On his way to a meeting with the prime minister, Ray suddenly nods his head in private.

(The two of you, who had a cane in the robe, were surely wizards, but did you meet somewhere?)

　I wonder, thinking of the pair of wizards who were stretching themselves or sitting on the floor earlier.
　But as far as Ray can remember, they must have been two complete strangers.
　At least I don't remember meeting him at any request.
　But the chance for Ray, who was active in the Kingdom of Mileana, to meet the Wizards of the Bestian Empire...

"Oh, I see,"

　He suddenly realizes the possibility and mutters convincingly.
　Rodos next door was looking at Ray, who had muttered suddenly, with a strange look, but he didn't seem to have any particular concern about it, so he proceeded with his thoughts in his mind.

(In the first place, it is highly likely that I, who was active in the Kingdom of Mileana, and the wizard who was active in the Empire of Bestia, will encounter a battle on the Seremuth plain. and perhaps he was a mercenary in the war.)

　If so, I can understand why I'm so afraid. But another possibility is that, for some reason, the other person he encountered when he was working in the Kingdom of Milliana went to the Empire of Bestia.

(Well, that's hardly a possibility.)

　People can go back and forth normally through the Celemus Plain, but there is a bad feeling from long-standing confrontation in each other's countries.
　Not many of them prefer to head to the Vestian Empire.
　...with special exceptions such as Vihela.
　Eventually, without knowing why, Ombrell, who was leading the Dusker party, finally stops when he decides that it would be useless to think any further.
　Near Ombrell is a door, two knights who seem to be bodyguards.

"Here's the Prime Minister waiting." However, we will take care of the weapons you have before we hold the talks."
"...well, it's only natural,"

　It was Elk who muttered.
　In one country... you meet the prime minister of a country that you have been hostile to for many years. But it's normal that you don't carry a weapon...
　It's strange to think that you can meet someone with a position, even if you're not hostile.
　In that respect, unless you're a very dangerous person to meet, it's probably because you're a dasker with confidence in your arm that you're allowed to carry arms freely.
　Of course, there is always a bodyguard in the next room, and if something happens, they can move quickly.
　Knights and Rodos of the bodyguard hand over their long swords, Elk hand over the axe of the god of thunder, and Min hand over his cane.
　Ray was naturally asked to hand in his weapons, but he couldn't possibly give them a death size, and he didn't have to say anything about Mistilling.
　All you have to do is hand over the spare dagger in your pocket.
　Of course, the prime minister's bodyguard was not convinced, but it seems that Ray was reluctant to accept it, perhaps because he was wearing only a knife.
　I didn't know about the mystery ring, or if I knew it and missed it intentionally, but I was led into the room without being asked to leave it.
　Ray would have refused, however, if he had been asked to leave Mistilling. He didn't have the courage to trust his lifeblood, Mistyling, with his opponent.

(Thinking of that, Elk often left the axe of the god of thunder in his care.)

　the axe of the god of thunder, which is also known as Elk in terms of performance Of course its value is immeasurably high, and if the axe of the god of thunder is taken away from the Elk, it is possible to greatly diminish the power of the kingdom of Milliana.
　However, it is certain that such imitations would lead to disturbances in many ways, and it would not have been accumulated as the Imperial Army of the Westia, which is currently undergoing a realignment of its military power.

"Mr. Pesche Gutt, I have brought you and your party,"
"Yes, go in,"

　Ombrell's words came back from inside the room with a muffled voice.
　Shaking their heads slightly at the tone of their voices, the Daskers enter the open door of Ombrell.
　The first person I saw was someone sitting on the sofa looking at some papers.
　Of course he was the Prime Minister, Pesche Gutt, whom Ombrell spoke of, but his appearance is quite distinctive.
　I didn't know the exact height from sitting down, but it was clear that he was never a giant. Even though he's probably about as tall as Ray, he's definitely twice as tall as Ray... if he's bad at it, he'll be more than that.
　To put it bluntly, the person was quite fat.
　The head is bald, with a mustache growing under his nose.
　At first glance he seemed to be a clown, but only his eyes were different when he looked at the papers.
　a penetrating glance as if it were birds of prey
　But it was only for a moment that Dusker and his party looked at it.
　The next moment, with a soft glance, he turns to the Dusker party who enters the room.

"I beg your pardon. I have a lot of work to do at this time of year... I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"... No, thank you. All I can say is thank you for responding to my sudden request for a meeting."

　Dusker's unusually polite language.
　The usual unconventional way of speaking was for relatives, their equivalents, or anyone else who didn't care about them, and in this situation, they had no choice but to look outwards.
　Even Dusker deserved to be able to use such language as long as he was a frontier count.

"Welcome to the Empire of Bestia." I hope you haven't caused any inconvenience. First of all, sit down first. Hey, get some tea ready."
"Yes,"

　The maid in the room nods and leaves the room.
　Seeing it off, Dusker sits on the sofa, advised by Pesche.
　Of course, those who followed him as guards, such as Ray and Elk, are not allowed to sit down and stand behind Dusker.
　It was the same with Pesche's bodyguard, with three people standing behind him on the sofa.

(... strong, strong)

　a muttering ray
　I could tell at a glance. All three of them possess considerable ability.
　I don't think I'll lose in battle, but I still can't imitate the kind of small fish I've fought many times before.
　Even the two knights on Ray's side are bracing themselves to see if they understood his opponent's abilities.
　It was the same for three of Pesche's guards.
　No, Peche's guards would have been more surprised.
　They naturally have confidence in their skills, and that is why they are assigned the important role of guarding the prime minister.
　However, it was difficult for them to do anything about it if they were confronted by the escort of the Count Larques, who was in front of them. 　
　All we can do is make time to get rid of Peche, who is the bodyguard.
　One of the bodyguards, in particular, was so capable of sensing magic that it was unbelievable to Ray... that he looked at it as if he were a monster.
　We measure each other's competence only with the atmosphere and gestures of guards, even if we don't communicate with each other people's language. This is probably another form of interaction.

"I used to send out invitations every year, but until now I've only had surrogates and it's taken a long time for me to come here."
"I, myself, would have liked to go to the rumored Bestian Games, for I am a lord in the frontier." Especially these days, there have been so many troubles that I can't relax."
"Oh? What's uproar?"
"Yes. I was running around in a hurry, especially last fall and winter."
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah It's nothing to worry about, isn't it?"

　It's a conversation with smiles on each other, and even a friendly atmosphere.
　But of course, the story of the Prime Minister of the Vestian Empire and Dusker, who was also a neutral figure in the kingdom of Milliana, could not have taken place in the same sense, and they had not forgotten to check each other in this brief conversation.

(Last year's uproar was set up by the Westian Empire, wasn't it? I dismissed the implicit accusation, saying that it was nothing to that extent. Is it like...

　Ray, listening to the conversation behind the Dusker, is leaning inwardly when the door of the room knocks and the maid comes in with tea and cookies.
　A maid who brews tea from a pot of tea into a cup and serves it straight to the two of them.
　As Pesche watches it, he opens his mouth to Dusker with a smile."Choose whichever you like."
"Well, then,"

　As Dusker pulls the cup on the right towards him, Pesche pulls the remaining cup to his hand, carries the cookie to his mouth, and swallows it with tea.
　Let Dusker pick a cup of tea, and put the tea and cookies in his mouth first.
　It was an act to show that there was no poison in it, but Ray would not be the only one who felt it was deliberate.
　the act of showing off in a blatant way that one is so considerate of you
　Without the act, Dusker wouldn't have reached for tea or cookies.
　It is undoubtedly true that this place is the enemy's territory.
　In this way, Dasker and Pesche communicate with each other, putting a lot of meaning into their words and actions.
　We were talking about monsters that appear near Gilm as harmless gossip, or about magic items made in the empire, perhaps for the sake of introduction, but Dusker comes up with the main theme as the topic of the competition.

"Is it a competition?" Actually, I have a favor to ask of you about it."
"Oh? If you think it was a request from the Earl of Larx who came all the way from the Kingdom of Milliana, you can't do it." I don't necessarily know what you want, but let's hear it first."
"It's very helpful, actually, that some of the men I hired as bodyguards wanted to go to the competition." I hope the Prime Minister will do something about it."
"... I see,"

　Dusker's words cast a sharp glance at the bodyguard standing silently behind him, which had hitherto been soothing.

"Isn't it possible that all of them...? Can I ask them specifically who they want to participating in particular.
"Yes, there's no problem," First of all, Ray. No, crimson would be easier for the prime minister to understand."

　Ray, whose name was called, stepped forward and made a small bow to Pesche.

"I'm Ray, the adventurer of Gilmoo".

　The word crimson gives Pesche a keen look at Ray.
　Of course, as long as he was prime minister of the Vestian Empire, Pesche knew what crimson was like.
　Interviews with survivors of the Spring War have also shown that their appearance and physique are completely different from the rumors.
　But... still, in reality, I have a strong feeling that this is the man who caused so much damage to the Imperial army in the war.
　a short age that is not a child but not an adult
　Even with his features, I can't feel the greatness of an adventurer who is notorious for his skill.
　Of course Peche knew from the information he had gathered beforehand that the person in front of him was crimson, but he still had to turn his head when he was introduced directly like this way.
　The presence of Elk next to Ray, called the axe of the god of thunder, would have added to Pesche's feelings.

"Is your master crimson?" I've heard a lot about it, and I've heard reports from those who have participated in the war... and I'm honest that I can't believe it when I see it in person."

　When Ray hears Pesche's words, he smiles bitterly.
　Ray had already half given up on his appearance, but when he was told this directly, he seemed to have something in his mind.
　Then Peche nods a little and opens his mouth, wondering what he thought when he saw her.

"That's OK. Participate in the crimson competition. Let's do our best responsibly."