Seeing Luzi lying on the ground, completely unconscious, the referee declared the match over.

Rei, who was watching from the guest seating, looked over at Elk with a serious look on his face.

「What do you think?」

Elk knew what Rei was asking from just that question. He replied in a low voice.

「He’s strong…… I’ve seen him fight several times, but I never thought he’d be this good. No, we’re just talking about pure physical ability, I think you are better, but……」

Rei thought the same himself. However, although he might have the superior physical ability, there were some things that couldn’t be overcome.

「Pure technique, huh.」

「Yeah. Honestly, I can’t do something like matching a thrust and making the sword tips collide with each other……」

After saying that, Elk, recalling Rei’s previous battles, shook his head slightly as he continued speaking.

「You might be able to do that. But, creating a state of equilibrium by exacting the same amount of strength as your opponent. Can you do that?」

「That’s impossible.」

Rei answered without hesitation.

If he were to try copying Noiz, he would end up either using too much force, sending his opponent flying, or use too little and end up getting stabbed himself.

While performing such a delicate response, Noiz had even managed to strike Luzi with his free left hand.

(I’m still a long way off……)

Rei thought deeply to himself.

But, no matter how big the difference was in strength between him and Noiz, the time for battle drew ever closer.

All he could do now was to focus on improving his own strength.

「I wish I had a bit more time.」

「It’s true that once we get to this point, the matches progress rapidly. The only saving grace is that you’ll only fight one match a day.」

「Yeah.」

There were three matches left until the finals. Considering that there would be a one day break after the semifinals, so that the finals could be held with both sides in good condition, there were only four days left.

It would be very hard, to say the least, for Rei to gain enough skill to be able to match Noiz in four days.

(In that case, I have to compete with Noiz in ways other than technique. Physical strength? No, my physical strength is definitely greater. However, it’s not as overwhelmingly better compared to our difference in technique. ……Then, it has to be magic power?)

For a moment, Rei though of Set.

If the tournament had allowed tamed and summoned monsters to participate, he might have had a chance of winning without having to worry so much.

(No, that’s impossible)

However, he quickly rejected his own thoughts.

Certainly, if Set could move freely, he might have a chance at victory. However, in the arena, there was limited space to move.

If you left the arena……or more precisely, if you left the space set up on the arena, you would automatically lose.

In that situation, Rei and Set were at a disadvantage.

(In the first place, it’s wrong to consider how to beat Noiz within the confines of the tournament rules.)

Even though Rei understood that, he had no intentions on giving up on victory.

「Rei, the next match is about to being, what do you want to do?」

Was he going to watch it or not? Rei shook his head at Elk’s question to indicate his plans.

「No matter who wins their match, their next opponent will be Noiz. I don’t see any matches after this one being worth watching in terms of researching opponents.」

「That might be true, but maybe you’ll find hints to how Noiz fights lying around in unexpected places?」

Min, who was looking towards the arena alongside Elk, spoke up, but Rei’s response was still the same as he shook his head.

「If possible, I want ot train myself even a little more. That’s why I would have liked someone like Elk to train with me……」

「Don’t be so reckless. In the first place, I’m here as an escort.」

If it had been possible, Elk wanted to stretch his body as well instead of standing guard all the time. With thoughts contrary to his words, Elk turned to look over at Daska, who was smiling as he conversed with a noble from the Bestir Empire a short distance away.

However, it was clear from the way the other noble’s cheeks twitched unpleasantly from time to time that their smiles were only for show.

(I guess they’re talking a lot of nonsense.)

Rei thought the same as he looked at Daska.

If you talked about it in terms of pure national power, the Bestir Empire was still superior to the Mireana Kingdom. However, the reason why Daska was still able to hold conversation from a position of strength as was happening before them was because of the Mireana Kingdom’s position as the victorious nation.

It wasn’t just being from the victorious nation either. It was thanks to Rei’s efforts that the Mireana Kingdom had become the victorious nation. Because of that, Daska, who had hired Rei, naturally gained greater influence.

In fact, although his expression was somewhat calm, the noble talking to Daska had to try their best to suppress the fear and awe rising in his heart.

……Maybe it might have been easier if Rei wasn’t also nearby.

In any case, why looking over at Daska’s conversation, Rei gave up on having Elk accompany him in his training.

Elk, an A rank adventurer with a title, would have been a good training partner.

As Rei stood up to leaving the room, he suddenly became curious as he asked Elk.

「Speaking of which, what happened to Rhodes? Has he come back?」

The moment Rhodes was brought up, Elk gave a bitter smile while Min shook her head with a disappointed expression.

From their responses, it was clear that Rhodes had yet to return.

「I see.」

Considering the tense exchange that had taken place after Rei’s fight with Rhodes, it was clear that he had something to do with Rhodes not returning.

Because of that, Rei felt some responsibility, but the next moment Elk laughed at Rei.

「Well, Rhodes is already a full fledged adventurer. It wouldn’t be strange if he lost his way a little and some setback are sometimes needed. Don’t worry too much about it. It’s not like he will never come back and even if he gets caught up in something strange, he’ll manage. Besides……no, never mind.」

Elk seemed like he was about to say something but immediately stopped himself.

Seeing that, Rei could tell that it seemed like Elk wanted to say something more. But, seeing as Elk had stopped himself, Rei judged he must have a good reason to stop there.

「For all the talk of letting him do his own thing, aren’t his parents still ready to intervene at any time?」

Hearing Rei’s somewhat teasing words, Elk shrugged his shoulders as if to say, ‘whatever you think’.

Seeing that, Rei decided there was nothing to worry about as he left the guest room.

Right now, every little bit of time mattered. He wanted to catch up to and outmatch the existence that was Noiz.

(First of all, I’ll need to secure a place to practice. ……When I think about it, it really was a good location.)

Rei went back to the inn as he regretted the fact that his previous training area was no longer usable due to the attacks by assassins. He hoped the Eternal Sky Pavilion would have another place to suggest.

 

 

「Puah……no, he was strong, very strong. As expected of an S rank.」

That night, Luzi’s voice echoed out from the dining area in the Eternal Sky Pavilion.

There was no particular negative emotion in his voice and it was clear that he didnt’ hold any grudges against Noiz.

「It’s not surprising……no, not at all. Considering Luzi’s simple mind, it’s only natural that this would happen after losing so thoroughly.」

Looking at Luzi, Vaycul muttered in shock as she stabbed her fork into the sausage on her plate.

Baked and boiled sausages. Even though the ingredients were the same, they were cooked in two different ways, making the taste and texture completely different. She was quite satisfied with the taste as she drank some wine along with it.

Tonight was Luzi’s consolation party, so it was probably out of Vaycul’s concern that she didn’t get drunk enough to start taking off her clothes.

「Well, he showed how big the gap was in our skill. Did you see what he did? Even though I’m not good at thrusting attacks, he matched the tip of my sword so precisely and intentionally balanced out the force. He then hit me with his left hand from that position. I wonder how much strength and skill it would take to do something like that.」

Luzi’s body trembled as he spoke passionately.

「Yeah, I know, I know. I’ve heard you say it many time already. As you said, he’s an S rank adventurer, so it’s only natural that he’s strong.」

「That’s right. He was definitely strong. Yeah, as expected of an S rank.」

「……Anyway, in the end, all of us from Wind Dragon’s Fang were eliminated. I expected that, but it’s still disappointing. Luzi was the one who made it to the third round. ……The finals seems so far away.」

Mosst muttered deeply as he drank some wine while Vaycul seemed exasperated as she reached for another sausage.

「What are you talking about? In the first place, it’s more than enough for a mage like you and a thief like me to make it to the main tournament at all. ……Well, in Luzi’s case, I can only say he ran into a bad match up. So, what do you think? Rei is the only one here who still hasn’t lost.」

Seeing Vaycul look at him, Rei shrugged his shoulders as he brought some steamed Fang Boar with a sweet and sour fruit sauce to his mouth.

「Well, if we fight head on right now……I have a 20% chance of winning at best.」

「Heh. Still a 20% chance. Then the finals will be quite interesting.」

Vaycul smiled as she drank more wine to go with the juicy assuage she had just bitten into.

Rather, it was Luzi who was surprised by Rei’s words.

「20%……you’re saying that after watching my fight, right?」

「Of course. Rather, it’s based on today’s fight. ……That said, Noiz didn’t seem to be too serious about it, so I don’t know exactly.」

Yes, Luzi was by no means weak. He was a C rank adventurer who could be considered a veteran. It was hard to understand exactly how Noiz was able to beat him with basically one strike.

「You shouldn’t say that.」

Vaycul couldn’t help but get angry at Rei’s words.

However, Rei just smiled back fiercely as he continued on.

「It’s true that things will be difficult if they stay the way they are. But……I’m also growing stronger with each match.」

More accurately, it should be said that he was using each match as training, but Rei didn’t mention it as he reached for more bread.

「Hmm. Well, I do feel like Rei can handle it no matter what. Luzi’s a bit of a mess in that area.」

「It’s a fact that can’t be denied.」

「Wait just a moment, both of you. Even if it’s true, that’s just rude.」

「No, you’re the rudest one among us.」

After unintentionally responding to Mosst’s scolding words, Rei threw the last bit of meat into his mouth along with the bread as he reached for the salad and stew.

「Well, it might be a good idea to bet on me when I get to the finals. At the very least, it won’t be a one sided loss.」

「If Rei wins, it will be definitely be a long shot.」

Having fought Noiz himself, Luzi couldn’t imagine Rei winning.

Of course, Luzi knew Rei’s strength. In fact, he had never won in all their mock battles, so even if he didn’t like it, he still understood the difference in their ability.

However, for Luzi, who had fought both, the difference in power seemed clear.

That was why he had described Rei’s victory as a long shot.

「Hmm, if Luzi’s going to say that, then I guess I’ll take the chance. He has good judgement when it comes to combat.」

Vaycul spoke in a somewhat surprised manner while Mosst had mixed feelings of surprise and relief.

When it came to combat, Luzi was quite confident in himself……no, he was more than confident. That was why Mosst had thought that Luzi might have been feeling down from his loss. However, from everything they had talked about so far, that didn’t seem to be the case.

(Maybe Noiz was just that strong.)

As he thought like that, Mosst turned to Rei, the only one among them still in the tournament.

Seeming to notice his look, Rei looked back as he spoke up.

「What’s up?」

「No, it’s nothing. Rather, who will be your opponent in the fourth round tomorrow? Is it Gander, the one who beat Vaycul?」

「Seems like it.」

「Heh, as expected of someone who defeated me. They’ve been winning steadily since.」

As she said those words, Vaycul turned to Rei.

「Since he was the one who defeated me, please avenge me.」

「I had no intention of losing though.」

「Eh. Then I’ll bet on you tomorrow, believing you will win.」

「I won’t stop you……but now that Rei-san’s strength is well known, the odds probably won’t change at all.」

「It’s fine as long it goes up even a tiny bit. There’s no danger anyway.」

Was that the expression of confidence that Rei would definitely win? Or was it a desire for Rei to win……?

Hoping it was the former, Rei popped the last bit of salad into his mouth.

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