The team finals were spectacular.
Wardson's team clashed fiercely with the top team from the northern frontier.
Battle techniques and magic of all colors exploded across the Grand Arena, dazzling the eyes.
At moments like this, Ron couldn't help but imagine—if magic dueling could be like this too, where playing a card would instantly manifest the corresponding magical effect, wouldn't it become an absolute visual feast?
Unfortunately, he couldn't yet achieve that. Otherwise, the Magic Cup in April could become even more exciting.
The finals ended quickly.
Wardson's team took first place in the team competition without dispute.
As for the award ceremony and closing event that followed, Ron had no interest in staying. He simply wrapped an arm around Nora and left the Grand Arena.
They stopped by the Magic Battle Arena for a while.
Because of the Spring Martial Tournament finals, there were fewer people than usual, but plenty still gathered in the promotion zone, eager to advance to Silver rank as soon as possible.
On the fourth floor, in a row of rooms on the left side of the hall, nobles occasionally entered one or two at a time to participate in ranked duels.
When the demotion rules for Silver rank were first announced, quite a few nobles protested.
Fortunately, Wardson took the lead, walking straight into a ranked duel room to show his support.
Rowell followed soon after, and only then did the demotion system successfully take root in the Silver tier on the fourth floor.
To Wardson, magic dueling was no different from real combat—anyone stronger than him was an opponent worth learning from and surpassing.
In his Spring Martial Tournament team alone, several commoners were just as powerful.
Without their contributions, his team could never have become the number one team in the Royal Capital.
So, among everyone present, Wardson was the least opposed to the ranked duel rules.
In fact, if it meant encountering stronger opponents, he would gladly support this system with both hands.
In short, the demotion mechanism for ranked duels was now fully established.
People are like this.
At first, they complain, resist, and criticize.
But once a rule is truly implemented and they realize they can't oppose it, they gradually begin to find enjoyment in it.
Even nobles are no exception.
"Hehe, I won!" A young noble walked out of a duel room, looking smug as he returned to his group. "It's my turn to pick someone, right?"
Five or six of them had gathered and set up a little game.
Each time someone entered for a ranked duel, if they won, they could randomly select the next person to go in. If they lost, they had to complete a challenge.
It was essentially a version of truth-or-dare from Ron's previous world.
Now that this guy had won, he strutted out proudly. "Come on, come on—Salino! You're up!"
"Looking down on me, huh?" Salino laughed as he stood, pulling out his Element Cards before striding into a duel room.
Ten minutes later.
The door opened.
Salino walked out looking frustrated and plopped back into his seat. "I was so close! That guy just got lucky—if he hadn't drawn that random attack card from Magico, the God of Magic, I would've crushed him next turn!"
Hearing that Salino lost, the others didn't show sympathy—instead, they burst into laughter.
"Luck is part of strength, too!"
"A bet's a bet—pay up!"
"Alright, time for everyone's favorite brainstorming session!"
"Let's think of a punishment—make it fun."
"How about running to the second floor and shouting 'Princess Mia, I love you!' three times?"
Salino quickly protested, "Hey, tone it down!"
"What's the big deal? Princess Mia isn't even in the Royal Capital lately."
"That's boring. How about he goes to the counter and flirts with a female staff member? He has to genuinely make her laugh before coming back—not just a polite work smile."
"That's too easy. I say he can't come back unless he gets her measurements."
"Hey, hey!" Salino laughed helplessly. "Don't get more and more outrageous!"
At that moment, one of them leaned in and said mysteriously in a low voice, "I've got a great idea. It punishes Salino and benefits all of us."
"Say it!"
"Hurry up!"
The man grinned and looked at Salino. "Let's see… besides you, there are five of us here."
"How about this—tonight, you invite your two older sisters and three younger sisters out, and we'll have a little private party?"
"Brilliant!"
"I approve."
"If I remember right, none of Salino's sisters are married yet?"
"Aili is mine! The rest are up for grabs."
"You like blonde lolis? I prefer someone fuller like Rosalind."
"..."
Listening to them casually discuss his own sisters, Salino's face turned green. Without another word, he ran upstairs and shouted "Princess Mia, I love you!" three times.
Then he came back down, successfully made a female staff member at the counter laugh, and—after she blushed furiously—even managed to get her measurements.
Watching all this from the side, Ron nodded in satisfaction after confirming the atmosphere on the fourth floor was healthy enough, then left with Nora and returned to Queen's Street.
Since Nora had to go over the accounts every evening, she returned to the flower shop first.
Seeing that it was still early, Ron didn't head back right away. Instead, he turned toward the magic club to relax for a while.
Sure enough, the veteran Playboy Soren was there.
When Ron approached, he was surprised to find that Soren had a different companion this time.
"Where's Penny?"
"Ahem…" Soren waved his companion away temporarily, then spread his hands toward Ron. "We broke up."
They had broken up countless times over the past month, so Ron was already used to it. He treated it as casual entertainment. "Go on—let me witness Prince Soren's latest masterpiece."
"If you ask me, this is actually your fault!" Soren shot Ron a glance.
"A couple of days ago, there was a banquet. Penny said she had to attend a tea party with her mother, so she didn't go with me."
"At the banquet, some people were playing magic duels, and a bunch of girls were watching nearby."
"I've picked up quite a few commentary tricks lately, so I started showing off—talking big and explaining things to those girls."
"We hit it off, and I ended up getting into a carriage with two girls who clicked with me."
"But who would've thought—halfway through Penny's tea party, her mother got dragged into a room by Lady Kelly to play something called 'War of the Gods.'"
"Penny got bored waiting outside and left early."
"Since it wasn't too late, she decided to come to my villa to find me."
"And just my luck—my carriage arrived at the villa at the same time, with the two girls stepping out. We ran right into each other!"
"So tell me—doesn't this count as your fault?"
Ron: "?"
"That 'War of the Gods' Lady Kelly was playing—she got it from you, right?"
"If it weren't for that thing, would Penny have left early?"
Soren argued confidently.
Ron didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Thinking back, during the War of the Gods tournament some time ago, Lady Kelly had indeed been one of the winners and had received a mahjong set.
"But what does that have to do with me? Don't pin your mistakes on me."
"Mistake? How is this a mistake?"
"You and Penny are a couple right now. Of course, you should be loyal to her."
Soren: "?"
Taking a sip of wine, Soren sighed helplessly. "I think you've misunderstood my relationship with Penny…"
"I've made it clear to her from the beginning—it's just for fun."
"She's the one who keeps sticking to me."
"She's already ruined so many of my beautiful encounters!"
Ron shook his head. "I don't get the two of you. Deal with it yourself. It's your emotional mess—you should take responsibility."
That was just how noble circles worked.
It wasn't that all nobles were like Soren, nor that all noble ladies were as open as his companions.
But nobles simply thought differently from ordinary people.
With comfortable lives and no worries about food or clothing, especially for those without much status or power within their families—those just drifting along—their lives revolved around enjoyment.
They lacked outstanding ability. Being able to hold minor positions in family businesses and receive an allowance was already considered decent.
More often, they held no real position at all, but their families could afford to support them, ensuring a lifetime of comfort out of respect for blood ties.
Under such circumstances, figuring out how to enjoy life became a required skill.
The circles Soren usually moved in were mostly like this.
There were elite circles too—but those were dominated by heirs. Ordinary noble youths couldn't squeeze in at all.
"Enough about that—let's talk about something fun." Soren poured Ron a drink, and the two clinked glasses.
"After this breakup, Penny went with her mother to a farm in the eastern region for a vacation. She won't be back anytime soon."
"Perfect timing. Now that the Spring Martial Tournament is over, the Spring Hunt is coming up."
"A bunch of young female mages and warriors will be there. The two of us can team up and stretch our legs a bit~ What do you say?"
The Spring Hunt…
Only then did Ron remember—he had received an invitation earlier.
If Soren hadn't brought it up, he might've forgotten entirely.
"Not really interested. It's all the way in the Forest of Freyst to the west—too much trouble going back and forth."
"What trouble?" Soren patted his shoulder. "Are you busy these days? The ranked matches are already on track, and there's nothing much to do at the Magic Battle Arena, right?"
"Not really busy."
The Gold rank wouldn't be introduced just yet. Promotion for the Magic Cup wouldn't begin until late March.
Mia had gone to the northern frontier to oversee the hotpot and barbecue restaurant, and things were going great.
In the private experimental area, Illya's research zone was already operational, and Harper's Mana–Element Reaction zone was nearly complete—just waiting for safety checks before experiments could begin.
That would probably be around mid-March.
So looking at it this way… he really was quite free for the next half month.
Maybe… going for a trip wouldn't be bad?
"The whole trip will take at most eight or nine days. Camping in the forest with young ladies—how exciting!" Soren tempted him. "I can already think of plenty of fun ideas."
Ron shot him a look of disgust and immediately raised a hand to stop him. "I can go—but don't drag me into any of your nonsense. I'm just going to relax."
"Are you even a man?" Soren challenged.
"I'll go ask Nora if she wants to come. Better bring her along—otherwise you'll start spreading rumors when we get back."
"You're really narrowing your path," Soren shook his head with a sigh, looking pained.
"You wouldn't understand the joy of being a playboy."