The day after the date of the duel was decided, Rent went to see Rei in his room at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion.

He had brought the cheese that he promised Rei as the reward for the Gamelion hunt, but the expression on his stubbly face was neither one of relief that the hunt had concluded safely, nor a sense of emptiness from handing over his family’s treasured homemade cheese……

「Hah? A duel with you? Who?」

「The Earl Eliel family. Well, rather than the highest ranking member of their family that is present in Gilm, that noble named Keep, I’ll be fighting a proxy they hire. I’m fighting via proxy on behalf of the Baron Cisne family as well.」

「……How on earth did things turn out like that?」

「That guy Keep from the Earl Eliel family apparently took a liking to the maid of the Baron Cisne family and tried to forcibly drag her away. When Baron Cisne stopped him, a dispute broke out, and they decided to settle it via a duel.」

「What is up with that? What is that guy Keep thinking?」

Rent muttered, completely unable to understand the situation from the bottom of his heart.

That was only natural. Anyone who heard what had happened could see that Keep was picking a fight here, using nothing more than his power to forcibly carry off the maid.

「Who knows? But he seems completely confident that he’ll win. He even drafted up the necessary documents in front of Daska-sama to legally formalise the agreement stating that if he loses, he will surrender half of the Earl Eliel family’s property to Baron Cisne.」

「……Is that man out of his mind? He’s going up against you, right? Half of their entire property is definitely going to vanish, you know?」

Rent questioned as he tilted his head.

That was only natural. It was hard to imagine that anyone currently in Gilm would want to fight Rei head-on. Granted, Gilm was a place where many adventurers gathered, so perhaps there were some who wanted to test their skills against him, but even so, no one actually believed they could defeat Rei.

「Well, I don’t know what they’re thinking, but as far as I’m concerned, I just need to fight. I’m basically ready whenever, but……at this rate, I’ll be bored to death waiting until the day of the duel.」

「When is the duel?」

「Hmm? In the afternoon, four days from now.」

「……That noble is completely finished. There’s no way anyone in Gilm right now is stronger than you……」

Is there? Rent was about to say that, but he suddenly hesitated.

「No……it’s winter right now. Many A rank adventurers who are usually out of town should be back at this time of the year. Some of them also have titles, so if they hire a skilled expert like that……」

In that case, they might be able to fight on equal terms with Rei. That thought crossed Rent’s mind, but he immediately shook his head. It was true that an A rank adventurer would certainly have the strength to put up a proper fight against Rei, even if the final outcome remained uncertain. However, in this case, fighting Rei meant taking the side of a corrupt noble who had tried to carry off a maid. Rent could not believe anyone would cooperate with the other side just to earn the ill-will of Gilm’s residents by antagonising Rei……or more accurately, the partner of Set, Rei.

「Well, no matter who they prepare, I just need to handle them. Of course, I have absolutely no intention of losing.」

Rei spoke with a smile that radiated confidence. Watching him, Rent thought to himself that it was obviously a matter of course.

「Anyway, it’s a mystery why things suddenly turned out like this, but……trouble really likes to find you. Honestly, rather than being loved by trouble, it feels more like you’re cursed.」

「Is that so?」

At Rent’s words, Rei recalled the numerous incidents that had occurred since he arrived in Gilm. Starting with the Orc settlement, heading to the dungeon with Elena, the matter with the Azoth Firm, and the Magic Fever outbreak. As he had been dragged into an uncountable number of commotions even outside of those, or rather, had willingly jumped into them himself, he had no choice but to accept it if people said he was beloved, adored……and cursed by trouble.

「Even so, I’m quite satisfied myself. Thanks to all the commotion, I’ve managed to acquire an exquisite cheese like this, after all.」

Touching the cheese placed on the table, Rei stored it inside the Misty Ring.

Seeing that, Rent looked up at the ceiling with a complicated expression. Rent seemed to have his own thoughts regarding Rei seeing his request as just another one of those commotions.

「Right, why don’t you invite Johanna or the others to watch the duel? Judging by the behavior of that guy Keep, his goal is likely to definitively display my defeat to everyone around so he can seize Ashie without anyone being able to complain, meaning he’ll probably gather a massive crowd. And judging by yesterday’s exchange, it seems Daska-sama is aiming for that as well.」

「Daska-sama too? Hmm, I see. That certainly sounds interesting. In that case, I’ll invite Johanna……say, Rei. Do you think Johanna would be interested in the duel? In the first place, she was originally your subordinate, so she undoubtedly knows your strength better than anyone. In other words, as far as she’s concerned, your victory is completely obvious.」

There was nothing more boring than a match where the outcome was already decided. After Rent said that, Rei replied while turning his gaze out the window where snow could be seen falling.

「In Johanna’s case, I’m betting she’ll come for Set rather than my fight.」

「Ah, I see!」

Rent let out a small cry, realising the unexpected angle. However……

「Hold on a second. If Set is there and a massive crowd is likely to gather……don’t tell me Milein is going to show up too?」

As that possibility dawned on him, Rent’s expression was filled with despair. Rent had learned from bitter experience during their first meeting exactly how terribly Johanna and Milein got along, with both Set-loving women acting as though two alphas could not share the same space.

「Well, she’ll probably come. But if you want to pursue Johanna, you can’t leave Set out, and if you can’t leave Set out, you naturally can’t leave out Milein, who dotes on him as well.」

「That’s……true, but……」

There was no room to argue against Rei’s words. Johanna, Set, and Milein. It was clear that the connection between these two women and one animal would undoubtedly continue far into the future, whether that connection was a good one or a bad one.

「Besides, if it turns into a duel, there’ll likely be betting, and the street stalls should set up shop too. Won’t it feel like a winter festival? Why don’t you try enjoying a festival like that alongside Johanna?」

「A festival, huh. When you look at it that way, it does sound quite good.」

「Right? You could call it a snow festival.」

「A snow festival, huh. Using snow, which is a nuisance, as the reason for a festival is a bit unusual, though.」

「It might actually be interesting if people made snow statues instead of stone statues and competed to see who made the best one.」

Rei thought of his memories from Japan as he said taht. While it wasn’t on a scale that would be broadcast on TV, his hometown had held a snow festival just about every single year when it snowed, and his suggestion came from recalling the excitement of participating in them.

「Well, it’s snowing heavily right now……it’s coming down so much it makes you wonder why it hadn’t snowed at all until just recently. In that sense, I can see what you mean. But rather than telling me, wouldn’t it be better if you mentioned it to Daska-sama, since you’re close with him?」

「……True, I’ll go do that right away. I’m going to drop by his residence for a bit, what do you plan to do?」

His words carried the underlying meaning that if Rent came along, he might be able to get the ruler of Gilm to remember his face, but Rent shook his head.

「No, I have some business to attend to now……」

Sensing the reason behind his hesitation, Rei smiled in understanding.

「I see. Well, getting Johanna to return your feelings is going to be an uphill battle, but do your best.」

 

 

「What is the meaning of this!? Why is there nobody willing to act as my proxy!」

Along with a shout filled with irritation, Keep swung his arms wildly. In doing so, his hand struck a cup sitting on the desk, sending it crashing into the wall and spilling the hot wine inside onto the carpet.

Completely contrary to the peaceful feeling at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion, an atmosphere thick with frustration was present here. The man who had brought the report to Keep, Furtos, turned pale. It wasn’t that he was terrified of becoming the target of Keep’s temper tantrum. Of course, that was part of it, but he was truly terrified by the fact that they couldn’t find a proxy for the duel taking place in four days. More accurately, he feared being held responsible if they lost and half of the Earl Eliel family’s assets were stripped away.

Initially, Furtos had harboured some concern, but he believed a proxy for the duel would be found in no time at all. Keep was the next head of the Earl Eliel family, which belonged to the Royalist Faction, the largest faction within the Mireana Kingdom. Although his influence in Gilm, the stronghold of the Neutral Faction, was not that high, he was still someone ordinary adventurers would undoubtedly want to form a connection with. ……Or so Furtos, Keep, and the knights serving under him all believed.

「The one that poor noble is putting forward is probably that frail man who acted as his bodyguard, correct? ……If nobody steps up, I expect you lot to handle it, I assume you have no objections?」

Keep spoke as he directed his gaze toward his knights. The knights were close aides whom Keep trusted completely. He didn’t want them to get injured in something like a duel by some absolute miracle, but if nobody else came forward, there was nothing he could do.

「Leave it to us! Any foolish wretches who dare oppose Keep-sama shall be handled by me!」

「No, I shall act as Keep-sama’s sword and slice apart anyone who stands in our path.」

「My spear shall pierce those who wrong Keep-sama.」

The knights spoke with smiles full of confidence, clearly not believing for a single second that they could lose. Out of everyone present in the room, Furtos was the only one who felt a faint trace of anxiety.

(Just as they said, that bodyguard’s build is small, and his physique doesn’t look like he has any muscle. If that’s the case, we should undoubtedly win. But……even so, what is this anxiety I’m feeling? I hope the person I dispatched to gather information manages to do it properly.)

Furtos thought to himself as he watched Keep and the knights thoroughly belittling Rei, the very opponent they would be fighting in the duel.

「Excuse me!」

It was at that exact moment that a man barged into the room without even knocking, his face pale with panic.

「Hic……W-What is the meaning of this, you idiot! Barging into the room where I am without even knocking, what are you thinking!」

Keep let out a brief shriek, but he immediately turned red at his own unseemly display, converting his embarrassment into anger as he bellowed at the man who had burst into the room. The man was someone brought along to handle odd jobs when Keep was dispatched to Gilm. He was also one of the individuals Furtos had sent out into the city to gather information on Rei.

「My deepest apologies, Keep-sama. I had sent this man out into the city to investigate what kind of brat our opponent in the duel is…… Hey, you! Have some common sense! Barging into the room where Keep-sama is, what are you……hmm? What’s wrong?」

Although Furtos bellowed, he noticed that the face of the man who had burst into the room was terribly tense. He initially thought it might be because the man had been scolded by himself and Keep, but the degree of tension was far too extreme for that. The man took a deep breath to calm himself down before opening his mouth.

「I investigated the man Furtos-sama ordered me to look into……and his name has been uncovered.」

「Hah? All you could uncover was his name? You really are entirely incompetent.」

Keep openly displayed his irritation at the statement that only a name had been uncovered. However, Furtos knew the man’s capabilities. He didn’t believe this man, who handled everything flawlessly up until now, would return after merely learning the opponent’s name. If that were the case, it meant the name held some sort of profound meaning……

「Who is it?」

「……Rei, apparently.」

The exact moment he heard that name, Furtos felt the blood rapidly drain from his face. As a resident of the Mireana Kingdom, he was naturally familiar with that name. Serving a noble family, gathering information on the nation was a matter of course. And among the information he collected, there were naturally individuals who had gained fame through extraordinary circumstances. Yes, for example, a person who had single-handedly decided the outcome of the war that occurred in spring, and who kept a Griffon, an A rank monster, as a tamed beast.

「Furtos, what is wrong? What does it matter now that we know that brat’s name?」

Keep, who was only interested in himself, had seemingly never heard Rei’s name before, and he directed a suspicious look at Furtos who had suddenly stopped moving. The other knights likewise must have been entirely unfamiliar with the name Rei, as they directed questioning looks toward Furtos.

Receiving Keep’s gaze, Furtos spoke as the flesh of his cheeks trembled.

「Crimson.」

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