Inside a room of a mansion in the Imperial Capital. A man and a women were discussing their future plans.

「Well, for now, our target has started walking around outside, it seems like he’s let his guard down a lot……」

「That’s right. If you were just looking from the outside, it really would look like he’s let his guard down.」

Mulla and Sistoi, members of Requiem’s Toll, exchanged meaningful glances with each other.

After attacking Daska’s party previously, they had followed them all the way to the Imperial Capital, where they were preparing to thrust their fangs into their prey.

「It seems like other organisations are also thinking of attacking them because they fell more relaxed, but……what do you think?」

「It’s true that after the qualifying rounds of a fighting tournament, you’d normally feel a little lethargic before the main tournament, so it’s not surprising for people to target them.」

The look on Sistoi’s face as he spoke indicated that he didn’t have the same thoughts.

Looking at her partner, Mulla popped a bite sized fruit into her mouth.

A soft sweetness and slight sour astringency. She spoke as she smiled at the addictive taste.

「You don’t like the current situation?」

「Yeah. Even if we attack him now, we probably won’t be able to beat him. I don’t know what the reason is, but I’m sure he’s made preparations. Especially after he went out yesterday, he’s become a lot more sensitive to any signs. ……He was probably attacked yesterday after we lost track of him.」

「Didn’t he disappear with someone we didn’t recognise? That guy was probably part of some organisation.」

Mulla sighed, thinking that someone had done something necessary.

Whether it was Mulla or Sistoi, neither of them could have ever imagined that Rei had run into Noiz in disguise, the Bestir Empire’s only S rank adventurer.

Due to running into someone he judged difficult to defeat, Rei’s presence had become much sharper as a result.

As with the previous day, they had received a report from an observer that Rei had left the inn again.

Thinking about it normally, you could assume that Rei was just excited about reaching the main tournament.

However……to Sistoi, it seemed like Rei was using himself as a decoy to attract his enemies.

Attracting danger to find prey to sharpen his fangs against.

Now that Crimson’s true appearance was revealed, there were well over a dozen people aiming to kill him.

Of course, not all of them were part of organisations like themselves, there were also a few working as individuals.

To Rei, the idea of using those he considered nothing more than a nuisance to train himself was like killing two birds with one stone.

「……Then, what should we do? We haven’t heard any more from above, but the client is probably pestering us, right?」

Requiem’s Toll trusted Mulla and Sistoi as they had almost never failed.

So there had to be some reason they hadn’t be contacted.

In fact, they had been asked to take action because of their track record. But, looking at the numerous other organisations and individuals around them who were also targeting Rei, there was no doubt that the client was anxious and wanted to kill Crimson as soon as possible.

「Yes, but I don’t want to take too many risks when dealing with Crimson. The fighting tournament is perfect in the sense that we can gauge his strength as he consumes it. We don’t have to use any of our puppets either, so I think the situation is actually advantageous for us.」

「Still, I’m sure the client isn’t too keen on the idea. The thought of Crimson, their hated enemy, being killed by others is……」

Sistoi reached out to Mulla’s plate and popped a couple of fruits into his mouth.

「Hey, wait, those are mine.」

「Just a few is fine.」

「……It can’t be helped. Anyway, why are they in such a hurry? If Crimson is going to die anyway, then does it matter who he dies to?」

Mulla voice her protest to Sistoi while looking at him with resentment.

Sistoi smiled at Mulla’s expression as he gave up on stealing any more fruit and spoke up.

「There must be some meaning behind having the people they hired kill Crimson. If someone from another organisation were to get ahead of them, it would mean they weren’t capable of taking revenge on their own. It’s a big deal.」

「It doesn’t matter to me as long as he dies.」

Mull looked out the window of her room with a melancholy look in her eyes.

As part of Requiem’s Toll, infamous as one of the top underground organisations, Mulla was confident in her own skills and the skills of her partner, Sistoi.

However, if someone other than them were to kill Crimson, they would still be over the moon.

They had seen Crimson’s skills several times. She didn’t think she would lose if she fought alongside Sistoi, but she had to face the facts that Crimson was highly skilled.

She had gone to watch the qualifying rounds just to be sure, but the fire magic he had displayed was so powerful that even she couldn’t help being surprised.

It was true that the magic was quite weak due to the rules, but she was still able to see what kind of magic Crimson had used.

A magic that caused a fireball to explode into countless smaller fireballs.

And another magic that caused a large number of flaming arrows to shoot out, wiping out the surroundings.

Both attacks covered a wide area, but that was probably due to the environment of the fighting tournament’s qualifying rounds.

That said, Crimson’s name had become famous after he created the fire whirl. In other words, she could guess that he was probably very good at area of effect magic.

「Well, let’s just say we’ve learnt a bit more about what he can do, so that’s a good thing. And……」

Mulla turned to look, not at the fruit on the table……but at a leather pouch.

The fruit that Mulla had been eating was a luxury item in the Imperial Capital, it couldn’t be bought with the money they usually earned……even if they did have some savings prepared.

The reason why they were able to buy the fruit was because there were gold and silver coins in the leather pouch.

Where had they gotten those gold and silver coins? It was prize money they had won by betting on Crimson……no, Rei, in the qualifying rounds.

Yes. While watching the qualifying rounds, Mulla had bet on Rei, knowing that it was a match he was sure to win.

Of course, she hadn’t gambled a lot of money like Rei and Daska’s group had.

If she had gone that far, Daska’s group might have noticed, so she had just bet what an ordinary person would bet.

However, just from that single bet on Rei, the returns were quite significant.

The result was, of course, the fruit sitting on the plate in front of Mulla and the leather pouch close by.

「He did make us some profit. Considering that, let’s not touch him for now. It will be a good thing if others whittle down his strength in our place.」

「……What if someone else gets to Crimson or Margrave Rowlocks first?」

「That’s impossible, right? ……Well, if that happens, it’s still fine. No matter what the client says, all that needs to happen is the deaths of Crimson and Margrave Rowlocks.」

Mulla spoke with a smile as she reached out for another fruit.

 

 

「Hey, where are you going?」

Luzi, carrying his claymore, asked Rei as they walked through the city.

Next to him were Vaycul and Mosst, the other members of Wind Dragon’s Fang in Luzi’s party.

Rhodes was following behind them with a somewhat dumbfounded expression on his face.

As a group that was made up of what could be considered Rei’s disciples, they stood out in their own way.

Rei himself might not have been recognised due to the hood of his Dragon Robe covering his face, but looking at the others, it was clear that they were all people who had made it through the qualifying rounds of the fighting tournament.

Since he was with such people, it was obvious to the city’s residents that the unidentified person wearing a hood, Rei, was also somehow related.

「Hey, aren’t they……」

「Yeah. They’re all participants in the final rounds of the fighting tournament. ……Hm? I don’t recognise the one in the robe though.」

「Since they are with those guys, I’m pretty sure he’s also a contestant in the final rounds……but was there someone like him?」

「Wasn’t there one in block G?」

「No, there was someone with a robe, who made it out, but he was quite tall.」

「Hmmm……if that’s the case……」

「……Eh? Huh?」

「Hm? What’s wrong? Did you remember something?」

「No, as far as I remember, contestants in the final rounds who are that small……no, I’m sure it’s just my imagination. Yeah, I’m definitely just overthinking things.」

Because it was the time of the year where many people with knowledge on the fighting tournament gathered, some had already begun to realise Rei’s true identity.

Hearing such voices from under his hood, Rei frowned slightly as he passed them by.

If his true identity was found out here, he would definitely be dragged into a commotion.

But, with a group of people fighting in the final rounds of the fighting tournament, there was no way they wouldn’t continue to attract attention until they reached their destination.

 

 

「Here.」

「Here?」

The place they arrived at while receiving constant attention was at the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

It was located near the castle wall and there were barely any people around.

Of course, it wasn’t completely deserted, but compared to when they were walking around the city, there were far fewer people looking at them.

The location seemed to have once been home to a large building. However, the building was long gone and pampas grass grew around, indicating the autumn season.

「People will use various means to train, whether for the qualifying rounds or for the main tournament. And, there will be those who will try to analyse our fighting methods based on that. To prevent that, I found out about this place from others at the inn.」

Hearing Rei’s words, everyone seemed satisfied.

The upcoming final rounds of the fighting tournament would be in an elimination round format. In other words, unlike the battle royale format of the qualifying rounds, you could focus on gathering information about your opponents in advance.

Information was power. That didn’t change on Earth or Elgin.

「That was why I decided to train here. ……Well, there’s no guarantee that we won’t run into each other, so if you have a technique you’d like to keep a secret, it’s best not to use it here.」

「Hmmm, that’s surprising. Does that inn take care of even things like this?」

Luzi, who had been listening to Rei’s words, asked as everyone else nodded.

「They’re not called the best inn in the Imperial Capital for nothing. Personally, I’m grateful that they’ve prepared a place like this for us.」

Normally, when you thought of a place with barely any people, the first place that would come to mind would be close to the slums. However, this place wasn’t close to the slums and also didn’t have too many people around either.

「Now then, let’s start training. ……I’m sorry, but I feel like training a little more seriously today.」

「Woah.」

It was Luzi who let out a despondent voice at Rei’s words.

Perhaps because he was the most promising member of Wind Dragon’s Fang, he often accompanied Rei for training.

But, after being told that the training would be more serious than usual, the frightening idea that he might drop out due to fatigue before the main tournament ran through his mind.

「Why are you so motivated all of a sudden?」

Mosst asked Rei, not because he was feeling pity for what his leader was about to go through……but out of pure curiosity.

To Mosst, the more Luzi trained with Rei, the stronger he and Wind Dragon’s Fang would be, not just for the fighting tournament but also any future requests, so he had no intention of complaining.

Honestly, he wanted Rei to train Luzi more.

Hearing Mosst’s question, the others also turned to look at Rei similarly.

「That’s right……to put things simply……it’s because a wall appeared.」

Rei spoke without giving any additional information.

The figure of Noiz, the S rank adventurer and only one of supposedly three in the world, passed through his mind.

It wasn’t like they had fought directly. They had just talked. Despite that, he had been the one filled with chills and fear.

If he ahd to fight against someone like that……would he be able to win? Even though he asked himself those questions, there was a part of him that thought he would never win.

That was why……he needed to increase his strength now, even if only by a bit, in preparation for an emergency situation.

If Vihera and the others took action, the role of stopping Noiz might fall to him.

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