was why he felt this way—or so Derek convinced himself.

Not long after, the signal cannon sounded, and Derek hurriedly left the area.

As he recalled the warm atmosphere between the two of them, he made a silent vow.

I’ll definitely win.

“If you turn your back…”

With those cryptic words, Derek aimed his gun toward the silent Cassian.

In that moment, a sudden impulse consumed him.

His desperate desire to win clung to him no matter what.

Derek spoke in a low voice.

“This is what happens.”

And at that same instant—

Bang!

Another gunshot echoed through the sky.

The bullet narrowly grazed past Cassian and struck the designated animal behind him perfectly.

Cassian couldn’t understand Derek’s recklessness.

The situation had been dangerous enough that he himself could have been hit by the bullet.

“Be more careful.”

“……”

Suppressing his emotions, Cassian spoke as calmly as possible.

“That’s grounds for disqualification.”

A heavy silence settled between them.

Only after another distant gunshot rang out did Cassian move his horse again.

They had already wasted too much time here.

If he wanted to continue hunting, he needed to move immediately.

Just as Cassian turned his horse—

Derek spoke again.

“What’s your relationship with my sister?”

The question came completely out of nowhere.

Cassian judged it unworthy of a proper answer.

Without changing his expression, he replied indifferently:

“What does that have to do with this hunting tournament?”

“It matters to me.”

Well, perhaps some siblings were simply very close.

Or maybe Derek alone was unusually protective of Sara.

If they were ordinary siblings, it wouldn’t have seemed strange.

But Cassian sensed impure intentions beneath Derek’s question.

“I truly don’t understand.”

Just as women had intuition, men did too.

Cassian continued:

“…To question your younger sister’s only friend this aggressively. Doesn’t it seem like you have another motive?”

Cassian had already figured out Derek’s true intentions long ago.

The way Derek acted toward Sara didn’t resemble a brother protecting his sister—

It looked more like a man guarding his woman.

And that irritated Cassian more than he cared to admit.

Concealing his thoughts, he smiled leisurely.

Even though Cassian merely smiled, an indescribably chilling aura surrounded him.

Overwhelmed by the pressure, Derek finally eased his stance.

“It seems I’ve been rude without realizing you were friends.”

Correcting his attitude, Derek answered with a smile before turning away.

But when the conversation ended so anticlimactically, Cassian seemed dissatisfied.

He lifted his gun toward Derek’s retreating back.

“Sir Tresha.”

Calling out to him, Cassian casually fired at a designated target hanging from a nearby tree.

The gunshot exploded frighteningly close to Derek’s ear, startling him.

“What the—”

Derek turned sharply, glaring at Cassian with a murderous expression.

Cassian merely shrugged, returning Derek’s earlier behavior back to him.

“Didn’t you say it yourself?”

If you turn your back, you get hurt.

Derek clenched his teeth and fists tightly.

He had no choice but to admit it.

At this moment, he had completely lost to Cassian.

“Hyah!”

Without another word, Derek spurred his horse forward in search of prey.

“What a dull bastard.”

Cassian also turned away and resumed hunting in earnest.

Before they realized it, only one hour remained to decide the victor.

For nearly two hours, all Sara had heard were gunshots.

Her ears actually hurt from it.

Sitting in the nobles’ reserved seating area, Sara anxiously waited for the tournament to end.

At the starting line, Cassian and Derek had begun neck and neck, but this was a hunting tournament.

Starting quickly didn’t grant bonus points.

“……”

There was only one condition:

Whoever shot the most designated targets would win.

Since the entire mountain served as the hunting grounds, there were likely countless targets hidden throughout.

“Thirty minutes remain until the tournament deadline.”

With the announcer’s words, another signal flare shot into the sky.

Soon, the participants who had finished hunting would begin returning one after another.

Since guns were used in the tournament, injuries were unavoidable.

It was a side effect that occurred every year.

Not long after, armed personnel flooded toward the mountain.

It really seemed the tournament was nearing its end.

“Looks like it’s almost over.”

“I wonder who’ll win this time. Last year was intense too, wasn’t it?”

As the tournament reached its climax, murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

Some speculated about the winner, while others reminisced about last year.

“Honestly, last year wasn’t even close. The Dayburn Marquis family will probably win again this year too.”

Listening to the conversations around her, Sara bit her lip.

She felt nervous as if she were the one competing.

Time passed, and eventually the hunting tournament came to a dazzling close with two fireworks exploding in the sky.

Before anyone realized it, the sun had begun setting, painting the sky with the colors of evening.

One by one, the participants crossed the finish line.

Where’s Cassian?

Stretching her neck anxiously, Sara searched for him with her eyes.

Anyone who failed to return within the time limit would be immediately disqualified, so she couldn’t relax for even a moment.

“…There he is.”

Thankfully, Cassian returned safely.

With his arrival, the tournament finally came to an end.

An hour later, the award ceremony began.

Fifteen participants gathered together, excluding the three who failed to finish and the two disqualified competitors.

“Thank you to everyone who participated in the Kaltun Hunting Tournament.”

Applause thundered from the audience seats.

The Master expressed gratitude that this year’s event had concluded safely as well.

While everyone held their breath, the lower rankings were announced first.

“Now then, would the top five participants please step forward?”

At those words, the five names not yet called moved to the front.

Among them were Cassian and Derek.

The moment Sara spotted Cassian, she let out a sigh of relief.

“And this year’s winner is!”

The long-awaited moment had finally arrived.

The person who would receive everyone’s cheers was about to be decided.

“Claiming first place for the very first time—this year’s Kaltun Hunting Tournament champion is Derek Tresha of the Tresha Count family!”

It was a complete upset.

Everyone watching froze in shock for three full seconds as though it had been planned.

Sara was no exception.

Not only had Cassian, who always held first place, lost his rank—

Derek taking first shocked everyone.

“Waaaaah!”

Moments later, fireworks exploded to celebrate the victory, and the crowd erupted into applause and cheers.

Though stunned, Derek was thrilled that he had won.

Naturally, his gaze searched for Sara.

But once again, she was nowhere to be seen.

Cassian’s final rank was second place.

It was disappointing, but honestly, he didn’t care much.

This year’s victory should have been easily his again, but Cassian had deliberately refrained from hunting seriously.

To him, this tournament was merely a hobby.

Unlike certain others, he had no intention of risking his life over it.

Once the tournament ended, Mount Kaltun transformed into a festive celebration.

While everyone’s attention remained fixed on the champion, Cassian confidently walked straight toward Sara.

“Sara.”

Seeing him approach, Sara called out brightly:

“You worked hard!”

The surroundings were so loud that she had to raise her voice.

Cassian stepped closer to her.

Despite losing first place for the first time, he smiled.

“Sorry I couldn’t win, even though you cheered for me.”

Feeling sorry for the obviously forced smile on his face, Sara smiled even brighter.

“No, you still did your best. You can always win next year.”

Even after hearing her words, Cassian’s expression remained dim.

Wondering how she could cheer him up, Sara suddenly spoke.

“You didn’t win, but I’ll grant you a wish instead. Then… maybe you’ll feel a little better?”

Having successfully drawn out the answer he wanted from her, Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Suppressing a smile, he jutted out his lips playfully.

“I wonder.”

Tilting his head, Cassian stared directly at the flustered Sara.

“Then come with me.”

“……”

“To the Night of Social Gathering.”

This time, unlike before, his voice came through clearly.

“Since we’re friends, you can grant me a request like that, right? Ah, though technically it’s my wish. Maybe I should wish for something else instead.”

At Cassian’s words, Sara froze completely, unable to answer.

Hearing it directly from him made her heart pound violently.

“……”

Amidst the deafening noise around them, the two saw only each other.

Everything else faded away.

Only his voice reached her ears.

Confirming that Cassian had returned to his usual self, Sara let out a soft laugh.

As if she had been waiting for this moment all along, she nodded.

A bright smile slowly bloomed across her lips.

“I’ll grant that wish.”

The cheers and applause around them almost felt as though they were meant solely for the two of them.

Sara smiled shyly.

Meanwhile, Derek remained buried beneath congratulations from the crowd.

He was the champion.

And yet—

For some reason, he felt as though he had lost.