"Oh, my God!"

　The morning sun shines on the long sword that is wielded with the scream, slightly blocking Ray's gaze.
　Did you aim for it or did it happen by accident? Not sure which one, Ray takes the blade of a long sword, cutting through the air, with a death-size handle in his hand.
　a blow that might have been cut off if the death size was not a magic item or if the handle is not cut off.
　If the dagger being wielded does not have a simulated blade, the dagger currently wielded by Ray has a neat blade, and if it is as sharp as a goblin, it has the strength and sharpness to cut under one sword.
　But...

"Sweet."

　The moment a long sword touches a death-size handle, Ray's wrist is turned back and the blade of the long sword is entangled, and thrown into the air using the force he wields down.
　Earlier, the morning sun, which obstructed Ray's gaze, shines on the blade of a long sword spinning in the air.
　The fallen dagger is received by a death-sized stonemate, killing the momentum of rotation and dropping to the ground.
　There's no better game than this.
　It was an otherwise invisible sight.

"d*mn, I lost again..."

　The blow I had just given him was probably a blow he was quite confident of. But if the blow was easily sealed by Ray, it would have been a complete defeat.
　early in the morning after a few hours of nap after an attack on an inn
　Rodos was admitted to the competition, and he himself applied to Ray for training to improve his skills... and this was the result.

"Sword handling is as good as it should be, but neither sharp nor powerful is remarkable. If you want to participate in a competition, you need to improve your overall skills."

　Ray mutters, but this is his first time to participate in a competition, and specifically, his expectation is that he will be able to win the preliminary round.

(Actually, it may be higher or lower than I expected... but it's no use worrying about that now.)

　As I think like that, Seto, who was watching the battle silently, approaches me with a squeak.

"Grull".

　There's no such complicated reason for having Seto here. It was simply large enough for a mock battle, and only near the stables if it was a deserted place.
　And he could not have noticed Ray approaching, and had already emerged from the stable before the mock battle began.
　though, by nature, the animals and demons in the stables were not at liberty to appear at will.
　They seem to be overlooked because they are members of the Dasker party, and above all because they are Sett.

"I'm sorry, Set. Have you been a little too loud.
"Glu".

　A set of voices that say Ray's words are fine.
　Ray caresses his head with a small smile on his face.
　As usual, he gives himself to the comfort of being caressed, but it stops as Rodos approaches Ray.
　Until a few seconds ago, Seto, who was in a good mood, looked at Rodos like a large carnivore.
　Naturally Rodos would have stopped if he could look at them like that, and they were half deadlocked with each other.
　Ray gazing at one of them and one of them, who is still on bad terms with each other, and exhaling in spite of himself.

(Because the way we met was terrible in many ways...)

　Shake their heads slightly, remembering the first meeting of Ray and Thunder God's axes over the oak settlement and the later meeting outside the guillem.
　Needless to say, our first impression of each other was the worst.
　For Seto, he was fighting against his partner Ray, and Rodos was such a partner, and he didn't want his mother Min to come close to the dangerous Rank A monster.
　Even if we didn't meet well, we might have been able to improve our relationship if we had compromise. But in the end it had not happened and had come this far.

『……』

　Time passes in silence as if they were keeping each other in check.
　When Ray was going to say something about one of them.

"Well, it's about time for breakfast." I'm going to leave here right after I finish my meal today, so don't miss it."

　One of the knights escorting Dusker came calling out like that.
　Ray opens his mouth as if it were heaven's help.

"Yes, sir," Have you been a little late? I'm sorry, I'll be there soon. Look, it's about time Seto had he? Rodos, too. You guys, don't be too childish."

　Ray told me so, but for some reason, Rodos' stunned gaze came back.
　The only salvation was that Sett had gone straight back into the stable after listening to Ray's words.
　That's because eating a delicious meal was definitely a priority rather than worrying about Rodos.

"You're not mature... You don't want Ray to tell you."
"Oh, what does that mean?"
"Think about it with your hand on your chest." and you'll find out at once."
"…I see. If that's the point, I think we can be a little tougher from the next training."

　Rodos exclaims involuntarily at Ray's words.

"Wait a minute," What was the element of this conversation that made the training stricter?"
"Well, where is it?" And the tougher the training becomes, the stronger you can be. Wouldn't that be the best place for Rodos?"
"That's true, but..."

　As Rodos falters, Ray says convulsively.

"You were the one who asked me to train you, didn't you? I don't know what you thought, but you decided to participate in the competition and asked me to train you? Then I thought that even if I made the training a little harder, I would rather be happy than complained about."

　Yes, Rodos asked Ray for combat training.
　Of course, Rodos was the first person to think of as a strong opponent, Elk, his father.
　Elk, however, is employed as a bodyguard for Dusker. It's not just a nominal bodyguard like Ray, but a real bodyguard.
　Especially after entering the Vestian Empire, I often feel a vicious stare, and on the previous day the inn was actually attacked.
　Considering this, there is no way that Dusker's bodyguard, Elk, can train him, and his mother, Min, is not good at fighting with weapons because she is a wizard.
　When it comes to armed combat, there are knights who come to guard, and above all, no one is better than Rodos.
　All that remained was Ray, who was comparable to Elk in combat power and who had more time to spare than others, if not to say that he was only a nominal bodyguard.

(But he said he was not mature because he told me not to be able to argue with him.)

　Rodos mutters from the bottom of his tongue, as it is certain that the training will be even tougher if spoken out.
　However, even Rodos didn't choose Ray as his training partner only by erasing.
　He may one day fight Ray if he wins the preliminary round of the competition and goes on to the final tournament. There was also a purpose to catch Ray's fighting habits for the occasion.
　And above all, the biggest reason is...
　The image of Vihela comes to mind in Rodos' mind.
　I think it's too much to say that at the first glance I lost my soul... but that's all I could think of.

(I heard that he was a man of war... and strength.) That being the case, if I could beat Ray... or...)

　the possibility that, by any chance, a billion won't be a single possibility
　Rodos headed with Ray to the inn's dining room, concealing the feeling that Vichela would choose him over Ray.





"This is again..."

　Ray muttered involuntarily as he entered the dining room.
　There is absolutely no trace of it as far as we can see, even though quite a few, including chairs and tables, were supposed to have been destroyed in last night's battle.The chairs and tables that were supposed to have been broken were also new, and there were no bloodstains on the floor, no weapons or pieces of protective equipment, and it was as if it were a dream that there was a brawl in this restaurant last night.

"Oh, Rodos. Ray, too. Come over here and eat right away."

　It was Elk who was serving a large amount of bread and soup at the table, and salads, skewers and bacon steaks to his mouth.
　For a moment, Ray and Rodos wondered if there was a Dusker near the Elk, but not just Dusker, but Min.

"Dad, may I leave Mr. Dus
"Huh? Oh, now the deputy has come and is discussing yesterday's matter. There's no use in my presence there. That's why I left it to Min to prepare my stomach. ... oh, my sister. I'll ask these two to do the same thing as I do."

　Elk orders without hesitation from the waitress who comes up to see Ray and Rodos at the table.

"Wait a minute, father. How can I eat so much!?"

　Rodos screams half-screaming in front of a large amount of food on the table.
　But Elk breathes a little sigh and looks at Ray, who is ordering additional boiled beans and organs.

"I don't think there's any problem with Ray?"
"Oh, my God! They're asking me not to be with them!"

　Elk opens his mouth to Rodos, who screams so fast that he smirks and breathes.

"Well, you can't beat Ray because you can't eat enough?"
"What? That's the relationship..."
"I do. Well, not everything is true, but having a lot of food means you have a lot of physical strength."
"Why, that's only for outsiders like Father and Ray!"
"...you want to beat him, don't you?"
"Ugh!"

　Words from Elk's mouth stifled Rodos's words.
　I thought about it for a moment, and immediately saw Ray eating the skewers of Elk without permission, leaving the correspondence between Elk and Rodos alone...
　He turned to the bread that the waitress had brought him, and then reached out silently for the bread in the basket.
　It's one of the best hotels in town, and every dish served is delicious.
　It's freshly baked, savory, and a very soft bite.
　"Other than that, it was much better than the food we had in the cafeterias of the city, as it was cooked by a skilled cook."
　Rodos must have been hungry, too, for he has moved since morning. When you take a bite or two of bread to your mouth, you gradually concentrate on cooking silently.
　When Elk sees it, he reaches out to his food as if to tell him to look.
　for a few minutes 　
　At first the three of them were eating breakfast silently, but then Ray, perhaps comfortable, opened his mouth when he had finished the last bite of his visceral and bean stew.

"And what do you think about yesterday's attack? I was just talking about it."
"Huh? Oh, well, I'm just going to make a temporary protest. If you're going to make a strong protest here, it's going to take a lot of time. and I had been informed of the possibility of an attack beforehand, and above all, the town's guards and knights were active in their own way around the inn."

　As long as it has been judged that there is a possibility of an attack, it is not the end of my teaching as a local governor. Knights and guards were on standby, distancing themselves from the accommodation to the extent that Dusker didn't feel uncomfortable.
　And quite a few of the rioters heading to the inn have been captured or killed by the city's guards and knights.

According to everything I've heard, some of the soldiers in this town were paralyzed and able to demonstrate more power than usual. You said that compared to ordinary rioters, there was considerable damage done. and yet, since he could not prevent the attack on the inn in the end, I am sure that the magistrate would be punished in some way."

　Feeling the deputy's misfortune, Ray and Rodos continue to eat as Elk says, shrugging his shoulders.
　The Daskers were then able to leave the city before noon, though somewhat late, partly because interviews had already been completed after dinner.