"Anyway, if you are going to ignore me and the hero and fight each other in war.... I'll crush you before that happens."

At my calm words, the representatives of the elves and dwarves gulped.

They seem to have understood what the Dragon's Priestess is. And they have also understood that such a thing is actually possible.

They must be well aware that if they rashly provoke me, they will be utterly destroyed.

Therefore,

"So let's have five representatives chosen and have 1-on-1 battles five times, and the side that wins three times will be the winner."

Best-of-five. This should be enough to convince them.

"Five battles, three wins...?"

"Hmm... That means we can afford to lose two. There may be differences in skill or affinity among the five representatives, so the order of the battles will also be important."

Un. The dwarves really have sharp minds. They already understand the strategy of the best-of-five system.

"We'll need to fine-tune the detailed rules a bit, but it seems like the winner will be the one who knocks down the opponent in the limited space. However, we'll put a constraint that they cannot kill the opponent."

"Why can't we kill them? Those puny dwarves will die in an instant."

"Oh ho, is that a challenge? You lanky elf, I'll make you fall like a tree struck by an axe."

The representatives of the elves and dwarves start growling at each other again. Really... Yggdrasil and Sagarmatha are relatively on good terms, but those who worship them as gods are so at odds with each other.

It must be due to the severe racial differences. Hmm.

"Don't try to intimidate each other yet. Save your strength for the real fight. Since it will take some time to prepare, let's have the battles three days from now."

"Three days from now... Understood."

"In three days, I'll crush that useless arrogance of yours!"

"Can your hand even reach my face?"

There they go again. Constantly growling. They're like oil and water.

And these are the ones who were on good terms in the letters... It's really hard to understand.

Anyway, after the representatives of the elves and dwarves left, I turned to the hero who was just watching silently and said,

"Alright, this is a chance for you to see how other races fight, so keep your eyes wide open. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

It's a rare opportunity for the hero to observe the combat styles of other races. This should also be a learning opportunity.

Unlike the physically robust dwarves, the elves' spirit magic allows for quite tricky tactics.

If the hero observes the battle between these two races well, he can also grow a bit more.

"Alright, then let's create the arena for the battles."

Since the elves use bows, I should make it quite spacious. But if the distance becomes too far, it will be too disadvantageous for the dwarves.

Hmm.. A distance that is appropriate, where the dwarves can still charge in. I don't want it to end with the elves just shooting arrows from afar.

Let's make it a square of about 100 meters. That should be enough for the dwarves to somehow endure and approach.

Overall, will the dwarves be able to withstand the arrows and close the distance? And after they approach, can they handle the spirit magic? That's the kind of feeling I'm getting.

It seems like the battle will be tilted in favor of the elves... But still, those who came rushing out for war must have some skills, right?

I don't want them to be shown as helpless.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Three days later.

"Alright! The long-awaited battle between the two races, a duel to uphold their honor! Five battles to replace the war! The only prohibition is taking lives! Anything else is fair game!"

I cast a spell to amplify my voice and looked around the arena from the center.

It's like being an MC hyping up the crowd before a match!

A square arena of 100 meters on each side. And surrounding it, a stepped seating area.

The seating area is packed with elves and dwarves.

"Here and now! Elves and dwarves! Dwarves and elves! Which side is stronger will be decided! Are you ready to witness the duel!"

As soon as I finish speaking, a huge cheer erupts from both the elves and dwarves.

Umu. This is quite enjoyable!

"Alright! Now, the 10 duelists who will fight for the honor of their respective races, enter the arena!"

With my voice, the five elves and five dwarves who had been waiting on both sides of the dueling arena ascended onto the arena.

The elves were lightly armed overall. In contrast, the dwarves were heavily armed, even carrying large shields.

All the elves had bows and arrows, but the dwarves' weapons were quite unique - they varied greatly. From huge hammers and axes, to a dwarf carrying a two-handed sword longer than his height, to another dwarf with a bunch of small axes hanging off him. There was even a dwarf who had wrapped his weapon entirely in cloth... Ah no, he must be one of the dwarf representatives.

Is a representative directly participating as a duelist? That's impressive.

Meanwhile, the elf representative was just watching from near the arena, giving off a "There's no way I'd do something like that!" kind of vibe.

How arrogant. So arrogant.

I had thought the elves would have an overall advantage, but now I'm not so sure.

"If you step out of the arena, you lose. As long as you don't kill your opponent, anything goes. Well, even if you want to kill them, you won't be able to anyway."

After creating the arena, I had some time left over, so I made a spell!

A spell that defends against potentially lethal attacks, but only once. It's kind of like the Headband of Vigor... But those who don't know about it won't understand. It's an item that was buried along with the Belt of Dwarf-Throwing.

Anyway, it's a spell that blocks one potentially fatal attack.

If I add a spell that knocks the recipient unconscious to that... The completed spell will allow them to withstand a seemingly fatal blow, but they'll lose consciousness instead!

It's a spell well-suited for duels like this.

"I've cast a spell that will let you survive one potentially fatal situation, but you'll be knocked unconscious instead. So fight to your heart's content. But if you attack someone who's unconscious, the referee will intervene and stop you, so be careful."

Of course, the referee was the hero.

I figured I might as well have him watch the duels up close, as a consideration.

And so began the battle for the honor of the elves and dwarves.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Of course, if I were to explain all the battles in detail, it would go on endlessly, so I'll summarize it briefly.

Match 1. The lightly-armed elf with the bow as the main weapon against the dwarf with small axes hanging all over him.

The elf tried to control the dwarf by shooting arrows from a distance, but the dwarf used a large shield that completely covered his body to steadily approach.

However, the large shield slowed him down, and the agile elf maneuvered to the side, targeting the areas not protected by the shield.

The dwarf, who was knocking away the arrows shot at him with the small axes in his right hand, stubbornly advanced and reached the center of the arena.

After slamming the large shield into the ground with a loud thud, he grabbed the small axes hanging all over his body and started throwing them at the elf.

The axes, some of which were connected by chains, flew over the 50-meter distance and forced the elf to frantically dodge. Unable to evade one of the axes, the elf was struck in the head and fell.

Hmm. To respond to the bow with an ax-throwing display, that's quite impressive.

The strength to throw the axes all the way to the elf's position in the center of the arena, and the accuracy to hit the target, this was not the skill of someone who had just started throwing axes the other day.

Thus, the dwarf secured a comfortable first victory.

The following Match 2. The two-handed sword-wielding dwarf against the lightly-armed elf.

The overall situation was almost identical to the first match.

The difference was that the dwarf's weapon was a two-handed sword, which meant he didn't have a shield.

As a result, the dwarf, who was hit by dozens of arrows, stubbornly advanced, looking like a porcupine-like object.

While it was impressive that he withstood the barrage of arrows without fainting, wasn't it a bit arrogant to try to reach the elf without a shield?

But in the end, he lost, though he managed to get one win.

So the situation was back to square one.

Hmm, this is quite entertaining.

Just as they say that the most entertaining fights are the sloppy ones, it really is the case here.

However, at this rate, the hero won't have any opportunity to grow by observing the duel. Hmm...

Should I penalize the number of arrows? No, then the dwarf would have won the second match.

Since he withstood dozens of arrows without a shield, penalizing the arrow count would just let those dwarf tanks charge in by taking all the arrows.

Hmm, I'll just leave it as is. If I try to balance it, I might be seen as favoring one side.

And since the dwarf won the first match, the balance has become even harder to understand. Hmm.

I'll just watch and see.

If possible, I hope the elf will use some flashy elemental magic to help the hero's growth.

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T/N: Gotta go, maybe I'll post more later, sry! You can join Novelplex's Discord and follow the chapter-log channel to stay updated on whether I have posted the chapter or not.