Chapter 7 - Chapter 3 Martial Tournament

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I had a hangover.

I couldn't get drunk before, but by tuning down my 'Poison Nullification', I was

able to overcome the issue and finally get sloshed. It was the technique Ruminas

taught me, and I had treasured it ever since. Yesterday I used it behind Raphaelsan's back and drank some fine wine whilst already slightly drunk. As a result, my

headache worsened dramatically.

Could you do something about this situation?

<<…How unfortunate, the effect of 'Pain Nullification' has also been

suppressed. You will feel the pain for a while>>

Oi oi oi, aren't you just targeting me on purpose…? It was angry last time as

well, and it's even more—

<>

No no no, that is a fact. Because drinking has nothing to do with 'Pain

Nullification' not working—that would just be bizarre!

But my comeback was no use against Raphael-san. I was very blatantly

ignored, leaving me to battle the headache on my own.

"I need to reflect and pay attention next time," is what I would tell myself

every single time, but I'd probably end up doing the same thing when the

opportunity popped up again.

<<...>>

I will reflect! I am reflecting right now in fact, please help ease my headache

now!

<<......>>

Raphael-san seemed to be ignoring me.

The headache lasted a while before easing down a bit. I would really need to

be careful in the future.

Seriously, eating is like doing drugs. You need food to keep going, but if you

have too much, it would ruin your body. And by that analogy, it's the same thing

for drinking—wait…that didn't really make that much sense.

Ultimately, I could just enjoy the sensation of being drunk. I didn't really have

to force myself to drink until I was completely wasted… I just happened to have

too much fun with the boys. After visiting the night market with Myourmiles and

the rest, I went to visit the VIP Only Elven Cabaret at level 95 of the labyrinth for

an inspection.

It was the top cabaret of our nation, designed and intended for VIP guests

exclusively. However, for the sake of promoting our nation, we also opened it up

for the other guests.

And there it went. In the morning, people were still excited, unable to forget

their concert experience. Some lost themselves in enthusiastic discussions

regarding the capabilities of the healing potion.

Gazel and Vesta were there too. We, of course, couldn't hide away from them

and were forced to stay with them for quite a while. In the end, we had a great

conversation and chatted until late over bottles of alcohol.

It felt great to be hearing compliments about my companions and having been

overjoyed, I couldn't help but want to get drunk. I was indeed reflecting at this

point; I hope you guys can understand how I felt at the time. Besides, I wasn't the

only person who got wasted, so were the guests.

All in all, they spent a lot of money at the cabaret. All the better for us. More

good news: I had been discussing the matter of insufficient coins with a drunk

Gazel when Duke Elalude joined in, to which they agreed to consider aiding us. I

supposed that was the power of alcohol.

<<...>>

—Something like that.

Already worn down a bit, we braced for the morning of the second day of the

festival.

***

The recently finished Colosseum was a huge building. It was large enough for

50,000 people and had a roof that stuck out over the audience seats, which was

used for sun-screening. It had a semi-circular shape, much like a pterosaur's wing

membrane over the wing bone.

To be honest, this design was mainly due to my personal preference. I wanted

to make the atmosphere a bit creepier and deliberately designed it this way. The

intended purpose of it was to block out the sun, but no one really believed that.

People cried out, were scared, and raised their heads to see it. But there were

nonetheless some weirdos who seemed very excited. The audience was crowding

all over the place and all of the seats were occupied. The sheer turnout was all

thanks to Myourmiles's invitations. He was truly amazing. While there was much

disappointment and stress last night, the man was still very reliable.

The audience seats surrounded an empty area, which we had prepared as the

stage for battle. After processing a selection of giant rocks, we embedded them in

this empty lot. We first compressed the hard rock into a cube, two meters in length.

We then arranged them carefully as a base. The slits between the blocks were

filled with a sticky buffer material, making them, as a whole, look like one giant,

flat rock plate.

Since there wasn't enough time, I also constructed a part of it. Normal, hard

rocks were already three hundred times harder than cement, and with magicules

infused into the rock base of the colosseum, it became ten thousand times that. It

was two meters thick alone, and its hardness put nuclear blast shelters to shame.

I hadn't done any real testing, but I was certain it should survive a direct

nuclear magic strike without a crack. Not to mention that the physical layer was

also reinforced by a magical enchantment.

Beyond that, we'd set up a double-layer defense barrier. The first layer covered

the entire ground. It went all the way to the spectator seats in a large-scale magic

circle. In order for it to withstand Hinata's future battle training, I made sure it

was impenetrable from the get-go.

The second barrier stretched around the inner circumference of the seating,

right in front of the first row of benches where the audience sat, extending in a

diameter of around fifty meters. The battleground was above the two magic circles.

The double barrier was meant to protect the venue and prevent the audience

from being impacted by the event. The first barrier would halt magicules from

flowing through, but posed no restrictions on Skill usage. Therefore, if someone

were to launch a powerful magic attack, it could still impact the surroundings. So

just in case, we set up the second barrier. And, worst-case scenario, I could just

launch 'Absolute Defense' of 'Covenant King Uriel'.

While I didn't want anyone to see me using the Skill, it was better than having

my guests get hurt. I would activate it the instant there was an issue, so no one

would find out. There definitely wasn't gonna be a problem since we did it so

discreetly.

Honestly, I was pretty sure the double-layer barrier alone would do the trick.

It was one thing if my lieutenants were to join in the battle, but the abilities of the

contestants alone were hardly enough to wreck the place. At least that's what I

thought, but I didn't expect the "Chosen Hero" Masayuki to have joined in…

The venue was packed with excited onlookers. Go figure.

In this world, there weren't a lot of entertainment events, so something like

this would obviously cause a ruckus.

The martial tournament held in Ingracia Kingdom was already super popular.

Every year, they would have adventurers of different ranks attending the

tournament to fight for the championship.

However, our tournament differed slightly, as spectating it was open to

average citizens as well. In Ingracia, only the wealthy got to partake as the

audience, while the commoner had to wait for the results to be unveiled. Some

people would climb atop roofs or poles, trying to catch a glimpse from above the

ground. But they probably couldn't see much given the long distance.

By contrast, the Colosseum in our nation had rings of benches installed in

incremental heights along a slope, which allowed for a larger number of spectators.

As a bonus, we had installed giant screens to live stream the battle for people in

the audience to view from all four directions.

With the light magic engravings, it was extremely easy to enlarge a projection

of the match. Some guests seemed to recognize the same device that was used

during yesterday's tech presentation. They did seem pretty interested in the

device, so I predicted that it would have a pretty decent promotional effect.

In this way, we could slowly move towards success by attracting clients and

building a strong foundation. This was the same technique I used when I was doing

a nine-to-five job.

That was why the guests were able to see the stage clearly. They could also

view the enlarged image on the screens. The audience would surely be satisfied.

The participants began to enter the center of the stage. All eight men stood in

a line facing the VIP booth. All screens were showing the contestants' faces, and

even their expressions were clearly visible. These individuals all looked very

distinct. By the way, some of these eight seemed quite familiar. Obviously, I had

seen Gobta and Geld, but…

Despite my being shocked by this, the introductions began without delay. As

planned, we introduced the contestants one by one. I also instructed people to

switch up the screen view and show the contestant's face respectively.

Souei's subordinate, the dragonewt Souka, was the announcer of the event.

Starting with the six people who managed to emerge from the elimination rounds,

the first was the "Chosen Hero" Masayuki.

"FIRST OF ALL," Souka began, "ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE THE MOST

POPULAR MAN IN THE HOUSE! THE DOMINATOR OF THE ELIMINATION ROUND,

HE IS THE CHOSEN HERO, MA~SA~YU~KI!!!"

Oi, this girl sure was enjoying herself. Was it really okay for her to show up in

front of the contestants so free-spiritedly? Wouldn't it cause problems for her

"covert agent" work?

I asked Souei next to me.

"No problem. Souka is good with the 'Invisibility Spell', and she will disguise

herself during missions anyway. Moreover, we need someone on stage whose face

has never been seen by the public before," he said.

Since Souei said it was fine, I had nothing to worry about. Souka continued

the broadcast effortlessly.

"NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN HIS EXCELLENT SWORDSMANSHIP! THAT'S

BECAUSE THE INSTANT HE DECIDES TO UNSHEATHE HIS SWORD, THE OPPONENT

WILL ALREADY BE DEFEATED!"

So how had he been able to win all this time? It made sense for unofficial

tournaments, but hadn't Masayuki also participated in large-scale tournaments in

the past?

Even if he did take his opponents down in one swift slash, there was no way

he could hide his moves in front of the entire audience.

"How did the match go yesterday?"

"About that, we really have no way of knowing—"

According to Souei, Masayuki didn't seem to have unsheathed his sword even

once. It turned out that Masayuki's companions were also part of the competition

yesterday. They beat around fifty contestants and purposefully lost to give their

results to Masayuki. In the end, Masayuki didn't get to show his skills at all…

The admiration he received alone showed that he was powerful—but I also

suspected that he was just bluffing. Whatever. Whether he was truly capable or

not—we would see about that in today's tournament.

"HIS IMMENSE POWER IS KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE SEVEN SEAS,

MASAYUKI, THE YOUNG PRODIGY, THE 'CHOSEN HERO'! MORE AND MORE PEOPLE

ARE FALLING FOR HIS HANDSOME APPEARANCE; RUMOR SAYS THAT WOMEN

WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM AFTER MERE EYE CONTACT. MA~SA~YU~KI! HOW MOST FORTUNATE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO WITNESS HIM ON THE FINAL STAGE—

!"

As Souka finished, people shouted out in awe, cheering loud enough to

overwhelm any other sound.

He sure was popular. Thinking of it, really? How could he be so popular? Did

Souka improvise the whole announcement? If she did, she had some unexpected

but not unwelcome talent. I figured that most of her speech was probably

exaggeratory and intended to praise Masayuki extra hard. Also, what was that

"MA~SA~YU~KI" thing all about? After listening carefully to her promotion, I

supposed that something might be wrong with Souka's head.

Masayuki sure had his share of bad luck. If he lost after being promoted this

way… It would just be embarrassing. In some sense, this could be her setting up

trouble for him. Souka must have been sarcastic, how clever. As expected from

Souei's right-hand woman, she sure was devious.

The next contestant, titled "Crazed Wolf", was a man called Jinrai. He seemed

like an experienced warrior, and while his gear appeared subpar, he gave off the

aura of someone powerful. He also seemed to be one of Masayuki's companions.

This man, at first glance, didn't seem to be even close to Rank A, but for some

reason, I felt that he should not be underestimated. There seemed to be something

hidden about him.

Upon thinking so, I decided to watch the match closely.

The third contestant was Kai, the "Splendacious Sword Fighter". This Kai guy's

selling point seemed to be fancy swordplay.

"BEAUTIFUL LIKE DANCING, ANYONE WOULD BE CHARMED BY HIM! IN

TODAY'S CONTEST, WILL HE PERFORM HIS AMAZING DANCE AMIDST THE

BLOODSHED—?"

How horrifying! Dancing in a bloodbath, wouldn't that be scary as hell. He

didn't look as strong as Jinrai physically, but considering his swordsmanship,

perhaps he was ranked A? Although he wouldn't pose much of a threat, he seemed

pretty strong for an adventurer. The fourth and fifth contestants were people I had

met before.

They were the leaders of the Gozu and Mezu. I asked Souei, "Why are they

participating?"

"About that, it seems that the news has spread…"

"The news?"

"Right, that. You said that the champion could be part of the 'Four Heavenly

Kings'—"

"—Huh?"

It was probably Gobta running his mouth with the rumor. And now, somehow,

the champion of the tournament would get to become one of the "Four Heavenly

Kings" under my reign. Because of this, a bunch of monsters had joined up the

day before for the elimination rounds. In the end there were over three hundred

signups and the place was crowded.

The heads of Gozu and Mezu hadn't hesitated to join either. They were

probably just lucky to have gotten into the final. But I supposed it wasn't just luck.

Despite their looks, they were ferocious fighters with strength equivalent to Rank

A. No wonder some random adventurers couldn't stand against them. That being

said—I didn't expect both to enter the final.

In their group of the elimination round, there seemed to be several monsters

ranked A, yet just as I mentioned, they had managed to defeat all of them. I even

heard that their fight against the monsters around them had been a complete

massacre. They were unstoppable. As expected from a higher evolved species, but

to be fair, the truth was—

"—HE IS THE WINNER OF ROUND FOUR YESTERDAY, GOZER—!"

—Yep, I had given the 'Name' "Gozer" to the leader of the Gozu. I felt that I

shouldn't play favorites and then also named the Mezu leader "Mezer".

.........

......

...

The reason went without saying: I wanted them to be bosses in the labyrinth.

I decided to send one of them to be the boss of floor 50, and I told them that they

could alternate the role by taking shifts.

Since they'd sworn loyalty to me, I therefore, very ungenerously, gave them

a bunch of work, the reward of which was their names. Nowadays, I'd become

quite good at this, I was able to limit the magicule consumption during naming to

be as low as possible. But even with that being the case, they had undergone some

amazing evolutions.

Gozer evolved to an Ox Demon (Gyuki) while Mezer became a Horse Demon

(Baki). They were already ranked A as a higher species, but with this they became

far stronger than my initial expectations.

Moreover—

<>

Wisdom King Raphael-sama—no, sensei asked me excitedly. It seemed that

besides 'Fusion' and 'Ability Change', it could also reverse 'King of Gluttony' and

'Food Chain' to grant individual abilities. However, the conditions were apparently

very strict, as it took adaptability into account, among many other things. That

being said, Raphael-sensei still wanted to do an experiment.

Sure, I nodded and answered "YES" in my heart, and then…

<

"Gozer"—Successful.>>

Another fine job by Raphael-sensei with the experiment. The original Extra

Skill 'Automatic Regeneration' obtained by Gozer after his evolution had been

changed by Raphael-sensei through 'Ability Modification'.

I was quite impressed. It also granted Mezer the Extra Skill 'Magic

Interference'. Now both of them had their own unique features.

Gozer had evolved to become specialized in physical attack while Mezer

became specialized in magical attack.

But there was more. They were even granted Unique Skills—specifically, the

Skill called 'Limiter'. It was a skill that could create a space used to limit your

opponents. In simple terms, it was like an inferior combination between 'Infinite Prison' and 'Space Domination' from my Ultimate Skill 'Covenant King Uriel'. If

people were to try to resist and suppress the Skill, said special space would no

longer be effective. Its ability to control wasn't particularly great, so it was not a

very useful power.

But if the two confronting parties had a certain difference in strength, they

could forcefully drag the opponents into a new space to gain an edge against them.

But that really depended on how the users applied their skills. On the other hand,

it also depended on their opponents' ability. It wouldn't work if they were on par

with themselves, but they could try to trick their opponents, nonetheless.

If they were to create a special space with rules such as restraining magic

use—hmm, that would make an interesting idea of applying it. In that way, it could

be used as a 'Defensive Barrier' to lower the attack power of the enemies as well.

Since they would be working inside the labyrinth, they could also negotiate

with the adventurers by adding conditions such as giving additional treasure, etc.

Now that they had even mastered skills like this, the two were becoming more and

more like dungeon bosses. Yet I didn't expect both of them to participate, just to

receive the superficial role of the "Four Heavenly Kings," of all reasons…

I heard that the two even made a bet between themselves that the winner

would be the "Heavenly King" while the loser would be the boss at level 50.

.........

......

...

While this rumor continued to give me a headache, the speech to hype up this

match was as expected.

"THE NEXT OPPONENT IS THE ARCHRIVAL OF GOZER, MEZER!! THERE HAS

YET TO BE A CONCLUSION TO THEIR HUNDRED YEAR DUEL! WILL THEY FINALLY

BE ABLE TO DETERMINE THE STRONGEST BETWEEN THE TWO IN THIS MATCH? A

WHIRLWIND OF STRENGTH IS STIRRING IN THE COLOSSEUM—!"

Souka sure was into it. She was really suited for the job. She was also cute,

so the audience would probably adore her as well. Even with a tail, wings and

horns, she was still considerably "cute".

"MOREOVER, BOTH MEZER AND GOZER WILL ALSO BE AMONG THE BOSSES

IN THE LABYRINTH OPENING TOMORROW! DO WITNESS THEIR STRENGTH! FOR

THOSE WHO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE TO DEFEAT THEM, SEEK

FORTUNE AND GLORY IN THE LABYRINTH!"

Super into it. She even shilled for the labyrinth on top.

We planned to open the labyrinth tomorrow, and since many people were still

unaware of its existence, we would make sure to reveal it now. Additionally, after

witnessing Gozer and Mezer's strength, some may just come to challenge the

labyrinth…

There were many people in this world who tended to be determined yet

overconfident. This included many, if not most, of the adventurers. I could only

hope that they would actually use their brain and think for a moment before

running inside, blinded by the prize they could receive for challenging the labyrinth.

Myourmiles also spent plenty of time planning, so there probably wouldn't be any

issues.

Right, let's see who would win now. Based on the results of the draw, the two

would be confronting each other soon enough. Now that they'd been praised so

highly, it would be embarrassing to have any of them lose too fast. Their reputation

would be based on their performance in the first round. They might even get looked

down upon if they underperformed. We would see when the time came. Perhaps

being looked down upon may actually work in our favor; we would figure out a

plan then.

There was no need to rig the game for that. We could just wait for the results.

With that being said, Mezer was the fifth one.

There were three more contestants, meaning there was one more winner from

yesterday's elimination rounds.

"NEXT ON THE LINE, GIVE IT UP FOR THE MYSTERIOUS MASKED MAN WHO

PUT ON A SHOW YESTERDAY! IS THE MYSTERIOUS LION-MASKED CONTESTANT

A SEEKER OF JUSTICE OR THE DEVIL'S HENCHMAN? AND WHAT SORT OF BATTLE

WILL HE GIVE US TODAY?"

I turned to the Lion-masked man (TL Note: Lion-Mask for short, reason10)

and—PEWWW! My juice went everywhere.

"S-Souei! That's—"

"Indeed. Your guess is as good as mine. That's definitely him…"

While neither of us said his name, Souei seemed to be convinced about the

identity of this Lion-Mask. Oi oi oi, wasn't it Diablo who said: "These guys aren't

enough for a show"?

What's wrong with that guy's judgement?—wait, that's not the issue. That idiot

has no concept of humility to begin with… Ahh, let's put this deal aside for now.

I saw a familiar-looking trio in the crowd cheering for the Lion-Mask. All three

seemed to be cheering reluctantly, with tears in their eyes. One of them, a slim,

gentle-looking man with an earring. One of them, a muscular, fit man with a nose

ring. One of them, an obese, short man with a mouth ring. All three had bizarre

and colorful hair above their heads—these folks were, no doubt, Dagruel's sons.

The clothes they wore had "We are Shion's bodyguards!", "I Shion" and stuff

like that written on them. They were definitely the three brothers, alright.

They had been very close to Shion after the incident where she beat them up.

Perhaps the event had awakened the masochists within them… But, ultimately,

that was none of my business.

I didn't wanna get into that stuff.

While I wanted to ask if they were okay, I also knew that Shion was usually

seen as very attractive and sensible beauty. But that was a misjudgment, a

mistake I had also made at the beginning. But since I'm no fan of trouble, I decided

10 This is how Fuse called him, "ライオンマスク" Lion Mask. The kanji read something similar. Initially,

I thought it meant "Masked Lion", so this change was added afterwards.

to let them keep thinking that way. Sooner or later, they would discover the reality

and in turn disillusion them from that notion. But that was their choice.

"By the way, Souei, why are those three cheering for Lion-Mask?"

"—Because during yesterday's match, he defeated the three of them."

You don't say…

Despite how the trio presented themselves, their magicule content still almost

rivaled some of the older demon lords. Shion had easily taken them down because

of their poor fighting techniques, but they definitely weren't weaklings. They were

probably stronger than the evolved Gozer and Mezer. To fight the trio and triumph,

it seemed that the true identity of Lion-Mask was sealed at this point.

"How useless. Those idiots really need more exercise."

Shion was pissed though. I felt a bit sorry for them.

It was a bad matchup. Those three had always been pretty outrageous, but to

fight an ex-Demon Lord who worshipped martial prowess, it was like pitching a

fight between an adult and a child. There was no easy victory in that.

Moreover… All three of them happened to be grouped in the same division with

such a monster alongside them. They were really down on luck. Had they been

assigned to a different division to compete in, they might've had a chance to win.

But anyway, since Shion was so pissed, to the point of wanting to retrain them,

I looked forward to their future performance.

"—NEXT, SOMEONE LEFT AN ANONYMOUS MESSAGE. 'PLEASE DO YOUR BEST

IN MY STEAD! YOU SHOULD KNOW THE DRILL, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT REVEAL

YOUR TRUE IDENTITY. BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR CONQUEST!' THAT'S THE

MESSAGE! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I'VE GOT NO CLUE, BUT IT'S PROBABLY TO

ENCOURAGE OUR CONTESTANT, LION-MASK"

No, she knew well enough. Souka was making fun of him. In other words, she

must have been in contact with Milim at some point.

Milim had been working hard to make some final adjustments to the labyrinth—

or so she said. But it was better than her coming to meddle with things, so I took

her by her word. I didn't expect her to interfere in the match in this way.

For that matter, I didn't invite Veldora either. At that moment, he was probably

happily building the labyrinth with Milim and Ramiris, with all his mind focused on

it. We would be in trouble if he came and destroyed the tournament out of

excitement, this being just one of the reasons why I didn't invite him.

While I didn't expect Milim to send someone in her place, Veldora didn't have

any subordinates, so I wouldn't have to worry about him sending someone to join.

But the question now is, who was going to come out on top…

The difference in strength was a bit too overwhelming. I figured there was no

way the powerful Lion-Mask would be backed into a corner by others, so I supposed

the only person capable of rivaling him would be Geld?

I hoped Geld would win, but I may be pushing my luck. But ultimately, even if

Lion-Mask won, it was fine. I was actually more afraid of them beating each other

too badly. Moreover, I was curious about what would happen if Masayuki

encountered him. If he wanted to win, then surely, he would fight seriously.

Anyhow, best of luck to him.

The six contestants had been introduced. And now for the special contestants:

"OUR NEXT CONTESTANTS ARE THE REAL, AUTHENTIC POWERHOUSES! THE

PROUD LIEUTENANTS OF THE TEMPEST FEDERATION—THEY HAVE COME TO JOIN

IN THE TOURNAMENT. THEIR POWER IS THAT OF A THOUSAND MEN, AND IF YOU

WIN AGAINST THEM, YOU CAN BECOME ONE OF RIMURU-SAMA'S 'FOUR

HEAVENLY KINGS'—!"

The rumors had already spread far and wide. There was no use trying to amend

the matter. But still, hearing someone shouting out the title "Four Heavenly Kings"

made me cringe. Or at least I thought so, Shion seemed to be very proud of it.

The monsters watching the match also gave Gobta and Geld a look of admiration.

It seemed that people thought that the role of the "Four Heavenly Kings" was

much more valuable than it really was, much more than I had expected.

"OUR FIRST CONTESTANT, GO~BU~TA! MANY LOOK UP TO THIS ELITE

SOLDIER WITH A CRUEL APPEARANCE! THIS IS THE YOUNG PRODIGY THAT HAS

ACHIEVED THE POSITION OF CENTURION. WHAT SORT OF FIGHT WILL HE GIVE

US?"

Cruel, how? Are you sure you understand what that word means? I could

almost feel Gobta shouting internally, "Stop that!"

His eyes looked lifeless. But that was no wonder. No matter how it was framed,

Lion-Mask next to Gobta looked way stronger than him.

If they ended up matched against each other, even if Lion-Mask were to cut

Gobta some slack, he may still end up worse than just beaten up… Sorry, Gobta.

I didn't expect things to end up this way. If you had to blame someone, blame

Milim who sent out her subordinate just for fun.

But perhaps—Gobta might actually show some of his true strength if pushed

hard enough. He may even awaken some extraordinary, unforeseen power.

<<...>>

I looked forward to it. Gobta's battle was only just starting now.

Moving on, the last contestant was Geld.

"WITH THE APPETIZER OUT OF THE WAY, WE STILL HAVE TO INTRODUCE THE

ACE IN THIS TOURNAMENT! HE IS THE SAVIOUR OF THE HIGH ORCS, GELDSAMA!! WITH HIS INDESTRUCTIBLE BODY, HE IS ALSO THE GUARDIAN DEITY OF

THE TEMPEST FEDERATION!"

Woah, Souka. She seriously just called the other contestants "Appetizer". She

even changed her tone to give a serious introduction.

Geld was indeed one of the veteran lieutenants… But that being said, Gobta

was also a veteran. Though I suppose that was a clear difference in "levels". If

Gobta actually won, Souka may change her view on him.

"AL-RIGHT, NOW THEN, ALL EIGHT CONTESTANTS HAVE GATHERED! WHO

AMONG THEM WILL EMERGE VICTORIOUS? THE MOMENT OF TRUTH IS COMING!"

Oh yeah, after the contestants' introductions, I needed to give a speech in

front of the eight of them. I almost forgot about it entirely. But it'd be awkward if

I panicked right beforehand.

Rigurd had left to go attend to the guests and I had Benimaru act as his

bodyguard. I ordered Souei to oversee the situation and stood up I walked towards the stage. While pretending to be carefree, I used

'Dimensional Domination' to open a 'Portal' between the VIP booth and the

tournament stage. With Shion by my side, I entered the arena with the audience

cheering loudly.

"WHOOOO—!"

Citizens of our nation and tourists from neighboring kingdoms alike seemed to

be very excited to see me. I acknowledged them back.

I couldn't help but feel a bit shy, but I was trying my best to maintain the

arrogant attitude that a demon lord was supposed to hold. I gazed towards the

contestants as I took the microphone from Souka's hand.

"Well then, everyone. If you emerge victorious from today's tournament and

in tomorrow's final, I shall grant the victor the special honor of citizenship to our

nation."

Was that okay? Anyhow, I spoke slowly while acting like a superior. Then I

proceeded to address the contestants individually.

"'Chosen Hero' Masayuki. If you win, I shall permit you to challenge me."

That was a promise. Although, hearing so, Masayuki didn't look happy at all.

Instead, it looked like the discerned face of "What good is that?"

My guess was right, he didn't want to fight me personally. I was really

struggling to find a reason to dislike the guy.

Next, I turned my eyes to the next contestant.

I recalled that he was "Crazed Wolf" Jinrai, Masayuki's companion.

"You must be 'Crazed Wolf' Jinrai. What is your wish?"

As I asked, Souka handed the microphone to Jinrai.

"Ho, I didn't expect you to speak to me. I have only one wish: to aid Masayukisan. Sorry, I ain't gonna be champion, but Masayuki-san will beat you for me!"

Ah, I see. It seemed that if Jinrai got matched up with Masayuki, he would just

give up without a fight. Then there was no way for him to become the champion.

"I see. In light of your noble cause, regardless of the result, I shall order my

people to prepare new gear for you. Consider this my respect towards a brave

warrior. Do take it generously."

It's a rare occasion, so I might as well give him something. Thanks to

Masayuki's team's participation, we'd managed to gather a much larger audience.

On one hand, I was thanking him, but more importantly—I wanted to give

everyone a good impression by showing my kind and compassionate nature.

That was the only reason.

"Hmm, since you are giving it for free, I'll take it. But don't think you can bribe

me with that."

Jinrai said rather contemptuously before handing the microphone back to

Souka.

This guy's got some backbone, but he also seemed okay to accept my

hospitality. Otherwise he wouldn't have accepted the gift. He probably considered

it a participation prize.

Alright, next one. As I finished talking with Jinrai, I turned towards Kai, the

"Splendacious Sword Fighter". The next moment—

"Oi, Demon Lord. I'm even stronger than that 'Chosen Hero'! Won't you fight

me as well when I win?"

Eh? How was I supposed to respond to that kind of question…

I wasn't great at improvising… I had no idea what to say in response. Instead,

someone else spoke for me. It was Diablo.

"How dare you offend Rimuru-sama? Since you have the nerve to ask, I shall

be the one to waltz with you if you win. If you are able to win against me, I shall

relay your request to Rimuru-sama for you."

As the referee, Diablo stood by the side of the stage with a smirk as he

responded in my place.

I've been saved. Since I preferred to stay out of trouble, having Diablo fight

him for me was much more convenient. I took the mic:

"The Chosen Hero and I made an arrangement prior to this, but, if anyone

wishes to fight me, then they must first defeat the 'Four Heavenly Kings' to prove

this ability. Only then shall I permit you to challenge me!"

"Four Heavenly Kings" sure was convenient—I could use this.

I've learnt a new trick.

Souka finally passed the mic back to Kai.

"Hmph, nice dodge just now. Fine then, I don't care if it's the 'Chosen Hero',

or that 'Demon' or some 'Demon Lord'—none of them can rival me!"

What the heck, what's this guy's deal with his self-righteous, arrogant attitude?

Please, try again after you win.

It was best to finish the conversation before Diablo lost his temper.

"… Kai, the 'Splendacious Sword Fighter', if you are victorious then I shall be

gracious enough to grant you permission to challenge me. Will that work?"

How troublesome, next one already, next. This kind of people wouldn't win

anyway, so I might as well just accept the challenge casually.

Heh, don't you forget about that—while ignoring Kai who just said this to play

cool, I turned my eyes to Gozer and Mezer. Upon receiving my attention, Gozer

and Mezer knelt.

"I'm looking forward to your performance. Even if you can't win the contest,

you should have the awareness, as a labyrinth boss, to not lose too badly."

That was enough, right? While the message was mixed with a hint of a threat,

I didn't want my labyrinth bosses to flee for their lives in front of so many people.

It wouldn't matter if they lost, though I hoped they would be able to show their

martial prowess before exiting.

"Understood! I shall gamble my name of 'Gozer' to fight with all my heart and

soul for the sake of Rimuru-sama."

"To not taint your glory, I, 'Mezer', promise to fight with passion as a member

of this nation!"

Nice, nice. Although they both seemed a bit too serious, they appeared to have

made their resolve to battle.

Even if both of them lost in the end, we would still carry out, as previously

promised, to have them take turns in guarding the 50th floor of the labyrinth. I personally felt that neither would make it to the final, but all I needed was for them

to fight hard and not embarrass our nation.

Next, moving on to the troublemaker.

"Eh—Lion-Mask. If anything, please restrain yourself."

"Oi oi oi, is that all ya gotta say to me?"

"That's not the issue. Just be sure to keep that promise!"

I had nothing more to say to this guy. Anything else, like telling him to quit or

encouraging him, would just sound weird.

I might cheer him on, depending on the opponent he was matched against,

but if someone like Gobta was matched up with him…well it would be tragic. It

would be best if he got to fight Masayuki—but there was no way things would go

that smoothly.

While I wanted to cheat and assign an opponent to him, I gave up that thought

eventually. If we got exposed somehow, we would lose credibility for the

foreseeable future. That would be an even bigger loss, so, for now, we would play

fair and leave the results up to the draw.

And that was that, moving on.

"Gobta-kun! Good job fighting your way up here!"

"Huh, but I'm the special contestant—?"

"I believe you'll win in the end!"

Ignoring Gobta's words, I encouraged him. Now Gobta couldn't back down

anymore. Surely, he'd try his best to win.

Alright, next was Geld.

"Geld, you are strong. Show off your strength in the tournament as much as

you want!"

"Yes sir!"

I had high expectations for Geld, and I wanted him to be at his best.

How come we are treated so differently—I ignored Gobta's complaint again

and concluded my words to Geld. The usually quiet Geld wouldn't say much more

anyway. His actions would speak louder instead.

Having introduced all of the contestants, it was time to decide the matchups.

Since these were the promotion rounds, we would have six matches straight in

one day. Tomorrow we'd go straight to the final, so we aimed to get to the semifinals before the end of the day. Since there was no award for third place, there

would only be one match tomorrow.

It was time for the draw.

The numbers were as follows: Masayuki number three, Jinrai number four, Kai

number five, Gozer number one, Mezer number two, Lion-Mask number eight,

Gobta number six and Geld number seven.

As their numbers were announced, their names began to fill up the list of

promotion matches.

As a result:

Round 1 - Gozer VS Mezer

Round 2 - "Chosen Hero" Masayuki VS "Crazed Wolf" Jinrai

Round 3 - "Splendacious Sword Fighter" Kai VS Gobta

Round 4 - Geld VS Lion-Mask

Those were all of the duel groups. Even though the draw results were definitely

fair and square, so I couldn't really complain… Masayuki really was a natural D20.

He had already won his first match. In comparison, Geld's luck was the opposite.

In the first match, Geld was immediately pitted against that guy—Lion-Mask.

Would he be able to win?

I was very curious. I supposed these matches would be interesting, but I just

couldn't make myself feel excited about it. If I really wanted someone to test out

Masayuki's ability, this was possibly the worst combination.

Since Masayuki's second opponent would be the winner of the first round, even

though Mezer and Gozer's match may be entertaining, they would probably end

up fighting each other so fiercely, they would end up exhausted before the match

with Masayuki.

There was another reason. The winner of the third and fourth matches would

also enter the final…

Gobta would face Geld, which meant that they wouldn't be able to test out

Masayuki's strength.

There was also Lion-Mask in their division. If Gozer and Mezer's fight was going

to be entertaining, so would Geld and Lion-Mask's. In my opinion, the two matches

would be extraordinary.

Kari—I mean, if Lion-Mask really were to get serious, I had no clue either, how

strong he would be. But Geld was, no doubt, an extremely powerful fighter as well.

It was quite bizarre how the two got matched up in the first fight. It was almost

as if fate were playing tricks on us; the combination of their matches all worked in

Masayuki's favor.

But anyhow, there was no use complaining. Putting my predictions aside, there

was no way of knowing the result, as of yet.

And at that moment, the first round was about to start—

***

Before the first round, the other contestants left the arena to go to the resting

lounge. Only Gozer and Mezer remained at the center of the stage. Other than a

couple of scathing taunts, they merely stared intently at each other.

"Oi, Mezer. We are supposed to duel each other to determine the stronger one

already. Let our long-standing rivalry end today—prepare to lose."

"Cut the bullshit, Gozer. The one who's going to be one of Emperor Rimuru's

glorious 'Four Heavenly Kings' will be me, Mezer-sama! You can go and enjoy your

retirement in the labyrinth."

"Ridiculous! You don't deserve the majestic title of the 'Four Heavenly Kings'!"

With that, the duel between the two suddenly erupted.

Both of them being melee type, they clashed with shield and axe, shield and

lance. As opposed to magic or sorcery, a purely physical brawl was much more suitable for them. Gozer slammed his great axe into Mezer's shield before Mezer

sent the force back in a heavy block.

As Gozer was about to lose his balance, Mezer raised his lance to attack. But

Gozer backed away and easily dodged the shot. It had been twenty minutes since

the match began and the two were still going at each other hard. Their strength

seemed to be on par with each other. As expected from a hundred-year long

struggle; they still had yet to determine a winner.

The blood-boiling battle of the two monsters also kept the audience enraptured

and enthusiastic. After all, there hadn't been a lot of opportunities for them to

witness monsters of such great strength battling each other. It was

understandable—they probably wouldn't have the opportunity to witness another

Rank A against Rank A battle for the rest of their entire life. Because the two's

power levels were about the same, a victor had yet to be decided.

What a fine duel.

However, the moment of victory suddenly came without much warning.

"THIS IS IT!"

Gozer decided to gamble on one move.

He threw out his great axe with all his strength in a strike that would surely be

able to crush even a boulder; the opponent would certainly crumble if he took on

the weapon. Mezer's left hand exploded and flew through the air. By sacrificing his

left hand, he'd stopped Gozer's great axe!

In the wake of this, Mezer grinned victoriously. This opportunity was exactly

what Mezer was looking for. In a blink of an eye, Mezer closed in on Gozer. Thinking

that Mezer would dodge, Gozer had no time to react. Mezer had already

approached him.

"The match is settled! Die, Ma Chao Ultra Lance Strike11!"

Mezer appeared right in front of Gozer and suddenly began stabbing his lance

into Gozer's chest once, twice—there was no way for him to dodge—

A couple of large holes were violently drilled into his torso. Mezer would even

sacrifice his own left hand to achieve victory. Mezer had won—

"You are too naive! Thunder Horn—!" someone roared.

Gozer thrust his horns towards Mezer. His horns were wrapped in lightning,

and their length had increased several times over. Their wickedly sharp points

were focused on Mezer and tore away at his right eye and arm.

That sealed the match. Mezer could no longer hold his lance with his right arm

mangled. Moreover, Gozer's attack had burnt Mezer badly through the lightning

strike, making even his blood boil.

Mezer previously gained the Extra Skill 'Automatic Regeneration' during his

evolution, but even so, the lightning strikes kept spreading faster than his

regeneration could mend.

In comparison, with the aid of his Extra Skill 'Ultra-speed Regeneration', Gozer

had the giant hole in his chest and stomach fully healed in an instant—he was the

winner.

11 Ma Chao is the lance wielding general from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Not sure where

Mezer learnt this Chinese lost art.

Under normal circumstances, those would have been instantly lethal wounds,

but they posed no threat in the face of the Extra Skill 'Ultra-speed Regeneration'.

Mezer also had a Skill with similar effect, and so his arms and right eyes had begun

to heal. By the time Gozer and Mezer had left the stage, both had recovered to

their original state.

I'll definitely win next time! Mezer shouted with determination.

How very motivated. However, the match had already ended.

Our first winner was Gozer.

Having witnessed their incredible fight, the audience gave them their applause

and cheers. It was a beautiful duel, a most appropriate appetizer for the early

matches.

—Speaking of which, it just made me realize how broken of a Skill 'Ultra-speed

Regeneration' was, once again.

If following the rules of his previous matches, Mezer probably would have won.

Normally speaking, his ultra lance strike would have settled the match. But it was

Mezer's miscalculation to have not suspected any trickery. I hoped he would be

more cautious in deducing his opponents' ace in the hole in the future.

***

The second round began.

The fight was between the "Chosen Hero" Masayuki and "Crazed Wolf" Jinrai.

But as I expected, Masayuki won without a fight. The two simply shook hands in

the center of the stage.

Upon seeing this, people not only applauded, but even cheered out loud.

I couldn't understand it. It was just a handshake, how come the crowd got all

riled up like that?

"As expected from Masayuki-sama!"

Some were even shouting excitedly. His popularity was truly baffling.

…Never mind. Thinking about it too much was troublesome. Moving on.

Round three.

Kai the "Splendacious Sword Fighter" versus Gobta. Well, what would the result

of this match be?

I was actually looking forward to this duel. This man called Kai, he barely

looked like a Rank A. He was wearing a full set of rare equipment, meaning that

he was a top-tier adventurer.

On the other hand, all of Gobta's own equipment was special-ranked and

tailored for him. While in hindsight, the former seemed to far outmatch the latter,

but in terms of strength alone, this would be an interesting duel.

"Get ready, set, battle!"

As Souka shouted, the match began.

As Kai whispered: "Make haste!"12 he unsheathed his blade and moved out.

12 Supposedly this is a skill shout, like "Accelerate"

What a sharp hit. His reputation as a "Splendacious Sword Fighter" definitely

wasn't just for show. He was quite skilled. However, the sword was stopped by

Gobta's armor.

"Huh? You're nothing but some goon, how dare you wear such unbefitting

armor—!"

"Eyy, eyyyyy! That was way too fast—!"

Since Kai's attack landed practically the instant after Souka started the match,

Gobta didn't even have time to unsheathe his kodachi.

You were too careless, idiot! I cursed internally. This attack was blocked by

armor handcrafted by Garm, but next time he would not be as lucky.

He only managed to survive because Kai was overconfident with his abilities,

but it was obvious that he would be targeting joints next time.

"Hmph, how about this then?"

Kai sent a series of slashes descending upon Gobta, who was barely dodging

them, and his face looked rather desperate and exhausted.

Judging from his expression, he seemed to be planning to run out of the arena

to forfeit himself. He had already given up, only wanting to save his own life. While

that was indeed the right choice now, I was hoping for him to hold on a bit longer.

I had been expecting great things from them, foremost an engaging battle, but

Gobta's performance left a lot to be desired, disappointingly enough.

This match was probably about to end—or so I thought…yet the victor still

hadn't been settled after so long. Could it be that Gobta wanted to sneak out of

bounds, but Kai was chasing him all over the place, not wanting him to escape…?

"Does that guy actually want to murder Gobta?"

"It seems that this man has a pretty disgusting character. Even though Gobta

isn't really upright either, this man's actions are far more unpleasant to watch."

Shion seemed to agree with me.

Umm—… With things turning out like this, at this point, I wished Gobta would

win no matter what.

"Ahahaha! Keep running like a rat, you piece of trash!"

In his right hand, Kai held a longsword fit for both single and double-handed

combat. On the left, he wore brass knuckles that he used to beat up his opponent.

It was a strange fighting style.

As soon as he saw an opportunity to strike, he would use both hands to hold

his sword and slash, so it was difficult to predict his moves.

Gobta had only studied formal swordsmanship under Hakurou, and his

opponent was definitely giving him a hard time. But even with that being the case,

Gobta had yet to sustain any fatal wound. He had only been cut once at the start

of the match.

"Gobta sure has sharp eyes. If he couldn't see the path of his attack, he

wouldn't be able to flee for long," Shion praised Gobta.

That was my thought exactly. Even though he got punched a few times, Gobta

managed to block all of Kai's sword strikes with his kodachi.

"Alright—! Gobta, nice job! That's the spirit! Let everyone see what you can do

and beat that guy! I'll give you more pocket money! And—if you win—I'll give you

the new prototype fishing pole that you always wanted!"

"Seriously!? Then I'll use my ultimate move!"

If you had an ultimate move, you should have used it earlier…

Hearing my verbal support, Gobta seemed to become more motivated. Using

items as bait seemed inappropriate, but when facing someone as lazy as Gobta,

there was no other way. But honestly, it was because I wasn't putting much

expectation on Gobta, since we had Geld to hold our ground. But if things went as

I expected, I would have to make Gobta work harder.

"GAHAHAHA, quit bluffing, you trash! I am the strongest, you stand no

chance!" Kai laughed maniacally as he chased after Gobta. He had no guard

against Gobta whatsoever, believing that he had already won.

No matter what Gobta could do, he wasn't capable of turning the tide—such

underestimation of his opponent would become Kai's downfall.

"Summon! Come, come to me!"

Right, Gobta was the captain of the goblin rider troops. Of course he could

summon Star Wolves.

Moreover, he had the ultimate move: 'Unification' with the star wolf.

His magicule content would rise to around A-, and with Hakurou's

swordsmanship training to boot—logically speaking, it would be more than

sufficient to handle Kai.

Then you should have done it from the start, I thought to myself. This guy

Gobta, when he first participated, he only wanted to lose.

But now Gobta surely would become serious—eh? How strange.

"Eh?"

"Tsk, summon spell I see. But those direwolves are no match for me—"

Kai was interrupted violently as the dark wolf summoned by Gobta bolted

towards him at ultra-high speed. He had drastically underestimated the threat.

The monster summoned by Gobta was no Rank C or D monster like a direwolf. The

dark wolf wagging its tail on the stage—no matter how you looked at it, it was

Ranga.

"Ranga… What are you doing?"

"Tsk, I didn't expect that. As expected from Ranga, he's got his own game as

well…

No, there was no way. That's not the point, right?

Gobta was surprised too, I figured that he didn't expect this to happen. In

other words, it was all Ranga's doing…he purposefully intervened in Gobta's

summoning. And I thought he was sleeping silently in my shadow. I didn't expect

him to be planning anything like this…

I said that I wouldn't allow him to participate and I thought that Ranga would

accept such an arrangement as well. I didn't expect this from him. Souka rushed

to Kai and turned to Diablo.

"HE HAS KNOCKED OUT CONTESTANT KAI. WHAT A GREAT SHOT. IT SEEMS

THAT THE VICTOR HAS BEEN DETERMINED."

Diablo, the acting referee, obviously took the result for granted, judging the

attack just now to be effective. Even though Ranga had disguised himself to look

like a smaller wolf, Diablo would be able to see that it was actually Ranga.

I mean, I guess it was because Diablo and Ranga were on good terms with

each other.

"AND THE WINNER IS, GO~BU~TA!"

Souka's announcement echoed loudly in the arena. The audience proceeded to

give Gobta a round of applause and cheers. It appeared that everyone agreed with

the adjudication. The summoning this time was not considered foul play.

"No way…"

Gobta's mumbling was overwhelmed by the loud cheering of the crowd. No

one was gonna hold him accountable.

"Is this really okay?"

"In my humble opinion, summon spells are within the rules, so I believe it's

fine."

If even Rigur said so, I'd let it pass. Then again, Ranga entered the

tournament.

Uh—should that be a foul regardless…?

Prior to that, Gobta would've had no chance in surviving the fourth round of

the tournament. But with Ranga fighting alongside him, it had become far more

difficult to predict the outcome. But upon recalling my original intention of testing

out Masayuki's ability, things could actually be heading in a direction that I

originally wanted.

Alright! Let's not think too much about it. I had decided to adopt a more openminded spirit and let things flow.

***

Round four.

Geld versus Lion-Mask, the fight I was personally looking forward to.

"Kukuku, looks like I finally get to have a fun all-out brawl!"

Lion-Mask looked ecstatic.

"I never expected to have the chance to duel such a great warrior, I am indeed

lucky. Do indulge me to battle against you, and please allow me to fight with all I

have," Geld finished, as he took off the armor on his upper body and raised his

fists.

"Ho, ya wanna fight me barehanded? Alright, I'm good at unarmed combat

anyway."

Agreeing to Geld's invitation, Lion-Mask prepared himself as well. A duel that

would probably go down in history as one of the most exciting to date, unfolded.

There was a clash of fists.

That alone caused a huge shockwave that stirred up a whirl of wind on the

stage. Geld was not even using his legs, but instead relied on grappling and

throwing punches to fight his opponent. He was maintaining balance by sliding his

feet along the ground to take steps, unshaken by whatever blows he received.

That was the thing. I had seen it in boxing manga, the crouching stance where

you raise both fists in front of your face to protect your head. Such a defensive

style can be compared to an iron wall.

Moreover, you can strike when the opponent is least prepared. Not only is it a

method to stall the enemy, but you also keep the potential to strike with explosive

force. If you consider the lower half of the body to be the turret, the momentum

of the entire body is accumulated at the fist before a strike is unleashed. The fists

were not the only threat, Geld could also use his shoulder to bash the enemy, and

combining certain attacks could lead to a suplex. He was like a heavy tank.

On the other hand, Lion-Mask was the all-rounder with attacks that varied in

style. His physique was every bit as strong as Geld's, delivering equal amounts of

brute force. But in this world, the amount of magicule one possessed was much

more important than physical appearance. That was why Lion-Mask outmatched

Geld.

But even still, he was unable to take down Geld. That went to show just how

outstanding Geld's defense was. A crescent kick, that could shatter a boulder into

pieces, connected with Geld's arm. His opponent was apparently trying to knock

him down, but Geld didn't seem to budge. It was almost as if he was saying "Go

ahead, bring on a new attack". Lion-Mask then launched a barrage of hand chops

and punches from almost every angle, these were also accompanied by a flurry of

roundhouse kicks and axe kicks, among other things. Strike after strike, he was

so fast that it almost appeared like he had doubles.

Those consecutive attacks landed fast, yet none seemed to be hitting home

while Geld was on guard.

"Huh! You're pretty good! My attacks landed on ya like a gentle breeze!"

"Hehehe, I should be the one to complain. You leave me absolutely no chance

to counterattack. All of your attacks seem to be thrown out in disarray, yet every

one of them is so skillfully executed—" Geld replied to him with a sense of regret

in his tone. Right now, he was still able to hold up, but he would eventually get

beaten down if this were to continue.

As expected from Lion-Mask, his strength was as authentic as it gets.

Moreover, I had yet to see the depths of his power… It was as if he were

relentlessly firing attacks from outside of Geld's range, aiming to penetrate his

defense—like an attack helicopter. It was obvious which side had the advantage,

but victory was not solely determined by strength, sometimes it came down to

luck. So, who would Lady Luck favor this time—

This duel had boosted the atmosphere within the arena to maximum hype.

"S-so strong—!"

"Holy shit, this is insane, yo!" someone hollered while grasping a handful of

fries. Others were screaming excitedly, their faces beet-red from all of the beer.

The audience had also realized how strong the two truly were. Roaring cheers

thundered throughout every corner of the colosseum.

Geld had the style of a handsome prodigy, while Lion-Mask gave off a

dominating aura that, alone, was enough to attract the audience's attention. It

seemed that the two had now become the most popular contestants of the tournament. Their duel raged on for several rounds more, yet a victor had yet to

be determined.

As one attacked and the other defended—the match proceeded with both sides

holding up on equal ground. The stalemate persisted for another thirty minutes.

Souka was also brimming with excitement, broadcasting the battle between the

two vigorously. The referee, Diablo, on the other hand, monitored their battle with

an intently serious eye.

Another twenty minutes passed—

"I didn't expect you to last so long against me. You have my approval."

"Ahe, hehe, t-this is, is my honor. To be praised by a great man such as you—

"

"Let's skip the formality. By the way, I've got a question for ya."

"—Ask away."

"Why didn't you use any Skills?"

"There was no need. Since your Highness won't show your true form either."

"Hehe, hahahahahahaha! Although you just called me a great man, are you

seriously intending to win this match? How interesting. It's true that I can't reveal

my true identity to the outside world, so I guess I'll just have you witness what

I'm good at instead!"

They conversed while keeping up their unwavering attacks and defense. The

general audience couldn't hear a thing, but I had heard their entire conversation

as clear as day through Diablo's ears.

I had indeed been wondering why Geld wasn't using Skills this entire time—so

this was the reason. While battling Lion-Mask, Geld wanted to make a point of

winning while restrained under the same conditions.

Lion-Mask—actually Karion—could've shown off his true skill through

'Beastilization'. But because he was in disguise, he probably wouldn't fight with all

of his heart.

Geld was aware of this, that's why he had refrained from using his Unique

Skills 'Guardian' and 'Gourmet', instead, relying purely on his body. However,

perhaps another reason for that, was that he didn't want to reveal his abilities in

front of the crowd. After all, a certain anonymous message also mentioned the

same thing. Karion had seemingly agreed to keep his true ability concealed, so as

not to reveal his real identity. With that being said, Karion was still very strong.

An ordinary monster or majin couldn't hope to match him. His power had already

exceeded even the likes of greater spirits.

Karion, who already possessed such strength, apparently decided to show a

glimpse of his actual skills.

"Get ready, here it comes!"

"Aye!"

A flood of golden youki emerged, concentrating around Karion's right fist.

There was an afterimage of it piercing through both of Geld's arms. Its power was

incredible.

Geld's hands were instantly flung apart in opposite directions, leaving his body

wide open. Karion's right fist went straight to Geld's chest—one of his vitals. The

shock ran up and down through Geld's entire body, forming a destructive torrent

of physical damage.

"Impressive—looks like this is as far as I can go," Geld wheezed, before

stumbling.

But he didn't fall, managing to totter toward the edge of the arena. Diablo went

forth to support Geld while signaling Souka with his eyes.

"The match is over! Contestant Lion-Mask—has won!"

The Colosseum erupted in thunderous cheers and, moreover, they were joined

by deafening applause. People weren't holding back their admiration for their duel.

"That move was called the Roaring Lion Punch. You should feel proud, Geld.

Not only did you survive being hit by one of my ultimate moves, you even managed

to stay on your feet and kept moving."

"He, hehehe… I do hope that one day I'll be able to fight you seriously."

"Just what I was thinking. I haven't had a good fight like this in ages."

Geld and Karion exchanged their feelings with their eyes. It seemed that the

two of them not only now acknowledged each other, but they also cherished the

experience. To both of them, that was no real duel.

Indeed, had the two both been serious and used their full set of skills, the

match may have resulted differently. However, this time, it was Karion's victory

and Geld's defeat.

I still wished to praise Geld for a job well done. The resounding cheers were

proof of that, it was a truly magnificent match, after all.

I applauded alongside the rest and saw Geld off the stage.

***

All four matches had ended, and it was time for the intermission. When the midday

break was over, we would proceed to round two.

The winners of round one would be fighting each other, but the fatigue they

accumulated from before would likely affect the outcome of the match. We did give

the contestants healing potions, and their physical wounds would be healed, but

the amount of magicule they had left couldn't be judged purely by their

appearance.

People were still entranced by the excitement of the morning matches as the

fifth battle of the day was about to start on the center stage.

There, gambling over the right to participate in the final, "Chosen Hero"

Masayuki would battle Gozer. Now then, we shall see whether Masayuki really has

what it takes, in this match.

I got the impression that Masayuki's feet were shaking. Could this be the battle

excitement they talk about? When looking carefully, you could see that his neck

was drenched in sweat as well. Is Masayuki really as strong as Hinata? I don't feel

like that's the case, no matter how I see it.

Halfway through my observation, Gozer, with a microphone in his hand, began

to speak.

"So, you are the 'Chosen Hero' who wants to go against Emperor Rimuru? Your

ignorance and arrogance are truly pathetic."

This was his attempt to taunt him. But Masayuki only responded with a cold

smile—but, to put it bluntly, his month was twitching—he ignored Gozer's words

and reached his hand out towards Souka.

As requested, Souka passed the mic to Masayuki.

"Heh, you fought pretty well—"

"S-so?"

Not only did he remain unprovoked by the taunt, Masayuki decided to praise

his opponent. It seemed he was more mature than I imagined.

"—That being said, this is very regretful."

"Regretful? What's regretful?"

Masayuki had made the announcement to Gozer with a tone that held no

intention of fighting.

Hmm—what is he trying to say?

"Had you been in your optimal state, I would have wanted to fight you

seriously. But after the fight just now, you must have used up most of your

strength, didn't you? That is truly a shame."

So, it turned out that before the fight even began, he had announced that he

wouldn't fight seriously. Although his tone sounded genuine, could those just have

been excuses…?

"What are you trying to say—"

"Nothing really. I simply feel that I wouldn't be content, even if I won against

you right now."

"..."

"Is it true, what I heard, that you've been appointed as the labyrinth boss by

Demon Lord Rimuru? You seemed to dislike that and wanted to be among the 'Four

Heavenly Kings'—"

"That's not true at all! His Majesty wanted Mezer and I to be the bosses of level

50 of the labyrinth. That was, of course, an honorable role! We simply wished to

pursue a higher goal, that is all…"

"Really? Unfortunately, in my opinion, that man called Geld just now was

supposed to be the one strong enough to receive the title of the 'Four Heavenly

Kings'—"

"That's, uhhh…"

He first praised his opponent before looking down on him.

What's Masayuki's game?

"If you fight me now, I'll be the one who wins. But if I fight you at your peak

strength, whoever emerges victoriously, may be up in the air. You may even have

the upper hand in an environment such as the labyrinth. I simply feel that obtaining

a hollow victory from fighting you here would be a downright pity."

"Ehhh?"

Oi oi oi, could it be that Masayuki isn't planning to fight him at all…

"I want to challenge the underground labyrinth here as well. However, these

are two separate matters, compared to fighting the Demon Lord. So how about it?

Shall we wait until then, to decide who's the better, where you could face me when

you are at your best and more prepared?"

There was no other way. Masayuki was acting as if he had vast power to spare,

but in my opinion, he was afraid of fighting Gozer. Was he really trying to convince

Gozer not to fight by talking his way out of it…

I ordered Gobta and Geld to test Masayuki's strength, yet Gozer was not aware

of this. That's why he might just—

"Ku, kuu-hahaha! I've gotten a taste of your generosity already. You read that

correctly, right now I've got no more strength to spare. My battle with Mezer was

a narrow victory. Fine then, I'll take your word for it and await you in the labyrinth!"

WOW—It seriously turned out like this!

This Gozer, he seriously just accepted Masayuki's proposal and even went on

to shake hands with him while sporting a placid smile. Upon seeing this, the

audience reacted with excitement as well.

Generally speaking, when people leave the stage without fighting, the audience

would usually start cursing and complaining. But, for some reason, this time they

were met with applause and cheers. Some were praising Masayuki for being generous, others were lauding Gozer for recognizing Masayuki's honorable

character. An incredible outpouring of solidarity flooded the entire Colosseum.

I don't get it. I honestly don't get it.

No matter how I looked at it, Masayuki was just bluffing. Yet in the eyes of the

audience, it somehow became a noble act. Masayuki seemed to have that kind of

charm—no, hold on? If I thought of it that way, maybe even I would've been

fooled. Could all of this have been an act? He must have been afraid that I would

see his true ability, and made sure to keep it hidden. This would explain why he

tried to avoid fighting Gozer. Now I couldn't be careless at all.

Since Masayuki had made it through this match, he would be the one to enter

the final. The next match was between Gobta and Karion—Lion-Mask. No one

would be surprised by that match's outcome.

Against this ex-demon lord, how far would this young kid, that called himself

the "Chosen Hero," be able to take it?

Hmm, now that I think about it, the way this has developed may not even a

bad thing.

I reassured myself with those words and sent Masayuki off alongside bursts of

applause.

***

And now, the last match of the day—Gobta versus Lion-Mask. You could tell the

result without even watching the match. And for that reason, I wanted to root for

Gobta.

Even though I just said that I would reward him with that fishing pole, that

was actually one of my finest works. I made this new pole with improved string

winding efficiency, all to best Gobta in fishing.

No way I was just giving him that for free.

Despite it being rather trivial to make the rod, this was a matter to decide

future victories! The idea of getting the fishing pole as a reward was eminently

alluring to Gobta, he seemed to be highly motivated. I was glad to see that, so I'd

at least cheer for him…since we all knew how this would go down.

Lion-Mask, a.k.a. Karion, had this in the bag. He had already gotten this far,

surely Karion wanted to win as well. Or else he would have forfeited long ago, after

his satisfying duel with Geld. And so, my worries subsided, and the only lingering

concern was regarding Masayuki.

Having Karion there to gauge the strength of Masayuki was exactly what I

wanted. Even though it was not within my right to have Milim's subordinate doing

it. Karion was a laid-back kind of guy, so he might've forfeited at some point—

these kinds of things concerned me a great bit.

By now all of that worry was for naught, and since Karion and Geld didn't end

up severely wounding each other, my anxiety had dissipated as well. I could leave

the rest for Karion to handle—or so I planned.

However, it was as if Gobta had become aware of my little plot, as he seemed

to have gone super saiyan.

He really likes to go against the grain. Why don't you work that hard when

people actually rely on you…

Actually, no. I should root for Gobta properly. Karion was gonna win anyway,

I shouldn't mock Gobta's personal efforts. I decided to turn my eyes towards him

and saw that he had summoned Ranga from the start, even riding on him.

Oi, you're looking to Ranga for help again!

What seemed to be fueling Gobta's confidence, was his intention to have Ranga

fight this battle. As long as it didn't violate any regulations, it was fair game. And

if Gobta intended to win, it was the right thing to do.

In my opinion, Ranga was stronger than Geld. Unless Karion actually got

serious, if he continued to fight like he just had, Ranga's chances of winning were

actually very high.

Eh, how odd? What would become of this situation if things really turned out

that way? Wait, how else could it even be?

If…if Gobta actually won, we…we should just have Gobta lure out Masayuki's

true self.

I suppose that fits in line with the original plan. Let's just say that no matter

which side wins, it would be fine. Although tasking Gobta with the job unnerves

me quite a bit, let's just go with the flow for now.

Upon making up my mind, I started to cheer for Gobta—

The match began.

"I'm not like my usual self today!"

Then what was that embarrassment during the last match—I wanted to ask

him.

"Quit joking around, kiddo. I'm telling you this for your own sake, you should

forfeit quickly—"

"Ranga-san, I'll be counting on you!"

"Emm, I understand!"

Ignoring Karion's suggestion, Gobta and Ranga lashed out first. These two had

probably used the intermission to do some planning, as there was no hesitation in

their movement.

Gobta was serious, he really wanted to win.

That being said, it was nothing more than his intention…

"Eagle talon and Tiger foot!"

Sharp claws extended from the tips of Karion's feet, then unleashing a

lightning-fast roundhouse kick, swiping at both Gobta and Ranga. His claws were

strong, and their reach was challenging for others to gauge. Successfully dodging

them wasn't even enough, as the tip of the claws would cast something akin to a

vacuum wave, tearing up any opponents in that direction.

To Karion, such a move was probably mere child's play. But for Gobta, it had

almost spelt the end for him.

"AHH!" Gobta cried out, before tumbling off of Ranga.

Of course, he was barely holding on to life. Gobta was reduced to clumsily

crawling away, trying to sneak out of Karion's line of sight. No one here was entitled to laugh at him, despite the audience apparently finding it amusing, but

that was because they didn't have the faintest idea of just how terrifying Karion

was. For the mere act of confronting him face to face, Gobta's courage was

commendable. And Karion also chose not to pay attention to the fleeing Gobta.

Actually, he couldn't exactly spare any of his attention.

Ranga, without Gobta riding him, was now relieved of the weight on his back

and went on to take a big bite out of Karion. At the time, Ranga had transformed

to the size of a large canine, yet his teeth and claws were, nonetheless, still razorsharp.

"Tsk."

Karion sacrificed his left arm to Ranga's fangs and used the leverage to slam

him firmly on the ground. However, Ranga wasn't about to give up either. He

turned around and slipped away after the impact.

"Oh, oh oh… That wolf sure was something."

"Right, to my memory, isn't the most evolved version of the direwolf only

around Rank C?"

"That must be the monster mentioned by Kai-san. Though, is it really a

direwolf?"

Ranga's movements had people in awe, and the crowds began to rile up.

Among them were some folks with more pertinent knowledge, which had led to

people speculating about Ranga's actual species.

Indeed, he is actually a Tempest Star Wolf; a rare, Special Rank A monster,

far from your average wolf—I answered internally.

"Stampede of Chaos!13

"

Karion had struck, he concentrated his fighting spirit before raining down

volleys of attacks from mid-air.

You would normally be able to flee with sufficient free space, but this was a

stage, and escaping would mean stepping out of bounds. So you could only sit and

take it—or so Karion thought. However, it turned out that Ranga decided to bolt

out of the ring without a moment of hesitation.

"What?" Karion exclaimed.

He must not have expected Ranga to forfeit and turn tail right then and there.

Perhaps he was simply too shocked to react, but for a second, there was an

opening on him.

"Now!"

Ah! It was Gobta. At the same time, a dark shadow emerged. It was Ranga,

the same Ranga who had just dashed outside of the ring, suddenly emerged from

Gobta's shadow as if nothing had happened.

"Weren't you just out of bounds—" Karion shouted, but—

"Kufufufufu, summoning him again does not violate any rule," Diablo cut him

short.

13 Much appreciation to Voxel for these cool names. All of the skills shouted by Karion here are related

to animals, here the stampede refers to elephants as opposed to horses.

Ah, this was a total misstep on Karion's part. It's true that Ranga was much

stronger than Gobta, so naturally, Karion would have paid more attention to

Ranga.

But the contestant was Gobta, and as long as he didn't step out of bounds, the

match was not forfeited.

And cunning as Gobta was, he fled near the boundary line from the start of the

match, which was just what he had planned. Pretending to be a lame-duck was

also a part of his plan. All of this out of his greedy fixation on winning the match,

by any means necessary.

The tide of battle had now been turned, as Ranga's fangs scraped past Karion's

head. He attacked when Karion was least prepared, yet that guy managed to dodge

the impact by a millimeter.

—Actually, that wasn't true.

Karion, despite narrowly avoiding the strike unscathed, was pressing his hand

on his mask. Ranga's ploy had met its mark—he had successfully damaged Karion's

mask.

Karion must have seen this angle of attack coming from the very start, which

was to be expected, considering Karion was on guard the entire time. However,

he must have also been confident in his ability to take on whatever was thrown at

him, if he avoided a direct hit. He didn't go for messy dodges, but instead

maintained balance in his body and chose to use a crouch stance, in order to

convert defensive action into attacks. To a ruler such as Karion, such a choice

wouldn't cause much harm regardless.

He always had a carefree attitude and fought with the prowess of a king. That's

just the way Karion thought, for which he also had the strength to back it up, so

there was no reason why he shouldn't do the same during this sneak attack.

However, Ranga's attack was not meant for Karion in the first place, it was

aimed at the mask on his face. Karion chose to dodge in close quarters due to his

unusually good instincts and prevented himself from getting harmed. Actually, his

reflexes kicked in and he did it accidentally, which was why Ranga managed to cut

open the mask with his claw.

Gobta cracked a cunning smile.

"Alright, alright, alright, all according to plan!"

He shouted excitedly and raised his kodachi to launch his giant icicle lance.

"Here I come!"

"Tsk, smartass!"

Gobta's goal seemingly wasn't to defeat Karion physically, but instead to take

off his mask.

Upon realizing this, Karion continued to fight with both hands covering his face.

That afforded Ranga the opening to attack at will. It was as if both of Karion's

hands were tied, making it extremely difficult to handle Ranga.

"S-such a dirty tactic…"

"This is such a despicable way to fight…"

"Fight seriously now!"

The audience began to complain. But Gobta didn't mind at all.

"Shut up already! In this world, the winner is always right. Rimuru-sama used

to say so too!" he responded righteously to the audience.

Please don't drag me into this…

"Tsk, it should be expected from someone wanting to be among the "Four

Heavenly Kings" under the demon lord. He doesn't even feel shame when making

use of such tactics."

"That's right, and not only that, he even seems to feel himself being pretty

justified in doing it."

"Despite having a fool's face, he's good at dirty tricks. Seriously, he must have

planned all of this from the start."

"Apparently it was the demon lord's idea. Look at his stupid face, there's no

way he's that smart."

"How terrifying, a demon lord that manipulates "Four Heavenly Kings" like

pawns—"

Why am I being judged!? I don't want any "Four Heavenly Kings" that can't

think for themselves, yet the audience can't read my mind, how sad.

The situation had flipped in Gobta and Ranga's favor.

In the end, Karion stepped out of bounds voluntarily, and concluded the match.

"Damn it, I only lost because of your scheme."

On the surface, Karion seemed to maintain calm judgement, despite how

pissed he must've been. Rather than continuing to embarrass himself with that

match, he might as well just forfeit. It would be trouble if people knew that an exdemon lord lost in this type of match. That was the right call. And the reason for

his loss came down to a certain unnecessary message left by someone who shall

not be named.

Had that person not done said thing, Gobta would probably never have come

up with a plan like that.

"What a surprising ending, truly surprising—"

Souka's announcement riled up the crowd as well. Some were shouting angrily,

some were cheering, both mixed with laughter. But despite all of the complaints,

the audience seemed to have had fun watching, nonetheless.

"That dude with the mask was being way too dramatic about keeping his face

hidden, big deal…"

Many such comments were tossed around openly. But at the end of the day,

Gobta seemed to have been labeled as the bad guy. That being said, with his

likeable mug as well as funny antics combined, you just couldn't paint him as a

hated fiend. All in all, the people in the audience were all very satisfied.

The duel between Geld and Karion was commendable enough. Gobta, on the

other hand, would probably be lauded for his interesting behavior.

This was a world heavily lacking in entertainment. As opposed to the heavily

regulated tournaments in Ingracia, plenty of bizarre things were happening in our

kingdom's tournament, which seemed to be more attuned to capturing the hearts

of the audience. This was in spite of our matches being in a state of complete

disarray by comparison, but the result was plenty interesting.

Afterwards—

"You participated in the fights without my permission, therefore I'm disallowing

you to stay in my shadow as punishment for now!"

Ranga came back wagging his tail as I was announcing my judgement to him.

He had apparently anticipated that I would praise him, but instead was shaken by

my verdict…

I'm the one who should be asking why you thought that I would praise you.

However, looking into Ranga's sad puppy eyes, my heart inevitably started

melting.

"Ranga, although I just said that I would punish you, this will be moderated

depending on the result of tomorrow's final."

"—!"

"You have to work hard from now on, after all, you were considered a

summoned beast. You must listen nicely to Gobta's commands and not overdo

things."

"I understand!"

Ranga was good friends with Shion and would sometimes take things too far

when heated. If I didn't warn him now, I feared that he would cause some major

trouble the next day. As long as he remembered that he was still Gobta's

summoned beast, then there should be no issue. He at least wouldn't do anything

too excessive to Masayuki.

"Gobta, you and Ranga need to work hard together during tomorrow's final!"

"Yes sir!"

Now I could rest assured. Gobta would do his job tomorrow and help me

evaluate Masayuki's true strength. Since the worst-case scenario would be Ranga

showing off his actual abilities in front of the crowd, and still losing to Masayuki.

That would end in me getting forced on stage, by which time it would be difficult

to resolve things through negotiations. Staying in the dark about Masayuki's

abilities was worrisome, but if possible, I would like to avoid conflict. If Gobta and

Ranga achieved a clear victory, the issue would be resolved.

In any case, everything would be determined by tomorrow's final showdown.

***

And so, although another unplanned episode interrupted the second day as well,

the celebration ended smoothly and according to plan. Six of the matches had

been fought out, with the remaining final taking place tomorrow.

Masayuki versus Gobta—a surprising match-up. Thankfully, the excited

audience flooded the night market, skyrocketing sales.

Masayuki's groupies were singing his praises, and some self-appointed experts

were commending Geld and Karion. On the other hand, some fanatics gave Gobta

their approval too. Folks joyfully chatted about their expectations for tomorrow's

match.

Dinner time was no different.

The guests were divided into several tables where they would enjoy their

meals. The topics of discussion were naturally all related to today's matches. That

man named Kai seemed to be quite famous, and Gobta having defeated him

became quite the hot topic. In addition, people were also looking forward to

tomorrow's final showdown.

It was the same at our table.

"It was awesome—! Sure enough, Masayuki-sama looks handsome even while

just standing!"

"Is that so? I like sensei more tho—!"

"Geld-san really got some moves; he was so rad."

"Um, um, he didn't even flinch when defending against the ferocious attacks

of Lion-Mask!"

"That's true! He was able to take on that Lion-Mask's attacks!"

"They were so strong. Lion-Mask got so many cool looking moves; I want to

learn them too."

"Gale wants to learn it as well? Me too!"

"Yes, yes, me too!"

Alice only loved Masayuki; Chloe had no interest in him; the teenage boy legion

led by Kenya seemed to think Geld was quite cool, but Karion seemed to be more

popular.

I supposed it was only natural, after all, Lion-Mask was like a superhero.

While I was learning much from the children's behavior, I placed down the

dishes for the meal today. We weren't eating any set meals this time, instead we

were having a fried shrimp special. The main dishes were hamburger meat,

croquettes and fried shrimp. These were dishes specifically served for children.

In truth, I really enjoyed it as well.

A nobleman would naturally have servants, but there was no need to worry

about such a thing here. That was because we set up screens that provided fairly

good soundproofing around each table. It was very tiring to follow the stringent

table etiquette, so I had ordered people to apply such measures from the second

day onward.

That's why we were just going to have fun, eat, and chat.

The kids were all riled up after watching the day's matches, whereby their

cheerful mood stood to prove how well our entertainment had worked.

Although I was uneasy about the match tomorrow, worrying too much wouldn't

help things either.

Karion, sitting at the next table, was grinning, likely after overhearing the

children's conversation.

There was also a severely unhappy Milim.

A sound-proof screen was probably little more than a paper cloth to these

people. Whatever we said here, they heard clear as day. Although, I could hear

their voices as well.

"Hehehe, looks like they were charmed by me. These kiddos have good taste."

"What are you talking about?! You couldn't even win a match like that."

"Ahh, don't put it that way, Milim. I was performing quite well already, even

with much of my strength held back."

"How disappointing. Did you lose your pride as an ex-demon lord?"

"HAHAHA, there's no such thing. I already had some good fun with someone I

wanted to fight, so I had no interest in winning afterwards."

"That makes me jealous."

"Yeah, I probably should have participated with a disguise as well—"

These voices belonged to Karion, Midley and Milim respectively. If Milim were

to participate, I would have pulled all of the stops to intervene.

"Hold on, that ain't it, chief."

"That's true, Milim-sama. I can't believe someone as noble as Milim-sama

would want to participate in such a tournament with a disguise."

Karion and Midley felt the same as they began to calm Milim down.

What noble quality does she have anyway? Never mind, I won't hold a grudge

against them for that.

"Let's put that aside, we should go watch the final tomorrow!"

"Oh? Are you already done with the labyrinth?"

"Everything's foolproof, I'll join Rimuru tomorrow!"

"Should I accompany you?"

"I won't be going. I got invited by my subordinates to go out. It's quite regretful

that I won't be able to attend the final, but I've decided to take a stroll around

town tomorrow."

Milim was going to watch the match tomorrow as well. Karion intended to travel

with the Beastketeers, leaving Frey alone to watch over Milim.

Thank god the only thing left was the final.

Milim seemed to be looking forward to more of the labyrinth demonstration

later, so I shouldn't worry about her.

"Speaking of it, had I known how interesting the tournament was, I should

have participated myself."

"Haha, by the way, what were you doing all day?"

"Hehe, Midley-san spent the day at the opera house," Frey remarked, it looked

like she had been there as well. She knew that Midley stuck around at the opera

house, so that must've been what she was up to.

Knowing that someone enjoyed it that much, our nation's band members would

probably be delighted.

"Huh? You mean the stuff that bored me to sleep yesterday?"

"Karion… A savage man like you probably doesn't understand art—"

"Frey, for crying out loud, do you have to put it that harshly?"

"Which one was that supposed to be?"

"The concert, Milim. It was the type of band that Clayman would've been proud

of, they played beautiful music. This country is training a band as well."

"I figure that, as opposed to Clayman's band, the one here was better."

"Ho—I didn't know you had that level of understanding."

"That didn't sound like a compliment, oi!"

"That's no surprise, since it wasn't one anyway."

"Ya still gotta be just as mean to me as before…"

"In any case, even Ruminas felt that way. For the entire afternoon, the best

seat of the opera house had been taken by her. I don't think you can really

comprehend those music pieces with your level of artistic taste."

"Seriously, that Ruminas?! Did she actually come as well?"

"Heh, I like music too, you know!"

Their enthusiastic chatter carried on like that without end. It was so nice that

they were having such a fun chat. And so, I listened to everyone chatting on and

on—

"By the way, what would you do if you were to fight that boy called Masayuki?"

Hinata asked me out of the blue.

She cut to the chase without a warning.

"If that were the case, I guess I'd just have to fight him then?"

"Eh—Rimuru-sensei is going to fight with Masayuki-sama? Sensei is really

strong, but I think Masayuki-sama is stronger."

"How? I think sensei is stronger!"

Hearing my conversation with Hinata, the children began to argue over which

of us was stronger. Alice and Kenya were defenders of Masayuki, the rest were

supporting me. Since I had one more person on board, I felt that I had won at that

moment.

"Right, but honestly speaking, even I couldn't tell how strong that Masayuki

guy is. You must treat him cautiously, there's no mistake about it," was the advice

Hinata gave me.

It had to do with Hinata's Skill, and although she couldn't give me too much

information right now, she seemed to have investigated Masayuki for me. It turned

out that Masayuki seemed to be an opponent that even Hinata had trouble

reading…

"Although, most likely he would get defeated by me—" Hinata uttered in

provocation, with a smile at the end. What followed was a lot more worrying.

"That's true, I think big sis Hinata won't lose to anyone."

"Um, though I don't want to admit, big sis Hinata is super strong."

"I don't think anyone can win against big sis Hinata."

"Um, I think so too…"

"That's right, even that Lion-Mask would definitely be no match for Hinatasan."

I didn't expect the children to come to the unanimous conclusion that Hinata

was stronger than Masayuki. They had a disagreement when discussing me and

Masayuki, yet they had a consensus on Hinata…

A flash of annoyance overcame me in that instant.

"B-But Masayuki, unlike a certain person, would probably want to talk to me

first, so I don't have to worry too much about it."

Feeling a bit sour, I carelessly let that out in front of Hinata—

"—What's that supposed to mean?"

That one sentence changed the atmosphere immediately. I had stepped on a

major minefield. And it's an obvious mine that I stepped on.

"Ah, nothing really, don't mind me."

"I'm right here if you want to fight."

Hinata-san, why are you so impulsive!

By handing over my pudding, I managed to quench her anger after this slipup. That was a huge cost for an unnecessary line of words.

"But, just as you said, Masayuki can indeed be easily reached. Yuuki also said

that he's Masayuki's guardian. At most I can come out and ask for a favor, though

that is very unlikely."

"Eh?"

"Masayuki will probably lose during tomorrow's match."

"Um—I can't deny the possibility. However, his opponent will be Gobta… That

guy always fails during crucial moments—"

More often than not, he could wield his strength, if he just followed his usual

combat routine, yet this is the type of scenario where he would come up with

boneheaded ideas and mess things up. That's the type of person Gobta was. He

would probably do the same during the final—

<<…..>>

Huh? How strange, did Raphael-sensei want to say something—or was I

thinking too much?

Never mind, it probably wasn't anything important. Moreover, by contrast, the

more important thing was the battle between Gobta and Masayuki.

Gobta could summon Ranga, by any logic, he had the upper hand. If we

assumed that Masayuki were to win against Ranga, he would definitely be a threat

to us.

Although, personally, I didn't feel even the slightest bit threatened by him.

"In my opinion, that child called Gobta had some outstanding qualities as well."

"Yeah, I'll admit, Gobta does have some fighting talent, but this is Gobta we

are talking about here…"

As long as he fought normally, he could win the match. But Gobta often did

unnecessary things that messed with his fights.

"Alright, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match."

Hinata stopped discussing the topic at that point and instead went on to happily

bring the children to the night market.

Please don't spoil the kids—I asked Hinata internally.

While Hinata had her flaws, she probably really cared for me. I appreciated her

intentions greatly.

If Gobta were to lose, we would have to figure something out. I had already

made up my mind regarding that outcome, so nothing worse would probably

happen.

Compared to that, I should enjoy the festival at hand. There were still tons of

problems and much work to attend to. Still, I felt very fulfilled every day.

With this happy feeling, I readjusted my mood and departed to meet with Gazel

and the others for our nightly gathering.