「These treats are delicious.」

Elk voiced his admiration as he ate the biscuits that had been prepared alongside the tea.

As one would expect from the castle where the Emperor of the Bestir Empire resided, the tea and biscuits provided were vastly different from the ones that could be found in the city.

「Thank you very much. Then, how about this one?」

It was the maid, who was ordered to serve Daska’s group as they waited in the room, who spoke up.

Although it didn’t have much to do with her own efforts, the maid was still glad to see that they were happy with the hospitality and was relieved to find that they were completely different from what she had heard from the rumours.

Earlier, the fight between the maids over who would be assigned to Daska’s group had been fierce.

Of course, it wasn’t a fight over who wanted to go, but rather who would be forced to go.

After all, Daska’s group had become too famous after the battle on the Selemus Plains.

What’s more, Rei hadn’t just become famous, as rumours spread, they had gradually grown more exaggerated. By the end, he had become a gigantic man who could swing a massive scythe taller than he was, killing 10 soldiers at a time. After killing his enemies, he would then pick up their limbs and tear them to shreds. He had even created a fire whirl that had almost destroyed the entirety of the Empire’s army. ……Such were the rumours that circulated around.

As the maids continued to try an force the role to each other, in the end, the maid present had been chosen to serve Daska’s party by drawing lots.

However, the maid now gave a sigh of relief in her heart.

(What? There’s nothing special about him. Although he’s called Crimson, just looking at him, he seems more like a small and cute girl.)

The maid thought to herself as she saw Rei quietly eat some biscuits next to Elk.

The fear she had held in the beginning had disappeared and she even felt a slight sense of kinship with the guests in front of her.

「Even so, this room is quite luxurious.」

Elk murmured as he ate the biscuits.

Min and Rhodes both nodded at him, as if it were only natural.

「Father, you and Rei are here, not to mention Daska-sama, so there’s no way they could give you a shabby room.」

Rhodes’ was somewhat confused at Elk’s thoughts, but he was half right and half wrong.

It was true that Margrave Rowlocks was an important noble from a neighbouring country……or rather hostile country, so they had prepared a luxurious room that would not inconvenience them.

However, part of the reason was to stop them from coming in contact with any other nobles who might still hold grudges against them from the Spring War.

In a sense, it was to isolate them. The current state of Daska’s group could be described as such.

Of course, Daska himself had noticed this, as did Min, Rhodes, and the two escort knights.

The only two who hadn’t noticed were Elk and Rei, who were casually eating the biscuits available to them.

With regards to the two of them, their individual strength was high enough that they were confident in surviving no matter what, which was why they were so indifferent.

In the somewhat calm atmosphere, Elk, who had just been eating the biscuits, suddenly asked the maid.

「Hey, Miss. When exactly with the fighting tournament start?」

「The fighting tournament? It will start in 10 days.」

「I see. Rhodes, how are your preparations?」

「Of course it’s perfect. I’ll stay in the tournament until the finals and then beat Rei no matter what.」

「……Me?」

Rei, who had been savouring a biscuit that had something similar to walnuts mixed in, was surprised when he heard his name.

However, Rhodes just nodded naturally as he bit into a biscuit like it was Rei.

「You’re right. I certainly don’t think I can beat you at your current level. But nothing is absolute and I’m sure I’ll improve as the tournament progresses.」

「……Just to be clear, you do know that as you improve through the tournament, I will as well, right?」

「That’s……oh, right, I have more room to improve!」

Rhodes shouted out in an attempt to convince himself, but Rei just nodded back without saying anything more.

In fact, regardless of whether or not he had more room to improve than Rei, it was true that Rhodes, was still improving. Participating in the tournament in his current state did hold a high possibility of improving his ability considerably.

「If so, I’m sure that those who bet on Rhodes-sama will win.」

It was the maid who spoke as she listened in?

It was a casual remark, but her heart rate went up for a moment, perhaps because she was caught off guard as Rei looked at her.

「Bets?」

The maid nodded as she tried to ignore her own heartbeat.

「Yes. Every year, bets are made at the tournament. In the preliminary battle royal, you bet on who remains and in the final tournament, you bet on who wins……and so on. It’s one of the reasons why the fighting tournaments are so big and exciting.」

「……Heh.」

Rei smiled as if he had heard something good.

He wasn’t in particular need of money, but it was a festive occasion, so he wanted to enjoy himself to the fullest.

There were also his own grudges against the Bestir Empire, so all things considered, he didn’t think it a bad idea to bet on himself.

「Well, I’m not telling you not to bet, but do it in moderation.」

Looking at Rei’s face, Daska seemed to understand his thoughts as he told Rei not to go too far.

「Eh? Just earlier……everyone, you came to watch the tournament, right?」

The maid, nervously asked after hearing Rhodes, Rei, and Daska’s conversation. But, what she received in return were wry smiles.

「No, that was certainly our plan at first. But, after hearing about the tournament, Rei said that he would like to participate. That’s why I’m planning to get a recommendation for him when I meet with the Prime Minister later. ……Young lady, if you’re going to bet, you should bet on Rei. I’m sure he will advance to at least a significant spot in the final tournament.」

The maid couldn’t help but smile at Daska’s jesting words.

(But, if this kid……Crimson, were to actually participate, wouldn’t his rate be quite low?)

Although the maid thought that, she couldn’t say it out loud due to her position as she tried to pass it off with a smile.

「Daska-sama, I have no intention of losing so easily.」

Perhaps he felt like he was being ignored, Rhodes also directed a strong gaze, not towards Daska……but towards Rei, as he spoke those words.

In the first place, it was his whole reason for participating in the fighting tournament. Even if it wasn’t possible now, he had the determination to surpass Rei during the tournament.

「……Well, do your best.」

Elk, who half understood the reason why his son was so energetic, muttered with a faraway look in his eyes.

He really couldn’t see Rhodes beating Rei, who he hadn’t beaten himself.

However, since this had to do with Rhodes’ first love, Elk honestly felt that it would be better for him to give it his all.

Min seemed to have the same thoughts.

It was her beloved, late blooming, son’s first love.

Although she had her own thoughts regarding the matter, she still believed that he should try his best.

While it couldn’t be called the most peaceful time……as they waited while drinking tea and eating biscuits, there was eventually a sudden knock on the door, which echoed through the room.

「Come in.」

At Daska’s words, the person who entered was who everyone had expected, Ombrel.

「Pardon me. Daska-sama, the Prime Minister is ready, so I will guide you to the meeting room.」

「Understood.」

It’s time.

With those thoughts in mind, Daska stood up and left the room, bringing Rei and Elk with him……before stopping and turning to the maid.

「Miss, the tea and biscuits were delicious.」

「No, I’m glad you liked them.」

The maid bowed deeply as the others expressed their gratitude briefly before leaving the room.

「Well then, I’ll guide you there immediately. As expected, you won’t be having an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, but……」

「Yeah. We don’t plan to act rudely. ……Rei, you understand?」

「Yes.」

Among their current group, Rei was the only person he needed to pay attention to.

As an individual, Daska liked Rei’s blunt attitude.

It was partly due to Rei’s lack of experience when conversing with people in superior positions, but in their current situation, they were representing the Mireana Kingdom and couldn’t afford to act carelessly.

If another war were to break out due to Rei’s words and actions, Daska would definitely be in trouble in various ways.

(However, I don’t think the Empire would make such a choice since their focus should be on recovering the military strength they lost in the Spring War. In fact, what we should be worrying about is when they do recover their military strength. ……Next year, spring should still be fine, but summer is uncertain. Autumn is the harvest season, so even if they take any military action, it will have to be small scale since they can’t bring people in from the countryside and winter is out of the question. In that case, the most likely time will be spring the year after. Well, if everything here goes well, I don’t think there will be a need to worry about any of that.)

While quickly gathering the thoughts in his mind, Daska followed after Ombrel as they walked through the castle’s many hallways.

As expected, when it came to meeting the Prime Minister, it had to be held in a place with strict security. And, when it came to places with strict security in the castle, they were naturally focused near the center of the castle.

In other words……

「Hey, those people……are they from the Mireana Kingdom?」

「Yeah. There’s no doubt, that’s the Axe of the Thunder God.」

「Come to think of it, I was told a representative from the Mireana Kingdom’s Neutral Faction would be coming to this year’s tournament.」

「Representative? Isn’t he the leader of the faction? Well, I know they have similar meanings.」

「Hey, wait a moment! If he’s from the Neutral Faction, then Crimson must be among them, right?」

「That has to be the case. ……But, looking at them, it doesn’t look like he’s with them. Judging by their order, the one leading the way is Margrave Daska? So, since we’re talking about Axe of the Thunder God, which is a family party, they would be the woman with the cane and the warrior? Or is it the little one with the robe?」

「The ones walking at the back are definitely knights from their equipment. Hmm? Then where is Crimson?」

「Hmm, I was told he was a pretty big guy. I don’t think he’s with them?」

「Huh? I heard he wasn’t very big?」

「Woah, wait a moment. He killed a lot of soldiers, right? There’s no way he could do that with a small build. Or what? Speaking of small builds……that child wearing a robe with a deep red colour, you’re not trying to say that are you?」

It was only natural that the people within the castle would come into contact with Daska’s group in the hallways.

They walked through receiving a lot of attention, but as several people had said, very few could tell that Rei was Crimson.

……However, there were still a few.

「Th-……th-that……has to be……a lie?」

「Ah……」

The two women who had run into Rei and the others at such a time could only be described as unlucky.

They wore robes and held staffs, making them look like mages.

In fact, the two of them were both skilled mages.

Of course, they weren’t soldiers, they had just come here to report on a request to some nobles in the castle.

What would happen if two mages……who could see magic power……were to see Rei?

The older mage, with short cut blue hair that went to her shoulders, unconsciously took one step, then two steps back.

The younger mage, who had green, braided hair, sat down on the spot.

The surrounding people looked at the two mages strangely……but the two of them didn’t have the frame of mind to worry about the gazes of others.

If you looked closely, you would see that the two mages were shaking slightly.

However, everyone else seemed more interested in watching Daska’s rumoured group than caring about the strangely acting mages, so they didn’t notice anything.

As Daska’s group walked past them, the two mages tried to hide themselves as if they were herbivores being targeted by carnivores.

The two of them both let out a sigh of relief when the noticed that the hadn’t garnered any attention as Daska’s group passed by.

They didn’t look at their backs as they left. They had no choice as they believed they might attract the other side’s attention if they did that.

「R-Ruriket-san……」

That was all the mage with braided hair managed to say.

The mage with the shorter hair seemed to understand what she wanted to say as she nodded back with a pale face.

The look on their faces made it seem like they would collapse at any moment.

But, they couldn’t collapse here, so they put more effort into their trembling legs.

「A monster like that……why are they in a place like this?」

「Yeah. I-I can’t believe they can move without any problems with that much magic power.」

The two female mages quickly left the castle afterwards as they took care of each other.

Hurrying back to their inn, they prepared to leave the Imperial Capital without taking anything extra with them.

They had originally planned to participate in the fighting tournament, but they chose to leave the Imperial Capital as soon as they could……before leaving the Bestir Empire entirely and heading for another nearby country.

The two of them might have overreacted to Rei’s magic power, but considering the events that would take place in the Bestir Empire afterwards, it was probably the correct choice.

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