The Beginning of the Fighting Festival

The number of people who participated in the fighting festival this year appeared to be 400 people.

On the day of the fighting festival, Reus and I were waiting in the waiting room of the arena with other participants.

Naturally, the room couldn't accommodate the number of participants, so there were multiple waiting rooms for participants.

There were probably fifty people in one room. The room couldn't be said to be spacious, but the space where I sat was at the corner room while observing participants around me.

There were those who were discussing with their companions.

Those who threaten others players by hurling bloodlust.

Those who couldn't calm down.

And those who were yawning… There were various states of the participants.

By the way, it was Reus who was yawning, and he sat next to me. It looked like he was bored because couldn't move around with these many people.

"Uhaa… say, Aniki. Is it not over yet?" (Reus)

"Hmm I wonder about that. Since there is a time limit to certain extent, next turn will be a bit later." (Sirius)

As the number of participants was large, the first day of the fighting festival seemed to be qualifying rounds.

Although the content of the qualifying rounds changed every year depending on the number of people, it was basically a battle royale… where dozens of people fought in the arena at the same time, and the surviving ones would progress to the next round.

According to the document handed out at the reception of the arena, there would be fifty people fighting at the same time for the qualifying round, and two who survived would be the winners. It would repeated for eight times, and a total of 16 people would be able to proceed to the main rounds.

Incidentally, fifty people were randomly chosen  in a match, and the numbers given to me and Reus were not called. We could go and watch the game, but since we didn't know when we would be called, we were waiting inside the waiting room.

It seemed that the fifth game of the qualifying was being carried out in the arena now, but apparently it would still take a while.

"Anyway, are you prepared for the match?" (Sirius)

"It's all good. I can go anytime." (Reus)

If one-to-one, there was no doubt that Reus was definitely one of the winning candidates. But, if it came to mass battle, he should be cautious since we didn't know what would happen.

Reus was used to mass battle with monsters and goblins but the experience with people was lacking. Because of that, I firmly told him not to neglect the preparation.

"By the way, which one Aniki eventually select?" (Reus)

"Knife and sword are good enough. Be careful not to break the sword, Reus." (Sirius)

"I'm a bit worried, but… I will manage it somehow." (Reus)

The are some rules of the fighting festival, but basically, in order to win, let the opponent acknowledge the defeat, faint or drop them outside of the match ground.

And the rules of weapons and armors had changed a bit.

In qualifying match, weapons owned by individuals are prohibited. They must choose weapons in the waiting room.

This rule was to see person's qualities that didn't depend on weapons. Other than that, the expert could choose good quality weapon which fits themselves. There were some blunt weapons mixed. For that reason, the number of weapons was overwhelmingly larger than the number of participants.

Spells can be used but advanced spells are prohibited, and if you use it, you will be disqualified. Since the chanting of advanced spell was long, it was not suitable to be used in the fighting festival where close combat fights was the main thing in the match ground.

In the fighting festival, you will not be charged even if you kill your opponent, but if you intentionally attack the opponent who admit defeat or kill the opponent, you will be carried away and will be disposed off.

And we were relatively free in selecting the armors.

Anything is accepted excepted armor that covers whole gaps like a full body armor. It will be judged beforehand. And that's the flow of the rules.

I was wearing my usual battle attire, a long coat, while Reus wore iron breastplate and Mithril Tekkous given by Garve.

While the surroundings were tensed as the participants waited for the calls, we were leisurely checking the condition of weapons and armors. And then, we noticed two men came close.

"Hahaha, you have so much of leeway." (??)

"Oh dear. Well, it's normal for them to say that they will defeat us." (??)

The other side was Sieg's two escorts.

A middle aged man who carried a greatsword which was a bit smaller in size compared to Lior's, and a young man with age and appearance that were almost the same as mine.

"Aniki, are these two our enemies?" (Reus)

"They are not enemies. They are opponents that we need to defeat. Don't be hostile." (Sirius)

"Hahaha, the guy earlier is motivated, huh." (??)

"They're going to defeat us? Even though I haven't meet you, that was a rude thing to say." (??)

A middle aged man was laughing, but the young man was looking down at us with displeasure. They were strangely contradictory, but then I realized that we hadn't introduced to each other yet.

"It is not unusual, you know. If you came to say hello, should we introduced ourselves? I am Sirius. I am an adventurer.” (Sirius)

"I am this man… Aniki's disciple, Reus!" (Reus)

"Oh, my name is Jekyll. I am an escort, but I am also an adventurer." (Jekyll) (TLN: The name in raw is ジキル)

"…I am Beowulf." (Beowulf) (TLN": The name in raw is ベイオルフ)

The middle aged man… Jekyll, looked like a friendly guy and he offered his hand trying to shake my hand. It wasn't somewhat prepared or cautious, but it was an ordinary handshake, so I responded as usual.

On the other hand, whether the young man, Beowulf, careful personality, the way he introduced himself was nothing but his name.

"What are you getting upset about? These guys are probably your rival, you know?" (Jekyll)

"I will decide who is my rival. I don't know how strong you are, but please do your best to make me go all out." (Beowulf)

Beowulf left us with a cold expression. When Reus was uncomfortable with that attitude, Jekyll laughed and apologized.

"Sorry. He isn't usually cold like that, but since that guy doesn't like opponents who use greatswords, his attitude becomes blatant." (Jekyll)

"What's with that? How should I put this, isn't Jekyll-san uses a greatsword?" (Sirius)

"Jekyll is fine. It's because I fought him and he recognized me. Aah you see, Beowulf is starving for strength, so he is grateful if there is strong guy." (Jekyll)

"Is it because he is the son of the Sword Saint?" (Sirius)

"Ooh, right on spot. Yeah, he is desperate to surpass his great father. He is young…" (Jekyll)

Although the Sword Saint wasn't as strong as the Strongest Sword, Lior, he was a famous swordsman.

It seemed that Beowulf was traveling to seek strong people in order to surpass the greatness of his father, but since his traveling money hit the bottom several days ago, he was earning incomes by escorting Sieg.

He thought that he couldn't participate in the fighting festival, but his employer, Sieg, didn't mind him participating. Although he troubled Fia, he didn't mind to listen to the needs of his escorts.

I was considering whether they should explain other circumstances since the son of the Sword Saint had never met us.

"Hmm? The person himself has nothing to hide, rather he probably went around asking for strong people, I think? You don't have to worry about it though." (Jekyll)

"I understand the desire to seek strong opponents but why he dislike greatswords?" (Sirius)

"Aah, that is because of Lior-san." (Jekyll)

The Sword Saint was defeated by the Strongest Sword, Lior, and he lost his live.

It wasn't about hating Lior because it was the result when the Sword Saint went all out. I guess it was because he was the opponent who took away his family.

For that reason, everyone imitates Lior by using  greatswords and there was nothing much could be done.

"It is own liberty to have what they want. I longed for Lior-san and I became stronger, you know?" (Jekyll)

"Longing…" (Sirius)

"I fought him once in the early days. My sword was slain like a paper and my bones were broken because I got hit, but… I fell in love with that overwhelming strength." (Jekyll)

Longing for that abnormal Jii-san… huh?

Knowing the nature of Lior, I felt that I should not let Jekyll and Jii-san met.

When Jekyll recalling the old times, the staff members of the fighting festival came in the waiting room and started reading the numbers. After reading the numbers of 50 people roughly, Jekyll raised his hand turned his back on us when he confirmed that the staff had gone away.

"I was called, but it seemed you weren't. Well, shall I finish this quickly?" (Jekyll)

"It looked like you can do it." (Sirius)

"That is my line. You can endure our intimidation. There is no mistake that you are strong, right?" (Jekyll)

"Aniki is the strongest!" (Reus)

"Hahaha! Anyhow, I'll be waiting for the main rounds. Don't worry about that employer, let us enjoy the match, alright?" (Jekyll)

Jekyll went out of the waiting room while laughing happily.

Since the group called now was the sixth, our turn should be soon.

"Aniki, that Beowulf, hasn't gone yet. I don't really understand him, but I don't dislike Jekyll." (Reus)

"That's like the common sense of the Jii-san. I'm not sure which battle, but don't be careless." (Sirius)

"Got it. There's also the thing with Fia-ane, so I will fight with all my strength.” (Reus)

Reus wasn't a man who looked down on his opponent and became careless. Therefore, should I focus about my own things for once in a while?

I concentrated a little bit, and then, I was preparing for the qualifying match while circulating mana to the whole body.

—

After a while, the staff came to call for next participants.

The numbers were being called one after another, and Reus' number was finally called.

"Aniki! Ooh, that guy is also same with me." (Reus)

When I looked at him, Beowulf started to stand up, and he was about to leave the waiting room with a long sword he had selected.

By the way, I wasn't called, but I went out of the waiting room together to see Reus' match. I knew that my match was the last one, so there was no reason to stay here.

"Well then, I'm going, Aniki" (Reus)

"Good luck." (Sirius)

Branching midway, I went through a hallway where only  participants and staff could go through, and I came to a place where the match ground could be seen.

Garaff's arena was a big scale arena of the Elysion's. If there was a difference, Elysion's match ground was flat, but the match ground in Garaff's arena was an elevated round shaped match ground made of cobblestone.

Vacant audience seating for nobles could be seen, but the seating for publics were full. Since the match hadn't started yet, I searched for my friends. I soon found out Hokuto because he stood out.

Normally, I didn't think an accompanied beast was allowed in the audience seating. However since the seating was a rank higher than the public seating, he was allowed to do so. Since there was a part of large space, Hokuto was seating there even though it was a bit cramped.

The price was considerable, but it was worthwhile to secure that seat by the connection made in the last two days.

In that location, there were Emilia, Reese and Fia who was wearing a hood sat. If it was over there, they won't be disturbed by rude bunch, and if by any chance, Hokuto will protect them. Hence, there was no problem.

It seemed the girls were cheering Reus while talking to each other, but Emilia noticed my presence and waved her hand. I thought that she found me well, but now I thought that I would cheer for Reus.

"Aniki! Just you wait!" (Reus)

… When I thought about that, Reus was waving his hand towards me.

I would not say anything anymore.

—

The kick-off signal from a gong sounding, and Reus' qualifying match started.

Fifty people lining up at the match ground were moving at the same time. They were starting to fight the nearby opponents and the opponents they were aiming.

Such mass battle would change the way of people fight depending on the situation. If the strong people were known, there were also people teamed up to beat them. There were various people who ran around avoiding rough battle.

I taught Reus to deal with the surroundings flexibly depending on the situation, but he didn't move needlessly, kept his weapons readied and was being cautious to the surrounding.

When I thought that it wasn't a bad change, the situation became strange.

Fifty people standing at the match were randomly chosen and there should be almost no contacts, but… at the same time as the game started, four players simultaneously attacked Reus.

If this was in Elysion, Reus merits would be known, but he was still unknown in the Adroad continent.

In addition, there were many participants who adored Lior and had greatswords, and even a rare silver wolf tribe would be less likely to be dangerous.

Although there was a possibility of being by chance, I understood when seeing the one who was hitting Reus.

On the first day of arrival at Garaff, that man was one of the adventurers who had been inviting us to change the accommodation. These couple of guys who attacked Reus told us the rumor that if we stayed in the [Wind Cape Cottage], we wouldn't win in the fighting festival.

And weren't they using this ganging up on one method just because we didn't want to change the accommodation? He probably aimed not only because of the fighting festival, but because they were aiming because of what they had said, I guess.

It was natural to improvise in such mass battle, and there was no clear evidence to say that he was aimed but because he seems to be strong.

I thought that wasn't a bad idea because they could temporarily group up and reduce other participants, but… but those guys made a fatal mistake.

It was that…

"Come!" (Reus)

They didn't know Reus' ability.

Although it was smaller than his partner, the greatsword swung with Reus' strength blew away the men who attacked him.

In a situation where two people were cleared in a single swing, and the rest were cleared in two swings, the audience were surprised when looking at Reus.

"Next!" (Reus)

"Hii!?" (??)

Other participants, who were looking at the scene before their eyes, screamed, but before they could make preemptive attacks, Reus leaped to the front and swung the greatsword.

While the crowd began to make a fuss about the rebirth of the Strongest Sword, Reus was 'homelining' participants one after another.

"This is the tenth! Next is… uh!?" (Reus)

As ten people were blown away, Reus set up the greatsword like a shield.

At that moment, an intense crash ran through Reus' sword, and the figure of Beowulf swung his sword appeared.

"Hee… you can stop this blow huh?" (Beowulf)

"Well. Isn't that a surprise attack?" (Reus)

"I just wanted to test you out, you know. Alright, how about this?" (Beowulf)

The sword swung by Beowulf was fast enough to blur the blade, and he was aiming at Reus' shoulders and waist at the same time.

However, Reus repelled it with a series of swinging up and down. In addition, he was aiming for Beowulf's head when he swung down.

"W-what!?" (Beowulf)

Beowulf kicked the ground with full power. He avoided it and got away from Reus in long distance.

"… Did you avoid it? You are being careless because you want to test people out." (Reus)

"You're somehow being rude too. Let's go all out next time." (Beowulf)

"Sure, I'll hit you next time!" (Reus)

Two slashes were released at the same time earlier, but Beowulf came closer once again, and increased the slash attack to four. However, Reus accepted the technique that released multiple slashing at the same time and pulled it through.

Beowulf kept swinging despite the sword being repelled, and Reus endured it while accepting the attacks with the sword and the Mithril Tekkous.

They swung their swords at each other at the speed that couldn't be caught by ordinary people. When it was about at twentieth slashes, Reus made a big swing, and the distance between them was greatly separated.

"…So you can do it. This is the first time I see someone who can swing that fast, other than Aniki." (Reus)

"You too. I thought that greatsword was a bluff, so it was real, huh? You are indeed are good with it." (Beowulf)

While they were happily laughing at each other, the other participants were taking the opportunity and attacking them from behind.

"But this weapon…" (Reus)

"I agree." (Beowulf)

They looked back and swung their swords at the same time. After they easily knocked down the attacking participants, they faced each other again and had bitter smiles.

"Anyhow, next is the main round. We can see each other again then." (Reus)

"Yeah. Well then, let's make others leave." (Beowulf)

The reason was probably because of the weakness of the prepared weaponry.  The swords couldn't endure their strength, and they understood that the swords would break if they kept that up.

And then, they negotiated with each other and fought the remaining participants… no, they trampled them.

Every time Reus swung his sword, the players were either blown off, fainted… or got out of the match ground. Meanwhile, when Beowulf's sword swung, the participants' armors and weapons were cut. He was surely driving away the incompetent participants.

If Reus focused on strength, then Beowulf could be said as technique.

Since they were showing a different level of fighting together, the cheers from the audience were getting louder.

And when all participants were disqualified except for those two, the sound of gong reverberated again and the match ended.

[The participants Reus and Beowulf will proceed… to the main round.] (Announcer)

The voice from the announcer was strengthen with a wind spell [Echo], and the participants for the main round were announced.

By the way, the main rounds would be constantly on live, but it was minimum on the preliminary rounds.

Reus waved both hands in respond to the audience applause, but Beowulf didn't take his eyes off Reus while lightly waving his hands. After having a smile like finding prey, he left the match ground.

"I did it, Aniki!" (Reus)

However… Reus didn't noticed such a smile. He came to me and happily shook my hands.

In my opinion, I thought that Beowulf had an ability that was not much different from Reus, but I let out a sight while interested for a bit.

—

When I returned to the waiting room at the same time of the round was ended, the remaining participants were just being called.

And then, I confirmed that my number was called and headed to the match ground with other participants.

[Next is the final qualifying round for today. Participants, please line up at the match ground.] (Announcer)

Since the number was big for the qualifying rounds, the initial position of the participants had been decided to a certain extent. This also might changed according to the situation, but it seemed that the participants were lining up like a circle at the edge of the match ground this time.

My position was just before Emilia, so I heard their cheers from behind.

"Sirius-samaaa!" (Emilia)

"D-do your best!" (Reese)

"Show me your coolness!" (Fia)

As I was responding by shaking hands to their cheers, I was given bloodlust from the players to my left and my right. There was no doubt that I would be targeted.

When I had a wry smile because of unlucky pincher attack, the gong, which was the signal to start the match, rang.

"First is you!" (??)

"I'll break your arms!" (??)

It was awkward… but I could deal with anything if I knew that I'm being targeted.

As expected, the participants on the left and the right attacked at the same time with the commencement, but I warded them off by catching their dominant arms with my hands, and threw them outside of the match ground behind me with Aikido throw.

""Eh!?"" (??)

The two participants danced in the air while having dumbfounded expression. They were dropped out of the match ground and were disqualified.

"That guy is…?" (??)

"They were done that fast?" (??)

They were coming straight at me while ignoring other players, so they were probably in the same group who attacked Reus, huh?

A man, who barely knocked down a participant, immediately came from the side. When I noticed him, I was targeted by three people at the same time.

"…" (??)

"If you swing like that, it is pointless, you know?" (Sirius)

The moment the man who was closest to me wielded his weapon, I steadily stepped in low attitude, and jumped into the other's bosom.

The opponent was surprised and swung down his sword, but since I swept the axis foot with a foot sweep, he couldn't completely control the momentum going forward and flew in the air.

I immediately arranged my posture and then I gave a roundhouse kick to the rotating and defenseless opponent in the air and knocked him off the match ground.

At that time, the remaining two people were close to me, and the moment I turned my face, the man who was a step closer swung down his sword.

I avoided it by slightly moving my body, and I grabbed the opponent's arm at the same time. I pulled that arm to the rear with all my strength.

Since the man whose balanced was broken, was pulled towards outside of the match ground, he couldn't completely control the momentum forward and easily fell out of the ground.

"You bastard!" (??)

"You pay too much attention to your opponent." (Sirius)

Although he showed a sharper movement compared to the previous man, his attention towards me was light. When I kicked the hand holding a sword, the man's sword slipped out and flew backwards.

While the man was reflexively chasing the sword with his eyes, he turned around to his back, so I gave him a choke sleeper by circling my hand around his neck.

"I have a question. Why are you targeting me?" (Sirius)

"Shut up, release… guh!?" (??)

"If you don't answer, I'll do it stronger, you know? So, answer if you don't want to suffer." (Sirius)

"Goho– The owner of the inn… was targeting you guys. With a piece of copper coin…" (??)

"What is the name of the inn?" (Sirius)

"… Uguhh! Haa…. the [Road of Glory]…" (??)

"Thanks for your trouble." (Sirius)

He threw it quite easily, but with a piece of copper, it would be like a light verbal promise for that degree. Were they told, at best, to target me and Reus during preliminary rounds?

And the [Road of Glory] came out from his mouth was the name of the inn where we, the guest of the [Wind Cape Cottage] inn, were invited to stay. There was no doubt that this was a harassment, but since there was no clear evidence if I complained, they would regard it as an excuse.

However, that was enough for me to confirm. Let's make them pay the debt later.

I had decided, so there was no need to have this guy anymore.

When the man was released from the restraint, he turned around with a foolish smile.

"Heh! You are so stupid to let me go…" (??)

"Because it is already over." (Sirius)

Sorry about that, I was the one who had more profound smile.

I hit his stomach at the same time when he turned around. And then, I seized the arm of the man in agony, pull a shoulder throw and threw him outside of the match ground.

When the man flew outside the place while drawing parabola line in the air, I noticed that another participant was creeping behind me.

"Got you… ehh!?" (??)

I avoided the sword that was swung down while turning my back. I grabbed the collar of the surprised participant and threw him off the ground.

That man probably fell on the other man who fell earlier because I heard a groan leaked, but I didn't care for it at all.

When I looked around at the surrounding since the side business had ceased, they were nearly half of the participants who survived.

However, I barely moved from the initial position, as I only took care those who came closer while occasionally shot down flying elementary spells.

Although I could go out like Reus and quickly finished this off, I had considered a bit, so I was going to humbly end the qualifying round.

And then, I continued dealing with the approaching opponents. When I threw the seventh person off the ground… there were only three people left in the match ground including me.

The remaining were a big man who swung his greatsword, and a slender man with armor and iron mask that covered the whole face. Even if the face couldn't be seen, it could be judged that he was a young man from his body and movement.

The two were fighting while ignoring me. The battle continues on with the big man swung his sword while being eluded by the sword of the man with the iron mask.

While vaguely looking at their offense and defense, I was interested with the young man's footwork and swordmanship.

To be honest, that young man was weaker than Reus. However, with a sharpness of the sword that the young man wielded, I felt that there was a possibility of filling up the difference in power with techniques.

It didn't matter who won because I would still be in the main rounds, but… it was regrettable if he disappeared here.

"…Damn!?" (Young Man)

"That's because you move too much!" (Big Man)

However, whether it was a bad luck or not, the young man stumbled against the weapon swung by the other player and lost his balance. There was no way to miss that opportunity, the big man greatly brandish with a single blow to end it.

While losing the balance, the young man wielded his sword without giving it up, but he would lose with that disadvantageous posture.

That was the story… if it happened.

"It's my win–… guh!?" (Big Man)

"…This is it!" (Young Man)

For some reason, the big man lose his balance and the greatsword swung down only hurt the young man's shoulder.

Conversely, the sword of the young man seized the opponent. The big man was hit on the side of his face with the sword. He lost consciousness and fell down.

[The combatants Sirius and Kon will proceed… to the main round] (Announcer) (TLN: The name in raw is コン)

Together with the applause from the audience, the end of the match gong and announcement could be heard.

Compared with Reus', the applause was smaller, but it seemed that I was able to make the audience moderately excited.

When I was waving to the audience and my companions while the collapsed participants were helped by the rescue team, the young man, who would be in the main rounds with me, came to me.

Although it was suspicious for the young man not to take off the iron mask even when the game had ended, his bowing in front of me was beautiful.

"First of all, congratulations on your first appearance in the main rounds. And thank you so much." (Kon)

"Congratulations to you too. Leaving that aside, why are you bowing down?" (Sirius)

"I would be defeated if you didn't help me in the match earlier." (Kon)

Did he notice that?

At that time… I was secretly fired an extremely small [Impact] at the wrist of the big man.

There was almost no flow of mana. I thought it would be unnoticed unless it was in front of him, but… it seemed he was a sharp man more than I expected.

"Why me?" (Sirius)

"There was a strange trace on the wrist of the man I was fighting. In term of possibility, I think there was no one else around but you." (Kon)

"…Was it unnecessary?" (Sirius)

"It's the opposite. Since the traveling expenses was intense, I was saved. Moreover, I can fight against stronger opponents." (Kon)

The fighting festival would only do treatment on injuries if we lost in the qualifying rounds, but if we could participate in the main rounds, we would receive rewards.

By the time you proceed to the main round, one gold coin is surely given and after that, it increases every time you win. If you achieve the overall victory, you will get a white gold that is worth of 20 gold coins.

Nevertheless, it was fine to hide the face with iron mask and had a beautiful swordmanship. This young man seemed to have some reason, but… was it rude to ask when I just met him for the first time?

"You don't have to worry about it because it was a whim. Well then, good luck on tomorrow's main rounds." (Sirius)

"Yes. Well then." (Kon)

The young man left the match ground after making a beautiful bow, no matter how many times I looked at it.

I was curious, but let's return since my friends were waiting.

—

After that, I returned to the waiting room and when we received a badge which was a symbol for the main round from the fighting festival staff, the meeting dissolved.

Sixteen participants selected by the qualifying rounds would gather tomorrow morning. It would be the starts of the main rounds.

By the way, the combination of the main rounds of the fighting festival would be decided on the day itself. It seemed that there was a case where someone made a surprise attack on their opponents.

—

When I left the arena with Reus while getting gazes of support and jealousy from participants who lost in the qualifying rounds, the ladies, who were waiting for us to come, met us.

"Congratulations, Sirius-sama. You too, Reus." (Emilia)

"That's for sure, Nee-chan. If it's Aniki and me, it will be an easy win." (Reus)

"Yeah. I'm confidence about that when watching Sirius-san and Reus." (Reese)

"Do your best with this condition tomorrow. As Sirius-sama's disciple, I won't tolerate if you fight poorly." (Emilia)

Leave it to me!" (Reus)

While led by Reus who was inspired on whole of his face, Fia hugged me in my arms.

"You see, Sirius. Why were you fighting without using weapons and magic?" (Fia)

"That's because there was no strong opponents within my group. I tried fighting by restricting myself a bit." (Sirius)

"That's why you used Taijutsu?" (Fia)

"But Sirius-sama, wasn't it too thorough? The surroundings was full with enemies, so I think that you should use spell as much as you want when considering about safety." (Emilia)

"That's true. Although Aniki had decided that, wasn't he very adult-like today?" (Reus)

Perhaps, he meant when I fought the headmaster at Elysion.

At that time, I wanted to go all out when fighting against the headmaster. But for the disciples today, I looked simple.

"I was trying to fight modestly. I thought that there wasn't strong person, and I want to proceed to the main rounds." (Sirius)

"Since you are aiming for the winning, wouldn't it be alright if you show off?" (Emilia)

"It is a matter of betting." (Sirius)

It wasn't conducted because there were too many people in qualifying rounds, but in the main rounds, there would be an official betting.

If participants who considered strong participants who seemed weak fought, there was no need to explain which side was more profitable.

The disciples, who heard that fact, had difficult faces…

"We still have plenty of room, but I think that continuing the journey in this condition will make our pocket money suffer. I'm afraid that the opportunities to make sweets will decrease…" (Sirius)

"""We will bet everything on Sirius-sama!""" (Emilia/Reese/Reus)

Although I felt like I did something similar in the past, the disciples seemed to be convinced.

I wasn't that stingy, but I was the one who manage everyone's wallet. I wasn't a saint, and our base income was how the adventurers earned their money.

What would Fia think of me doing such a trivial thing?

"Of course, I will also bet on Sirius. It will be a celebration if you win." (Fia)

Although it had been only a few days, she was adapting too quickly.

She was truly a reliable lover.

—

Late at night… I was in disguise and walked in the town at night.

I was walking while killing my presence as not to be noticed by prostitutes inviting customers and those working at night. I was aiming for a certain place.

The [Road of Glory] inn.

I quietly arrived at the destination. I went to the back of the inn and entered inside. And then, I left the inn after finishing my work.

"… If this is ended only with warning, I don't have to pull out my hands." (Sirius)

So I muttered. I had to finish my work without being noticed by anyone and then, I went back to the inn.

—

The next day, we headed to the arena after finishing breakfast. And then, we witnessed a scene of town guards thronging at a certain inn.

"…Did something happened?" (Emilia)

"Aah, Nee-chan, look. Is someone being caught?" (Reus)

"Yeah. Based on his attire, I wonder if he is an inn manager?" (Emilia)

"Maybe he is that…? I heard from Cecil-san a while ago that the evidence of fraud and embezzlement were delivered to the town lord." (Sirius)

"Oh… he's doing bad things, huh? That guy deserves it, Aniki." (Reus)

"I guess so. That's because he's doing something not proper for his stature." (Sirius)

On that day… one inn in Garaff collapsed.

We headed to the arena despite such a trivial problem.

—

Presenting Hokuto

Today is the day where the Master participates in the fighting festival.

While the Master went for the match, Hokuto was secretly trying to protect his friends.

"Well then, shall we go? You have the tickets, right?" (Fia)

"Of course, I got it from Sirius-sama." (Emilia)

"Is this it? But, it is somewhat expensive tickets." (Reese)

Since the Master and the junior, Reus-kun, went to the arena earlier, Hokuto-kun and his Master's lovers headed there a bit later.

Although she had become a companion in no time, Hokuto-kun was impressed by Fia-san who had already secured the position of Onee-chan.

"It is not somewhat expensive, it is expensive. It seems to be alright since Hokuto-san can enter that location." (Emilia)

"That's right. Hehe, that's great, Hokuto." (Fia)

"Woof!" (Hokuto)

Currently, Fia was wearing a hood, but as expected, it seemed that the people were secretly looking, probably they began to notice that she was an Elf.

There were some with greedy eyes among them, but they gave up when Hokuto-kun remained by Fia-san side.

"Thank you. You're the best bodyguard." (Fia)

"Woof!" (Hokuto)

While being stroked by Fia-san, Hokuto-kun and the rest arrived at the stadium.

Although the entrance was crowded, since they could use a hallway exclusive to the nobles, they were able to enter smoothly.

"This feel so luxurious." (Reese)

"Can you get this often? I wonder how much it was?" (Fia)

"It's because of Sirius-sama." (Emilia)

"Woof!" (Hokuto)

Hokuto-kun agreed with what Emilia had said.

By the way, Hokuto-kun was with him when he bought the ticket, so he knew the exact price, but… he didn't said anything since the ladies would be surprised.

Hokuto-kun could read the air…

It was written on the ticket that there was a bit of spacious space in that seating, Hokuto-kun lied in that position as not to get in the way.

As the qualifying rounds progressed, while waiting for the Master's turn… Hokuto-kun felt a sign of people approaching here.

The number… was two. There was also a possibility of other audiences, but he didn't think there were audiences from their stealthy steps.

This audience seating was quite floor above and there were many blind spots depending on the position. Furthermore, the security was also lacking as this was not seating for nobles.

When Hokuto-kun pretended to look sideways, and turned his eyes to the path behind… he found a clearly suspicious pair.

It was possible to suppress them by jumping into the hallway, but there was also a possibility that the Master would get into trouble if the accompanied beast attack on its own, and he didn't want to destroy the air of this fun match.

Because of that… Hokuto-kun didn't do anything, but facing the match ground while kept lying down.

At that time, Hokuto-kun's junior, Reus-kun was rampaging on the match ground.

The audience boiled up when looking at the participant fighting and ‘homelining’ others. Thus, the entire arena became noisy.

Using that gap, the suspicious pair approached here at once. They had considerable skills, but Emilia-chan and Fia-san noticed the incoming pair, and put their hands on knives.

And then, the suspicious pair pulled out the knife and at the time they extended their hands on the ladies…

""Gohuu!?"" (??)

While looking forward, a swing of the tail by Hokuto-kun in a flash, who pretended not to notice, was released.

Hokuto-kun's tail was fluffy, soft and flexible, but once he swung it as a weapon, it would be a powerful weapon that could easily break logs.

Of course, the opponents were well prepared, but they couldn't respond to the speed beyond their expectation. The pair, who received a direct hit, were blown off to the wall altogether.

There…

"Who are these people?" (??)

"They have weapons, catch them!" (??)

"You're wrong!? I was hit by an accompanied beast…" (??)

"Silent! Bring them inside!" (??)

It was a noble guest's seat.

He couldn't see the other side of the wall, but the men were taken away without questions.

Later, the two were merely underlings of the underworld, and it turned out that they were arbitrarily trying to kidnap elf for profit, but… it didn't matter to Hokuto-kun.

It was enough if he could protect the Master and his friends.

"Good job, Hokuto." (Fia)

"Hokuto-san, thank you very much." (Emilia)

"Eh… Did something happened?" (Reese)

Reese was the only one who didn't notice anything while Fia-san and Emilia-chan shook their heads.

"It's nothing. Reese, just stay looking at the match, alright?" (Emilia)

"Yeah. It's just about Hokuto who was working hard." (Fia)

"Woof!" (Hokuto)

"Hmm?" (Reese)

Hokuto-kun also had same opinion.

And then, after Reus' match ended, Hokuto-kun's Master arrived at the match ground.

"Sirius-samaaa!" (Emilia)

"D-do your best!" (Reese)

"Show me your coolness!" (Fia)

He instinctively wanted to cheer by howling, but he endured it because he might scared unrelated people.

Perhaps, if there were wolfkin, they would be simultaneously kneeling down.

Thus, the Master won the match and proceeded to the main rounds.

Hokuto-kun was proud of his Master who waved his hands to the audience.