After the award ceremony at the stadium, Rei was walking back to the Eternal Sky Pavilion where he was staying.

Originally, he could have gone back with Daska, Elk, and Min, but after the end of the tournament, they had been caught up talking with nobles from the Bestir Empire and other countries that had been invited. Rei felt like he would fall asleep waiting from them due to the fatigue from the match, so he ended up going back first.

(Would it have been better to wait for Daska-sama’s business to finish and ride back in the carriage?)

Rei’s head was feeling a bit fuzzy as he muttered to himself when he saw a number of people gathered outside the stadium.

Gathering there wasn’t a problem. They were probably just discussing their impressions of the tournament after it had finished.

But……

「Hey, did you find Crimson?」

「No, I don’t think there’s any news that he’s left the stadium yet.」

「Then, is he still inside the stadium? ……Double checking just in case, all the entrances and exits are being watched, right?」

「Of course. If we miss him here, we’ll be in a lot of trouble.」

Hearing such words, even though the man hadn’t explicitly said anything bad, Rei could guess that it was going to be a troublesome situation.

He had fought against Noiz, who was at a higher level than himself, and forcibly used the skill Overlord’s Armour, which he had never used before, relying on his magic power. The heavy fatigue was still deep in his body and, if possible, he wanted to quickly return to the Eternal Sky Pavilion to sleep in his bed.

As one of the top inns in the Bestir Empire, the beds were of extremely high quality and soft as well.

They were also made from various precious materials including the feathers of a Harpy Queen, a B rank monster, typically used by nobles.

Because of that, some people would struggle to get used to sleeping in such luxurious beds, but Rei fortunately had no such issues.

Right now, he just wanted to get back and sleep to rid himself of the fatigue.

For Rei right now……who wanted a bed as much as he wanted to see Elena again, the people gathered outside the stadium were nothing more than obstacles.

If they were trying to kill him, he would have just dealt with them with all his might.

However, the people targeting him here had different goals in mind……

「It’s the viscount’s order, but do you really think Crimson will serve us?」

「That’s impossible. ……But, we have to follow the viscount’s orders.」

As they said, while they were targeting Rei, it was in a different sense.

(Elena……ah, now that I think about it, maybe I should let her know about the fighting tournament with the Paired Orb.)

He had talked with Elena over several nights using the Paired Orb, but he didn’t really want to talk about his latest match……losing to Noiz in the finals.

It’s true that he couldn’t beat Noiz, but Rei was still a man. It’s only natural that he didn’t want to tell the person he loved about his shameful defeat.

But, in the end, as it was such an important event, he couldn’t keep it a secret.

「Hey, is he out yet?」

「No. Looks like he hasn’t left the stadium yet.」

「……Damn, maybe he’s already left from a different exit?」

「Well, if that’s the case, that’s fine.」

「Hah!? Hey, are you serious?」

「I’m serious. Very serious. In the first place, it’s not like we don’t know where Crimson is staying. Then, in the worst case, the inn where he’s staying……the Eternal Sky Pavilion, was it? We should head there. ……Still, I’m jealous. I’d like to stay there just once.」

「Idiot. In the first place, why do you think we’re waiting around the stadium like this? Even if you ask to meet Crimson at the inn, you’ll be rejected, no questions asked. No, don’t even try doing something stupid. There’s a possibility Margrave Rowlocks will show up. That’s probably why we’ve been asked to bring him to the viscount without asking at the inn.」

While listening to such a conversation, Rei put on the hood of his Dragon Robe as he left the place, doing his best to avoid being seen by the people waiting for him.

never before had he felt so dependent on the Dragon Robe’s ability to lower his presence.

Rei walked away from the people who seemed to be messengers from a viscount, his head heavy with fatigue.

There were a lot of members of the audience scattered around the stadium, so he thought he wouldn’t be found if he could blend in with them.

(Anyway……I want to sleep, even if it’s only for a few hours.)

Rei’s head was already 30% asleep as he walked through the crowded city.

「Hey, did you hear about it? There was an explosion during the awards ceremony. Apparently something happened at the castle.」

「I heard, I heard. Something like thieves sneaking into the castle and the knights and mages who found them had to fight them off. That’s amazing. Moreover, those knights were readied by His Highness Kabajid.」

「Huh? Really? In other words, His Highness Kabajid knew from the beginning that thieves would be coming?」

Hearing those words, Rei stopped walking.

Although his mind was invaded by drowsiness, there was something about what he heard that caught his attention.

He leaned against a nearby wall, as if waiting for someone, while turning his gaze towards the people conversing a short distance away.

Even though it was already autumn, it was hot as a midsummer day. Because of the heat……and most of all, because it was the day of the finals, many stores had decided it was time to do business. Even though it was still early evening, at a nearby bar, tables were already set up and many people were drinking.

From the corner of a beer garden, Rei heard the voices that had been talking earlier.

「I don’t think he knew if thieves would come today, but it’s just that so many of the people in the castle had gone to the stadium today, which happens every year, right? That’s why His Highness Kabajid was worried that something might happen if the castle’s defenses were weak.」

「……But, it’s a castle, isn’t it? It’s also the castle of the Bestir Empire. I can’t believe ordinary thieves would do anything to a place like that……」

「But didn’t thieves come?」

「Yeah. I heard that some thieves attacked the castle, aiming for the treasure inside.」

As he listened in to the conversation, Rei was a little puzzled.

That was because one of the people was clearly praising Kabajid, lifting him up.

Moreover, the person spoke so well that not only the people listening at the same table, but even the people drinking at the surrounding tables started to join in the conversation.

「Really? I heard it was Her Highness Vihera who left the castle afterwards, you know? I heard from some people that they saw her heading for the castle and then riding away on horseback later.」

A man sitting at a nearby table spoke up.

The story must have been familiar to a number of people at the surrounding tables. Many of them nodded in agreement.

However, the man who had been speaking loudly earlier shook his head sharply at those words.

「No way. Her Highness Vihera had run away from the country, right? There’s no way Her Highness would be in the Imperial Capital at this time.」

「……I did hear about that before, but……」

「But, Her Highness Vihera? Isn’t it possible that she returned to the Imperial Capital because of the fighting tournament?」

Vihera’s love of battle was well known throughout the empire. Considering that, it wouldn’t be strange for her to return during the tournament.

However, the man shook his head in denial.

「Now way. It’s true that Her Highness Vihera likes to fight. I understand that, but if that were the case, wouldn’t she be participating in the tournament herself instead of just coming to see it?」

「That’s true……but since she ran away, wouldn’t it be hard for her to show her face to His Majesty the Emperor?」

「Don’t you think it’s unlikely that Her Highness Vihera, who loves to fight, would not participate in the fighting tournament to avoid meeting His Majesty the Emperor? Besides, if it was Her Highness Vihera, then she should have know of Noiz’s participation. If it really was Her Highness Vihera who showed up at the castle, do you think she would miss out on such a great opportunity?」

Those words were received by those around the man with a strange degree of persuasiveness.

In fact, the Vihera that the people listening in knew of would never have passed up the opportunity to fight an S rank adventurer.

It might have been different story if they had known that Vihera’s blood brother, the Third Prince, Mercurio, had been under house arrest, but there was no way such important information would be known to the general public.

And……

「In other words, the person who appeared at the castle was probably a thief pretending to be Her Highness Vihera. So they tried to sneak into the castle by taking advantage of the tournament being held and were killed by the knights arranged by His Highness Kabajid.」

In a sense, that was natural conclusion to reach.

(Something……feels strange, that they’re praising Kabajid. They even want to treat the Vihera as a fake. No, the Third Prince was rescued from house arrest by Vihera during the attack on the castle. I guess they want to hide the fact that he was rescued……but the information seems strangely biased……)

Normally, Rei would have noticed the true reason for his discomfort. Or, if he had walked around the Imperial Capital a bit more, he would have seen many other people saying the same things and information manipulation would have come to mind.

However, after losing the match to Noiz, the nervousness he had felt during the tournament had gone away. 30%……no, 40% of his mind had already gone to sleep as he listened in to the conversation.

Rei’s eyes began to close, giving in to the sleepiness and he realised that he would eventually fall asleep in the streets if he stayed here. Deciding that it would be impossible to gather any more information, or more precisely, because he wanted to sleep in his bed, he gave in to his desires and left the place.

He was more that half asleep, legs unsteady and steps as if drunk, but he still managed to navigate the crowded streets after the end of the fighting tournament without bumping into anyone.

(If someone with a grudge against me finds me while I’m asleep……finds me……finds me……)

The thoughts in his head started to loop as his body sought deep sleep and Rei started to doubt his ability to think objectively as he continued to walk through the city. Before long……after what seemed to be an eternity, the Eternal Sky Pavilion came into view.

However, upon seeing the entrance, Rei, who was already half asleep, felt a sense of discomfort in his head.

That was because there were a lot of people gathered around the Eternal Sky Pavilion, just like at the stadium. ……No, there were even more people than had been gathered at the stadium.

Of course, the people gathered here were mostly messengers from nobles or merchants, but there were also many who were just here to see Rei up close.

「What a pain.」

Rei took one look at the group and decided that if he showed up now, he would be in trouble.

Fortunately, this was the Eternal Sky Pavilion, one of the finest inns in the Bestir Empire.

They had hired guards for security, so thanks to them, no one had forced their way into the inn.

Since their usual clientele were nobles and wealthy merchants, it was only natural for them to hire security, which was a relief.

However, they could only stop ordinary people. If a noble were to show up, it was possible for them to enter the inn. ……Well, if they wanted to meet with Rei, they would still have to talk to Daska first, so unless something had happened, they wouldn’t be able to meet with Rei directly.

In any case, Rei continued walking unsteadily, threading his way through the crowd around the Eternal Sky Pavilion before eventually entering the inn.

Once inside, he went through the formalities at the counter before heading to his room.

As Rei went up the stairs, several familiar faces, people he had met from the celebration parties held in the dining area, called out to him. But, Rei just waved them off lightly before entering his room. Once inside, he locked the door, took off his clothes, including the Dragon Robe, and fell onto the bed, where his consciousness immediately sank into the darkness.

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