As soon as the match started, Isidor, who caused a stir, rode on his horse and ran like a flash of light.
"Oh my, who gave him that handkerchief?"
"Oh my, oh my."
"Kyaa, that can't be!"
I belatedly found the handkerchief I had handed him flapping on the handle of his lance and felt unnecessarily embarrassed.
‘It's an expensive handkerchief, so he must have tied it up because it has a good texture.'
It's common for a lady to give a knight a handkerchief.
While I was fiddling with my fingers and thinking about something else to get rid of the strange feeling, Isidor slashed the opponent's lance in two in an instant, and the match was over.
‘It's a sport where you can't use your aura, how can he have such strong physical strength?'
The unbelievable sight opened my mouth.
A brief silence fell over the arena.
It seems that Isidor's ability as a knight was underestimated because of his good looks.
As he showed an overwhelming performance comparable to that of Diera, the crowd grew louder.
The atmosphere was intensifying even more with people betting on the winner.
After that, the famous warriors who were predicted to be winners came out and played in the tournament.
‘It's time for them to slowly show up.'
When everyone was only interested in the contents of the matches, I stared nervously at the place near the barracks where the knights were waiting.
It was currently past 2 o'clock, the hottest hour.
I glanced at my pocket watch.
‘Why didn't they come out yet?'
I made a request to the Horun District Administration Office a month ago, and the imperial family had already approved it.
‘No way, they're not telling me now that it can't be done, are they?'
While I was feeling anxious, I saw the shop clerks and workers carrying large luggage and going near the barracks where the knights were staying.
‘They have arrived.'
Nervous, I watched what was happening at the barracks side of the arena.
***
‘It's hot.'
After noon, the surface of the ground heated up, and the inside of the barracks became as hot as a steamer.
Oryx Myrkane wiped his wet forehead with an old handkerchief.
‘I didn't know it would be like this…'
He expected it to be hot because it was summer, but it felt like the temperature was even higher because of the heavy armor.
He came from the cold northern part of the country, so he was even weaker to this sweltering weather.
Being at a younger age compared to the other competitors, Oryx didn't have much experience in competitions, so he had to fight the suffocating tension.
Oryx, who was 17 years old this year, left his land and applied for the army last year due to his brother threatening that he would kick out their younger sister.
He caught the attention of a knight in the capital, perhaps because of his overwhelming physique, and after training, he came to participate in a jousting tournament for the first time this year.
Fortunately, jousting is not a sport that allows the use of aura, so he was able to rise quite high using his excellent body acuity and natural physical ability.
He was lucky enough to make it to the finals, but he was faced with an ambush that he did not expect at all.
His sweat accumulated inside the armor and dripped down to the floor.
Oryx was currently experiencing some signs of dehydration.
Knights from high-ranking noble families could afford to use a servant to manage their condition, but as a trainee of some nameless knights, he couldn't afford that.
Right now, it was difficult to live while being poor.
"Ugh."
Sweat continued to flow down due to the sweltering heat, to the point that his handkerchief got soaked.
If he went to a match in this condition, he would be unable to properly avoid the approaching lance and would fall from the horse.
‘At the end of the day, I didn't show anything.'
His opponent withdrew when he was in a good condition, so he never got to play an active part on today's big stage.
‘I've been lucky all this time.'
It was a golden opportunity to publicize one's existence to many people and go one step further, so it was a pity to give up like this.
But his eyes were dizzy, and his body kept running out of energy.
At that moment, someone suddenly held out a cup of water.
‘What is this?'
"This is a drink prepared by Armand for knights who raise the military prestige and glory of the Empire."
Servants in neat uniforms were carrying teapots and distributing drinks to the knights in the barracks.
‘Armand?'
Feeling suspicious, he looked at the cup with the purple seal.
‘The cup is very light. Is it made of paper?'
On the paper wrapped around the cup, a brief description of the drink inside was written along with the explanation that drinks can be taken out at the store.
‘Rehydration, thirst-quenching.'
Feeling thirsty, Oryx took a sip of the clear drink with a thin lemon slice floating in it and got startled.
It felt good to drink the liquid.
While it was insipid and somewhat sweet, it also felt refreshing because of the slight lemon scent.
‘I don't know what it is, but it's good.'
He drank his drink slowly, feeling a little touched.
It reminded him of his mother, who used to put a thin lemon slice on the water so that he wouldn't get an upset stomach.
Seventeen is not very young, but it is not that old either.
Because he felt desperate as if he was left alone in the world, he enjoyed their goodwill even more.
He emptied his drink in an instant and took a deep breath.
"Huh?"
Oryx, who had been sweating, suddenly let out a small exclamation.
His head was in a daze, and he was about to die from the heat, but suddenly, he felt himself coming to his senses.
He got up from his seat and moved his body quickly.
Usually, after drinking a lot of water, it feels like the water is churning in his stomach, but that uncomfortable feeling didn't appear.
‘I'm feeling better.'
The knights sitting around him also tilted their heads, as if they felt a similar effect.
"What kind of magic did they put in this drink? It's a little different from water, but it's alright."
"Didn't they add holy water?"
"Holy water heals wounds. I've never heard of it being a thirst quencher."
At the same time, clouds were forming in the sky, and the strength of the fierce sun was gradually abating.
‘I think I can do well in the next match.'
When it was his turn, Oryx took the old helmet and long lance he had borrowed and got up from his seat.
And, that day, he made the most extraordinary thing in a jousting match.
***
An ionic drink.
‘Also known as a sports drink.'
I put it in a paper cup with the Armand seal and distributed it.
If you sweat a lot due to strenuous exercise, the balance of electrolytes, as well as water, is disrupted, and ionic drinks help absorb electrolytes faster.
‘Digestion is better too.'
While taking a health education course in the past, I learned how to make an ionic drink, that is, an oral rehydration fluid.
‘The production method was surprisingly simple.'
An ionic drink is easily completed by mixing 6 spoons of sugar and half a spoon of salt with at least 1 liter of water.
It's not a big deal, but I put a thin lemon slice inside the clear drink as a garnish to make it look plausible at first glance.
Looking at the faces of the knights, the reaction doesn't seem to be bad. Since I was sitting in the front row of a spot close to the barracks, I could feel the atmosphere of the contestants vividly.
Just in time, there was a brief interval ahead of the 16th round of the tournament, so the nobles near me were looking curiously at today's main characters drinking their drinks.
"Over there, what's that thing piled up like a tower?"
A noble lady sitting near me opened her mouth.
‘What would it be? It's showmanship.'
In order to attract the attention of the audience, I asked in advance to hand out drinks to the knights while carrying high stacked paper cups.
"I think they're cups?"
"They are walking around with cups stacked that high? What are they going to do if they break?"
At that time, some young lady confidently intervened in their conversation.
"It will be fine since they are made of paper."
"Paper gets wet. How can it hold water?"
"A fine water resistance magic was cast onto it. I saw it a while ago at Armand."
"That's amazing. It also looks convenient to use outdoors."
"Yes. That way, you can comfortably enjoy a drink while taking a walk outside. Didn't you know that's trendy these days?"
‘Well done. Well done.'
The young lady was flapping her fan and pretending to be coy, and I secretly wanted to encourage her even more.
"But what are they drinking?"
Seeing the knights who had been suffering in the scorching sun quenching their thirst, was a fairly positive sight for the audience.
