「……Noiz, you said?」

When Theorem heard that name, he looked at the person who had given the report in disbelief.

However, his subordinate, who had brought the report from the Imperial Capital, nodded without making any corrections.

His response meant that Noiz the Immovable, the S rank adventurer, had truly entered the fighting tournament.

「I never expected him to show up here……he’s never participated in the fighting tournament before either, so why did he appear this time?」

It was completely unexpected. Theorem muttered out loud with such thoughts in his mind, but then he suddenly felt blood lust coming from nearby……or rather, he felt what would be better called fighting spirit, as he turned to that direction.

Vihera there with a ferocious smile on her face.

With how much she liked to fight, the idea of fighting an S rank adventurer must have been extremely appealing.

「Vihera-sama……you can’t go to the Imperial Capital right now.」

「……I know.」

The few seconds it took Vihera to reply indicated what she had been thinking.

In fact, the expression on her strong willed and beautiful face clearly showed that she was envious of Rei, who was currently participating in the fighting tournament.

(If I had known this, I would have joined the fighting tournament myself.

It was rare for Noiz to reveal himself to the public.

Vihera knew that it could only have something to do with her father, the Emperor. S rank adventurers rarely complied with requests from countries, except in emergency situations, like monster hordes.

The fact that a person of such caliber had showed up to the fighting tournament made it clear what the intention was.

「Rei, huh.」

「Perhaps……no, definitely. Is it because of His Majesty the Emperor’s thoughts? Or is it because Noiz himself is interested in Rei? ……Or is there some other reason.」

「It’s true that some troublesome things might happen.」

「Isn’t that what you want?」

Tilleyle interrupted Vihera and Theorem’s conversation.

However, his expression wasn’t that of a troubled person, but rather a smile that a powerful opponent that could please Vihera had appeared.

Vihera was about to nod at Tilleyle’s words but immediately changed her mind as she shook her head.

She would certainly have been happy if she could have fought Noiz. However, if asked about Noiz’s purpose in appearing in the tournament, there were few possibilities, so it was easy to guess what the reason was.

It was as they had mentioned earlier, for Rei.

「I guess it would have been better if I had participated in the fighting tournament.」

Theorem gave a bitter smile at Vihera’s words.

If Vihera had participated in the fighting tournament, she would definitely have been able to garner as much attention as Rei……or even more.

However, right now, it was Noiz who attracted the most attention in the tournament.

If asked whether Vihera’s participation would have been able to draw out Noiz, Vihera herself……as well as Theorem and Tilleyle, who idolised Vihera, couldn’t help but wonder.

After all, Noiz should have known about Vihera for a long time. That said, the reason they might not have had a chance to fight up until now probably had something to do with the fact that Vihera’s father was the emperor.

(As for me, I don’t need my royal status if it means I can enjoy fighting an S rank.)

In the first place, Vihera had run away from the Bestir Empire because she wanted to enjoy more fights. There were naturally many other reasons, but that was definitely the biggest one.

Considering the presence of Noiz though, ultimately, there was no doubt that Rei’s participation in the tournament had been the best choice.

(In addition……)

Vihera smiled as she realised a certain possibility in her mind.

Her smile was surprisingly bewitching, even though it definitely desired blood.

It was a trembling smile at the premonition of battle.

(If we invade the castle to try and rescue that kid while he’s under house arrest, there’s a possibility that Noiz will be on the other side. I have heard that Noiz is close to my father, so that idea isn’t necessarily wrong. And, if that’s the case……there will be an opportunity for me to fight Noiz.)

As Vihera smiled, looking forward to a potential fight, her expression not only drew in the infatuated Tilleyle, but even Theorem, for several seconds.

Vihera didn’t seem to care at all as she continued down her internal train of thoughts.

(Since Rei and Noiz are both in the tournament, I don’t know when it will be, but it is certain they will fight at some point. It will probably be the finals. ……Now then, Rei against Noiz……I wonder if he can beat an S rank adventurer.)

Vihera had mixed feelings inside.

She didn’t want Rei, who she was in love with, to lose. But, she also didn’t want Rei to beat Noiz before she could fight him.

While troubled by such complicated thoughts, she eventually came to the realisation that worrying about it wouldn’t help her.

She then realised an even bigger problem.

……Yes. The fact that Rei and Noiz were going to fight meant that she would have the chance to see it.

But, of course, Vihera couldn’t go to watch the fighting tournament. If her true identity were to be revealed, there was a high chance that everything she worked so hard for up to now would have been in vain.

「……Why am I here?」

「Vihera-sama!?」

At Vihera’s somewhat philosophical question, Theorem could help but shout out.

However, from Vihera’s point of view, it really was a dilemma.

「I want to go to the stadium, but I can’t……maybe a disguise? No, that’s no good either. If Rei and Noiz were to fight, it would probably be in the finals and, by that time, our plan would be in its final stages. ……Or rather, depending on how long it takes us to get into the castle, the battle between Rei and Noiz may end prematurely.」

What a waste. Vihera couldn’t help but want to say that, but she understood what was at stake. It was her brother’s life……and even her own life. Considering that, she wasn’t in a position to be reckless.

「What can I say……I hurts not being able to do both.」

「Vihera-sama?」

When Tilleyle asked Vihera with concern, Vihera seemed to come back to her senses as she shook her had to say it wasn’t a problem.

If she really were to express her honest thoughts here, Tilleyle would probably say it wouldn’t be a problem and it would be fine for her to go to the stadium.

However, no matter how much she loved fighting, she couldn’t be so irresponsible at this time.

Another reason was that she didn’t think she would be able to hold herself back if Rei and Noiz were to fight on the arena.

As a result, she decided to put up with it.

「Anyhow, let’s get ready. The people helping us will be joining soon, right?」

「Yes. We need to be careful aboutt aht. Fortunately, the number of people in every village, town, and city has decreased considerably due to the fighting tournament. People who are willing to cooperate with us will have little chance of being seen as we gather.」

「To be honest, I wished there were fewer guards, but the fighting tournament doesn’t mean that the number of guards will be any less.」

Tilleyle interrupted Theorem’s words as he spoke up.

In fact, around this time of the year, a large number of residents from villages, towns, and cities, would head to the Imperial Capital for the fighting tournament.

The further away they were, the more dangerous the journal would be, so the further away from the capital, the less people that would go.

And for such travelers, they made easy prey for bandits.

With far more residents than usual heading to the Imperial Capital, it was no wonder that bandits would become more restless.

As a result of that, it also led to an increase number of guards, knights, and adventurers who would come out this way in search of work rather than going to the Imperial Capital.

In other words, now that the main part of the fighting tournament had begun, the was a very low chance that travelers would run into the nobles leading soldiers to cooperate with Vihera and her men.

On the other hand, it did mean that they would also be easier to find by those hunting for bandits.

That said, as soldiers led by a noble, even if they were discovered by some guards, the was no danger of being detained like bandits.

「Considering that there are multiple collaborators, we will need to think about how to coordinate with each other. We also have to distribute roles such as managing supplies. We can so something about it but……」

「If anyone makes any strange accusations, I don’t mind it if you turn them over to me.」

「…….Thank you very much.」

Listening in to Theorem and Vihera’s conversation, Tilleyle couldn’t help thinking to himself.

Among those they had gathered as reinforcements, there were bound to be some with unsavoury thoughts. The goals of such people varied widely, but if Vihera found out about it, there was a high chance that it would be the end of them in various ways.

Would it mean the end of their life, their life as a noble……or their life as a man?

(I feel like there will be especially many people in that last category.

Vihera was the epitome of beauty. At least that was what Tilleyle thought. And, even if you didn’t go that far, no one would dispute that she was very beautiful.

Unless they had tendencies towards children or other men, they would definitely be attracted towards Vihera.

For Tilleyle, who idolised Vihera, this was nothing more than a self-evident truth.

And, if they found out about Vihera’s status as a member of the Imperial Family……or if they knew and judged that she had given up her royal status, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t try to pull something funny.

What would happen to such people was ultimately death as a man.

Tilleyle shook his head as he felt a cold chill down his spine.

 

 

「……What, you’ve got to be joking!?」

In a room on the third floor of a bar in the Imperial Capital, Mulla asked the man in front of her while breathing heavily.

Sistoi, who was behind Mulla, didn’t say a word, but he was also half glaring at the man.

However……

「That is correct.」

The man in front of them, who looked to be in his 60’s spoke without any change in his expression.

Both Mulla and Sistoi grit their teeth at that brief reply.

It was because they understood. What the old man in front of them had said had been decided by the organisation and they couldn’t overturn it……at the very least, it was impossible for them.

On the other hand, if they let their anger get the better of them and tried to make a move on the old man, they would definitely die.

It might only look like there were only three of them in the room, but that was just how it seemed.

In the first place, there was no way this old man, who was also the leader of Requiem’s Toll, wouldn’t have at least one bodyguard with him. And, in fact, if you searched carefully, you would find some noticeable signs in the room.

Furthermore, that was only with in the range they could sense, there was still the possibility of people strong enough that they couldn’t sense them.

After all, this bar……or more precisely this place on the third floor was one of Requiem’s Toll’s hideouts.

It wasn’t just any hideout either. From the outside, this bar looked like a two story building.

When the bar was built, the blueprints were cleverly modified, and while it looked like it had two stories from the outside, it was actually a three story building.

In other words, this bar had been built from the beginning as a hideout for Requiem’s Toll, so it was naturally equipped with various tricks.

Still……knowing that, Mulla couldn’t help but speak out.

「But, those kids are still in the middle of training, aren’t they? In terms of ability, they’re not even at half the strength of an adult. Why, why are you throwing them at Crimson? If you want to test his strength, we already know enough and, above all, it would require a certain level of strength to properly test him. If we wanted to do that, not even my dolls are good enough.」

For Mulla and Sistoi, who had grown up in the slums, it was completely unacceptable to use children from the slums as pawns to attack Crimson.

Using children was unacceptable, but it was fine to use dolls……in other words, people that Mulla had brainwashed. This discrepancy in what was acceptable showed that Mulla was still a member of Requiem’s Toll.

「……Mulla.」

Sistoi gently place his hand on the shoulder of his partner, who was almost agitated enough to jump at the old man.

It was because he understood that if they acted violently here, they wouldn’t leave this room alive.

Mulla seemed to come back to her senses at Sistoi’s words. While clicking her tongue in disgust, she stared at the old man, who was just looking back at them without any change in his expression despite the fuss they had made.

「Don’t worry. It’s rumoured that Crimson is generally kind to children. They probably won’t die. Fortunately, they are still in training and don’t know anything about our current situation, so you don’t need to worry about any of our information leaking.」

「-!? ……Yes. I understand. I won’t complain anymore. Sistoi, let’s go!」

Mulla gave a sharp glance towards the old man before leaving the room with Sistoi in tow.

「……You’re young. But quite capable.」

She intentionally ignored the words of the old man that could be faintly heard behind them as they left.

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]