「Rei, you made it past the fifth round……congratulations!」

『Congratulations!』

At Vaycul’s words, everyone raised their cups at the same time as congratulations to Rei rang out all at once.

Up until now, the only people who had celebrated Rei’s victories had been the members of Wind Dragon’s Fang and Rhodes, who wasn’t around.

But now, it was different. In the whole dining area of the Eternal Sky Pavilion, many people were celebrating Rei’s victory.

The reason why everyone was so happy was because Rei had made it past the fifth round……in other words, his next match would be in the semi-finals, the top four had been decided.

Considering the number of people who had entered the tournament starting from the qualifying rounds, Rei was part of the top four from nearly several thousand participants, including people from all over the Bestir Empire and surrounding countries.

Naturally, those who participated in the fighting tournament had trained for it, so they were all quite strong, excluding those who participated just to commemorate the event.

This was the top four among them.

Furthermore, with someone in the top four staying in the same inn, it was only natural for their to be a celebration.

This wasn’t to say there weren’t any people who held grudges against Rei.

But, there were no such people here right now, and even if there were, they would have just glared at Rei in disgust before quickly finishing their meal, or told the staff to bring their meals to their own rooms, unwilling to breathe the same air as Rei.

「Well……when I first heard of Crimson, I was thinking about how scary he was……but I never expected him to be such a young boy.」

Someone brought a cold ale to their lips as they looked over at Rei, who was laughing happily as he drank some watered down wine.

As it was his victory party……Rei had pulled down the hood of his Dragon Robe to eat. In other words, his pretty face, which could be described as feminine, could be seen by everyone around him.

Some people were surprised to see Rei’s real face, which he had rarely shown even while fighting in the tournament.

「Wow……that’s Crimson? If I hadn’t seen his strength in the tournament with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.」

「That’s true. I’ve seen him train in the courtyard, but he was still wearing his hood then. It’s also the first time I’ve seen his real face.」

Those people, who seemed to be adventurers, talked to each other as they watched Rei enjoy his meal a short distance away.

The two of them had also participated in the main tournament, but had already been knocked out.

……The fact that they had made it through the preliminaries proved that they had some level of skill, but their pride disappeared after seeing Rei make it to the semi-finals.

They knew that they couldn’t judge someone’s ability based on their appearances, but this……was an extreme case.

「Still, I never expected you to make it to the semi-finals. I was really surprised.」

「Really? He didn’t even lose his breath when training against us. I thought it was only natural.」

Hearing Vaycul’s unbelievable words, Luzi bit into a grilled skewer.

But, even as he said that, there wasn’t much admiration in Luzi’s words.

Having fought against Noiz, Luzi still felt that even if Rei made it to the finals, he wouldn’t be able to win.

Rei felt Luzi’s attitude was a bit rude, but considering their achievements, Noiz was definitely stronger than him, so even if Rei said anything here, it would only sound like he was bitter about being weaker.

Reading the atmosphere, Mosst changed the subject while reaching for some cheese.

「Rather than the finals, let’s talk about tomorrow’s match. How are you feeling about it, Rei-san?」

「Hmm……that’s right.」

Rei paused before speaking.

「Yeah, I’m also looking forward to the semi-finals tomorrow. After all, it’s a match between Crimson, Rei, and the Water Dragon, Digma.」

A nearby man, who appeared to be an adventurer, called out to Rei as he enjoyed the celebrations.

A woman, who was sitting at the same table, interrupted the man in a panic.

「Hey, don’t just call out to him out of nowhere……at least say hello first. Um, I’m Kaminina. This idiot is Razas. Sorry for suddenly interrupting your conversation.」

Both of them were adventurers in their mid twenties and the one introduced as Razas was looking over at Rei with interest.

「Water Dragon Digma, huh.」

Rei murmured at Razas’ words.

He knew the name because he had seen him fight several times and knew how he fought.

He had made it to the semi-finals and also had a title, which proved his strength. But, above all……

「He’s an A rank adventurer, isn’t he?」

Rei’s words came out without much thought and Luzi, who heard those words, felt a cold chill run down his spine for a moment.

It was as if ice had been stuck to his back.

Nothing had happened……except that Rei had mentioned the rank of his next opponent.

「……Rei?」

That was why Luzi called out to Rei, despite feeling pressured by Rei’s current state.

「No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about tomorrow’s match. After all, my opponent is an A rank adventurer with a title, he’s also an Elf.」

By the time Rei said those words, he had already gone back to usual, but Luzi wasn’t able to say anything more.

Although he wasn’t paying attention to Luzi’s state, Mosst followed up, interested in what Rei had to say.

「Because he’s an Elf, he has higher magic power than most ordinary humans, so I guessed he used that advantage to become a magic warrior. In that respect, he’s the same type of fighter as Rei, so I think it will be worth watching.」

「Right? That’s what I thought. That’s what I thought as well. You get it.」

Hearing Mosst’s words, Razas smiled as he patted him on the back.

Slapped by a warrior with strength many times greater than his own, Mosst coughed involuntarily before nodding back.

「Geho, that’s right. Although they are both magic warriors though, Digma is good at water based magic, as his title suggests, high level techniques, and quick swordsmanship. In contrast, Rei is good at fire based magic and wields a scythe, using his overwhelming physical strength. They look similar but……they’re very different.」

「It’s rare to see an Elf that uses a sword. I haven’t met many Elves, but most of the ones I know use bows and spirit magic, right?」

Rei nodded at Vaycul, who spoke as she stabbed her fork into a potato covered in melted cheese.

「An Elf I knew was like that as well. I only met them during a rank up test though. Also……」

The figure of the Dark Elf in Gilm, who would be best described as bewitching, flashed through his mind for a moment before Rei shook his head.

He knew she was quite a skilled mage, and he had also heard that she was a skilled archer. But, having never seen it with his own eyes, he was hesitant to mention it.

……There was also the reason that Rei didn’t know if his story would get the point across if he tried to explain it.

「Anyway, I’m really happy to be able to fight against an Elf with a title. I think it would be rude to call it a match to make my final adjustments in preparation to fight Noiz.」

「That true. In the first place, even if you have a title, they also have a title, not to mention they’re an A rank adventurer. Thinking about it, he’s a higher ranking adventurer than you.」

Razas looked at Rei with some amazement, but if he had know that Rei had previously fought Elk, the Axe of the Thunder God, he probably would have thought differently.

However, Rei didn’t bother to bring it up and replied with a small smile on his face as he brought the gratin like dish made with bacon, cheese, and potatoes to his mouth.

「Woah……no matter how I look at it, he’s filled with fighting spirit.」

「Isn’t that so? I mean, if he win’s tomorrow match, he’ll be in the finals. Moreover, his opponent will definitely be Noiz. If he doesn’t get fired up from that, he’s not a man.」

Vaycul and Kaminina exchanged words with a smile, having become friends at some point without anyone realising.

That said, some people felt otherwise.

It would be a problem if you judged all men to have personalities like Rei.」

That was spoken by Mosst, the only mage among them.

He justed wanted to say that he didn’t want to be lumped together with Rei, but in response, the two women turned to their fellow party members……namely Luzi and Razas.

Their similar personalities made them a good match and they were already sharing drinks and laughing in good spirits.

Looking closely, many of the people who were joining in the celebrations were getting drunk and having fun as the surrounding area turned into a melting pot of chaos.

「……Do you have anything else to say?」

Seeing the surroundings……especially Luzi and Razas, Vaycul asked Mosst the question. Although he knew it was pointless, Mosst still replied.

「I’m a mage, not a warrior, so I don’t want to be lumped in together with them.」

「Hmmm. In that case, it’s fine. But more importantly, come on. Drink up.」

Lightly parrying Mosst’s words, she pushed a small barrel of wine, 30cm in diameter, towards Mosst.

Mosst desperately tried to counter Vaycul, but this only seemed to annoy Kaminina, who went up to Mosst with flushed cheeks.

「Hey, hey. You know, other guys would be upset if they heard you refused this sister’s offer of wine. Well, I think they’d actually be happy about it. Anyway, you shouldn’t embarrass a woman.」

「Hey-, w-wait! Wait a moment!」

「No way. Look, how about I give you something to drink mouth to mouth.」

「Woah! Wait, why is she suddenly like this!? ……Vaycul as well! You can’t start taking your clothes off!」

Normally, Mosst would use his staff to stop Vaycul’s tendency to strip. But, right now, Mosst was being restrained by Kaminina and was unable to respond.

Since this was the case, he need Rei’s help……but when he turned to look at Rei’s table, Rei was no longer there.

「Eh? Hey, Rei-san!? Rei-san! Where did you go!? Please don’t leave me here like this! Hey, Rei-san, please come back!」

Mosst’s cheeks had already gone red as he cried out for help, maybe because Kaminina was nearby, or because Vaycul was stripping……or maybe because he was drunk?

If you asked him, Mosst would definitely have said it was because he was drunk.

But, whether anyone would believe him or not……it was clear from the fact that no one helped him.

 

 

「Phew……things are quieter here.」

Rei didn’t help Mosst as he fell into a desperate situation……or rather, he had already escaped from the dining area as he returned to the second floor of the Eternal Sky Pavilion.

Looking out the window near his room, he saw the moon, clearly visible in the cloudless sky.

Seeing that, he was certain that the next day would be a sunny one.

Rei didn’t like to drink that much to begin with. Of course, he wouldn’t get intoxicated from just the smell of alcohol, but considering tomorrow’s match, he didn’t want to get drunk.

「Water Dragon Digma, huh.」

A lot of things had been said at the dining area, but Rei’s goal was to reach the finals.

Digma might have been a higher ranking adventurer with a title, but Rei had no intention of losing here.

Of course, he needed to take the challenge seriously so as not to let his guard down and lose.

(Although there’s a difference between taking it seriously and giving it my full strength.)

Rei mumbled to himself.

With his currently abilities, he knew that he had overwhelmingly more magic power than Noiz. For that reason, in tomorrow’s match, which Noiz would definitely be watching, using his magic power at full strength would be exposing his own ability, which he wanted to avoid as much as possible.

(That said, there’s no point in prioritising hiding my skills only to lose. I should think about what to do in case of an emergency.)

He looked up at the night sky from the window again.

The moonlight illuminated the ground, as if welcoming Rei’s upcoming match.

(As I thought earlier, it will be sunny tomorrow.)

Thinking like that, Rei decided it would be foolish to stay up late and impact his state tomorrow, so he quickly returned to his room and lay down on the bed.

As he did that, he felt like he heard various heartbreaking screams coming from the first floor, but decided it was just his imagination as he went to sleep.

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