Twelve days before the start of the third match. Unlike the first two fights that featured appearances by legends like Toroa the Awful, Alus the Star Runner, and Lucnoca the Winter, there weren't many who recognized the names of the hero candidates fighting in the third match.
A visitor swordsman, Soujirou the Willow-Sword. A chimera of origins unknown, Ozonezma the Capricious.
Mysterious, obscure—but powerful fighters.
In Ozonezma's case, the citizens of Aureatia hadn't even had the chance to see what he looked like. As if to keep all information about him a secret, he was staying in nearby Gimeena City.
Gimeena City—a metropolis of a far different nature than Aureatia.
Rice fields stretched out in between the brick buildings, with trees lining the streets in equal distances along the roadways crisscrossed by carriages. The atmosphere, carefully managed nature quietly melding into the surrounding civilization, was almost the exact opposite of Aureatia's noisy and flamboyant city streets.
Gimeena City was also affiliated with the Aureatia Council, and there was one member of the Twenty-Nine Officials who owned an enormous mansion there. A giant of a man, rotund, yet one who left a cordial and amicable impression. The Fourteenth General, Yuca the Halation Gaol.
A strange beast had been residing in his large estate for the past several days. "YOU ALWAYS LOOK BUSY, YUCA."
"Well, suppressing a rebellion isn't just about cutting someone down in a fair fight or anything. Besides, right now, I gotta keep these Old Kingdoms' loyalists in check somehow."
An eight-legged beast with blue-and-silver fur, who appeared almost like a streamlined version of a wolf. Ozonezma the Capricious.
Completely ignorant when it came to political bargaining, Yuca was oblivious to the fact himself. But as a result of being caught up in Hiroto's
behind-the-scenes maneuvering, he had been enticed into sponsoring Ozonezma the Capricious.
"The other military officers can work when war breaks out, and that's enough for them, but my work always ends up being a lot to deal with."
"I PERCEIVE YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES."
"Nah, you're a big help by not being difficult to handle, Ozonezma. Hidow and Haade seem like they're having a real hard time."
Even when stripping away the details surrounding the sponsorship or the chimera's own temperament, Ozonezma and Yuca got along better than they imagined.
Ozonezma found Yuca's mild-mannered and generous personality pleasing, while Yuca was also grateful that even with the chimera's strange form, Ozonezma didn't make any excessive demands of him and stayed put here in Gimeena City.
Yuca also showed interest in Ozonezma's vast knowledge, and although he couldn't comprehend everything the chimera spoke of, he was still an excellent listener who could express his honest admiration and astonishment about the details of the topic at hand.
"When all is said and done, I'm preventing a big uprising from happening.
I'd say they can probably start the Sixways Exhibition now."
Within the Twenty-Nine Officials, Yuca's responsibility was leading the nation's public safety branch.
Fortifying against enemies not from abroad but from within, he stood on the front lines to suppress rebellion and uprising, in some cases purging his own compatriots when necessary. While this role was an essential presence in keeping the nation safe, it was definitely not a job that would turn him into a champion, living in the light.
However, Yuca the Halation Gaol handled this assigned job, completely contrary to his own benign temperament, without complaint.
"YOU COULD LUMP SUPPORTING A CHIMERA LIKE ME INTO THIS AS WELL, BUT…ARE YOU NOT BEING PUSHED INTO TAKING ON DISADVANTAGEOUS ROLES?"
While Ozonezma placed his trust in Yuca's character, he did this with a twinge of anxiety.
Was his kindness that made him unable to refuse any requests going to be his ruin and make discontent grow within him? There was a possibility that, when the time came, it would become an unexpected rift for Ozonezma.
"Nah, it's not like that, I'm telling you. I volunteered for it myself. Surprisingly, folks like me are suited for this work, you know. 'Cause I'm good at not thinking about anything. Even if someone carefully considers how to do this job, no matter how good things go at the start, I think it'll quickly get harder and harder for them."
Sinking his corpulent body into the big chair, Yuca talked to himself.
"The types who have to resort to rebellion and violence are usually real weak and powerless."
"…THAT IS FAIR. NO MATTER WHAT SORT OF CONSPIRACY MAY BE BEHIND THEIR ACTIONS…THE ONES WHO STAND ON THE FRONT LINES FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE USUALLY THE WEAK WITH THEIR BACKS UP AGAINST THE WALL."
Even knowing full well this exploitative structure, Yuca could clearly separate himself from this understanding to fulfill his role and brandish his blade. He could use his own strength to ensure that no one else would be burdened with this feeling of guilt.
That was the understanding Ozonezma had of Yuca's character.
"IN THAT CASE, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ORDER?"
"Not the Old Kingdoms' loyalists? The Order, huh… Hmmm. Well, I'm pretty sure there are a whole bunch out there who want to reverse the way things are currently going for them. But unlike the Old Kingdoms' loyalists or the Lithia remnants, I guess they don't present a very big threat to be wary of."
"I BELIEVE THEY POSSESS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ORGANIZATIONAL POWER, THOUGH."
"Organizational power, sure. But in their current situation, the Order has almost no warriors who could let them resort to violence. I mean, historically, yeah, they had plenty of their paladin-class soldiers or what have you, and there were some periods when they had military on par with the kingdoms of the day, but none of that's there now. Tenets of the Wordmaker dictate things to be that way, after all."
"SO YOU ARE SAYING BY MAKING THEM OBEY DOCTRINE… THEY'VE HAD THEIR FANGS DULLED OVER MANY YEARS."
"I mean, I seriously doubt that this current state of affairs was something they were planning for. I think the fact that the kingdom had always protected the Order with military force meant that part of it was them telling the Order that they'd bear responsibility for the nation—and to focus on their teachings instead. Though, I guess the country's true wish was to have a grip on their leash should
anything happen, right?"
Yet during the era of the True Demon King, the Order lost the power meant to be spared for their protection. Spears had been pointed at the Order, filled with the anger and sadness toward a calamity beyond any means of salvation, and their existence was slowly fading away.
As of now, with the destruction of the kingdoms meant to have a tight control over them, the Order were livestock dying of starvation while shackled in their pens. They no longer had the power within them to rebel against the nation.
"THANK YOU. I WAS ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS MORE DEEPLY."
"We weren't even talking about anything that important, and there you go again with the formalities. You're a hero candidate, Ozonezma, so you could stand to act high and mighty, you know," Yuca said jokingly.
"YOU AND I ARE EQUALS IN A COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP."
"Ah-ha-ha. Suppose you're right."
Equals. Ozonezma wasn't the one asking for instructions, even when dealing with Hiroto the Paradox. Ozonezma didn't take a single step out of Gimeena City, while he continued to receive radzio communications regarding the Aureatia hero candidates he had a chance of fighting—or if not that, information on the ones sponsoring them.
The current circumstances of the Order was something he needed to know about, too.
THE ORDER'S HERO CANDIDATE IS KUZE THE PASSING DISASTER. AN AUTOMATIC COUNTERATTACKING ABILITY THAT INSTANTLY KILLS ANY LIVING CREATURE THAT TRIES TO ATTACK HIM.
If he did indeed possess such a power, then that would make him one of the strongest hero candidates in the field.
As long as Hiroto the Paradox was manipulating the situation, the yet- finalized bracket wasn't likely to have Ozonezma and Kuze facing each other— however, if he didn't ascertain the properties of this ability beforehand, Kuze was strong enough to potentially put up a tough fight, even with the trump card that Ozonezma was concealing for himself.
INDEED, IT IS NOT THE SORT OF STRENGTH THAT CAN REVERSE THE ORDER'S CURRENT PREDICAMENT. HIROTO POSSESSES TRULY OUTSTANDING WIT. TO DETERMINE THAT KUZE'S POWER WOULD BE NECESSARY AND MAKE CONTACT WITH HIM DIRECTLY AS HE HAS.
Or perhaps, it could have been a subconscious and supernatural power to
sense omens of future events—and hold sway over such fateful encounters themselves. For someone like Ozonezma, a mere chimera with no one to support him, to break into this tournament, it had been necessary to meet with Hiroto and form their cooperative relationship.
Hiroto and Ozonezma were equals. Ozonezma wouldn't fight for the sake of his camp's ambitions. Nor would he fight for Yuca's sake, either. Ozonezma's goal behind throwing himself into the Sixways Exhibition ring was singular.
"Still, Ozonezma. Aren't you bored, spending all your time cooped up in this mansion? I imagine the feeling's the same for chimeras as it is with anyone else."
Ozonezma was holing himself up in Gimeena City, without showing his body in Aureatia at all, while also being a hero candidate. He had information that there were other organizations outside of Hiroto's camp and Aureatia's own that were investigating the fighting strength of the hero candidates. Supposing there came a time when he engaged with these sorts of attempts on his life, even in the worst-case scenario, he couldn't expose his trump card.
"…TRUE. I DO NOT MEAN TO PRESENT MYSELF AS SUPERIOR, BUT…THERE IS ONE FAVOR I WOULD LIKE TO ASK WHEN THE TIME COMES TO DEPART GIMEENA CITY FOR AUREATIA."
Therefore, this was a request that was entirely out of Ozonezma's own interest, unrelated to his goals or tournament strategy.
"TU THE MAGIC. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO SET UP A MEETING WITH THE HERO CANDIDATE BY THIS NAME."