Going back a bit earlier in time.

It was the morning of the day when Rei fought Yuitl in the fifth round.

That day, Rhodes was training with Bratta.

It was a much more intense training compared to what Rhodes had done with Rei.

Non-fatal wounds could be healed using potions, so both Rhodes and Bratta were now using bladed weapons even in their mock battles.

Of course, since it was a mock battles, they tried to not cut off each others arms, but even so, deep cuts were bound to occur. They were all healed back with potions, even though the potions were quite expensive.

As for how expensive, each potion was probably worth as much as or more than the one Rhodes had used as his trump card in his match against Rei.

(As expected of the First Prince.)

As Rhodes applied a potion to his arm, which had been cut open, he thought to himself in admiration.

Although he was slightly out of breath, Rhodes still had plenty of stamina.

……To look at it another way, it meant that Bratta’s attacks had caused huge damage to Rhodes while he still had strength to spare.

(Not yet……not yet.)

While lamenting his own worthlessness, Rhodes confirmed that his wound had closed up as he turned to look at the potion bottle.

Initially, Rhodes had said he could drink the potion to train, but his request was immediately rejected by Bratta.

It was true that drinking a potion would grant a continuous healing effect, and since these potions, which he was using like water, were of fairly high quality, Rhodes had thought the healing effect would be quite strong.

However, the taste of such potions was so bad that it would numb the tongue for a long time.

If that happened, it would become difficult to eat the food needed to sustain his training.

「Hey, don’t drink that potion.」

Bratta spoke up, as if sensing Rhodes’ thoughts.

Nodding in response, Rhodes sealed the potion bottle back up before returning it to its original location.

As Bratta watched Rhodes, he suddenly changed the subject.

「Now that you mention it, I heard that Requiem’s Toll will be moving soon, did you know? I hope Rei, your goal, won’t be killed too easily.」

Hearing those words, Rhodes paused for a moment in surprise.

 

 

「……」

With a displeased expression on his face, Rhodes headed back to the building where he would sleep.

The reason was obvious. It was because he had heard from Bratta that Requiem’s Toll were planning to move in full force.

Requiem’s Toll had shown some small movements so far, but various reasons had prevented them from making large scale movements.

Most of all, if Rei were to be defeated before he could have a rematch with him, there would have been no point in infiltrating the First Prince’s faction.

(Thinking about it normally, it shouldn’t matter since it’s Rei. However, from what Bratta said, they would be taking advantage of the moment after Rei’s fifth round match. There’s also the possibility that they will try something underhanded……)

As he muttered to himself, Rhodes looked up into the sky as he observed his surroundings.

Rhodes didn’t have the skill to detect people who could hide themselves well, so even if someone was monitoring him, he wouldn’t be able to find them.

(In the first place, the First Prince’s faction definitely has skilled thieves and hidden spies. It is impossible for me to detect them. And……I don’t think they trust me right now. There’s no way they’re not here somewhere. I’m sure there are at least several people watching me. If that’s the case, I can’t do anything careless.)

The information Bratta had given him might even have been a trap.

As he walked around, wondering what to do as he tried to hide his inner frustration, a maid who had been walking towards him suddenly tripped over something, causing her to fall.

「Kyaah-!」

A short scream.

Rhodes couldn’t just leave her alone, as she could have been injured, so he walked over while scratching his head.

As he offered a hand to the maid who had tripped over……he saw her face and his expression hardened.

It was because the maid was a familiar face.

It was someone who had belonged to the Third Prince’s faction and had temporarily joined up with them when they had stayed overnight at a village on the way to the Imperial Capital.

「Keu……」

「Shh-!」

Keuken. Rhodes was about to call her name when she quickly stopped him.

「You are being watched. For now, pretend to help me as a maid.」

Nodding at the words she murmured under her breath, Rhodes gently offered a hand to help her stand up.

「You’re quite crazy. I had no idea that you were planning to infiltrate the First Prince’s faction. Thanks to that, I had a hard time finding you.」

「I’m sorry. I wasn’t in a position to tell anyone that I was sneaking in. Anyway, what were you going to do if I had actually joined the First Prince?」

「I wasn’t too worried about that. You have your parents’ approval. And above all else, you wouldn’t betray Vihera-sama, right?」

「Gah……」

Rhodes hadn’t expected that even Keuken would know about his first love, so he changed the subject in a panic.

「What did my father and mother say?」

「Your mother was more worried I guess? Your father wasn’t as worried.」

As they stood up, Rhodes lent Keuken his shoulder, who was pretending to have sprained her foot, as they started walking.

「Is it okay to converse like this? I know we’re talking quietly, but if there are people monitoring me……」

「It’s fine. Fortunately, the people monitoring you are quite far away, so fortunately they can’t hear us. ……Have you been able to get anything out of them?」

「No, I’ve only just joined them. However, it seems that Requiem’s Toll will be making a move after today’s match. They are targeting Rei.」

Keuken was surprised by Rhodes’ words.

That said, her surprise was only in her mind. She was familiar enough with her line of work that wouldn’t let the people monitoring Rhodes realise anything.

「Why all of a sudden……no, how did the First Prince’s faction even get information on Requiem’s Toll……」

「I guess they have a wide intelligence network as the First Prince’s faction. Anyway, I can’t make a move because I’m being watched. So I’ll need you to pass this information to Rei.」

「You’re a kind person. It’s obvious that……」

Rhodes knew what she wanted to say, so he replied with small smile.

「I want to defeat Rei, but it has to be with my own hands. If he ends up dying at the hands of someone else, there’s no point in me coming here.」

「I see. There are many things……yes, many things that I would like to say, but I will leave that to your parents and not me. In any case, even if I could inform Rei about Requiem’s Toll, I can’t do it quickly.」

「Why? After the match is over, his guard will definitely be lowered. Considering that, it could be a big problem.」

Hearing Rhodes’ words, Keuken frowned in displeasure.

To those watching, it might have seemed like Rhodes was messing with the maid strangely.

「It’s not because it’s a bother or anything like that. Just think about it. Do you think they’ll leave me alone after I’ve come in contact with you, the subject of their surveillance, and after we’ve talked for so long?」

「……I guess so.」

Then we can’t make it in time? That was what Rhodes thought, but Keuken whispered to reassure him.

「Don’t worry. It’s true that I’ll be under surveillance for a while, but I’m not the only one who has sneaked in here. It might take some time, but Rei-san will be informed before Requiem’s Toll attacks him.」

Rhodes seemed satisfied at her response.

It was true that there was no way there would only be one person infiltrating the First Prince’s faction. If that were the case, contact would be lost if anything were to happen with that one person.

「Yes, I see. I understand. Then, please. Also, let Daska-sama know about this as well. There’s a guy called Bratta in the First Prince’s faction, he’s quite talented.」

「Bratta……is it?」

「Do you know him?」

「Yeah, well.」

From Keuken’s bitter expression, it was clear that she didn’t hold good memories about him.

Judging that pushing any further would only make Keuken unhappy, Rhodes decided to just put out the information he had gathered.

「If you know Bratta, then you might know this as well, but it seems that there are several others in the First Prince’s faction who are just as skilled as Bratta or better.」

「We had guessed that. In the first place, the First Prince, His Highness Kabarjid, is the mostly likely candidate to succeed the throne. Anyway, I understand the general situation, the information will be passed on. So, Rhodes-san, please make sure you don’t come under any suspicion. Despite the circumstances, you were lucky enough to be able to sneak into the enemy camp, so please consider making the most out of it.」

Hearing Keuken’s reminder to be careful, Rhodes nodded back.

Although he nodded……Keuken still didn’t fully believe him.

Rhodes had decided to infiltrate the First Prince’s faction on his own accord after all. The First Prince’s faction would inevitably watch him with suspicion.

Nevertheless, she had no choice but to trust him. Even if he may eventually need to be rescued, the fact was that he had succeeded in infiltrating the enemy.

「I’ll do my best to keep in contact with you, pretending it’s a coincidence. Even if I can’t, feel free to pass information along to those who have this.」

Saying that, she showed Rhodes a dagger hidden in one of her pockets, being careful that only Rhodes could see it.

The dagger had a very distinctive carving on its sheath, so there was no way that someone unrelated would happen to have one.

「Understood. ……Please tell my father and mother that I’m sorry for worrying them.」

「Got it. ……Well, you’ll definitely be scolded once this matter is over, so I’d suggest you to be prepared for that.」

With those words, Keuken bowed to Rhodes in a manner that everyone could see before leaving.

 

 

As Rei was heading back to his waiting room after his match against Yuitl, a female soldier suddenly approached him.

(A soldier? Did something happen?)

Rei wondered if some sort of trouble had occurred, but the female soldier just continued walking over without any change in expression even after seeing Rei.

They continued to get closer……until they were just several steps away from each other. Suddenly, the female soldier dropped a dagger that she had been holding before crouching down to pick it up.

As Rei continued walking, he felt that it had to have been intentional.

Considering the female soldier’s actions, there was a possibility she could be an assassin. He cautiously kept walking until……

He looked at the dagger the female soldier was picking back up with surprise.

The dagger was familiar. It was the same design as the one the person called Keuken, from the Third Prince’s faction, had used as a means of identification on their way to the Imperial Capital.

The female soldier spoke in a voice that only Rei, who still had a surprised expression on his face, could hear.

「This is a report from Rhodes-dono, who had infiltrated the First Prince’s faction. Assassins from Requiem’s Toll are likely lurking in the waiting room, aiming to kill Rei-dono. Please be careful.」

「……What?」

Rei couldn’t help but voice his confusion after hearing her words, but the female soldier seemed to believe that her role had been fulfilled, passing the message to Rei. She stood back up and passed Rei by on the way to the arena.

Rei instinctively tried to call out to her from behind, but after thinking about why she had conveyed the information in such a manner, he decided to search for signs of people nearby.

He could sense the presence of several people, but there was no sign of any murderous intent. Even Rei couldn’t tell if he was been watched.

That said, he could guess that he was probably being watched.

(Anyway, I had expected that Rhodes wouldn’t return to the inn……but I never expected him to join the First Prince’s faction. It’s a surprise in many ways.)

The First Prince’s faction was probably the one that would prove the most troublesome in the upcoming plan to rescue the Third Prince, for which Rei was helping Vihera and Theorem.

Considering all that, Rei could only see Rhodes’ decision as an effective choice, although he did feel annoyed that Rhodes had taken action without telling anyone else.

(There are some idiots who see the trees, but not the forest. And then there are idiots who see the forest, but not the trees. ……Well, in the first place, this is all proceeding mostly under Daska-sama’s discretion, so I guess he isn’t either. Or if he is, it doesn’t matter.)

Although Rei started thinking about that for a moment, he soon decided that he should deal with Requiem’s Toll first.

(If possible, I would have wished they would attack in a wider space than a narrow area……I see, that’s what they were aiming for.)

Even if there was enough space to swing the Death Scythe, a waiting room was still a waiting room. It was impossible to move as freely as on the arena.

Still, Rei decided that it would be better to finish off Requiem’s Toll all at once rather than worrying about when he might be attacked, so he headed to his waiting room, where the enemy would be waiting.

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