| MN-ST-1 Debut
|
Maria Nearl: Jousting Arena |
| A missed cocktail party, and an arbitrarily decided path forward. | |
| Characters |
| Tourist |
| Backgrounds |
 1  2 |
| “ | Maria Nearl, immediately after helping her old friends fix their car, appears on the field of a knight competition. | ” |
| <Background 1> | |
|---|---|
| 4:12 PM \ Clear Central Kazimierz, Kawalerielki Alliance, "The Grand Knight Territory" Kawalerielki At the scene of a certain unsightly car accident | |
| [An old Kuranta and an Ursus argue over the car accident.] | |
| Old Knight | Oh... We still gonna make it to tonight's party? |
| Old Craftsman | It'll be your fault if we don't, V. |
| Old Knight | My fault? Hah! My damned fault? It's you and that goddamned box of yours, all thirty kilos of it! You think you aren't heavy enough, huh? |
| Old Craftsman | These are tools for fixing Marcin's stuff! That's your excuse for crashing into a tree? |
| Old Knight | Do not question my sense of direction! |
| Old Craftsman | I'm saying that your vision ain't as good as it used to be... |
| Old Knight | Did you forget how I won that darts competition at the bar last week? My eyesight's great as ever! You must be blind. |
| Old Craftsman | I'm not blind, which is why I clearly told you earlier "watch out for that tree." |
| Old Knight | Why don't I remember that? |
| Old Craftsman | Because the radio was too loud! |
| Old Knight | Well, who put Monster Siren's new disc in? |
| Old Craftsman | ...Just shut up and let the lass focus. |
| [Maria, a Kuranta knightess, looks at the wrecked car.] | |
| Maria | Wow... This car is totally wrecked... |
| Old Craftsman | It's all V's fault. |
| Old Knight | I... You... Maria, don't listen to his bullshit. This is absolutely not my fault! |
| Maria | Alright, alright! Just let me work, sheesh——! |
| Old Craftsman | Hear that? You're disturbing the young lass, just keep quiet. |
| Old Knight | You! |
| Maria | Circuit's OK, but the engine is unresponsive. Hmm, this design is something from two generations ago? Do you start it like this...? Still no response from the engine. What if I use some Arts to start it...? |
| [Maria tries to restart the car's engine by applying Arts on it, but it has no effect.] | |
| Maria | ...Like so? |
| Old Craftsman | Mhmm, seeing the young lass use Arts like this always reminds me of her grandfather. |
| Old Knight | That's right! Just look at Maria! Why don't you know even a lick of Originium Arts? |
| Old Craftsman | Who says I don't know how to repair Originium devices?! |
| Old Knight | I'm talking about—— |
| Old Craftsman | Maria! Move aside! I'm going to make this old geezer eat his words! |
| Maria | Ahaha...please don't argue, you two... Oh! There's a reaction! Like this... and that... |
| [The engine starts up.] | |
| Old Knight | Oho! The engine's alive? This blessed sound of a rumbling engine! Little Maria's really getting better day by day. I suppose it's just about time for a certain old fogey to retire too, eh? |
| Maria | Hehe, it's nothing like that. It's all thanks to Master Kowal's teachings. |
| Old Craftsman | Hear that? Hear that? Did——you——hear——that?! |
| Old Knight | Tch. Stop blathering and get in the car. |
| Old Craftsman | Lass, where are you headed to? Want us to give you a ride? |
| Maria | Me? I... I have other business. |
| Old Knight | Alright then. Hold on tight, Kowal. I must have the first pick of the wine tonight! |
| Old Craftsman | Of course——Wait, doesn't the engine sound weird—— |
| Old Knight | Off we go! |
| [The two old men get in the car and drives off.] | |
| <Background fades out and in> | |
| [The old knight floors the car through the streets of Kawalerielki.] | |
| Old Craftsman | Why are you driving so fast?! |
| Old Knight | I'd've gone even faster in my youth, you know! Also, I haven't hit the accelerator yet! |
| Old Craftsman | Huh? Wait, we're at 70mph now, slow——slow down! Hey, it's 80mph now! We're over the speed limit! We're over it! |
| Old Knight | Can't slow down! Told you, I'm not accelerating! |
| Old Craftsman | Then——! Slam the damned brakes! |
| [The old knight kicks the brakes, but the car ends up crashing – again.] | |
| <Background fades out and in> | |
| [The car's engine blow up while Maria tries to fix it.] | |
| Maria | Ah... Ahaha... Looks like the Originium engine got overloaded... I messed up again, ehe. |
| <Background 2> | |
| Greatmouth Mob | Welcome, one and all!——Here in Kazimierz, you can enjoy unique dishes and enchanting sceneries, giving you a taste of the distinctive local culture—— But who cares about all that! Here and now, the only thing anyone cares about is the Kazimierz Major! I am Mob, Greatmouth Mob! And I'm honored to be commentating on today's match! Within this Roar Arena in the Kawalerielki Central Division, the knights' glory will be put upon display once more! |
| [The viewers cheer.] | |
| Greatmouth Mob | Today's match is fully sponsored by the Roar Guards Company, as usual. The top ten competitors in the daily points rankings will each receive one limited edition weapon "Rioter" provided by the Roar Guards! |
| Plastic Knight | That fancy toy will be impossible to sell... *sigh*, I'll be damned if I can find a buyer. Nevermind, it's from my paymaster after all... hmm? |
| Greatmouth Mob | Competition knights hailing from Kazimierz——no, from all over Terra! The corporations from the Kazimierz General Chamber of Commerce will all be paying close attention to today's independent knight competitions! Will you take the lead in the sprint races, or hit the bullseye in the shooting competition? No matter what you compete in, you will all have a chance to gain the favor of the directors! Of course! There's also the highly anticipated one on one mixed sports! The one with the highest points, the greatest exposure! Any match in this category could get the attention of a Knightclub and catapult you to success! Want to join the Kazimierz Major? Want to stand atop the glorious knights? Right now, the tickets are in the hands of the participating knights! Defeat your opponents, earn endless glory and rejoice! |
| [The viewers cheer as Maria enters the arena.] | |
| ??? | Phew... Deep breaths, deep breaths... |
| Greatmouth Mob | Without further ado, let's begin the first match of the day—— Wait... wait! This participant... She's not just any old farmgirl! That's right! I'm saying that the first match today will be the hottest news on the Kazimierz sports pages for weeks to come! The reason? This competitor joining us for the first time has a very special "name"! She may look like a cute girl, but she comes from a very famous family! If you know your competition knights——No, just about any loyal customer of Kazimierz would know this name! |
| Tourist | Can you get to the point! Show us the new girl already! |
| Tourist | That's right! |
| Plastic Knight | Hey, let me see the match card for the day. |
| Corporate Employee | Yes, Sir Szewczyk. |
| Plastic Knight | These are all familiar faces, hmm... Wait, this last one at the bottom? |
| Corporate Employee | Yes... The preliminaries have been going on for half a month, but it's unusual to see independent knights who've just begun accumulating points, so we... |
| Plastic Knight | This surname——It's the Radiant Knight's——? |
| Greatmouth Mob | Without further ado, let us welcome the first participant of today's matches—— ——Maria Nearl! |
| [The viewers cheer.] | |