「I see, he won……huh.」

A voice echoed out inside a viewing room.

The people who heard that voice included the person the room belonged to……namely, the Emperor of the Bestir Empire, Tragist Gnos Bestir, a maid, and the S rank adventurer, Noiz, also known by his title, Immovable.

The reason why there were no other members of the royal family with them was because they were all watching the tournament together with members of their respective factions, or maybe they hadn’t come to the stadium in the first place.

If it were an ordinary event, it would have been considered disrespectful to not show up to an event where the Emperor was present, but the fighting tournament being held right now was more like a festival.

Furthermore, since the main tournament wasn’t something that would finish in a day or two, it would be fine as long as they attended the opening and closing ceremonies, all other days were up to the individual.

……That said, many nobles still came to the arena for scouting purposes and negotiations with other factions among other things.

「He certainly did win. Without using magic and without using the blade of his scythe either.」

「Yes. He’s probably trying to get stronger to fight me. In fact, his technical skills have improved from the first round.」

「Oh? If someone like Immovable says that, it does seem like the adventurer called Crimson has tremendous strength.」

「Of course. I took the trouble to pay attention to him after all. ……In the first place, the Prime Minister had asked me about participating in advance, but unless I met someone that I found interesting, I was going to refuse to participate.」

Those weren’t strong words, but it was still hard to believe they were being directed towards the Emperor of the Bestir Empire, the largest empire on the continent.

If anyone else were here, their eyes would have gone wide.

However, Tragist simply gave an amused smile when he heard Noiz’s words and the made didn’t seem to react at all.

This……this was an S rank adventurer.

The fact that Noiz was allowed to speak to the emperor of a country as an equal made it clear as to how important S rank adventurers were, with only three in the world.

And, the fact that Noiz was present was the reason why there were no other guards in the room where the emperor was.

Tragist had said that he didn’t need any other bodyguards if Noiz was present, which showed that he trusted in Noiz’s ability from the bottom of his heart. At the same time, Noiz indicated from his attitude that as long as he was present, no harm would come to Tragist.

Although this situation was born of a compromise from both sides, it also meant that they recognised each other as friends.

……Although one of them was a bit older than the other.

「I see. Well then, let me ask you a hypothetical question. Do you think that person will stand against the Bestir Empire in the future.」

A hypothetical question. That was what the Emperor said, but the question was an extremely serious one. The Spring War had made it clear that if Crimson were to become their enemy, even if they sent out an army, they would only be wiped out.

In other words, to compete against Crimson, who specialised in wide area annihilation magic, what they needed was quality, not quantity.

They needed someone who had the ability to fight on equal terms against Crimson individually……or as a party.

「I can only say that the possibility is high. When I met him, I didn’t think of him as someone particularly loyal to the Mireana Kingdom. However, if it’s for a job request, he will side with them for the time being. I guess that’s the kind of attitude he has.」

「Then, is it possible to draw him out? If he doesn’t have much attachment to the Mireana Kingdom, then he could join us.」

It was a question that naturally arose after hearing Noiz’s explanation.

However, Noiz himself shook his head slightly at the question.

「It’s just a hunch, but I don’t think he’ll side with us to fight the Mireana Kingdom.」

「Why not? If what you’re saying is true, there shouldn’t be any need to side with them.」

「That’s why I said it’s only a hunch.」

Just a hunch. But that alone was enough reason for Tragist to accept it.

If any other adventurer had told him to trust in their intuition, he would probably have laughed out loud.

However, the person with him was Noiz, and S rank adventurer. The intuition of a person at that level was trustworthy enough.

And, Noiz’s hunch was correct.

It was true that Rei had no particular attachment to the Mireana Kingdom itself. No, in fact, he had quite a lot of bad memories, including quarrels with nobles.

But……still, the possibility of Rei becoming hostile to the Mireana Kingdom itself was extremely low.

There were many reasons for that, but one of the biggest reasons was probably Elena Kerebel. He had also developed a fondness for the first place he had visited, the frontier city of Gilm.

For those reasons, Rei had no real intention to fight against the Mireana Kingdom.

Even though Noiz knew none of this, his ability to instinctively sense things was part of what made him an S rank adventurer……a sort of supernatural ability.

「I see. But in that case, he will only become a hindrance to my future actions. ……Seriously, what a relief it would be if someone like that were to be my successor.」

The emperor whispered to himself as he let out a small sigh.

He knew that his own sons and daughters were currently engaged in a secret battle over the right to the throne.

He wasn’t against it. Rather, Tragist welcomed it.

After all, the Bestir Empire was the strongest country. At least its citizens believed that and acted accordingly.

The Bestir Empire was certainly a powerful country. However, it still wasn’t strong enough to be called the strongest.

That was why those with the goal of becoming the emperor of the Bestir Empire needed to have a matching level of ability.

Tragist himself had also fought behind the scenes against many of his blood relatives in order to become the emperor, so he knew it all too well.

To do that……not only did he have to rely on his own ability, but also the element of luck and the ability of his companions to become the emperor of the Bestir Empire.

In that sense, the adventurer called Crimson, who had already left the arena, held something that touched the heartstrings of Tragist.

If such a person became the emperor of the Bestir Empire, the country would probably soar even higher.

It would allow them to achieve the long cherished desire of the Bestir Empire to acquire sea access, swallow up the Mireana Kingdom, and raise the flag of the Bestir Empire over the whole continent.

Of course, that was just Tragist’s own intuition. However, considering that this was the intuition of a man like Noiz, who rose to become the Emperor of the Empire, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

「Then, why don’t you take him in as your son in law?」

At Noiz’s seeming teasing, Tragist responded with a wry smile.

It was true that it was the most efficient choice. However, if they tried to do something like that, dissatisfaction among the nobles would explode and, in the worst case, it could lead to a civil war.

「It might have been a different story if we hadn’t suffered so much damage on the Selemus Plains.」

「If you ask me, it was because he played such a big role in the Selemus Plains that he was given the title of Crimson. The title has become so well known that even the nobles of the Bestir Empire can no longer ignore it. But, if he hadn’t played such a big role in the Selemus Plains, then I don’t think there would have been such a need to pull him to our side.」

A cup was gently presented to Noiz with a small smile.

Briefly thanking the maid, he reached for the cup.

「Well, as things stand now, it will be difficult to attract Crimson no matter what we offer.」

「……I see. For now.」

As he smiled, Tragist looked meaningfully towards Noiz.

It was true that their relationship with the Mireana Kingdom was bad right now. However, it was also true that this wouldn’t last forever.

As the Emperor of the Bestir Empire, he could never give in to the Mireana Kingdom, but if the other side made some concessions, he wasn’t against showing mercy.

「I don’t know when it will happen, but not now.」

「……Hmph.」

Tragist snorted in a slightly displeased manner at Noiz’s mocking words.

However, the next moment, his lips curved into a slight smile as he spoke.

「Wouldn’t it be better for you to show hostility to Crimson?」

「I won’t deny it. After all, that’s the whole purpose of this farce.」

「Hey, calling it a farce is a bit much, isn’t it? It’s a big event in the Bestir Empire after all.」

Although he seemed to be blaming Noiz in his words, there was a hint of a smile in his voice.

Tragist knew. The S rank adventurer at his side might never show it on his face, but he knew that Noiz was bored out of his mind.

No, rather, it was because he had reached S rank.

He was overwhelming strong and because of that, no one could stand against him. But, as a result of that, he had nothing to do aside from training, which only served to increase his strength even further.

He was a simple minded man in many ways.

(Maybe it would have been a different story if he had an interest in things like alcohol or women……)

Noiz’s stagnant state had only come about because he remained serious about his profession as an adventurer.

It would be a different story if someone else had risen up from below within the empire, but even though there were new A rank adventurers, there were no new S ranks.

To begin with, there were only three S ranks in the whole world. There was no way their number would increase so easily.

That was why……Tragist had such a strong interest in the person they had been discussing, Crimson.

His interest was originally piqued after the Spring War, but now his interest had grown even further.

(Crimson and Immovable. If things continue as they have gone, they will meet in the finals……now then, I wonder what will happen.

Thinking that in his mind, Tragist turned his attention to the next match, which had started before he knew it.

 

 

「Here, your gold.」

As soon as Rei entered the guest room, he received a cloth pouch from Elk.

What was inside, of course, was the bet Rei had placed on himself. ……But, when he recieved it, Rei frowned slightly.

The weight of the bag seemed about the same as when he had asked Elk to bet on him.

「Just to make sure, but I did win, right?」

「Of course. That’s why the odds have changed. ……However, they went lower, partly because of the fame of your title.」

「During the first round, weren’t there a lot of people who bet on my opponent?」

It was true that during the first round, there were many people who hated Crimson and wanted to support his opponent. However, the fact that they had bet on Anasel instead of Rei meant that they naturally lost their bets.

Because of that, it seemed that many people were no longer motivated to do it again, resulting in a low betting multiplier on Rei’s victory.

「I thought my evaluation after the first round was pretty bad.」

「You were being one-sidedly pushed back after all.」

Elk nodded at Rei’s words.

In fact, to the untrained eye, Rei had fought a defensive battle. But, to those with a certain level of skill, it was a completely different story.

There was quite a number of them who considered the skill Rei showed in the first round to be a threat and the news spread from them, resulting in the weight of gold in the pouch in Rei’s hands.

「Hmm. I can’t be helped huh.」

Letting out a small sight, Rei stored away the pouch into the Misty Ring.

A noble that happened to see Rei had his eyes go wide in astonishment.

It seemed like they were a noble who had only come to the guest room for the first time. Ignoring them, Rei turned his attention to the match playing out on the arena.

There, a woman in her 20s was fighting with a club, a very rare weapon in this world, overwhelming an older man with a long sword.

「Normally, I would have gone for a spear rather than something like a club.」

Rei turned to Elk as he heard his murmurs.

「Is it a style of combat that aims to capture their opponent rather than kill them?」

「In that case, she might be a guard or something similar.」

As the two of them conversed, the scene before them played out fantastically.

The woman’s club was made of some sort of flexible material and with just a flick of the wrist, its trajectory would change as it struck her opponent over and over again.

Because it was a club……and because it had no blades, the man didn’t seem to take any serious injuries. However, the damage still built up as he took the hits one-sidely.

In the end, the woman’s attack continued without pause and the match ended in what could be called a complete victory.

「……If my son keeps winning, he’ll probably fight that woman……I hope he doesn’t develop any strange hobbies.」

Elk’s words made a deep impression on Rei.

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