Chapter 396: Unexpected Audience ③

Alpine and Birgit were at the center of the round arena. They are standing at a special venue used for events and there’s a red carpet laid out there.

The two parties look like they don’t know where they are.

There’s those talking in a low voice, the audience seats are full, and they can feel a large amount of presences outside too.

They were obviously being directed unrestrained gazes as if they are being treated like a show.

It is obvious that this wasn’t a relaxing situation for them.

“There’s no hyumans to a shocking degree. The Mist Town… I see, it is a deeply interesting, fun…and scary place.” (Toa)

“If they were to so choose to, they could wipe us out here without a doubt. In the first place, with Tomoe-dono and Mio-dono here, there’s already nothing we can do. Kahahaha.” (Ranina)

“I see you in a different light now, Hazal. You can do it when the situation requires it. Our eyes weren’t wrong.” (Louisa)

“My true feelings are that I don’t know what’s happening here at all though. That Levi is originally really strong even on her own. We won mostly by luck.” (Hazal)

Alpine seemed to be slightly more calm.

The leader and hyuman Toa who was looking at the audience seats amazed; the dwarf Ranina who is responding while laughing as if she had given up; and the elf Louisa who is nudging playfully the only man Hazal with her elbow.

Despite them already feeling that hyumans are on the overwhelming minority in this place, they are not feeling like they are on the Away side.

Them being a mixed party of hyumans and demi-humans might be the reason for their composure here.

On the other hand, Birgit is a party that’s formed solely of hyumans.

Even if they have stayed for long in the Mist Town, they have obviously not experienced a situation like this where they are surrounded by this many demi-humans, and they understand that they are opponents that their own ability wouldn’t be too effective.

Thinking about the possibilities of what could happen, it is natural for them to react in this way.

At the side of Alpine there’s the elder dwarf Beren, at the side of Birgit there’s the gorgon Lacy; but these two are also terribly nervous.

“A lord that can rule over these many powerful people. Just what kind of person will they be…? I feel like running, but at the same time I want to see them quickly… This is quite the mysterious feeling, isn’t it, Akos?” (Bir)

“Don’t speak nonsense here. The only thing in my mind here is running away as soon as possible. Bir, you really have several screws loose.” (Akos)

“There’s that many neptunes? No, it is not like all the residents are here, so there’s even more? Maybe there’s actually a ruler of the sea that’s even stronger than that Tuna? What’s with that? I-I’m getting excited.” (Git)

“What are you mumbling about, Git? Your voice and body are trembling. I understand you being scared, but show a bit more backbone. If we can’t do anything about it anyways, it is best for you to push your chest out and be yourself. Give up skillfully.” (Ranai)

Bir, Akos, Git, and Ranai.

From within them, only Ranai was the one that was standing there with a different mindset than the other 3.

She is an adventurer, but her point of view is unusual and vast.

As a woman, as a hyuman, and as a living being.

She has understood a variety of things instinctively from standing here.

After considering several options, she has perceived that there’s the need for the approval of the other party in order to return alive.

Greed, emotions, their experiences until now, their ability, and even their beauty; they hold no meaning here.

She has learned that there’s places where those don’t connect to worth.

She could also accept the fact about hearing the name of Tomoe and Mio when they were on the way here.

There’s nothing strange about adventurers of unprecedented level to be the ones who have climbed to the top in this environment.

About the Kuzunoha Company too.

If it is the company that has that many unmatched masters, they should be able to obtain the goods that Tsige wants at a low price and still profit from it.

“There’s too much of a difference. Right, there’s way too much difference in every sense of the word. With this, adults and even infants…” (Ranai)

“What’s the matter, Ranai?” (Bir)

“…No, it is nothing, Bir. We can only do what we can. It suddenly reminded me of the times when I had just recently become an adventurer and ignored everything. I just felt my chest deflate in this situation.” (Ranai)

“Your chest is deflating to a chopping board? Then what would happen to Git? Hey, Ranai, you should think about the atmosphere of the place before speaking.” (Bir)

“Bir, in a sense, you have a personality that really fits a leader.” (Ranai)

“What’s with that all of a sudden?” (Bir)

“Yeah, die.” (Ranai)

“?!”

“Right, he should die.” (Git)

“?!?!”

Git muttered from the other direction.

“The atmosphere grew lighter, but shouldn’t you turn to stone?” (Lacy)

“?!?!?!” (Bir)

For some reason, even Lacy hit him with harsh words and a cold gaze.

Bir sought help, but Akos wasn’t meeting his gaze.

It seems like he was now convinced that there was something wrong in his head for hearing wrongly to such a skilled extent.

By the way, Ranai is bountiful even within average standards, and Git is the really slender type.

Lacy is more bountiful than Ranai, and in the words of Akos, she has the ideal proportions.

“I don’t understand.” (Bir)

At the time when Bir was tilting his head at something that everyone aside from him understood…

“Silence!”

A clear and beautiful voice resonated in the arena.

““!!””

“From here on, the Lord-sama, Tomoe-sama, Mio-sama, Shiki-sama, and Tamaki-sama will take stage! It is unfortunate that Waka-sama is not present, but the high rankers that have reached the top ranks of the arena through daily training and all the other high contributors will have the honor of being in their presence!”

‘Oooooh!’, cheers of excitement that could shake one’s blood resonated.

Bir thought that this honor this female orc spoke of was such an amazing thing that even the ‘Silence’ that was asked of at first has been forgotten.

“Extol them! And…envy them plenty, rouse yourself, and aim for it!”

Toa was impressed by the words of the orc she had first met.

She was implicitly saying to not drag yourself down with envy, but to study yourself and grow further from it.

And the audience was raising honest cheers and giving honest reactions to her words.

There’s no organization that doesn’t scheme and strategize, but at the very least, their combatants are training daily to an ideal extent -those cheers stated this clearly.

There’s cheers and most likely stamping.

There was excitement to an unnatural extent in the arena, and it continued increasing.

And then, at the time when Alpine and Birgit were about to make wry smiles thinking this excitement won’t be calming down…

“Be silent for a short while more.”

A calm voice that may be amplified with magic but was by no means a loud voice or a shout resonated in the venue.

The same female orc of before.

But it was a calm voice that had something fearsome in it that wasn’t magic power or a Skill.

The girl that was at a long distance from the adventurers had a lovely smile.

“Ema is on the verge of snapping.” (Beren)

“She is one step from snapping. Scary.” (Lacy)

Beren and Lacy’s whispers.

For the adventurers, it is rare to see the two with cold sweat, and for some reason, they could agree with that sentiment.

That’s how much impact that voice had.

Just as expected, the venue went silent in an instant, and they were simply waiting for her next words.

“Thanks. I most likely won’t be able to calm down the excitement that comes after, so I won’t ask for the impossible. But at the very least, be silent at the time when receiving them. Alpine.”

““?!””

Having her gaze directed at them suddenly, Toa and her group get increasingly nervous.

“And Birgit.”

““?!””

“Beren from the 8th District, and Lacy from the 3rd District will be introducing both parties to the Lord.” (Ema)

Beren and Lacy kneeled and lowered their heads to the orc that they called Ema.

It goes without saying that this was a gesture of affirmation.

“The Lord has told me that there’s no need to bother about formalities. However, me and everyone here expect respectful manners from you all.” (Ema)

Ema had switched her business smile to a friendly one as she said this to Alpine and Birgit.

But Toa, Bir, and the others could tell that those eyes were definitely not smiling as they nod in agreement from the bottom of their hearts.

Even though they shouldn’t be able to properly confirm her expression, everyone was sure of this.

At the front, at around the center area where no one is sitting, Ema withdraws to the side.

All the adventurers thought that the people they were talking about would be coming from the passage at the back of her.

They weren’t wrong.

They did add an extra gimmick to it though.

From the passage all the way to where Toa and the others were waiting had changed to stairs, and then a crimson red carpet flew out, spreading all the way to where the two parties were at.

They could still somewhat accept the fact that a part of the arena changed, but it wasn’t to the point that they could accept it silently.

A part of the audience, the dwarves, seem to be relieved. If Toa and Bir were calm, they would have noticed this, but because they were on their tip-toes here, they didn’t even notice Beren who was slightly in that state too.

“They have come out… If I remember correctly…that’s called a *Juuki*… I see, so it goes all the way here.”

“The degree of completion here is way too different though. I may have stepped into the path of the warrior, but I am still a dwarf, and that’s what I would call the crystallization of a technique that I can’t even step into its shadow.”

“Tomoe-san and Mio-san, huh. I think I have seen the other man before… If I remember correctly, his name was Shiki? I think I have seen him a number of times in the store.”

“The other ones are all people I have seen for the first time. A humanoid woman, a big fish, and an orc, huh. If Levi had been there at least, it would have relaxed me a bit though. Haha…”

The Alpine members were letting out sighs of admiration at the people that were showing up one after the other that must be at the summit of the Mist Town, and spoke in a low voice.

If this were a battlefield, the king wouldn’t be showing up, but he or she was walking at the front.

Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki were familiar faces for Alpine.

And there’s one unfamiliar woman and two inhuman warriors.

But the faces of Tomoe and Mio were serious faces that not even Toa has seen once on them, and they were completely different people from their usual self.

“I feel a lot less magic power than I thought. When encountering an incredibly powerful being, the people who have strong detection ability would barf at their mere presence, but it looks like the two are okay.” (Bir)

“Is it an original Juuki? He is clearly a dangerous one. There’s also Tomoe-san and Mio-san. This is already…” (Akos)

“You must be happy being such an idiot, Bir-kun. A Juuki can seal the wearer’s magic power completely, you know? By wearing that, we can’t properly feel just how much abnormal magic power they have. Do you know about ‘the tip of the iceberg’? You don’t, right, Bir-kun? You must be living in a really blissful world, haaah~.” (Git)

“Thanks to that, we are not barfing though. Noble and overwhelming…eh? No, there’s one more. What’s with that incredibly small…fairy?” (Ranai)

Birgit was being overwhelmed as they observed the wearer of the strange Juuki who is most likely the lord, and the people following after them.

Ranai, who holds the special eyes that can see lifeforce, must have activated a Skill, she noticed one other person that the others didn’t.

“You are wrong, hyuman woman! I am the Lord that rules over the Al-Emera!”

“?! Eh, Lord?” (Ranai)

Ranai was confused at the fairy-looking being that had appeared in front of her.

She was saying that the Lord wasn’t the person that has their whole body protected by that Juuki.

The next instant, that fairy disappeared from in front of Ranai and wind brushed her face, and then, she was held inside the right arm of the womn at the back of Shiki and lied limply there.

At some point in time, the girl had a whip in her left hand.

“Refrain from skits. You are in the presence of the Lord.” (Tomoe)

Tomoe speaks.

No matter if it is anger, amazement, or even happiness or nervousness; they can’t tell the expression of the Lord because they are wearing a mask that covers their full face.

They stopped a few steps from them.

A moderate distance.

Then, Shiki whispered something.

A chair that was way too big for one person gradually rose from the ground, and then, the one who was wearing the juuki sat there as if it were natural.

Tomoe and the others stood at both sides, and Alpine and Birgit followed the same steps as Beren and Lacy; they went on their knees and lowered their heads.

Beren exchanged looks with Lacy at the side, and then raised his head.

“Lord, I present to you the Tsige adventurers that have overcome two gates at the 8th District: Toa, Ranina, Louisa, and Hazal. The Alpine party that stands at the summit of the aforementioned city.” (Beren)

Being urged by Beren, Toa and her group introduce themselves in order.

It is hard to call it having manners and etiquette, but they properly had respect in their greetings.

When they finished, the Lord gave a big nod.

After that, Lacy stood up and raised her head.

“Lord, I present to you the leading party of the 3rd District! Bir, Akos, Git, and Ranai. They are adventurers of Tsige, and work under the name of Birgit! They accepted our request of the Moon Grizzly that we reported about and suppressed it!” (Lacy)

Different from Beren, Lacy was introducing them with quite the excitement.

But there was a clear difference from Alpine in the first words. Birgit’s group showed vexed expressions from this.

However, after being prompted to, they began to introduce themselves with Bir being the first one. Since they had Alpine as their reference, they managed to finish their introductions safely.

After they finished, the Lord gave a big nod at them as well.

“Then…the one called Hazal.”

“! Y-Yes?!” (Hazal)

“Can you please call out the demonic beast that you showed at the battle of before?”

“Ah, uhm…actually, it was the first time I met with it at that fight… It disappeared somewhere in the confusion of battle.” (Hazal)

“…Fumu.”

Hazal was completely nervous.

Everyone from Alpine assent to what he said.

The Lord looked at Tomoe and Mio, and they both shook their heads as if they didn’t know.

“There’s irregulars like that too?”

“? Uhm…” (Hazal)

“No, just talking to myself here. Then, that means it one-sidedly took a liking to you, and then went into hiding?”

“Hiding…?” (Hazal)

Hazal doesn’t seem to understand.

The Lord seemed to be troubled by this and touched their temples.

“Can’t be helped. This will make things faster.”

‘Eh?’, Hazal ended up taking his gaze off the strange Lord and looked at his left.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound was made really close to him.

A crack was there.

◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆

Here I was thinking I was letting out a pointlessly masculine handsome voice, but isn’t this the voice of Onihei-sama?

That Tomoe…and here I was wondering why the helmet wasn’t a japanese general helmet, but to think she would jam her hobby here.

The voice of the famous actor Nakamura that is both masculine and alluring coming from myself feels so off.

Now then, I am facing Alpine and Birgit.

They finished introducing themselves, so I tried asking about the demonic beast Hazal summoned and then continued on.

Tomoe and Mio were interested in it as well after all.

But the response that came back was that it was his first time and he didn’t understand it well.

…But it is there though -at around the shoulder of Hazal.

Rather than being invisible, it is more like it is in a different space.

Well, we are missing the introductions here, so it would be faster to have it come out.

“Can’t be helped. This should make things faster.” (Makoto)

I tried to sound like a Lord there as I proclaimed this, and break the cracked new space.

The feeling is like stirring up a small critter that had gone into hiding.

It is true that it was huge at first, but it is in a cute form now.

Uhm…

Ah, there it is.

I grab it gently but surely, and its body that’s covered in soft hair trembled exaggeratedly.

I endure the slight sense of guilt as I restrain it with the tentacles formed from my Magic Armor, and bring it up to my hands to confirm its figure, and it really did have the same appearance as I imagined.

But…that would mean it is a beast of Asora.

It apparently assisted Alpine on their first day in Asora.

““…””

What I did must have been uncommon for Alpine and Birgit, they were looking at both me and the small critter that appeared from nowhere, and were dumbfounded.

“Some of the demonic beasts here have a special hiding method. Well, don’t mind it and just take it easy here.” (Makoto)

There was no response.

Yeah, this is awkward.

“So, why did it do something like ally with adventurers on their first meeting?” (Makoto)

Even so, I don’t want to take too much time here.

I try to ask them quickly the question I have in my mind.

I felt like their gazes towards me changed slightly, but I decided to not mind it.

“…Because there wasn’t someone that relied on stars in this land.” (Critter)

“Someone who relies on stars, huh. Aah, not planet or satellite, but the more vague term ‘star’, huh.” (Makoto)

I have used the power of the moon a number of times, but it seems like that doesn’t count.

“The power of the stars. My preference is mages that use the power of constellations.” (Critter)

“Constellations… Aah! I see!” (Makoto)

“I smelled the strong will and possibilities of utilizing the power of the stars freely from him. That’s why my instincts as a Star Sea Momonga made me assist that Astrologist, and exchange a summon pact with him.” (Critter)

“In other words…” (Makoto)

“I thought I should at least greet him…” (Critter)

From the sides, it would look like a surreal scene where a rat-like demonic beast and I are nodding at each other repeatedly.

By enlarging itself and spreading its membrane, the space below that it is casting a shadow towards would increase the power of the star related spells of Hazal and assist him.

It apparently can save its energy by going about in a small form. It hasn’t seen other comrades before, but its role is to serve as a familiar.

I managed to hear a variety of info.

In other words, this guy is a being from the Goddess’s world that mixed into the Asora of me and Tomoe…no, there’s a high chance that it is a special living being that was born from the Skill of the Adventurers of Origin.

If I remember correctly, the current Job of Hazal is Astrologist or Astrologian.

It apparently has a lot of Skills that have the names of constellations from the sky of Earth.

There’s no ecliptic constellations in the sky of the Goddess’s world, so maybe this momonga form demonic beast didn’t exist in that world until now?

No, even if that’s the case, I don’t understand the reason why it would mix into our Asora.

It seems to be quite the strong being, and I feel like it is on the same level as the wolf boss and the Roc…

“…Hm, I got the general gist of it. But that means the power of Hazal’s Skills he showed in the battle before was its actual power, huh…” (Makoto)

““….””

Alpine reacted heavily to my mutter.

Hazal had his eyes wide open.

“You want to accompany them, huh. Yeah, I understand how you feel. But I can’t give you a response right away. I won’t make it a bad deal for you, so please stay low for now, Star Sea Momonga.” (Makoto)

The momonga nodded repeatedly and made a high-pitched cry.

I don’t know what its actual cry is, but this one is pretty cute.

I will be leaving it at my shoulder for the time being, and we should introduce ourselves since we have made them wait.

I…well, it is fine to just be seen as the Lord here.

“Now then, the unexpected happenings have been wrapped up. I am sorry for making you wait. I have indeed heard out the sincere introductions of both parties. It is our turn next. I think there’s already many who have noticed, but…I am the lord of this place. It is okay to just see me in that manner. This armor may look strange, but it is a masterpiece that my subjects made with my safety in mind. Please forgive me for greeting you all looking like this. Now then, I will begin by introducing my most trusted close aides. First…Tomoe.” (Makoto)

“Yes!!” (Tomoe)

Tomoe takes a step forward energetically at my call.

“My first follower, Tomoe. She is a powerhouse here that fights over the spot of number one here, and she has a good head on her shoulders. I am having her work as an executive in the Kuzunoha Company we have a connection with, so there might be people of Tsige who have seen her.” (Makoto)

“I am decently acquainted with the Alpine party. I have also taught them a few of the basics.” (Tomoe)

Toa and the others nodded and directed a gaze of gratitude towards Tomoe.

“I have heard. She even guides the skilled adventurers, and is a loyal retainer that I end up relying on. Mio.” (Makoto)

“Yes!” (Mio)

“She stands at the top together with Tomoe. She helps out in the Kuzunoha Company too, so I think there’s a lot of adventurers who have seen her before.” (Makoto)

Seeing the embarrassed look of Tomoe, I felt like the conversation would derail again if left like that, so I quickly switched to introducing Mio.

“Yes, they are adventurers that I have at least seen their faces. Just a while before, I hung out with Toa and her group-desu wa.” (Mio)

“She also has a cooking side to her; she is terribly interested in the unknown ingredients seen in Tsige. There’s no chance of being disappointed if the cooking is left to her in banquets. She devotes herself, and she is also a loyal retainer that is wasted on me.” (Makoto)

“That’s…” (Mio)

“Next, Shiki.” (Makoto)

“Yes.” (Shiki)

“He is the brain that excels in magic and science that I rely on. Of course, he is also cooperating with the Kuzunoha Company. He is a follower that is more involved with merchants than adventurers, but…he is also one of the top five in terms of combat power here. He may be strong, but it doesn’t trouble him. He is the very representation of that.” (Makoto)

“I am honored. I have not spoken to the members of Birgit before. My name is Shiki. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” (Shiki)

Shiki lowers his head.

That’s an unexpectedly evil thing to do from him.

Birgit is confused and overwhelmed by this.

Shiki is bowing to them, but he must look big and overpowering to them.

“…Now then, my last follower, Tamaki.” (Makoto)

“Yes.” (Tamaki)

“She is not related to the Kuzunoha Company and hasn’t gone to Tsige either. This is most likely your first meeting with her. You could say she is the leader of the religion in this land. In this land where there’s a variety of races coexisting, she is around the same area as Shiki in power and is working well under me.” (Makoto)

“Those words are wasted on me, My Lord.” (Tamaki)

…

So sly.

Despite showing a perfectly loyal attitude, there’s still the smell of poison.

It is not like she is actually going to do anything, and it is more like her doing that for the jokes, which is just like Tamaki in a way.

“That’s all. The followers I rely on the most. Now then…Ranai.” (Makoto)

“! Eh, y-yes!” (Ranai)

If I remember correctly, she is the girl that has special eyes.

From what I heard, it is like a special ability that lets her see something similar to life bars.

It is an ability that healers would wish they had.

And what surprised me the most was her job.

Since coming here, the leader of Birgit, Bir, had turned from rounin to samurai, to master samurai.

The adventurers aside from the precocious Git, that had a unique job from the very beginning, had classed up several times, and the spear user became a royal guard, then a patriot spear that is a job that specializes solely on spears.

And then, there’s Ranai who had a rare job that wasn’t unique which was named bishop siesta, but now…she has a job that is interesting for japanese people.

Black Nurse.

I plan on telling her later, but it is a pure healer and debuffer that excels greatly in healing and mitigation of damage.

However, it is only in the cases when she is wearing a certain attire that has cleared a number of requirements.

When I asked Aznoval-san about it, he laughed out loud and was extremely excited.

It was close to the time when I told Rokuya-san about Toa having become a tobikatou.

She is apparently a girl that has strong bad luck, but…black nurse… I wonder about that.

“This is an arena.” (Makoto)

“? Yes.” (Ranai)

“This is a special place where the warriors that protect this land polish their abilities that come from the result of their daily training.” (Makoto)

“…Yes.” (Ranai)

“All the followers I have introduced to you rarely fight in this arena, but are existences that stand above the warriors here. I would like to introduce you to those very combatants. This is my own selfishness. This here is a place for seasoned fighters to compete in this arena; those who have devoted themselves to the path of battle. The ones here are the current top 3.” (Makoto)

“So they all have outstanding ability, huh.” (Ranai)

It feels like Ranai doesn’t understand why the conversation was thrown to her all of a sudden, so she was giving inconsequential responses.

The reason is because I pity her for having the black nurse job that comes with that attire condition though. I am sorry.

“Umu. Please accompany me for a bit in my boasting.” (Makoto)

The people that were directing their gazes at my armor switched their gazes to the 3 that were standing at the back.

They must have thought their turn has come.

My words might have moved their heart a bit. I would be happy if that’s the case.

“No, I would be honored to.” (Ranai)

“My gratitude. 1st Rank, Neptune Serwhale!” (Makoto)

“Yes!!” (Serwhale)

“Your daily devotion in your training is splendid. Despite fighting on land, he still shows the great power of the neptune’s chief.” (Makoto)

“Seeing the fearsome ability of Alpine, I still have a long way to go. I will continue devoting myself to working hard in order to not feel shame as a warrior!” (Serwhale)

“I will be relying on you.” (Makoto)

“!” (Serwhale)

“Next…2nd Rank, the Al-Emera, Reinhart!” (Makoto)

“! Yes!” (Reinhart)

“Her name as the strongest al-emera is clear, and she is a splendid fighter that throws a barrage of truly gigantic spells, and has proved plenty well that she is unhindered by her small body.” (Makoto)

“Well, I wanted to show our Lord our true power! More importantly, that armor is super cool! I would like to have one made for me! Also also! Isn’t the name Reinhart super cool?! How is it, how is it?!” (Reinhart)

“…Tamaki.” (Tomoe)

I left her talk a storm as an Al-Emera normally does, and Tomoe who was decently in a bad mood from this made the whip of Tamaki snap.

The self-proclaimed Reinhart, who was flying around restlessly, once again returned inside the hand of Tamaki -by force.

I wonder why.

Leaving aside Jiel and Lacy, Alpine and Birgit seemed to be relieved as well.

Even though it is their first meeting.

“3rd Rank, the Highland Orc, Agares!” (Makoto)

“Here!” (Agares)

Oh?

A really energetic response came back.

Agares worked super hard after all.

He is a straight forward power fighter, so he is having a hard time with the current Asora Ranking.

He is strong, tough, and resilient, so depending on the opponent, he is problematic, but against tricky opponents, the cases of him being overwhelmed increase -especially when he fights against enemies on his level or stronger than him.

It is hard to upset the balance against a stronger opponent.

You could call it a pure style that pursues plain strength, toughness, and resilience bit by bit.

I like that, you know?

I heard that his defeat against the Al-Emera made Ema scold him and he felt how lacking he was. Agares was pretty depressed there.

“Stick your chest out proudly. You are here because you have without a doubt managed splendid results. That figure of yours fighting proudly as the strongest warrior of your race is something that the warriors that follow after should learn from. That’s why, don’t get so worked up, 3rd Ranked, Agares.” (Makoto)

“I will train even harder and polish myself all over again! I won’t forget the words I was presented with here for the rest of my life!” (Agares)

“…I expect great things from you.” (Makoto)

Him being way too serious is sometimes a weak point of his, but it is also his strongest point. That’s Agares.

I do understand him not being satisfied by the fact that he was introduced as the 3rd in ranking when he was originally competing for the 1st place.

Ema is strict on the Al-Emera, so with one of them standing over Agares, I feel like she would put pressure on him with a smile.

I should have a word with Ema later…

“And so, those are my prided fighters. The ones that have fought here and managed to get ranked would be…in the eyes of you adventurers, let’s see…a gatekeeper would be one of the honorable jobs of rankers.” (Makoto)

“! Lord, can I have a word, please?” (Bir)

“Bir, huh. What is it?” (Makoto)

“The gatekeeper we faced, in what rank were they?!” (Bir)

“The 1st Gate, was it?” (Makoto)

“…Yes.” (Bir)

“For those ones, it is the one on duty. There’s no rankers positioned there.” (Makoto)

“!!”

“As for the 2nd Gate that Alpine there challenged and overcame, they would be selected from around the rank 30.” (Makoto)

“!!”

The adventurers were clearly shaken by this.

By the way, the 3rd would have rankers from around rank 20, the 4rd from around rank 10, and the last 5th gate would have single digit rankers.

The people who manage to overcome those gates would then meet with the Lord, beginning a personal relationship with them, is apparently what they are going for.

I was wondering if there would ever be people like that showing up, but Alpine might unexpectedly manage to do that.

The scylla Levi has some wild swings of moments when she is in good or bad shape, but she has been able to reach around the rank 20s.

She is still in a slump because she was beaten up by Haruka-san, but they still managed to win after Levi intruded.

I can understand the feeling of Tomoe and Mio that we should assess them.

“With this, our introductions are done. How was it, adventurers with interesting abilities? We are in an arena. Can you please show me a bit of your abilities?” (Makoto)

It would also serve as a bit of a test for this armor.

They all reacted with a ‘what is this handsome-sounding Lord saying here?’, but I don’t mind it.

Stuff like the Skills of a master samurai, the essence of Hazal’s Skills, the true form of the momonga that is obediently on my shoulder like a borrowed cat; there’s quite a lot of things I want to make clear.

I won’t let it end with just self-introductions, you know?

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