The Tomboy "Prince" Was Reincarnated as a Villainess in an Otome Game!

Chapter 123 ~ Alterisa vs Illya

[3rd Person POV]

The crowd's cheers filled the arena as they welcomed the most beautiful young lady of the kingdom.

With strong, dignified steps, Alterisa made her way towards the center of the arena. Her pure platinum hair swaying against the wind.

Normally, Alterisa wouldn't have shown such a soft, gentle smile in front of this many people. After all, she needed to protect her "image" of a strong, noble, and chivalrous young lady. But, she forgot all about it and let her "soft" side show as she watched her best friend, and in this match, her opponent made her way towards her from the opposite side.

The timid little Illya she met at the ball had grown so much. Just like the little princess in the story she told her, Illya had become such a beautiful and strong girl.

"Alterisa-sama..."

Illya's gaze melted from all the love and affection she held towards the figure standing before her. Alterisa... the person who came into her life that night and pulled her from the dark and into the light.

She gave her courage... She gave her the courage to stand up to her bullying sisters. But that wasn't all. She also gave her a goal.

To stand by her side. That was Illya's goal and dream.

That's why she worked so hard to become as strong, as elegant, and as beautiful as Alterisa. So that she could proudly stand by her side as her close friend.

"I'm so happy to be with you here, Illya. I'm so proud of you. You've become so strong."

"The honor is mine, Alterisa-sama! I shall do my best in respect to your strength!"

Happiness welled up within Illya's heart. Even if her words were simply sophistry, she was still happy to receive it from her beloved Alterisa.

Illya didn't know that Alterisa had watched her fight in the first round with her magic senses and knew perfectly well how much she had grown. The words she uttered came from her heart.

"Fubuki, I'll need your strength, okay?"

"Kyuu~"

Alterisa whispered, and the little elemental fox answered by rubbing her fluffy cheeks against her master.

This proved that her words weren't empty compliments.

Alterisa originally didn't want to exhaust her or Fubuki's magic power this early in the tournament.

However, her opponent was Illya. Her swordsmanship was almost on par with the genius young knight of this generation, Luke. And her talent with magic had also bloomed splendidly.

No matter how strong she was, she'd lose if she held back against Illya.

She took a deep breath, and sighed deeply.

Even if Illya was one of her best friends... No, especially because she was her best friend, Alterisa wouldn't hold back in this match.

Illya drew her sword and took a deep breath as well. Her gaze immediately changed into one that belonged to a warrior.

The referee raised his hand up in the air, and swung down, signaling the start of the match.

"BEGIN!"

"Haaaaaaah!!!"

Immediately, Illya charged towards Alterisa with a battle cry.

And seeing this, Alterisa couldn't help but be very impressed.