Hearing Pesche’s decision regarding Rei’s participation in the tournament, Daska internally gave a sigh of relief.

Of course, he had already somewhat expected that Rei would be allow to participate.

After all, the name of Crimson was very famous in the Bestir Empire, for better or worse.

If Crimson were to participate in the tournament, he would naturally garner a lot of attention.

In an event like the fighting tournament, it would benefit the Bestir Empire greatly in terms of attention if Rei were to stand out.

Having come to that conclusion, Daska honestly felt that Pesche would probably push for Rei to participate in the tournament, even if it had been his request originally.

No matter what, the name of Crimson would draw more attention to the tournament than ever before. Bets on participants would become more active, and the Empire would make more money as a result.

「So, about the tournament finals……」

Daska interrupted Pesche as he was about to immediately continue……

「No, Rei’s wish is to start from the preliminaries, if that is possible. Is that possible?」

「……From the qualifying rounds, huh?」

Hearing those words, Pesche was at a loss for words.

As the prime minster of the Empire, he would have liked to announce Rei’s participation in the final rounds, which would have attracted much more attention.

When Rei’s desire to participate in the qualifying rounds was expressed, he wasn’t able to give a response immediately.

Following his previous line of thought, this would help in making Crimson stand out. However, the format of the qualifying rounds was a problem.

A battle royale. In other words, dozens of people would be placed into an arena at the same time with the three remaining winners advancing to the final rounds.

In other words, it was easy for a one vs many situation to occur.

Once people found out that Crimson was participating in the qualifiers, the block that Rei participated in would undoubtedly turn into a mess.

That was how much damage Rei had caused to the Bestir Empire.

Of course, the participants were unlikely to die due to the relic of the ancient magical civilisation.

However, its effects were still somewhat limited. In the case of a fatal injury that caused instant death, the relic wouldn’t be able to do anything, even if it were from an ancient magic civilisation.

And, if Crimson was present, there would definitely be someone who would try to kill him in one strike.

Naturally, it only made sense that Rei would respond to such challenges appropriately……

(Well then, why would he want to do that? It’s true that the risks are great, but the benefits are also great.)

A quick calculation of profits and losses was carried out in Pesche’s mind……before his plump face eventually nodded.

「That’s fine. You will be allowed to participate from the qualifying rounds.」

Ultimately, the benefits outweighed the risks, so Rei was allowed to participate in the preliminaries.

Even if something were to happen, it was a fighting tournament, so many skilled people would be present. Of course, there would be those who belonged to the Empire and, above all else……

(Even if someone were to target Crimson or Crimson himself went on a rampage himself……even including Axe of the Thunder God, we will still be able to handle them. He’s hard to use, but he’s also useful in times like this.)

The figure of a man in his 30’s passed through Pesche’s mind.

He was one of only three in the world, let alone the Empire.

Just as conflicting thoughts of bitterness and dependability passed through Pesche’s mind, Daska’s voice brought him back to reality.

「I see, that would be a great help. ……Rei.」

Daska gave a sigh of relief as he turned to look at Rei.

Rei understood his meaning and gave a bow towards Pesche.

「Thank you very much. I am very happy to be able to participate in the pinacle of all tournaments held in the Bestir Empire. ……Also.」

「Yes?」

Is there anything else? It was Daska who replied as Pesche looked at him questioningly.

「Yes. Actually, I apologise for asking again, but the son of Elk, the Axe of the Thunder God, who is also here, would like to participate in the fighting tournament with Rei.」

As Rei stepped back, Rhodes stepped forward and bowed his head.

「……I see. I don’t mind.」

Compared to Rei, Pesche gave his word quite easily, causing Rhodes to grit his teeth slightly.

He understood that the difference in Pesche’s attitude towards him and Rei was due to the difference in impact the had regarding their participation in the tournament.

However, it wasn’t to say that Rhodes was so unaware of his position to speak out here. He returned to his original position, satisfied that he was allowed to participate.

「That said, Crimson and the son of the Axe of the Thunder God. That’s an interesting combination, but……what do you think? Does Axe of the Thunder God also want to join in? Although Crimson’s name has become well known, it only happened this year. In comparison, there are many people who would be interested in Axe of the Thunder God, having heard their name for so long.」

「Haha-, that would certainly be interesting. But then I would have no bodyguards.」

「Oh? That’s not an issue. In case of an emergency, we can send an escort from the Bestir Empire.」

「No, no, naturally I can’t rely on you for protection.」

「Aside from those two, you also have knights guarding you, right?」

「That’s true, but they are no match for Elk.」

They spoke to each other with smiles on their faces, but Daska would never remove Elk and Min from his own escort.

If he were to remove Elk and Min from his escort as well and accept the Bestir Empire’s protection, it would be nothing less than entrusting his life and death to the Bestir Empire.

The guard the Empire could send might be an assassin and, even if they didn’t go that far, they could simply overlook an assassination attempt and interfere with the response of Daska’s knights. That alone would could cause Daska to die and the Neutral Faction in the Mireana Kingdom would lose a lot of power.

Of course it would also be very bad news for the Bestir Empire if a noble from another country was killed under their protection.

However, if they claimed that it was Daska who stopped them from providing sufficient protection, the Mireana Kingdom would have no choice but to back down since they wouldn’t be able to provide any evidence, no matter how suspicious the circumstances.

On the other hand, if Daska died within the Bestir Empire, the Empire would be able to fabricate as much evidence as they wanted.

Naturally, the conflict between the two countries would deepen, but as they had already been enemies for many years, it probably wouldn’t make a difference.

As long as Elk remained at Daska’s side as an escort, none of these matters would be an issue.

There was no way Dask would casually sign his own death warrant.

「Ahem, I see. I myself and the spectators who have come would have wanted to see the power of Axe of the Thunder God in the fighting tournament.」

「I’m sorry, but I’ll leave that for another time. If it’s the next tournament, I’m sure Elk would be happy to demonstrate his skills. In this tournament, Elk’s son will be participating. They are also worthy of attention.」

「……I see. It’s a pity, but it can’t be helped. That said, Crimson will be participating in this tournament.」

Even Pesche must have known that it would be impossible to separate Elk from Daska.

Pulling back, he immediately changed the subject without pushing any further.

「Come to think of it, it seems like there were some unscrupulous people on your way to the Imperial Capital.」

「Unscrupulous?」

Daska was momentarily confused by the sudden change in topic, but quickly realised what was being brought up.

「Oh, now that I think about it, on my way to the Imperial Capital……」

Daska stopped mid sentence as he glance over at Rei.

Because Rei was the direct victim in this case.

Not missing Daska’s glance, Pesche also turned to look at Rei.

「The people of the Bestir Empire have caused trouble for you. Those who committed such a foolish act are currently under strict investigation. They will probably never come back out into the world. At best, they will become criminal slaves and, at worst, they will become mining slaves.」

Most of the people present frowned slightly at Pesche’s words.

However, it wasn’t due to Pesche’s words. Rather, it was probably due to their thoughts regarding Dune, the man who had commited so many crimes.

On that note, within the Bestir Empire, which had many mines, criminal slaves were still superior to mining slaves in terms of treatment.

Mining slaves were forced to do hard labour all day long and, if they did anything wrong, they would be whipped.

Regardless of how much food they were given, the taste of their food was also something that ordinary people would be unable to eat.

Since the Bestir Empire had such a vast territory, there were many criminals and it was easy to obtain a supply of mining slaves. Because of that, mining slaves were forced to do harsh physical labour until they died and, when they died, they would be replaced by the next one.

Dying was the only way to salvation, it was a mechanism designed to benefit the empire, even if only a little, rather than just putting criminal sot death.

In addition, those who knew important national secrets would often have their throats crushed before being turned into mining slaves.

Criminal slaves might be treated harshly, but it was still probably better than being a mining slave.

……However, if a war broke out, they would end up on the front lines as disposable fodder.

While recalling this information, Rei thought of the matter of Dune’s backing.

「Is that okay? That man had the backing of the Second Prince……」

「Rei-!」

Daska’s sharp scolding voice echoed inside the room, cutting off Rei’s words before he could finish them.

The room was filled with silence for a moment, but then Pesche’s laughter rung out, as if to break the silence.

「Hahaha. It certainly seemed like he said that, but……when it came to giving evidence, it seemed like that wasn’t the case at all.」

「……Is that so? I’ve made a rude comment.」

Rei bowed his head and stayed silent.

However, it was for just a moment……yes, just a moment, but he couldn’t forget the sharp gaze Pesche gave him.

(What is the meaning of that gaze? If the Second Prince’s backing was just a bluff as he said, there would be no need to look at me so sharply……which would mean……)

Rei suddenly had a bad feeling in his mind.

He wondered if the man before him was the one truly behind Dune.

That would be why Dune might end up as a mining slave, it was a way of keeping his mouth shut.

(But then, are the Prime Minister and Second Prince fighting each other?)

Since Dune had mentioned the Second Prince, it only made since to think that way.

As Rei thought about that, Pesche asked Rei with a soft smile.

「Is anything the matter? If something is bothering you, please tell me. Adventurers like you can sometimes see things from a completely different perspective than people like me.」

At Pesche’s question, Rei almost shook his head on reflex.

He didn’t know why he did that, but it was a reaction made almost on instinct.

「No, there isn’t……」

After getting that far, Rei judged that it wasn’t any good.

He couldn’t deceive the Prime Minister’s eyes by simply denying it.

Because of that, he continued his half broken sentence.

「It’s just, I was told the Second Prince was backing them.」

「……Hmm, considering what they said to you, it’s fair for you to be concerned.」

Those words seemed to give Pesche some relief. Rei felt the the eeriness in Pesche’s gaze fade away as he gave a sigh of relief.

(I don’t feel any direct combat strength from this man. However, he gives off an eerie oppression that feels completely different. ……I guess as expected of the Bestir Empire’s Prime Minister.)

If he were to use an analogy, it would be the difference between a tactician and a strategist.

In a direct fight, Rei would definitely win, but this man had the ability to prevent a direct fight.

「I apologise, he’s still young. There are times when he doesn’t understand the subtleties of these things, contrary to his abilities.」

It was Daska who broke up the strange atmosphere that had started to build in the room.

Daska didn’t consider Pesche to be just another person either. After all, he was the high ranking prime minster of the Bestir Empire.

Luckily, Pesche quickly got rid of the atmosphere he was giving off, smiled, and shook his head after hearing Daska’s words.

「No, no, it’s good to be young and lively. Well, I have a lot of thoughts regarding that person, but let’s just say it’s nothing you need to worry about.」

Declaring that there was no need for them to interfere, Rei couldn’t say anything more of course, and the topic ended with tacit understanding.

After that, Daska and Pesche continued to probe each other before the meeting eventually came to an end.

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