I converge my magical power and then fire a rain of magic arrow.
It rains down incessantly in the entire room creating ripples on the water, and then――
「KUH！」
「OUCH………………. AH！」
The arrows rained down incessantly on both me and Isakuza.
It pierced both of our skins and gave damage to both of us.
Though I’ve been standing as straight as possible while protecting my neck and head, I can’t escape unscathed from damage.
My opponent’s also in the same situation as he has sustained several wounds too.
「You, what are you going to do――！」
「I’ve said it before right, I know the way to beat you. This is my answer. With this, even you can’t evade it, right.」
Magic Arrow Rain.
That is spreading around low powered magical arrows over a wide range.
And then, here we are, currently trapped in the room with a limited range.
In short, there’s nowhere to escape.
Whether it’s the opponent, or me.
「As expected, no matter how much you try to avoid it, even you won’t be able to escape from the rain. I won’t be able to hit you with my normal attacks. But, it definitely will hit if it’s an attack that will cover a vast area, even though I will be included in that too. NOW TAKE THIS SECOND VOLLEY！ 」
The rain of magical power pours down incessantly.
Light bursts forth from the semi-transparent ceiling of the room made with skills, and then pours down incessantly without any gap.
「Kuh！ Are you sane！ You’re taking the damage too！ 」
「I’m naturally well aware of that. If I make the arrows to not fall on me, Isakuza will surely push me away from that place and then stay on that place. If I have to achieve what I said, I can do it in this way only.」
And then, I fire the magic arrow rain again.
Even if it’s a low powered one, the damage will accumulate considerably when I fire it multiple times.
Isakuza and I are shedding blood at various places.
Yosh, I could show a rain of blood in accordance to my declaration. His own rain of blood.
「Oops！ It’s not done yet！ 」
「Haaah！」
The wounded Isakuza is facing against me.
But, I calmly cope with him.
I’ve confirmed about the matter of penetrating his defense.
And then, the shower of arrows pour down incessantly even further during such slight gap.
「Kuh！」
「It’s slowly becoming easier, you know. Since you couldn’t even defend yourself against it when you were still fine, it’s even more effective when you’re injured.」
I made that declaration while bluffing as if it doesn’t hurt at all.
Yup, it’s the characteristic of a swordsman. Though they have excellent offensive ability and mobility, their stamina isn’t that great. Evasion is their style of battle.
I, on the other hand, am balanced with many classes, my abilities are well balanced, my stamina is also fairly good.
In short, if it’s under the assumption that I won’t be able to avoid the attack, I’ll just endure it. Even if we’re receiving similar attacks.
Somehow, Isakuza has also noticed that fact.
That’s why he was trying to beat me.
「No way, is this in accordance to your plan――Eiji！」
「Nope, it’s just normal. I actually hate pain and just want to win easily. Thus, this is the best conclusion after thinking how to win easily. It was naturally coming to this if I couldn’t do it with zero pain.」
And then, I keep shooting arrow rain skill even further while defending against my opponent’s attacks.
And then, finally.
「GAH――」
Isakuza fell on his knees.
Water’s splashing on his face.
While falling, his face was facing toward me and then he opened his mouth.
「Why, you can―― Do something like this？」
「―― Calculation. To put it simply, attack and stamina」
「…. Humph, you’re, strong」
And then, Isakuza fainted.
At the same time, I also cancelled the skill which created that room.
The water is making a splashing sound as it spread on the ground of the coliseum; the one who came to me first was Haruel followed by the staffs.
And then, I saw Ruu leaping from the audience seat. It was a splendid light jump.
「Are you alright!? Eiji-kun！」
「Yeah, I’m okay you see. It ended up according to my calculations since my injury is lighter than him.」
「You shouldn’t act recklessly like that, you know. Even how you win, it’s completely like you’re committing a kamikaze at――」
Haruel’s sniffling with tears flowing down from her lacrimal glands.
When I see that, the feeling called ‘thanks goodness that you’re alright’ made me feel slightly proud for doing those reckless actions.
And then, I ask the staff to detain and give treatment to Isakuza while I decided to go to the medical room to receive treatment myself.
「Eiji！ You did it！ 」
Ruu was shouting with an excited voice.
And then placing her hand on my shoulder who was walking unsteadily,「You really have some guts to win against that kind of strong and shitty guy like him; moreover, you plotted against him to make him tattered like that！ Now I see you in a better light！ 」
「Thank yo~u for your prai~se. Nevertheless, I don’t want to use this kind of method again.」
「E~~H！ What a waste！ And yet, you became really passionate when you engaged in such bloody combat.」
「I don’t want to do such atrocious kind of combat！」
When I glared at her hand as I brushed it away, Ruu’s laughing with “ehehe”.
「Ahaha, sorry it’s a joke, you see. I’m relieved since you’re this lively」
Ruu’s smiling toward at me.
How should I say, I also feel safe when I see Ruu making that kind of face.
….I’m glad for being alive.
And then, when I am having a taste of victory at this late moment――
DON!
DON!
The sound of a large gong resounded inside the coliseum.
「WINNER！ FIGHTER EIJI！ 」
The chairman of the competition declared it loudly with the magic tool that possesses the function of amplifying the sound.
At the same time, cheering voices, as if breaking the coliseum from inside, erupted from the audience.
It was overwhelming.
I can feel great excitement that was as if it was shaking the ground.
Ruu pushes her fist to my chest while I am still dumbfounded by the situation.
「Congratulations, it’s a great victory」
「…………. AH, thank you」
Thus, I leave the arena while basking under such cheers.
「I avenged you, Jackrosa」
「That kind of talk… It feels like I’m about to die, you know」
The one who’s retorting is Jackrosa who watched the combat from indoors with the staff’s permission.
With his amazing resilience, he already can move around despite having bandages all over his body.
「As I thought, you’re extremely strong, right. I’m surprised, you know」
「No~pe, it’s not the case. My opponent’s ability was completely overwhelming mine. That’s why I used various kinds of tactics along with a kamikaze attack」
「Uhn. I think the fact that you having come to that point… is the evidence that you’re really strong. Since you can’t win when you’re weaker than your opponent unless you do so. Even I can follow your example」
Jackrosa nodded lightly as if he deciding on something.
Though I think that he will become much stronger if he can investigate his own power more thoroughly. Even so, it’s better if you can do various things in case you’re going to face against various situation all alone. Though the efficiency will become better if you form a party where each person will focus on only a single thing.
「Well, it’s a good thing that you’re being eager like that, but let’s heal your wound first」
「Yeah. At that time… will you spar with me again？ 」
「Of course. Since I’ve things to learn too」
Jackrosa was smiling lightly when he heard my words.
「As a fellow fighter, I’m glad that you avenged me」
「Risa Haruna was also looking from this place」
Risa Haruna was also in the same room.
She was standing by for her match, but it seems she came to this place when she heard the commotion.
「It seems you completely turned into a superstar, haven’t you? Most of the audience were charmed by the battle. A mysterious intruder beat the opponent who was not defeated by the top fighters of the coliseum」
Risa Haruna laughed merrily on that, but it’s not a joking matter, you know.
I didn’t have any plans to fight in the first place, and I definitely don’t want to attract attention in such manner.
「Oya, aren’t you making quite the reluctant expression there」
「Eh, I’m not, you know. Aren’t you aware of my personality？ 」
「No~pe, I don’t know. As a fighter myself, I’m envious of you who became a popular fighter」
Risa Haruna’s laughing in a stiff manner.
This person absolutely understands me the best.
Well, apart from standing out, maybe I should feel relieved that I can see the competition proceeding smoothly after this.
I was surprised at the fact that there’s a human who’s far more dangerous than a monster though. The potential of a human being is far more amazing than what I thought.
Which means that it’ll also increase the potential of the parasite.
「Next schedule is fighter Risa Haruna――」
The one who came was the staff of the coliseum.
That’s right, there’s still Risa Haruna’s match.
At any rate, I should just cheer Risa Haruna for now.
Though an unexpected event just happened, the remaining matches were still held.
Haruel’s match was treated as a match without any victor, so the other semifinal became the final.
As expected, since they can’t perform the match as planned, they rescheduled it for a different day.
Haruel’s opponent isn’t in a condition to participate the match after getting done in by Isakuza.
Though there was Haruel who won her match without even fighting against her opponent, since there was an intruder in her match, Haruel declined her right to fight in the final even though she was completely unscathed.
And then, there came the discussion as to whether to let me fight, but as expected, it’s impossible since no matter how you look at it, I have not even entered the preliminary match. Thus, they decided to make the other semifinal as the final.
Though the result is the general outline, unfortunately it’s ended in Risa Haruna’s defeat. As expected, her opponent was also someone who climbed through the semifinal.
We couldn’t get the rumored sword, but we won’t be troubled even if we don’t acquire it as it’s just a normal sword.
Since the reward was splendid, we were given a treat by Risa Haruna.
A while later, I was in the coliseum.
It seems that Jackrosa has already recovered from his wounds, so I came to see his fight after his rehabilitation.
The result is an undisputed victory. I’m glad that he has fully recovered.
…… When I thought so.
「Oi, that, isn’t that guy him？」
「N? Ah, you’re right, he’s the intruder who saved Haruel-chan a while ago」
My surroundings become suspiciously noisy.
This is bad…. This is a bad idea…. I’m wearing muffler-like clothes and a deep hat, since I’m waiting for the event to settle down for sometime. Even so, this is………
「You’re absolutely right！ May I have a bit of your time！ I want to talk！ 」
「Please give me your autograph！ Ah, it’s okay even if it’s your private property！」
The disturbance instantly spread around; people start locking on my surroundings.
CRAP！
「My apologies, I am taking my leave since I have an urgent business right after this！」
I break through the encirclement via the gaps between the people while saying those words and just like that, I escape from the coliseum.
I shake off the people who somehow noticed my intention and then heaved a sigh at the back alley of the coliseum.
「Ha~, it seems I won’t be able to peacefully watch matches for a while after this. Good grief, truly good grief」
I was walking in the alley toward the inn while thinking whether I can live an ordinary live by covering my entire face with a mask.
「Uhm！ I have a wish！ 」
I suddenly heard a voice which called upon me.
As I turned around, the one who’s present in my field of vision is a boy who’s wearing a berret-like hat while still having the trace of innocence on his visage, but his eyes are filled with determination.
「I have a request for fighter Eiji-san」
「Well then, Koko. I have decided to go to the mansion of the vamp―― Eh, where are you going?」
「I’m tired of oneechan’s story」
「Is that so？ I’ve heard of that adventure story so many times」
「Since it’s only oneechan. Except for one eccentric adventure geek, I’m more delighted if you show me a gem rather than those kind of stories」
One girl called Koko was throwing away a soft looking cushion inside a room which was decorated with luxurious furniture.
Her ultramarine colored hair tied in twin tails with strong willed eyes and impish mouth, she was casually searching for gems placed in one location of the room.
「See, even Alie-oneechan should be at the good age to be interested in this too, right?」
「Wawa. Stop throwing it away like that, it’ll damage it, you know」
Alie Duo, a noble of Neman, is rebuking her little sister, Koko Duo, while catching the necklace, with red gem embedded on it, that’s being thrown away .
But, Koko’s laughing as if looking down on her and then sits on the side of her sister who sat on the sofa.
「It’s fine isn’t it, since those guys of the society won’t notice about such things. Those guys, They’ll receive that glass marble-like things as a gratitude」
「Very kind words, aren’t they?」
「It’s the truth. See, even for oneechan… Yup, it matches you very well. See, you told me about Grael Treize before, right? That guy’s also the type that will be easily tricked by the exterior and its name. He’s been interested in oneechan and has invited you for a date so many times. He can’t understand the true essence of a human」
「It seems my true essence is completely no good, right.」
「It should be right. Since you’re something like a noble girl who’s always adventuring despite already being at the good age. Koko’s obviously being charmed by it. And yet Grael is ignoring Koko and is only devoted to oneechan, are you interested in someone else?」
Koko’s breathing roughened with excitement as she folded her arms.
Alie drank a mouthful of tea, placed the cup on the table and asked Koko.
「Was Grael-sama to your liking？」
「Waa. As if I’ll fall for such arrogant and great king」
「If that was the case, it should be okay. Rather, I’m also annoyed by him」
Waving her fingers with chichichi, Koko also drinks her tea, filled with plenty of sugar by herself.
「Even if I dislike him, I’m still angry at the guy who’s ignoring me. I should reject him after he’s aware of Koko’s charm」
「Ha~」
Alie said those words with a “good grief” expression and drinks her tea again. Koko was looking at her face.
「That guy is truly the example of a foolish noble-sama, isn’t he. Well, his head might cool down a little inside the jail, and oneechan shouldn’t get yourself involved in such trouble. Aren’t you glad, oneechan?」
「Yeah. Thank you, Koko」
Koko was smiling from ear to ear.
Here in Rain kingdom, nobility is basically a title to show their honor. According to the law, the so called nobility has no privilege in their status.
But in reality, it was something indispensable for nobles for the sake of participating in the center of the government. In short, that was just how much trust was placed on the man by the country, or rather, it’s something like a proof of their trust to the house of men.
Though there’s generations after generations of influential people who become a noble, naturally new people are added too. The people who did a great contribution to the country, or the one who paid large sum of money. Or the people who fulfilled both criteria.
Though becoming one isn’t easy, it’s not hopeless either; it’s relatively easy to increase. The tendency of merit system also improved in the recent years; rising fresh nobles appeared one after another; thus, the boundary between a noble and a commoner had greatly reduced compared to before.
Some of the aristocrats work in the center like Grael, but many were influential persons of their own region and many of them possessed wealth, influence, and vast plot of land in their territory.
That’s also the case for the house of Alie Duo since long time ago; fortunately, they’re also maintaining that power without letting it fall.
Though many of them are basically from the public figure class of the country or region… Alie wasn’t interested in such matters for now.
At that time, a knocking sound resounded inside the room.
「Yes, please enter………… Ah, Suaman-niisama」
「Wha~t’s the matte~r, oniichan. We’re in the middle of a ladies talk」
The one who entered the room was a youth with silky smooth dark blue colored hair. He’s the eldest child of Duo house, Suaman Duo.
Despite being inside their own house, his appearance is tidy from top of his head till his toes.
「Dear mother called, Alie. Though she didn’t say her business, you should be able to guess it right?」
「Ah, yes. Since I was resting in the house for a while, I told dear father that I might depart again soon」
「I see, at that time dear mother wasn’t in the house. Where are you going to this time？ 」
「U~h. No, that sort of thing is. I think that it would be nice if I say good things to dear father before the discussion, so not yet」
「Oneechan, your eyes are swimming. You’re still bad at lying as ever」
Though Alie’s twisting her body as if panicking when Koko laughed as if mocking her, it didn’t have any special meaning behind.
Koko who saw her like that is laughing with “fufufu”.
「It’s not the time for laughing, Koko. I’ve said that I’ll teach you properly, right？ It’s already the time」
「Eh, it’s that time already!? U~hn, but I’m not in the mood today, maybe next time」
「You can’t. What are you going to do if the people of Duo house don’t even know regarding the business and history of Neman. I’ll be very strict in disciplining you since you’ll skip the lessons by calling from the outside」
After Suaman’s entered the room, he unhesitatingly went to seize Koko’s arm.
Koko gets pulled into the library as is while screaming「DEMON TEACHE~R, THIS IS A VIOLATION OF FREEDO~M」.
Seeing that her older brother and little sister weren’t that much different compared to the time before she returned, Alie’s face blossomed a relieved smile while coming out of the room.
＊＊＊
「Not here either huh」
Mining city, Neman.
The magic tool maker, Phillipe, let out such grumbling in this big city, located further south-east than the arena city, Prowkai.
「Geez, where the hell is that guy actually」
Naturally the one who’s referred 『That Guy』by Phillipe is Eiji Choukai. He has already went ahead of Eiji long time ago, but he is totally ignorant of such a thing and thus came as far as Neman.
And then, he started looking carefully inside the city, but he couldn’t find the one he’s looking for.
When he’s thinking “Well then, what should I do now”――
「Are, if I remember it correctly, that person is―― OI！ You’re Alie right！ 」
The one discovered by Phillipe is the noble who became an adventurer, the one he met somewhere in Laurel; it was the figure of Alie who was strolling in the city.
「You’re…. Phillipe-sama. It’s been a while. It’s pleasure to meet you, how do you do?」
Alie, who recognized Phillipe, sends a courteous greeting.
Phillipe replies rapidly while nodding lightly.
「I’m safe and quite healthy. I’ve been looking for someone, but I can’t find him anywhere」
「That must be hard. If it pleases you, I might be of some help if that person is in Neman――」
「No, that guy isn’t in Neman. I thought that he might come to this place, but it seems that he’s not here. You should be familiar with him too. I’m looking for Eiji」
Alie’s eyes twinkled for a few seconds.
「Eiji-sama？ He came to this city？ 」
「I thought that he came toward this direction, but here I am, I came this far without being able to meet him. Just where’s that guy loitering around.」
Phillipe’s hitting his own fist.
As expected, his irritation had grown even stronger after being unable to meet the one he was looking for despite looking for a long time.
「I see, you should’ve been looking for him for quite a while. Maybe you guys missed each other at some point」
「Yeah, I think that’s also possible. Since I think there’s no way he’ll come to this place first. Maybe I overtook him on the way without being able to notice it. Geez, so troublesome. Though I also want to continue looking for the materials for magic tools」
「Magic tool. In that case, you might find some of it in this place. Since there are some materials which contain a rich amount of demonic elements amongst the ones mined in the mine here」
「Ah. Come to think of it, this is Neman huh. Certainly, there’s no way I’ll return empty-handed. It doesn’t seem to be a bad idea to look around since I rarely come to this area. I’m saved since you reminded me about this.」
「It’s nothing, I am just happy to be able to be of some help to you」
Alie smiles back at him.
「Oh？ Onee-chan, who’s that, your acquaintance？ 」
Phillipe shifts his line of sight toward the high pitched voice while Alie turns around at the same time.
Behind her was a little girl with ultramarine colored hair grinning widely.
「Koko. Is oniisama’s lesson already finished?」
「Yup, It’s Do~~~~ne. Ha~h, I’m so tired. Is he your acquaintance？ 」
「Yeah. His name is Phillipe-sama. The magic tool maker of Laurel where dear uncle is」
「I’m Phillipe. You’re Koko, right？」
Phillipe bluntly introduces himself in a way that’s rather hard to say whether it really is an introduction. Thereupon, Koko approaches Phillipe while glaring at him with a rude expression.
After that, she nods several times after looking at Phillipe from head to toes, as if approving something.
「Hee, you’re quite a splendid one. Oneechan, he might be enjoying a different adventure while saying things like “I love adventure”, ri~ght～」 [TL : Her words actually have a deep meaning behind it]
「W-What are you talking about, Koko? You’re being rude to Phillipe-sama」
「E~h, he’s not the special one？ Weren’t you talking about him with an extremely excited tone that you had quite an enjoyable adventure with a man in Laurel; he’s not the one？ He seemingly looks like a craftsman-cum adventurer like oneechan」
「The one I was adventuring with is Eiji-sama, you know」
「What, so you love another one called Eiji huh」
「Lis… TEN, you’re misunderstanding, it’s not something like that; how should I say, he’s more like a comrade, and my feelings are closer to respect」
Though Alie is trying to explain about that to Koko in panic, Koko no longer heeded her words and faced against Phillipe instead.
Phillipe was looking at their banter with a surprised face.
「I wanted to know what kind of guy was the one oneechan was interested in, but it’s regrettable. Even so, I don’t think Phillipe is so bad either. If it’s pleases you, please be my companion for a while」
Koko leans against Phillipe while putting a coquettish air around her, but Phillipe replies immediately with a nonchalant face.
「My apologies, I’ve no time for that. I came to this place to meet that Eiji guy. But since I didn’t meet him, I’ll finish my business in this place in a while and then start looking for him again」
Even while showing a slightly discontent face, Koko displays a smile on her face again.
Phillipe heaves a sigh at the sight of the strange person whose emotions changed in rapid succession. Then, Alie regains her composure and seizes Koko’s hand.
「Please stop this, Koko. Or else, I’ll be angry with you」
「Wha, don’t be so serious about such things, oneechan. I’m joking you know. … By the way, what about your conversation with dear mother？ 」
「Ah, it’s about that thing, since I’m about to leave Neman again. She asked so many things like where I’ll go next and how long it’ll take this time」
「And then, did she give an OK？」
「Yeah. Thus, I went to shopping to prepare necessary goods. I’m sorry for doing this out of my own selfish needs, but I’ll leave the house to you」
「Well, okay then, since I’ve been taking care of the house even without oneechan for sometime」
「That hurts a bit…」
Alie shows a gloomy expression.
So, Koko’s clapping her back as if she’s trying to comfort her sister.
「Ahaha, please don’t be so serious like that since I’m expecting a great result. Somehow, oniichan is also making various commissions in the adventurer guild of Neman. I can say that it’s a splendid thing. There’s some inconvenience when you’re ask for help from the adventurers when you need to do something, but it’s going smoothly since oniichan is working very well」
「That is something. As expected of Suaman-niisama, nothing can pass under his nose. I was glad that I could be of some hel――AH」
At that time, Alie turns around in panic toward Phillipe.
And then bows deeply.
「My deepest apology for having such a long conversation with my family in front of Phillipe-sama」
「It’s nothing, it’s not like I have something special to tell about it. Can you tell me where’s the adventurer guild？ And the places where they sell raw material for magic tool. It’s fine whether it’s from Alie or Koko」
It’s practically alright from whoever it is if the person is Phillipe.
He doesn’t want to talk too much. it’s not like he has some interest in the lifestyle of nobles. But, he didn’t think badly of them since they were relatives of Kohl.
「Then, let the two of us to be your guide. Aren’t you happy for being flanked by beauties on both sides?」
「Nothing special」
「WHAT!? WHAT A CHEEKY PERSON. Trying to bluff, huh.」
「Why should I do that. Overconfident brat」
「AAh, WHAT DID YOU SAY. YOU’RE GETTING COCKY JUST BECAUSE YOU’VE A SLIGHTLY HANDSOME FACE, RIGHT?」
Koko draws closer to Phillipe and―― or so, before Alie forced her way to enter between them.
Since they’re in the middle of the road, she brings them to the side.
「Phillipe-sama, I’m also planning to go to Laurel when my preparations are done」
「To meet Eiji huh？」
「N-No, I have no such intentions…. It’s not for that, but yeah, at any rate, how about looking around the vicinity of Prowkai？ That town is quite a big one, so I think there’s a possibility that he’ll be staying in that place for a long time」
「Prowkai huh… You’re right. He should be doing so」
「If that’s the case, how about going there together after both of us are done with our business in this city？」
「Yeah. No problem. Since searching with two people is faster」
Thus, Phillipe and Alie decided to go toward Prowkai.
Koko looks at their agreement and is talking while folding her arms.
「Fuhn. Being looking for by two people, this Eiji seems to be quite an interesting person. It makes me want to meet him for once」
「If you feel like it, won’t you come with us？」
「E~h, spare me from such trouble. Please do tell me if you find that guy, oneechan. Tell him that Koko-chan wants to meet him」
Alie drops her shoulders upon hearing Koko talk in such an arrogant tone while waving both of her hands.
Phillipe feels.
That these two sister always talk in such a manner. He was relieved that Koko stayed out since it smelled like trouble if she came along in their travel.
He needs to quickly go searching for Eiji after finishing his shopping before she changed her mind.
――And then, after Phillipe and Alie were finished with their business in Neman.
They boarded the coach which headed toward Prowkai.
This time, he’ll find Eiji for sure.
I converge my magical power and then fire a rain of magic arrow.
It rains down incessantly in the entire room creating ripples on the water, and then――
「KUH！」
「OUCH………………. AH！」
The arrows rained down incessantly on both me and Isakuza.
It pierced both of our skins and gave damage to both of us.
Though I’ve been standing as straight as possible while protecting my neck and head, I can’t escape unscathed from damage.
My opponent’s also in the same situation as he has sustained several wounds too.
「You, what are you going to do――！」
「I’ve said it before right, I know the way to beat you. This is my answer. With this, even you can’t evade it, right.」
Magic Arrow Rain.
That is spreading around low powered magical arrows over a wide range.
And then, here we are, currently trapped in the room with a limited range.
In short, there’s nowhere to escape.
Whether it’s the opponent, or me.
「As expected, no matter how much you try to avoid it, even you won’t be able to escape from the rain. I won’t be able to hit you with my normal attacks. But, it definitely will hit if it’s an attack that will cover a vast area, even though I will be included in that too. NOW TAKE THIS SECOND VOLLEY！ 」
The rain of magical power pours down incessantly.
Light bursts forth from the semi-transparent ceiling of the room made with skills, and then pours down incessantly without any gap.
「Kuh！ Are you sane！ You’re taking the damage too！ 」
「I’m naturally well aware of that. If I make the arrows to not fall on me, Isakuza will surely push me away from that place and then stay on that place. If I have to achieve what I said, I can do it in this way only.」
And then, I fire the magic arrow rain again.
Even if it’s a low powered one, the damage will accumulate considerably when I fire it multiple times.
Isakuza and I are shedding blood at various places.
Yosh, I could show a rain of blood in accordance to my declaration. His own rain of blood.
「Oops！ It’s not done yet！ 」
「Haaah！」
The wounded Isakuza is facing against me.
But, I calmly cope with him.
I’ve confirmed about the matter of penetrating his defense.
And then, the shower of arrows pour down incessantly even further during such slight gap.
「Kuh！」
「It’s slowly becoming easier, you know. Since you couldn’t even defend yourself against it when you were still fine, it’s even more effective when you’re injured.」
I made that declaration while bluffing as if it doesn’t hurt at all.
Yup, it’s the characteristic of a swordsman. Though they have excellent offensive ability and mobility, their stamina isn’t that great. Evasion is their style of battle.
I, on the other hand, am balanced with many classes, my abilities are well balanced, my stamina is also fairly good.
In short, if it’s under the assumption that I won’t be able to avoid the attack, I’ll just endure it. Even if we’re receiving similar attacks.
Somehow, Isakuza has also noticed that fact.
That’s why he was trying to beat me.
「No way, is this in accordance to your plan――Eiji！」
「Nope, it’s just normal. I actually hate pain and just want to win easily. Thus, this is the best conclusion after thinking how to win easily. It was naturally coming to this if I couldn’t do it with zero pain.」
And then, I keep shooting arrow rain skill even further while defending against my opponent’s attacks.
And then, finally.
「GAH――」
Isakuza fell on his knees.
Water’s splashing on his face.
While falling, his face was facing toward me and then he opened his mouth.
「Why, you can―― Do something like this？」
「―― Calculation. To put it simply, attack and stamina」
「…. Humph, you’re, strong」
And then, Isakuza fainted.
At the same time, I also cancelled the skill which created that room.
The water is making a splashing sound as it spread on the ground of the coliseum; the one who came to me first was Haruel followed by the staffs.
And then, I saw Ruu leaping from the audience seat. It was a splendid light jump.
「Are you alright!? Eiji-kun！」
「Yeah, I’m okay you see. It ended up according to my calculations since my injury is lighter than him.」
「You shouldn’t act recklessly like that, you know. Even how you win, it’s completely like you’re committing a kamikaze at――」
Haruel’s sniffling with tears flowing down from her lacrimal glands.
When I see that, the feeling called ‘thanks goodness that you’re alright’ made me feel slightly proud for doing those reckless actions.
And then, I ask the staff to detain and give treatment to Isakuza while I decided to go to the medical room to receive treatment myself.
「Eiji！ You did it！ 」
Ruu was shouting with an excited voice.
And then placing her hand on my shoulder who was walking unsteadily,「You really have some guts to win against that kind of strong and shitty guy like him; moreover, you plotted against him to make him tattered like that！ Now I see you in a better light！ 」
「Thank yo~u for your prai~se. Nevertheless, I don’t want to use this kind of method again.」
「E~~H！ What a waste！ And yet, you became really passionate when you engaged in such bloody combat.」
「I don’t want to do such atrocious kind of combat！」
When I glared at her hand as I brushed it away, Ruu’s laughing with “ehehe”.
「Ahaha, sorry it’s a joke, you see. I’m relieved since you’re this lively」
Ruu’s smiling toward at me.
How should I say, I also feel safe when I see Ruu making that kind of face.
….I’m glad for being alive.
And then, when I am having a taste of victory at this late moment――
DON!
DON!
The sound of a large gong resounded inside the coliseum.
「WINNER！ FIGHTER EIJI！ 」
The chairman of the competition declared it loudly with the magic tool that possesses the function of amplifying the sound.
At the same time, cheering voices, as if breaking the coliseum from inside, erupted from the audience.
It was overwhelming.
I can feel great excitement that was as if it was shaking the ground.
Ruu pushes her fist to my chest while I am still dumbfounded by the situation.
「Congratulations, it’s a great victory」
「…………. AH, thank you」
Thus, I leave the arena while basking under such cheers.
「I avenged you, Jackrosa」
「That kind of talk… It feels like I’m about to die, you know」
The one who’s retorting is Jackrosa who watched the combat from indoors with the staff’s permission.
With his amazing resilience, he already can move around despite having bandages all over his body.
「As I thought, you’re extremely strong, right. I’m surprised, you know」
「No~pe, it’s not the case. My opponent’s ability was completely overwhelming mine. That’s why I used various kinds of tactics along with a kamikaze attack」
「Uhn. I think the fact that you having come to that point… is the evidence that you’re really strong. Since you can’t win when you’re weaker than your opponent unless you do so. Even I can follow your example」
Jackrosa nodded lightly as if he deciding on something.
Though I think that he will become much stronger if he can investigate his own power more thoroughly. Even so, it’s better if you can do various things in case you’re going to face against various situation all alone. Though the efficiency will become better if you form a party where each person will focus on only a single thing.
「Well, it’s a good thing that you’re being eager like that, but let’s heal your wound first」
「Yeah. At that time… will you spar with me again？ 」
「Of course. Since I’ve things to learn too」
Jackrosa was smiling lightly when he heard my words.
「As a fellow fighter, I’m glad that you avenged me」
「Risa Haruna was also looking from this place」
Risa Haruna was also in the same room.
She was standing by for her match, but it seems she came to this place when she heard the commotion.
「It seems you completely turned into a superstar, haven’t you? Most of the audience were charmed by the battle. A mysterious intruder beat the opponent who was not defeated by the top fighters of the coliseum」
Risa Haruna laughed merrily on that, but it’s not a joking matter, you know.
I didn’t have any plans to fight in the first place, and I definitely don’t want to attract attention in such manner.
「Oya, aren’t you making quite the reluctant expression there」
「Eh, I’m not, you know. Aren’t you aware of my personality？ 」
「No~pe, I don’t know. As a fighter myself, I’m envious of you who became a popular fighter」
Risa Haruna’s laughing in a stiff manner.
This person absolutely understands me the best.
Well, apart from standing out, maybe I should feel relieved that I can see the competition proceeding smoothly after this.
I was surprised at the fact that there’s a human who’s far more dangerous than a monster though. The potential of a human being is far more amazing than what I thought.
Which means that it’ll also increase the potential of the parasite.
「Next schedule is fighter Risa Haruna――」
The one who came was the staff of the coliseum.
That’s right, there’s still Risa Haruna’s match.
At any rate, I should just cheer Risa Haruna for now.
Though an unexpected event just happened, the remaining matches were still held.
Haruel’s match was treated as a match without any victor, so the other semifinal became the final.
As expected, since they can’t perform the match as planned, they rescheduled it for a different day.
Haruel’s opponent isn’t in a condition to participate the match after getting done in by Isakuza.
Though there was Haruel who won her match without even fighting against her opponent, since there was an intruder in her match, Haruel declined her right to fight in the final even though she was completely unscathed.
And then, there came the discussion as to whether to let me fight, but as expected, it’s impossible since no matter how you look at it, I have not even entered the preliminary match. Thus, they decided to make the other semifinal as the final.
Though the result is the general outline, unfortunately it’s ended in Risa Haruna’s defeat. As expected, her opponent was also someone who climbed through the semifinal.
We couldn’t get the rumored sword, but we won’t be troubled even if we don’t acquire it as it’s just a normal sword.
Since the reward was splendid, we were given a treat by Risa Haruna.
A while later, I was in the coliseum.
It seems that Jackrosa has already recovered from his wounds, so I came to see his fight after his rehabilitation.
The result is an undisputed victory. I’m glad that he has fully recovered.
…… When I thought so.
「Oi, that, isn’t that guy him？」
「N? Ah, you’re right, he’s the intruder who saved Haruel-chan a while ago」
My surroundings become suspiciously noisy.
This is bad…. This is a bad idea…. I’m wearing muffler-like clothes and a deep hat, since I’m waiting for the event to settle down for sometime. Even so, this is………
「You’re absolutely right！ May I have a bit of your time！ I want to talk！ 」
「Please give me your autograph！ Ah, it’s okay even if it’s your private property！」
The disturbance instantly spread around; people start locking on my surroundings.
CRAP！
「My apologies, I am taking my leave since I have an urgent business right after this！」
I break through the encirclement via the gaps between the people while saying those words and just like that, I escape from the coliseum.
I shake off the people who somehow noticed my intention and then heaved a sigh at the back alley of the coliseum.
「Ha~, it seems I won’t be able to peacefully watch matches for a while after this. Good grief, truly good grief」
I was walking in the alley toward the inn while thinking whether I can live an ordinary live by covering my entire face with a mask.
「Uhm！ I have a wish！ 」
I suddenly heard a voice which called upon me.
As I turned around, the one who’s present in my field of vision is a boy who’s wearing a berret-like hat while still having the trace of innocence on his visage, but his eyes are filled with determination.
「I have a request for fighter Eiji-san」
「Well then, Koko. I have decided to go to the mansion of the vamp―― Eh, where are you going?」
「I’m tired of oneechan’s story」
「Is that so？ I’ve heard of that adventure story so many times」
「Since it’s only oneechan. Except for one eccentric adventure geek, I’m more delighted if you show me a gem rather than those kind of stories」
One girl called Koko was throwing away a soft looking cushion inside a room which was decorated with luxurious furniture.
Her ultramarine colored hair tied in twin tails with strong willed eyes and impish mouth, she was casually searching for gems placed in one location of the room.
「See, even Alie-oneechan should be at the good age to be interested in this too, right?」
「Wawa. Stop throwing it away like that, it’ll damage it, you know」
Alie Duo, a noble of Neman, is rebuking her little sister, Koko Duo, while catching the necklace, with red gem embedded on it, that’s being thrown away .
But, Koko’s laughing as if looking down on her and then sits on the side of her sister who sat on the sofa.
「It’s fine isn’t it, since those guys of the society won’t notice about such things. Those guys, They’ll receive that glass marble-like things as a gratitude」
「Very kind words, aren’t they?」
「It’s the truth. See, even for oneechan… Yup, it matches you very well. See, you told me about Grael Treize before, right? That guy’s also the type that will be easily tricked by the exterior and its name. He’s been interested in oneechan and has invited you for a date so many times. He can’t understand the true essence of a human」
「It seems my true essence is completely no good, right.」
「It should be right. Since you’re something like a noble girl who’s always adventuring despite already being at the good age. Koko’s obviously being charmed by it. And yet Grael is ignoring Koko and is only devoted to oneechan, are you interested in someone else?」
Koko’s breathing roughened with excitement as she folded her arms.
Alie drank a mouthful of tea, placed the cup on the table and asked Koko.
「Was Grael-sama to your liking？」
「Waa. As if I’ll fall for such arrogant and great king」
「If that was the case, it should be okay. Rather, I’m also annoyed by him」
Waving her fingers with chichichi, Koko also drinks her tea, filled with plenty of sugar by herself.
「Even if I dislike him, I’m still angry at the guy who’s ignoring me. I should reject him after he’s aware of Koko’s charm」
「Ha~」
Alie said those words with a “good grief” expression and drinks her tea again. Koko was looking at her face.
「That guy is truly the example of a foolish noble-sama, isn’t he. Well, his head might cool down a little inside the jail, and oneechan shouldn’t get yourself involved in such trouble. Aren’t you glad, oneechan?」
「Yeah. Thank you, Koko」
Koko was smiling from ear to ear.
Here in Rain kingdom, nobility is basically a title to show their honor. According to the law, the so called nobility has no privilege in their status.
But in reality, it was something indispensable for nobles for the sake of participating in the center of the government. In short, that was just how much trust was placed on the man by the country, or rather, it’s something like a proof of their trust to the house of men.
Though there’s generations after generations of influential people who become a noble, naturally new people are added too. The people who did a great contribution to the country, or the one who paid large sum of money. Or the people who fulfilled both criteria.
Though becoming one isn’t easy, it’s not hopeless either; it’s relatively easy to increase. The tendency of merit system also improved in the recent years; rising fresh nobles appeared one after another; thus, the boundary between a noble and a commoner had greatly reduced compared to before.
Some of the aristocrats work in the center like Grael, but many were influential persons of their own region and many of them possessed wealth, influence, and vast plot of land in their territory.
That’s also the case for the house of Alie Duo since long time ago; fortunately, they’re also maintaining that power without letting it fall.
Though many of them are basically from the public figure class of the country or region… Alie wasn’t interested in such matters for now.
At that time, a knocking sound resounded inside the room.
「Yes, please enter………… Ah, Suaman-niisama」
「Wha~t’s the matte~r, oniichan. We’re in the middle of a ladies talk」
The one who entered the room was a youth with silky smooth dark blue colored hair. He’s the eldest child of Duo house, Suaman Duo.
Despite being inside their own house, his appearance is tidy from top of his head till his toes.
「Dear mother called, Alie. Though she didn’t say her business, you should be able to guess it right?」
「Ah, yes. Since I was resting in the house for a while, I told dear father that I might depart again soon」
「I see, at that time dear mother wasn’t in the house. Where are you going to this time？ 」
「U~h. No, that sort of thing is. I think that it would be nice if I say good things to dear father before the discussion, so not yet」
「Oneechan, your eyes are swimming. You’re still bad at lying as ever」
Though Alie’s twisting her body as if panicking when Koko laughed as if mocking her, it didn’t have any special meaning behind.
Koko who saw her like that is laughing with “fufufu”.
「It’s not the time for laughing, Koko. I’ve said that I’ll teach you properly, right？ It’s already the time」
「Eh, it’s that time already!? U~hn, but I’m not in the mood today, maybe next time」
「You can’t. What are you going to do if the people of Duo house don’t even know regarding the business and history of Neman. I’ll be very strict in disciplining you since you’ll skip the lessons by calling from the outside」
After Suaman’s entered the room, he unhesitatingly went to seize Koko’s arm.
Koko gets pulled into the library as is while screaming「DEMON TEACHE~R, THIS IS A VIOLATION OF FREEDO~M」.
Seeing that her older brother and little sister weren’t that much different compared to the time before she returned, Alie’s face blossomed a relieved smile while coming out of the room.
＊＊＊
「Not here either huh」
Mining city, Neman.
The magic tool maker, Phillipe, let out such grumbling in this big city, located further south-east than the arena city, Prowkai.
「Geez, where the hell is that guy actually」
Naturally the one who’s referred 『That Guy』by Phillipe is Eiji Choukai. He has already went ahead of Eiji long time ago, but he is totally ignorant of such a thing and thus came as far as Neman.
And then, he started looking carefully inside the city, but he couldn’t find the one he’s looking for.
When he’s thinking “Well then, what should I do now”――
「Are, if I remember it correctly, that person is―― OI！ You’re Alie right！ 」
The one discovered by Phillipe is the noble who became an adventurer, the one he met somewhere in Laurel; it was the figure of Alie who was strolling in the city.
「You’re…. Phillipe-sama. It’s been a while. It’s pleasure to meet you, how do you do?」
Alie, who recognized Phillipe, sends a courteous greeting.
Phillipe replies rapidly while nodding lightly.
「I’m safe and quite healthy. I’ve been looking for someone, but I can’t find him anywhere」
「That must be hard. If it pleases you, I might be of some help if that person is in Neman――」
「No, that guy isn’t in Neman. I thought that he might come to this place, but it seems that he’s not here. You should be familiar with him too. I’m looking for Eiji」
Alie’s eyes twinkled for a few seconds.
「Eiji-sama？ He came to this city？ 」
「I thought that he came toward this direction, but here I am, I came this far without being able to meet him. Just where’s that guy loitering around.」
Phillipe’s hitting his own fist.
As expected, his irritation had grown even stronger after being unable to meet the one he was looking for despite looking for a long time.
「I see, you should’ve been looking for him for quite a while. Maybe you guys missed each other at some point」
「Yeah, I think that’s also possible. Since I think there’s no way he’ll come to this place first. Maybe I overtook him on the way without being able to notice it. Geez, so troublesome. Though I also want to continue looking for the materials for magic tools」
「Magic tool. In that case, you might find some of it in this place. Since there are some materials which contain a rich amount of demonic elements amongst the ones mined in the mine here」
「Ah. Come to think of it, this is Neman huh. Certainly, there’s no way I’ll return empty-handed. It doesn’t seem to be a bad idea to look around since I rarely come to this area. I’m saved since you reminded me about this.」
「It’s nothing, I am just happy to be able to be of some help to you」
Alie smiles back at him.
「Oh？ Onee-chan, who’s that, your acquaintance？ 」
Phillipe shifts his line of sight toward the high pitched voice while Alie turns around at the same time.
Behind her was a little girl with ultramarine colored hair grinning widely.
「Koko. Is oniisama’s lesson already finished?」
「Yup, It’s Do~~~~ne. Ha~h, I’m so tired. Is he your acquaintance？ 」
「Yeah. His name is Phillipe-sama. The magic tool maker of Laurel where dear uncle is」
「I’m Phillipe. You’re Koko, right？」
Phillipe bluntly introduces himself in a way that’s rather hard to say whether it really is an introduction. Thereupon, Koko approaches Phillipe while glaring at him with a rude expression.
After that, she nods several times after looking at Phillipe from head to toes, as if approving something.
「Hee, you’re quite a splendid one. Oneechan, he might be enjoying a different adventure while saying things like “I love adventure”, ri~ght～」 [TL : Her words actually have a deep meaning behind it]
「W-What are you talking about, Koko? You’re being rude to Phillipe-sama」
「E~h, he’s not the special one？ Weren’t you talking about him with an extremely excited tone that you had quite an enjoyable adventure with a man in Laurel; he’s not the one？ He seemingly looks like a craftsman-cum adventurer like oneechan」
「The one I was adventuring with is Eiji-sama, you know」
「What, so you love another one called Eiji huh」
「Lis… TEN, you’re misunderstanding, it’s not something like that; how should I say, he’s more like a comrade, and my feelings are closer to respect」
Though Alie is trying to explain about that to Koko in panic, Koko no longer heeded her words and faced against Phillipe instead.
Phillipe was looking at their banter with a surprised face.
「I wanted to know what kind of guy was the one oneechan was interested in, but it’s regrettable. Even so, I don’t think Phillipe is so bad either. If it’s pleases you, please be my companion for a while」
Koko leans against Phillipe while putting a coquettish air around her, but Phillipe replies immediately with a nonchalant face.
「My apologies, I’ve no time for that. I came to this place to meet that Eiji guy. But since I didn’t meet him, I’ll finish my business in this place in a while and then start looking for him again」
Even while showing a slightly discontent face, Koko displays a smile on her face again.
Phillipe heaves a sigh at the sight of the strange person whose emotions changed in rapid succession. Then, Alie regains her composure and seizes Koko’s hand.
「Please stop this, Koko. Or else, I’ll be angry with you」
「Wha, don’t be so serious about such things, oneechan. I’m joking you know. … By the way, what about your conversation with dear mother？ 」
「Ah, it’s about that thing, since I’m about to leave Neman again. She asked so many things like where I’ll go next and how long it’ll take this time」
「And then, did she give an OK？」
「Yeah. Thus, I went to shopping to prepare necessary goods. I’m sorry for doing this out of my own selfish needs, but I’ll leave the house to you」
「Well, okay then, since I’ve been taking care of the house even without oneechan for sometime」
「That hurts a bit…」
Alie shows a gloomy expression.
So, Koko’s clapping her back as if she’s trying to comfort her sister.
「Ahaha, please don’t be so serious like that since I’m expecting a great result. Somehow, oniichan is also making various commissions in the adventurer guild of Neman. I can say that it’s a splendid thing. There’s some inconvenience when you’re ask for help from the adventurers when you need to do something, but it’s going smoothly since oniichan is working very well」
「That is something. As expected of Suaman-niisama, nothing can pass under his nose. I was glad that I could be of some hel――AH」
At that time, Alie turns around in panic toward Phillipe.
And then bows deeply.
「My deepest apology for having such a long conversation with my family in front of Phillipe-sama」
「It’s nothing, it’s not like I have something special to tell about it. Can you tell me where’s the adventurer guild？ And the places where they sell raw material for magic tool. It’s fine whether it’s from Alie or Koko」
It’s practically alright from whoever it is if the person is Phillipe.
He doesn’t want to talk too much. it’s not like he has some interest in the lifestyle of nobles. But, he didn’t think badly of them since they were relatives of Kohl.
「Then, let the two of us to be your guide. Aren’t you happy for being flanked by beauties on both sides?」
「Nothing special」
「WHAT!? WHAT A CHEEKY PERSON. Trying to bluff, huh.」
「Why should I do that. Overconfident brat」
「AAh, WHAT DID YOU SAY. YOU’RE GETTING COCKY JUST BECAUSE YOU’VE A SLIGHTLY HANDSOME FACE, RIGHT?」
Koko draws closer to Phillipe and―― or so, before Alie forced her way to enter between them.
Since they’re in the middle of the road, she brings them to the side.
「Phillipe-sama, I’m also planning to go to Laurel when my preparations are done」
「To meet Eiji huh？」
「N-No, I have no such intentions…. It’s not for that, but yeah, at any rate, how about looking around the vicinity of Prowkai？ That town is quite a big one, so I think there’s a possibility that he’ll be staying in that place for a long time」
「Prowkai huh… You’re right. He should be doing so」
「If that’s the case, how about going there together after both of us are done with our business in this city？」
「Yeah. No problem. Since searching with two people is faster」
Thus, Phillipe and Alie decided to go toward Prowkai.
Koko looks at their agreement and is talking while folding her arms.
「Fuhn. Being looking for by two people, this Eiji seems to be quite an interesting person. It makes me want to meet him for once」
「If you feel like it, won’t you come with us？」
「E~h, spare me from such trouble. Please do tell me if you find that guy, oneechan. Tell him that Koko-chan wants to meet him」
Alie drops her shoulders upon hearing Koko talk in such an arrogant tone while waving both of her hands.
Phillipe feels.
That these two sister always talk in such a manner. He was relieved that Koko stayed out since it smelled like trouble if she came along in their travel.
He needs to quickly go searching for Eiji after finishing his shopping before she changed her mind.
――And then, after Phillipe and Alie were finished with their business in Neman.
They boarded the coach which headed toward Prowkai.
This time, he’ll find Eiji for sure.
