A massive crowd had already gathered at the location where the duel was scheduled to take place.

The majority were, as expected, residents of Gilm, ordinary citizens.

There were also many adventurers who wanted to see Rei’s strength with their own eyes.

While Rei had become famous in Gilm as an someone that should not be touched, there were by no means many people who had actually seen his true strength.

The event where the largest number of people had been able to see Rei’s strength with their own eyes was undoubtedly the Spring War.

However, there were many who couldn’t or didn’t participate in that war, and the number of adventurers who arrived in Gilm after the war ended was by no means small either.

Of course, after hearing stories from fellow adventurers, they understood that Rei’s strength wasn’t just talk, and that it wasn’t a case of merely exaggerated rumours spreading out of proportion.

Even so, for those who still wanted to see Rei’s strength with their own eyes, it could be said that this festival centred around a duel was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

While they would absolutely refuse to fight Rei themselves, if it was watching someone else fight him……

Furthermore, adventurers aside, from the perspective of merchants and ordinary citizens, this fight was nothing more than good entertainment.

For those who had suffered from Keep’s trouble making, such as picking fights at their shops to take their goods, it was only natural that their voices carried extra passion as they cheered for Rei.

Apart from those ordinary citizens, the nobles were also paying attention to this duel.

……Though for the nobles of the Royalist Faction, their feelings were mostly wondering how this had even happened in the first place.

Unlike Keep, who had arrived in Gilm right before winter, most nobles had been living in Gilm for several years, and in the case of those who had been there longer, over a decade.

Because of that, they naturally took care to collect information properly.

Rei’s strength, as someone who was quite cooperative with Daska of the Neutral Faction, could be considered top priority information to gather.

Because of that, there were also many who viewed the Earl Eliel family’s path to ruin as an absolute certainty.

「Hey, look. There are a lot of knights.」

「Yeah. ……It’s probably in preparation to prevent Keep-sama from recklessly lashing out when he loses the duel.」

「Fighting Rei and handing over half his family assets if he loses. ……What was Keep-sama thinking, agreeing to a duel with conditions like that?」

「And on top of that, the cause was apparently because he tried to take a maid serving the Baron Cisne family.」

「The Earl Eliel family must be in a complete panic right about now? It wouldn’t even be surprising if he got disinherited.」

「True. They probably never imagined that legal processing would be carried out in the presence of Margrave Rowlocks. With everything lined up like this, no matter what the Earl Eliel family says, there’s nothing they can do.」

「As a member of the Aristocratic Faction, the Royalist Faction losing power is something to be welcomed, though.」

「……Is that so? A house like the Earl Eliel family collapsing means that a diseased spot within the Royalist Faction is being eliminated. In other words, doesn’t that mean the Royalist Faction actually becomes healthier as a result?」

「Don’t tell me……did they send Keep-sama to Gilm for that?」

「Driving a wedge into the Neutral Faction while pitting their own nuisance against them to crush each other? Indeed, if that happened, no matter which side crumbled……」

「No way, it must be a coincidence, right? Surely reading that far ahead is impossible.」

「I don’t know who drew up this plan, but even that person probably never imagined he would end up clashing with Crimson.」

Members of the Royalist Faction, Neutral Faction, and Aristocratic Faction exchanged words with each other.

In the midst of that, guided as if by the sunlight pouring down from the sky, the main characters eventually made their appearance.

The first to appear was Rei.

As usual, he wore his Dragon Robe, held the Death Scythe that was larger than his own height in his hand, and was accompanied by Set the Griffon at his side, with Mouet, Baslero, Ashie, and the other members of the Baron Cisne family following behind them.

Appearing from the opposite side was a person unfamiliar to Rei.

He wore metal armour and held a halberd in his hand.

Considering purely physical size, he was a man a head taller than Rei……no, even taller than that.

Compared to Rei, his physique was wrapped in muscle, and as he stood before Rei, the sight looked literally like an adult standing before a child.

In the hand opposite the one holding the halberd, he gripped a metal helmet, allowing others to see the man’s intimidating expression.

「H-Hey……who is that guy? Was there an adventurer like that in Gilm?」

One of the adventurers who had come to watch the duel called out to his acquaintances nearby upon seeing the opponent.

He was a man who had been active in Gilm for several years, but he had absolutely no recollection of the person standing in front of Rei.

Of course, he didn’t know every single adventurer in Gilm, and being on the frontier, the turnover of adventurers was high. Even so, if it was a conspicuous individual, it wouldn’t be unusual to know their name or face.

The nobles also whispered among themselves about who the person put forward by the Earl Eliel family side was, but no one knew his name or face.

Those possessing skills above a certain level understood that the man was a fairly skilled combatant, regardless of whether they were adventurers or nobles.

Walking behind that man were Keep, Furtos, and three accompanying knights.

In the few days leading up to the duel, they had learned what kind of person Rei was, and in an attempt to prevent Rei from appearing at the dueling arena, they had raided the Baron Cisne residence targeting Mouet, and had even tried to bribe Rei to bring him over to their side.

However, all of those attempts failed……and in the end, they were dragged out to the dueling arena like this.

「Hey, Furtos. Is that man really going to be fine? He certainly looks superior compared to our opponent, though.」

Keep could not completely hide his anxious expression as he spoke to Furtos beside him.

「It will be fine. That man is a fairly famous B rank adventurer in Abuero. Even if Rei is a titled adventurer, if they are both B rank…… Besides, I believe I mentioned our trump card for an emergency.」

Furtos answered Keep with a confident expression, but his true feelings could only be described as helplessness.

For now, he managed to avoid letting it show on his face, but even he didn’t know how long that would last.

(In the first place, even as B rank adventurers, the achievements they’ve built up until now are far too different. The opponent is someone who destroyed an entire army single-handed, you know? It’s true that the man named Zeros is strong, being a B rank adventurer. But I don’t think he can defeat Rei. If so, if our trump card works out nicely, then great. Even if it fails……)

Glancing at Keep, who wore an anxious expression, he swallowed quietly.

(If there’s a clear responsible party, even if I disappear, it will take time before pursuers are sent after me. There might even be a possibility that they won’t send pursuers at all. In that case, before pursuers come from the Earl Eliel family, I can go to another country…… Fortunately, thanks to Keep-sama, I have plenty of funds.)

While Furtos was thinking in his mind about escaping even at the cost of sacrificing Keep if worst came to worst, Zeros, who was standing opposite Rei, spoke out.

「So you’re Rei, huh. It’s true that based solely on appearances, you don’t look very strong. But that large scythe isn’t just for show either, right?」

Zeros spoke like that, but there was not a trace of carelessness in his eyes as he looked at Rei.

His face showed that he clearly recognised Rei as a foe stronger than himself.

Even so, a ferocious smile rested on Zeros’s face.

From his fierce expression, describing it as villainous would not be wrong either.

「……I see, I wondered what kind of opponent they would prepare, but to think they’d prepare a battle maniac like you. If there was someone like you around, it wouldn’t be strange for me to hear rumours about it. You’re not an adventurer from Gilm, are you?」

「Correct. I’m an adventurer from Abuero. Zeros, a B rank adventurer.」

Rei wore an understanding expression at those words.

However, there was still no carelessness in his eyes as he looked at his opponent.

Holding the Death Scythe, Rei continued speaking, glancing out of the corner of his eye as Daska, who served as the witness for this duel, approached.

「Since you’re participating in this duel, you’re naturally prepared to die. I can assume that, right?」

「Hah. Prepared to die……prepared to die, huh. It’s true I can tell you’re strong just standing opposite you like this. But even so, who decided that the one winning would be you? I’m someone who climbed my way up by defeating many opponents stronger than myself. I have no intention of losing in a place like this!」

Along with that shout, Zeros swung his halberd wildly.

The strike, which seemed as though it would shatter the wind itself, possessed skill that even Rei could acknowledge as worthy of B rank.

「When I first heard the story from that noble, I thought about crushing his head with this halberd, but when I listened closely, wasn’t it a chance to fight the adventurer with the title Crimson? I’ve never wanted to praise my own patience as much as I did then.」

「……No, you’re not patient at all.」

Rei couldn’t help but mutter at Zeros’s words.

Hearing Rei’s words, Daska, who had come over, spoke with a small smile.

「Now then, we shall begin the duel? The outcome of the match will be decided when either side surrenders, or becomes incapacitated. If Rei wins this duel, half of the Earl Eliel family’s property will belong to the Baron Cisne family, and if Zeros wins, the custody of Ashie, the maid of the Baron Cisne family, will belong to Keep-sama. Do either of you have objections?」

At Daska’s words, Mouet and Keep each nodded.

「Hah, to think you can’t get a woman without resorting to brute force, there’s nothing more unsightly than that!」

A voice that rang out from out of nowhere at that exact moment wrapped the dueling arena in laughter a split second later.

「W-Who was that just now! Step forward!」

Keep, who had been made a laughing stock by the people gathered here, shouted loudly, partly due to the anxiety he had been feeling until a moment ago.

However, as for the voice that had come from within the crowd, it was impossible to identify who had spoken it.

「Hey, Freon. Don’t shout out like that. It’s going to ruin the taste of this fine alcohol, you know?」

As he took a sip of the alcohol in his wooden cup, Brazos spoke to his partner Freon.

Since they had blended into the crowd, almost no one other than those nearby would realise that the shout just now was Freon’s doing, but he grumbled with dissatisfaction that if this prolonged the duel, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy his alcohol.

「Shut up. Seriously, what is up with that guy Keep anyway? Causing such a huge commotion just to woo a woman. If he’s a man, he should try wooing her with his own charm without using his parents’ money or power. ……Though I suppose he’s causing a commotion like this because he has no confidence in his own charm.」

At Freon’s words, the people nearby, regardless of gender, nodded with expressions of agreement.

The ones wearing slightly displeased expressions were likely those who had experienced wooing women or men with something other than their own charm in the past.

If these words had been spoken in a place where nobles were present, it might have caused various problems.

Fortunately, where Freon and Brazos were standing was a place where commoners gathered to watch the duel, so it didn’t become a problem.

……Though whether it was a problem and whether it was heard or not was a separate matter.

「Quiet! Keep-sama, please return to your place.」

「Margrave Rowlocks! Do you intend to leave someone who insulted me alone!?」

「……Keep-sama, if you do not return, I shall judge that Keep-sama intends to fight the duel yourself, understood?」

「Grrr……」

At Daska’s words, Keep grunted resentfully, but returned to his original spot.

That was because he felt strongly that if he ended up fighting Rei, he would literally be killed using the duel as a pretext.

Considering the coldness of the gaze Rei directed at him, it was by no means something that could be brushed off as paranoia.

(Damn it, you Gilm wretches……all of you making a fool of me. Just you wait, once this duel is over, I’ll make you regret that attitude!)

While trying not to let his internal rage show on his face, Keep returned to his spot and fell silent.

Then again, Keep was not accustomed to suppressing his own emotions in the first place.

It was simply impossible to think he was suppressing his anger from an onlooker’s perspective.

The escorting knights desperately looked for words to soothe their master’s mood, but since it was blatantly obvious that they would be blamed if they said anything careless right now, they didn’t dare to speak up.

Normally, Furtos would smooth things over in times like this, but Furtos currently showed no signs of saying anything either.

The knights exchanged glances with each other, asking each other what to do, but before they could actually prompt Furtos into action, things began to happen.

「Now then, are you both ready?」

At those words, Rei readied his Death Scythe, Zeros readied his halberd, and they faced each other……

「We shall now hold the duel between the Cisne family and the Eliel family. ……Begin!」

The moment Daska swung his hand dramatically, the surrounding spectators raised their respective cheers.

Simultaneously, Rei and Zeros stepped forward with their weapons in hand, moving to close the distance between each other.

A faint smile rested on Rei’s face, while a ferocious smile rested on Zeros’s face, reflecting their respective states of mind better than anything else could.

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