Chapter 80: The Beginning of the Fighting Festival

The number of people who participated in the Fighting Festival this year appeared to be about 400 people.

On the day of the Fighting Festival, Reus and I were waiting in the waiting room of the arena with the other participants.

Naturally, the room couldn’t accommodate the number of participants, so there were multiple waiting rooms for the participants.

There were probably fifty people in one room. The room couldn’t be called spacious, but I could observe the surrounding participants from the corner space of the room..

There were those who were discussing with their companions.

Those who threatened others players by hurling bloodlust.

Those who couldn’t calm down.

And those who were yawning… There were various states of the participants.

By the way, it was Reus who was yawning, and he was sitting next to me. It looked like he was bored because couldn’t move around with this many people.

“Uhaa… Say, Aniki. Is it not over yet?” (Reus)

“Hmm, I wonder about that. Since there is a time limit to a certain extent, the next turn will be a bit later.” (Sirius)

As the number of participants was large, the first day of the Fighting Festival seemed to be the Qualifying Rounds.

Although the content of the Qualifying Rounds changed every year, depending on the number of people, it was basically a Battle Royale… where dozens of people fought in the arena at the same time, and the surviving ones would progress to the next round.

According to the document handed out at the reception desk of the arena, there would be fifty people fighting at the same time for the Qualifying Round, and the two who survived would be the winners. This would repeated eight times, and a total of 16 people would be able to proceed to the main rounds.

Incidentally, fifty people were randomly chosen in a match, and the numbers given to me and Reus were not called. We could go and watch the battle, but since we didn’t know when we would be called, we were waiting inside the waiting room.

It seemed that the fifth round of the qualifiers was being carried out in the arena now, but apparently it would still take a while.

“Anyway, are you prepared for the match?” (Sirius)

“It’s all good. I can go anytime.” (Reus)

If it’s one-on-one, there was no doubt that Reus would definitely be one of the winning candidates. But, if it came to a mass battle, he should be cautious, since we didn’t know what would happen.

Reus was used to mass battles with monsters and goblins, but the experience with people was lacking. Because of that, I firmly told him not to neglect his preparations.

“By the way, which one did Aniki eventually select?” (Reus)

“The knife and sword are good enough. Be careful not to break the sword, Reus.” (Sirius)

“I’m a bit worried, but… I will manage it, somehow.” (Reus)

There were some rules to the Fighting Festival; but, basically, in order to win, the opponent must acknowledge their defeat, faint or you drop them outside of the platform.

And the rules about the weapons and armor had changed a bit.

In the Qualifying Round, weapons owned by the individuals are prohibited. They must choose from the weapons in the waiting room.

This rule was to see a person’s qualities that didn’t depend on their weapons. Other than that, the expert could choose a good quality weapon that fits them. There were some blunt weapons mixed in. For that reason, the number of weapons was overwhelmingly larger than the number of participants.

Spells can be used, but advanced spells were prohibited, and if you used it, you would be disqualified. Since the chanting of advanced spells were long, they weren’t suitable to be used in the Fighting Festival, where close-combat battles were the main thing in the arena.

During the Fighting Festival, you will not be imprisoned if you kill your opponent, but if you intentionally attack the opponent who admitted defeat or killed the opponent, you will be carried away and disposed off.

And we were relatively free in selecting our armor.

Anything was accepted, except armor that covered whole gaps, like a full-body armor. It will be judged beforehand. And that’s the flow of the rules.

I was wearing my usual battle attire, a long coat, while Reus wore an iron breastplate and the Mithril Tekkous given to him by Garve.

While the surroundings were tense as the participants awaited the calls, we were leisurely checking the condition of our weapons and armor. And then, we noticed two men coming close to us.

“Hahaha, you have so much of leeway.” (??)

“Oh dear. Well, it’s normal for them to say that they will defeat us.” (??)

The other side was Sieg’s two escorts.

A middle-aged man, who carried a greatsword that was a bit small in size compared to Lior’s, and a young man, whose age and appearance were almost the same as mine.

“Aniki, are these two our enemies?” (Reus)

“They are not enemies. They are opponents that we need to defeat. Don’t be hostile.” (Sirius)

“Hahaha, the earlier guy is motivated, huh?” (??)

“They’re going to defeat us? Even though I haven’t meet you, that was a rude thing to say.” (??)

A middle-aged man was laughing, but the young man was looking down at us with displeasure. They were strangely contradictory, but then I realized that we hadn’t introduced ourselves yet.

“It is not unusual, you know. If you came to say ‘hello’, should we introduced ourselves? I am Sirius. I am an adventurer.” (Sirius)

“I am this man… Aniki’s disciple, Reus!” (Reus)

“Oh, my name is Jekyll(1). I am an escort, but I am also an adventurer.” (Jekyll)

“…I am Beowulf(2).” (Beowulf)

The middle-aged man… Jekyll, looked like a friendly guy and he offered his hand to shake my hand. It wasn’t somewhat prepared or cautious, but an ordinary handshake, so I responded as usual.

On the other hand, because of the young man’s, Beowulf, careful personality, the way he introduced himself was nothing but his name.

“What are you getting upset about? These guys are probably your rivals, you know?” (Jekyll)

“I will decide who is my rival. I don’t know how strong you are, but please do your best to make me go all out.” (Beowulf)

Beowulf left us with a cold expression. When Reus was uncomfortable with that attitude, Jekyll laughed and apologized.

“Sorry. He isn’t usually cold like that, but since that guy doesn’t like opponents who use greatswords, his attitude becomes blatant.” (Jekyll)

“What’s with that? How should I put this, doesn’t Jekyll-san use a greatsword?” (Sirius)

“Jekyll is fine. It’s because I fought him and he recognized me. Aah, you see, Beowulf is starving for strength, so he is grateful if there is a strong guy.” (Jekyll)

“Is it because he is the son of the Sword Saint?” (Sirius)

“Ooh, right on spot. Yeah, he is desperate to surpass his great father. He is young…” (Jekyll)

Although the Sword Saint wasn’t as strong as the Strongest Sword, Lior, he was a famous swordsman.

It seemed that Beowulf was traveling to seek strong people in order to surpass the greatness of his father, but since his traveling money hit rock bottom several days ago, he was earning his income by escorting Sieg.

He thought that he couldn’t participate in the Fighting Festival, but his employer, Sieg, didn’t mind him participating. Although he troubled Fia, he didn’t mind listening to the needs of his escorts.

I was considering whether they should explain their circumstances, since the son of the Sword Saint had never met us.

“Hmm? The person himself has nothing to hide, rather he probably went around asking for strong people, I think? You don’t have to worry about it though.” (Jekyll)

“I understand the desire to seek strong opponents, but why does he dislike greatswords?” (Sirius)

“Aah, that is because of Lior-san.” (Jekyll)

The Sword Saint was defeated by the Strongest Sword, Lior, and he lost his life.

It wasn’t about hating Lior, because it was the result when the Sword Saint went all out. I guess it was because he was the opponent who took away his family.

For that reason, everyone imitates Lior by using a greatsword and there was nothing that could be done.

“It is their liberty to have what they want. I longed for Lior-san and I became stronger, you know?” (Jekyll)

“Longing…” (Sirius)

“I fought him once in the early days. My sword was split in two like paper and my bones were broken because I got hit, but… I fell in love with that overwhelming strength.” (Jekyll)

Longing for that abnormal Jii-san… huh?

Knowing the nature of Lior, I felt that I should not let Jekyll and Jii-san met.

When Jekyll was recalling the old times, the staff members of the Fighting Festival came in the waiting room and started reading the numbers. After reading the numbers of roughly 50 people, Jekyll raised his hand and turned his back on us when he confirmed that the staff had gone away.

“I was called, but it seemed you weren’t. Well, shall I finish this quickly?” (Jekyll)

“It looked like you can do it.” (Sirius)

“That is my line. You can endure our intimidation. There is no mistake that you are strong, right?” (Jekyll)

“Aniki is the strongest!” (Reus)

“Hahaha! Anyhow, I’ll be waiting for the main rounds. Don’t worry about that employer, let us enjoy the match, alright?” (Jekyll)

Jekyll went out of the waiting room while happily laughing.

Since the group called now was the sixth, our turn should be soon.

“Aniki, that Beowulf, hasn’t gone yet. I don’t really understand him, but I don’t dislike Jekyll.” (Reus)

“That’s like the common sense of the Jii-san. I’m not sure which battle, but don’t be careless.” (Sirius)

“Got it. There’s also the thing with Fia-ane, so I will fight with all my strength.” (Reus)

Reus wasn’t a man who looked down on his opponent and became careless. Therefore, should I focus on my own things for once?

I concentrated a little bit, and then, I was preparing for the Qualifying Round while circulating my mana throughout my whole body.

—

After a while, the staff came to call for next participants.

The numbers were being called one after another, and Reus’ number was finally called.

“Aniki! Ooh, that guy is going at the same time as me.” (Reus)

When I looked at him, Beowulf started to stand up, and he was about to leave the waiting room with a longsword he had selected.

By the way, I wasn’t called, but I went out of the waiting room together to see Reus’ match. I knew that my match was the last one, so there was no reason to stay here.

“Well then, I’m going, Aniki!” (Reus)

“Good luck.” (Sirius)

Branching midway, I went through a hallway where only the participants and staff could go through, and I came to a place where the platform could be seen.

Garaff’s Arena was of a bigger scale than the one at Elysion. If there was a difference, Elysion’s arena was flat, but the arena in Garaff’s Arena was an elevated round-shaped platform made of cobblestone.

Vacant audience seats for the Nobles could be seen, but the seats for Commoners were full. Since the match hadn’t started yet, I searched for my friends. I soon found Hokuto, because he stood out.

Normally, I didn’t think a Beast Companion was allowed in the audience seats. However, since the seats were a rank higher than the Commoner seats, he was allowed to do so. Since there was a large amount of space, Hokuto was able to sit there, even though it was a bit cramped.

The price was considerable, but it was worthwhile to secure these seats by the connections we made over the last two days.

Sitting in that location were Emilia, Reese and Fia, who was wearing a hood. If it was over there, they won’t be disturbed by a rude bunch, and if they did, by any chance, Hokuto would protect them. Hence, there was no problem.

It seemed the girls were cheering for Reus, while talking to each other; but Emilia noticed my presence and waved her hand. I thought that she did well to find me, but now I think that I will cheer for Reus.

“Aniki! Just you wait!” (Reus)

…When I thought that, Reus was waving his hand towards me.

I will not say anything anymore.

—

The kick-off signal from a gong resounded, and Reus’ Qualifying Round started.

The fifty people that had lined-up on the platform were moving at the same time. They were starting to fight the nearby opponents and the opponents they were aiming for.

Such a massive battle would change the way people fought, depending on the situation. If the strong people were known, there were also people who teamed-up to beat them. There were various people who ran around avoiding rough battles.

I taught Reus to deal with the surroundings flexibly, depending on the situation, but he didn’t move needlessly, he kept his weapon at the ready and was being cautious to the surroundings.

When I thought that it wasn’t a bad change, the situation became strange.

The fifty people who were fighting in the battle were randomly chosen and there should’ve been almost no prior contacts, but… at the same time as the battle started, four players simultaneously attacked Reus.

If this was in Elysion, Reus’ merits would be known, but he was still unknown in the Adlode Continent.

In addition, there were many participants who adored Lior and had greatswords, and even a rare Silver Wolf tribesman would be less likely to be dangerous.

Although there was a possibility of it being by chance, I understood when I saw the one who was aiming for Reus.

On our first day of arrival at Garaff, that man was one of the adventurers who had been inviting us to change our accommodations. These couple of guys who attacked Reus told us the rumor that if we stayed in the [Wind Cape Cottage], we wouldn’t win in the Fighting Festival.

And weren’t they using this ‘ganging-up on one’ method just because we didn’t want to change our accommodations? He was probably not only aiming at him because of the Fighting Festival, but they were aiming for him because of what they had said, I guess?

It was natural to improvise in such a massive battle, and there was no clear evidence to suggest that he was being aimed, except because he seemed to be strong.

I thought that wasn’t a bad idea, because they could temporarily group-up and reduce the other participants, but… but those guys made a fatal mistake.

That was…

“Come!” (Reus)

They didn’t know Reus’ ability.

Although it was smaller than his partner, the greatsword, swung with Reus’ strength, blew away the men who attacked him.

In a situation where two people were cleared in a single swing, and the rest were cleared in two swings, the audience was surprised when they saw Reus.

“Next!” (Reus)

“Hii!?” (??)

The other participants, who were looking at the scene before their eyes, screamed, but before they could make preemptive attacks, Reus leaped to the front and swung the greatsword.

While the crowd started to make a fuss about the rebirth of the Strongest Sword, Reus was ‘homing in’ on the participants one after another.

“This is the tenth! Next is… Uh!?” (Reus)

As ten people were blown away, Reus set the greatsword up like a shield.

At that moment, an intense crash ran through Reus’ sword, and the figure of Beowulf swinging his sword appeared.

“Hee… you can stop this blow, huh?” (Beowulf)

“Well. Isn’t that a surprise attack?” (Reus)

“I just wanted to test you out, you know? Alright, how about this?” (Beowulf)

The sword swung by Beowulf was fast enough to blur the blade, and he was aiming at Reus’ shoulders and waist at the same time.

However, Reus repelled them with a series of up and down swings. In addition, he was aiming for Beowulf’s head when he swung down.

“W-what!?” (Beowulf)

Beowulf kicked the ground with his full power. He avoided it and got away from Reus with a long distance.

“…Did you avoid it? You are being careless because you want to test people out.” (Reus)

“You’re somehow being rude, too. Let’s go all out next time.” (Beowulf)

“Sure, I’ll hit you next time!” (Reus)

Two slashes were released at the same time as earlier, but Beowulf came closer once again, and increased the slash attacks to four. However, Reus accepted the technique that released multiple slashes at the same time and pulled it through.

Beowulf kept swinging, despite the sword being repelled, and Reus endured while accepting the attacks with the sword and the Mithril Tekkous.

They swung their swords at each other at a speed that couldn’t be caught by ordinary people. When it was about at twentieth slashes, Reus made a big swing, and the distance between them had been greatly separated.

“…So you can do it. This is the first time I’ve see someone who can swing that fast, other than Aniki.” (Reus)

“You too. I thought that greatsword was a bluff, so it was real, huh? You are, indeed, good with it.” (Beowulf)

While they were happily laughing at each other, the other participants were taking the opportunity and attacking them from behind.

“But this weapon…” (Reus)

“I agree.” (Beowulf)

They looked back and swung their swords at the same time. After they easily knocked down the attacking participants, they faced each other again and had bitter smiles.

“Anyhow, next is the main round. We can see each other again then.” (Reus)

“Yeah. Well then, let’s make the others leave.” (Beowulf)

The reason was probably because of the weakness of the prepared weaponry. The swords couldn’t endure their strength, and they understood that the swords would break if they kept that up.

And then, they negotiated with each other and fought the remaining participants… no, they trampled them.

Every time Reus swung his sword, the players were either blown off, fainted… or got off of the platform. Meanwhile, when Beowulf’s sword swung, the participants’ armors and weapons were cut. He was surely driving away the incompetent participants.

If Reus focused on strength, then Beowulf could be said to focus on technique.

Since they were showing a different level of fighting together, the cheers from the audience were getting louder.

And when all the other participants were disqualified, except for those two, the sound of a gong reverberated again and the match ended.

{Participants Reus and Beowulf will proceed… to the main round.} (Announcer)

The voice from the announcer was strengthened with the Wind spell [Echo], and the participants for the main round were announced.

By the way, the main rounds would have constant live coverage, but it was minimum during the Qualifying Rounds.

Reus waved both of his hands in response to the audience’s applause, but Beowulf didn’t take his eyes off Reus, while lightly waving his hands. After having a predator’s smile that found his prey, he left the match ground.

“I did it, Aniki!” (Reus)

However… Reus didn’t noticed such a smile. He came to me and happily shook my hands.

In my opinion, I thought that Beowulf had an ability that was not much different from Reus’, but I let out a sigh while being interested for a bit.

—

When I returned to the waiting room at the same time that the round ended, the remaining participants were just being called.

And then, I confirmed that my number was called and headed to the platform with the other participants.

{Next is the final Qualifying Round for today. Participants, please line-up on the platform.} (Announcer)

Since the number was big for the Qualifying Rounds, the initial position of the participants had been decided to a certain extent. This also might change according to the situation, but it seemed that the participants were lining up like a circle at the edge of the platform this time.

My position was just before Emilia, so I heard their cheers from behind.

“Sirius-samaaa!” (Emilia)

“D-do your best!” (Reese)

“Show me your coolness!” (Fia)

As I was responding by waving my hand to their cheers, I was given bloodlust from the players to my left and my right. There was no doubt that I would be targeted.

When I had a wry smile because of the unlucky pincer attack, the gong, which was the signal to start the battle, rang.

“First is you!” (??)

“I’ll break your arms!” (??)

It was awkward… but I could deal with anything if I knew that I’m being targeted.

As expected, the participants on my left and right attacked me at the same time with the commencement, but I warded them off by catching their dominant arms with my hands, and threw them outside of the platform behind me with an Aikido throw.

““Eh!?”” (??)

The two participants danced in the air while having dumbfounded expressions. They were dropped from the platform and were disqualified.

“That guy is…?” (??)

“They were defeated that quickly?” (??)

They were coming straight at me while ignoring the other players, so they were probably in the same group who attacked Reus, huh?

A man, who barely knocked down a participant, immediately came from the side. When I noticed him, I was targeted by three people at the same time.

“…” (??)

“If you swing like that, it is pointless, you know?” (Sirius)

The moment the man, who was closest to me, wielded his weapon, I steadily stepped in at a low stance, and jumped into the other’s bosom.

The opponent was surprised and swung his sword down, but since I swept his axis foot with a foot sweep, he couldn’t completely control the momentum from going forward and flew in the air.

I immediately arranged my posture and then I gave a roundhouse kick to the rotating and defenseless opponent in the air and knocked him off the platform.

At that time, the two remaining people were close to me, and the moment I turned my face, the man who was a step closer swung his sword down.

I avoided it by slightly moving my body, and I grabbed the opponent’s arm at the same time. I pulled that arm to the rear with all my strength.

Since the man, whose balanced was broken, was pulled towards the outside of the platform, he couldn’t completely control the forward momentum and easily fell out of bounds.

“You bastard!” (??)

“You pay too much attention to your opponent.” (Sirius)

Although he showed a sharper movement compared to the previous man, his attention towards me was light. When I kicked the hand holding the sword, the man’s sword slipped out and flew backwards.

While the man was reflexively chasing the sword with his eyes, he turned around to his back, so I gave him a sleeper hold by circling my hand around his neck.

“I have a question. Why are you targeting me?” (Sirius)

“Shut up, release… guh!?” (??)

“If you don’t answer, I’ll make it stronger, you know? So, answer if you don’t want to suffer.” (Sirius)

“Goho— The owner of the inn… was targeting you guys. For a single copper coin…” (??)

“What is the name of the inn?” (Sirius)

“…Uguhh! Haa… the [Road of Glory]…” (??)

“Thanks for your trouble.” (Sirius)

He threw it quite easily, but with a single copper coin, it would be like a light verbal promise for that degree. Were they told, at best, to target me and Reus during the Qualifying Rounds?

And the [Road of Glory] that came from his mouth was the name of the inn where we, the guests of the [Wind Cape Cottage] inn, were invited to stay at. There was no doubt that this was harassment, but since there was no clear evidence if I complained, they would regard it as an excuse.

However, that was enough for me to confirm. Let’s make them pay the debt later.

I had decided, so there was no need to have this guy anymore.

When the man was released from the restraint, he turned around with a foolish smile.

“Heh! You are so stupid to let me go…” (??)

“Because it is already over.” (Sirius)

Sorry about that, I was the one who had a more profound smile.

I hit his stomach at the same time when he turned around. And then, I seized the arm of the man in agony, pulled a shoulder throw and threw him outside of the platform.

When the man flew from the place while drawing a parabola line in the air, I noticed that another participant was creeping behind me.

“Got you… Ehh!?” (??)

I avoided the sword that was swung down while turning my back. I grabbed the collar of the surprised participant and threw him off the platform.

That man probably fell onto the other man who fell earlier because I heard a groan leak out, but I didn’t care for it at all.

When I looked around at the surroundings, since the side business had ceased, there were nearly half of the participants who survived.

However, I barely moved from my initial position, as I only took care those who came closer, while occasionally shooting down flying Elementary spells.

Although I could go all out like Reus and quickly finish this off, I had considered it a bit, so I was going to humbly end the Qualifying Round.

And then, I continued dealing with the approaching opponents. When I threw the seventh person off the platform… there were only three people left on the platform, including me.

The remaining two were a big man, who swung his greatsword, and a slender man with armor and an iron mask that covered his whole face. Even if his face couldn’t be seen, it could be judged that he was a young man from his body and movement.

The two were fighting while ignoring me. The battle continued on with the big man swinging his sword while being eluded by the sword of the man with the iron mask.

While vaguely looking at their offense and defense, I was interested with the young man’s footwork and swordsmanship.

To be honest, that young man was weaker than Reus. However, with a sharpness of the sword that the young man wielded, I felt that there was a possibility of filling the difference in power with techniques.

It didn’t matter who won, because I would still be in the Main Rounds, but… it was regrettable if he disappeared here.

“…Damn!?” (Young Man)

“That’s because you move too much!” (Big Man)

However, whether it was bad luck or not, the young man stumbled against the weapon swung by the other player and lost his balance. There was no way to miss that opportunity, the big man greatly brandished his weapon with a single blow to end it.

While losing his balance, the young man wielded his sword without giving up, but he would lose with that disadvantageous posture.

That was the story… if it happened.

“It’s my win—… Guh!?” (Big Man)

“…This is it!” (Young Man)

For some reason, the big man lost his balance and the greatsword that was swung down only landed on the young man’s shoulder.

Conversely, the sword of the young man seized the opponent. The big man was hit on the side of his face with the sword. He lost consciousness and collapsed.

{Participants Sirius and Kon(3) will proceed… to the Main Round!} (Announcer)

Together with the applause from the audience, the end-of-the-match gong and announcement could be heard.

Compared with Reus’, the applause was smaller, but it seemed that I was able to make the audience moderately excited.

When I was waving to the audience and my companions while the collapsed participants were helped by the rescue team, the young man, who would be in the main rounds with me, came to me.

Although it was suspicious for the young man not to take off the iron mask, even when the battle had ended, the bow he did in front of me was beautiful.

“First of all, congratulations on your first appearance in the Main Rounds. And, thank you so much.” (Kon)

“Congratulations to you, too. Leaving that aside, why are you bowing?” (Sirius)

“I would have been defeated if you didn’t help me in the match earlier.” (Kon)

Did he notice that?

At that time… I had secretly fired an extremely small [Impact] at the wrist of the big man.

There was almost no flow of mana. I thought it would be unnoticed, unless it was in front of him, but… it seemed he was an even sharper man than I expected.

“Why me?” (Sirius)

“There was a strange trace on the wrist of the man I was fighting. In terms of possibilities, I think there was no one else around but you.” (Kon)

“…Was it unnecessary?” (Sirius)

“It’s the opposite. Since the traveling expenses were intense, I was saved. Moreover, I can fight against stronger opponents.” (Kon)

The Fighting Festival would only do treatment on injuries if we lost in the Qualifying Rounds, but if we could participate in the Main Rounds, we would receive rewards.

By the time you proceed to the Main Round, one gold coin was surely given and after that, it increased every time you won. If you achieved the overall victory, you would get one white gold coin that was worth 20 gold coins.

Nevertheless, to hide your face with an iron mask and have that beautiful swordsmanship was fine. This young man seemed to have his reasons, but… was it rude to ask when I just met him for the first time?

“You don’t have to worry about it, because it was a whim. Well then, good luck on tomorrow’s Main Rounds.” (Sirius)

“Yes. Well then.” (Kon)

The young man left the platform after making a beautiful bow, no matter how many times I looked at it.

I was curious, but let’s return, since my friends were waiting.

—

After that, I returned to the waiting room and when we received a badge, which was a symbol for the Main Round from the Fighting Festival staff, the meeting dissolved.

Sixteen participants selected from the Qualifying Rounds would gather tomorrow morning. It would then be the start of the Main Rounds.

By the way, the combination of the Main Rounds of the Fighting Festival would be decided on the day itself. It seemed that there was a case where someone made a surprise attack on their opponents.

—

When I left the arena with Reus, while getting gazes of support and jealousy from participants who lost in the qualifying rounds, the ladies, who were waiting for us to come, met us.

“Congratulations, Sirius-sama. You too, Reus.” (Emilia)

“That’s for sure, Nee-chan. If it’s Aniki and me, it will be an easy win.” (Reus)

“Yeah. I’m confidence about that when watching Sirius-san and Reus.” (Reese)

“Do your best with this condition tomorrow. As Sirius-sama’s disciple, I won’t tolerate you fighting poorly.” (Emilia)

“Leave it to me!” (Reus)

While being led by Reus, who was showing his inspiration on whole of his face, Fia hugged me in my arms.

“You see, Sirius. Why were you fighting without using weapons and magic?” (Fia)

“That’s because there was no strong opponents within my group. I tried fighting by restricting myself a bit.” (Sirius)

“That’s why you used Taijutsu?” (Fia)

“But Sirius-sama, wasn’t it too thorough? The surroundings were full of enemies, so I think that you should use magic as much as you want when considering your safety.” (Emilia)

“That’s true. Although Aniki had decided that, wasn’t he very adult-like today?” (Reus)

Perhaps, he meant compared to when I fought the Headmaster at Elysion.

At that time, I wanted to go all out when fighting against the Headmaster. But for today’s disciples, I looked simple.

“I was trying to fight modestly. I thought that there wasn’t any strong people, and I wanted to proceed to the Main Rounds.” (Sirius)

“Since you are aiming to win, wouldn’t it be alright if you showed off?” (Emilia)

“It is a matter of betting.” (Sirius)

It wasn’t conducted because there were too many people in the Qualifying Rounds, but in the Main Rounds, there would be an official betting ring.

By think that a participant was strong, there was no need to explain which side was more profitable to gamble on when fighting a weak participant

The disciples, who heard that fact, had difficult faces…

“We still have plenty of room, but I think that continuing the journey in this condition will make our pocket money suffer. I’m afraid that the opportunities to make sweets will decrease…” (Sirius)

“““We will bet everything on Sirius-sama!””” (Emilia/Reese/Reus)

Although I felt like I did something similar in the past, my disciples seemed to be convinced.

I wasn’t that stingy, but I was the one who managed everyone’s wallets. I wasn’t a saint, and our base income was how the adventurers earned their money.

How would Fia think of me by doing such a trivial thing?

“Of course, I will also bet on Sirius. It will be a celebration, if you win.” (Fia)

Although it had been only a few days, she was adapting too quickly.

She was truly a reliable lover.

—

Late at night… I was in disguise and walked in the town at night.

I was walking while hiding my presence, in order to not be noticed by prostitutes inviting customers and those working at night. I was aiming for a certain place.

The [Road of Glory] inn.

I quietly arrived at the destination. I went to the back of the inn and entered. And then, I left the inn after finishing my work.

“… If this had ended with only a warning, I wouldn’t have to show my hand.” (Sirius)

So I muttered. I had to finish my work without being noticed by anyone and then, I went back to the inn.

—

The next day, we headed to the arena after finishing breakfast. And then, we witnessed a scene of town guards thronging at a certain inn.

“…Did something happened?” (Emilia)

“Aah, Nee-chan, look. Is someone being caught?” (Reus)

“Yeah. Based on his attire, I wonder if he is an inn manager?” (Emilia)

“Maybe he is that…? I heard from Cecil-san a while ago that evidence of fraud and embezzlement were delivered to the Town Lord.” (Sirius)

“Oh… he’s doing bad things, huh? That guy deserves it, Aniki.” (Reus)

“I guess so. That’s because he’s doing something improper for his stature.” (Sirius)

On that day… one inn in Garaff collapsed.

We headed to the arena, despite such a trivial problem.

—

Presenting Hokuto

Today was the day where his Master participated in the Fighting Festival.

While his Master went for the match, Hokuto was secretly trying to protect his friends.

“Well then, shall we go? You have the tickets, right?” (Fia)

“Of course, I got them from Sirius-sama.” (Emilia)

“Is this it? But, these are somewhat expensive tickets.” (Reese)

Since his Master and the junior, Reus-kun, went to the arena earlier, Hokuto-kun and his Master’s lovers headed there a bit later.

Although she had become a companion in no time, Hokuto-kun was impressed by Fia-san, who had already secured the position of Onee-chan.

“It is not somewhat expensive, it is expensive. It seems to be alright, since Hokuto-san can enter that location.” (Emilia)

“That’s right. Hehe, that’s great, Hokuto.” (Fia)

“Woof!” (Hokuto)

Currently, Fia was wearing a hood, but as expected, it seemed that the people were secretly looking, probably because they started to notice that she was an Elf.

There were some with greedy eyes among them, but they gave up when Hokuto-kun remained by Fia-san’s side.

“Thank you. You’re the best bodyguard.” (Fia)

“Woof!” (Hokuto)

While being stroked by Fia-san, Hokuto-kun and the rest arrived at the stadium.

Although the entrance was crowded, since they could use a hallway exclusive to the Nobles, they were able to enter smoothly.

“This feel so luxurious.” (Reese)

“Can you get this often? I wonder how much it was?” (Fia)

“It’s because of Sirius-sama.” (Emilia)

“Woof!” (Hokuto)

Hokuto-kun agreed with what Emilia had said.

By the way, Hokuto-kun was with him when he bought the tickets, so he knew the exact price, but… he didn’t say anything since the ladies would be surprised.

Hokuto-kun could read the air…

It was written on the ticket that there were some spacious seats in the audience, Hokuto-kun lied in that position so that he doesn’t get in the way.

As the Qualifying Rounds progressed, while waiting for his Master’s turn… Hokuto-kun felt a signs of people approaching.

The number… was two. There was also a possibility of other people, but he didn’t think they were people from their stealthy steps.

This Commoner seating was a floor above and there were many blind spots, depending on the position. Furthermore, the security was also lacking, as this was not the seats for Nobles.

When Hokuto-kun pretended to look sideways, and turned his eyes to the path behind… he found a clearly suspicious pair.

It was possible to suppress them by jumping into the hallway, but there was also a possibility that his Master would get into trouble if his Beast Companion attacked on his own, and he didn’t want to destroy the air of this fun battle.

Because of that… Hokuto-kun didn’t do anything, but faced the platform while lying down.

At that time, Hokuto-kun’s junior, Reus-kun, was rampaging on the platform.

The audience boiled up when they saw the participant that was fighting and ‘homing in’ on the others. Thus, the entire arena became noisy.

Using that gap, the suspicious pair approached them at once. They had considerable skills, but Emilia-chan and Fia-san noticed the incoming pair, and put their hands on their knives.

And then, the suspicious pair pulled out their knives and the moment they extended their hands towards the ladies…

““Gohuu!?”” (??)

While looking forward, Hokuto-kun released his tail in a flash, while pretending to swing it without notice.

Hokuto-kun’s tail was fluffy, soft and flexible, but once he swung it as a weapon, it would be a powerful weapon that could easily break logs.

Of course, the opponents were well-prepared, but they couldn’t respond to the speed that was beyond their expectations. The pair, who received a direct hit, were blown towards a separate wall altogether.

There…

“Who are these people?” (??)

“They have weapons, catch them!” (??)

“You’re wrong!? I was hit by a Beast Companion…” (??)

“Silence! Bring them inside!” (??)

It was a noble guest’s seat.

He couldn’t see the other side of the wall, but the men were taken away without question.

Later, the two were merely underlings of the underworld, and it turned out that they were arbitrarily trying to kidnap an Elf for profit, but… it didn’t matter to Hokuto-kun.

It was enough if he could protect his Master and his friends.

“Good job, Hokuto.” (Fia)

“Hokuto-san, thank you very much.” (Emilia)

“Eh… Did something happened?” (Reese)

Reese was the only one who didn’t notice anything, while Fia-san and Emilia-chan shook their heads.

“It’s nothing. Reese, just keep watching the match, alright?” (Emilia)

“Yeah. It’s just about Hokuto who was working hard.” (Fia)

“Woof!” (Hokuto)

“Hmm?” (Reese)

Hokuto-kun also had the same opinion.

And then, after Reus’ match ended, Hokuto-kun’s Master arrived on the platform.

“Sirius-samaaa!” (Emilia)

“D-do your best!” (Reese)

“Show me your coolness!” (Fia)

He instinctively wanted to cheer by howling, but he endured it because he might scare unrelated people.

Perhaps, if there were wolfkin, they would be simultaneously kneeling down.

Thus, his Master won the match and proceeded to the Main Rounds.

Hokuto-kun was proud of his Master, who waved his hands to the audience.