「Heh……so the skewer stall owners from back then were assassins?」

「Yeah. Well, I don’t know if they were skewer stall owners working as assassins or if they were assassins working at a skewer stall, but they were definitely strong.」

At the dining area of the Eternal Sky Pavilion, Rei was eating with the three members of Wind Dragon Fang while discussing the attack on him earlier that day.

Usually, Rhodes would be here as well, but he probably didn’t want to eat with them considering his fight against Rei would be the next day. Rei had invited Rhodes, but he had refused to join.

That said, although Rei didn’t understand Rhodes feelings, he didn’t push any further.

「You know, that skewer stall. They made very delicious skewers, if they had just run a stall instead of being assassins, they could probably have spent the rest of their days without any danger.」

「You might be right Vaycul, but aren’t you the same? If you had become the guard of the noble who invited you previously, unlike an adventurer, your income and daily life would have been a lot more stable.」

At Mosst’s words, Vaycul shook her head.

「As for me, I only hope to have a little stimulation in my daily life. For that, it’s more fun to team up with you guys and live as adventurers on a day to day basis.」

「Then, don’t you think both you and the stall owners are similar?」

Vaycul couldn’t help but frown at Mosst’s words as he reached for some dried meat.

She probably didn’t want adventurers and assassins to be grouped together.

「Well, don’t be too concerned about it. There’s nothing to be gained from arguing about our enemy……rather, I actually have something to ask Rei about. So, about my next opponent. So……」

Luzi seemed reluctant to speak. However, Rei somehow understood what he wanted to ask.

However, even knowing that, Rei shook his head.

「If you’re asking me how to fight him, I’m sorry, but I don’t know either. In the first place, I don’t even know if I can beat Noiz right now if I fight him head on……it will be quite the struggle.」

It was Rei’s competitive nature that made him say that he would struggle instead of lose.

That said, Luzi seemed to have expected Rei’s response as he nodded back without any regret.

「I see, so it’s difficult, even for Rei. In that case, I guess I have no choice but to do what I can to the best of my ability.」

「That’s a good attitude to have.」

Vaycul spoke to Luzi with a somewhat surprised expression.

Vaycul didn’t think that Luzi could beat Noiz. That said, it seemed like Luzi wasn’t too worried, because he was now treating it as a training experience.

Another good thing was that even if he sustained serious injuries, they would heal as soon as he left the arena.

Considering that, Luzi’s fight against Noiz would definitely lead to an overall increase in Wind Dragon Fang’s power.

Of course, if he were to speak honestly, Luzi felt uncomfortable assuming that he would lose.

「Whether I win or lose, as long as I can demonstrate my abilities, isn’t that enough?」

「……Well, we’ll leave it at that. Now then, Rei also has his match against Rhodes tomorrow. Shouldn’t you rest up? I would say you should be tired after all the things that happened to you today……but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Still, it’s better to stay in good physical condition.」

Luzi said that after seeing that there weren’t that many people in the dining area any more.

Although he felt like he hadn’t had quite enough to eat, Rei obediently nodded at Luzi’s words as he got up from his seat.

 

 

Rhodes looked up at the night sky from the window of the room given to Axe of the Thunder God. The stars that twinkled in the night sky seemed more beautiful than usual, probably due to the clear skies.

Maybe it was because it was autumn, but as he turned his gaze to the moon, which seemed bigger than usual……he suddenly thought of the next day’s match.

Rei’s relationship with Rhodes and Axe of the Thunder God……had started quite a while back.

The first time they had met had been to discuss the attack on an Orc settlement and their first meeting could only be described as the worst.

However, after seeing Rei defeat countless Orcs during the attack and hearing that he had defeated the Orc King, a B rank monster, he had no choice but to acknowledge his abillities, regardless of his personality.

After that, they had met on several other occasions up to the point Rei eventually became known as Crimson.

(He……probably holds the record for the shortest period of time from registering with the guild to earning a title. Tomorrow’s battle will be against that Rei.)

The moment Rhodes thought of that, his hands shook.

He tried to tell himself that it was because he was ready to fight, but Rhodes knew that his shaking was due to his fear of Rei.

He knew that. ……He knew that.

「Damn it!」

He spoke to himself as he clenched his fists to try to hide it.

Even so, the shaking never stopped.

It had been over a year since he had met Rei. During that time, they hadn’t always worked together. Still……or maybe because of that, the times Rei fought were strongly imprinted in his mind.

Rei had immense magic power that even his mother, who was a top class mage, was afraid when she first saw him. He had numerous magic items including the Death Scythe, and his physical strength was even higher than that of Elk.

If he were to list Rei’s abilities, it made him want to call Rei a monster.

Adding that to Rei’s combat sense, which was able to make the most use out of his ability, Rhodes couldn’t imagine a future where he could win, no matter how hard he tried.

「……Damn it!」

His curse was somewhat different from the one he had uttered a few seconds earlier, he seemed to have lost all his momentum.

Although he had thought about and said many times that he would beat Rei, the day before the match, he felt fear……no, awe.

He felt so pathetic that he wanted to slam his fist against the wall near the window……but a hand suddenly reached out and hel him back.

「Hey, what’s wrong? This doesn’t seem like you?」

The person who had caught Rhodes’ hand looked like a mischievous kid who had grown into an adult.

「Dad……」

It was Elk, Rhodes’ father and the leader of Axe of the Thunder God. He was also an A rank adventurer who’s title was Axe of the Thunder God, the namesake of his party.

There was a hit of teasing in his expression.

However, if Rhodes had been more observant, he would have seen the hint of worry in his gaze.

「You can’t just go about hitting the building. ……Well, it’s not like I don’t understand why you’re so worried. It’s that, isn’t it? Tomorrow match against Rei.」

「……」

Elk’s words hit the nail on the head, so Rhodes had no response.

Seeing his son’s reaction, Elk spoke with a grin.

「Hey, Rhodes. Do you you think you can beat me?」

Rhodes was taken aback by the sudden question, but immediately shook his head.

In terms of pure combat power, Rhodes knew how strong Elk was due to the amount of time they had spent together.

If asked whether he could beat his father, he could only say no, although it was hard for him to say it.

「Well, that’s true. I can’t afford to lose to you so soon. But, think about that, okay? Rei has beaten me, right? In other words, he’s stronger than me. Do you think you can beat Rei, who is stronger than me?」

「……」

There was no reply.

That was enough to expression the feelings Rhodes wasn’t willing to admit.

Is it impossible? Rhodes thought that in his mind, but then Elk spoke to him again.

「But……are you going to give up just because he’s stronger than you? In that case, stop being an adventurer. If you’re doing this job, it’s not uncommon to have to fight someone stronger than you. ……I’ve fought against opponents stronger than myself many times in teh past to get to where I am now.」

「……Dad.」

Seeing Rhodes’ shocked expression, Elk gave a nasty smile.

「Besides, it’s your first love, right?」

「……What-!?」

Rhodes couldn’t help but cry out at his father’s words.

「Wh-Wh-WhaWhaWha……」

「Hmm, what? Did you not expect me to know? Anyone would notice if you stared at Vihera so blatantly.」

The only two people who probably hadn’t realised were Rhodes himself and Rei. Thinking like that, Elk sighed internally as he realised that both parties involved in the matter were unaware themselves, complicating the matter greatly.

「Well, your first love often doesn’t work out, that is true. But, that doesn’t mean you should give up, right?」

「……That is……」

「Of course, in my case, my first love worked out. That’s why you were born after all.」

「Dad.」

「Well, that’s exactly why. Don’t just sit around here and use your full strength against Rei tomorrow. Putting aside your first love and all, you are an adventurer fighting someone as strong as Rei. It will definitely help you move forward as a professional.」

The reason Elk grumbled so somberly was because Rhodes didn’t have much experience fighting against strong enemies.

That was partly due to the fact that Elk was usually nearby. It could also be due to his good luck……or bad luck depending on how you looked at it.

「Anyhow. You’re the son of me and Min. Show that in front of everyone tomorrow. Make me and Min proud. The one fighting Crimson is our pride. Our son.」

「Yeah. ……Yeah!」

Rhodes nodded in response to Elk, who seemed somewhat embarrassed.

The adventurer who had been scared to deal with Crimson just earlier was no longer here. He was now a determined adventurer, ready to fight Rei to the best of his ability. He was now an adventurer filled with such determination.

Seing his son’s response, Elk much have decided that things were okay now as he spoke with a grin.

「Well, I guess I’ll bet on you in tomorrow’s battle. Do your best and let me win.」

「Leave it to me. By the way, of course you’re going to bet all your spare money on me, right?」

「……No, not that much……」

Of course you’re going to, right? When Rhodes asked, Elk gently averted his gaze.

「Dad……」

「No, I mean……eh?」

「Hey, what are you doing! If you’re going to bet on me, you should bet it all!」

Rhodes couldn’t help but cry out at his father’s actions, which he considered a betrayal.

Seeing his son’s current state, Elk inwardly gave a sigh of relief as he could no longer see any nervousness.

(It’s fine now.)

A few minutes ago, Rhodes was like a thread that had been stretched to its limit. The moment a blade touched it, he would snap.

Even though there was only one more night until the match, it was clear that Rhodes didn’t have the strength to stay in that state for that long. That was why Elk had put on a play to relieve his tension.

……That said, although it was true that he would bet on Rhodes, he certainly wasn’t going to bet all his spare money.

 

 

「Well……it’s time to go to sleep.」

Rei muttered and stretched as he looked out his window.

The moonlight poured down as the stars sparkled.

The sight was enough to convince him that tomorrow would be sunny.

「Rhodes, huh? We’ve known each other for a while……but, we’ve never really fought each other. For some reason though, he’s been strangely enthusiastic about it.」

He recalled when he had seen Rhodes today.

His expression seemed like he had made up his mind about something.

Their original reason for entering the fighting tournament had been to draw the attention of the upper echolons of the Bestir Empire, it was never to win the tournament.

Even though he had known that, Rhodes had been quite stubbron about participating in the tournament.

That said, Daska and the others approved of it because with Rhodes participation, it would be even harder to detect the actions of Theorem’s group.

And, although Rei wasn’t aware of it himself, it was quite ovcious to Daska and Elk what Rhodes’ reason for participating was.

「It was true that Rhodes was more skilled than many other adventurers around him. But……I’ve fought him before in training, so there might not be much new to it……」

Rei said all that while lying in his bed and, eventually, his consciousness drifted away, lured to sleep.

He hoped that he would be able to improve his skills a bit in tomorrow’s match against Rhodes.

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